- November 7th, 2010, 6:59 pm
#327315
So, I have been a long time visitor to this 'fanpage' for quite a while. I have never posted, namely because not much interesting happens here, but the last thread (G-W Postmortem) made me log in. I am a student at Liberty, have been since 2003. Well, I was a student in 2003-04 and just again in 2010. That gap in between though I was head of the Heroes Indoor Football Fan Club and later was Head of Football Operations as well as Fan Relations Manager for the team. I was also involved with the Marshall University fan club as well. I tell you this just to let you know, that I know a decent bit when it comes to fans at games.
In 2003, the Flames were 6-6, thanks to four straight wins to end the season. But the student section still packed out their side
as seen in the picture. For as long as I can remember, the students have ALWAYS been at standing room capacity for the first half at games. The view across the field though, has always been sparse. The students have shown up in droves for every single home game. Do they stay? More than you think! A good number leave after the half, especially when winning 30-7, but a good amount stay as well. The sea of red is concentrated on the lower part of the stands and expand up at midfield. In fact, at the end of games it is still too crowded to watch the game sitting if in this "redzone." So to say that too many students are leaving, is false. And before anyone asks if I have seen the student section from across the way, I have. In fact I have seen the student section from the Chancellor's Suite high above. Admittedly, it does not look the best at the game's end. But trust me, more students are jammed in that space than probably the larger side!
Speaking of the larger, "new" side, let's talk about the local fans. I sat on the 30 yard line front row for the entire fourth quarter for the Charleston Southern game. There wasn't a person 15 feet away from me in either direction. At Marshall University, those are some prime seats that would never be left empty! The newly renovated side of the stadium is amazing, the large number of chairbacks are a choice for any football fan. And the second deck provides an outstanding view! There is not a bad seat on the second deck. The chairbacks there are better than any stadium I have ever been too. You know what's great about the chairbacks though? They are red or blue. So when they are empty, it isn't so obvious on TV as it fits in with the fan's attire. My point for this ranting? The local side has no where near the numbers of the student sides.
But that isn't the issue is it? The number for the last game was 16,000+. With nearly 2,000 CFAW students attending that brings the attendance down to 14,000 if it were for the extra guests. That ins't too hot, even though it was cold outside. The issue is how do we get more people to the games to begin with. First, Liberty has been playing good football for a few years now, and could easily compete with FBS schools. Moving up could help this, especially brining in bigger schools to Lynchburg to play. The University is working hard towards that goal.
Another improvement is participation. The students do an amazing job at cheering and chanting before and during the game. The locals, well the local's children do a great job as well! As for the LU chant, it can use some work. First it doesn't need to speed up, but stay constant. But it could be done at different parts of teh game when the team needs that "12th" man. At Marshall the "We Are... Marshall!" chant has roused our players for years!
But my question is where are the tailgates? Yes, there are tailgaters, but it is a sad excuse for tailgating. Back at Marshall the lot opens at 6AM gameday for tailgating. And nearly everyone tailgates! The local radio stations have HUGE tailgate areas with games for children, music for everyone no matter their taste and provide freebies. The town is painted green for the day as every business is behind the Herd. Here in Lynchburg, Tailgates are being setup just a couple hours before the game and people do not even seem to know there is a game!
I do wish everyone would stay longer, and hopefully that can happen. In Arena football it is easy to get people to stay. The action on the field never stops, and every break is filled with entertainment and stimulating on field contests. Hopefully someone can get that into the gameday operations office and they can do some work on that. Instead of complaining about people leaving early, what are your suggestions to get people to stay?
In 2003, the Flames were 6-6, thanks to four straight wins to end the season. But the student section still packed out their side
as seen in the picture. For as long as I can remember, the students have ALWAYS been at standing room capacity for the first half at games. The view across the field though, has always been sparse. The students have shown up in droves for every single home game. Do they stay? More than you think! A good number leave after the half, especially when winning 30-7, but a good amount stay as well. The sea of red is concentrated on the lower part of the stands and expand up at midfield. In fact, at the end of games it is still too crowded to watch the game sitting if in this "redzone." So to say that too many students are leaving, is false. And before anyone asks if I have seen the student section from across the way, I have. In fact I have seen the student section from the Chancellor's Suite high above. Admittedly, it does not look the best at the game's end. But trust me, more students are jammed in that space than probably the larger side!Speaking of the larger, "new" side, let's talk about the local fans. I sat on the 30 yard line front row for the entire fourth quarter for the Charleston Southern game. There wasn't a person 15 feet away from me in either direction. At Marshall University, those are some prime seats that would never be left empty! The newly renovated side of the stadium is amazing, the large number of chairbacks are a choice for any football fan. And the second deck provides an outstanding view! There is not a bad seat on the second deck. The chairbacks there are better than any stadium I have ever been too. You know what's great about the chairbacks though? They are red or blue. So when they are empty, it isn't so obvious on TV as it fits in with the fan's attire. My point for this ranting? The local side has no where near the numbers of the student sides.
But that isn't the issue is it? The number for the last game was 16,000+. With nearly 2,000 CFAW students attending that brings the attendance down to 14,000 if it were for the extra guests. That ins't too hot, even though it was cold outside. The issue is how do we get more people to the games to begin with. First, Liberty has been playing good football for a few years now, and could easily compete with FBS schools. Moving up could help this, especially brining in bigger schools to Lynchburg to play. The University is working hard towards that goal.
Another improvement is participation. The students do an amazing job at cheering and chanting before and during the game. The locals, well the local's children do a great job as well! As for the LU chant, it can use some work. First it doesn't need to speed up, but stay constant. But it could be done at different parts of teh game when the team needs that "12th" man. At Marshall the "We Are... Marshall!" chant has roused our players for years!
But my question is where are the tailgates? Yes, there are tailgaters, but it is a sad excuse for tailgating. Back at Marshall the lot opens at 6AM gameday for tailgating. And nearly everyone tailgates! The local radio stations have HUGE tailgate areas with games for children, music for everyone no matter their taste and provide freebies. The town is painted green for the day as every business is behind the Herd. Here in Lynchburg, Tailgates are being setup just a couple hours before the game and people do not even seem to know there is a game!
I do wish everyone would stay longer, and hopefully that can happen. In Arena football it is easy to get people to stay. The action on the field never stops, and every break is filled with entertainment and stimulating on field contests. Hopefully someone can get that into the gameday operations office and they can do some work on that. Instead of complaining about people leaving early, what are your suggestions to get people to stay?
but you keep coming back? 
To me leaving a game early because we are winning by a large margin is NO excuse to leave early. And I'm still impressed and still bragging about whose ever kids those were in the upper deck with me and my wifes family...Everyone can learn a lesson from them 
They were awesome! 
I know none of this was a way to keep LU's students at games...it's more of a why in the world WOULDN'T you stay...I WILL agree with the statement moving up to FBS would help with this. Bringing in bigger/more popular schools would bring in more fans and I think would help create more REAL Liberty fans. I would like to hear more of Chad's ideas though. Stick around give us more input. If you really have some ideas then maybe you can help out. Good ol' Jerry Jr stops in every once in a while and I'm sure a ton of people in the athletics department do too so maybe one of your ideas will spark another idea and lead to a great idea. Get all that? 
GO FLAMES!!!! PS: Completely off topic....But what looks better on a resume if you want a job in the athletics department at LU years down the road...A job at Dicks Sporting good's or ticket sales at LU?
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