Ramblin Wreck
2nd String
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Birmingham is no longer the Football Capital of the South
Not for games in person anyway. One thing that became clear with the Stallions this year is that people in Birmingham would much rather watch a game on television instead of going to one. It's not the lack of a great stadium, the cost of a ticket, the lack of a team with a good record or chance for a championship. It's not the lack of quality competition or recognizable names like Bo Scarbrough. It's not because they hate UAB due to some feud between Gene Bartow and Alabama years ago. They just basically would rather sit at home, which is pretty much the same trend growing for every college football team now. Gone are the days when Legion Field could draw 70,000 people to a bowl game featuring Vanderbilt versus Air Force. That ship has sailed. Unless UAB increases enrollment to 30,000 or 40,000 students, it isn't going to change a lot. With that said, even the large enrollment Florida schools (FAU and FIU) don't have lots of people in attendance at games. So basically, don't stress out over attendance as much as you previously have. It's not UAB or anything personal, people are just missing out on a great past time due to changing times.
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06-19-2022 06:59 PM |
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rook360
All American
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I Root For: UAB
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RE: Birmingham is no longer the Football Capital of the South
(06-19-2022 06:59 PM)Ramblin Wreck Wrote: Not for games in person anyway. One thing that became clear with the Stallions this year is that people in Birmingham would much rather watch a game on television instead of going to one. It's not the lack of a great stadium, the cost of a ticket, the lack of a team with a good record or chance for a championship. It's not the lack of quality competition or recognizable names like Bo Scarbrough. It's not because they hate UAB due to some feud between Gene Bartow and Alabama years ago. They just basically would rather sit at home, which is pretty much the same trend growing for every college football team now. Gone are the days when Legion Field could draw 70,000 people to a bowl game featuring Vanderbilt versus Air Force. That ship has sailed. Unless UAB increases enrollment to 30,000 or 40,000 students, it isn't going to change a lot. With that said, even the large enrollment Florida schools (FAU and FIU) don't have lots of people in attendance at games. So basically, don't stress out over attendance as much as you previously have. It's not UAB or anything personal, people are just missing out on a great past time due to changing times.
News articles have been saying that for the past three years, but it's easier for some to harp on visuals instead of actual numbers and data.
Don't tell USM fans, they swear it's CUSA and it's former members faults
Unexcused Absence: Why Is College Football Attendance Tanking?
https://www.si.com/college/2020/01/10/co...cline-ncaa
College Football Attendance is Down, Does that Matter?
https://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2021/...hat-matter
Maestas: College football attendance is down, but why? We have the data, and ideas for getting fans back to the stadiums
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/11/06/m...-stadiums/
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06-19-2022 07:37 PM |
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C-Finder
All American
Posts: 3,579
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I Root For: UAB
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RE: Birmingham is no longer the Football Capital of the South
With the rising gas prices, watching it on High Def TV seems like a good idea
Still going to the UAB games tho (good luck finding them on TV)
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06-19-2022 07:49 PM |
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Usajags
Sun Belt Nationalist
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I Root For: South Alabama
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RE: Birmingham is no longer the Football Capital of the South
Don’t down Birmingham for being like every where else right now. If anything, PS was built to big for the trending attendance numbers. For schools like UAB, and other schools having only played football for 50 or less years, we are all still fighting the lack of those previous generation building of a fan base. Unfortunately young people of today don’t see the joy, value and advantages of attending in person. Hard to build those traditions in this current climate.
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06-19-2022 09:43 PM |
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MAN4UAB
All American
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RE: Birmingham is no longer the Football Capital of the South
I think that some of the attendance issues can be blamed on the time that the games were played. Based on my experience attending/watching the Stallions games, it appeared to me that the best attended games were the ones scheduled in the evening. The prospect of risking heat stroke discourages attendance especially if one is older or brings their children. No local tv blackout also helps with deciding to attend or not in a heatwave.
I do recognize that tv broadcast scheduling dictates game times so it is what it is.[/align]
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06-20-2022 09:05 AM |
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jaymay2525
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RE: Birmingham is no longer the Football Capital of the South
This massive heat isn't helping either when you can sit in air conditioning and watch.
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06-20-2022 09:13 AM |
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C-Finder
All American
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RE: Birmingham is no longer the Football Capital of the South
So where's the new Football Capital of the South?
T-town?
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06-20-2022 09:57 AM |
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UAB Band Dad
Occasionally Reasonable
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RE: Birmingham is no longer the Football Capital of the South
(06-20-2022 09:13 AM)jaymay2525 Wrote: This massive heat isn't helping either when you can sit in air conditioning and watch.
That's what I was going to say. It's not all of it, we all know that there are multiple causes, but sitting in 90 plus degree sun is an argument against going in many people's minds.
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06-20-2022 11:19 AM |
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blazers9911
Hall of Famer
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RE: Birmingham is no longer the Football Capital of the South
Let’s be real, nobody gives a damn about a league we can all see being gone in the next 2-3 years. There is literally no tie to this team other than it plays in Birmingham. If the league survives and the team continues to win, that may change.
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06-20-2022 04:56 PM |
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HiddenDragon
Banned
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RE: Birmingham is no longer the Football Capital of the South
I think the USFL will be fine if there is a 2nd season. I fully expect all the teams to be playing in their individual cities next season which will make it a much more interesting league.
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06-20-2022 05:14 PM |
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Usajags
Sun Belt Nationalist
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I Root For: South Alabama
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RE: Birmingham is no longer the Football Capital of the South
(06-20-2022 05:14 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote: I think the USFL will be fine if there is a 2nd season. I fully expect all the teams to be playing in their individual cities next season which will make it a much more interesting league.
Last I heard was the league will be divided into two cities, but the second site hasn’t been named yet.
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06-20-2022 08:06 PM |
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