Some Wyoming fans are not Cowboy tough

[Wyomingisgreat1]

They complain about winning seasons.
They complain and don't show up to cold-weather games. They don't show up to cold weather games and except the team to win without them.
Maybe if we had another 5,000 fans at the game we could of help with more false starts against Boise and caused problems with their playcalling.
They talk shots at players.
Some of you need to lay off the keyboard and enjoy life.

Let's be honest; you're not Cowboy tough.

 

[Subcanis]

Lol.

“I’m a better fan!”

 

[Itsux2beaewe]

They complain about winning seasons.
They complain and don't show up to cold-weather games. They don't show up to cold weather games and except the team to win without them.
Maybe if we had another 5,000 fans at the game we could of help with more false starts against Boise and caused problems with their playcalling.
They talk shots at players.
Some of you need to lay off the keyboard and enjoy life.

Let's be honest; you're not Cowboy tough.

I was at the game, and I think taking shots at the players is BS!!! How’s that?!!!!!!!

Oh, and yea, I’m Cowboy Tough!!!!!

 

[stymeman]

I was there too.

Alls i want is for us to win big games, instead of a feel good loss...nope 24 hours later and I'm still hurting watching that debacle.

 

[DamThatRiver22]

They complain about winning seasons"

This is possibly the most disingenuous take I've ever seen on this board. (Granted, I've not been here long, so there's that. Lol.)

Having said that, I'll give you the rest. We supposedly pride ourselves on being "Cowboy tough" and how we're used to the elements here, but all I ever see and hear is whining and complaints about "late starts" or "the cold" or whatever else, and we can't even get a decent crowd in the stadium for the biggest game of the year. All week long, that's all I saw from people....pulling out every reason why they couldn't/wouldn't go to the game instead of finding a way to get there.

17k. That was the announced attendance...which by itself is pitiful, but anyone who knows anything about CFB also knows announced attendance numbers are almost always inflated by 10-20% for various reasons. That stadium was less than half full, and it's inexcusable.

For various reasons, I think a disproportionately large portion of our fanbase is super casual. Knows very little about football, only turns up for the home opener/maybe Homecoming/home Border war games, doesn't watch any other college football outside of a couple of Wyoming games a year, etc. There's a sense of obligation/tribalism that comes from it being the state's only CFB representative and a part of the state's identity...but unfortunately, that doesn't make people actual football fans or drill any kind of football knowledge or dedication into them.

But generally speaking, people like us...who waste our lives posting on dedicated team messageboards like this...are not the kind of people you need to be chastising. Lmao.

Go yell at the 87623874235673 Facebook fans who spent all week complaining about the cold, the start time, and everything else. They're the ones that actually need to hear it.

 

[307bball]

They complain about winning seasons"

This is possibly the most disingenuous take I've ever seen on this board. (Granted, I've not been here long, so there's that. Lol.)

Having said that, I'll give you the rest. We supposedly pride ourselves on being "Cowboy tough" and how we're used to the elements here, but all I ever see and hear is whining and complaints about "late starts" or "the cold" or whatever else, and we can't even get a decent crowd in the stadium for the biggest game of the year. All week long, that's all I saw from people....pulling out every reason why they couldn't/wouldn't go to the game instead of finding a way to get there.

17k. That was the announced attendance...which by itself is pitiful, but anyone who knows anything about CFB also knows announced attendance numbers are almost always inflated by 10-20% for various reasons. That stadium was less than half full, and it's inexcusable.

For various reasons, I think a disproportionately large portion of our fanbase is super casual. Knows very little about football, only turns up for the home opener/maybe Homecoming/home Border war games, doesn't watch any other college football outside of a couple of Wyoming games a year, etc. There's a sense of obligation/tribalism that comes from it being the state's only CFB representative and a part of the state's identity...but unfortunately, that doesn't make people actual football fans or drill any kind of football knowledge or dedication into them.

But generally speaking, people like us...who waste our lives posting on dedicated team messageboards like this...are not the kind of people you need to be chastising. Lmao.

Go yell at the 87623874235673 Facebook fans who spent all week complaining about the cold, the start time, and everything else. They're the ones that actually need to hear it.

What is a fan's responsibility? We hear things all the time like "attendance is pitiful" or "this team deserves better fans"...I'm not sure how to think about that. This is college athletics we are talking about .... not the local high school. I look around the MWC and outside of BSU...there are a lot of stadiums much more empty than War Memorial. I don't have the numbers for anything more recent than 2019 but, back then, Wyoming was smack dab in the middle of the conference in attendance and there was not much of a gap until you got up to SDSU, Fresno, and Boise. If you break the MWC down into Tiers by attendance you get something like this:

Top Tier: BSU, Fresno, SDSU

Mid-Tier: AFA, Hawaii, CSU, Wyoming

Bottom Tier: UNLV, USU, Nevada, UNM, SJSU

Should we as fans be ashamed that we don't have a large population base to draw upon? Is it ok to be a bandwagon fan? You are probably right that the bandwagon fan represents a lot of our fanbase, just like every fanbase ever ... but we are not talking about Nebraska or Michigan here....we don't have generations of good results to prop up attendance when the product on the field is mediocre, or the weather is bad, or students are out for holiday. Isn't it incumbent on the entity putting the product out to make it more appealing to the public? Why shame the public? Among my group of Cowboy fans, me and a couple of my buddies are really die-hard and we can't make it to every game....should we feel like we "let the Cowboys down" if we aren't investing our time and $$ every Saturday to "support the team".

 

[bullbugle307]

I could’ve gone to that game, but I didn’t. Cold and weather had nothing to do with it. I just spent part of last week in MUCH worse weather killing a deer and a turkey by myself up in the Black Hills. I chose to cut up meat and listen to the game instead of going. That was the correct choice to make and I’m glad I did it. I haven’t missed a single second of any game this year aside from a few quarters while I was hunting.

Therein lies the problem for UW. Most of us aren’t going to waste the time and money when the odds say we’re going to lose and just be pissed when it’s all said and done. I’ll suffer through some horrible weather to hunt, and I’ve been to plenty of miserable games at the War, but the fact of the matter is watching this team is frustrating beyond belief even when we squeak by crappy competition.

Some people forget this is all entertainment. Half the time I’m not entertained even when we win. It really takes the joy out of it when you go out and watch us suck in the same ways we always have. The definition of insanity is on full display every time we play a good team. For nine years it’s been that way. I would venture to guess if I was more of a casual fan I would enjoy it more because I wouldn’t notice the glaring deficiencies that never seem to go away.

Then to hear our stubborn ass head coach with his extremely fragile ego act like a tool with the media when they question his horrible decision making on offense for the 100th time…yeah that really sets me off. I really doubt that many people are dogging on the players too. Anyone with a brain knows the responsibility for our problems lies with Bohl and Grant. All I wanna see at this point is Bohl do something meaningful to better our offense. But he’s utterly incapable because his ego won’t let him admit that his scheme has sucked for all these years.

On a positive note, Keith Kelly did a fantastic job calling the game. He should get that job permanently if he wants it. I feel bad for Reece, but it is what it is.

 

[DamThatRiver22]

What is a fan's responsibility? We hear things all the time like "attendance is pitiful" or "this team deserves better fans"...I'm not sure how to think about that. This is college athletics we are talking about .... not the local high school. I look around the MWC and outside of BSU...there are a lot of stadiums much more empty than War Memorial. I don't have the numbers for anything more recent than 2019 but, back then, Wyoming was smack dab in the middle of the conference in attendance and there was not much of a gap until you got up to SDSU, Fresno, and Boise. If you break the MWC down into Tiers by attendance you get something like this:

Top Tier: BSU, Fresno, SDSU

Mid-Tier: AFA, Hawaii, CSU, Wyoming

Bottom Tier: UNLV, USU, Nevada, UNM, SJSU

Should we as fans be ashamed that we don't have a large population base to draw upon? Is it ok to be a bandwagon fan? You are probably right that the bandwagon fan represents a lot of our fanbase, just like every fanbase ever ... but we are not talking about Nebraska or Michigan here....we don't have generations of good results to prop up attendance when the product on the field is mediocre, or the weather is bad, or students are out for holiday. Isn't it incumbent on the entity putting the product out to make it more appealing to the public? Why shame the public? Among my group of Cowboy fans, me and a couple of my buddies are really die-hard and we can't make it to every game....should we feel like we "let the Cowboys down" if we aren't investing our time and $$ every Saturday to "support the team".

I myself have made the point that fan support is earned, not expected or automatic. And yes, I'm aware of the relativity of attendance overall. But we're not talking about overall attendance; that's a different discussion which I would actually side more with you on. We've generally been pretty good with it the last several years, even breaking some attendance records. I've actually been pretty proud of it.

But when people can't get the stadium more than 40% full for the BIGGEST game of the year, with a genuine shot at a championship appearance, against a really good team that's fun to watch in BSU, where we actually do have a shot at winning, but have a young team that needs the support (home crowd advantage is actually a thing, especially for young teams)...

...and the excuse I saw HUNDREDS of people using across social media all week was "tHe cOld"...

Yea, that's a bit of a problem. Especially for a fanbase that supposedly prides itself on being "Cowboy tough", being used to the elements, and having a home field advantage.

Now, again, let me say that overall attendance is a bit of a different discussion, and even attendance at this game was the least of our issues. All I'm saying is he wasn't entirely without a point. The fanbase did drop the ball on this one a bit, and it was due to some pretty crappy excuses.

 

[bullbugle307]

Sorry, but attendance didn’t make us lose this game. Our shit offensive scheme and play calling did. As per usual.

 

[PokesArePeopleToo]

No college football program faces the challenges we do when it comes to attendance. If there were 17 thousand at the game last week I'll consider that to be a positive. This team lacks the star studded cast of the Josh Allen teams although they have been a hell of a lot of fun to watch and root for this season. A late day start on a chilling day that turned into night a few days ahead of Thanksgiving? 17 thousand? I can't really complain although it would have been great to have more. But unless you are in Laramie and Cheyenne, unless you are a die hard fan that follows the team out to fucking Hawaii, if you're in Casper, Riverton, Sheridan, Buffalo, Rock Springs, or other places around the state, that's a big ask to consider driving both ways on such a frigid evening to watch a team bereft of the kind of "stars" that were on the roster the last time these two teams played a big game at The War back in 2016.

 

[Hotkarl]

How many conference titles bball have in the same time? Yall ran that coach off in like 7!yrs. We a funny group of fans

 

[stymeman]

What is a fan's responsibility? We hear things all the time like "attendance is pitiful" or "this team deserves better fans"...I'm not sure how to think about that. This is college athletics we are talking about .... not the local high school. I look around the MWC and outside of BSU...there are a lot of stadiums much more empty than War Memorial. I don't have the numbers for anything more recent than 2019 but, back then, Wyoming was smack dab in the middle of the conference in attendance and there was not much of a gap until you got up to SDSU, Fresno, and Boise. If you break the MWC down into Tiers by attendance you get something like this:

Top Tier: BSU, Fresno, SDSU

Mid-Tier: AFA, Hawaii, CSU, Wyoming

Bottom Tier: UNLV, USU, Nevada, UNM, SJSU

Should we as fans be ashamed that we don't have a large population base to draw upon? Is it ok to be a bandwagon fan? You are probably right that the bandwagon fan represents a lot of our fanbase, just like every fanbase ever ... but we are not talking about Nebraska or Michigan here....we don't have generations of good results to prop up attendance when the product on the field is mediocre, or the weather is bad, or students are out for holiday. Isn't it incumbent on the entity putting the product out to make it more appealing to the public? Why shame the public? Among my group of Cowboy fans, me and a couple of my buddies are really die-hard and we can't make it to every game....should we feel like we "let the Cowboys down" if we aren't investing our time and $$ every Saturday to "support the team".

I myself have made the point that fan support is earned, not expected or automatic. And yes, I'm aware of the relativity of attendance overall. But we're not talking about overall attendance; that's a different discussion which I would actually side more with you on. We've generally been pretty good with it the last several years, even breaking some attendance records. I've actually been pretty proud of it.

But when people can't get the stadium more than 40% full for the BIGGEST game of the year, with a genuine shot at a championship appearance, against a really good team that's fun to watch in BSU, where we actually do have a shot at winning, but have a young team that needs the support (home crowd advantage is actually a thing, especially for young teams)...

...and the excuse I saw HUNDREDS of people using across social media all week was "tHe cOld"...

Yea, that's a bit of a problem. Especially for a fanbase that supposedly prides itself on being "Cowboy tough", being used to the elements, and having a home field advantage.

Now, again, let me say that overall attendance is a bit of a different discussion, and even attendance at this game was the least of our issues. All I'm saying is he wasn't entirely without a point. The fanbase did drop the ball on this one a bit, and it was due to some pretty crappy excuses.

Love most everything you said!! Our other biggest problems about getting butts in seats is all the night games and overall being on TV. I get it it's important for exposure, recruiting and all that but it makes it too easy for those thinking about coming to a "big" game to staying at home due to night, weather/cold, expenses of a night's stay, food, and fuel. I know it's the day and age we live in with tv coverage but I wonder if we blacked this out would more fans have shown up??? TV makes it easier to think about coming as opposed to being there. But i live closer than some and will do so until I'm physically unable to take my place in the War.

 

[Outlaw Arthur Morgan]

Attendance is what it is. $50 tickets, $10 burger, $20 beer, sitting on a bleacher in the middle of the cold waiting for the next 2:20 second TV commercial to go over while getting my ear drums blown out by a sound system that belongs at a demolish derby. Add in that every time a big play is about to break out, that person down the row will decide to get up and refill their pepsi and stand right in front of you while swen is doing a 60 yard run. Price is what you pay, value is what you get. The value isn't there except on rare occasion.

I actually would have splurged and walked over to the stadium if I hadn't been sick though. Most of the time its just not worth it anymore. One game can cover streaming/cable costs for several months and you can watch other games and do other things.

$10 ticket, $5 burger, and a reasonably priced beer to sit on an aluminum bench in the cold? Count me in.

I gave up my season tickets this year. Its just not even close to the same game that it was when I started watching 40 years ago. Coaches are paid too much. ESPN has been hell bent on destroying most of the sport for 15 years. NIL. Transfer portals.

At least the NFL has salary caps and try's to keep things even keel despite all the $$$ involved. They figured it out. College athletics are just a way to steal from the student athlete and make the ESPN bosses and top university brass rich. Most of that money should be going back to paying for scholarships, improving education, increasing access to education and other things. Gold plated urinals in locker rooms just seem wasteful.

Then add in state and federal grants to all the universities while they blow all this money on 36-40 publicly reviewed hours (the games) per year and its not much of a leap to see how tax payer money is making a few people rich.

I'm a cowboy fan. Always will be. Not a fan of what the system has turned into. I don't have really any control over it other than where I spend my money.

 

[GoPokes86]

A couple of things.
Attendance for late season games is always going to be brutal in Wyoming. Hunting > Wyoming Football, don't care how good we are.
Game day atmosphere can be great, but the War needs upgrades, plain and simple. UW is working on it, but it's gonna be a while.
Wyoming fans in general are incredibly casual fans. From my seats, which I've had the same ones for 9 seasons, I spend a lot of time explaining what went on to the folks around me. Without a play by play announcer in the background, a lot of people have no clue how football works or what's happening on the field. Does that decrease their passion for the team? Absolutely not. It's great to have casual fans, not everyone needs to be a football evangelical. Not every fan has to be "Cowboy Tough", whatever the hell that means. Didn't know there was a metric for fan toughness.

That being said, I have no patience for the personal attacks on the players. Attack Bohl and his staff all you want, the criticism is warranted especially when he doesn't put the players in a position to succeed. That's on the staff. The Boise debacle at the end of the game is on the staff. Execution could've been better, certainly, however a good coach puts their players in a position to succeed. The staff failed in that regard, as they tend to in big games.

 

[WYO_Fan_inPA]

@GoPokes86 - well said, excellent post. I agree with you. It's all about fan interest. The fact the fans are passionate and love the team that is what matters. I think winning does go a long way in driving interest. Obviously that brings more money and attention to the school. We keep winning, our games will be on ESPN instead of CBSSN. College GameDay might actually show up.