The single thing besides the W & L 's that bugs me about the football program is the complete and total lack of a gameday experience in Laramie. I have my own opinons about how things can be improved but we as fans must want to improve the atmosphere so how do you feel about it? First thing I would do is to get rid of the season parking passes and lower (or even make it free) the price of a single day parking pass to encourage tailgating. I would also set up RV parking areas that could come with a camping fee to offset cost and if it shows enough intrest maybe have electrical hook ups or something to further encourage use. Alcohol sales should be looked at with the understanding that a football game is really all about fan entertainment. Improve the stadium sound and visual systems keeping the importance of Western Thunder in mind. Just a few of my ideas.
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Gameday Ideas
- Thread starter lakeside
- Start date
BeaverPoke
Well-known member
Bottom line is we need fans to show up.
The more people that show up, the better the tailgating will be, and the better the in game experience will be.
The west side is so incredibly boring to sit in.
You can't stand up and cheer or you get yelled at.
We need busses hauling fans from all over the state to come.
Wyo football can't be an afterthought to these fans or it will never get popular.
People should be wanting to go down to Laramie for games and frequently, instead of just saying screw it and go hunting or doing something else.
We need fan passion, and we don't have that. We have it on Wyonation yeah but that is about it.
All comes down to marketing, winning, and the fans not complaining about every little increase in prices.
You want Wyo football to be big time? Don't bitch and moan about every last penny you have to spend.
And Laramie, Cheyenne, and Casper people really need to make the biggest commitments.
The more people that show up, the better the tailgating will be, and the better the in game experience will be.
The west side is so incredibly boring to sit in.
You can't stand up and cheer or you get yelled at.
We need busses hauling fans from all over the state to come.
Wyo football can't be an afterthought to these fans or it will never get popular.
People should be wanting to go down to Laramie for games and frequently, instead of just saying screw it and go hunting or doing something else.
We need fan passion, and we don't have that. We have it on Wyonation yeah but that is about it.
All comes down to marketing, winning, and the fans not complaining about every little increase in prices.
You want Wyo football to be big time? Don't bitch and moan about every last penny you have to spend.
And Laramie, Cheyenne, and Casper people really need to make the biggest commitments.
I know that Wyoming athletics needs to have every penny that they can get their hands on the same can be said for most American families. Assuming that coach Bohl does indeed turn the football program around in short order say 2-3 years would you rather generate income from more fans in the seats or gauging the fans that are going to show anyway? You have to create something more than football to draw the average Joe American nothing I know will draw those types of people in like a party. Do you really think that 90,000 die hard football fans show up in Lincoln I don’ t think so I would bet 2/3 of that crowd are there for the pre and post-game party and more or less sleep through the actual game.
lakeside said:
The other thing about this is that the way people behave in Wyoming after having spending a few hours drinking is enough to make me think twice about taking my children to games. I doubt I am the only person who has to weigh taking family to games against the crudeness, rudeness and verbal abuse that they would have to suffer at the hands of drunken neighbors who are not essentially forced to dry out over the course of a game.
From the administration's standpoint, would enough more people attend if the War is converted into a 29,000-seat cash bar to offset the potential reduced ticket sales and reduced young fan development that might result from the transformation.
We talk about the need for fans to be more radically obsessed with Cowboy football, but then we turn around and claim that the games are not worth watching sober for all but 15-20,000 fans.
joshvanklomp
Well-known member
Just looked up the attendance change in Fargo during Bohl's tenure. The year before he showed up and his first year they averaged 10.6 and 11.5 thousand fans each year. The two seasons before they started winning titles, they were at 15.9 and 16.5 thousand. Last three years, they've been at 18.1, 18.5, and 18.6 thousand. I'm not even sure that's right because I can't believe there were empty seats in the 19,000-seat FargoDome with how loud it gets
BeaverPoke
Well-known member
I bet it's right. There's always bound to be a few hundred that don't show up.joshvanklomp said:
We need to just win and win consistently and have Cheyenne, Laramie, and Casper show up.
If we get party busses coming into town Friday nights and on game day, the mood will and energy will ho up big time.
BackHarlowRoad
Well-known member
I think people will come with a better gameday experience, not the gameday experience will improve if people will come.
Just asking Casper & Cheyenne folk to come isn't gonna cut it. I don't think marketing is gonna cut it...everyone in the state knows what the University and knows it has a football team, they still choose not to come. It's not that no one knows there's a game going on.
The experience itself needs to draw in a crowd, I'm with ya lakes.
Just asking Casper & Cheyenne folk to come isn't gonna cut it. I don't think marketing is gonna cut it...everyone in the state knows what the University and knows it has a football team, they still choose not to come. It's not that no one knows there's a game going on.
The experience itself needs to draw in a crowd, I'm with ya lakes.
whyoh
Well-known member
BackHarlowRoad said:
i disagree...i would estimate that at least 9/10 people around here would not be able to tell you even the most basic info about the team
they couldn't tell you win/loss record, the name "brett smith", weather we are at home or away on any given saturday, or even who our opponent will be that week
the most i ever get is "oh yeah the football team....don't they really suck or something?"
NewYorksCowboy
Active member
I'll be making my yearly treck out to Laramie again next year. From my litle experience at War Memorial (1 game), I noticed that the place can get REAL loud. I think as simple as it sounds its all about winning to build a consistent fanbase to come down to games. If we find a way to shock MSU or Oregon next year (I think one will happen) and are able to go into Conference play 3-1, then there is no reason that the place shouldn't sell out for the Conference home opener. I mean if I lived in Casper or Cheyenne I know a party bus would be awesome, and I'd be down to take that for literally every home game. Personally, I thought the tailgate experience was incredible, but maybe that is just becasue it was my first time in Laramie, or at a college football game in general. But the one thing I noticed was the genuine love of he Pokes, and the state pride that Wyoming has. This state, and the people of Wyoming deserve a winning team, and I think a succesfull season or two in a row, and there willl be more and more sellouts, and the gameday experience will improve just based among the excitement of the fan base. Like I said, I came to Laramie at an interesting time, we were 4-2 and 2-0 in the MWC, and there was still a chance of a "special" season". Everyone I talked to was so passionate and pumped up, I felt like I was in heaven. I think some winning and a culture (AKA coaching) change will give Laramie that atmosphere everyday on fall saturdays. We already got he new coach, now it just takes some winning!
GO POKES
GO POKES
McPeachy
Well-known member
WyoExpat said:
You have a point. And knowing the way the current administration thinks & functions - it is a valid point.
But, let's pretend the UW AD department would surprisingly have their heads out of their asses for a few moments. They could (and should) set up a no-alcohol / family section(s) similar to Coors Field - so that there is separation and the opportunity for our Mormon fanbase to attend and look down on the heathen bastards in the next section for imbibing.
BeaverPoke
Well-known member
NewYorksCowboy said:
Glad you're coming back.
The truth though is, that the passion in Laramie and around UW, isn't that way throughout the state.
That's not to say that the rest of the state doesn't care about Wyo football, but the mindset is that there are better things to do than go to Laramie.
And most people that are casual "fans" don't know how good or bad we are. They just assume we suck.
Even in winning years, most students and fans don't know we are good.
UW needs to sell it to the fans. Show that it will be worth it. Show that we have a winning team.
BeaverPoke
Well-known member
stymeman said:
I think 2 pm is the best start time. Especially for people that are 4+ hours away.
If you're in Evanston, you can leave by 9, get to Laramie in time to park, and make it into the stadium, and then after the game get home by 10pm.
BeaverPoke said:
The problem is that when we do get the casual fans (the ones that could turn out to be avid fans) to come to the UW Football game, the game turns out to be a shitstorm - like the CSU game, the Fresno game, and many others like those over the last several years. No wonder they have better things to do than go to Laramie.
