photos courtesy of Andrew K
Editor's Preface: First let me state that I am not a season ticket holder. I haven’t been one since I was a student. If you transported my current life and situation to Boston, I would probably be a season ticket holder but wouldn’t attend all the games because of the kids.
BC has a real attendance problem and I am not sure if there is a simple explanation or a simple solution. First let’s recognize that the economy is a major issue everywhere. College teams all across the country are falling well short of sellouts. Just look at TCU. They are a Top 10 private school with a nice history in a major metropolitan area and cannot fill their small stadium. I also think the growing and improving TV options dampens ticket demand? 10 years ago, the BC-CMU game wouldn’t have been on TV. If you wanted to see it, you would have to go to Alumni. Now there is ESPN U to cover the game. But even with the economy, the lackluster schedule, the weather issues, Halloween, a better TV experience, and all the other excuses that contribute to the attendance issues, there are two major factors that BC must address this offseason. Those issues are:
1. The fans that no longer attend games due to donor-based seating
2. The fans that no longer attend due to the diminished tailgating experience
Donor-based seating. BC hasn’t released stats around donor-based seating and its impact on sales. I’ve heard varied reports on the effect from as few as 500 tickets that were not renewed in some capacity to as many as 3,000 tickets that were not transferred in some capacity. Regardless of the true total, BC needs to spend some time this offseason and reach out to the people who gave up their tickets. Even if it is only 10 people, those are 10 people that BC could still use. At one point the previous ticket holders cared enough about BC football to have season tickets. We can get them back. We are still producing good football and have likable guys. It is an easier sell to say sorry and we want you back to a previous ticket holder than getting Boston-area fans to experience BC sports for the first time. You need as many season ticket holders as possible so that there is consistent demand regardless of the opponent. The shrunken season ticket holder base leaves more to the general public and allows more fans to pick and choose which games they will buy and attend.
Game day experience. BC has done a lot in things to make Saturdays more fun. There is the Eagle Walk. There are things for kids. There is are new bookstore and places to eat and shop. But the recurring comment I hear is that the tailgating policies are so restrictive and enforced with such cold and uncompromising zeal that it is a turn off to new and old fans. I am sure BC has good reasons for what they are doing and how they enforce policies, but they need to work on execution. And they need to spend offseason time reaching out to tailgaters. Listen to their complaints and explain why things are the way they are. Emails and letters are great communication tools to the masses but tone and touch can get lost in the delivery. Getting all the tailgaters on campus during the offseason in a "thank you" environment will help. It may also lead to some new ideas and solutions to tailgating policies.
I am disappointed that BC doesn't fill Alumni for any and all opponents. I don't think it makes a difference in the results on the field, but I do think the kids deserve a full stadium and I do think getting more people passionate about BC football is a good thing for the university. When there are so many factors, you need to start with one and work on it and for the Athletic Department it is not about commercials or promotions or any other gimmick. This offseason should be about thanking their current and former loyal customers and asking "how can we do it better."
Posts
49 comments:
One quick fix: lower the prices to get on Shea. There's tons of open room on there for every game. Make it more accessible to younger alums and get more people there to build a better atmosphere. I'll leave it to others to comment on the "gestapo" tactics of the BPD and BCPD.
"There is the Eagle Walk. There are things for kids. There is are new bookstore and places to eat and shop."
I would love to see and participate in each of these things, but there simply isn't time. Opening the gates for tailgaiting 3 hours before kickoff really means 1.5 hours (at best) of real pre-game tailgaiting. It's a sad f-ing joke. Let me on Shea at 6 a.m., and I'll tour the whole school.
"Getting all the tailgaters on campus during the offseason in a 'thank you' environment will help."
You have never been more wrong in anything that you've ever posted. We're interested in action, not more talk. Dragging us out to the school just to blow smoke up our collective ass only would aggravate the vast majority of us. Our time is too valuable for that nonsense. (We need it to come on your website and vent.)
I really think that the biggest issue with attendance is parking. I don't blame BC for donor based parking, as they need to do that to stay competitive. That said, until they have parking available on campus for non donors (season ticket holders and single game attendees), they will always have attendance issues. I have been a fan of BC my whole life, and have been lucky enough to have access to on campus parking, but if i was forced to park in a satellite lot every game, with no ability to tailgate, my attenance at games would be about 1/10th of what it is. It is just very inconvient. There are a lot of people that would go to a couple of games each year if they could pay $40 for a spot to tailgate for a few hours. That could be the differnce between a sellout and having the upper endzones empty.
As for the tailgating experience, i don't mind them forcing people into the games. But i will never understand why people are not allowed to walk alcohol on to shea, when they can do just that at every other lot. And why can i drink on shea, and i can drink in the beacon garage, but under no circumstances can i walk with an open containder from shea to the beacon garage? makes no sense...
As a recent grad, opening tailgating on Shea and making it cheaper so that younger alumni can afford to do it I think would make a pretty big difference. Right now, I know I personally tailgate at an old roommates house in Newton Centre and then head to the game. Most people I know will hit Mary Ann's or Roggies before the game and a few lucky ones will tailgate with their parents and still more will head back to the Mods to see old friends.
But if there was the option of having a legitimate tailgate on campus, anywhere, I know so many people would jump at that chance including myself. Younger alumni would bring in a different atmosphere, the whalepants and older alumni have a different experience of this team than grads from the last ten to fifteen years who have seen the program move into the spotlight of the national college football scene. I think younger alumni will bring a big time tailgating scene with them if they could afford it.
Personally, I think they need to offer some tailgate spots as individual game spots.
My friends and I bought one online for $200 on Stubhub for the Wake Forest game. It was great as 4 '07 grads we can not afford 10K for a spot all year and realistically with all of us in NY, CT, and MA it is easier for everyone to make one game a priority. I recommend all young alums to do it. Get a bunch of friends and buy the individual passes.
I have some ideas and comments about this (DBS, parking, tailgating, game day experience, etc.) - which I'll try to get out later. We definitely need a respectful letter writing campaign to GDF with some solid suggestions.
In the meantime - as much as we might hate to admit it - many BC fans apparently don't get excited about our ACC opponents, with all due respect to the opponents. When you combine that with an unattractive OOC schedule, we've got problems.
As we know, we have better attendance in the years that ND comes to Chestnut Hill, and we will when USC comes to town in 2014. I think it's good that we're getting Syracuse back onto the schedule, but what also hurts BC is that we have no rivalry game, and I don't think Syracuse will become that. For those of you who are glad to see ND go off of our schedule - it's really too bad, because it helped our attendance and was a rivalry game in my mind.
I would hope that we fill the stadium for the UNC game.
havent missed more than 1 home game a season in the last 8 or 9 years. the tailgating policies really hurt, and seem to be getting worse, not better each year.
for example, this past saturday was in the mod lot at about 10 after 3. beautiful day, enjoying the last 20 minutes of our tailgating, when a cop drives by in an SUV. He tells us to turn off (down?) the music. The person in charge heard down and brought it to a very respectful and quiet level. He angrily and with a ton of attitude yells - I said turn it off, not down. Now, a lot of the BCPD is nice about patrolling the tailgates. But something like this guys attitude, however small it may seem, (especially if I was an infrequent tailgater) would be a major turn off to me and leave a bad taste in my mouth about returning, or even getting my own spot in the future.
I know the town and city have a lot of restrictions but after having gone to a lot of away games and seeing how other schools do it, there has to be a better way.
BC is afraid or unwilling to fight the neighbors or city hall. As long as that is the case, the game day atmosphere will NEVER change. The neighbors and city do not want any more parking or tailgating or drinking than exists right now. They prefer to force thousands of ticket holders to park miles away and prevent them from contributing to any pre-game festivities on campus.
Matt - I have never heard of any other school harassing its own fans. This really is a problem that must be addressed. The external restrictions are bad enough - do we have to eat our own?
Matt:
Next time, have your friend take a photo of the douchebag cop so we can send it in to GDF.
Good or bad, we are far from the only one having an attendance problem.
But there are some things to make it better.
Anyone have some comparative statistics? BC attendance '09 attendance vs '07, '08
BC's attendance vs UConn's; BC vs Rutgers, BC vs Syracuse, etc.
Before complaining too much, maybe we should see if the problem is not BC specific. If that's the case,we can complain about Obama instead.
Any quants out there who can find and crunch the attendance numbers?
http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?key=/ncaa/ncaa/sports+and+championship/general+information/stats/football/attendance/index.html
About the best I could find at a glance.
My parents have been season ticket holders for my entire life, and I have missed a total of one home game in the past 11 years...and probably about ten in the past 20.
That timespan included the opening of expanded Alumni Stadium, the gambling scandal, and Tom O'Brien's two consecutive 4-7 seasons.
The attendance this year has been as bad -- if not worse, and probably worse -- than at any other time during that period. It's embarrassing, and it is a disservice to the team. Most importantly, though, our athletics are the strongest advertisement for the school in terms of attracting students. Empty seats and dead atmospheres detract from the message BC should be sending.
There are a number of explanations, the most obvious being that BC has an enormous accessibility issue. Ten years ago, 4 season tickets got you a garage parking spot on campus. Any fewer, and you were a SHORT bus ride away. Now, $2500 plus the cost of season tickets gets you a spot on campus; anything less, and it's a LONG bus ride or parking on the side streets of Brighton. A young family of four can make it to most games in the former scenario; and probably none in the latter.
Additionally, BC has consistently charged its most loyal fans more and more for less. On campus parking rates have gone through the roof. Fans who sat through a winless season in the 70s, who have sat next to the same people for decades, were told: "pay us thousands or sit elsewhere." Not shocking how that worked out. By and large (and with some exceptions) the police presence on campus acts like tailgaters -- who have paid thousands for their spots -- are trespassing criminals.
When you try to squeeze as much money out of your fan base as possible, while failing to grow that fanbase...well, you have exactly the present scenario. A very good team is going unsupported. Just imagine if Spaz hadn't done a coach-of-the-year type job this year, and we were playing UNC for the chance to go 4-8. Alumni would be 30% full.
The people who were forced out by the "we don't grandfather anybody, because we don't value loyalty" DBS policy...they ain't coming back. In fact, they actively loathe the athletic director. And frankly, they should. Loyalty matters at a place like BC, until it doesn't, and you get booted to the upper end zone. That doesn't cut it after three decades of support.
But BC can still grow the fanbase. They need to develop a young alumni seating area with open seating, so that recent grads can sit together and develop a game day tradition. They need to have ticket/parking specials --- God knows there are enough empty spots on campus to do it. That could be done the same way the Eagle Exchange is...ie. if a donor can't make the game, notify the Ath Dept, and they will use your parking pass.
Finally, the school should reinstitute what the Plex used to be on Gameday --- a tailgate open to those who are interested with a minor cover charge.
If BC spent literally 5 minutes developing a long-term marketing plan over the past decade, this would not have happened. Now, they'll need to figure out how to put butts in the seats once again. It's not that hard --- the product is a strong one, and campus is way easier to get to than Foxboro. It just takes effort, and understanding of the regular fan experience. Gene should try parking in a shuttle lot for UNC --- and should then ask himself whether he'd make the same trip with a young family.
Thanks Wesley - I think we'll be down 5,000 this year, and that's very significant.
We were never very impressive, but hovering around the 41,000 mark on the average was what we consistently posted. And those fans used to SHOW UP for the games.
I'm afraid the average this year will be well below that - in fact I just looked up the individual games - would you believe 34,929 AVERAGE!!!!!!
NU 33,262
Kent State 25,165
Wake 40,892
FSU 40,029
NC State 35,261
What do you thing, Gene? A little soul-searching. You have to go out of your way to keep real fans from coming to the games.
GDF, I hope you are reading this!
All great points. I plan to write a letter to GDF.
Go Eagles!
I think there are three principal reasons for the mediocre attendance thus far in the season. First, we have a very unattractive non-conference home schedule. Who is going to get excited by Northeastern, Kent State and Central Michigan? They are not exactly "Top 25" contenders. Second, the weather was lousy all day for the Florida State game. Frankly, I was surprised that 40K+ showed up. Third, BC keeps shifting kick off times to accomodate TV and its related revenue and not the fans. I think the NC State game was moved up to twelve noon which is clearly not a desirable time when it comes to tailgaiting and family activities before the game. The Central Michigan game was moved to 3:30 pm on Halloween. How many families or parents decided to ditch the game and take their children out "trick or treating". I think too much interest is placed on accomodating TV! Well, there you have my take on BC's sub-par attendance. Not exactly rocket science is it?
Big Jack -
2007 was the big year for Matty Ryan, high national rank, etc. One of BC's best years. Yet, we avg'd about 41k
2008 we had ND at home -- which skews the avg attendance figures upward -- and still avg'd ~41k
2006, we only averaged 38K, which is about 3000 more than this year.
2005 avg's ~ 39K
So the sky is not falling. A drop off of 4,000 (10%)in average attendance is not that bad (not that good either) in a off year (e.g. no pre-season buzz about the team) with a bad economy etc.
Enough. I go for the football and to support BC. The game is payed for the most part outside in the fall and winter (duh). Go or don't go; quit the complaining. BC is stuck with its footprint, and there isn't anymore space. Send Gene letters and if you live in Boston, let the city know how you feel.
I am glad to see that our Moderator has dedicated a post to this subject (as well as everything else he does!).
There are some really good points here,and any future business minded people out there who read this should take note that this is what happens when you tell the customer to go "F" himself. This is also what happens when you put Academic types in charge of a market driven product. There's a reason they hire marketing firms to drum interest in the school, as opposed to doing it in house. The main reason is that there is no one "in house". The reason they do not do it for GameDay is that they want total control of the campus, and so we have an authoritarian like system with inflexible rules, enforced by "yes" men, and chronic supply and demand problems because we over constrain the situation with artificial rules.
That being said, my original post seems to have stood up to attendance analysis which confirms that this is or could be, just a hiccup. However, it could also be the start of a bad trend if we have a string of teams like we did from 95-99.
Big jack, mod34b, Eagle1 and Patrick: You guys seem to have the best handle and interest in the situation. Let me know if you would like any help/support in writing to BC. I would be more than happy to help, as I think I feel as strongly as all of you about this problem.
Before the Central Michigan game, BC gave professors and employees 4 free tickets per request. They gave season ticket holders 2 free tickets to two early season games. There have been all sorts of gimmicks.
The stands are empty. Emptier than they've been in more than a decade.
BC can either do something about it, or ignore it. If they choose the latter option, most of us will still be there. There's no telling whether the recruits will. You think anybody who visited campus for any game other than FSU was impressed by the atmosphere? BC has a lot to offer, but it's stadium cannot be a morgue on Saturdays. It has been this year.
they should open up the new property for tailgaiting
The problem is the parking. PERIOD. I am a NY based alumni, as is my son. I have other children living in Vt. All big BC fans. This fall a football game tailgating experience was planned. BC was (of course) the orignal plan. The lack of parking at BC required that we went to West Point instead. Fifteen people would have much prefered a BC game, but it was logistically impossible. It would not have mattered if it was an unworthy opponant or if BC had a losing record. No on campus parking makes BC an impossible place to to tailgate for the long distance alumni.
Great thoughts, but as a regular attendee and Brighton resident I'll add a few causes of the problem, as well as suggested solutions:
Issue 1: BC gets strong push-back from both the City of Newton, the City of Boston, as well as community groups led by Alex Selvig and his cohorts. This leads to shorter tailgating times, and aggressive police enforcement.
Solution: BC start a PAC(political action committee) funding candidates for City of Boston, City of Newton, and Mass State positions. I work for a Fortune 500 company, and we donate millions a year in order for our agenda to be supported on Capital Hill. BC is the largest financial presence in Brighton (unless you include Harvard), and as such should throw its financial weight behind politicians who support us. Furthermore, BC must actively promote voting drives for students to be registered in Newton or Brighton on move-in day. As both City of Newton and Boston are non-party elections, student political associations (dem/rep) wouldn't matter in determining who runs.
This would solve 1) the police problem, 2) the tailgating time problem, and 3) the campus development problem.
2) Getting young alumni to attend. Problem: prices are tough for tailgating, and you get thrown into a random section and lose your friends at kickoff.
Solution: Permit year-based parking and stadium prices, such as that done by University Clubs. Last 5 years pay x, last 10 pay 2x, last 15 pay 3x and so forth, peaking at, say, 35 years out and then going back downwards. Maybe too difficult to enforce, but i feel that once you get the tradition going among friends, it rarely stops unless they move (or marry a NESCAC/IVY grad). Alternatively, I would love the young alumni open seating section. Brilliant idea.
3) Shea Open Drinking: See solution #1.
Really good stuff.
This is probably a stupid question..but...any chance at all of getting GDF on the blog?
Since I'm not local and tend to concentrate/comment on the games themselves, I'd love to see some of the local attendees and travellers address this issue with GDF.
I'm sure he's addressed the issue before, but perhaps not since seeing avg. attendance decline as complaints increase?
Part of me has to wonder how much of this is just BC playing the game. We all know that Newton and Brighton have always been hesitant to approve any expansion. Now that BC has given in to the demands of the surrounding neighborhoods in regards to tailgating restrictions and proven that they can be a cooperative part of the community they have gotten their approval.
Is there any chance that once construction begins, BC tells the neighbors to kick rocks? I'm sure BC knows that they are losing money because of their draconian practices. BC could be putting on its best face while it was still interviewing for the job.
I live 30 minutes from campus and while at BC and for 10 years after I went to every game... and a few road trips.
In my opinion the #1 reason for lower attendance is the few but loud neighbors who have ruined the experience. Back then you could have some fun before, during and after the games without the local lunatics taking pictures from the bushes and running to the Globe. Tossing a ball around with the kids and friends, cooking out, etc. There's nothing like it. Now? Try having fun taking a bus from the 128 area because you can't get parking on or near campus. The neighbors (some, not all), the get-a-lifers with nothing better to do, spend their time looking to cause trouble and BC has caved to them. Move a BIG game or two to Gillette and watch the crowds come back.As much as I'd hate to give in to the troublemakers, tailgating is as much a part of the game as the game itself.
I just sent off a letter to GDF. Like many others have commented on, while I'd love to tailgate at every game, since I'm an out of state alum, I only come back to campus for 1 game a year. As a result, this single game is a big deal for me and I'd rather make an event of it by tailgating on campus. Since that's not an option, I usually hang out in Cleveland Circle and then come over, but this past year I took the bus in for the first time. What a round-about route that was! I'll never, never take the bus again. The only way, I could tolerate it, would be if you could tailgate in the satellite lots.
Here's hoping that there is a solution with the Brighton property.
Beyond just writing letters, someone should start a website with a centralized discussion of this issue. From that discussion put together ten or so concrete points of agreement about how the situation should be improved, get people to sign a petition, and present it to the university. We should go grassroots on them. I really think enough people feel strongly about this.
I'd like to bring the money machine Fenway Sports Group into the conversation. BC used to be a fun place to watch a game and a place that treated people very well. In more recent years, it has become a sterile and unwelcoming venue. It is a not a place that you want to go back to again and again. I personally think that bringing an outside management company in is the cause of the transition. It has sapped Alumni Stadium and the BC game experience of anything unique or authentic.
Additionally, in considering the stringent tailgating rules, think about all the traffic complaints from the residents of Newton. Traffic could be substantially reduced if the college was not forcing all the tailgaters to arrive at the same time. Everyone rushes to campus, circling round and round trying to get on, to maximize the limited time they have. Staggering the opening of lots could alleviate some of this.
Lastly, the limited tailgating time and parking space is truly an issue. The more they restrict it, less appealing it is to make the trip out to the game. We're long time season ticket holders, and strong road supporters of the team, and I can confidently say that the Boston College tailgating experience is the worst that we've experienced. I'm including DII, small FCS schools to Florida and LSU in my consideration of that statement. It needs to fixed.
and if you take a look at the 10 year Master plan, parking on campus for tail gate purposes disappears almost entirely on middle campus and shea field, so obviously the present administration has very different ideas when it comes to the football program and our game day experience.
Here's the 10-year plan:
(http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bc.edu/sites/imp/meta-elements/jpg/impmap_10year.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bc.edu/sites/imp/maps.html&usg=__pImXIacXbvwuULV5EGte8xprM2E=&h=1566&w=1000&sz=496&hl=en&start=5&um=1&tbnid=A0jMQvtfr1yaCM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dboston%2Bcollege%2B10%2Byear%2Bplan%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
Looking over this plan there appears to be what could be used as tailgating space where the Plex currently is, as well as ample green space on the Brighton Campus.
Maybe I'm just not a conservationist, but what about the area labeled "Pine Tree Preserve" next to Shea?
Chicago - I think that's owned by the MDC - BC should somehow get control of that for sure.
could not agree more - I am an NYC area based grad - gave up seats this year because could no longer stand the gestapo on campus. Is a miserable experience. Now am a traveling football fan going to games for the atmosphere and experience - went to ALA / UT and OSU / USC this year
Things that would help tailgating/attendance.
1) Incorporate a live eagle into the pregrame introductions.
2) Buy the pine tree preserve and build a mega garage that will be known as the "Tailgate Tower".
3) Bring in barges and other floating structures and tailgate in the Reservoir Lake Havasu style.
Hey is the movie theater in Cleveland circle still empty? We could totally buy that and build a mega garage. Maybe not for tailgating but just to avoid the satelite lot nonsense.
And the always tempting but dickish - buy the reservoir, fill it, build an all new kick ass stadium surrounded by ample parking that is closer to the D and C and is in Boston so we can tell Newton to go F themselves and have massive tailgating free for alls.
I am fairly certain that BC has offered to buy the "Pine Tree Preserve" on many occasions and were told that the MDC has no interest in ever giving that land to BC. I vaguely remember reading an article about this years ago. Anyone know anything about this?
Best new suggestions:
1. At 9:53 PM, will the thrill said... "Beyond just writing letters, someone should start a website with a centralized discussion of this issue."
Absolutely. Letters are futile and go in the garbage. Websites are forever, will cause the BC administration some well-deserved embarrassment, and will force public attention on the issue until. We even can identify and publicly shame anyone who may be an obstacle, including Menino, GDF, and Father. Most importantly, it could name all of the douchebag neighbors who are giving us such a headache. Can you imagine each of them getting buried with a pile of "You suck ass" hate-mail? It would be glorious.
2. Eagle-eyes said...
"I'd like to bring the money machine Fenway Sports Group into the conversation."
Yes. With the exception of sex, nothing motivates like cash. This is a no-brainer, but these guys ultimately take instruction from GDF and Father.
3. Dan said...
"Things that would help tailgating/attendance: (1) Incorporate a live eagle into the pregrame introductions."
Awesome. I have had this same thought many times. Dye a bald eagle maroon, put a little gold football helmet on it, and let it fly around the stadium during pregame and at the half. When it flies back to the trainer on the 50 yard line, it can be fed little snacks carved into the shape of our opponents, as viewed on the megatron. The crowd would go nuts. Oh, joy!!
Thanks to Bostonfoodie for the insight on the local politics at play with respect to BC, and for identifying one of the BC opponents, Alex Selvig -- a 1987 BU grad. (ahem...)
I checked out Selvig on the web -- big surprise he is running for public office. Here is a blurb from his own bio (almost a parody of liberal; what a joke!)
"We recylce, belong to a community supported agriculture (CSA) group, compost, and drive our Toyota Prius hybrid only when necessary. We do all that we can to protect the environment, and my company offsets its carbon footprint through CarbonFund.org" http://www.alexselvig.com/bio.php
Ha! you can't make up this kind of nonsense.
Anyway, Selvig was running for City Council, and the election results from yesterday are in.
Here is blurb from "Wicked Local":
"Mark S. Ciommo has won a second term as the District 9 City Councilor, representing Allston and Brighton.
The incumbent trounced challenger Alex Selvig. Ciommo collected 4,848 votes (64.14 percent) to Selvig’s 2,676 (35.41 percent).
Selvig ran a negative campaign laced with accusations against Ciommo, but in the end, the voters who turned out felt Ciommo was indeed the better candidate."
So, onward and upward, the local climate for BC is already improving!
http://www.alexselvig.com/
He takes issue with absentee landlords, a problem that, ironically, only will get worse now that he and his pals have been successful in getting BC students out of Brighton homes. Way to help yourselves out, smarties.
Also, see the 1:22 mark on the first video. He wants to tackle the "rat problem." This is where we can help change his tune. BC has the resources to catch every rat in Brighton. Once we have all of those rats, we can put them in a giant blender and create biofuel for Selvig's Prius. That's a win-win, right?
We could also institute a mandatory Turkey Fryer for each tailgating spot and the oil has to be donated for biodiesel after the game. Then each time he argues about extending tailgating hours BC can break out all sorts of charts explaining the positive relationship between increased tailgating and biodiesel production. So essentially we can then spin it that a vote against BC is like a vote against the environment and your children's future.
All joking aside, these elections may have worked
out for the best. Brighton councilor Ciommo is the father of a current student (on a full ride) and newly elected newton mayor Setti Warren is a former BC student body president. Meninos win keeps the (relatively) pro BRA in business, so considering the alternative we're doing ok. Furthermore, harvard has left a big hole in the ground and an empty shopping mall in north allston so comparatively we're looking pretty good.
You can forget about the live eagle. I suggested this to Gene D in a question and answer on how we could improve attendance at the beggining of the game. He poo pooed it and acted like it was a stupid idea. I have been to Auburn when they do this ritual and it is pretty cool. I love the idea of a website. They cannot ignore this. Withholding money until they do something about the problem may be the only solution.
Just wanted to chime in that I agree with everyone and that I also have sent Gene and the athletic department a respectful letter regarding many of the things discussed here.
Should I receive a response I plan on posting it here.
Alex Selvig was actually the BC Crew coach for a couple semesters in 1989. He was a douche then and appears to have gotten worse.
I have been a season ticket holder every year since I arrived on campus in 1988 except 1992 (couldn't afford tickets right after graduation with no job lined up). This year's attendance has been atrocious.
I think it got easier to park on campus this year as I gave the same amount of money as last year and got moved from Brighton Campus to the Commonwealth Garage. There appear to be plenty of empty spaces in every lot too. I like the suggestion of extending the hours. Right now, everyone shows up at the same time which increases traffic. Extending tailgating hours to 4-5 hours before the game and at least 2 hours after would minimize the traffic problems both before and after the game.
Gene DeFilipo is a jerk. There is really no excuse for the poor attendance at BC games given the consistently good product on the field. There has to be something wrong with the way the BC athletic department markets its product - or doesn't. Someone needs to show DeJerko just how important improving attendance is and remind him it is precisely his job to care about it and to improve it. That's what he gets paid to do.
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