VA's Finest
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Post by VA's Finest on Jan 27, 2021 16:52:45 GMT -5
We don’t need a DJ as much if we had a band staff that learned to entertain more in the stands. Might wanna learn the NCAA rules on playing. It's alot of things ou can't do they we could in the late 90s , early 2000 And the SWAC almost has complete disregard to said rules.
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aggieclt
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Post by aggieclt on Jan 27, 2021 17:42:56 GMT -5
(Me Rambling Again) To pretend that bands doesn’t have an effect on attendance would be ridiculous. A lot of ppl (including myself) would have preferred Ncat vs Su/Jsu in ATL(Good Bands)...Famu had record home attendance vs Su and the bands had a lot to do with that. Even with our move to the big south..A STRONG BGMM (relocated to the horseshoe) would do wonders for our game day experience. Don’t get me started on how the track around the stadium doesn’t help at all. Also we should have easily outdrawn them BOTH...(Winning program/largest HBCU) Our home games aren’t an “Experience” IMO...Moving forward, How can we convince others that they should attend the game vs watching it on ESPN? Some of my suggestions would be.. 1. More funding to the band ( 100k budget while similar/smaller HBCUs have 500k +) 2. Maybe 500 10$ tickets for the local community (Jsu averaged 30k even while losing..community outreach/band had to play a factor) 3. (The most expensive) Renovate and move the stands closer to the field! (Maybe it’s different for those of you who sit in the reserved section..but I think we are just too far away) #3 is not possible. We have a nationally recognized track program. Unless you talking about a completely new facility for the football team or track team then just scratch #3 off your list. I tend to think the track aint the reason anyway. Yeah, you would be closer to the action, but that aint why it feels a little boring. And yes, reserve section has a nice feel for the game. You either wanna see the band or have a nice feel for the game. You cant have both in our place. People been complaining about the atmosphere as a little boring FOREVER. But let NCCU come to town or another big game. It aint boring then and I'll go out on a limb and say it has ZERO to do with the band. Its attendance. Yeah, some will say "well the band effects attendance". To a degree, but the band aint packing in 2000 more people per home game. The stadium just needs to be full somehow. Thats winning, marketing and promotions. Amen. Let's travel well to our home games.
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Post by marchingband1969 on Jan 27, 2021 17:46:46 GMT -5
I knew this conversation would eventually look for someone to blame...so let me rule out a few. Don't blame the band selection or when they play, or the current student body, or the aging wine and cheese alumni. Blame the University for its failure to promotion away games. (BTW- they also fail to properly promote home games but that's a topic for another day)
The University, the AAF and the Alumni Association doesn't really prote away games. We have the attitude, if it ain't in Aggie stadium, bunk it! By promote I mean... advertise on social media, hype the game and BOB, list charter buses, and invite alumni to the hospitality tent. There's alway a core set of die-hard Aggie fans that will travel to hell and back to see us play but that's a small but loyal group.
The University hasn't figured out that if we show up in numbers at away games and take over, eventually when the other school thinks they have a team to beat us they will show up in numbers at Aggie Stadium. Remember the crowd UNC Greensboro brought into Corbett that first year they knew they could kick our butts. Elon's football fans showed up the last time because they thought they had a winning team.
Aggies will travel but we need a little encouragement and help organizing and planning the trip. Oh and it helps if there's a alumni tailgate party set up at the away gave. If we feel welcomed, we'll come back again!
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Maxell
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Post by Maxell on Jan 27, 2021 18:13:27 GMT -5
In the Big South, we should have a travel package that includes EVERY away game. Most games will be a three-hour bus ride or less. And a flight/hotel package to NDSU in 2022.
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Post by pj on Jan 27, 2021 18:52:52 GMT -5
We travel. But to me, the home games (reserved section) were quiet on 3rd downs (while on defense). There-fore the cow-bell was/is needed. Also the "wave" should not die when it makes it around to the reserve section if the students start it.
I always felt that we cheered. But it was "reactive" cheering instead of "proactive" cheering on 3rd downs, or just "defense", at least during crunch time.
I didnt travel a whole hellava lot, and now hate that I didnt (now leaving the MEAC). {In particular to Morgan).
But now to the Big South, I'm ready to "Take-Over" at away games.
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Post by Jesse Jackson's Side eye on Jan 27, 2021 19:01:22 GMT -5
I knew this conversation would eventually look for someone to blame...so let me rule out a few. Don't blame the band selection or when they play, or the current student body, or the aging wine and cheese alumni. Blame the University for its failure to promotion away games. (BTW- they also fail to properly promote home games but that's a topic for another day) The University, the AAF and the Alumni Association doesn't really prote away games. We have the attitude, if it ain't in Aggie stadium, bunk it! By promote I mean... advertise on social media, hype the game and BOB, list charter buses, and invite alumni to the hospitality tent. There's alway a core set of die-hard Aggie fans that will travel to hell and back to see us play but that's a small but loyal group. The University hasn't figured out that if we show up in numbers at away games and take over, eventually when the other school thinks they have a team to beat us they will show up in numbers at Aggie Stadium. Remember the crowd UNC Greensboro brought into Corbett that first year they knew they could kick our butts. Elon's football fans showed up the last time because they thought they had a winning team. Aggies will travel but we need a little encouragement and help organizing and planning the trip. Oh and it helps if there's a alumni tailgate party set up at the away gave. If we feel welcomed, we'll come back again! yeah, the blame it on the band argument is tired. I just want the band to get more Scholls funding so that the bgmm can rival in size and sound the cookmans, Jackson states, FAMUs and Southern of the band world. I don't understand why a $20 student fee increase can't go to supplement the BGMMs yearly budget
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Jan 27, 2021 19:04:16 GMT -5
check the national hbcu attendance "stats". "generally", the further north you go (where weather is colder), the fewer fans attend. to the contrary, the further south you go, the more fans attend. there's a reason that schools like famu, southern, and jackson state have large fanbases and it ain't because of their bands. instead its because they're located in "warm weather" states. there's a reason most of your "bowl games" are held in the deep south. band entertainment is "frosting on the cake" for most fans, not the "primary attraction"... Could the reason they have large fanbases also be because they had strong football teams in past years. They were the top HBCU programs for a very long time. The further north you go for HBCU football there does not seem to be a strong passion for football like the deep south, if there was I would believe even in the cold those fans would be out there. yes, its true that “part of the reason” deep south schools have larger fanbases is because some of them (not all) had top hbcu programs in past years, mainly grambling and jackson state. not nearly as much for schools like southern, alabama state, and alcorn. yet, grambling (which has the most successful hbcu program in history) only averaged about 10k per home game in 2019. alabama state (one of the least successful swac programs) averaged more than we did in 2019 (about 17.8k per game), southern averaged about the same as we did (16.9k), and alcorn was about 13k. jackson state, who hasn’t won but 1 swac championship since 1997 (over 20 years) ironically led the entire “nation” in fcs attendance in 2019 (33.7k) even though their record was only 4-8. so clearly “winning” didn’t have much to do with jackson state’s attendance. the only “constant” is warm weather...
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Post by outsidethinker on Jan 27, 2021 19:50:08 GMT -5
Could the reason they have large fanbases also be because they had strong football teams in past years. They were the top HBCU programs for a very long time. The further north you go for HBCU football there does not seem to be a strong passion for football like the deep south, if there was I would believe even in the cold those fans would be out there. yes, its true that “part of the reason” deep south schools have larger fanbases is because some of them (not all) had top hbcu programs in past years, mainly grambling and jackson state. not nearly as much for schools like southern, alabama state, and alcorn. yet, grambling (which has the most successful hbcu program in history) only averaged about 10k per home game in 2019. alabama state (one of the least successful swac programs) averaged more than we did in 2019 (about 17.8k per game), southern averaged about the same as we did (16.9k), and alcorn was about 13k. jackson state, who hasn’t won but 1 swac championship since 1997 (over 20 years) ironically led the entire “nation” in fcs attendance in 2019 (33.7k) even though their record was only 4-8. so clearly “winning” didn’t have much to do with jackson state’s attendance. the only “constant” is warm weather... Warm weather, great band and located 140 miles away from the next major city.
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Post by The Professor on Jan 27, 2021 20:27:04 GMT -5
I knew this conversation would eventually look for someone to blame...so let me rule out a few. Don't blame the band selection or when they play, or the current student body, or the aging wine and cheese alumni. Blame the University for its failure to promotion away games. (BTW- they also fail to properly promote home games but that's a topic for another day) The University, the AAF and the Alumni Association doesn't really prote away games. We have the attitude, if it ain't in Aggie stadium, bunk it! By promote I mean... advertise on social media, hype the game and BOB, list charter buses, and invite alumni to the hospitality tent. There's alway a core set of die-hard Aggie fans that will travel to hell and back to see us play but that's a small but loyal group. The University hasn't figured out that if we show up in numbers at away games and take over, eventually when the other school thinks they have a team to beat us they will show up in numbers at Aggie Stadium. Remember the crowd UNC Greensboro brought into Corbett that first year they knew they could kick our butts. Elon's football fans showed up the last time because they thought they had a winning team. Aggies will travel but we need a little encouragement and help organizing and planning the trip. Oh and it helps if there's a alumni tailgate party set up at the away gave. If we feel welcomed, we'll come back again! Traveling to games should be a AAF fundraiser. Why let others make the money would could
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aggie2039
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Post by aggie2039 on Jan 27, 2021 20:59:17 GMT -5
yes, its true that “part of the reason” deep south schools have larger fanbases is because some of them (not all) had top hbcu programs in past years, mainly grambling and jackson state. not nearly as much for schools like southern, alabama state, and alcorn. yet, grambling (which has the most successful hbcu program in history) only averaged about 10k per home game in 2019. alabama state (one of the least successful swac programs) averaged more than we did in 2019 (about 17.8k per game), southern averaged about the same as we did (16.9k), and alcorn was about 13k. jackson state, who hasn’t won but 1 swac championship since 1997 (over 20 years) ironically led the entire “nation” in fcs attendance in 2019 (33.7k) even though their record was only 4-8. so clearly “winning” didn’t have much to do with jackson state’s attendance. the only “constant” is warm weather... Warm weather, great band and located 140 miles away from the next major city. SC State attendance has dropped over the last couple of years, starting to believe its tied to the drop in band numbers. Probably effects the game numbers in Greensboro too, the band heads arent coming out. thoughts?
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919aggie
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Post by 919aggie on Jan 28, 2021 1:54:10 GMT -5
Could the reason they have large fanbases also be because they had strong football teams in past years. They were the top HBCU programs for a very long time. The further north you go for HBCU football there does not seem to be a strong passion for football like the deep south, if there was I would believe even in the cold those fans would be out there. yes, its true that “part of the reason” deep south schools have larger fanbases is because some of them (not all) had top hbcu programs in past years, mainly grambling and jackson state. not nearly as much for schools like southern, alabama state, and alcorn. yet, grambling (which has the most successful hbcu program in history) only averaged about 10k per home game in 2019. alabama state (one of the least successful swac programs) averaged more than we did in 2019 (about 17.8k per game), southern averaged about the same as we did (16.9k), and alcorn was about 13k. jackson state, who hasn’t won but 1 swac championship since 1997 (over 20 years) ironically led the entire “nation” in fcs attendance in 2019 (33.7k) even though their record was only 4-8. so clearly “winning” didn’t have much to do with jackson state’s attendance. the only “constant” is warm weather... Another "constant" is the band lol
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919aggie
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Post by 919aggie on Jan 28, 2021 2:10:16 GMT -5
Warm weather, great band and located 140 miles away from the next major city. SC State attendance has dropped over the last couple of years, starting to believe its tied to the drop in band numbers. Probably effects the game numbers in Greensboro too, the band heads arent coming out. thoughts? I'm confused on why no one see's that a band could heavily affect attendance...With the exception of famu/bethune the MEAC doesn't have consistent bands and they hardly ever travel...I'm not blaming our band/staff, but somehow they have to get more than that 100k budget...If the bands don't affect attendance, then why do so many ppl leave after halftime? (excluding a close game). Great "nice sized" bands = More Fans (in the HBCU world)
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Jan 28, 2021 9:46:32 GMT -5
yes, its true that “part of the reason” deep south schools have larger fanbases is because some of them (not all) had top hbcu programs in past years, mainly grambling and jackson state. not nearly as much for schools like southern, alabama state, and alcorn. yet, grambling (which has the most successful hbcu program in history) only averaged about 10k per home game in 2019. alabama state (one of the least successful swac programs) averaged more than we did in 2019 (about 17.8k per game), southern averaged about the same as we did (16.9k), and alcorn was about 13k. jackson state, who hasn’t won but 1 swac championship since 1997 (over 20 years) ironically led the entire “nation” in fcs attendance in 2019 (33.7k) even though their record was only 4-8. so clearly “winning” didn’t have much to do with jackson state’s attendance. the only “constant” is warm weather... Another "constant" is the band lol yeah but nobody goes to a football game "only" to watch the band except perhaps the parents of the band members. ya'll act like the band is the major attraction at football games and the game is "secondary". that's not true. ask the players and coaches who the fans come to see? its the other way around and will "always" be the other way around. folk primarily come to the game to "watch the game", let's not get it twisted. nfl teams don't even have bands at their games, yet they have "zero" problems drawing fans to their games...
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Post by AggiePride on Jan 28, 2021 10:36:03 GMT -5
I would not take what you read from other boards like MFZ and Onnidan seriously right now. It is a lot posters in their feelings with hate towards us right now for our move to the Big South. However, to answer your question, we travel very well to be in a conference that is so spread out. Even when in our dark times before Broadway, we traveled well to away games, that is a sign of a strong alumni base. I agree. And some of these schools don't travel as well as they pretend that they do.That is my thought. Some schools think too high of themselves. As far as SWAC schools, the schools that i see that travel well are Southern and JSU. The rest only travel for high profile matchups. Tenn State travels.
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Post by pj on Jan 28, 2021 11:58:35 GMT -5
I can see us recruiting to our brand just by taking over a stadium on the road, with our band in a good groove and the guys on the field Balling.
A kid in that city-who happens to make the game will be blown away.
( think about unc-c playing the boys from company b -from the 40’s
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