So you Want Akron to have true Fan support

[Mr.McChickenTrousers]

The REAL reason the Akron has poor fan support can be summed up in one word. “Poverty” Face it, the Canton, Akron, Massillon, Cleveland area is dying. Yes we are in direct competition for recruits with OSU. Yes we compete with OSU for fans and TV time. We compete with every division one team in the country in that regard. It is a little more in your face when the bigger school is just a few hours south. Cleveland is one of the most poverty stricken cities on the nation. Akron is just south of that. I wonder if this lack of income will spill over into Akron?? http://www.carolinajournal.com/opinions/di...ry.html?id=1877 I grew up in Massillon. I now live in Columbus. I run into people all the time from back home while in Columbus. And they all say the moved to Columbus for Jobs. IF PEOPLE DON’T HAVE MONEY FOR GAS, FOOD, DIAPERS, AND CHILD SUPPORT, THEY DARN SURE DON’T HAVE MONEY FOR ZIPS TICKETS PERIOD!! The overall morale of the town is down. People don’t have the money to care about anything extra. If my AEP is past do then who gives a crap about the zips. I have friends from back home constantly saying the wish they had jobs. You do not hear that as often in Columbus. Because people in Columbus have steady work they can steadily purchase OSU tickets and go to tailgate parties. The other reason why Akron has poor fans support is because of the way they played against the Bearcats. I won’t say anymore about that. I would love to see Akron get more play in the media. The Akron Beacon Journal should be ashamed of themselves for giving OSU more pub then the Zips. If Akron wants to change that, then beat OSU and leave no doubt. Do it consistently. Also…does Akron have a high school 7 on 7 tournaments? Or an O-line big mans challenge. Perhaps give them a chance to get some young guys up to the campus and subject them to the new facilities. Then check up on them during the rest of the high school days. If my brother, who played receiver for Akron, didn’t tell me Akron put up a new indoor facility I would not have known. I was living in Massillon and had no clue. I WAS A MASSILLON TIGER FOOTBALL PLAYER AND HAD NO IDEA AKRON WAS BUILDING NEW ATHLETIC FACILITIES. Akron needs to find reasons to get ball players on their campus. …Sorry I ran on a bit fellas….l8ta

[Z-Pouch]

Good rant filled with a lot of issues/facts that have been discussed here.Since you were a Massillon Tiger and may have some existing ties, do you know much about potential Zip recruit Brian Gamble and where he might end up ? I thought I heard that the Zips had offered early from another Massillon booster. I've seen him play several times and he seems to be one of the better players in the area but is not getting much attention from larger schools. Is he that good ? Is eligibility an issue keeping BCS schools away ?Thanks and welcome to the board.

[RootforRoo44]

i think poverty has a thing to do with it. But the true reasons are 1) UA is an average sized D1 school. OSU is an exception in size, one of the biggest in the nation.2) Most of the student body are commuters so on nights where there is a game, those students are back at home in the suburbs.3) In respect to football support... the Rubber Bowl, great as it may be, is just too far from campus. Even if there are shuttles to the game from campus, it still isnt the same as having a stadium on campus. With such a stadium the attendance at football games would increase and id be willing to bet that the increased support for football would spill over into other sports as well.

[a-zip]

The REAL reason the Akron has poor fan support can be summed up in one word. “Poverty” Face it, the Canton, Akron, Massillon, Cleveland area is dying. 

Gonna have to respectfully disagree with you here. I would say the price of our tickets are in line with the income level of the surrounding area. If you want to entertain yourself and/or your family, there is not a better value than Zips tickets. OSU tickets are over 10 TIMES Zips tickets..............Last I check Wall St. is not in Columbus.

[Mr.McChickenTrousers]

If you are telling me that most of the students commute then having a stadium on campus wouldn't help all that much. I agree that it would help some to have the Stadium on Campus, but not as much as one would think. Also I was talking more about the support from the community. AU will probably never have need for a stadium the holds 102k. I am just saying that we would get more support from the community if people had money for tickets. There were a lot of seats left open at only home game thus far. Were there any tickets donated to employers. "Hey Johnny whoever ships the most units today gets free zips tickets." This may sound stupid and ridiculous. However, if this person went to the game and had a good time he or she will go and tell 10 friends. BLAH BLAH BLAH...Have a middle school play a 2 x eight-minute quarter football game during half time. Again sounds dumb. If each team brings 30 kids and each kid brings one parent those parents have to purchase tickets, popcorn, t - shirts. Which puts money into the program and gets those kids thinking about playing in the rubber bowl at a young age. Then the kids that really do well during the half time performance, we should go over to their parents and give them a personal invite to attends Akron's football camp. Community evolvement will help people want to afford Akron’s Zip tickets. Ask Akron Garfield’s coach to bring the team to a game for free. Those seats were empty anyway. It will make the stand look more full. Put them next to the student section. Tell David Harvey to point and pump his fist at the honored guest when he scores. Tell our linebackers to look at them and throw their hand up to pump up that section of the crowd in 3rd and short situation. Involve them. Announce their presence at the end of the first quarter and have them stand while the crowd claps for them. They will go home and say mom dad I had a great time at the Zips game can we go next week. Perhaps dad will start taking his kid to zips games on the regular. Now the student likes zips football, the parents are buying tickets, but the dad will tell 10 friends, the kid will tell ten friends, and the mom will tell 10 friends. We need to do the little things to get the recruits. Are the players trying to get people to come? I mean really trying. Tell Harvey and some of the boys to put on their jerseys and start walking house to house. Knock and say, “hey just wanted to remind you that the Zips play at home this Saturday.” Does every fast food restaurant have a Zips football schedule hanging in the window? If not have the players deliver them. I realize all of this sounds so minor and stupid. We need to get people thinking about Akron football in Akron. The defending conference champs with pi$$ poor support in their first home game. Can we get a volunteer skydiver to land in the stadium at half time? Can we shoot Zippy out of a cannon? Just playing football year in and year out is not increasing fans support. Heck being conference champs isn’t increasing fan support. Does every football player and coach have bumper stickers and flags on cars? Are they giving them to their families? Do some Akron football players have some free time to put on a jersey and attend a junior high or high school game? Something has to change

[KentZip]

"The REAL reason the Akron has poor fan support can be summed up in one word. “Poverty” Face it, the Canton, Akron, Massillon, Cleveland area is dying."Nope. I appreciate your passion but you are falling prey to what you hear on the nightly news. There are many times more than enough "rich" folks still left in these parts to afford a general admission ticket to a Zips game if they are so motivated. Many are not motivated. They fall into a few logical groupings:Never been to a Zips game but would go if venue and product were seen as a value or as an attraction. With a better effort from the Athletics dept., these people could have been attracted in higher numbers after the bowl game last year. Lack of a decent facility definitely hurts here. A new stadium will undoubtedly help for a while. Long time supporters This University and its athletic department make it waaaaaaaaaayyyyy too hard to become a committed long term supporter of football. I'll give you 2 examples. (1) Had an associate who was a long term season ticket holder for football - contributed enough to have 4 Heisman Lodge passes. Several years ago, he missed the deadline for renewing his season tickets by one business day because he had been out of town. He called the following Monday to explain that he would mail his check that day but was told by a member of the ticket office that he was too late. He's never been back and all contributions for football have obviously ceased. (2) Two times last year, my wife and son were searched on their way into the Rubber Bowl. A 13 year old who isn't dressed like a gang member does not qualify to be searched. Search me, I understand. After all, I live in K.E.N.T.Students I've heard enough about the commuters who live so far away that they can't possibly make it to the Rubber Bowl for a game - B.S. Many of them would make a trip to Miami or Ohio U. for a party - in other words if they felt it was worth it. We have enough students and alumni within a 20 minute drive to pack the old Municipal Stadium, let alone the Rubber Bowl.Rant off, Go Zips

[zen]

Then why is it that the Cleveland Browns seem to fair so much better than average in ticket sales when the team is performing so sub-average?Your theory is interesting, but in my opinion, regional economics is a minor factor at best.

[Mr.McChickenTrousers]

Yes Brian Gamble is that good. I have one small problem with that kid. He pleasds his case to the officials to much if a call doesn't go his way. Hey kid, this is highschool with no I.R. If he makes a call you are not going to chage it. Shut up and get back to the huddle. Also, as far as I know he plans to attend OSU as a safety. And he reminds me a lot of Tyler Everette. I know first hand cause I played against Everette in highschool.

[Mr.McChickenTrousers]

Zips Junky.... whoever told your boy he was to late to renew his season tickets should be smacked. It sounds to me like someone was being lazy and didn't want to do their job. They should have found a way to get him some tickets. As far as your child gettign searched is concerned. I am very sorry to hear that. However, I hate to point out the fact that he doesn’t have to be dressed like a gangster to get searched. Some times they pick random people as a deterrent. You can't say all criminals put on "gangster clothes" cause then criminals would intentionally put on something else. I do feel your pain though. Getting searched doesn't excite people about going to a football game. I am not getting my facts from the news exactly. I have family members living near the Campus. I went to visit them and everyone around town just looked so exhausted. True Akron Tickets are more then within the income level of the surrounding areas. You make a Solid point there, however the mentality of the Akron community doesn’t warrant budgeting for football tickets. Those people spend money on Shoes, Rims, and sound systems before paying bills and buying food. (Not everyone in the town, but to the naked eye it seams the general mentality). With that in mind Zips tickets are not in the budget. I suppose I stand corrected Zips Junky. Cause if those people had more money, they would just waste more money. I don’t mean to disrespect anyone from that area. I am just simply telling you what I saw. I am tired of watching Akron struggle. I think it is more then the football team who is having a problem. It is also the town. O kay I will shut up about this now. GO ZIPS!!!

[Z-Pouch]

Yes Brian Gamble is that good. I have one small problem with that kid. He pleasds his case to the officials to much if a call doesn't go his way. Hey kid, this is highschool with no I.R. If he makes a call you are not going to chage it. Shut up and get back to the huddle. Also, as far as I know he plans to attend OSU as a safety. And he reminds me a lot of Tyler Everette. I know first hand cause I played against Everette in highschool.

Last I had heard, he had no BCS school offers - especially OSU. I thought that this kid actually might be one of the locals that slips thru for one reason or another and ends up at Akron. He does seem that good.

[zff]

I believe Illinois just offered him and if he gets his grades in order I would expect bigger schools to offer. But I still would like to see him in the Blue and Gold.

[KentZip]

Hey Chicken Pants, No disrespect taken and none meant.As you say, it really comes down to 2 things - Get people to the games once so they can see the product and then keep them coming back if they like what they see. Get them to the games equals Marketing. Keep them coming back equals Marketing plus Customer Service (food at the venue, ticket office, communications with ticket holders). This years parking fiasco is a good example of how the Athletic Dept. has shot itself in the foot repeatedly over the years. Get a little momentum and then pull that crap... jeesh.As a sidebar, I can't tell you how many times over the years I have joined some of the department sponsored groups (Varsity A Club, etc......) and then never heard another word from them.We seem to have gotten our fair share of good to excellent Athletic Directors over the years. I can't understand why one of them couldn't have set up a well run and fan friendly ticket office for football.

[RACER]

the reason the zips don't draw is we don't win.everyone loves a winner.we had 15k travel to detroit for our bowl game. the games are on the weekends; so i dont think that having to drive to the games at night is good excuse either. if we start to win people will come. last year we played Can't in the snow bowl. that was one game that attendance could be blamed on the weather.other than that game everything else just doesn't hold up to me. it's all about winning!

[Lone Zip in Col]

Welcome to the board Mr. ChickenTrousers, however, I'm also in the boat that poverty has very little to do with attendance. Usually, it is places with more poverty that have more fan support. Such cities usually have little else to do. It's almost impossible to have more fan support than the Browns. Toledo seems to be a good draw and I had the misfortune to live in that city for a year and it makes Akron seem like a party. Wealthier cities such as Atlanta and Miami usually don't fare that well with community support for its teams as there are so much more things to do. With no disrespect being meant, I also grew up in Stark County and think your view of community support for a football team may be a little jaded being from Massillon. The Massillon community supports its high school team like non other. It comes from tradition (which Akron is starting to build) that comes from committment. Several months ago somebody posted an article from Massillon's coach who stated something along the lines that the reason Akron has difficultly recruiting local talent is a lack of committment from the University. I'm not blaming the University for this deficiency because it is a place of higher learning and understand that in the past it had spread its resources elsewhere as buildings, books, etc. Now resources are being pumped into the program (some level of committment) such as new athletic facilities and we are now beginning to see the results (MAC champs 2005). True committment will be demonstrated when a new on campus stadium is built. I'm not a marketing guy, but isn't it marketing 101 that location, location, location means everything.

[UADavid]

the reason the zips don't draw is we don't win.everyone loves a winner.we had 15k travel to detroit for our bowl game. the games are on the weekends; so i dont think that having to drive to the games at night is good excuse either. if we start to win people will come. last year we played Can't in the snow bowl. that was one game that attendance could be blamed on the weather.other than that game everything else just doesn't hold up to me. it's all about winning!

This is true for most sports. Winning cures many ills.

[Ballingirl]

I don't believe it is the winning aspect of the game. Look at the Cleveland Frowns. Now I, for one, am one of the biggest Browns fans you will meet, but truth is, they suck! That doesn't stop tickets from selling. That doesn't stop tailgating parties and all that good stuff every Sunday! Attraction is the problem at Akron. There needs to be more done to attract people. I know it sucks having the Rubber Bowl so far from campus, but do more to make people want to come. Miami is the perfect example. The school sets up tailgating parties for people. The school provides the monster speakers to blare the hottest music and has hotdogs and games for the fans before the game. Now, I know Akron is trying with their weekly "ZipFest", but lets get real. Grown college students don't want to go pay $5 for a beer, $8 for food, and jump in an inflatable toy! They want the hottest tracks blaring from 6 sets of speakers. They want $2 bottles and $1 hot dogs. Cheap alcohol, food and music is what attracts college students. The more students you attract to a game, the more fun the stands become. Fun crowds are what Akron needs!! And compared to the boring, non-cheering, over 50 crowd that attends now, nothing will liven that up like a bunch of full-bellied, dancing, half drunken students chanting "Fear-the-Roo" walking into the stadium!!! And for the love of God, the Rubber Bowl needs to get into the new Millennium and start selling beer at the games. If they want to make more money, the already drunk students will be even mored psyched to get into the stadium and drink some more! Now your older folks will say "that's asking for trouble. That starts fights." It does at every stadium, but fact is, every other stadium sells beer, and it hasn't been enough of a problem to stop them. There comes a point where all the drunkards will join together to cheer on the team that they love! That's what makes a game fun, and that's what draws crowds. So the next time you are sitting in the hard seats at the half-doomed Rubber Bowl, get up off your feet and cheer on your beloved Zips. Until you do that, you can't complain about the lack of fans or the lack of enthusiasm from the team. I know I wouldn't have excitement about playing in front a bunch of lazy, "here-cause-I-got-free-tickets", deatbeat fans!

[akronad]

Ballingirl, Although you hit the nail on the head with much of what you just posted. I take exception with the comment of the over 50 crowd. I have been a Zips fam all of my life. With the exceptions of my job and my chid's activities, my wife and I have attended more than our share of Zip games. This includes basketball, football & soccer.The only game I ever sat on my hands was the Can't game last November. TOOOOCOLD!!!!!!!!!!!There many ways to increase attendance. Most have been mentioned.Our ZipFest looks like doggy crap when you compare to what Can't had going for them.We need a new stadium. We need a new stadium when I was at Akron in the 70's. We are getting closer everyday. Most of the land has already been acquired by the University. The sooner the better.Just remember not all of us over 50's are stick in the muds.Go Zips

[ziptrumpet87]

As a point of info to Ballingirl's post, the RB used to sell beer and went dry in the 80's about the time that the drinking age went from 18 to 21. IMHO, student attendance was better (especially Greek) before it was dry. I can remember them bringing in kegs "disguised" so they could drink in the end zone bleachers.

[Jalapeño Zippy]

It went dry do to new regulations. In order to sell beer in a stadium you have to have railings that go up and down the aisles. The Rubber Bowl doesn't have that. They can sell beer outside the Bowl of Rubber which is why the beer garden was born.So note to Stadium Builders.1. Have Railings so alcohol can be sold in the stadium.2. Have Tiered seating so there aren't 50 rows to carry the beer, Cut it to 30 rows and make two levels.3. Get a clue on food and beverage costs, because they are way too high.4. Kepp ticket prices and parking reasonable. None of this $500 crap. $20 a space and $10 a reserved seat. When you have to start turning people away then you raise the price to meet the market expectations. Simple economics really, don't price out the market. Apparently members of the athletics staff have never taken an econ course!!

[RACER]

we went to our first bowl game last year.name one team in college football that does not win year in year out that draws well?? look at all the teams that draw well. osu ,fsu,auburn. they win. look at our program. in the faust era how many winning season did we have? if osu started losing they would gradually lose the fan base.im not saying in one year, but if they finshished 4-8 for a few years ;their attendance would drop alott. i don't care if we build a new stadium if we go 2-9,4-6 for a few years no one will show.

[Buckzip]

Excuses are for losers. We don't have good attendance because we still aren't a very good football team. We need to win, win, win, and win some more. Barely winning the MACC and then losing in a bowl game doesn't count as winning to some "fans".We need a 9-10 win season, along with a bowl game victory. Then start the next season 2-0, 3-0, then we will start seeing the band wagon fill up.Until then, we are dreaming. The only fault for attendance lies with the teams performance. Not finances, or OSU.

[fear the brown roo]

the truth hurts

[UADavid]

All the mistakes I think point to poor conditioning and coaching. Strength is great but where is the conditioning? Where is the agility? How many penalties have stalled drives this year? It's okay to lose games to teams that beat you, but we manage to give them away. We need to play more of the young guys to see where they are for next year. It won't hurt to give the first teamers a break also. Let's see some Jackson out there running the option. We need some running room and that might help. JD took some responsibility for the play calling being weak. I think the plays should be called from the press box where you get a better look at what the defense is doing. Let's shake things up. If something doesn't work, move on. ie. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th down at cincy in the first quarter. Where are the te's? Let's run the play cincy runs to the te. We can't stop that pass across the field. How about some halftime adjustments that actually work. We still have half the season to improve and that's what I would like to see from this underperforming team.

[GP1]

We need a 9-10 win season, along with a bowl game victory. Then start the next season 2-0, 3-0, then we will start seeing the band wagon fill up.Until then, we are dreaming.

Good points. I agree 100%. Here is the problem. The scenarior assumes 9-10 wins AND a 2-0 start the following year against big conference teams. I can't think of that ever happening in the MAC. A 9-10 win season would probably have a team with a ton of seniors on it which assumes a young team incapable of winning the first 2 or 3 early games the following year. Teams struggle every year for attendance in the MAC and this is exactly the reason why. It just is not a problem here in Ohio, it happens in every state that has a MAC school.Oh well, off to Las Vegas. See everyone at the game on Saturday.