(01-13-2015 11:16 PM)At Ease Wrote: (01-13-2015 09:43 PM)georgewebb Wrote: (01-13-2015 05:38 PM)MemOwl Wrote: Follow up--what is the definition of exciting?
Winning.
More precisely, winning is, to a nearly complete extent, a sufficient condition for being exciting. In the short term, it is probably possible to be exciting without winning, but in the long run, winning is what attracts.
If winning was the definition of excitement, one would have expected the attendance to have picked up over these last 2.5 years.
Recent experiences over at Reckling might best exhibit the disconnect between the two.
For the fans who come, winning is generally more exciting than losing.
The attendance issue, IMO, is more about getting people to care enough to show up. The issue isn't likely to be whether they are excited by winning (or not), but whether they care enough to come or whether they have other priorities.
I come unless I have a family conflict. With all three of my kids heavily into athletics at this point in time, I have more conflicts than I used to. There will come a time when that (sadly) is no longer an issue, and my attendance will be at 100% again. As it is, my kids love coming to the games when they aren't playing in one themselves.
Apart from that, I'm not going to watch another game on TV, or plan activities that don't involve my kids. Saturday work is easy enough to schedule to avoid an issue.
Rice fans who care either will come regardless of the opponent, or will be more likely to come if they think we may win.
Rice alumni who don't really care need a bandwagon to join to show up (read: winning often) or an invitation from classmates.
Non-Rice sports fans are much the same, but add a 3rd reason to come (1. we're playing their school, 2. invited by a Rice friend, 3. chance to join a winning bandwagon), but in theory they have lots of TV games and their own schools to compete for their interest.
In pretty much every case, the chance to root for a winning team is going to appeal to the casual or non-Rice fan (the latter either adopting Rice or rooting for his school when they are in town).
Unless you personally know a player on the team, there isn't much incentive for a casual fan to adopt a losing team to watch.
Rice starts in a hole in that regard. 29 straight losing seasons and 45 plus years between bowls takes time to overcome (this is what Antarius alludes to when he says friends ask him whether we won any games this year (or last year), as we prepare for bowl games).
We really do need to continue winning more than we lose if we want to reach casual Rice fans or any non-Rice interest. People are already too busy watching the Big 12 or SEC on TV (or in person).