Nebraska donors buy remaining tickets to keep sellout streak alive

Submitted by UMxWolverines on September 1st, 2021 at 9:59 AM

https://247sports.com/college/nebraska/board/142/Contents/nebraska-sellout-streak-will-continue-after-founding-of-red-carpet-experience--169946634/?page=1

This will at least be cool for the kids that wouldnt normally get to go to a game. It sounds similar to us though in the way everyone knows it's been a sham for years. There is only so much losing people can take while the stadium experience continues to decline. 

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mGrowOld

September 1st, 2021 at 10:07 AM ^

Based on nothing more than the enormous numbers of emails Ive received this summer from our athletic department letting me know that "good seats are still available" i'm guessing we might be making a similar post about our team sometime this year.

Joined: 10/04/2010

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lhglrkwg

September 1st, 2021 at 10:13 AM ^

Similar situation to the 2 cokes for a ticket experience. People can obviously see the stadium isn't full, so who really cares if a "sellout streak" ends. One less cool thing your social media team can tweet every once in a while?

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 87934

Perkis-Size Me

September 1st, 2021 at 12:55 PM ^

I definitely get what you're saying about being careful what you wish for and it can always get worse. You're right. But if you want to win, and if you want to give your fans, students and boosters a winning program, sometimes you have to roll the dice and just try something new, not fully knowing what the results are going to be in the end. 

We can't all be OSU where it seems like they just roll elite coaches off the assembly line, plug them in and experience no downtime whatsoever. The rest of us have to take chances if we want to achieve that level of greatness. It could get better, it could get worse, we don't know. But what Nebraska does know is that 9-10 win seasons are not what they're satisfied with. And if they're not satisfied with the results they have, then they owe it to themselves and their fans to get off their asses and go find someone who can bring them the results that do satisfy everyone. Otherwise......what the hell are you even doing there? 

Nebraska has to live with the consequences of its coaching choices, but I don't blame them for firing Pelini and at least taking the chance on improving their stock. They shouldn't blame themselves, either. They want to be what they once were. The previous two guys (and likely the guy they have now) weren't going to get them back. So go find the guy who can, because someone can do it. If its that important to you to be a winner, go find the guy who can make you a winner. 

There's a quote from the movie Hall Pass that seems to resonate well here. "Its alright if you strike out, but for god's sake, at least take a couple swings."

Joined: 11/30/2011

MGoPoints: 105739

Mpfnfu Ford

September 1st, 2021 at 2:00 PM ^

I mean yeah, that's why it's always so bizarre to hear people defend Bo Pelini and act like firing him was unreasonable. He was a defensive coach who had the worst defense in the Big 10. I think Wisconsin is somehow still scoring touchdowns on his defense through some kind of quantum magic. 

Bo Pelini had things going but then he simply couldn't adapt his once successful defensive schemes to changing offenses, really struggled to maintain recruiting once the footprint changed to Big 10, and was way too much of a prick for his level of success. What did their AD do? He decided Nebraska needed to change their offense (the one thing that was working under Pelini) to be more like Iowa and Wisconsin, and he hired a washed up guy who hadn't coached a good team in almost a decade who was about to be forced into retirement by his alma mater to do it. That's a mistake so colossal that I am kind of stunned whenever I think about it because it was that nonsensical

 

Joined: 05/19/2012

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SecretAgentMayne

September 1st, 2021 at 4:06 PM ^

It's not so much that they shit-canned a guy who topped out at 9 wins a season, it's the fact that they shit-canned a guy who topped out at 9 wins a season without having anybody better to replace him. Mike Riley?? You've got to be fucking kidding me LOLOLOL. That is seriously the best they could come up with.

I lived in Nebraska when all of that BS was going on, and oh man, some of the excuses Husker fans were coming up with to try and rationalize hiring the most mediocre, underwhelming candidate possible were just sad. Husker football is dead. They effectively killed their program when they fired Frank Solich and eventually left the Big 12.

Joined: 07/10/2019

MGoPoints: 10661

Nickel

September 1st, 2021 at 10:19 AM ^

Very cool for those kids. Being able to attend games when they're that age is something that can really help with attachment to the school down the line.

I get why Athletic departments (including our own) continue the lies about sellout streaks or consecutive 100k streaks since no athletic director or coach wants to be 'the one' who had the streak broken under their watch, but they're just becoming such comical lies at this point that I wish they'd just give it up. 

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 2740

Yahtzee

September 1st, 2021 at 10:55 AM ^

I have been to 3 games in Lincoln, all in the Callahan/Pelini years.  Was a pretty cool experience, fans are super nice (they give the opposing team a standing ovation after the game no matter the outcome).  My brother-in-law is an Omaha native so we would invite me to games.  He bragged about the "Tunnel Walk" and their Husker Vision.  The Tunnel Walk is pretty cool as its a camera man walking with the team out of the locker room to the field while "Sirius" by Allan Parsons Project plays in the background.  Husker Vision is a complete joke, FYI it's four 20x20 video screens that looked like they were installed in 1980.  So blurry you can barely see what the screens are displaying.  They have since installed a huge updated video board on the northside of the stadium. 

Overall Lincoln NE is not to impressive.  Slightly below average college town in the middle of no where.  Maybe I did not see the entire campus, as I tailgated and went to the game, but reminded me of Central Michigan.  After being there it's not tough to see why top recruits would rather go to Miami beach vs. Lincoln NE.

Have to give it to my brother-in-law though as we went to the MI vs. Nebraska game in 2018 and he sat through the entire ass whooping.  FYI he hated the Big House (could have been he is 6'5" 270+). 

Joined: 06/30/2008

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CompleteLunacy

September 1st, 2021 at 10:39 AM ^

I do not know what it's like to be a person with money to waste like that...but I do know that I would certainly never use that money to buy up a bunch of football seats just to keep a meaningless sellout streak alive.

Especially in support of a complete shit football program. And when I say "complete shit", I'm talking about a failure that is even worse than Rich Rod's tenure at Michigan. Frost is supposed to be an offensive guy, right? Well then why the heck is his offense getting worse every year? Why is it the only starter-worthy QB on their roster is a guy who can't hit a downfield throw to save his life? I mean Illinois had a sound gameplan and played solid football, but they didn't do anything particularly special/groundbreaking to beat Nebraska...

 

 

Joined: 11/13/2010

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Don

September 1st, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^

Before people sneer at this, they should be reminded that during the first several years of Schembechler's tenure, Don Canham marketed "Band Day" as a sneaky way of filling up unsold seats. The alleged streak of crowds over 100K didn't begin until late in the 1975 season.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148358

Blue Vet

September 1st, 2021 at 2:08 PM ^

I'd agree with everything you wrote except that word "sneaky." Wasn't giving away otherwise unsold tickets good for everybody?

High school kids got free tickets and to play for a crowd, while the crowd got to enjoy the Michigan Marching Band plus lots more volume from high school players. And a fuller stadium probably made everyone feel better about the experience.

Instead of "sneaky," maybe "savvy."

Joined: 05/08/2012

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Sione For Prez

September 1st, 2021 at 2:52 PM ^

I'm sure it will get announced that way. Northern Illinois is even worse. Also it got even worse because the Canadian border is closed until further notice. I know the person who sits next to me at games comes from Canada and the ticket office gave him a one year hiatus so he could have the same seats next year. I looked on mgoblue and those two tickets are listed as still available for half the games. 

Joined: 11/16/2015

MGoPoints: 10674

NittanyFan

September 1st, 2021 at 11:58 AM ^

Attendance as a whole for college football in 2021 will be interesting.

It's not a perfect comparison, but let's take the Detroit Tigers.  13.4K and 13.8K for their weekday home games this week. 

When we look at the same week (week before Labor Day) in CY 2019, with a worse team we see the Tigers had attendance of 15.7K (Tuesday), 15.8K (Wednesday) and 16.8K (Thursday).

That's a double-digit % drop.  It's only a couple data points, but just watching the MLB highlights every night, it does seem worse than 2019.

Joined: 12/04/2012

MGoPoints: 43109

NittanyFan

September 1st, 2021 at 12:32 PM ^

You are likely right ---- I presented those stats because I could see the same dynamic and directional number drops play out in CFB too.

I'll be in Madison, WI on Saturday.  That's a fairly high-profile matchup --- I was surprised, tickets were remarkably easy and inexpensive to get.

Joined: 12/04/2012

MGoPoints: 43109

Michfan777

September 1st, 2021 at 1:14 PM ^

I think, like many things, COVID just sped up the decline of live game attendance in sports. Obviously, sports leagues will see much improved attendance vs last year, but I think attendance will really start to drop compared to pre-COVID times and I think it will continue over time.

Really wouldn’t be surprised if more stadiums start removing seats to provide a better fan experience. The Seahawks, Patriots, Atlanta Hawks, and others have gutted endzone seating to set up party plazas/bars, and teams like the Dolphins, Jaguars, Raiders, and others have followed this idea in their own stadiums with similar concepts. Even the insanely successful Alabama Crimson Tide are redoing their upper decks and removing massive chunks of seating - seating just added in the last 15-20 years at that.

While I doubt Michigan Stadium becomes too non-traditional, I could see a scenario where Michigan resurfaces/rebuilds the seating area and removes rows, widens seats and adds non-game-related amenities too (while probably increasing that ticket’s price of course). This might mean no longer being 100k, but will result in a consistently packed stadium at least.

Joined: 10/10/2018

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NittanyFan

September 1st, 2021 at 1:41 PM ^

I can see that being the future direction --- although it will further price out a portion of society.

I see that Michigan is selling a "Family Four Pack" of end zone tickets for the WMU game for $240.  $240!  And that's less than what a similar package went for in 2018 ($280 for the 2018 WMU game)! 

I get that U-M isn't an exception here, and I get we're never going back to the days of $10 tickets, but that's a decent chunk of change to sit up in row 80.  

Joined: 12/04/2012

MGoPoints: 43109

St Joe Blues

September 1st, 2021 at 12:50 PM ^

Reminds me of the old Detroit Lions/Billy Sims days when someone with deep pockets (can't remember who - Ford Motor? GM? Chrysler? other?) would buy out the Silverdome and get the TV blackout lifted. I lived in Bay City and our local station was a few miles within the blackout area.

Joined: 01/08/2017

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