Should we care about spring scrimmage attendance numbers?

[Guest BasketBull.]

I just read that Nebraska had 80,149 in attendance (corn harvesting must be all done now).

The ba$tard gators had 59,000 rednecks show up.

Our numbers seem so paltry. I guess it was a little of 4,000. There are that many squirrels and gophers on campus!

Can we read anything into our own fan base based on spring game numbers, or is it just that there's so much going on in Tampa?

[AndytheBull]

I dont think you can read much into it, its a reflection of hardcore fans, and while its better to have more people obviously, you cant compare attendance at a practice to two schools that have been playing football for literally 100 years. I saw on Sportscenter Illinois had a "record crowd" at their spring game....12,000.

[TB Bulls]

I don't think it's necessarily something to be overly concerned about, but I was disappointed with the turnout.  If I have it right, we had about 300 more people then last year.  With the success and excitement of last season, I thought we would have at least an extra thousand or two this year.  That's not unreasonable, is it?  I'm aware there was the Rays game with Longoria getting called up (which I really wanted to go to) and the Tarver fight at the same time, but still this is a big city.  There's plenty of people in the bay area to make attendance at all three respectable.  I also realize that in Gaynesville, Nebrasska and Bama those teams are the only thing in town.  But who gives a **** how many they had.  The bottom line is, yes, there should have been more people there but it's not gonna change our 2008 season.     

[Brad]

We should care.  But like much else, it will take winning and some time.

[Bulls 8_va]

Bad advertising...it was worse than last year.  So a 300 person increase is pretty good.

PLUS, they don't want to advertise it because more people = more workers/security at RJS that have to get paid. 

Basically, we get billboards,commercials, posters and events on campus leading up to the spring game...then we will get AT LEAST 10,000 people there...minimum.  But no one ever knows about it...or finds out about it TOO LATE!!!

Those are the facts...

GO BULLS!!!

[Guest BasketBull.]

To me, it means we just don't have enough of the devoted fans at this point. We have plenty on the bandwagon for the big games, but not when it's potentially dull.

But we can't blame them. It takes time to really, really love a team.

[Ricky the Bull]

In Gainesville and Lincoln, what else is there to do?  Of course people are going to show up in droves.  Yeah, there's curiousity surrounding a new coach at Nebraska and UF is a chic team, but the both have pretty much a monopoly on the entertainment dollar in the small towns they're in.

[Guest]

1) The "What else is there to do" argument is a red herring.  The fact that those towns have nothing else to do means nothing.  Parents still have kids. Honey-do lists still exist, and husbands have to go to Home Depot.  They play little leagues in small towns.  There are malls, and restaurants, and other things to do.  Sure, they don't have professional sports... but out of 4+ million in the bay area, less than 40,000 combined went to see the Rays and the Tarver fight.  So it's not like we pack 'em in, either.

Moreover, fans of those schools drive just like it's a home game... they come from "all over" to see the game.

Oh, and Florida had a "fan fest" that day... autographs and photos with players... that obviously helped draw fans.

2) You can tell what kind of fan base we have when you look at the student attendance.  Spring game -- lots of stuff in the Oracle -- and 40,000 students... yet I would say half the crowd (at least) were older than traditional-age students.  Homecoming had an event, including free pizza -- and in the end they were giving whole pies away because not enough people stopped by.

The spring game should be included in the student-ticket policy going forward... Extra points for attending the game.

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My only real thought about the attendance numbers, tho, is whether or not we are improviing year-to-year.  USF may have been #2 in the nation last year, but after losing 4 of the last 7 games -- including getting blown out in El Paso... and I can understand why all that luster wore off.

[Joe]

That is simply not true, thousands of fans drive/fly in for these events and treat it like a game weekend.

The whole nothing else to do is something we hide behind.

I know for a fact my  parents and their friends were some of several thousand people that caravaned from Orlando to Gainesville for the spring game.

The numbers just mean we don't have the hard cores yet, but what do people expect? We're 6 years into I-A! We're in a community dominated by Gator fans. We're not going to advertise a glorified scrimmage,  it's boring.

[nobull.Bulls]

If you went to the spring game the last 2 years, you'd know why no one goes!

If there's a new prospect or something Id wanna watch (like Mike Ford a year ago) then it makes sense to go.