Friday, September 3, 2010
Sports D.O.W.: GSU Football Naysayers
Posted by Ben Bussard on Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 1:31 PM
30,237.
That's the number of people who came out to support the Georgia State Panthers football team on Thursday night as they kicked off their inaugural 2010 season.
Just for comparison's sake: 24,895 people made it to the Braves game—a first-place team in the middle of a pennant race—on the same night.
That's a pretty big deal.
The Panthers certainly didn't disappoint as the crowd that nearly filled the entire lower section of the cavernous Georgia Dome witnessed a 41-7 route of Shorter University—a school with less than 2,700 undergraduates.
While the Shorter Hawks may not have been the most attractive, relevant or even qualified opponent, the Panthers entertained the crowd with a surprisingly competitive—given the infancy of the program—brand of football.
Certainly Georgia State can't anticipate to see 30,000-plus inside the Dome for every home game this season, but the amount of support they received on Thursday night serves as a definite indicator that, regardless of the recent moans over increased student fees, GSU students and alumni care about football.
But don't take my word for it, ask any of the 30,237 people who attended last night's game.
I doubt any of them will complain about $85.
Comments (13)
Showing 1-13 of 13
This is almost the exact article from the AJC including the description of the "cavernous" GA Dome. At least provide a link to the AJC article.
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i hate to keep picking on this idiot but how is 30,000+ in the georgia dome "a pretty big deal" for college football but when the same amount of people are in the georgia dome for soccer, it's a disappointment?
actually, nevermind. the author has already demonstrated he shouldn't be a writer for a living. no need to make it worse with poorly thought out justifications for poorly thought out articles.
the pressure to write a whole article a week must be CRUSHING, huh?
First off, the entire lower bowl was sold out and there were a ton of people sitting in the end zones in the mezzanine level....
@Wesleywhatwhat - WTF man, do you live under a rock? 30K for an FCS football game is beyond spectacular. I understand you hate the author of this article, but at least do just a little research before making a completely stupid comment like that.
"tim" if you were paying attention u would know that this same author said that 30K+ people in the ga dome for a soccer game between a mexican team and a third rate british team was a disappointment.
but in this article, the same article claims that a similar number for the HISTORIC FIRST GAME of a LOCAL college (with 25K+ students) playing college football was a pretty big deal.
does that make sense to u? doesn't to me.
so brush up on your reading comprehension skills, man. i'd hazard a guess that gsu can help in that regard.
It's all a matter of perspective:
Atlanta is trying to host a World Cup--the most important soccer event in the universe--and the significant drop-off in attendance from the 2009 international match (≈53,600 down to 33,721 in July) was a disappointment (regardless of the poor marketing, level of competition, etc.). Especially considering the fact that I spoke with the AISC organizer Michael Reene just days before the game and he was anticipating the same amount of fans for the 2010 match.
Here's his direct quote: "we have every reason to believe that this year will be as good as, and hopefully better, than last year."
WHOOPS
On the other hand, GSU was expecting (praying for) about 25,000 fans for its first game so to get more than 30,000 was a pleasant surprise.
mmmkay.
fact remains, only a fool would write that 30K fans is "a pretty big deal" for GSU football (the first game EVER)on a holiday wknd but MORE fans than that is a disappointment for soccer between mediocre, non-local teams in teh middle of the week.
or am i the fool for expecting more from CL's sports covereage?
The people who attend the game obviously wont complain about paying. Its the people who dont care, and dont attend, but still have to pay $85. Ben, why dont you pay $60 so that I can go to a couple ballets next season. with a couple friends. You dont care about ballet, you clearly wont go, but you should pay since some of us do care and want to go.
tryone: Would a ballet attract more than 30,000 people?
If so, then I guess I'd have no choice.
I wasn't a science major, but if student fees increased in order to pay for the new science bldg, I would've had no problem with it.
People don't have to like (or even support) collegiate athletics, but they are being ignorant if they can't see the importance of having a successful athletic department: one that includes a football team.
listen to GSU Football games LIVE on Newstalk 1160 wcfo-am! More info at http://www.Newstalk1160.com/
Wesley is a complete moron who clearly doesn't know anything about college football. Just because we are surrounded by teams that attract 90,000 plus people every home game (UGA, Auburn, Alabama, LSU), does not make the attendance at the GSU game insignificant. Those other teams have been around since the 19th century and have built their programs for 100+ years. Wes, you suck and everyone hates you.
hey jimmy d - thanks for the shoutout. before you embarass yourself further, please note that i never said gsu's attendance was insignificant. perhaps taking some courses at gsu would help your reading comprehension skills.
on another note, my apologies to ben b for calling him a fool. if i had known CL would print my comment for everyone to read, i would have been more polite.
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