Must be nice for UT

[bobdizole]

To play in front of a home crowd this week in Nashville

 

[SpaceRaider]

To play in front of a home crowd this week in Nashville

This has been eating at me all weekend, and I'll say it right now, if there were any, ANY, MT Alumni that were in that stadium in Nashville, cheering for that team to the east, Karma baby, serves you F'n right, LMAO @ U. And if there any MT Alumni in that stadium cheering the team in Black and Gold, FU.

 

[MTFNBY5]

You can be sure there were MT alumni, parents, and students (among others who have a closer connection to MT than either of the two schools) who were on West End Sat. night supporting both sides.

The game between the two in-state $EC teams is always a can't miss event. MT games, not so much.

And it is socially acceptable to be a fan of a "power" conference school. A $#&-major, not so much.

 

[RaiderDoug]

Honest question, if you're trying to sell someone a ticket to MT-FAU , what reason would you give them to come here rather than go to UT-Vandy?

We've got to give someone a reason to come be an MTSU fan, other than "just because you're a loyal alum".

Can't win a championship. Can't beat our rivals. Can't win big games. Can't win bowl games. Can't win homecoming....but it's all ok, we laid 77 on a dead team walking in the last game of the year.

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

Honest question, if you're trying to sell someone a ticket to MT-FAU , what reason would you give them to come here rather than go to UT-Vandy?

We've got to give someone a reason to come be an MTSU fan, other than "just because you're a loyal alum".

Can't win a championship. Can't beat our rivals. Can't win big games. Can't win bowl games. Can't win homecoming....but it's all ok, we laid 77 on a dead team walking in the last game of the year.

I just have a different view...I don't get the whole support UTK or Vandy while graduating from MT. So MT has to win championships and then alumni will get involved?

Is it the Chicken or the egg? If MT grads would just support the program we would have all we need from an IPF and more. More recruits will want to come. I bet we would actually win a few more games. Look, I get it, we have an imperfect program, but when a 8-4 season becomes a negative we have lost perspective.

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

I just have a different view...I don't get the whole support UTK or Vandy while graduating from MT. So MT has to win championships and then alumni will get involved?

Is it the Chicken or the egg? If MT grads would just support the program we would have all we need from an IPF and more. More recruits will want to come. I bet we would actually win a few more games. Look, I get it, we have an imperfect program, but when a 8-4 season becomes a negative we have lost perspective.

I have been waiting as a (sometimes more faithful than other times) supporter since 98 for the large alumni base to rally around this school. I can't speak for the larger market but I can only speak into the 25+ people that used to tailgate with me and my family until 2011. They are not interested any longer. Something has changed and the electricity and excitement has been gone for quite some time.

 

[MTFNBY5]

JDB: "Something has changed . . . "

The initial excitement of moving up to D-1 has subsided;

The mid-state media gives MT even less coverage than just a few years ago,

The national press dismisses all schools except those who are "among P5 schools" (I would like a nickel for every time I've heard that phrase since BCS and AQ were removed from the vocabulary),

The "power" schools funding has exploded exponentially compared to %$&-Majors,

Except for Tuscaloosa (and a few similar locations) college FB and perhaps attending college athletic contests in general has become less of a leisure time activity for many younger people.

A lot of old-timers are dying out or becoming too infirm to attend (and are not being replaced),

Many who came to FB games for the event (tailgating, seeing friends and classmates, etc.) have become bored with the scene (happened to a few friends who once went to UT-K, Titans, etc.) or had life (children, other family responsibilities, moving away from the area, etc.) interfere (and once again - they are not being replaced),

And yes, MT has failed time and time again to build upon successes, opportunities for increasing the fan base have been missed, and the entire athletic program appears to have stagnated - even to this 50 +/- yr. fan.

In the words of B. B. King: "The Thrill is Gone"

 

[RaiderDoug]

I just have a different view...I don't get the whole support UTK or Vandy while graduating from MT. So MT has to win championships and then alumni will get involved?

Is it the Chicken or the egg? If MT grads would just support the program we would have all we need from an IPF and more. More recruits will want to come. I bet we would actually win a few more games. Look, I get it, we have an imperfect program, but when a 8-4 season becomes a negative we have lost perspective.

I guess it's just a different perspective.

I don't buy that we never had fans that had bought in. I remember plenty of excitement for Dasher's season, and our first Music City Bowl, and such.

But at some point, you have to actually take that next step forward as a program.

The continually mediocre product has driven them away. And that's what we are - mediocre. We're not bad. We're not really good either.

It does not good to force feed people the line: "We're bowl eligible, and you'll like it!".

Again, it's not so much the fact that we're 8-4 in this particular year. It's not terrible.

But after 11 years of this coaching staff, I can't blame anyone who wants to experience something more than "It's not terrible" at least once in a while.

 

[AustinLewis]

JDB: "Something has changed . . . "

The initial excitement of moving up to D-1 has subsided;

The mid-state media gives MT even less coverage than just a few years ago,

The national press dismisses all schools except those who are "among P5 schools" (I would like a nickel for every time I've heard that phrase since BCS and AQ were removed from the vocabulary),

The "power" schools funding has exploded exponentially compared to %$&-Majors,

Except for Tuscaloosa (and a few similar locations) college FB and perhaps attending college athletic contests in general has become less of a leisure time activity for many younger people.

A lot of old-timers are dying out or becoming too infirm to attend (and are not being replaced),

Many who came to FB games for the event (tailgating, seeing friends and classmates, etc.) have become bored with the scene (happened to a few friends who once went to UT-K, Titans, etc.) or had life (children, other family responsibilities, moving away from the area, etc.) interfere (and once again - they are not being replaced),

And yes, MT has failed time and time again to build upon successes, opportunities for increasing the fan base have been missed, and the entire athletic program appears to have stagnated - even to this 50 +/- yr. fan.

In the words of B. B. King: "The Thrill is Gone"

It's NOT that college athletic contests are less of a leisure time activity for millennials. It's that college athletic programs (I'm looking at you MT) have failed to effectively market to millennials. They've failed to build an atmosphere to cause millennials to return.