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How to Improve Our Atmosphere
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EagNBran Offline
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Post: #1
How to Improve Our Atmosphere
Since myself and others seem to loathe the atmosphere we have at games, why don't we list the things we believe should be fixed? Perhaps that could help us solve some of the issues we have.


Here are a list of mine:

1. Music volume has been a problem for years. When I can hear tailgate music over the music in the game, that's a major issue. Play relevant songs (none of this 70s crap) and pump up the crowd to get excited. I'm tired of feeling like we have some noise policy we can't violate.

2. Jumbotron not utilized well. Need to have videos and games that keep fans engaged throughout the downtime of the game. We have a few, but there are too many times it's just an advertisement and I'm sitting there twiddling my fingers wondering what's next. You can let people advertise by being sponsors of certain videos that actually engage the crowd.

3. Banners aren't utilized at all. I'm not talking about the ones on the walls, I'm talking about the ribbon banner scoreboards on the sides of the stadium. We could use those so much better, flashing lights after scores, etc. Instead, they just scroll ads all game.

4. Halftime kids. I won't pretend like I didn't enjoy going on the field at halftime and shaking players hands (though I liked throwing the football with my friends more than actually saying hey to the players), but it's about time that this go. Call it tradition all we want, the players look abysmally dead walking out of the locker room slow, making sure every kid gets the handshake they want. We need them coming out fired up. Their attitude excites the crowd. If they're dead, we'll probably be dead as well.


Just a few of my thoughts. What suggestions do y'all have? Obviously, we won't all agree, but getting suggestions out there is helpful. People in the department read this board, so let's not pretend they won't see it. How much they do may just be defined by how much support ideas garner. Who knows, but I'd like to see ideas.
10-16-2017 11:54 AM
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shiftyeagle Offline
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Post: #2
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
(10-16-2017 11:54 AM)EagNBran Wrote:  4. Halftime kids. I won't pretend like I didn't enjoy going on the field at halftime and shaking players hands (though I liked throwing the football with my friends more than actually saying hey to the players), but it's about time that this go. Call it tradition all we want, the players look abysmally dead walking out of the locker room slow, making sure every kid gets the handshake they want. We need them coming out fired up. Their attitude excites the crowd. If they're dead, we'll probably be dead as well.

It was at least coherent up until this point.

While the football program has issues, this is surely not one of them.
10-16-2017 11:58 AM
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BeagleUSM Offline
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Post: #3
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
I don't mind the 70s and 80s music. Helluva lot better than the **** most students listen to. But I realize we need to target young people (our fanbase is ancient) and it'd probably help to have some newer music.

The coaches karaoke has absolutely got to go. It could maybe be a little better if you have a competent sound system and relevant coaches singing the songs. Instead, we have Mohammed the women's soccer coach singing stuff we can't even hear. If we can get the sound system fixed for 2018 (unlikely) and have coaches that people have heard of (Hopson, some FB assistants, Berry, Sadler, etc) then I can probably tolerate it.
10-16-2017 01:20 PM
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BeagleUSM Offline
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Post: #4
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
Check your PM, Bran.
10-16-2017 01:49 PM
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GCEagle Offline
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Post: #5
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
Coaches karaoke was fun the first season. Now it is just embarrassing.

Live the kids on the field at halftime. Do other teams come out of the half whooping and hollering and as excited as they are at kickoff? No, they are not. This doesn’t hurt the team at all. The atmosphere is trash after half because everyone is getting snacks and the students leave.

Video operations needs to be improved drastically. That’s the biggest issue I think. That and the team entrance didn’t sync up correctly.
10-16-2017 02:15 PM
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usm99 Offline
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Post: #6
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
I have been attending game for around 20 years now and one of the things that has lost it's excitement is the team entrance. I like the smoke and fireworks but the team running on the field has the feeling like it's practice or something. It's a halfway jog down the field to the south endzone where they take a knee and pray. I'm all for the prayer part but some of my fondest memories is the team RUNNING (not jogging) over to the student section (granted the student section at games now appear to be half the size of what they were 7-10 years ago) and getting them fired up. The last several years the team coming onto the field has the appearance of parents making their kids apologize to each other after fighting........"I don't really want to do it but let's make it look like we care just to get it over with"

I realize this is being nitpicky but it's my .02 cents on things that haven't been mentioned.
(This post was last modified: 10-16-2017 02:18 PM by usm99.)
10-16-2017 02:16 PM
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eagle04 Offline
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Post: #7
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
(10-16-2017 02:15 PM)GCEagle Wrote:  Coaches karaoke was fun the first season. Now it is just embarrassing.

Live the kids on the field at halftime. Do other teams come out of the half whooping and hollering and as excited as they are at kickoff? No, they are not. This doesn’t hurt the team at all. The atmosphere is trash after half because everyone is getting snacks and the students leave.

Video operations needs to be improved drastically. That’s the biggest issue I think. That and the team entrance didn’t sync up correctly.

I noticed this week how poor of a showing there was from the students. Most never came back after half time and the ones that did were mostly sorority girls who were required to stay to see who won the float competition.
10-16-2017 02:43 PM
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TTT Offline
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Post: #8
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
Music, jumbotron material, banners, IS NOT GOING TO BRING MORE PEOPLE TO GAMES. WINNING is the SOLE factor that makes people want to come to games. Yes, the YMCA thing is terrible. Yes, the karaoke is cringeworthy, yes then music can be terrible at times...but that is not what is keeping people from going to the games. John and Susie aren't waking up on Saturday mornings and going "I'd really like to go the football game this evening but I just can't stand the atmosphere...". No, what they are saying is "I really don't want to go to the game because I'm sick of us losing to teams like Charlotte and North Texas, I'd rather spend my money elsewhere."

I'm not saying the atmosphere at the rock shouldn't be improved, because it should be but let's worry about that when we're averaging 30k+ a game. All I'm saying is it's all secondary to what REALLY matters: winning. Winning builds excitement. Winning makes more students come to games and stay the entire time. Winning makes John and Susie want to wake up on Monday mornings and go buy season tickets and join the eagle club and bring the WHOLE family with them. And when I say winning I'm talking about CHAMPIONSHIPS over and over and over. Hell, we don't play in the SEC...we don't even play in the AAC. We play in po dunk CUSA. We should at least be winning 10+ games and divisional championships every year along with barely making or flirting with the T25.
(This post was last modified: 10-16-2017 03:35 PM by TTT.)
10-16-2017 03:33 PM
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Up2stuff Offline
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Post: #9
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
Maybe we should try the UAB special and dissolve the program for a year. 01-wingedeagle
10-16-2017 04:08 PM
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HarborPointe Offline
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Post: #10
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
(10-16-2017 04:08 PM)Up2stuff Wrote:  Maybe we should try the UAB special and dissolve the program for a year. 01-wingedeagle

As the late-20th-century philosopher-poets Cinderella wrote, “You don’t know what you got ‘till it’s gone.”

This thread illustrates the folly of thinking in-game gimmicks are the solution to anything. A half-dozen people posting in this thread can’t agree on music & high-fiving kids after halftime, and you think this kind of stuff is going to appeal across the board to an additional 10-15,000 more people? Good luck with that.

Yes, absolutely, some things that are already being done could be done better, but as the sayings go, there’s no accounting for taste, and opinions are like anuses.
10-16-2017 10:24 PM
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HarborPointe Offline
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Post: #11
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
(10-16-2017 03:33 PM)TTT Wrote:  Music, jumbotron material, banners, IS NOT GOING TO BRING MORE PEOPLE TO GAMES. WINNING is the SOLE factor that makes people want to come to games. Yes, the YMCA thing is terrible. Yes, the karaoke is cringeworthy, yes then music can be terrible at times...but that is not what is keeping people from going to the games. John and Susie aren't waking up on Saturday mornings and going "I'd really like to go the football game this evening but I just can't stand the atmosphere...". No, what they are saying is "I really don't want to go to the game because I'm sick of us losing to teams like Charlotte and North Texas, I'd rather spend my money elsewhere."

I'm not saying the atmosphere at the rock shouldn't be improved, because it should be but let's worry about that when we're averaging 30k+ a game. All I'm saying is it's all secondary to what REALLY matters: winning. Winning builds excitement. Winning makes more students come to games and stay the entire time. Winning makes John and Susie want to wake up on Monday mornings and go buy season tickets and join the eagle club and bring the WHOLE family with them. And when I say winning I'm talking about CHAMPIONSHIPS over and over and over. Hell, we don't play in the SEC...we don't even play in the AAC. We play in po dunk CUSA. We should at least be winning 10+ games and divisional championships every year along with barely making or flirting with the T25.

Good point, except for the decades of history from Sekul to Favre to Davis demonstrating otherwise.

Most recently, we have the 2011 team that won 12 games in a less-po-dunk CUSA and actually was in the top 25. It drew 22k in the first home game and 26k for its last. Out of 6 home games, attendance cracked 30k twice. And that was with the old ticket distribution policy.

Now, we’ll open the floor so everyone can proceed with their list of “but...”s (started 0-1 in conference, no SEC games OOC, Fedora gelled his hair, etc.) that proves “we just need to win more” is an utter load of bullcrap, too.
(This post was last modified: 10-16-2017 10:42 PM by HarborPointe.)
10-16-2017 10:41 PM
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GeagleFan Offline
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Post: #12
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
(10-16-2017 02:43 PM)eagle04 Wrote:  
(10-16-2017 02:15 PM)GCEagle Wrote:  Coaches karaoke was fun the first season. Now it is just embarrassing.

Live the kids on the field at halftime. Do other teams come out of the half whooping and hollering and as excited as they are at kickoff? No, they are not. This doesn’t hurt the team at all. The atmosphere is trash after half because everyone is getting snacks and the students leave.

Video operations needs to be improved drastically. That’s the biggest issue I think. That and the team entrance didn’t sync up correctly.

I noticed this week how poor of a showing there was from the students. Most never came back after half time and the ones that did were mostly sorority girls who were required to stay to see who won the float competition.

I sit right next to the student section and I have to literally beg students to stand the hell up and support this team. Even during pregame, it burns me up to see these students sitting on their butts picking their nose during battle hymn.
10-17-2017 06:56 AM
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EagNBran Offline
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Post: #13
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
(10-16-2017 10:41 PM)HarborPointe Wrote:  
(10-16-2017 03:33 PM)TTT Wrote:  Music, jumbotron material, banners, IS NOT GOING TO BRING MORE PEOPLE TO GAMES. WINNING is the SOLE factor that makes people want to come to games. Yes, the YMCA thing is terrible. Yes, the karaoke is cringeworthy, yes then music can be terrible at times...but that is not what is keeping people from going to the games. John and Susie aren't waking up on Saturday mornings and going "I'd really like to go the football game this evening but I just can't stand the atmosphere...". No, what they are saying is "I really don't want to go to the game because I'm sick of us losing to teams like Charlotte and North Texas, I'd rather spend my money elsewhere."

I'm not saying the atmosphere at the rock shouldn't be improved, because it should be but let's worry about that when we're averaging 30k+ a game. All I'm saying is it's all secondary to what REALLY matters: winning. Winning builds excitement. Winning makes more students come to games and stay the entire time. Winning makes John and Susie want to wake up on Monday mornings and go buy season tickets and join the eagle club and bring the WHOLE family with them. And when I say winning I'm talking about CHAMPIONSHIPS over and over and over. Hell, we don't play in the SEC...we don't even play in the AAC. We play in po dunk CUSA. We should at least be winning 10+ games and divisional championships every year along with barely making or flirting with the T25.

Good point, except for the decades of history from Sekul to Favre to Davis demonstrating otherwise.

Most recently, we have the 2011 team that won 12 games in a less-po-dunk CUSA and actually was in the top 25. It drew 22k in the first home game and 26k for its last. Out of 6 home games, attendance cracked 30k twice. And that was with the old ticket distribution policy.

Now, we’ll open the floor so everyone can proceed with their list of “but...”s (started 0-1 in conference, no SEC games OOC, Fedora gelled his hair, etc.) that proves “we just need to win more” is an utter load of bullcrap, too.


In all fairness, Tech was during a hurricane and Memphis was during a rain storm.
10-17-2017 08:44 AM
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Reggie Favre Offline
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Post: #14
RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
Guys, im sorry to tell you, but you are all wrong. You can list all the reasons you can think of about why the game day experience isnt what it could be, but you are still way off....and just making excuses. As rocktherock has clearly pointed out, there is one main problem with the failings of the football program and game day atmosphere at the Rock. Its because I, Reggie Favre, do not attend games. Im sorry i have caused, and continue to perpetuate, the fall of Southern Miss athletics. I hope USM is able to get on its feet without me being there to watch with all of you.
10-17-2017 09:54 AM
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EagleFWB Offline
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RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
1. Serve booze
2. Win
3. Serve more booze
4. Get in a halfway decent conference with teams that bring fans and form rivalries.
5. Serve a lot of booze
6. Win said conference every few years
7. Add speakers to south end zone
10-17-2017 11:38 AM
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HarborPointe Offline
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RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
(10-17-2017 08:44 AM)EagNBran Wrote:  In all fairness, Tech was during a hurricane and Memphis was during a rain storm.

And there’s the first “but....”
10-17-2017 11:38 AM
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HarborPointe Offline
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RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
(10-17-2017 11:38 AM)EagleFWB Wrote:  1. Serve booze

Now we’re getting into some meaningful changes.
10-17-2017 11:40 AM
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TTT Offline
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RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
(10-16-2017 10:41 PM)HarborPointe Wrote:  
(10-16-2017 03:33 PM)TTT Wrote:  Music, jumbotron material, banners, IS NOT GOING TO BRING MORE PEOPLE TO GAMES. WINNING is the SOLE factor that makes people want to come to games. Yes, the YMCA thing is terrible. Yes, the karaoke is cringeworthy, yes then music can be terrible at times...but that is not what is keeping people from going to the games. John and Susie aren't waking up on Saturday mornings and going "I'd really like to go the football game this evening but I just can't stand the atmosphere...". No, what they are saying is "I really don't want to go to the game because I'm sick of us losing to teams like Charlotte and North Texas, I'd rather spend my money elsewhere."

I'm not saying the atmosphere at the rock shouldn't be improved, because it should be but let's worry about that when we're averaging 30k+ a game. All I'm saying is it's all secondary to what REALLY matters: winning. Winning builds excitement. Winning makes more students come to games and stay the entire time. Winning makes John and Susie want to wake up on Monday mornings and go buy season tickets and join the eagle club and bring the WHOLE family with them. And when I say winning I'm talking about CHAMPIONSHIPS over and over and over. Hell, we don't play in the SEC...we don't even play in the AAC. We play in po dunk CUSA. We should at least be winning 10+ games and divisional championships every year along with barely making or flirting with the T25.

Good point, except for the decades of history from Sekul to Favre to Davis demonstrating otherwise.

Most recently, we have the 2011 team that won 12 games in a less-po-dunk CUSA and actually was in the top 25. It drew 22k in the first home game and 26k for its last. Out of 6 home games, attendance cracked 30k twice. And that was with the old ticket distribution policy.

Now, we’ll open the floor so everyone can proceed with their list of “but...”s (started 0-1 in conference, no SEC games OOC, Fedora gelled his hair, etc.) that proves “we just need to win more” is an utter load of bullcrap, too.

1. That was ONE YEAR of winning
2. The first game was in a monsoon
3. The Memphis game was the week after we laid the golden turd vs. UAB and ruined our sugar bowl hopes...that's why we only drew 26k...
4. The next year's home game (Elloss Johnson's first game at home)...we still had 34k at that game....and we lost and then everything went downhill attendance wise...
10-17-2017 11:45 AM
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HarborPointe Offline
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RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
(10-17-2017 11:45 AM)TTT Wrote:  1. That was ONE YEAR of winning

So it’s not “just win,” or even “win big,” it’s “win big for an unspecified consecutive number of years.”

Quote:2. The first game was in a monsoon

So was Louisville’s 2002 win over Florida State that put them in the national consciousness. So are any number of well-attended games at any number of schools every year. Do our people all have the same medical condition that causes them to melt in the rain?

Quote:3. The Memphis game was the week after we laid the golden turd vs. UAB and ruined our sugar bowl hopes...that's why we only drew 26k...

It was our SECOND loss of the year. The team was right back into the Top 25 a week later. So now we’re redefining the criteria to “No more than 1 loss for an unspecified number of consecutive years.”

This is why 99% of everything said in these discussions is a steaming pile of livestock manure. No matter what happens, the goalpost just moves back another 5 yards. There’s always another “but...”.

“Well, we’re winning, but 7-8 games isn’t gonna do it.”

“Well, we won 11 games, but we still lost to that team we never should have.”

“Well, OK, so the polls even respect us this year, but this next game is against a no-name so I’m not gonna bother.”

“But, but, but...”

For decades, I said “It’s not the fans’ fault,” then I eventually realized, no, SOME of it actually is. We’ve got too many people expecting to draw money out of an account to which they’re unwilling to make a deposit. Then to top it off, they have the audacity to complain about how those that do put in the effort have too much control.
(This post was last modified: 10-17-2017 12:33 PM by HarborPointe.)
10-17-2017 12:30 PM
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RockTheRock Offline
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RE: How to Improve Our Atmosphere
(10-17-2017 12:30 PM)HarborPointe Wrote:  For decades, I said “It’s not the fans’ fault,” then I eventually realized, no, SOME of it actually is. We’ve got too many people expecting to draw money out of an account to which they’re unwilling to make a deposit. Then to top it off, they have the audacity to complain about how those that do put in the effort have too much control.

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10-17-2017 12:47 PM
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