Post by elp525 on Oct 5, 2011 4:47:51 GMT -5
10/04/2011
Frank Giardina
WVU Sports
Dana Holgorsen took a pretty big risk Tuesday at his press conference. He was openly critical of WVU football fans. Sometimes, however, the truth hurts.
This is a bold move considering Holgorsen is a first year head coach. He has only been on the job for five games and hasn't built up a lot of equity in the state yet.
The bottom line is that he was disappointed with the attendance at the Bowling Green game on Saturday in Morgantown. I was a little surprised as well.
The listed attendance was 46,000. I am not sure that was accurate. It may have been more like 38,000 and it was Homecoming for crying out loud.
I have great sympathy for the fans. It is not cheap to go to a game in a tough economy. Also, this year's schedule is top heavy with games at the front end of the schedule. Many fans will take a Saturday off. Also, this past Saturday was the first day of bow hunting season, an unofficial family holiday in our state.
Moreover, the weather was terrible. Really bad. It was a miserable rain and it rained all day.
I also know it might be somewhat unseemly for the fat guy with the media credential,(me) sitting in the warm press box, eating the teriyaki chicken, to be critical of fans for not coming to the game and sitting in the rain. But there are a couple of things to consider.
One is where were the students? The student turnout was paltry on Saturday. At other major programs the students come regardless of the weather. Do you remember how loud and impressive the Auburn students were during the storm that interrupted the Mountaineers game there two years ago?
Second, WVU is playing big time football on the field. This team has a great chance to finish 11-1 on the season, win a Big East crown and go to a BCS bowl. If that happens, they will also probably be ranked between 7-10 in the national polls. If so, they will be the only top 10 team that talks about an attendance frustration.
Don't be too hard on Dana Holgorsen for bringing this up. This is not a new frustration. Lack of attendance at the Rutgers game last December was one of the reasons given for the replacing of Bill Stewart. WVU men's basketball coach Bob Huggins has also wondered aloud about true WVU basketball fans and those that just show up for the big games.
Look at some of our other Appalachia college neighbors. At Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Kentucky, win or lose, big game or a bad opponent, the fans are still there in the stadiums.
Last season, Kentucky had 62,000 for a game against Charleston Southern on a cold November day. Last weekend, over 90,000 saw Tennessee beat Buffalo. And, I am not talking about the Bills.
Do West Virginia fans have that same kind of passion? Dana Holgorsen wants to know.
Frank Giardina
WVU Sports
Dana Holgorsen took a pretty big risk Tuesday at his press conference. He was openly critical of WVU football fans. Sometimes, however, the truth hurts.
This is a bold move considering Holgorsen is a first year head coach. He has only been on the job for five games and hasn't built up a lot of equity in the state yet.
The bottom line is that he was disappointed with the attendance at the Bowling Green game on Saturday in Morgantown. I was a little surprised as well.
The listed attendance was 46,000. I am not sure that was accurate. It may have been more like 38,000 and it was Homecoming for crying out loud.
I have great sympathy for the fans. It is not cheap to go to a game in a tough economy. Also, this year's schedule is top heavy with games at the front end of the schedule. Many fans will take a Saturday off. Also, this past Saturday was the first day of bow hunting season, an unofficial family holiday in our state.
Moreover, the weather was terrible. Really bad. It was a miserable rain and it rained all day.
I also know it might be somewhat unseemly for the fat guy with the media credential,(me) sitting in the warm press box, eating the teriyaki chicken, to be critical of fans for not coming to the game and sitting in the rain. But there are a couple of things to consider.
One is where were the students? The student turnout was paltry on Saturday. At other major programs the students come regardless of the weather. Do you remember how loud and impressive the Auburn students were during the storm that interrupted the Mountaineers game there two years ago?
Second, WVU is playing big time football on the field. This team has a great chance to finish 11-1 on the season, win a Big East crown and go to a BCS bowl. If that happens, they will also probably be ranked between 7-10 in the national polls. If so, they will be the only top 10 team that talks about an attendance frustration.
Don't be too hard on Dana Holgorsen for bringing this up. This is not a new frustration. Lack of attendance at the Rutgers game last December was one of the reasons given for the replacing of Bill Stewart. WVU men's basketball coach Bob Huggins has also wondered aloud about true WVU basketball fans and those that just show up for the big games.
Look at some of our other Appalachia college neighbors. At Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Kentucky, win or lose, big game or a bad opponent, the fans are still there in the stadiums.
Last season, Kentucky had 62,000 for a game against Charleston Southern on a cold November day. Last weekend, over 90,000 saw Tennessee beat Buffalo. And, I am not talking about the Bills.
Do West Virginia fans have that same kind of passion? Dana Holgorsen wants to know.
