Paul Johnson Says: "GIT YER ASS IN THE STANDS!" In More Politically Correct Terms
by Winfield Featherston on Oct 4, 2011 2:25 PM EDT
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PrintFacebook friend posted this just a second ago. I couldn't really say it any better.
Dear Georgia Tech student body -- Your head football coach, Paul Johnson, said the following this morning during his weekly press conference: "Hopefully we can get the students out there this week. We need them." This is CPJ politically correct code language for, "Quit being pathetic. This team deserves your support. So put your bottles down. Get in the stadium at least a half hour early. We notice the empty seats, so fill them. And then cheer loudly." Or at least I think that is the rough translation. GO JACKETS!
Use promo code THANKYOU at Ramblinwreck.com for Georgia Tech vs. Maryland tickets priced $15-$25!
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Noon start times
Why can’t we get a 3:00 pm start time at home? Even when I was at tech it was always hard to fill the stadium up for a noon game.
TV wanted a 3:30 for UNC but the CIty of Atlanta requested the nooner because of music midtown
Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John Heisman FromTheRumbleSeat
by Winfield Featherston on Oct 4, 2011 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Fuck the City of Atlanta.
They also have perennially shitty streets and were OK with bringing back Freaknik. The hell with what they want….
The Church of Paul Johnson - There's not much to it outside of whooping ass and giving haters the finger. To HELL With georgie!
by LilBroey700 on Oct 4, 2011 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
They're doing music midtown again?!?!
Since when?
Still a free ticket for students isn't it?
No excuses…
by TBuzz on Oct 4, 2011 2:39 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I'm not saying it is...
I’m trying to see if I can get down from Nashville to make it to the game. Noon games are hard to make. I always thought the athletic dept should partner with housing to help get the students motivated in going to games. There was a good story on ESPN about how Rice University has a clinic for foreign students to help them understand the game of football…it was pretty neat.
Not calling anyone out. The eyesore is always the upper deck North endzone, which always seems to be filled with fans of either our opponent, or fans of apathy…
by TBuzz on Oct 4, 2011 3:07 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Threw this up in the original post but just in case...
Use promo code THANKYOU at Ramblinwreck.com for Georgia Tech vs. Maryland tickets priced $15-$25!
Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John Heisman FromTheRumbleSeat
by Winfield Featherston on Oct 4, 2011 3:12 PM EDT reply actions
Awesome
That’s a hell of a deal even for upper deck seats. I wish I knew of a way to buy tickets and donate them to people (hopefully that are slightly underprivileged) that would for sure go to the game and cheer on Tech. They did that last year for the bowl game….I bought 8 and donated them. I think in that instance they all went to military personnel.
What is the big deal about...
a noon starting time? It appears that the “tailgating” is more important to some folks than getting into the stadium and supporting the team! How about tailgating after a WIN regardless of the time and that should resolve this “noon” starting time issue.
You know it's a problem
when the block seating (READ: fraternity) section is nearly as empty as the band section for the team’s runout, and the band is ON THE FIELD.
Can we just let it go to free-for-all seating 10 minutes before the start of the game already? It would eliminate a lot of the problems with attendance. It isn’t so much the showing up that is a problem – it’s the showing up on time.
I think they’re late because they’re at the House straightening up the bowties and waiting for their dates to pick the right shoes to match their gameday dresses…
by TBuzz on Oct 4, 2011 4:40 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I wonder what
would happen if the AA convinced CPJ to go around the frats to talk with them about showing up….
This is my Family Tradition
by The_GT_LineageX11 on Oct 4, 2011 5:30 PM EDT reply actions
to go around and talk**** to the frats
This is my Family Tradition
by The_GT_LineageX11 on Oct 4, 2011 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Or call a few of their Daddies on Booster speed dial…
by TBuzz on Oct 4, 2011 5:37 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Bam... that could to the trick haha
This is my Family Tradition
by The_GT_LineageX11 on Oct 4, 2011 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Larry Eustachy tried that once at Iowa State.
It didn’t work our too well.
wow i am so sorry about those last two comments.
Apparently I can’t really proof read.
Lets try this again shall we: I wonder what would happen if the AA convinced CPJ to go around and talk to the frats about showing up early for games…
This is my Family Tradition
by The_GT_LineageX11 on Oct 4, 2011 5:36 PM EDT reply actions
I garun-dam-tee you
they would all show up on time. But PJ would never in a million years agree to this, so its moot.
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
I mean...
Paul Hewitt did it a couple years ago. It didn’t work due to basketball not being as frat as football or baseball. But he was in our yard for a solid half hour answering questions, etc.
I despise noon games
I am a current student and I’m in a fraternity and I personally show up to every game on time, but I agree attendance has been poor this season, and I promise you it will not change until we don’t have a noon kickoff. People are sick and tired of going to noon games and getting burnt to a crisp where we sit. It’s miserable out in those stands I know someone who actually had to go to the hospital because of dehydration that almost turned into a heat stroke, and a 5-0 team at home should NEVER have a noon kickoff with an FBS level opponent. We are getting shafted so hard.
This
Same situation, fraternity man, current student, always there when they run into the tunnel at the conclusion of warmups. I hate how people don’t show until kickoff (or later), but in their defense, yeah, it SUCKS having all of these noon starts, in the heat of the day, after a night of forgetting about the anal reaming you got from your tests the week before. Apparently the UNC game was a noon start because the city of Atlanta wanted it there due to Music Midtown.
And on that note, HEY ATLANTA!
The Church of Paul Johnson - There's not much to it outside of whooping ass and giving haters the finger. To HELL With georgie!
Has the “Greek” system ever consider dressing down for warmer games?
I would rather be the ESPN game at noon rather than the RayCom game at 3:30…
by TBuzz on Oct 4, 2011 10:41 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
are you saying its not hot in the stands
during a noon game? I’m pretty sure you’re going to be sweating bullets whether you’re wearing a t-shirt and cargos or a blazer and chinos. Might as well look better than everyone else.
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
It's a Football Game...
not the Kentucky derby. It’s not like fans are refraining from tailgating or chilling in front of the House (you know, outdoors) in the late morning right up until kickoff.
I think the bigger culprit of late/no attendance is the utter lack of parking around campus.
by TBuzz on Oct 4, 2011 11:46 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
agreed
if you don’t live on campus its a complete pain in the arse. I moved literally across the street from campus and its already bad I can’t imagine coming from Macon or even further with kids.
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
Parking?
MARTA! People in Gwinett are beginning to figure this out. Drive to a station, park for free or cheap and then ride down to the game. No hassle. The exact same is possible from the South side as well. No excuses for the little “hide from the city” suburbanites “oh traffic! oh parking! oh we’re all gonna get shot!” No. MARTA early and MARTA often.
#yabeentold
Ever tried to take a grill on MARTA?
They don’t like it. At all.
Oh the beer flowed at Stradey, piped down from Felinfoel. And the hands that held the glasses high were strong from steel and coal. The air was filled with singing and I heard a grown man cry, not because we'd won but because the pubs ran dry...
I see plenty of "grills" on MARTA...
what are you talkIng about? :)
by TBuzz on Oct 5, 2011 3:58 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
I got more karats in my mouth than a salad
Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John Heisman FromTheRumbleSeat
by Winfield Featherston on Oct 5, 2011 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions
I loved this guy’s performances in those Bond movies…
by TBuzz on Oct 5, 2011 5:58 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
This is acceptable
Hardcore, food-grilling tailgaters are the type who will drive to the game anyway, so I expect no complaints. You guys should want a system where non-tailgaters ride MARTA and stop congesting parking (which Atlantic Station is providing a ton of this season) for the grill-bringers.
As a sidenote, taking MARTA doesn’t mean we can’t still attend tailgates, which I do. But yeah…if you’re the one supplying gear it can be tougher.
We drive down for every game and tailgate
Unless one of us is too sick to go. Our tickets don’t go to waste if we can’t go though. Last thing we want are empty seats.
Oh the beer flowed at Stradey, piped down from Felinfoel. And the hands that held the glasses high were strong from steel and coal. The air was filled with singing and I heard a grown man cry, not because we'd won but because the pubs ran dry...
Coming from Warner Robins
Thus far, leaving EARLY AM and parking across from the bookstore at the top of that deck. So far, my best experience was going up with the GF to see a midnight show of Rocky Horror on Friday night and crashing in a hotel for the UNC game 9 hours later. I’d have to leave WaRo by 0800 to get any decent tailgating in. Damn pre-noon traffic…
But I’ll be there, damnit. You can bet your sweet ass, I’ll be there. Getting to sneak with my girlfriend (Mercer alum) into the student section vs KU made me happier than I’ve been in years. That passion and emotion revived the rambler within. Also… up-top, guys. I have fully converted the better half to a tech fan.
THWG!
by gtg991z on Oct 6, 2011 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
WARTOWN REPRESENT
Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John Heisman FromTheRumbleSeat
by Winfield Featherston on Oct 7, 2011 9:53 AM EDT up reply actions
Regarding frat:
This is football, but it is Southern football. Yes the fratdaddies’ whole credo can be confusing (I’m one of them, so I can say it, but you’d better not). They want to dress for success, never appear unprepared, but then most get sloppy drunk and irresponsible. Ignoring that, they do tend to make Tech look good the way they dress. The only exception is one fraternity seemingly obsessed with Carolina blue. Even if you’re tie is gold your shirt should ONLY be white! Carolina blue is not a school color and should especially not have been the choice of attire for the game against UNC. That was a non-TFM, bros…not frat. I’d say as long as they’re in some combo of Navy, White and Gold, (as most fraternities are) they look good on TV and lend GT some Southern street cred.
Frankly, I thought getting dressed up was just one of those things that Greeks did…kind of like wearing Croakies. I’m not poo-pooing anyone’s traditions, it just seems to be at odds with afternoon football…
by TBuzz on Oct 5, 2011 11:00 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Right
You say Greek, I say fratdaddy…ta-may-to, ta-mah-to.
Anyway, sure, you may not want to dress up due to the heat, but Greeks will do it regardless. I do think if they’re going to wear a blazer and chino’s to the game that they should also set the example for WHEN to get to the game. My fraternity was always in our block before the team was done warming up and the block was completely packed by kickoff. So I look at it as if there really aren’t any excuses for anyone on campus not to be there looking however they choose.
Agreed...
I mean, the tickets are free…
by TBuzz on Oct 5, 2011 11:20 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
no they're not
but they ARE cheap.
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
Heat Stroke
Mix some water in with the bourbon. That’s what I do.
Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John Heisman FromTheRumbleSeat
by Winfield Featherston on Oct 4, 2011 10:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Depending on the quality of the Bourbon...
This is blasphemy sir…
by TBuzz on Oct 4, 2011 10:54 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
no it's not silly
A small splash of water in a scotch or bourbon when drinking straight up can really open up the flavors and improve it
Haha, but an amount of water that would stave off dehydration?
by TBuzz on Oct 4, 2011 11:30 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
drink a bourbon. drink a water
Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John Heisman FromTheRumbleSeat
by Winfield Featherston on Oct 5, 2011 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions
ESPN: "But Vanderbilt is playing ALABAMA"
and that’s an SEC game and lord knows that deserves the 730 kick over all else.
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
BTW
Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John Heisman FromTheRumbleSeat
by Winfield Featherston on Oct 4, 2011 10:50 PM EDT reply actions
I propose
We compile and ratify a Ten Commandments of GT Gameday:
1) Thou shalt attend every GT home football game*
2) Thou shalt attend every GT football game you live within 2 hours drive-time of
3) Thou shalt dress in only GT colors (primarily gold, next is white, avoid too much navy)
4) Arrive in your seats a half hour before kickoff (head toward stadium an hour before)
5) Make noise when Tech is on defense. Stand up. Form hand-megaphone. Yell.
6) Stay silent when Tech is on offense.
7) Learn the songs. Sing them when played. Do not just clap along.
8) Do not focus on U(sic)GA. The Good Word cheer is not appropriate until Hate Week.
9) …
10)…
Ideas for the last two? Maybe a tailgating requirement? Maybe mention not getting so drunk you can’t be an active fan at the game? Party hardest AFTER the game? Etc..
* Exemption(s)
Exempt from home game attendance if you live further away than DC or New Orleans or for medical emergencies, funerals, (not weddings), and wars.
How about the right to stand ALL GAME LONG will be protected, regardless of section or objections of other spectators…
by TBuzz on Oct 5, 2011 11:41 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
We need to add a continuing exception to number 1
for furiners, until such time has passed that GT has held no less than 4 Rice-Like clinics for said furiners.
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
10. NEVER GET MARRIED IN THE FALL
Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John Heisman FromTheRumbleSeat
by Winfield Featherston on Oct 5, 2011 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions
9) Get rid of the stupid song that makes everyone bob up and down.
You all wonder why people think we are nerds……
Four years at tech, not once did I bob up and down. I refused. I know it’s “tradition”, but it’s ridiculous.
"Blake Griffin is the American Jan Vesely" - Jan Vesely
by PhenomenalSwag on Oct 5, 2011 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions
you're in the minority on this one here pal
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
Didn't realize he was putting down the Budweiser Song...
I thought he was referring to that Eurotrash Techno song they play before the intros…
Yeah…hearing Crickets on that one
by TBuzz on Oct 5, 2011 11:29 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I always said "Icky Thump" by the White Stripes would be such a better run out song.
The Church of Paul Johnson - There's not much to it outside of whooping ass and giving haters the finger. To HELL With georgie!
I’m still down with Roscoe Dash and Souljah Boy…“Allllll the way turned up”
by TBuzz on Oct 5, 2011 11:53 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
What? you think VT's Hokie Pokie is better?
Or do you want to hold up 4 fingers like EVERYBODY ELSE IN FOOTBALL?
Why yes. There ARE four quarters in football. You’re so smart!
Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John Heisman FromTheRumbleSeat
by Winfield Featherston on Oct 5, 2011 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions
This is absurd
You bob with Bud or gtfo.
From The Rumble Seat -Drinkin' whiskey clear since 2008.
"You could spend the next fifteen seconds of your life watching a man and a tiger scream together, or you could be an idiot."
Fact.
It's embarrassing
…that this post has gotten so much traffic, while the football posts have just a couple comments. How can the number one complaint be that it’s too hot? You’re just standing there. Try playing a football game.
I can’t believe that everyone is trying to justify the lack of student support. When other schools can pack 100k in a stadium whether it’s 80 or 8 degrees outside, we shouldn’t be complaining about it being too hot to get 50k out there at kickoff.
by acedarney on Oct 5, 2011 1:50 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I myself am openly mocking it, especially the set aside student sections. But I hope the AA also recognizes the paid seats that are left open as well. Instead of calling out students, I hope their Marketing dept is actively looking for opportunities to sell single game tickets, and not just calling season ticket holders repeatedly after they’ve already purchased them (this happen to anyone else?)
As to the filling 80K stadiums…we don’t have the massive redneck fanbase that most large schools do, so I think that expectation is never going to happen.
by TBuzz on Oct 5, 2011 2:46 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Agree
What’s embarrassing is to watch on TV with our stands half full and we’re a top 25 (now top 15) team. I feel as an alum as if the current student body doesn’t really care enough to support the football team. I know what it’s like to get up for a noon game, but crowd noise is something that helps out the D and it gets the players fired up to see that many people out to support them
Bottom line key to filling BDS:
BRAGGING RIGHTS! Non-alum fans base their support on them. Who brags the most here?
Tech gives its fans very few bragging rights among the local people we work and live among. But bragging rights are the currency of the bandwagon. Winning a bunch of titles is the hard way to build bragging rights (especially when they’re only conference titles in a conference everyone claims is a farce). So the answer? Beat their team.
Want Atlantans to like Tech? Beat Georgia. Do it annually. Do it for the majority of a decade and watch the change happen.
Case study: How many people in this state root for Florida when we all know that before the ’90’s there weren’t a lot of UF fans around here? Why the turnaround in? Florida started beating Georgia. They still do. They make it a habit. Florida is now known for beating Georgia. Now many new fans in Georgia (especially Middle and South Georgia) would rather wear UF gear to school/work for the bragging rights. A Gator feels superior in this state.
If GT can give local fans some kind of bragging rights, such as beating Georgia would do, we’d move merchandise and fill our stadium whether students came to games or not.
That was all incoherent-y
Simply put – You want to be able to root for a team who no one around you really looks down on? Then that team needs to beat everyone around you. For Tech that is Georgia. So we need to be known for beating them. Fans will come.
Unfortunately that's easier said than done.
Especially for an institution a) in the ACC, known for being more of a basketball conference except for Da U, F$U, and VPI, and b) whose focus is always academics and integrity, where folks aren’t getting boosters to provide them with cars and prostitutes and tattoos and whatever else. Playing at Tech is sexy, but playing in the SEC or at some of the big-time Big Ten schools is much, much sexier for the average, shallow high school athlete.
“Georgia Tech degree? Fuck it, whatever man, I want to go play at Auburn. They’ll pay me to play and we could win a MNC and I have a better chance to go to the NFL than if I were playing in that silly Triple Option offense.”
Do you or I approve of anything in the prior statement? Of course not. But is this the mindset of most of the top-caliber athletes coming out of high school? In my mind, I would say so.
The Church of Paul Johnson - There's not much to it outside of whooping ass and giving haters the finger. To HELL With georgie!
Never said it was easy.
But it is very possible to put together a win streak against the Dawgs. Now to do it to the point we’re “known for it?” Different story.
This is true...
Because the typical UGA fan conveniently calls us a “basketball school”, even though we outnumber their National Championships (4 to 2) and their SEC conference titles (13 to 12). Of course, now that the fanfare comes down to money, a program’s prestige is no longer determined by the richness of it’s history…but by the current size of their hype machine.
In fact, chances are the worst sports fan there is is an SEC who’s favorite team just won a meaningful game (don’t think I forgot the Chick fil A bowl you f-ing LSU fans).
by TBuzz on Oct 5, 2011 5:36 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Georgia Tech has 5 SEC titles (two of which are split)
Unless you’re talking about SIAAC and SoCon titles from the teens and twenties, you’re just making stuff up. And if you’re expecting that conference titles from the teens and twenties in defunct conferences are going to help build a fanbase, well, good luck with that.
If we are including SIAAC titles and split titles, Georgia actually has 14 of them.
But I’ll be nice and I certainly won’t call you a basketball school.
by FisheriesDawg on Oct 13, 2011 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions
This has been our burden for so long
but it really is simple: winning solves everything. Atlanta is not a place filled with people looking for a team to root for (all graduates of other schools that moved here for work), so we don’t have the traditional “Hometown team” advantage. We need to start playing SEC schools and beating them on the reg, only then will this discussion be a moot point.
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
case in point
tickets are now 15 DOLLARS, that’s right, cheaper than some high schools (in Texas, granted, but still), and we’ve STILL only sold 43K. Take away the 6000 seats for students, and thats still only 87% full. The AA has done everything it can do, now its on the team.
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
Haven’t we beaten up on Auburn, Vandy, Miss State in the last 10 years though, aside from the win in Athens?
by TBuzz on Oct 5, 2011 8:24 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Yes, but...
…going by the bragging rights theorem, that’s not worth a whole lot. So many Atlantans respect and revere LSU, Bama, Auburn (yeah so those 3 wins were good, but too long ago now), Florida and Tennessee. I think GTNate is saying we need to regularly play the most popular SEC teams and win some of those. The theory is when we can do that, we’ll be seen as one of the “it” teams and be in the running for some of those bandwagon fans. I fully agree. GT is awesome and deserves a fanbase at least the size of VPI’s if not bigger like CU and FSU.
This is why we need a playoff...
We scheduled Kansas 5 years ago when they had Todd Reesing and went to the Orange Bowl as an at-large from the old Big 12.
You’ll only get tough non-conf games by luck under the current system…unless you’re Texas…and you avoid them altogether.
by TBuzz on Oct 5, 2011 8:50 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Alabama, Ole Miss, Auburn, and South Carolina
are all scheduled to play Tech over the next ten years, and the Jackets just finished a series with Ole Miss. These things have to be planned out in advance.
It would all be easier, of course, if Tech was in the SEC where it belongs.
When I was in school we played Auburn every single year and had since 1905. We also played Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama regularly. It appears Tech was gearing up to rejoin the SEC. They were turned down by the SEC, though, so they joined the ACC. That worked out well for basketball, but football hasn’t been the same. Tech also regularly played Notre Dame and Navy back then. And Duke, so there’s that.
Was winning a Championship in ’90 an unfortunate bi-product of leaving the SEC? j/k
You’re right, the payout to be in the SEC now is ridiculous, but it comes with its own price. Look at how miserable UGA fans are because they actually expect to be in the SEC championship EVERY YEAR. A perfectly good coach like Mark Richt, who’s won 2 SEC championships in 8 years has to fight for his job every year. Then you have the absolute farce that is Tennessee ethics, and hiring swell guys like Bruce Pearl and Lane Kiffin. Then you have Bobby Petrino and his honorable exit from Atlanta to Arkansas. And let’s not forget the bidding war for SCam Newton.
As Turkish says in “Snatch”…“sometimes you have to do something that may not agree with your principles…basically you have to forget you got any”. In that sense, I’m happy we’re NOT in the SEC.
by TBuzz on Oct 5, 2011 10:23 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Tech used to fill a 62,000 seat stadium
Admittedly this did not happen for very long and then stadium seating was reduced. I think that all of the great teams of the 50’s had a residual effect on into the 60’s and even early 70’s. It was years of losing that finally made the number of seats in the stands go down.
I agree with every post that suggests that winning will turn this around. Unfortunately you have to win and win consistently over time to build things back up. Georgia fills a stadium in part because there are still people around who were impressionable children when Georgia won a national championship and they think it was only yesterday. Add to that the “stockpiling of memories” over several recent generations of one winning season after another. I guarantee you if Georgia had a few decades of bad seasons like Tech had they would end up with a missing generation with which to fill the stands.
by Atlanta's original team on Oct 6, 2011 8:15 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Well I see the obvious solution here
Someone at the school needs to invent an age accelerator. Then, all the students need to pair up and have kids. Pairs will be selected by random drawing, excluding married grad students. To deal with the ratio, Agnes Scott girls will be brought in. Then, after all the childrenz are had, put them in the age accelerating capsules and increase their age to 8. Then, bring them all to the 2012 season. After its conclusion, put them back in age capsules and accelerate them to 28. And BOOM! There you have it, a generation of tech fans with fond memories of growing up with GT football!
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
this kid right here
Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John Heisman FromTheRumbleSeat
by Winfield Featherston on Oct 6, 2011 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions
Nate just spends a lot of time thinking of creative ideas like this, I think….
(Side note: comment #100 right here, loving this thread and folks’ enthusiasm about filling the stands. Thank you. Love, a student who shares your pain and then some)
The Church of Paul Johnson - There's not much to it outside of whooping ass and giving haters the finger. To HELL With georgie!
You are right.
I believe exactly that while adding one more thought. Tech’s target audience should be the home state crowd. That’s who filled the stands way back when, and that’s the “market” as it were. Now, why would that home state crowd (who believes the ACC is second-tier in football) enjoy coming to games against the teams we play. I think it is really difficult to sell “Hey Atlanta, teams that aren’t popular here (every ACC team except Clemson, FSU, Miami and VT) are coming to town!” Only the die-hard Tech fans and some opposing fans come. Now, we ARE putting a more exciting product on the field in terms of our own team’s performance. But that doesn’t build any drama. Bringing popular teams to town builds drama (Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, LSU). You can sell drama. We have to sell GT’s brand with a pro sports mentality. That’s why I believe Tech might have more fans and bring more people to Atlanta playing an independent schedule of mostly SEC teams plus FSU and Clemson. Basically, comprise the schedule of everyone with a huge fanbase within 250 miles of campus. If we can even go .500 against that schedule we’ll have ourselves a pretty big following and a lot to brag about. That’s been my 2 cents for a while now.
I think we all see the problem here though
PJ wouldn’t allow this to happen. In a recent interview, he said “the ACC is tough enough” and that he wished “we had more games like Western Carolina.” DRad obviously consults CPJ regarding the schedule, so I don’t think we’ll ever get to the point where we play an OOC schedule comprising of, say, 3 SEC teams and a “warm up” game like we need to be.
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
Yeah
CPJ doesn’t have to worry about selling the brand. He doesn’t have to worry about what the fans want (and he wouldn’t care.) He wants championships. He seems to believe that winning a lot will bring fans. I’m of the opinion that at GT it’s never that simple. It’s WHO ya beat around here, because we’re the ones getting trash-talked by coworkers and neighbors who like SEC teams. He gives us an ACC Championship and probably wonders why the next season (2010) the stadium was more empty than the prior year (it was because we lost to Georgia and had no home games in 2010 with any local interest.) Will the ACC be an adequate springboard to the BCS if we can ever go undefeated? Sure. Will that bring fans? Maybe for a year or two, but not as many as playing to our geography would every single year.
We did in 2009.
It’s just that two of the SEC teams were the only ones who didn’t make bowl games (Vandy, Mississippi St). But still, it went well.
The Church of Paul Johnson - There's not much to it outside of whooping ass and giving haters the finger. To HELL With georgie!
I'm almost willing to concede that we need to shrink the stadium
Those empty seats look awful bad. Then again, shrinking the stadium might look worse.
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
The Real Point...
Crappy academic schools (GA, TN, FL: just name them), have a huge fan base because their graduates can only get jobs in the same geographical area as the school. High tier schools (GT for one) graduates relocate all over the country. This reduces our fan base in the local area to actually be able to attend games. I for one currently live in NE so is very difficult to get to games. Just additional food for thought…
still got enough alumns in the state to fill the stadium
once you take out the seats for the student section…no excuse. Now, I’m not defending my fellow students that don’t attend games, I’m merely harping on in-state alums who don’t show up for at the very least one game a year.
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
I'm going blue in the face over this...
…but it’s not about graduates and alumni! Those huge fanbases at our neighboring schools are more like half-and-half people with a connection to the school and people without one. A study conducted over the last year at GT shows our fanbase is made up of only 10% fans who have no connection to the school. That’s why I’m all about marketing and bragging rights. Basically, we’re in the same boat as Miami, Wake Forest, Duke, etc, trying to market like pro teams, because we don’t have a ton of alumni (although at 21k students we’re churning out more than we used to) and we’re not popular with the common folk. It is the common folk who buy the merchandise and general admission tickets in the fanbases of schools with 90k-seat stadia.
GT needs to remake its image as a by-the-people-for-the-people team.
But right now we suck at that…elitist alumni and a mediocre conference don’t help us there.
there's no way we can do that in my mind...
Most Atlanta citizens that went to college (besides tech, of course) went to another (read: “some SEC”) school, came here for work, and still pulls for their alma mater. As for most everyone else, welp:
http://stuffblackpeopledontlike.blogspot.com/2009/06/210-georgia-tech-students.html
Paul Johnson: not giving a crap about what you have to say since 1987.
Just now read your link; hope it was tongue in cheek
Wow. That was some kind of ignorant stuff wasn’t it! Not only does it ignore basic research by social scientists it resurrects some of the dumbest racist bull shit I thought we got over 30 years ago. I know you were being funny (because you really are one of the funniest posters on this site and almost always bring a smile to my face) but that shit shouldn’t be repeated even as a joke.
by Atlanta's original team on Oct 14, 2011 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions
As a Georgia grad who moved to DC and a Florida grad who then moved back to Georgia...
you’re way off base. It isn’t that Georgia grads can’t get jobs in other states, it is that they often want to stay in Georgia. If you’re a Georgia resident, you should be proud that educated people want to stay here. If you’re an out-of-stater just trashing the job opportunities in Georgia, well, there’s problem #77,435 when it comes to why Georgia Tech has a hard time attracting local fans.
By the way, Florida is an AAU institution. Last I checked, they tend to frown on “crappy academic schools”.
by FisheriesDawg on Oct 13, 2011 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions
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