The unofficial online home for fans of the Western Michigan University Broncos. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

I wonder how bad season ticket sales will be when they try to sell us on 3 hang dog week day games this fall...
I for one will never buy another season ticket again...Too friggin old..

(03-23-2018 05:40 PM)broncojohnny Wrote:  I wonder how bad season ticket sales will be when they try to sell us on 3 hang dog week day games this fall...
I for one will never buy another season ticket again...Too friggin old..

Agreed. I hate to say it but the fans are being sold out. I’m in Detroit and as much as I’d like to attend the games a weekday game is a bit to ask the working folk. On another note, whose attending the WMU Oberon events next week?

The administrators - MAC and university - don't care about season ticket sales or attendance at the November games.

The ESPN money trumps all under the guise of "exposure."

Unless a MAC team is having a tremendous year, attendance at November games is lousy regardless. This is also true with almost all other schools, even in P5 conferences. I am not a fan of having several midweek games, as has been the case, but having one or two MAC games on Wednesdays during November actually isn't a bad thing entirely. It does bring in some money, and puts our schools on national TV. To laugh at the proposition that it brings a little exposure to the teams that are playing is ridiculous. The presidents and athletic directors have assessed the pros and cons, and therefore I assume there are some legitimate practical reasons why this deal was made and continues.

Besides BS board I also read MAC home and EMU, Kent, and NIU boards.

You are in the approximately one percent of posters who are in favor of the November weeknight games.

(03-23-2018 05:40 PM)broncojohnny Wrote:  I wonder how bad season ticket sales will be when they try to sell us on 3 hang dog week day games this fall...
I for one will never buy another season ticket again...Too friggin old..

My twelve year run of having season tickets is over. I hate to give up my seats, but I can't attend the weeknight games.

(03-24-2018 09:08 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  Besides BS board I also read MAC home and EMU, Kent, and NIU boards.

You are in the approximately one percent of posters who are in favor of the November weeknight games.

If the question presented was, "would you be in favor of the MAC being in an agreement with a national sports network which provided that all MAC games were either televised or at least available for free online, and which required that each team have only one weeknight game each year (which would be nationally televised), would you be in favor of this agreement?", I bet the percentage would be more than 1%. And this is what I said I would be alright with. For someone who insist that others cite only facts on their posts, you certainly tend to distort them.

(03-24-2018 08:32 AM)brovol Wrote:  Unless a MAC team is having a tremendous year, attendance at November games is lousy regardless. This is also true with almost all other schools, even in P5 conferences. I am not a fan of having several midweek games, as has been the case, but having one or two MAC games on Wednesdays during November actually isn't a bad thing entirely. It does bring in some money, and puts our schools on national TV. To laugh at the proposition that it brings a little exposure to the teams that are playing is ridiculous. The presidents and athletic directors have assessed the pros and cons, and therefore I assume there are some legitimate practical reasons why this deal was made and continues.

I’d add that interest in November games is dependent on weather (obviously) and also on the matchup (obvious). And then importantly do you have a winning record and or on a winning streak.

This year we might factor in interest in newer players and position units. Last year was really a study in courage as players fought through injuries and tried to step up to fill the gaps. This year, with luck we’ll see some newer fresher people step up and we can enjoy watching them develop, and hopefully even provide some excitement. Nothing better than realizing you’re seeing a star emerge.

Even so, those November mid-week games are tough on loyal fans. School the next day, work the next day, driving late at night. ESPN milks the advertising time outs and some games might not be over until almost 11, in the cold. My old bones don’t like that.

But if it’s nicer weather, team is winning, big game, you can get a decent crowd. But never like Saturday.

Too many weeknight games that erode the fan base.

MACtion is a short-term gain that sacrifices the future for MAC programs.

Reminds me of the Tiger's Doyle Alexander for John Smoltz trade. Sure, there was some immediate, and brief, benefit, but at a much greater long-term cost.

MACtion is a bad for the MAC.

I’ve bought season tickets for basketball because I wanted good site lines. For football I only bought them for the MSU home season. I can’t see a reason to buy them. I can use my ECCU membership and get a buy 1 get 1 around the 30 yard line, and can move at halftime to better seats. $20 two of us are I’m sitting on the 40 yard line. There is literally no chance I’d go to a midweek November game, so why buy season tickets.

Because only 3 games are weekend or meaningful their is no incentive to buy season tickets. Buy a pick 3 pack. Perhaps add a parking pass to the package, or food vouchers. Maybe #moveTheband and chairback those seats.

Sadly, MACtion has pretty much eliminated the need for a season ticket and without incentives that’s not going to change.

Who is mid-week MACtion actually helping?

It hurts the fans and students who can't attend the games, effectively destroying your fanbase.
It hurts the players who are traveling on a school night.
It hurts the brand, because it cheapens the MAC. It says "we can't compete with the big boys so we moved to weeknights".

Does the 'exposure" help recruiting? I don't know...but the bottom half of the MAC ranks dead last in the FBS in recruiting every year. So no, it doesn't seem to help them.

Ah, the athletic department/administration...it helps their bottom line. And that extra money coming in....has it helped the MAC become a more competitive conference? Recent history says no.

(03-24-2018 12:22 PM)Dirty Ernie Wrote:  

(03-24-2018 08:32 AM)brovol Wrote:  Unless a MAC team is having a tremendous year, attendance at November games is lousy regardless. This is also true with almost all other schools, even in P5 conferences. I am not a fan of having several midweek games, as has been the case, but having one or two MAC games on Wednesdays during November actually isn't a bad thing entirely. It does bring in some money, and puts our schools on national TV. To laugh at the proposition that it brings a little exposure to the teams that are playing is ridiculous. The presidents and athletic directors have assessed the pros and cons, and therefore I assume there are some legitimate practical reasons why this deal was made and continues.

I’d add that interest in November games is dependent on weather (obviously) and also on the matchup (obvious). And then importantly do you have a winning record and or on a winning streak.

This year we might factor in interest in newer players and position units. Last year was really a study in courage as players fought through injuries and tried to step up to fill the gaps. This year, with luck we’ll see some newer fresher people step up and we can enjoy watching them develop, and hopefully even provide some excitement. Nothing better than realizing you’re seeing a star emerge.

Even so, those November mid-week games are tough on loyal fans. School the next day, work the next day, driving late at night. ESPN milks the advertising time outs and some games might not be over until almost 11, in the cold. My old bones don’t like that.

But if it’s nicer weather, team is winning, big game, you can get a decent crowd. But never like Saturday.

I agree completely. The CMU game last year was a terrible experience in many ways. I only drove 3 1/2 hours each way to sit in the freezing rain because of the rivalry, and it really was an opportunity for us to get in a decent spot within the conference. The start time and finishes are lousy for those midweek games. And no team should have more than one per year. Never ever should a big rivalry game be during the week.

Honestly though, I have to admit that for one of the games I won't be attending regardless, it is nice being able to watch it on TV sitting in my recliner after work. There is also an advantage the following game for a team that plays midweek. You have ten or eleven days between games, and if your next opponent is playing on seven days rest, that could help; especially towards the end of the season. Make no mistake, I would be delighted if they did away with midweek games. But there are some arguments in favor of having them on a more limited basis.

I've always wanted to get season tickets one year since i finished school in 2012. Living in metro detroit, i cannot justify spending money on them when i can only go to 2 games, 3 if i'm lucky.

(03-26-2018 09:52 AM)SilentStryk09 Wrote:  I've always wanted to get season tickets one year since i finished school in 2012. Living in metro detroit, i cannot justify spending money on them when i can only go to 2 games, 3 if i'm lucky.

I had seasons tickets for 20 years living in Metro Detroit. Of course tickets were a lot cheaper back then, but we were right on the 50 yard line about half the west stands up.

I let them lapse the year I was going through a divorce, couldn't get motivated to attend any games that season. Often wonder who is sitting in them now.

Who is this 'Eagle Tough' clown? Gave me a -2 rating for being an 'Eagle hater'? Nice.

I finally get to 64 and then take two steps back because of some Huronoramus with an attitude. I'm still dealing with all the negative ratings I got years ago during the DB-clone wars.

At least I'm still above Dip. And if you rate me low to change that Dip, it's coming right back at you!