MEGA Miami Fan Attendance -Discussion

[Allabouttheu95]

So it’s an issue that requires multiple solutions. First and foremost, the seats that are unsold should be massively discounted (along with parking) or just donated to give away to local schools.

That should fill some of the seats but then you have to deal with the season ticket holders that are either too busy or not motivated enough to go to the game. The University should create a non-for-profit program whereby season ticket holders can donate their seats and parking and get a letter of donation to make it a charitable tax deduction.

The non-for-profit can then distribute these to local schools, programs for underprivileged and local pop Warner programs. Mind you, BCU (and similar non-D1A competition) are the only games that you need to do this for if we are winning. I would wager that if we are 4-0 going into GT, we will have a pretty decent turnout (weather permitting). And if we make it to Clemson at 6-0, the game will be a sell out.

It’s a brilliant idea. Been asking for something like this for a long time. Unfortunately the athletic department is filled with incompetent people who are the polar opposite of forward thinkers.

There seems to be quite a few solutions, one of which you just laid out: but instead we have seen zero ideas/creativity brought to the table since the move to HRS.

Granted I will give them credit for the Bogo deal. But it only shows you how incompetent they are that they decide to run that deal during the week of the game and not months prior. No forward vision. Hope it changes but don’t have much hope

 

[ScharfCane]

Was hoping someone didn't catch that lol

(pause)

 

[L A M P]

Bc the district school board will never approve that. It also takes away from another holiday that they have slotted (religious or not). Now hurricane days are made up w less or no early release days

Ok. Move the game to Saturday late afternoon. Won't take away from HS events/games. Still do a mid-day community festival. Paint all the kids faces and then send them into great seats at HRS.

 

[L A M P]

Spitballing here. Not really thought out. I just know there's better marketing opportunities available.

 

[hoops156]

I know its a private school but that alone doesn’t prevent it. Like I posted previously, regarding Duke, also a private school:

Beginning in fall 2023, Duke University will cover the tuition of undergraduate students from North Carolina and South Carolina whose families earn $150,000 or less a year.Jun 20, 2023

Miami could do something similar for just the city of Miami.

But Miami does do that w their own financial aid (their grants aren’t paid back they’re free money not a loan). Yiu still need the kid to be of um quality to get in. The other thing is 150k combined in Miami is hard ti do. Say both parents make 80k. That isn’t wealthy or rich. It’s middle class at best. Lower middle really in todays world. That won’t qualify for dukes aid. Either way, the school does offer aid but at the end the kid has to get in first. Miami has a education system issue to begin w

 

[hoops156]

Ok. Move the game to Saturday late afternoon. Won't take away from HS events/games. Still do a mid-day community festival. Paint all the kids faces and then send them into great seats at HRS.

Fine w me. It would have drawn better on Saturday.

 

[supacane]

I'm disappointed in the turn out also for very different reasons. I'm going to give a bit of backstory on my experience as a fan of the U and maybe this resonates for with some of the other fans here and why the school has pushed us away from giving not only our time but our money and support to attend these games.

We've been season ticket holders for over 50 years, my grandfather was one of the original Orange Bowl committee members and I remember growing up going to every game when I was as young as 3 years old. We had 8 tickets right on the 50 yard line in the old ****** orange bowl we all loved. When the Canes moved to the dolphins stadium we were told our seats of 40+ years were no longer available, no explanation. While upsetting we understood - new stadium, things happen. They told us they'd take care of us.

Our definitions of being taken care of must have been very different. Moved us to the 20 yard line and acted as if they did us a huge favor while increasing our ticket cost. Again, not the end of the world and at the end of it all we were here to support the team.

As the years have gone by the fan experience has steadily gotten worse. Spending $7K on tickets a year at the very least should guarantee halfway decent away game tickets. Instead, I get calls saying I need to donate another few hundred to even have the privilege to potentially get tickets (no guarantee on section). I'm sure others can chime in on their awful experiences getting away tickets. At this point it's becoming clear the school does not care about the fan experience. It's "how can I squeeze them for every dollar." As if we should be thanking the school for donating our time on the weekends and spending our thousands of dollars on a product the school clearly wasn't invested in for years.

Last year for the first time in over 50 years was the first time our family did not renew our season tickets. We received a call saying our parking passes we're no longer available but again don't worry they were able to get us 2 yellow lot passes instead, again no explanation. I'll watch the games from home where I don't have to drive an hour+ each way, drinks aren't $15+, ****** meal cost $20+, and where I can actually watch the replays. I'm not even sure what the 4 giant screens at the stadium are for at this point.

I'm disappointed that the school demands everything from their fans but treats us with the "what have you done for me lately" mentality. Fandom goes both ways. They want fans in the seats then treat us as if they actually want us to be there.

Thank you. And i put in the post that i put alot of it on the admin. They are absent from the community and are horrible at supporter outreach. And not to mention raising the ticket prices after that debacle of a season. The prices for A&M were simply ridiculous. Am sure there are others with similar issues. I know Miami Flo spoke of how horrible the tailgating has become.

 

[hoops156]

It’s a brilliant idea. Been asking for something like this for a long time. Unfortunately the athletic department is filled with incompetent people who are the polar opposite of forward thinkers.

There seems to be quite a few solutions, one of which you just laid out: but instead we have seen zero ideas/creativity brought to the table since the move to HRS.

Granted I will give them credit for the Bogo deal. But it only shows you how incompetent they are that they decide to run that deal during the week of the game and not months prior. No forward vision. Hope it changes but don’t have much hope

They banked on Mario hype to fill seats and didn’t realize it was done due to the poor season. Raising prices w a bad season backfired on them.

 

[L A M P]

It would have drawn better on Saturday.

The game alone won't draw. That's where marketing comes in. Making it community centered.. then maybe.

 

[Shogungts]

Disgusting attendance. I don’t care if it’s Bethune and on a Thursday night. The team looks so much better and is coming off a big win against a quality opponent. Show up and support your ******* team.

I don't live in Florida so it wasn't even an option for me, but I am a bit older now and even without the time suck and cost of kids (we don't have any), I don't have the time/energy that I used to and having to account for things like getting out of work early, etc; going to a game of this caliber on a weekday night would not be worth it for me.

And that is coming from someone who spends way too much time on a message board obsessing over the the team; the vast majority of fans (even 'real' ones) aren't as obsessed as most of us and don't want to deal with the hassle and cost of going to a Thursday night game against a team that is less competitive than the scout team.

 

[hoops156]

The game alone won't draw. That's where marketing comes in. Making it community centered.. then maybe.

I agree but it would draw better than it did on a Thursday. We had kids get in free against Troy in 01. It was empty but not nearly as empty as it could have been on a Thursday or no promotion. I’ve said a lot that they need to bite the bullet on sales for a few seasons and run more involvement campaigns. Give tickets away. I would have made yesterday employee day tbh

 

[Geddy Lee]

I don't live in Florida so it wasn't even an option for me, but I am a bit older now and even without the time suck and cost of kids (we don't have any), I don't have the time/energy that I used to and having to account for things like getting out of work early, etc; going to a game of this caliber on a weekday night would not be worth it for me.

And that is coming from someone who spends way too much time on a message board obsessing over the the team; the vast majority of fans (even 'real' ones) aren't as obsessed as most of us and don't want to deal with the hassle and cost of going to a Thursday night game against a team that is less competitive than the scout team.

I get what you mean but you'd think people would be more excited especially after the A&M win. It's an opportunity to see this team win big and see some young guys get in who could have big roles in the next couple of years.

 

[NJshoreCane]

There’s some excuses for the regular people not to show but the students, that’s a different thing. They suck at showing up, and they even leave early in big games last week. By third quarter they were pretty much all gone. Just a pathetic display but the students. How are you going to expecting regular alum to show up for a game, it’s probably cause they didn’t go to games as students as well.

Earlier this week I talked to a client about this who's son goes to Miami.
There I was with my hoarse voice telling him how great the game was then asked him if his son had a good time.
His response...
"oh, most of the students go to tailgate, but don't actually go in to the game".
smmfh

 

[ScubaCane]

Went to the game last night. Lets say i was highly disappointed in the turn out. I dont too care for what the media and rival fans say but i want the players to feel the love every game, V FSU or v Bethune.

If you live out of state or way up central and north FL, this is not about u. The money out of state fans have to spend to get to 1 game, dwarfs what local fans need to spend on season tickets.

Miami fans game attendance comes down to culture and mindset. Miami Dade population is 2.6 mill as of 2021, Broward is 1.9 mill and palm beach county is 1.5 mill. Roughly 6 million people live within 1 hour of Hard Rock stadium. Miami is a national program. Not getting 55-60k every week is culture and mindset.

I do put alot of it on the University. They do a really poor job of marketing the program. Why dont they bomb local gas stations and corner stores with canes gear and memorabilia, billboards, radio spots.

So FL has a higher median income than most small college towns. We can claim that other university have more alums than Miami, thats true. But Miami also attracts more fans that have no affiliation with the university because of brand recognition. The University is not maximizing the brand recognition.

In addition to the marketing i spoke of, i would reduce the capacity of Hard Rock and make the tickets more scarce.

This is gonna be the last negative fodder rivals and media use against us. We need to change it and stop making excuses.

Not because its been one way doesnt mean it always has to be that way. It only remain that way if we do the same thing. Winning alone wont bring fans. I seen clips of 2001 and there were 40k v Syracuse

Btw when i say market the team. Play on the hometown all american. There should be a billboard all over SO FL of Kam, James. They are not doing enough.

I started going to games in the late 70s and Miami has always had a fickle fanbase. Even when we were the best of the best, we probably had 35k-40k for our lesser opponents and only truly sold out for the FSU type games. Don't let it bother you, it has been and will always be the way. Also, I was at the SU game in '01, there were more than 40k there.

 

[Shogungts]

I get what you mean but you'd think people would be more excited especially after the A&M win. It's an opportunity to see this team win big and see some young guys get in who could have big roles in the next couple of years.

I'll be the first to jump on fans that don't go to Saturday afternoon games vs the Pittsburgs of the world, but I am not giving anyone crap for not going to see BCU on a weeknight.

 

[L A M P]

I’ve said a lot that they need to bite the bullet on sales for a few seasons and run more involvement campaigns. Give tickets away. I would have made yesterday employee day tbh

I'm sure they could get a corporation (let's say Publix) to buy out a large section.. give away to students without Miami even having to bite the bullet.

 

[supersaiyanshel]

Would've been a near sell out if Bethune brought the band.

 

[TheATLCane]

Wait till Clemson

 

[Shogungts]

Would've been a near sell out if Bethune brought the band.

Wait... they didnt bring the band? ****, fans should protest by not going to the next Miami home game

 

[AuoraCane]

I'm disappointed in the turn out also for very different reasons. I'm going to give a bit of backstory on my experience as a fan of the U and maybe this resonates for with some of the other fans here and why the school has pushed us away from giving not only our time but our money and support to attend these games.

We've been season ticket holders for over 50 years, my grandfather was one of the original Orange Bowl committee members and I remember growing up going to every game when I was as young as 3 years old. We had 8 tickets right on the 50 yard line in the old ****** orange bowl we all loved. When the Canes moved to the dolphins stadium we were told our seats of 40+ years were no longer available, no explanation. While upsetting we understood - new stadium, things happen. They told us they'd take care of us.

Our definitions of being taken care of must have been very different. Moved us to the 20 yard line and acted as if they did us a huge favor while increasing our ticket cost. Again, not the end of the world and at the end of it all we were here to support the team.

As the years have gone by the fan experience has steadily gotten worse. Spending $7K on tickets a year at the very least should guarantee halfway decent away game tickets. Instead, I get calls saying I need to donate another few hundred to even have the privilege to potentially get tickets (no guarantee on section). I'm sure others can chime in on their awful experiences getting away tickets. At this point it's becoming clear the school does not care about the fan experience. It's "how can I squeeze them for every dollar." As if we should be thanking the school for donating our time on the weekends and spending our thousands of dollars on a product the school clearly wasn't invested in for years.

Last year for the first time in over 50 years was the first time our family did not renew our season tickets. We received a call saying our parking passes we're no longer available but again don't worry they were able to get us 2 yellow lot passes instead, again no explanation. I'll watch the games from home where I don't have to drive an hour+ each way, drinks aren't $15+, ****** meal cost $20+, and where I can actually watch the replays. I'm not even sure what the 4 giant screens at the stadium are for at this point.

I'm disappointed that the school demands everything from their fans but treats us with the "what have you done for me lately" mentality. Fandom goes both ways. They want fans in the seats then treat us as if they actually want us to be there.

Man that sux and I'm right there with you. I think the bottom line is that we are at the mercy of Steven Ross and he doesn't give a crap. Add that to the fact the university is clueless about creating a good game environment and here we are.