I think the problem is that they're going just by particular vendor totals. I've spoken to a few people going and none of them purchased tickets through the school or WPC. I think we've definitely sold over 20,000 tickets, just not through the school.

I think the biggest difference, is that Knoxville is literally half the distance to Atlanta than Raleigh. 3.5 hours vs. 7 hours driving. If the game was in Myrtle Beach, I imagine NC State would sell more tickets than Tenn as well.

7/24/2012 7:47:49 AM

I don't understand how that's horrible logic. generally speaking, UT has a larger fan base (as defined by stadium attendance) AND they are playing much closer to home. makes sense to me.

7/24/2012 7:57:28 AM

Stadium size isn't an indication of potential fan base to buy tickets. Buying up tickets for a neutral site/"special" game is more the degree of fan "activity level" or fan interest or follow through. For one, stadium size doesnt ebb and flow overnight, it takes years and years to add to it... Assuming that if you go to a school you are a fan then I guess university population would be the best indicator but even that doesn't include non attending fans. But basically all four schools are very similar sizes. Tennessee's bball arena seats more than a lot of schools. But I bet if they played Duke, in Atlanta, there would be just as many if not more Duke fans there.

As for the distance, yea it's longer but its still in the same area. It's not like Clemson, Auburn, and TN are in the SE and State is coming from Oregon. Still a very doable weekend trip. Take Friday off, leave Raleigh at 8am (or fly) and you have plenty of time.



Point is I expected a good turn out by State with one of their better teams in a while... Disappointed. Anyways, back to actual football talk.

[Edited on July 24, 2012 at 8:17 AM. Reason : F]

7/24/2012 8:09:52 AM

To me, a 7.5 hour one-way drive does not classify as a weekend trip to me.

7/24/2012 8:25:04 AM

i disagree with practically every point you made

7/24/2012 8:28:05 AM

I've made that drive plenty of times for a weekend. Plus, it's just as cheap to fly now unless you have kids and shit you are bringing to the game

7/24/2012 8:31:14 AM

The problem is, is that state fans have jobs to go to, while the hootin' tootin' vols boys are just satting aroun' waitin' on a coon to walk by.

7/24/2012 8:37:33 AM

The problem is, is that state fans have jobs to go to, while the hootin' tootin' vols boys are just satting aroun' waitin' on a coon to walk by.

7/24/2012 8:37:33 AM

The problem is, is that state fans have jobs to go to, while the hootin' tootin' vols boys are just satting aroun' waitin' on a coon to walk by.

7/24/2012 8:37:33 AM

The problem is, is that state fans have jobs to go to, while the hootin' tootin' vols boys are just satting aroun' waitin' on a coon to walk by.

7/24/2012 8:37:33 AM

The problem is, is that state fans have jobs to go to, while the hootin' tootin' vols boys are just satting aroun' waitin' on a coon to walk by.

7/24/2012 8:37:33 AM

The problem is, is that state fans have jobs to go to, while the hootin' tootin' vols boys are just satting aroun' waitin' on a coon to walk by.

7/24/2012 8:37:33 AM

Exactly. But that means they have more money to spend... And white collar people can get off work a lot easier than Cooter at the gas station and Delroy at the button factory.

7/24/2012 8:41:40 AM

I'm not going but I'm not one who has ever bragged about our fanbase like so many have.

Jaybee is right. And it's not that bad a drive for a weekend..

7/24/2012 8:45:57 AM

Quote :

"i disagree with practically every point you made"

- Stadium size IS one of the best indications of potential fan base to buy tickets. The amount of people who typically purchase tickets for NC State games will directly relate to the amount of people who purchase tickets for an away game. Sure, certain fan bases "travel well", but those schools are also typically the ones that fill up large home stadiums.

- Duke basketball doesn't translate in your scenario. They are a very different type of fan base than most schools. And State football is worlds different than Duke Basketball

- The difference in distance from Atlanta is huge. If it was a Saturday game then I'd say you have a legitimate point. But being Friday at 7:30pm means State fans have to take off Friday AND most likely Thursday. No one wants to drive 7 hours Friday then attempt to tailgate for 3-4 hours and then go to a 4 hour football game. Most State fans would have to travel Thursday so there is two days off work. It's much more feasible for UT fans to leave Friday at 10am, arrive at 1:30-2:00pm and have plenty of time to spare.

I did, however, expect State to sell more tickets than they did. But I bought our 4 through another source, not the NCSU ticket office.

7/24/2012 8:47:36 AM

I would say stadium size matters as in if State had a 15,000 seat stadium and never filled it, then yes, I wouldn't expect them to sell more than 15,000 tickets. But 60,000+ stadium... They are plenty big to sell more than 15,000 tickets.

And the drive isn't that far. Also, you are assuming all the State fans are coming from Raleigh, I bet just as many are coming from Charlotte. And hell, being by far the biggest city in the south, a ton of them probably already live in Atlanta.

I honestly expected Auburn or Tenn to sell the least as they are programs that had a high level of success and are now kind of meh, with Tenn obviously being meh longer than Auburn after Cam.

^^ there's a trap somewhere there NyM410... I got my eyes on you

[Edited on July 24, 2012 at 8:59 AM. Reason : S]

7/24/2012 8:54:37 AM

^^^ Jaybee is right in so far as it's not a bad drive for a weekend and our ticket sales should be better at this point.

But to suggest that home game sales/stadium size isn't indicative of the "potential a fan base has to buy tickets" is retarded. State may have roughly the same size alumni-population/student-body, but given that there are 5 D-1 football playing schools in NC, and the interest of non-graduates is likely cut in half due to people affiliating with other programs (UNC chief among them), it's unrealistic to think that our non college attending fan contingent would have equal the #'s/interest of that of Tennessee.

^ I'll take that bet on as many people coming from Charlotte vs. Raleigh. 20 dollar bucks. Find the #'s and I'll mail you the fucking check.


[Edited on July 24, 2012 at 9:12 AM. Reason : troll, troll, troll your boat, gently down the stream...]

7/24/2012 9:08:33 AM

I think that we'll still end up doing our part by the time the game comes. If the Chic-Fil-A Bowl folks are upset at State, they can partially blame themselves for double scheduling the game and making the State-UT game the undercard. We should still be excited about this game, but the fact that Clemson-Auburn got the top billing took some of the shine off this event.

I was under the impression too that this would be a difficult and expensive trip due to the lack of adequate lodging near the stadium. The idea that fans of all four teams will be demanding the hotel space makes this trip very unattractive IMO.

I'd rather not have to drive my family of four 7 hours, pay $200/night, buy 4 overpriced tickets, and then deal with Atlanta traffic just to watch State play an SEC team in the crappy Georgia Dome. I guess I am a bad fan.

7/24/2012 9:09:37 AM

I think the Friday scheduling has had an impact too. It's probably not as easy to get Friday off on the same weekend as Labor Day for a lot of people. I know that cut our group in half.

Nonetheless, it's all excuses. We should be able to put together our full allotment, no questions.

7/24/2012 9:13:31 AM

Quote :

"Jaybee is right. And it's not that bad a drive for a weekend.."

15 hours of driving in one weekend is a lot to me. And not just time-wise. It also costs a lot. My little civic would cost about $70 in gas. If someone is driving the family tank down there they could drop $200.

7/24/2012 9:14:50 AM

Me and most other alums that I know who have season tickets have indicated that they would rather spend their holiday at their vacation home, rather than traveling to dirty Atlanta to play some bottom feeding SEC team.

7/24/2012 9:20:04 AM

And lest we not forget, many State fans spent a decent amount of money to go to last season's bowl game.... an economic drain that UT fans were fortunate enough to avoid

7/24/2012 9:21:19 AM

Oh HCH, you silly goose. Black people = dirty

^ now that is unarguable

^^^ on no! Not $200!

[Edited on July 24, 2012 at 9:23 AM. Reason : E]

7/24/2012 9:21:23 AM

i would go, but i have to work on friday.

my guess is that quite a few people are in the same boat.

friday games = fail.

7/24/2012 9:25:58 AM

Time is nothing to Jaybee. He's a guy in his 30s posting on TWW at 3am on a weekday. He's got nothing but time.

7/24/2012 9:31:27 AM

yeah, working for yourself and being able to set your own schedule is stupid, how goofy of me.

and once again, the ability to discuss the actual topic at hand evades ernie and he has to resort to childish personal attacks.



[Edited on July 24, 2012 at 9:45 AM. Reason : e]

7/24/2012 9:40:09 AM

I think I did a pretty good job of summarizing why a 15 hours is less valuable to you than to others, which is what we're talking about.

[Edited on July 24, 2012 at 9:48 AM. Reason : You can't mention jaybee's name anymore without him getting all in a tizzy]

7/24/2012 9:45:51 AM

no you didnt. If I literally did not work, then yes, you would have a point. But "when" someone posts has nothing to do with how much one works or how valuable their time is...

7/24/2012 9:49:34 AM

Quote :

"He's a guy in his 30s posting on TWW at 3am on a weekday"

FUCK YOU ERNIE

7/24/2012 10:00:34 AM

I had a huge group ready to go until they moved the game to Friday. Now I have no interest in going and neither does anyone elese really.

Totally ruins the trip.

7/24/2012 10:01:30 AM

But you're not a cunt, tree

7/24/2012 10:01:34 AM

Quote :

"I'd rather not have to drive my family of four 7 hours, pay $200/night, buy 4 overpriced tickets, and then deal with Atlanta traffic just to watch State play an SEC team in the crappy Georgia Dome. I guess I am a bad fan."

I can't say that I blame you. I'm driving 22 hours (from Miami & back) and will probably spend $350 for gas + $200 in tickets + 2 nights of hotel ($300) = $850 + expenses, just to also deal with Atlanta headaches. Plus 2 days of PTO used from work.

I can't blame people for not wanting to go, but I can't pass up a chance to watch State play an SEC team in the Georgia Dome.

7/24/2012 10:12:56 AM

^ That's what I'm talking about!



but I do have to ask, why not flying? Thats a LOOOOONG drive

[Edited on July 24, 2012 at 10:16 AM. Reason : d]

7/24/2012 10:15:45 AM

It IS a long drive. It was a little more expensive to fly, and we can do a little more sightseeing by driving. We have some friends in Gainesville we might stop and see for a bit, as well as family near the FL/GA border.

We're gonna try to do the Sweetwater tour Thursday afternoon as well.

7/24/2012 10:24:08 AM

state fans buy in the secondary market more than they do from WPC

7/24/2012 10:24:41 AM

^^ word, makes sense, and I actually dont mind driving, as you said, get to see a lot more. We drove from Knoxville to Arizona for the NC game in 1998, one of the best times of my life. And the Sweetwater tour is awesome, if you want to do the actual tour AND drink I would recommend being there waiting for the doors to open at 5:30.

7/24/2012 10:28:37 AM

We'll have two flying in from Oklahoma on Thursday night. Luckily my weekend weather guy and I can switch days to avoid having to take vacation for this. No way I'd miss my hometown team and my alma mater battling it out. It also helps to have family that still gives to UT. I just hope my tickets aren't in the sea of orange.

7/24/2012 11:19:34 AM

^You don't want to be sitting next to this guy?

7/24/2012 11:29:53 AM

Sadly, I have family that look like that. I'm used to it.

7/24/2012 11:32:49 AM

#38 Hakim Jones, Redshirt Freshman - Henderson, NC

6'2" / 190 lbs., Reserve Defensive Back

7/24/2012 12:22:03 PM

^^^ Sadly, I look like that I'm used to it

7/24/2012 12:29:33 PM

Dammit, beat to the jaybee fat joke by jaybee.

7/24/2012 12:34:22 PM

My gf and I got a room not even 1/2 mile from a MARTA station for around $75/night for Thurs & Fri night. Anything close was much more expensive unless you got a room in the rougher parts of ATL. Sucks not to have the car to tailgate with, but rather use rail than have to drive anywhere. Plus, there should be plenty of friends down there that will likely have a spot we can post up at. With my state of SC job, it's pretty easy to take the time off when you want it, so I have no issues with taking leave. But I am also driving from Columbia, which is around 3 hours away.

[Edited on July 24, 2012 at 12:42 PM. Reason : ]

7/24/2012 12:40:47 PM

which MARTA station?

7/24/2012 12:45:47 PM

Quote :

"I'd rather not have to drive my family of four 7 hours, pay $200/night, buy 4 overpriced tickets, and then deal with Atlanta traffic just to watch State play an SEC team in the crappy Georgia Dome. I guess I am a bad fan."

Under what conditions *would* you drive to Atlanta to watch an NC State football game?

7/24/2012 12:49:00 PM

Quote :

"I think the problem is that they're going just by particular vendor totals. I've spoken to a few people going and none of them purchased tickets through the school or WPC. I think we've definitely sold over 20,000 tickets, just not through the school."

This. I've never bought tickets through the WPC. I do usually buy my regular season home tix through the school though.

Road games I'll buy through second hand sites or sometimes the opposing school itself, or just show up and buy on site.

7/24/2012 12:53:50 PM

Quote :

"I honestly expected Auburn or Tenn to sell the least "

Then you are dumb.

7/24/2012 12:55:31 PM

Quote :

"which MARTA station?"

Brookhaven

7/24/2012 1:10:13 PM

got a parking pass in the orange lot...starting to feel like it's actually time to go!

7/24/2012 1:11:07 PM

Quote :

"I think the problem is that they're going just by particular vendor totals. I've spoken to a few people going and none of them purchased tickets through the school or WPC. I think we've definitely sold over 20,000 tickets, just not through the school."

This. There are always better seats/deals to be had through other sources.

And apparently Fowler agreed to a Thurs-Sat window for this game, so that's who you can thank for playing on Friday night.

7/24/2012 1:15:29 PM