You wanted it? You GOT IT. NDSU vs. EWU US Bank 9/2/23

[AlumniGreen]

Yep, agree with all those. Our personal discretionary spending has been curbed significantly the last couple years and it's only getting worse. It's way cheaper to watch at home or a bar and have just as much fun right now. Until pricing starts to become more reasonable or we aren't spending more on everyday things again I don't see attendance numbers heading the other direction. Tickets are only part of it too, concessions are ridiculous, parking fees, etc.

I don't know if it is just me but it seems the Fargo Forum gloats at the NDSU football "decline." Breathlessly reporting yesterday about not being able to fill the stadium for this game. I think it was by McFeely. He always seems to have a way to cut NDSU/North Dakota/Fargo down. I have never understood what his issues are. Maybe a bandwagoner. A few things - the human brain cannot sustain the wild enthusiasm we had in the 2012-2016 era forever. That type of success breeds complacency and becomes normalized. Also there are "haters" who say, "I told you so." People tolerated North Dakota/Fargo/NDSU better decades ago when we were "in our place" and not having national recognition - oil boom, movie "Fargo", downtown Fargo success and NDSU success. Now that we are struggling on some of those counts, they are having a field day. I cancelled my Forum subscription a while ago, just read headlines.

[heffray]

Exactly! Tired of FCS. So is half of the NDSU fan base. NDSU blew it by not aggressively pursuing FBS after the 3rd straight national championship.

Wait, there are people here who are tired of the FCS and want to go FBS? Wow… news to me

Kidding aside, you can be tired of the FCS and support a move to FBS and still support your team, be excited about upcoming games, seasons, players, etc… and not CONTINUALLY tell us all how shitty you think this all is…

[AlumniGreen]

I don't know if it is just me but it seems the Fargo Forum gloats at the NDSU football "decline." Breathlessly reporting yesterday about not being able to fill the stadium for this game. I think it was by McFeely. He always seems to have a way to cut NDSU/North Dakota/Fargo down. I have never understood what his issues are. Maybe a bandwagoner. A few things - the human brain cannot sustain the wild enthusiasm we had in the 2012-2016 era forever. That type of success breeds complacency and becomes normalized. Also there are "haters" who say, "I told you so." People tolerated North Dakota/Fargo/NDSU better decades ago when we were "in our place" and not having national recognition - oil boom, movie "Fargo", downtown Fargo success and NDSU success. Now that we are struggling on some of those counts, they are having a field day. I cancelled my Forum subscription a while ago, just read headlines.

As I was typing this, I got an email 6 months of Fargo Inforum for $2. Must be desperate. I go to the library if I truly want to read an article. Mostly headline-reader.

[Strommer10]

There are many reason's for the NDSU attendance drop since Covid, and they all play a factor. But to me there are two big ones:

1. Competition (the lack of FBS games on the schedule and the perceived watering down of the entire FCS)

Bison fans have always shown up when there was a step up in competition, to prove ourselves on a national stage. It was that way when we brought 25k fans to the Gopher games in the 00's and also every FBS game since then.
For example, there were more Bison fans in Tucson last year for the Arizona game than there will be in Minneapolis on Saturday... I'd also bet that there will be more Bison fans in Colorado next year as well. NDSU fans have already mentally moved on to the FBS because that is where the competition is.

The other part of this is the weakened state of the FCS. We've seen most of NDSU's national title competition leave for the FBS in the past 10 years. That has really hurt the FCS perception in Bison fans' eyes. Really only SDSU & the Montana's are left that Bison fans may care about. Each season, I now only try to attend the SDSU game, any FBS game, the Semifinals & Championship. The NDSU administration has tried replacing FBS games with these gimmick destination games, and NDSU fans have now made it clear we are tired of it. It's not worth the cost. Which leads to the second big factor:


2. Cost (cost/benefit to attend games rather than watch on TV)

NDSU fans are sick and tired of paying FBS ticket prices for blowout FCS games. I mean $150 per seat for lower bowl tickets this Saturday?! That's insane! I can get much cheaper lower bowl tickets the following Saturday to the Gophers game across the river. Or compare it to last year's FBS Arizona game: I had 15th row sideline tickets that were $25. But my same 15th row sideline tickets for this season's "destination game" are 6 TIMES more expensive... against a far worse FCS opponent.

Add in the sky rocketing home game ticket/donation costs, the regular NDSU fan can't afford to attend games anymore even if they wanted to. Costs have gotten so far out of control since Covid, and unfortunately I don't see them ever dropping. Until then, NDSU will continue to see attendance drop as more and more fans will become tired of paying FBS/Power 5 level of ticket prices for FCS blowouts.

[tcbison]

As I was typing this, I got an email 6 months of Fargo Inforum for $2. Must be desperate. I go to the library if I truly want to read an article. Mostly headline-reader.

Yeah, I used to read everything and watch the Bison Video Blog all the time. Not anymore. I am not going to pay to read articles(even $2) and I am really tired of McFeely and how he is so negative all the time. I know that is his thing but it is not worth my time and energy. It really puts a damper on being a fan if you ask me. I live in the Twin Cities and have no desire to go to the upcoming football game. Tickets are expensive and I just want to be with my family. Plus the cost of living is crazy right now.

[Kevin]

o/u 8.5 quarterback power run calls

[southcliffbison]

o/u 8.5 quarterback power run calls

Man, that's an easy one......OVER

[noryan34]

o/u 8.5 quarterback power run calls

Would crush that over. Considering EWU run defense was so bad last year.

[Professor Chaos]

o/u 8.5 quarterback power run calls

I hope it's under - if it's over this game is going to be closer than it should be. It's pretty much an infallable formula at this point:

0 QB power runs: Game was cancelled
1-4 QB power runs: Blowout win
5-8 QB power runs: Convincing win
9-12 QB power runs: Close win
13+ QB power runs: They're playing SDSU

[TransAmBison]

I hope it's under - if it's over this game is going to be closer than it should be. It's pretty much an infallable formula at this point:

0 QB power runs: Game was cancelled
1-4 QB power runs: Blowout win
5-8 QB power runs: Convincing win
9-12 QB power runs: Close win
13+ QB power runs: They're playing SDSU

I was originally going to say under...as they aren't going to run Cam much (not the beginning of the season). But Cole is going to get in...and he's going to run. If the score goes up quickly, Cole is going to get a lot of time...which means more qb runs. I have to say over, considering I think Cole is going to play a lot in the 2nd half.