First off, a HT to the folks over at SFN for the find. This is a time lapse video shot at Thursday night's game by News Channel 14's on-site crew.
Beyond the inherent coolness of a time lapse shot of Carter-Finley during a game, two things stood out to me:
1. We have GOT to revamp our student ticketing policy. While the bottom sections filled up nicely well in advance of most non-student seating, the top section doesn't completely fill in until well into the game action (0:19). It kind of negates the visual appeal that State marketing folks were hoping to achieve with the whiteout. Sure, it'd be nice to get a shot of all the students in their white shirts, but I'd rather you don't if it means getting a good look at the empty top of the student section.
2. I know most folks disagree with me on this point, but I think it's time to put an end to passouts. I hate to lose any more long-standing traditions as much as the next Pack fan, but this is one whose time has come. The 3/4 full stands at the start of the third quarter (0:31) look sad, to put it kindly, and I've heard enough stories from visiting fans that have dealt with unruly drunks late in the game to convince me that a (relatively) sober capacity crowd at the start of the 3rd quarter should outweigh the desire of folks to leave the game at halftime to chug a few.
Can we make a trade? Passouts for a lifting of the tailgating restrictions?
Beyond the inherent coolness of a time lapse shot of Carter-Finley during a game, two things stood out to me:
1. We have GOT to revamp our student ticketing policy. While the bottom sections filled up nicely well in advance of most non-student seating, the top section doesn't completely fill in until well into the game action (0:19). It kind of negates the visual appeal that State marketing folks were hoping to achieve with the whiteout. Sure, it'd be nice to get a shot of all the students in their white shirts, but I'd rather you don't if it means getting a good look at the empty top of the student section.
2. I know most folks disagree with me on this point, but I think it's time to put an end to passouts. I hate to lose any more long-standing traditions as much as the next Pack fan, but this is one whose time has come. The 3/4 full stands at the start of the third quarter (0:31) look sad, to put it kindly, and I've heard enough stories from visiting fans that have dealt with unruly drunks late in the game to convince me that a (relatively) sober capacity crowd at the start of the 3rd quarter should outweigh the desire of folks to leave the game at halftime to chug a few.
Can we make a trade? Passouts for a lifting of the tailgating restrictions?
I always thought an "Out" of any shade was supposed to be the entire stands. Pitt or Penn (I can't remember which) did a White Out last year and their entire stadium was bright white. I felt just having the student sections in white was rather... distracting and felt like not everyone was participating. Let's stick with "Red Outs" it's more likely to happen in the entire stands.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I've only used a "pass-out" once or twice ever, that I can remember. I say drop it. If people want to sit out in the parking lot and drink, let them just leave.
ReplyDeleteWe also need a crash-course for the fans on WHEN to do the wave. The wave is a distraction for the offense. Therefore, we do it when the OTHER team is on offense, not when WE are on offense! First of all, it makes noise, and the visual is also distracting. I couldn't believe it when I saw us doing the wave during one of our possessions. it made us look about as bright as a bunch of Carolina fans.
ReplyDeletekcracken: Penn State typically does whiteouts, and they are quite impressive.
ReplyDeleteTBK: I heard about the wave thing, and that is distressing. I'm not sure if there's a specific group starting the wave (students, cheerleaders, band), but whomever it is, they need a good talking to.
Though it would be embarrassing in the short term, it might be worth devoting a few minutes during halftime of the Murray State or Gardner Webb game, before the band takes the field, to get someone to address some of these issues. Do it during a game that's not televised, with minimal media presence, to limit the exposure of it. But there's no other way, really, to hammer home the point to all 50K+ regular attendants that there's a time to cheer, a time to be quiet and that under no circumstances is the wave acceptable fan behavior.
let them have their pass outs, just lock the gates once the game starts back. that would be a compromise.
ReplyDeleteIIRC, back when I was at State in the early part of the decade, they had some sort of "Quiet -- Offense At Work" graphic they would put up on the scoreboard. Might be a good idea to bring that back.
ReplyDeleteMaybe couple that with a concerted effort from Russell and Mike Glennon to wave their hands downward when coming to the line of scrimmage. We seem to respond well to our defenders exhorting the crowd into making more noise; perhaps they'll pay attention enough to get quiet.
ReplyDeleteI don't know...it's frustrating having to even worry about these sorts of things when you're a part of supposedly the best college football fanbase in the state.
Agree that the students need to get there earlier but much of the responsibility lies on them to head to the gates sooner than they do.... as for the pass outs....when the game is entertaining for the fans - i've never seen this be a problem....last week's game was almost unwatchable and I probably watch more football games than coaches do on film....
ReplyDelete