fans are a joke

[BULLheaded]

It is amazing how many excuses our "fans" give for their lack of attendance.  It's too early, can't keep the kids up that late, the Lightning are playing, the Devil Rays are playing, the Bucs have a game tomorrow, the FSU game is on tv tonight, we have to go to my wife's 3rd cousin's best friend's wedding, it's going to be hot, what if there's a hurricane?, I don't know much about who we're playing, can't we play a ranked team?, oh...this team is ranked, well then we probably won't win, there's a big party in Ybor, it's Guavaween, it's Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  I, for one, agree with Tim Brown...Tampa just doesn't have very good sports fans.  There is more to the game than winning....does a team have to be 10-0 to put people in the stands?  I look forward to the day that the USF Alumni step up and support this effort.  You can point to the Tampa community all you want but the community owes us nothing and will not support us until we are a clear winner.  It's up to our Alumni.  If you haven't sent a check in to support these programs, it's time to do it.  We can complain all we want, but $ drive this ship and I'm pretty sure we won't be getting any bowl revenues this year.

Good post! Truth is that unfortunately our students and alumni for the most part don't really care....or more specifically they care about winning football yet care less about USF football. All this bs about losing, game times, holidays yadda yadda yadda...look other schools deal with the exact same issues and it's pretty simple, if the fans care they show up, if they don't then they don't and it's become pretty obvious that right now we are one of those schools that the students and alumni don't care enough to go out of their way to support. If it's just that we are too young a program or any other reason doesn't really change that fact. Just really was a slap of reality that after several winning seasons and to see the students showing up in large numbers last year and begining of this year to watch how practically instantaniously they stopped attending after a couple losses, I guess I just expected better then a bunch of fair weathered students.

I also have to agree with cool about the winning angle. While it's true that winning will bring in the fans it shouldn't be the only thing especially after we have had year after year of doing exactly that. But hey, I'm from cleveland so I come from a perspective where the fans really are rabid in how much passion and love they have for their team. Shoot, the browns fans most common saying is "maybe next year" and continue to sell out the games with nothing but mediocre to terrible seasons. Again, I guess I just expected that same passion for the Bulls and unfortunately it isn't there and in it's place is just excuses.

[Guest wildrover]

I think we are forgetting one thing though, the students did show up almost all of last year and the beginning of this year, they were the one section we could count on, all the way up until army when it was thefullest I've ever seen it.  The students are people too, losing to a bad team during homecoming is a bad thing, I still say the W's will go a long way to helping these problems out, but I also say thats the only thing that will help them out.  This isn't a traditional school, or campus and it doesn't have traditional students, as much as it would like to be and would like to have.  School spirit will be generated when the studetns who go here can call the UF friends and say, honestly I think our team can beat your team, until that happends, I don't see things changing.

[BULLheaded]

I think we are forgetting one thing though, the students did show up almost all of last year and the beginning of this year, they were the one section we could count on, all the way up until army when it was thefullest I've ever seen it.  The students are people too, losing to a bad team during homecoming is a bad thing, I still say the W's will go a long way to helping these problems out, but I also say thats the only thing that will help them out.  This isn't a traditional school, or campus and it doesn't have traditional students, as much as it would like to be and would like to have.  School spirit will be generated when the studetns who go here can call the UF friends and say, honestly I think our team can beat your team, until that happends, I don't see things changing.

Not arguing this point....actually using this exact point as an example of the fact that they are fairweather fans that only care about winning and could care less about school support. They showed up in droves when we were doing well and practically disappeared the instant we lost a couple games. And your right, all they want is to be able to pound on their chests and brag about how our school can beat your school and obviously have no true passion for the team itself. These students have been given a winning product for years on the feild and how do they show support when things got rough? Yep, bye bye!

[Guest wildrover]

Actually, today's seniors were sophmores the last season we had a really good team.  Their junior and senior years, they watched their team go down hill, remember 2001 and 2002 didn't have good student turn out, it took the team winning to bring them out in 2003 and the beginning of 2004.  You're right, there is no real passion for the team if they will only show up for a winner but I believe the W's will go a long way in planting the seeds of tradition so eventually the W's won't matter as much.  In places like Alabama and Gainseville, gameday is an event people will show up no matter what but I have to think it took a really really long time to get that way.  Look at Miami, when they were down they couldn't sell out the Orange Bowl and as I understand it, they had a couple of games in the last couple of years that didn't sell out either.  I guarantee if that team hit the skids the fans would disappear the fans in that town are know for being apathetic.  However, on the bright side, look at the bucs, they couldn't sell out anything for years, walking up the day of the game and buying a ticket was no big deal and you could sit pretty much anywhere you wanted.  Its not like that now, they are sold out forever and that comes on the heels of two pretty bad seasons.  Right or wrong I think the only thing that will develop this school into a more traditional type of university is a lot W's, without them, the crowd just won't care.

[TexanMark]

35000 on campus facility-no way.way too small

let win something first before we build stadiums

the last 3 years have killed the mo

I disagree:  35,000 is good on several counts

1.  meets minimum for Div 1A

2.  You'll get to capacity sellouts quicker

Why is that important?

You need to create demand, a sense of something great/coveted if you get a ticket,  It'll be along time before you sellout the Bucs stadium, Create a student zone in this smaller oncampus stadium and make it First Available.  Have the students waiting in lines to get in on Saturdays.  I lived in Florida and realize a stadium proposal is several years away to get funding due to the Hurricane aftermath.  However, the UF/FSU/Miami supporting Legislators are more likely to approve state funding for a smaller oncampus USF facility--i.e.  not as much a threat to their beloved Gators, Seminoles, Canes.

Smaaza I think your statement is made out of wishful pride and not reality.  Build smaller first and expand later as demand dictates.

[Apis Bull]

Smaaza I think your statement is made out of wishful pride and not reality

Obviously you don't read many of smazza's posts.

[BULLheaded]

Actually, today's seniors were sophmores the last season we had a really good team.  Their junior and senior years, they watched their team go down hill, remember 2001 and 2002 didn't have good student turn out, it took the team winning to bring them out in 2003 and the beginning of 2004.  You're right, there is no real passion for the team if they will only show up for a winner but I believe the W's will go a long way in planting the seeds of tradition so eventually the W's won't matter as much.  In places like Alabama and Gainseville, gameday is an event people will show up no matter what but I have to think it took a really really long time to get that way.  Look at Miami, when they were down they couldn't sell out the Orange Bowl and as I understand it, they had a couple of games in the last couple of years that didn't sell out either.  I guarantee if that team hit the skids the fans would disappear the fans in that town are know for being apathetic.  However, on the bright side, look at the bucs, they couldn't sell out anything for years, walking up the day of the game and buying a ticket was no big deal and you could sit pretty much anywhere you wanted.  Its not like that now, they are sold out forever and that comes on the heels of two pretty bad seasons.  Right or wrong I think the only thing that will develop this school into a more traditional type of university is a lot W's, without them, the crowd just won't care.

Again, I agree with all you are saying. HOWEVER, I'm also saying that this isn't the case in schools where the fans really are passionate and love their TEAM instead of simply winning.  I believe this is a big distinction that sets apart the schools that have great fan support and those that struggle consistently to get butts in seats. Aside from a handfull of schools most will have good times and bad times and schools with great fan support will fill stadiums regardless. In our case we didn't just have a bad turnout we had a mass exodus of fans, and I mean the stadium was barren and that is because at USF the students, alumni & community really don't care about USF football.

I guess some people can feel there is justification in this but I personally feel it is totally unjustifiable and that USF students don't deserve to be rewarded with a winning program if they are completely unwilling to be there through the tough times.

oh, keep in mind also that students get in FREE, so it isn't like trying to justify purchasing a bad product. When it comes to forking out hard earned money on something (especially when it is as expensive as pro sports) then this argument is much more believable and this is also why I blame the students more then I do the rest of the community with their lack of turnout. Like it is some big frickin deal 6 times a year to get your ass out of bed and spend a few hours doing something that doesn't cost you a **** cent.

[Guest USF Student]

Please stop all the student bashing. >  First, the student support has been good for all my three years here at USF.  Second, for most of us, USF was/is not our first love when it comes to college football.  I am sorry to say this, but most students have more passion for Florida State, Miami, and UF than they have for the Bulls.  Third, the overall environment around the university and the city does not create a good place where I would want to go see a losing team or a 6-5 team play.  It does not matter if it is night or day, until we start winning like Miami, FSU, and UF, then the students will come out to every game.  Last, we are still more so a commuter school so many of us have life besides USF.  Nothing against any of you, but I am tired of the bashing of students.  We are supportive of the school, but you cannot change how we were brought up.

[Guest wildrover]

why come to usf, if its not your first choice, lets face it, a lot of 18 year olds go to the school whose football team they support, right or wrong they do it.  So why come to one school if your just going to support another?  That doesn't make sense to me?  its almost as if the students here are embarassed to admit they are actually fans of the school with which they attend.  I know in my seminar's the bulls never come up, the gators do, the bucs do, but the bulls never, its like having school spirit at USF almost makes you uncool or something.  Is this really how it is?

[TexanMark]

Please stop all the student bashing. >  First, the student support has been good for all my three years here at USF.  Second, for most of us, USF was/is not our first love when it comes to college football.  I am sorry to say this, but most students have more passion for Florida State, Miami, and UF than they have for the Bulls.  Third, the overall environment around the university and the city does not create a good place where I would want to go see a losing team or a 6-5 team play.  It does not matter if it is night or day, until we start winning like Miami, FSU, and UF, then the students will come out to every game.  Last, we are still more so a commuter school so many of us have life besides USF.  Nothing against any of you, but I am tired of the bashing of students.  We are supportive of the school, but you cannot change how we were brought up.

My God--every Big Easts' Fans suspicion answered.  Time to growup USF Students-->do you want to always be know as a directional, commuter school?  Frankly, that attitude needs to change or the Big East will "Temple" your ass in 5-10 years.