Someone finally said it! I just started an account because someone finally said the thing I’ve been thinking for years. Now I feel ready to amplify the thought.
Gameday inside Cajun Field is not great. Mediocre at best. The band? Doesn’t add much. The pregame? Is extremely lacking. The overall fan engagement? Bottom Tier. And in my opinion this isn’t just a football problem. All the major sports are lacking in regards to in game fan (especially towards students) engagement.
But lets just focus on football for now. Having a good football team can only bring in so many people. That’s reality and there’s no changing that. Having a good football team isn’t unique. Anybody can sit on their couch, flip through a few channels and find some good football. People pack stadiums because of they want to have fun and unique experiences. It’s an event that every fan contributes to in a large way. I don’t like La state either but I know they do a great job of keeping their fans (especially their student section) engaged through the WHOLE game. From pregame to final whistle there’s chants primarily lead by the band. That’s how it should be! What do we have? We yell “first down” like a gillion other schools, and our fight song. That’s lame. For a uni that advertises as being the one and only, and loves it’s culture, there is no creative being shown at gameday. And the experience suffers from it.
Another factor that leads to a lack of fan engagement is not having a spirit leader. What are those called again?? Oh yeah, a MASCOT. Something every university and professional sports team has, but not UL. Here’s something that is a proven good and effective thing to have, but we drag our feet on it because of the trauma related to the laughably bad other attempts. Having a bad mascot is better than none. I don’t think that’s IMO. I think that’s a fact. The Flyers’ Gritty looks weird but he’s iconically weird. They are GREAT brand ambassadors; plus they are just fun to have at a game!
We only average what, about 20,000 per game? That is terrible for a program that has accomplished what it has over the past 4 years, with an enrollment of almost 20,000 and for the number of people in Acadiana. Why won't people attend our games? Why don't we have more season ticket holders? Why don't more students attend and get more engaged in UL athletics? This is about football, but can extend to all sports. That is the subject of this thread. UL needs to recognize and address this problem.
Who is in charge of the total game experience?
Good question because our opinions should be shared with this person.
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