More than 48,000 fans attended the Louisville-Memphis football game Saturday but all some people saw were empty seats in a stadium that last season seated only 42,000 people and averaged 32,448 per game. (Photo by Menefee Seay.)
Ironic, isn’t it, that University of Louisville football is averaging 51,717 fans per game and some people are talking about attendance challenges. Charlie Strong even brought it up in his news conference Monday.
Howard Schnellenberger, John L. Smith, Bobby Petrino and old what’s his name would have loved having that many people in the stands.
More specifically, however, the concern is about the number of empty seats after half time during the Eastern Kentucky and Memphis games. With all the harping, one feels harangued even after having occupying his seat the entire game. Are we invisible or what?
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Never mind that between 1,500 and 2,000 people are milling about on Tom Jurich’s Norton’s Healthcare Plaza. All the critics and players see are empty seats.
[/pullquote]Never mind that between 1,500 and 2,000 people are milling about on Tom Jurich’s Norton’s Healthcare Plaza. All the critics and players see are empty seats.
From a profitability standpoint, the vacated seats are not a big deal because the U of L sold more than 44,000 season tickets and the money is in the bank. A good percentage of the remaining tickets have been sold so a financial success story is being written.
People who worry about such matters are concerned about the program’s image, probably recalling the olden days. Players see the empty seats and wonder about the level of real support. The observer notes the attendance numbers and marvels about how far fan support has come in the last two decades. The numbers just keep getting better.
Maybe the real issue is that Eastern Kentucky and Memphis were not exactly the most riveting opponents. The games weren’t in doubt very long. Then there was that unrelenting 90-degree temperature and the non-stop sun Saturday.
The Big East schedule begins Friday with Cincinnati. A highly respected opponent, much more on the line for the program. There will be more butts in the seats … and on the party deck. Count on it.
(Pssst. It’s okay to comment. If you got this far into the article, you must have some sort of opinion)
We need to put buuts in every single seat for every single game. I believe that we are a city of 700,000 so filling a 50,000 seat stadium should not be too difficult. Come Early, Be Loud, Wear Red and Stay Late!
Correction: “do come”
I agree that the attendance is looking good. The Cards get great support, but sometimes it isn’t as apparent as it should be because many people come do sauntering in sometime during the first quarter, and then leave if one team builds a big lead. We need to encourage our fellow Cards fans to be in their seats prior to kickoff, and to stay in them for the entire game. Being there for the entire game should be a badge of honor.
44 thousand season tickets sold ain’t bad. Idea …. put a remote camera up on the Norton Healthcare Plaza & occasionally show the rockin’ crowd on the big screens @ PJCS. Let the Cardinal Sidelines & the rest of the CARD Fans in the stadium participate vicariously!
Our opponents haven’t given us much help in terms of attendance either. For both the Memphis and Cinci game a large allotment of tickets were returned. I think a lot of fans that normally buy single game tickets are choosing to buy the $ 10 seats in 201.
I hope Charlie Strong is patient with this fanbase and gives us time to grow.
I agree, Sosafan. After the last three seasons, attendance has been remarkable. Especially considering the history of basketball fascination in this community and state. The growth trend for football has been good for the past decade, except for Kragthorpe’s three seasons. If Charlie Strong is successful, the growth will continue.
I have to agree with this point. For 3 years the administration, coaches and media members have been harping on us for being “bad fans”. We don’t stay in the seats, we don’t show up on time, we leave early. I say shuffle up and deal.
In no other industry could multi-millionaires complain about how the people that patronize their establishments. We heard for a good three years how we didn’t understand anything about football because we didn’t see how great Kragthorpe was. We heard about how our expectations were too high, because we expected an orange bowl every week. We hear about how we’re microwave fans with no patience. We hear that we drive good men out of town out of spite.
I propose a 1 year moratorium for all U of L coaches and administrators talking about fans. If the word microwave comes out of Rick Pitino’s mouth this season each fan gets to kick him in the nutz. If Charlie Strong keeps nagging us to get in the stands for kick off, we push back the average arrival time by 5 minutes. He keeps at it, we’ll be lucky to show by halftime.
Shut up about the fans and win games.
Awfully strong but hard to argue with. Especially when we were considered traitors for not supporting Krackpipe.
Thanks for this article, Charlie.