Unfortunately, you can’t put lipstick on an ugly 67-89 regular season record, let alone the bleak future outlook, now that the Pohlads plan to retain majority control of the organization.

Afterall, it was the Pohlads who started this MN Twins spiral two years ago when they decided to “right-size” the payroll, immediately following the deepest playoff run in decades. As a result, fans have gone from frustrated to apathetic.

Worst Twins attendance since team was offered for contraction

And when fans quit caring, 40,000 seat stadiums start to go empty, a fact of pro sports life that was on full display in downtown Minneapolis over the summer, where attendance tanked to levels we have never seen during the Target Field era.

The Minnesota Twins final attendance number for 2025: 1,768,728

Down 182,888 from last year.

Down 14,201 from 2001.

Worst single season attendance since 2000.

The Pohlads also aren’t selling the team.

— Ted (@tlschwerz) September 21, 2025

1,768,728 — That’s the final tally for the Minnesota Twins attendance this season — well short of 2024’s disappointing number of 1,951,616, and well short of the 2 million that former president Dave St. Peter projected last offseason, per Aaron Gleeman (The Athletic).

In fact, it’s been since 2000 — when the Twins lost 93 games and managed just 1,000,760 fans at the Metrodome — that fewer fans have showed up to watch the home-nine over the course of a full summer. After that ugly 2000 season, Carl Pohlad offered the franchise up for contraction, in exchange for $250 million.

Also #OTD in #Minnesota Sports History (2001) the #MNTwins are suddenly rumored to be candidate for contraction after initial reports a few days earlier suggested it would be the Expos and the Marlins. Weird. https://t.co/74SykIXmaG pic.twitter.com/QNi7FQ9E0r

— Dan WHENESOTA (@WHENESOTA) October 25, 2024

Too bad the current iteration of Pohlad ownership isn’t that open to offloading their MLB asset. But hell, now that the new minority investors have helped them clear more than $400 million in debt off the books, fans can at least be hopeful for more spending on talent this offseason, right?

Not only would that make the team better, but it would help excite fans during peak season ticket sale season. Oh and let’s not forget that selling Twins.TV subscriptions is now just as important as selling Target Field tickets. Without fan interest, it is incredibly difficult to make money as an MLB owner these days.

But let’s be real, the Pohlads are in this spot because they think in terms of short-term cents, not long-term sense. Any self proclaimed high school economist could have told them that cutting corners on talent would likely lead to more losses, less fan interest and ultimately less revenue.

Attendance problem is a Pohlad problem, and they’ll only make it worse.

The Pohlads didn’t care about any of that logic, though. They happily made their bed and now, if history tells us anything, they will cry in it and point fingers in all the wrong places with zero awareness of their own crimes.

So what is the owners’ offseason plan? In all likelihood, they’ll cut more, because that’s all this family knows when times are tough. That’s what Gleeman — who’s been watching this Pohlad car wreck closer than just about anyone in Twins Territory for the last two decades — fully expects, anyway.

And here’s the part that should have Twins officials really worried for what next year holds: For every team every year, the vast majority of tickets are sold before the season starts. Those tickets can’t be “unsold” no matter how badly a team plays or how turned off a fan base gets.

Because of that, MLB attendance is often referred to as a lagging indicator of fan interest. Whether a team has an amazing season or a terrible season, the full impact on overall attendance isn’t felt until the following year, when it’s again time to sell the vast majority of tickets in advance.

In other words: As bad as the Twins’ attendance was this season, and as far as it plunged following the roster-gutting trade deadline, the full weight of a horrendous 2025 and righteous fan frustration will be felt in 2026. Retaining existing season ticket holders will be difficult. Adding new ones? Good luck.

Aaron Gleeman – The Athletic

Even if the 2026 Minnesota Twins were to stumble into success, any rise in attendance would be delayed, just like 2025’s failures will be felt more next season than they were this summer. That reality will leave Twins executives and those in the PR department scrambling even further, but not in the right ways.

It was the Pohlads who got this ball rolling, after the 2023 season, and I fully expect them to make it worse until they are gone. Hell, the first move they made as they look toward the offseason, was to axe three-quarters of their pro scouting department.

So anyone hoping for more than nothing from the Twins this offseason will be setting expectations exponentially too high. In other words, their attendance problem is only going to get worse as long as there’s a Pohlad making decisions at the top.

The NFL is coming. But will fans be able to follow them into stadiums, with COVID-19 still at the front of everyone’s mind? According to Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic, the league has told teams that it will not implement a cap to the amount of fans that can be in attendance. As long as teams follow their state and local COVID-19 guidelines…. fill ‘er up.

The NFL will let teams set different attendance capacity limits when the schedule starts in August with the preseason, meaning some clubs could play in front of full, or nearly full stadiums and some before no fans. That could lead to questions about competitive equity, and whether the league should allow teams in empty or near-empty stadiums to pipe in crowd noise when the opposing team is on offense. 

Daniel Kaplan – The Athletic

While it is great to hear that fans could be in attendance for the country’s most popular sport. The questions begin to outweigh what the league has communicated.

What about competitive balance? Will piping in crowd noise be allowed? All of these are things the league should have discussed prior to announcing their decision. I guess money is more important than ensuring the season is competitive.

From NFL Now: The NFL is considering allowing local authorities to set attendance levels for each team in the 2020 season. What it means ?????? pic.twitter.com/sydE25qXMb

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 24, 2020

CREATING INEQUITIES

From a business point of view, this decision makes sense. The NFL brought in around $15 billion in 2019. They would be set to lose around $3 billion of that, if games are played without fans. However, even if the league’s main focus is to make everyone richer, you have to question if this decision is the right move.

While the NFL does have a task force working on reopening plans for stadiums, it is tone deaf to just raise their hands in the air and say let the states decide. With each state experiencing vastly different situations when it comes to the disease, you could see teams like the Giants, Vikings, or Rams with no fans. I am usually not one to say life should be fair, but come on, this is sports. The one part of society where it should be.

Even before the NFL’s announcement, teams were developing plans for each situation, with regard to attendance. It’s just like what we are seeing with the University of Minnesota with TCF Bank Stadium. To what level will they have fans present and who gets priority?

“Every team has run this scenario of zero, 25, 50, 70 percent there… Everyone has those plans in the hopper, and then I think they’re going to pull out the plan that they feel like works at the start of the season, and if things change, they’re going to flip to Plan B or Plan C.”

Jesse Lawrence, TicketIQ Founder to The Athletic

The priority topic is especially interesting. With the Vikings in the midst of vying for their first Super Bowl, who do the Wilfs deem worthy enough to attend? That is, if Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will allow fans at all… Do they go by season ticket tenure? A single-game ticket basis? Who knows?

COMPETITIVE BALANCE

Home field advantage plays a massive role in the NFL. All you have to do is see how loud stadiums in Seattle, Minneapolis and New Orleans get on any given Sunday. It wouldn’t be fair for the Vikings to play in front of an empty air hanger, then have to go play in front of 70,000 drunken cheese weasels across the border in Green Bay.

Should the NFL not allow fans in stadiums until fans can be allowed in EVERY stadium?

LISTEN as 'The Huddle' discusses competitive balance HERE:https://t.co/4wx2v7Ab86 pic.twitter.com/X3amSBkVkm

— 101.3 The Game (@1013TheGame) June 10, 2020

So how does the league fix this situation? Well, as mentioned, they haven’t quite figured that out. They are waiting for their task force to come up with a solution, come late July. It doesn’t make sense to announce this in June, if they aren’t absolutely sure of what is to come.

One team executive even went as far to tell The Athletic, “I wish they would push back the start of the year to October to give us more time to learn from these other leagues.” With a shortened preseason expected, the league is running out of time to tinker and solve this issue.

Another big question that has come from this, is whether teams will start asking for artificial crowd noise to be pushed into stadiums. While we have seen the English Premier League do something similar, it has only been on their NBCSN broadcasts and not in the actual stadiums.

Should the NFL not allow fans in stadiums until fans can be allowed in EVERY stadium?

LISTEN as 'The Huddle' discusses competitive balance HERE:https://t.co/4wx2v7Ab86 pic.twitter.com/X3amSBkVkm

— 101.3 The Game (@1013TheGame) June 10, 2020

Yet former Jets and Dolphin executive, Mike Tannenbaum, told The Athletic that the league shouldn’t begin to “over-legislate things”. Unfortunately, making these comments without providing solutions, doesn’t progress the conversation.

EXPECT BACKLASH

I get it. The NFL is a business and they are here to make money. But if the league continues to back this latest announcement, we’re going to see certain teams lash out. Whether it is through pumping in artificial crowd noise or breaking their state’s rules and opening the gates, they won’t stand for this.

Riddle me this. Would the Vikings have won the 2009 NFC Championship game if New Orleans didn’t have fans? What about the Minneapolis Miracle?

Fans play an integral role in sports. Players feed off the energy fans provide and games without them completely alter its integrity… especially if some get the advantage and others don’t.

Jack Kewitsch | Minnesota Sports Fan

Nebraska would be the team’s first big test of the season. That game (eventual win) wouldn’t take place until the team was already 5-0, but when it did unfold on a the gridiron, it was going to be on TCF Bank Stadium’s. After a win @ Rutgers was followed by a beat down of Maryland (at TCF), the Gophers were suddenly 8-0 and staring at a top-5 ranked (also 8-0) Penn State team…. at TCF. Another massive home game… turned into another massive victory, as the Gophers stunned the Nittany Lions.

That game made the whole world available to the Gophers, before they would unfortunately lose 2 of their next 3, one on the road vs Iowa, and the other a stomping at the hands of Bucky, to close the regular season. Nonetheless, one constant came from the historic 10 victories piled up by the Gophers this season

FANS FILLED THE BANK.

“..win games and they will come…” #Gophers via @StribSports https://t.co/nexVNZqT0F pic.twitter.com/gruwCRlrv2

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) December 17, 2019

This table (provided by the Star Tribune) shows just how much winning means to fan attendance. Really, it’s not rocket science. It’s not always about promotions or thinking about creative ways to get people in the door, although those things are certainly needed as you start to find your footing as a program. It’s about winning. Fans hate watching their team lose. It’s a famous coach and player saying but it will ring true forever..

“Winning feels great…. but losing sucks more.”

Losing is THE WORST. If you don’t absolutely hate losing, I’m not sure where you find your edge in life. Don’t give me that bullshit about how “winning isn’t everything” or “life isn’t all about sports”. One of those things are true. Life isn’t all about sports… but winning is still everything.

Whether you’re trying to find that one-night stand at the bar or trying to find a life-partner at the grocery store…. dating is about winning. Finding the mate you want, and winning over that person is one of life’s ultimate victories. Job searching or applying for colleges is almost too obvious to mention. There are a limited number of spaces available and normally more candidates than positions…. winner eats… loser doesn’t. Good luck raising kids too, if you think winning isn’t important… Life is one giant fucking competition. EVERYONE WANTS TO WIN. IT’S BUILT INTO OUR DNA.

There are a million ways to watch your team play in 2019-20 and all of the other options are cheaper and a better view, than actually attending the event. So, 2019 stadiums that are longing to be filled, are already at a disadvantage. Again… not new news right? What don’t you get at home, that you can find while attending an actual Gopher game?

Atmosphere.

Watching virtually from home, you don’t get the life-experience that you can rewind back in your head forever. That’s what keeps drawing fans.

But the atmosphere around a bad team sucks. Nobody wants to remember losing. Nobody wants to spend that money and carve out their weekend around losing. Nobody wants that losing taste in their mouth, as they hit NFL Sunday and move into the week… At this point in society, if fans are attending games of losing teams, it’s strictly about tradition and to show support. That’s it. They are doing it because it’s what they’ve always done AND/OR to be nice to the team they were raised to love (and because most of those tickets are already purchased).

No sports team or college football program, in this case, wants to be a pity-party with a shitty atmosphere, though. So, keep recruiting, keep winning, and the crowds will continue to grow. The atmosphere will too. Saturdays in Minnesota could become great again…… IF YOU WIN.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

I drove onto the TCF Bank Stadium grounds on Saturday morning a little bit late. Was that the plan when the day started? No, but I used it as an excuse, with myself, to get a feel for the atmosphere as tailgate parties were getting into full-drink. It was fun. The excitement was palpable and their were noticeably more people, walking around the stadium and through the parking lots, than there had been for any of the previous home games.

A lot of those tailgaters weren’t ready for the crowds, that would be migrating with them into TCF Bank Stadium around kickoff time though, because it was hard to tell whether we were looking at a line to get into The Bank… or if everyone lined up was trying to get through airport security during construction season…

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They can’t get all of these people into TCF Bank Stadium fast enough… #Gophers pic.twitter.com/kFMEPRT4Ii

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) October 26, 2019

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I believe all of those people found their way in, but I’m not sure how many of them found their way to the student section…

I was keeping my eyes on this throughout the 1st half (because I saw the same thing vs Nebraska) and couldn’t help but notice, again, that the upper bowl in the student section was the emptiest section in the stadium (closed end zone side). And, because the student section is bleacher seating (and not the maroon — or some gold — chair seating that fills the stadium from end zone to end zone), the no-shows stick out way harder there, than anywhere else. Again, this isn’t a one-time ordeal. I’ve been to every home game this year and the student section tends to be the most difficult to attract asses into seats. But, winning cures attendance problems… or so I’ve been writing for awhile now…

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Here is a better picture I found of how full it was when it was peaking. Not as bad as Nadine’s picture. It’s a half-full upper bowl just like I said. pic.twitter.com/N32fvbSDoT

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) October 27, 2019

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So, I tweeted this out last night, right as I was about to put head onto pillow, and it ended up costing me an internet friend and two hours of sleep. People get very sensitive over this subject BUT, let’s be real; that hasn’t stopped me from weighing in on anything else in the past. At the end of the day, truths are truths and facts are facts… Everything else is just excuses. (Write that down)

Gopher fans can make excuses for these students all that they want to. Have at it. Most kids their age have had people protecting them and shielding them from criticism their entire lives, causing safe spaces to be instituted at every old and closed-down cigarette station across campus. 

So sure, let’s hear them:

• ‘This photo was taken way late when the game was already over’
• ‘Success needs to be more sustained.’
• ‘It was an oddly beautiful late October Saturday that people took advantage of elsewhere.’
• ‘It was fall break.’
• ‘Attendance is down at all sporting events.’
• ‘The school has done a bad job of selling tickets.’

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How about some accountability? I always write and talk about how people should fan however they want. Be a fan, how you want to be a fan. Criticize how you want to criticize. Talk about what is on your mind, even if it isn’t in agreement with those around you. These are sports, we’re talking about. They are supposed to be fun and a place where we can argue freely about different opinions, because nobody will die either way (hopefully). I hate telling fans what to do and where to spend their money.

HOWEVER

I’ve also said that winning cures attendance problems, in Minnesota. Where is that fire we are so proud of? Where is that fan spirit that packed a million people into the Metrodome for the first Minnesota Timberwolves season? THE STUDENT SECTION IS THE MOST EMPTY SECTION IN THE BUILDING. WTF IS HAPPENING???

It should be the opposite of that. The students should be the first ones filling their seats. They should feel like the team needs them… that the team FEEDS off the energy created by the student section… BECAUSE THEY DO AT OTHER STADIUMS. Let’s put down the controller or mouse (I play video games too) for a few hours and take that last massive bong rip, before you leave (hell, bring a vape pen), but no matter what, make sure you get your student-ass into your student seat. The team really does need you and the stadium really does feed off of your energy and those tickets aren’t available to others. If you don’t show… nobody does.

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WE’RE BACK ON YOUTUBE AND HAVE LAUNCHED A NEW YOUTUBE DAILY SHOW!

SUBSCRIBE!

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We want College Gameday to come to Minnesota. PJ Fleck sat on a stump and pitched our great city to Gameday yesterday, during his postgame press conference. He went on for 5 minutes, in classic PJ Fleck fashion. If Gameday sees the pictures of our student section, why would they come here?

Of course, that is just me speaking from their point of view, because I know we would show out like no other, for that type of experience. BUT, we have to get them here first. The student involvement is what makes Gameday great. Their decision makers could balk at coming because of the lack of student attendance alone.

Also, PJ Fleck is proving to be the coach that we haven’t had here in closer to 100 years, than 0. He is a coach that believes in atmosphere and the little things that make it great. A packed student section and loud home games is one of those things… probably one of the biggest, in his mind. Who do you think is pushing all of these student promotions, to get these kids in the door? Everyone is now afraid of PJ leaving; worried that he’s the next Lou Holtz…. well he will be, if we don’t prove to him, what he believed when he arrived on campus: That Minnesota is a sleeping GIANT a college football program, fan base, and university. PJ has delivered on every promise he spewed in his opening press conference. Now, it’s our turn and that includes the student section.

So, students and Gopher fans all over the state…. I ask you: Are we going to return that newly-found trust, by busting TCF Bank Stadium open at the fucking seams, vs Penn State in two weeks…? OR, are we going to leave those around the country, to wonder how many students actually attend the University of Minnesota, during the biggest Gopher sporting event held on campus in over 50 years, and a team that deserves a stadium that’s just as ? as they are.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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Looking at Gophers tickets for next Saturday… holy hell.. pricey

— ?? UK Skol Squad ?? (@UK_Vikings) October 6, 2019

Make more money? Start a go fund me? Lots of options.

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) October 6, 2019

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The Gophers are 5-0 and the noise around them is still quiet. There is a lot going on in the state of Minnesota sports right now (possibly less after the Twins game tonight) so this is a difficult time of year to compete for coverage. On top of that, while the Gophers haven’t been 5-0 since 2004, there is still an unwillingness to jump on any bandwagon with “Minnesota Gophers” on the side of it.

That’s fine. I’ve said it before and I will say it here again. Nobody should tell you how to be a fan and there is no box around fandom. You can hate PJ Fleck and still be a Gopher football fan. I have nothing against that. The Gopher football team has been bad for a long time. In that time, they’ve been passed up by 4 professional sports teams, in popularity. This isn’t Nebraska, where all you have to do (besides pick corn and think about women from Minnesota) is watch the college football team. Attention in the Minnesota sports market is earned.

Make winning a trend, instead of an occasion, and the seats will fill. This state loves football and loves the Gophers.

But while we are talking about Nebraska, we might as well stay there, since that is the Gophers’ opponent for this weekend. Nebraska has looked like shit most of the year. The Gophers were able to come out on top of close games vs lesser, non-conference opponents, while the Huskers were not. In week 2, they lost to a Colorado team that has been beaten by both Air Force and Arizona, since. Then they got into Big Ten play, barely squeaked by Illinois (who the Gophers just beat 40-17), got absolutely POUNDED by Ohio State (48-7), and then beat a bad Northwestern team (13-10) with a last second field goal this last weekend.

A loss at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday (especially if it’s by a wide margin) would have everyone questioning the genius of Scott Frost (who I’ve dubbed Brewster 2.0 because of his unfounded hype train). And, I almost want that destruction in Lincoln as badly as I want a 6-0 record in Minneapolis. Nebraska fans are somehow much worse than Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan fans COMBINED. 

But again, the Cornhusker family has absolutely nothing better to do with their lives, than travel to other states around the country and cheer on their beloved red and white during football season. They live in Nebraska, after all. My dad played in a national slow-pitch softball tournament in Nebraska one year, when I was young, and we drove the RV down to save some money. We had issues finding the campsite because seeing anything, that is cut out of the middle of a cornfield, is difficult. We forgot that Nebraska doesn’t have a tree, let alone a woods, to hold a campsite. So, they cut them out of fucking cornfields…. Lakes? LOL. How about an out-of-service pool, instead? Awww…. Nebraska life.

So to avoid inevitable death by boredom, the football team’s fanbase travels unlike that of very many around the NCAA. Because of that delusion, they drive up ticket prices as if their game will be the last ever held, at each venue they play. Seriously, it goes beyond absurd. The prices are double for every seat… All three of these pictures are from GopherSports.com. The first two are from this upcoming weekend vs Nebraska and the last one is for October 26, vs Maryland… — Clicking each picture will take you to ticket options (Through the University of Minnesota) for the game they represent.

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Nebraska @ Minnesota (TCF Bank Stadium – 10/12)

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Maryland @ Minnesota (TCF Bank Stadium – 10/26)

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I know… I know… it’s insane. But, there are things that you can control in this world and their are things you cannot. With only 5 days remaining until this game, there are two facts of life that we cannot change before kickoff:

1. You cannot fix the delusion of Nebraska fans.
2. It’s difficult to find an extra boat-load of money in 5 days

Because of these difficult truths, I’m not going to bang on drums that will ring hollow. I’m a “problem-solver”, not a “bitch and moaner”. So, here is how we keep Nebraska fans from taking over the most important football game played by the Gophers in 16 years (2004):

We need to call upon all of the rich Minnesota Gopher fans that live within our family.

Because of our abysmal last 60 years, it’s beyond difficult to become a Gopher Football fan if you don’t live here, or at-least, hail from this the great state. Fuck, many have graduated from the prestigious University of Minnesota, to go on and live successful and $$$ fulfilling lives around the world. Why? BECAUSE WE BREED SUCCESS IN MINNESOTA. Beyond all of the Fortune-500 companies we have in the Twin Cities (19 in 2018) we have Minnesotans all around the globe that are running successful businesses of their own/or successful companies they’ve been trusted with.

Those are the men and women that we need, to make sure we drown out any voice that those disgusting Husker Fans might bring to our beloved TCF Bank Stadium, this coming Saturday.

It’s too often that the rich get a bad wrap. They are blamed for everything that is wrong in the world, including the lifelessness that has taken over some of the stadiums around the country, for sporting events. Well, for the Minnesota Gopher fans who have padded wallets and padded bank accounts, I’m here to tell you that I’m not mad; and that most of the finger-pointing is based on jealousy. You’ve always known it but I’m just goint to say it. And this, is an unbelievable opportunity for you to show all of the middle-class and poor fans around you, that you aren’t selfish; and that you want to use your money to spread good around the world and to stop the spread of evil.

So rich Minnesota Gopher football fans, will you accept this challenge? Will you put the state of Minnesota football on your shoulders, and help cheer our favorite college football team to its first 6-0 start since 2003 (they won 10 games that year) That’s a question that only you, your Saturday plans, and your padded bank accounts can answer. We need you, rich people of Minnesota. We need you now, more than ever.

IF YOU ARE READY TO PUT MINNESOTA FOOTBALL ON YOUR BACK, PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS FOR SATURDAY HERE. THOSE OF US WHO CAN’T AFFORD IT, THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

If you do purchase tickets for this game, Minnesota Sports Fan would love to give you a shoutout on Twitter and on both our Instagram and Facebook stories so feel free to reach out on any of those platforms with a screen shot of your purchase so we can get you the love you deserve!

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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“The fans that grew up going and tailgating, and the fans that grew up going to the stadiums four hours before the games are getting a little older. And I think the next and younger generation of fans are more reliant on technology. They’d rather have 12 TVs set up in their TV-watching cave than go to the game and experience the pageantry.” – Pat Fitzgerald | Northwestern (Quote via Star Tribune)

“You hear about what’s important now, getting Wi-Fi in the stadium. I mean, heaven forbid we all go to a football game and watching the game, like the whole game. All we can try to do is try to put a good team out there on the field. … If that’s not enough, if they need me to stand on my head, that’s going to be tough. Or juggling. Or acrobatics.” – Kirk Ferentz | Iowa (Quote via Star Tribune)

“Raising our kids the right way. Having morals and characteristics that I admire, personally. Having genuine, real, tough people; loyal people that are going to show up through thick and thin and stay for four quarters in a Michigan State game when it’s freezing outside. … That’s the type of people Nebraska has.” – Scott Frost | Nebraska (Quote via Star Tribune)

“I don’t want to be negative but I think apathy exists in America, and impatience exists in America,” Dantonio said. “There’s a trend there, but I think you see that trend in high school, too. Maybe it’s that there are so many other sports or so many other things to do that they can watch it on social media. I don’t really know the reasons for it, I just know it exists in society.” – Mark Dantonio | Michigan State (Quote via Spartan Mag)

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You don’t get very many technologically sound millennials who are as old-school-minded as I am, but these quotes from football coaches around the Big Ten are getting to the point of unbearable. Please Big Ten coaches, cry a little bit more on our shoulders about how you can’t get fans into your stadium anymore. Go ahead and reminisce about how much better life and our youth was back when all you had to play with were sticks and pinecones, maybe a tire swing if you were lucky…

The stands around college football have been emptying in recent years. There are a lot of logical reasons for why this is happening. I know one reason, though, for why it is NOT happening: FAN PASSION. Fans are as passionate as any of these coaches think they remember but many fans would rather watch the game (for free) from home than bare the elements, to watch the field from the 3rd deck, where you can’t see uniform numbers.

To bring fans to your stadium in 2019, winning just isn’t always enough anymore and if you don’t win, then you don’t stand a chance. Winning is still number one. If you can’t win games then I don’t want to hear you mutter a complaint. Win with some consistency and get back to me, Pat Fitzgerald.

For the Kirk Ferentz’ and Mark Dantonio’s of the world… I believe you’ve heard this saying… probably even used it on your teams a few times through your coaching careers: “Adapt or Die”.

How about you stop bitching and just do something about it. This is a free market world with unlimited entertainment options. What makes you entitled to your fans’ attention any more than other entertainment options that they enjoy?

Here’s some free advice: You aren’t entitled to shit.

People can watch you win games on their TV, celebrate with friends, and then still enjoy the rest of their day/night doing something else.

So, how do you entice fans to actually get their asses in their vehicles and spend their entire day at your college football stadium? You already have 3 possible hours of entertainment built in (with a good product on the field) but you are asking fans to come before games and to stay after, then fight traffic to get home. How do you make 6-8 hours worth it for your fans? WHAT CAN YOU DO AS A PROGRAM TO MOLD THE ATMOSPHER TO YOUR LIKING?

These are all basic questions that football programs should have to confront as a business, just like other businesses need to ask similar questions that relate to their product. College football isn’t any different.

With all of this in mind, I fucking love what the Gophers are doing to the gameday experience, starting Thursday. It’s clear they want more of you in the stands and that they want you to come through the doors of TCF Bank Stadium earlier. They offered $10 tickets, cheap student season plans (and scholarship giveaways every home game), and cheaper ticket prices (in general) to get more people to show. And now, to get you in the doors earlier, they came up with “Gopher Hour” which might be their most genius plan yet:

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TCF Bank Stadium's very own happy hour.#GopherHour starts at 5:30pm this Thursday in the West Plaza, with food & beverage discounts ➡️ https://t.co/8PfMWBDWDl pic.twitter.com/vgQm98CjSb

— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) August 27, 2019

Oh…. #GopherHour(s) on Thursday is gonna be ? #RTB #SkiUMah pic.twitter.com/RezooidN53

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) August 26, 2019

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This is the shit I am talking about. What can YOU do to enhance the fan experience so YOU can make sure YOUR stands are packed and ready for every one of YOUR home games? As soon as coaches and programs start using that mentality, you will see fans back in the stands…. as long as you win games.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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