This will be a long read but-
As a UCF fan, I hate where we are in the college football landscape now more than ever and unfortunately, I do believe it is having an effect on both our attendance and our fan base. We are winning. I love it. I love that we are 9-0. But it has come at a cost. I was always in the camp of winning solves everything. That the crowds would come if we consistently win. I'm sorry, but I no longer believe that to be the case. Here's my reasoning:
1. We are in the G5. We've never had much of a bandwagon, non-student/ non-alumni fan base. I always thought if we started winning big we would start seeing new fans. We won't. Locals, fair weather fans, etc. aren't going to show up in droves because UConn, Tulsa, Tulane, the dreggs of our conference aren't draws that get people excited. We will sell out USF, P5 teams, and bring nice crowds for decent teams like Houston, Memphis, and Navy and the homecoming game... but the rest- forget it.
2. The way we are winning is actually starting to keep people away.
Let me preface this by saying, I liked O'Leary. He was what this program needed at the time he was hired. But his style of doing things started to hurt this program in the end especially in recruiting. We struggled to recruit kids to a pro style offense and struggled to recruit Florida in general.
Today that's not the case. Recruiting is booming especially with Florida recruits we previously never had a shot at getting. We have more speed on this team than any team previously. And because we aren't playing in a pro-style offense that won through clock management, we are absolutely destroying teams I argue we always should have.
The problem is, our fans are getting spoiled. The die-hards come all the time, but I actually had a friend tell me yesterday that they didn't want take the time to come today because they "knew we would blow them out and that the game would be over at halftime." Some of this is because it was UConn, noon game, raining, etc and its tied to point #1 about not big draws in the AAC,. But make no mistake about it- a comfort level of we will destroy the weaker competition in our conference is setting in within our fan base. It happened at Oregon too. Their was actual talk of boredom setting in within some of their fan base after blowing people out every week. I hate to say it, if the games aren't close and the excitement of a close win isn't there, some people will be turned off.
3. Ticket prices. I get it, we need money as a program and there is a demand for premium seating. But I know plenty of people who didn't buy season tickets this year because of the price increase. Furthermore, fair-weather fans aren't going to pay a lot of money to come and see us completely destroy UConn where the game is over at half-time.
4. We are now dealing with coaching rumors and other schools circling like vultures. It's uncharted territory for UCF fans and it ties in with being a G5 program. We didn't have to worry about this with O'Leary. I have no idea if Frost will leave after this year. Even if he does, I argue that as long as we hire an offensive minded coach there is no reason we can't keep this train rolling. With our facilities, recruiting grounds, there is no reason we shouldn't dominate this conference. The problem is, if all we become is a training ground for the P5 to steal our coaches every few years, apathy will set in.
Getting into the P5, is an absolute must or I hate to say it but we may start to see fewer and fewer fans at games. Apathy will eventually set in even within the hard core fans because the competition sucks and our coaches will win and then leave. If we had a shot at the playoffs, it would be different but I don't see that happening even if they expand to 8 teams. Like I said, I love winning but as long as we are in the G5 it will continue to be a double edged sword.
As a UCF fan, I hate where we are in the college football landscape now more than ever and unfortunately, I do believe it is having an effect on both our attendance and our fan base. We are winning. I love it. I love that we are 9-0. But it has come at a cost. I was always in the camp of winning solves everything. That the crowds would come if we consistently win. I'm sorry, but I no longer believe that to be the case. Here's my reasoning:
1. We are in the G5. We've never had much of a bandwagon, non-student/ non-alumni fan base. I always thought if we started winning big we would start seeing new fans. We won't. Locals, fair weather fans, etc. aren't going to show up in droves because UConn, Tulsa, Tulane, the dreggs of our conference aren't draws that get people excited. We will sell out USF, P5 teams, and bring nice crowds for decent teams like Houston, Memphis, and Navy and the homecoming game... but the rest- forget it.
2. The way we are winning is actually starting to keep people away.
Let me preface this by saying, I liked O'Leary. He was what this program needed at the time he was hired. But his style of doing things started to hurt this program in the end especially in recruiting. We struggled to recruit kids to a pro style offense and struggled to recruit Florida in general.
Today that's not the case. Recruiting is booming especially with Florida recruits we previously never had a shot at getting. We have more speed on this team than any team previously. And because we aren't playing in a pro-style offense that won through clock management, we are absolutely destroying teams I argue we always should have.
The problem is, our fans are getting spoiled. The die-hards come all the time, but I actually had a friend tell me yesterday that they didn't want take the time to come today because they "knew we would blow them out and that the game would be over at halftime." Some of this is because it was UConn, noon game, raining, etc and its tied to point #1 about not big draws in the AAC,. But make no mistake about it- a comfort level of we will destroy the weaker competition in our conference is setting in within our fan base. It happened at Oregon too. Their was actual talk of boredom setting in within some of their fan base after blowing people out every week. I hate to say it, if the games aren't close and the excitement of a close win isn't there, some people will be turned off.
3. Ticket prices. I get it, we need money as a program and there is a demand for premium seating. But I know plenty of people who didn't buy season tickets this year because of the price increase. Furthermore, fair-weather fans aren't going to pay a lot of money to come and see us completely destroy UConn where the game is over at half-time.
4. We are now dealing with coaching rumors and other schools circling like vultures. It's uncharted territory for UCF fans and it ties in with being a G5 program. We didn't have to worry about this with O'Leary. I have no idea if Frost will leave after this year. Even if he does, I argue that as long as we hire an offensive minded coach there is no reason we can't keep this train rolling. With our facilities, recruiting grounds, there is no reason we shouldn't dominate this conference. The problem is, if all we become is a training ground for the P5 to steal our coaches every few years, apathy will set in.
Getting into the P5, is an absolute must or I hate to say it but we may start to see fewer and fewer fans at games. Apathy will eventually set in even within the hard core fans because the competition sucks and our coaches will win and then leave. If we had a shot at the playoffs, it would be different but I don't see that happening even if they expand to 8 teams. Like I said, I love winning but as long as we are in the G5 it will continue to be a double edged sword.
