(02-02-2018 05:15 PM)CourtsideBlazer Wrote: If other things take precedence, don't blame it on UAB...your decision not to go is YOURS.
This mentality and attitude is silly. The decision to not go is almost always OURS. How many of the 45,000 people at our 2017 season opener made the UAB game take precedence over other things that day? What would it have been if it had been a weekday school night? Obviously there was still hype surrounding the return, but you don't think attendance would have been affected? Only about 14,500 "true fans" made it out on Thanksgiving weekend and they had 10 months to plan for it.
Saturdays and Football go hand-in-hand during the Fall in the south. Part of what made this season's experience so great was the gameday experience that involved making your whole Saturday Blazer-related.
The reason for having games on Saturdays are obvious. For the most part, attendees don't need to take time off, kids don't need to go to school the next day, you have more options for kickoff times, you have more time to prepare day-of/get to the game/get home, it allows non-local folks an easier schedule for travel, etc.
I don't care for night games...and I hate Thursday games....but my personal preferences aside, I think it is a bad marketing move and I don't buy Clark's or Ingram's comments on it.
We are in fanbase-building mode...you don't build a fanbase by making season openers LESS accessible. OF COURSE we can plan for it, take vacation to make sure we make it, etc...but if we only want those that will do that to come to the games, why did we bring the program back to at all? We need to grow.
I mean...why build a new stadium downtown when real fans will continue to go to Legion Field?