SGA encouraging students to stay for four

I’m sensing a lot of frustration with this whole situation and it seems to fall into one of three postures.

1. You go to lots of games. You stay for the whole game and yell yourself hoarse. You feel like you’re doing your part and you’re irritated that the students aren’t.
2. You went to lots of games as a student. You stayed for the whole game and you yelled yourself hoarse. You feel like you did your part and you’re irritated that today’s students aren’t.
3. You wish you could go lots of games. You would stay for the whole game and you would yell yourself hoarse. You would do your part if you could and you’re irritated that today’s students aren’t.

I was a student during the Twilight Zone that was the Dubose/Price/Fran/Shula years. We stayed for every game but that’s usually because the outcome of the game in doubt up until the very end. Most of our home games the last few years have either been nail-biters or blowouts.

Now I grew up in a Baptist preacher’s household, and my dad likes his peace and quiet on Saturday night as he gets ready for a busy Sunday. That meant we often left games a little early while I was growing up. I didn’t like it a whole lot, but I never missed an exciting finish, and we almost always had a long drive ahead of us. Consequently I don’t blame anyone – especially parents – for bailing on a blowout if they have a long drive ahead. Getting from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham or Montgomery in heavy traffic is no picnic. And while I hate it for Coach Saban and the players, that’s the way it is. If I wanted to get snippy, I could point out that there are just as many native Tuscaloosans who have very few logistical hurdles to attending games and still bail on the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] quarter as there are students who do the same.

As for the students, some thoughts:

1. The quote from the kid in the CW article rubs people the wrong way, but to be honest, I’m not standing there for an extra hour watching Stallings ball while we run out the clock. Say what you want about that, but I’m not casting stones at someone who gets bored with that. I know what I did ten years ago, but I’m not sure how I would react. I know I will not be watching the game was the same level of interest or intensity if we’re up by four or five touchdowns late in the game tomorrow night.
2. My experience as a student was that the general admission section filled up quickly. Greek section eventually filled up. It was the grad/law student area that had some serious issues, mainly because those students; a. have a lot on their plates and b. may not have a connection to the University.
3. It used to be very easy to convert a student ticket to general admission and sell it on the open market. Sounds like it is now much more difficult to do so, therefore when students can't go to the game, there is a greater likelihood that the tickets go unused. This is Economics 101, and some of y'all just want to blame the students without blaming the ticket office for foolishing trying to overregulate the marketplace.
4. Also worth mentioning that not everyone enjoys football the same way. My wife would love going to a game, but she'd be a little bored watching Derrick Henry run while we're up by four touchdowns. Don't tell her she's not a true fan.
5. According to that piece in the CW, only 70% of student tickets were used which of course means that 30% of all sold tickets went unused. Let me state this as clear as I can: I refuse to believe that 30% of all ticketholders left their ticket on the kitchen counter while they played video games or watched Firefly reruns. There has to be something in the student ticket process that is causing this mess. Either we’re selling too many or we’re selling them in an inconsistent way (ticket packages) or students don’t understand the return ticket/wait list option or second-hand buyers are flaking out, etc. etc. I have a hunch that a lot of the “unused” issue resides with grad/med/law/exchange students who buy tickets and then, for whatever reason, don’t use them. I think some of our posters are being very unfair when suggesting that students are sitting at home when they could be at a game with a ticket so cheap it might as well be free. I have a very, very hard time believing that’s the case, especially among undergraduates.
6. Not going to lie - there's a touch of class envy bleeding through in these posts.

I just believe that there are a lot of students who would love to go, but the system may need adjusting.

Best time I ever had at a Bama game was sitting next to these kids. I hope the university can fix the no shows because the one who come are Great!

CrimsonProf said:

I’m sensing a lot of frustration with this whole situation and it seems to fall into one of three postures.

1. You go to lots of games. You stay for the whole game and yell yourself hoarse. You feel like you’re doing your part and you’re irritated that the students aren’t.
2. You went to lots of games as a student. You stayed for the whole game and you yelled yourself hoarse. You feel like you did your part and you’re irritated that today’s students aren’t.
3. You wish you could go lots of games. You would stay for the whole game and you would yell yourself hoarse. You would do your part if you could and you’re irritated that today’s students aren’t.

I was a student during the Twilight Zone that was the Dubose/Price/Fran/Shula years. We stayed for every game but that’s usually because the outcome of the game in doubt up until the very end. Most of our home games the last few years have either been nail-biters or blowouts.

Now I grew up in a Baptist preacher’s household, and my dad likes his peace and quiet on Saturday night as he gets ready for a busy Sunday. That meant we often left games a little early while I was growing up. I didn’t like it a whole lot, but I never missed an exciting finish, and we almost always had a long drive ahead of us. Consequently I don’t blame anyone – especially parents – for bailing on a blowout if they have a long drive ahead. Getting from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham or Montgomery in heavy traffic is no picnic. And while I hate it for Coach Saban and the players, that’s the way it is. If I wanted to get snippy, I could point out that there are just as many native Tuscaloosans who have very few logistical hurdles to attending games and still bail on the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] quarter as there are students who do the same.

As for the students, some thoughts:

1. The quote from the kid in the CW article rubs people the wrong way, but to be honest, I’m not standing there for an extra hour watching Stallings ball while we run out the clock. Say what you want about that, but I’m not casting stones at someone who gets bored with that. I know what I did ten years ago, but I’m not sure how I would react. I know I will not be watching the game was the same level of interest or intensity if we’re up by four or five touchdowns late in the game tomorrow night.
2. My experience as a student was that the general admission section filled up quickly. Greek section eventually filled up. It was the grad/law student area that had some serious issues, mainly because those students; a. have a lot on their plates and b. may not have a connection to the University.
3. It used to be very easy to convert a student ticket to general admission and sell it on the open market. Sounds like it is now much more difficult to do so, therefore when students can't go to the game, there is a greater likelihood that the tickets go unused. This is Economics 101, and some of y'all just want to blame the students without blaming the ticket office for foolishing trying to overregulate the marketplace.
4. Also worth mentioning that not everyone enjoys football the same way. My wife would love going to a game, but she'd be a little bored watching Derrick Henry run while we're up by four touchdowns. Don't tell her she's not a true fan.
5. According to that piece in the CW, only 70% of student tickets were used which of course means that 30% of all sold tickets went unused. Let me state this as clear as I can: I refuse to believe that 30% of all ticketholders left their ticket on the kitchen counter while they played video games or watched Firefly reruns. There has to be something in the student ticket process that is causing this mess. Either we’re selling too many or we’re selling them in an inconsistent way (ticket packages) or students don’t understand the return ticket/wait list option or second-hand buyers are flaking out, etc. etc. I have a hunch that a lot of the “unused” issue resides with grad/med/law/exchange students who buy tickets and then, for whatever reason, don’t use them. I think some of our posters are being very unfair when suggesting that students are sitting at home when they could be at a game with a ticket so cheap it might as well be free. I have a very, very hard time believing that’s the case, especially among undergraduates.
6. Not going to lie - there's a touch of class envy bleeding through in these posts.

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I guess one solution to this problem would be to fire Coach Saban and rehire Coach Dumbose or hire Lame Kiffin and we wouldn't have to worry about that 30%. We'd then have to worry about 100% plus the regular fans and alumni. Then we'd be lucky to half-fill that 101,000+ seat stadium. If we filled the stadium it could be with mostly Louisiana fans for the LSU game. Can't you just see 50,000+ LSWho fans in attendance in B-DS?!?! They'd destroy our stadium.

There has to be a solution to the problem and the PTB need to create and implement that solution. After all, they are college graduates. That's what a degree should do: help create problem solvers!

CrimsonProf, your post is dead on.

CrimsonProf said:

1. It used to be very easy to convert a student ticket to general admission and sell it on the open market. Sounds like it is now much more difficult to do so, therefore when students can't go to the game, there is a greater likelihood that the tickets go unused. This is Economics 101, and some of y'all just want to blame the students without blaming the ticket office for foolishing trying to overregulate the marketplace.

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I actually meant to comment on this. The ticket process is designed to have only students in the student section. This is how it works:

1. A ticket can be donated directly to another student via online transaction at any point until the 4th quarter OR a student with a ticket can donate his ticket to a ticket pool, also until the 4th quarter.

2. A student who wants a ticket but doesn't have one can apply to a waiting list each weekend. They can then receive a ticket from the donation pool up to the 4th quarter. This has been variously dependent on "first come first serve" to the waiting list and on seniority/total hours.

3. You can convert a student ticket to a general admin ticket for the price difference between the two (varies depending on opponent) up until the Thursday before the game.

4. You can donate a ticket without penalty up until the start of the game (I believe. It might even be friday evening). After that you recieve a 1/2 point penalty. An unused ticket accrues a full point penalty. If you recieve 3 penalty points, you lose post-season tickets and forfeit tickets for the following season.

So what has happened in my experience is, students who can't go to the game want to sell their ticket, but can only sell it to another student. So they have to advertise their ticket, meet up with the buyer at a computer somewhere, and transfer the ticket and cash. Many of these students hold out as long as possible to try to at least get the ticket price back before donating it to the general pool.

On the other hand, a student wanting a ticket will wait until later in the week hoping prices will fall and/or they get a free ticket from a friend or the ticket pool. Tickets can be sold for as much as the scalpers on the street charge, depending on the game ( a terrible auburn team can draw a price upwards of $140, which in prior years was a $135 profit!).

It is nearly impossible to sell a ticket to a student after friday, or even give a specific student a ticket because it is such a hassle to meet up, exchange information, and transfer the ticket with gameday activities going on and over 200,000 extra people in town. By the end of the week, students without tickets have already made plans, so if they receive a last minute donated ticket they either don't know (you are notified by email, but who checks their email on Saturday while tailgating/at the bar), or have made prior arrangements such as leaving town, etc and no longer plan on going to the game. Congratulations, you failed to use the ticket you didn't know you had and have been penalized!

As for selling it to the public, you can forget it. You are only allowed one ticket at a time on your card, so if you are trying to get a ticket for a buddy or family member, you have to upgrade yours and pay someone for a new ticket, which will cost you more than the regular price of general admission by about $50. If you just want to sell your own, it is cost prohibitive because you can get a much better markup selling to a student than general admission, even if the total price is less.

First thing the SGA needs to do is eliminate frats and sororities from blocking off sections of the student section. There are a lot of kids who don't want to be near them and then the frats don't fill the section. As such, the SGA will not address this because "the machine" made up of Greeks runs the SGA.

Is what it is....

Really pathetic. When I was a student we stayed for every game until the end, win or lose (UF and PSU my freshman year come to mind). I just don't understand it. Its not like you have to drive back to Birmingham, or Montgomery or where ever. And we never left early after the games in Bham either. Support your University.

I think the real point with the market barriers for ticket resell is that students parting with their tickets artificially made student demand seem higher. But it did fill up the seats better.

I don't get these kids these days with their Miley Cyrus and their fancy phones.

I learned the fight song in college during a UTEP game (in Legion Field) because I stayed the entire time. We scored 56 points. That's 8 "Yea, Alabama's". I watched us lose to northern Illinois. I sat through 3 iron bowl losses in a row. I was there for 4th and 19.

Theres no no excuse for students not to be at the game.

There are plenty of reasons not to be at the game as a student. Students aren't extras in employ of the athletic department.

How many student tickets are there??

They also need to be looking into why the fancy red seats in the west upper deck can't seem to stay full too. Either buy tide pride tickets and go to the game or don't. This whole buying seats to sell and then letting them go unused for smaller games is not a good practice either.

BamainBoston said:

And I can judge them for picking every one of those reasons over the team. We aren't saying they should be kicked out of school. We are saying they are pathetic, spoiled, and generally disappointing when it comes to supporting the football team.

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That is patronizing and unfair.

Some of us - myself included - have listed many reasons why support appears to be less than it ought, and no one has responded to those arguments.

JIB said:

I don't get these kids these days with their Miley Cyrus and their fancy phones.

I learned the fight song in college during a UTEP game (in Legion Field) because I stayed the entire time. We scored 56 points. That's 8 "Yea, Alabama's". I watched us lose to northern Illinois. I sat through 3 iron bowl losses in a row. I was there for 4th and 19.

Theres no no excuse for students not to be at the game.

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Oh, for heaven's sake.

BamainBoston said:

Oh give me a break. Poor little babies. There probably crying in their dorm rooms even as we speak because I've bee so unfair to them. There's no excuse. None. We've got more students than ever before. They should be there. Period.

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Well, alrighty-roo...

To speak for my own situation, I'm going to the game today against my better judgement. I have a major graduate school assignment due early next week but I really love Alabama football (look at my post count). I applied for a donated ticket Sunday and got one last night. I could put it back in the pool but it may just end up going unused at this point.

With that said, I will probably leave at some point if it is a blowout so I can put in a little work towards that assignment. I don't think that makes me a bad guy. I have to tend to my own matters. I know my professor won't care about my time management issues when the work is graded.

BamainBoston said:

Oh give me a break. Poor little babies. They're probably crying in their dorm rooms even as we speak because I've bee so unfair to them. There's no excuse. None. We've got more students than ever before. They should be there. Period.

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Is that you Mitt?

RollinTider1335 said:

How many student tickets are there??

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It's gotta be 10k or more. I can just name 100 friends on the waiting list who'd be glad to take 2, 4, or more of those seats and fill them. If they aren't gonna use them they should lose them. JMO.

BamainBoston said:

Oh give me a break. Poor little babies. They're probably crying in their dorm rooms even as we speak because I've bee so unfair to them. There's no excuse. None. We've got more students than ever before. They should be there. Period.

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So why do you feel that you can tell people what to do with there own personal property? It's their choice. Are you communist??? (Before I get flamed, that's merely a half witted joke;-). It's Gameday and I'm nothing but happy, happy, happy!!

If you want a student ticket, then go buy it and get it converted. I never had a problem doing that. Tons of students are willing to do that.

Someone needs a Snickers Bar.

BamainBoston said:

I'm just gonna hope that you're not the philosophy student quoted in the article.

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I was totally joking...and no it wasn't me