Is UL Attendance Really That Bad!

[MetryCajun]

I guess I meant it this way...people love the NFL bc at 8-8 or 9-7, you’re team is still playing for a cause (Wildcard birth)...in college, you lose 1 game and in the big picture, your season is done...the masses (not hardcore fans like everyone on RP) lose complete interest at that point

This is why a 16 team playoff would reinvigorate college football. Most teams and fans would at least harbor a hope that hey could make it on the big stage. One loss would not ruin the season. I think most G5 fans would take a 16th seed in a national tournament vs playing some meaningless Bowl game on December 20th in Montgomery AL.

[CajunNation]

College football is an extremely watered down version of the NFL that offers very few compelling matchups each week...unless you are into gambling. The pageantry and traditions have slowly been removed to give more access to networks and their advertisers. ..

This right here explains the last 30 years. From the expansion craze of the 90's to the soul-selling, mid week espn games on our own schedule, college football has done everything the TV Gods have told them to do, and it is killing the sport.

[CajunNation]

This is why a 16 team playoff would reinvigorate college football. Most teams and fans would at least harbor a hope that hey could make it on the big stage. One loss would not ruin the season. I think most G5 fans would take a 16th seed in a national tournament vs playing some meaningless Bowl game on December 20th in Montgomery AL.

There is no middle ground that will work long term. We should either have an INCLUSIVE championship tourney, like all other NCAA sports, or we scrap the whole thing and do the Bowl system like the old days.

Currently, a group of P5 leagues are trying to have a SELECTIVE, UNINCLUSIVE tourney and keep a Bowl system.

The results are in. It stinks to High Heaven.

[RaginScotsman]

I guess I meant it this way...people love the NFL bc at 8-8 or 9-7, you're team is still playing for a cause (Wildcard birth)...in college, you lose 1 game and in the big picture, your season is done...the masses (not hardcore fans like everyone on RP) lose complete interest at that point

There is such a disparity in college football and it's only really getting worse. Out of 130 FBS teams, only 4 make it to the playoff. Yeah, they have bowl games, some bigger than others, and that's all fun, but how many teams consistently compete for a national title? 12? Maybe? How many of those have a realistic shot? 8?

That's how you develop the have and have not mentality with football. The SEC has this. Everyone is below us because we compete in the SEC and you have no shot at any relevance. This is actually kind of true in terms of football. Not in all sports, though.

In terms of Cajuns sports, I honestly believe that we have some of the better fans in the country. This is not just for football, but overall. Baseball attendance is top 10. Softball is top 10. Basketball can be good. Football has many attendance records for the conference and bowl games that may never be broken.

So why do we do so well around here in baseball and softball attendance? I'm sure there are a few reasons, but one is that we are nationally relevant and can compete for national titles. It's just not the same in football. You have a couple of mediocre years and your back to empty stadiums. We just don't have the winning tradition to keep fans coming no matter what. In fact, 80+ percent of college football teams don't have it either.

[CajunVic]

There is no middle ground that will work long term. We should either have an INCLUSIVE championship tourney, like all other NCAA sports, or we scrap the whole thing and do the Bowl system like the old days.

Currently, a group of P5 leagues are trying to have a SELECTIVE, UNINCLUSIVE tourney and keep a Bowl system.

The results are in. It stinks to High Heaven.

Why does a bowl stink more now than it did 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago. It just don’t. Enjoy what it instead of constantly complaining about it.

[CajunJeaux]

Why does a bowl stink more now than it did 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago. It just don't. Enjoy what it instead of constantly complaining about it.

I would say it stinks more now than 5-20 years ago b/c there are so many more bowl games these days, majority of them come off as consolation prizes....

[CajunRebel]

Why does a bowl stink more now than it did 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago. It just don’t. Enjoy what it instead of constantly complaining about it.

Easy. Because bowl games used to be big flippin deals. Back in the 90’s there were less than 20 of them. But today even 6-6 Sun Belt teams get one.

[CajunVic]

Easy. Because bowl games used to be big flippin deals. Back in the 90’s there were less than 20 of them. But today even 6-6 Sun Belt teams get one.

Yes, but most on here are acting like all of a sudden, all the bowls other than the playoffs are no longer a big flippin deal. As to those, nothing has changed over the past 20 or 30 years.

I like the change to all the bowl games. As it currently is, I can enjoy football almost everyday from Dec 15 to the National Championship game.

[Esqueleto]

Easy. Because bowl games used to be big flippin deals. Back in the 90’s there were less than 20 of them. But today even 6-6 Sun Belt teams get one.

Spot on. A bowl game doesn't mean jack crap anymore. They've ruined the system by adding way too many. The Liberty, Independence, Bluebonnet bowl all had certain prestige until along comes music city, motor City, Camellia, Tucson, the game in the Bahamas (RIP), etc, etc. It's why none of them can draw more than a few thousand fans.

[LouisianaB]

Y’all are all right.

We are playing for a conference championship every year, and a football vacation after that. That’s our realistic ceiling. Although a New Years bowl may be above the ceiling and below the roof, if you are optimistic.

[CajunVic]

Spot on. A bowl game doesn't mean jack crap anymore. They've ruined the system by adding way too many. The Liberty, Independence, Bluebonnet bowl all had certain prestige until along comes music city, motor City, Camellia, Tucson, the game in the Bahamas (RIP), etc, etc. It's why none of them can draw more than a few thousand fans.

Are you really saying that less people would go see the Cajuns in the Independence bowl because there is a Camelia Bowl, Motor City Bowl, etc., and that because now there are lower tiered bowls that bowls like the Liberty, Independence, etc. no longer have the significance they once had?

[Turbine]

Y’all are all right.

We are playing for a conference championship every year, and a football vacation after that. That’s our realistic ceiling. Although a New Years bowl may be above the ceiling and below the roof, if you are optimistic.

I love Football Vacations.