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Post by jackal on Jul 1, 2015 12:19:37 GMT -5
Gee, I don't think we had this much fun on this board since the Furman Ticket Scandal last year! The ticket issue was just plain dumb. I have had Mercer folks try to explain that to me, and even folks in the athletic department and the Mercer ticket office try to explain it to me, but it was just a plain dumb decision. Hopefully that chicanery gets left behind in 2015. |
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Post by FUBeAR on Jul 1, 2015 12:39:38 GMT -5
Gee, I don't think we had this much fun on this board since the Furman Ticket Scandal last year! The ticket issue was just plain dumb. I have had Mercer folks try to explain that to me, and even folks in the athletic department and the Mercer ticket office try to explain it to me, but it was just a plain dumb decision. Hopefully that chicanery gets left behind in 2015. 2014 NCAA DIVISION I FCS TEAM-BY-TEAM HOME ATTENDANCE FCS Rank School G Attendance Average #25 Mercer 7 70,002 10,000 #55 Furman 6 43,375 7,229 As I was fortunate to say so many times during my playing days...."Scoreboard" |
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Post by jackal on Jul 1, 2015 12:55:32 GMT -5
The ticket issue was just plain dumb. I have had Mercer folks try to explain that to me, and even folks in the athletic department and the Mercer ticket office try to explain it to me, but it was just a plain dumb decision. Hopefully that chicanery gets left behind in 2015. 2014 NCAA DIVISION I FCS TEAM-BY-TEAM HOME ATTENDANCE FCS Rank School G Attendance Average #25 Mercer 7 70,002 10,000 #55 Furman 6 43,375 7,229 As I was fortunate to say so many times during my playing days...."Scoreboard" What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? It does not matter how many fans you have, you reserve tickets for the opposing side. Rudimentary stuff. Basic hospitality in this game. Even big FBS schools that can sell all of their tickets to anyone still reserve tickets for visiting fans. If the lady at Furman's ticket office can be believed (and she has been there forever), Mercer was the first school in her long tenure to not reserve tickets for Furman's fans. Never had happened before. For the record, I take Mercer's attendance figures with a monumental grain of salt. I find it highly unbelievable they averaged exactly the stadium's reported capacity. What are the odds? (I won't mention what the actual scoreboard said) |
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Post by FUBeAR on Jul 1, 2015 13:34:22 GMT -5
2014 NCAA DIVISION I FCS TEAM-BY-TEAM HOME ATTENDANCE FCS Rank School G Attendance Average #25 Mercer 7 70,002 10,000 #55 Furman 6 43,375 7,229 As I was fortunate to say so many times during my playing days...."Scoreboard" What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? It does not matter how many fans you have, you reserve tickets for the opposing side. Rudimentary stuff. Basic hospitality in this game. Even big FBS schools that can sell all of their tickets to anyone still reserve tickets for visiting fans. If the lady at Furman's ticket office can be believed (and she has been there forever), Mercer was the first school in her long tenure to not reserve tickets for Furman's fans. Never had happened before. For the record, I take Mercer's attendance figures with a monumental grain of salt. I find it highly unbelievable they averaged exactly the stadium's reported capacity. What are the odds? (I won't mention what the actual scoreboard said) FBS Schools do what they are contractually obligated or mandated by their conference to do and absolutely nothing more. Mercer followed SoCon policies in their ticket allotments/distributions to visiting teams/fans. If you don't like those policies you have beef with the SoCon, not with Mercer. Speaking of HOSPITALITY, Mercer provided a fabulous, designated tailgate spot for fans from FU, WCU, and Cit...and Mercer's traveling fans were provided with no assistance from VMI, Sammy (they actually did put a small sign up in the worst possible tailgate location on campus), Chatt, and Woffy in that regard. And the price of tea in China is (in theory - since they are highly capitalistic communists) driven by supply and demand, just as is ticket availability and pricing in Maconga. So, again, with regard to tickets..."SCOREBOARD" 2014 NCAA DIVISION I FCS TEAM-BY-TEAM HOME ATTENDANCE FCS Rank School G Attendance Average #25 Mercer 7 70,002 10,000 #55 Furman 6 43,375 7,229 ...and it's a VERY REAL scoreboard. FU's former AD might now be aware of that. BTW - Here are all the SoCon numbers from that SCOREBOARD, in case anyone is interested... School FCS Rank G Attendance Average
Chattanooga 23 6 60,879 10,147 Mercer 25 7 70,002 10,000 WCU 28 6 57,150 9,525 Citadel 29 6 57,031 9,505 Wofford 50 5 38,820 7,764 Furman 55 6 43,375 7,229 Samford 77 6 32,016 5,336 VMI 79 5 26,314 5,263 |
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Post by jackal on Jul 1, 2015 14:42:50 GMT -5
As I've said, folks try to explain the decision. It was a dumb decision.
I have no doubt there was not a specific SoCon policy addressing the issue. I imagine there is no such policy because no SoCon school has ever precluded visiting fans from buying allotted tickets (ergo, no need for a rule).
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Post by FUBeAR on Jul 1, 2015 15:24:17 GMT -5
As I've said, folks try to explain the decision. It was a dumb decision. I have no doubt there was not a specific SoCon policy addressing the issue. I imagine there is no such policy because no SoCon school has ever precluded visiting fans from buying allotted tickets (ergo, no need for a rule). Buying allotted tickets? Huh? Have no idea what that means...if they were allotted, I'm sure they could have been bought...but anyway... I had to look up "Precluded" - Dory Funk & Wagnall's Jr tells me it means "to make impossible." What's that legal term, prima facie?...I'd say the number of FU fans I saw at the game gives me all of the prima facie evidence I need to know that FU fans were NOT precluded from buying tickets. You're aren't saying they all 'stormed the gate' and came in without tickets, are you? You're not saying that they all bought tickets in the secondary markets (StubHub and such) or from the vast number of Professional Scalpers outside of Five Star Stadium, are you? Can you name just 1 FU fan who showed up with funds to purchase a ticket who was turned away from buying a ticket and attending the game? There was NO preclusion (is that a word?) on Mercer's part, so I guess there is still no need for a rule....but if you want to buy visiting fans tickets EXACTLY as you want to buy them, then, again, your beef is with the SoCon, not Mercer. As an example, I want to tailgate EXACTLY as I want to tailgate and because I clearly found out that, despite claims to the contrary, no SoCon school is going to do more than they have to do or something other than what they believe benefits them the most, I took my beef about allocating visiting fans designated tailgating areas to the Meetings held at the SoCon BBall Tourney and a proposal was presented for a reciprocal agreement among all SoCon schools to provide such. Of course, they did not agree to do it because, for various reasons, some schools couldn't understand the benefit to THEM, in their particular situation, to such an agreement. I disagree with their conclusions, but I understand their motivations. Just as Mercer's ticket policies varied from other SoCon schools, who BENEFIT from allotting/distributing tickets to and thru visiting ticket offices (additional sales distribution points) because their demand for tickets is well below their supply of seats (the opposite of Mercer's situation), they didn't see the benefit of a reciprocal tailgate agreement to THEM. I KNOW you are a very smart guy and I KNOW you can understand why Mercer's ticket/seating situation is/has been different from every other SoCon school. I also understand your beef, but if you want something changed, you gotta take that beef to those that might have an interest in changing it & present your case, as I did. I think if (or, when, as you often state) Mercer's ticket demand/seat supply changes, then they would WELCOME an additional branch ticket office at the visiting team's campus, but for now, it doesn't make sense for them, UNLESS it becomes a rule. Oh yeah...and...SCOREBOARD... 2014 NCAA DIVISION I FCS TEAM-BY-TEAM HOME ATTENDANCE FCS Rank School G Attendance Average #25 Mercer 7 70,002 10,000 #55 Furman 6 43,375 7,229 |
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Post by jackal on Jul 1, 2015 15:57:13 GMT -5
I realize you don't think it is a dumb idea. I understand why Mercer enacted that policy. That does not make it less of a dumb idea. If (as they state) they draw exactly stadium capacity every game, they should have no problem selling any unsold and allotted ticket to any passerby.
Furman had a fine showing at the game. I do believe that was largely because Mercer, in opening up online ticket purchase to alums using a "special code" did not realize there were wolves among them. Best laid plans. (As I have been accused before, the purveyor of that information was someone other than me)
I'm sure you won't have any problems finding a suitable tailgating location at Furman. Even the bad spots on the most beautiful campus in the South have their advantages.
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Post by FUBeAR on Jul 1, 2015 16:35:14 GMT -5
I realize you don't think it is a dumb idea. I understand why Mercer enacted that policy. That does not make it less of a dumb idea. If (as they state) they draw exactly stadium capacity every game, they should have no problem selling any unsold and allotted ticket to any passerby. Furman had a fine showing at the game. I do believe that was largely because Mercer, in opening up online ticket purchase to alums using a "special code" did not realize there were wolves among them. Best laid plans. (As I have been accused before, the purveyor of that information was someone other than me) I'm sure you won't have any problems finding a suitable tailgating location at Furman. Even the bad spots on the most beautiful campus in the South have their advantages. - Doesn't this actually support why it WASN'T a dumb strategy? Anyhoo...Other than making a few hundred (or less) visiting fans, who will show up 1x every other year, unhappy, WHY is it a dumb idea from MERCER's perspective? I am just as unhappy about the lack of hospitality/cooperation with regard to tailgating at ALL SoCon schools visited in 2014 as you are about Mercer's ticket sales strategy. I took my case for a reciprocal SoCon designated tailgate area for visiting fans agreement with a cost/benefit analysis (more of a vision/word picture than a true analysis - no time/funds to do true market research) and tried to make a change that would benefit me and my fellow-Mercer-fans. Mercer did the SMART thing for Mercer. Show them or show the SoCon how/why they were wrong or 'dumb' and I'm sure you will win your case. I failed to close the deal on my issue, but I tried. "Furman had a fine showing at the game. I do believe that was largely because Mercer, in opening up online ticket purchase to alums using a "special code" did not realize there were wolves among them. Best laid plans." You may believe this was the reason, but actually very few non-Mercer Alums used the code (less than 100, I was told) and it was known to Mercer that the code had been distributed before 10 non-alums had purchased tix (I was told), so the code could have been changed or the ticket purchase not allowed (you had to give your name, right? Not too hard to cross-reference with an Alumni list) if Mercer was trying to be in the 'preclusion' bidness. More than 1,000 (my estimate) FU fans were at the game because they bought tickets through various channels and came to the game, had a fabulous designated tailgate spot, great seats (even the seats on the bank(s) are great seats), and enjoyed a narrow come-from-behind-in-the-2nd half SoCon win. Actually, the whole thing with the tickets was much ado about nothing (2 Shakespeare references in 1 day...I'm on a roll!!) "I'm sure you won't have any problems finding a suitable tailgating location at Furman. Even the bad spots on the most beautiful campus in the South have their advantages." - Agreed - Yeah, I kinda know my way around that place pretty well. |
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Post by BearDownMU on Jul 1, 2015 19:43:36 GMT -5
Not to rehash, and I'm glad you come and play here Jackal. I mean that. And don't take this is wrong way, but I really couldn't care less if someone primarily aligned with another school thought it was a dumb decision. New program, biggest increase in donors in school history, season tickets that sold out in 24 hours, a 6x increase in Athletic Foundation giving, and the Furman game being the biggest game on the schedule by far. All that adds up to get as many Mercer people in the stands as humanly possible. Good marketing, good strategy, and taking care of Mercer people first and foremost. As an athletic alum and booster, I was glad we did what we did and, frankly once word spread, it was even a source of positive reaction from Mercer folks.
You might not have liked it, but it was hardly dumb.
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Post by jackal on Jul 2, 2015 5:44:45 GMT -5
Not to rehash, and I'm glad you come and play here Jackal. I mean that. And don't take this is wrong way, but I really couldn't care less if someone primarily aligned with another school thought it was a dumb decision. New program, biggest increase in donors in school history, season tickets that sold out in 24 hours, a 6x increase in Athletic Foundation giving, and the Furman game being the biggest game on the schedule by far. All that adds up to get as many Mercer people in the stands as humanly possible. Good marketing, good strategy, and taking care of Mercer people first and foremost. As an athletic alum and booster, I was glad we did what we did and, frankly once word spread, it was even a source of positive reaction from Mercer folks. You might not have liked it, but it was hardly dumb. We will just have to disagree. Again, I understand why Mercer did it. In fact, it did not surprise me that they did. Mercer likes doing things their own way, and I often disagree with those decisions. I personally am sorry I didn't get to see Mercer try to pull the stunt with Georgia Southern. That would have been entertaining. I've seen them bring nearly as many fans to a road game as will even fit in Mercer's stadium. So no, I do not think setting aside a couple hundred tickets for a visiting school (as has been the custom of every team in this conference forever) would be a big deal. |
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Post by FUBeAR on Jul 2, 2015 6:32:45 GMT -5
Not to rehash, and I'm glad you come and play here Jackal. I mean that. And don't take this is wrong way, but I really couldn't care less if someone primarily aligned with another school thought it was a dumb decision. New program, biggest increase in donors in school history, season tickets that sold out in 24 hours, a 6x increase in Athletic Foundation giving, and the Furman game being the biggest game on the schedule by far. All that adds up to get as many Mercer people in the stands as humanly possible. Good marketing, good strategy, and taking care of Mercer people first and foremost. As an athletic alum and booster, I was glad we did what we did and, frankly once word spread, it was even a source of positive reaction from Mercer folks. You might not have liked it, but it was hardly dumb. I personally am sorry I didn't get to see Mercer try to pull the stunt with Georgia Southern. That would have been entertaining. THAT'S THE SPIRIT! We can agree on that. I would have loved, loved, loved to have seen that too!!! Rutger Hauer agrees! |
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Post by jackal on Jul 2, 2015 9:10:01 GMT -5
Not sure Mercer fans would have been ready for the vitriolic taunts from the Statesboro crowd. Sorry those days are gone. Look at the 6:40 mark of this video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeZLB2UC_H4That is at Paladin Stadium for pete's sake (the visitor's side holds, what, 7k?). Imagine what they would have done to Mercer. Sidenote: That 2004 Furman/GSU game was the most incredible football game I've ever seen. Not sure any current SoCon team would stay on the field with either of those teams. |
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Post by FUBeAR on Jul 2, 2015 9:36:33 GMT -5
Not sure Mercer fans would have been ready for the vitriolic taunts from the Statesboro crowd. Sorry those days are gone. Look at the 6:40 mark of this video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeZLB2UC_H4That is at Paladin Stadium for pete's sake (the visitor's side holds, what, 7k?). Imagine what they would have done to Mercer. Sidenote: That 2004 Furman/GSU game was the most incredible football game I've ever seen. Not sure any current SoCon team would stay on the field with either of those teams. From my 1 experience in Statesboro as a visiting fan, the only people ready for that crowd wears striped suits and has 1 hour of yard-time/day. Not sorry those days are gone at all and I wish them the worst as they travel on the road to irrelevancy. |
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Post by bear38 on Jul 2, 2015 10:51:42 GMT -5
Gee I don't think we have had this much fun on this board since the Catamount Prediction Scandal.....
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Post by bear38 on Jul 2, 2015 10:53:37 GMT -5
Whoops, looks like I stirred some raw emotions that hadn't been healed yet.
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