Bucs down year. Bad or good for the BULLS?

[twillybull]

I thought I heard on the local news channel last weekend that sales for USF merchandise may be on the rise due to locals now fed up with the Bucs looking for a winning home team to support.  Has anyone heard more on this?  Was it just a BS opinion or are there some sales numbers at the Bulls Heaven or even local sports stores to back that up?  

Would this be good for USF?  Would it translate over to ticket sales?  I know your average UF fan living within a 100 mile radius of Gainseville did't go to shcool there, but most of them also don't go to the games.  Same could probably be said about the Clown College of Greater Tallahassee.  What do ya'll think?

[Guest r_to_the_izzo]

Bucs fans are the biggest bandwagon fans in all of sports. For all the good this city has the sports fans are some of the weakest around. Unless the team is winning they magically seem to not care or pick up a new team.

So yes, if we continue to win we will continue to garner support from these fairweather fans.

[JoeB]

It might translate to a few more shirts being purchased, but thats just about it.  It has no bearing on attendance to a home game or a bowl game.  Our tickets are always available for purchase no matter what the Bucs do.  Not sure about your point regarding UF and FSU.

[ctbrown24]

I'm sure it would be good for USF. Gaining interest from locals might end up helping us get more fans in the stadium on Saturday instead of Sunday.

[80mins]

I think particularly if we can garner a pre-season ranking, combined with a weak Bucs year, we could certainly see more butts in our stadium come next September.

[twillybull]

What I was getting at (having grown up 20 miles away from Gainseville) is that you couldn't sneeze in Gainseville or Ocala without hitting a Gator Fan (or at least a Gator T-Shirt clad local).  The average UF "fan" around town didn't go to UF or the games, but was spending money on merchandise that at least partially went back to the university.  

So do we expect to see the same here around Tampa?  Locals that root for USF, buy the merchandise but don't have any connection to the University and don't pack the stands?  Or does this equate to more butts in seats on Saturday?      

[Don Toro]

 It has no bearing on attendance to a home game or a bowl game.  Our tickets are always available for purchase no matter what the Bucs do.  

 It might help because a family that spends Sundays at RayJ might not have the time to spend Saturdays as well.  Is not about ticket availability but rather about what provides you with more entertainment.  But it will only help with an all out marketing campaign.  We have to stop relying on the "win and they will come" mentality.  I want to see billboards along Dale Mabry, I want to see flags hanging from the light posts, I want people to know that we play at RayJ too.

[HaulingBull Sucks]

Are those Bucs fans going to give up their season tickets and buy USF season tickets?

[Don Toro]

Are those Bucs fans going to give up their season tickets and buy USF season tickets?

 Not every Bucs fan in attendance has season tickets.

[72bull]

I think most of the fans we pick up will be because of our success on the field.

I gave up my Bucs season tickets - I had them for 1976, their first year. still have half the tickets, unused!