Bowl Attendance is Pathetic

[Townhallsavoy]

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The Sugar Bowl's announced crowd of 54,178 for Florida-Louisville was the game's worst since 1939 and the smallest ever for a BCS bowl.

Through 30 of 35 bowl games, the average announced bowl attendance is 46,278, down 5 percent from 2011-12 and 8 percent from 2010-11 through those same games. In a rarity, the Sugar was outdrawn by the Outback, Music City, Holiday and Capital One bowls.

The New Orleans Bowl was only 5,350 fans behind the Sugar, which had not produced such a small crowd since 44,308 for TCU against Carnegie-Mellon in 1939. Reports showed Louisville sold about 15,000 of its 17,500-ticket allotment to Wednesday's game, and Florida sold only about 7,000.

Disclaimer: Bowls announce attendance totals in different ways, with some counting paid crowds and others using different methods, such as turnstile counts. Either way, the empty seats continue to accumulate for bowl games. Reasons could include the economy, high trip costs, mid-week games, perceived unattractive matchups, the comfort of watching on TV, and bowls lacking as much significance as they once had.

This was the third time in the past four years the Sugar Bowl crowd was below 70,000. That happened only twice from 1975 to 2009. Florida has now played in five of the past seven Sugar Bowls with crowds under 70,000.

Meanwhile, the Orange Bowl's announced crowd of 72,023 for Florida State-Northern Illinois was higher than each of the past three years. Still, it was smaller than every Orange from 2001 to 2009. The Rose Bowl announced crowd of 93,359 for Stanford-Wisconsin was up 2 percent from last year.

The Gator Bowl, featuring Northwestern against Mississippi State, listed its second-smallest crowd (48,612) since 1960. Miami-Georgia Tech drew 43,416 in 2000.

The Capital One Bowl's announced crowd of 59,712 for Georgia-Nebraska was its fourth-lowest in the past 24 years. It marked the fourth straight year the Capital One saw a decline in attendance.

Clemson-LSU played a thrilling Chick-fil-A Bowl, but the announced crowd (68,027) was the second-smallest in the past 16 years. It was down 7 percent from Auburn-Virginia in 2011.

Likewise, the entertaining South Carolina-Michigan game at the Outback Bowl drew a reported crowd of 54,527, up 10 percent from last year. Still, the Outback has drawn under 60,000 in four of the past five years after averaging 64,532 from 2001 to 2008.

Earlier this bowl season, the Military Bowl's announced crowd of 17,835 for San Jose State-Bowling Green was the lowest reported attendance by any bowl in seven years.

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/01/sugar_bowl_reports_smallest_cr.html#incart_river_default

Overall bowl attendance is down 5%, but that doesn't really factor in how pathetic the overall attendance has been over the past few years.

I think that having so many bowls with so many insignificant teams and with the high cost of travel has made it an unappealing holiday option for fans. 

Unless you're in the Rose Bowl or BCSCG, you have no real reason to be excited about a bowl game.  The Sugar Bowl doesn't have prestige.  It's just another game amidst the 30 other ones.

Make it a difficult task to get into a bowl game and teams and fans will feel rewarded when they get there.

[AWK]

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/01/sugar_bowl_reports_smallest_cr.html#incart_river_default

Overall bowl attendance is down 5%, but that doesn't really factor in how pathetic the overall attendance has been over the past few years.

I think that having so many bowls with so many insignificant teams and with the high cost of travel has made it an unappealing holiday option for fans. 

Unless you're in the Rose Bowl or BCSCG, you have no real reason to be excited about a bowl game.  The Sugar Bowl doesn't have prestige.  It's just another game amidst the 30 other ones.

Make it a difficult task to get into a bowl game and teams and fans will feel rewarded when they get there.

Oh shit, Chizad is about to rage.

[Snaggletiger]

Unlike many, I don't mind the huge number of bowl games.  Watered down, sure.  But it's football and I'll watch.  No different than having a game on just about every night of the week during the regular season.  I'll take in some of Bowling Green and Western Meatchicken on a Thursday night if nothing else has my attention.
That being said, I do agree they're just going to have to cut down on the number and start making the games more regional.  Using some common sense.  Nebraska fans should not have to travel to south central Florida to watch a meaningless bowl game. Northern Illinois to Miami?  The people in Evanston, Illinois heading to Jacksonville to face Miss. State?  How many countless dozens will be in attendance Saturday when Pittsburgh travels to scenic Birmingham?   

[AUJarhead]

How many countless dozens will be in attendance Saturday when Pittsburgh travels to scenic Birmingham?   

More than would travel to a bowl game where it's 20 degrees and snowing.

[Tiger Wench]

Not to mention that it is hard as hell for some people to take vacation in the middle of a week right after the holidays.  That was one of the prime reasons I did not get to go to Glendale - I had shitloads of work piled up over the Christmas break, and well, that pays the bills.

Having random bowl games in remote locations during the week right after the holiday is pretty damn stupid.

[Snaggletiger]

More than would travel to a bowl game where it's 20 degrees and snowing.

Syracuse and West Virginia.  Now THAT was foosballz.  Don't give a rats arse about either of those but I love watching a game in a blowing snow storm.  Not that I want to be there.  I want to be in front of my fireplace, having a burrbinz and delicious coke product while I watch others suffer.  It's what I do.

[Saniflush]

That was one of the prime reasons I did not get to go to Glendale - I had shitloads of work piled up over the Christmas break, and well, that pays the bills.

Lame

[WiregrassTiger]

Lame

What happened in Glendale?

[AUJarhead]

Syracuse and West Virginia.  Now THAT was foosballz.  Don't give a rats arse about either of those but I love watching a game in a blowing snow storm.  Not that I want to be there.  I want to be in front of my fireplace, having a burrbinz and delicious coke product while I watch others suffer.  It's what I do.

And that game was played in NYC...  During the week of New Years, so it's not like going to Columbus, OH, or Minneapolis.

[dallaswareagle]

I would have no problem traveling to see Auburn during Dec or early Jan. (2011 could not get tickets to Glendale) so I went I went back to Auburn for the game. We kind of use it as a little mini-vacation. My only thing would be I would not travel to some place where it was going to be cold and the game outside.

[WiregrassTiger]

My only thing would be I would not travel to some place where it was going to be cold and the game outside.

I think this is called a "fair weather" fan.

[chinook]

Lame

post of the day.

[dallaswareagle]

I think this is called a "fair weather" fan.

Damn Skippy.  Me no like cold.

[CCTAU]

Not to mention that it is hard as hell for some people to take vacation in the middle of a week right after the holidays.  That was one of the prime reasons I did not get to go to Glendale - I had shitloads of work piled up over the Christmas break, and well, that pays the bills.

Having random bowl games in remote locations during the week right after the holiday is pretty damn stupid.

I was about to post the same thing. In the old days, was there ever a game AFTER new years day? The greedy bastards are trying to stretch it out and get as much advertising money as they can. It is not about the game or the fan any longer. I remember watching bowl games on new years day and all of them were packed to the gills. The only game easy to get tickets to back then was the Blue-Gray game on Christmas day.

[Townhallsavoy]

Are that many people watching on TV for the bowls to benefit from having a game on Thursday, January 3rd?

I bet the Sugar Bowl would have been sold out if played on January 1st.

[WiregrassTiger]

Damn Skippy.  Me no like cold.

The Superdome was prob 72 degree, so that was prob too cold for gaytors to endure. But seriously, I imagine they were just tired of going to Orleans. That and playing for a chance to be number 2 didn't tittylate them.

[Godfather]

Florida fans didn't want to travel to watch the gusty gators whip Louisville's ass.

Wait...

[RWS]

UF looked alot like UGA relative to cheap shots, personal fouls, etc.  Don't get me wrong; I know that Alabama hits hard, makes some borderline personal foul hits, and gets away with one or two every once in a while.  But with UGA it seems like nearly every play.  It goes beyond just being chippy.  UF is nearly as bad.  During the UF game, defensive guys were jumping around and celebrating after making a stop on a play that went 20 yards.  Muschamp has done a great job this year, I just wonder what kind of monster he is creating. 

[jmar]

UF looked alot like UGA relative to cheap shots, personal fouls, etc.  Don't get me wrong; I know that Alabama hits hard, makes some borderline personal foul hits, and gets away with one or two every once in a while.  But with UGA it seems like nearly every play.  It goes beyond just being chippy.  UF is nearly as bad.  During the UF game, defensive guys were jumping around and celebrating after making a stop on a play that went 20 yards.  Muschamp has done a great job this year, I just wonder what kind of monster he is creating.

I don't care for overexuberant celebrating but I can deal with a brutal foul and maybe a flagrant interference ( ie.when beaten deep) with the normal 2 or 3 encroachments but I don't go for pure thuggery. That shit has to be almost a redzone gift in order to send a message. 

[WiregrassTiger]

UF looked alot like UGA relative to cheap shots, personal fouls, etc.  Don't get me wrong; I know that Alabama hits hard, makes some borderline personal foul hits, and gets away with one or two every once in a while.  But with UGA it seems like nearly every play.  It goes beyond just being chippy.  UF is nearly as bad.  During the UF game, defensive guys were jumping around and celebrating after making a stop on a play that went 20 yards.  Muschamp has done a great job this year, I just wonder what kind of monster he is creating.

This only makes them look like idiots. We've all had our share of this behavior. "Look at me!!Look at me!!! I did my job, ceptin he gots the first down."