how to improve the playoff atmossphere?

[grizzpaw]

this is not a thread about anyone teams its how to improve the lame atmossphere that the NCAA seems to want! its monotone,xoopsx the home team can't have any advantage(witch seems dumb to me), in music or their announcer, its all boring. only the NCAA can sell things,why not improve some of these areas so fans can have a better time. every team has different things that pump up the crowd (firstdown cheer,touchdowns,whatever) but are not allowed during the playoffs. xpeacex xrulesx

[89Hen]

xconfusedx xconfusedx xconfusedx

[DetroitFlyer]

I'll have to take your word for it as no team from my conference has ever been invited to participate in the playoffs to date.... If a PFL team is invited this year, I'll offer my thoughts once the season is over....

[GannonFan]

Now you're sounding like those Appy St whiners from the past two years - the only real restriction is you can't pump in stuff during the game - oh well. How about just making old fashioned noise - you know, cheering? That's not outlawed. The band can still play (can't play during an actual play but that's not any different than during the year). What's the problem? Plenty of places get pretty loud without the loudspeaker telling them when it's time to cheer and what to do.

[Ronbo]

Grizzpaw, I'm puzzeled by your post. The fans are super loud at Griz playoff games and still do all the cheers. The only change I notice is the excitement in the stadium announcers voice. He's not allowed to yell with excitement about the home team.

[McTailGator]

this is not a thread about anyone teams its how to improve the lame atmossphere that the NCAA seems to want! its monotone,xoopsx the home team can't have any advantage(witch seems dumb to me), in music or their announcer, its all boring. only the NCAA can sell things,why not improve some of these areas so fans can have a better time. every team has different things that pump up the crowd (firstdown cheer,touchdowns,whatever) but are not allowed during the playoffs. xpeacex xrulesx

I agree!


Let people have their noise makers... (i.e., bells, thundersticks, etc.,) Also the T-Shirt Cannons get the crowds pumped. It's not basketball for Christ's sake! Let everyone have their noise makers (but not air horns, whistles and such) that want them.

[McNeese_beat]

this is not a thread about anyone teams its how to improve the lame atmossphere that the NCAA seems to want! its monotone,xoopsx the home team can't have any advantage(witch seems dumb to me), in music or their announcer, its all boring. only the NCAA can sell things,why not improve some of these areas so fans can have a better time. every team has different things that pump up the crowd (firstdown cheer,touchdowns,whatever) but are not allowed during the playoffs. xpeacex xrulesx

I think the biggest thing is to get the opening round off a holiday weekend so there will be fans in the stands to have atmosphere. That's been my stance for quite a while but I've sort of resigned myself to the status quo because what seems like inevitable playoff expansion...if they expand they certainly won't be pushed back.

I've always thought the Bayou Classic has it right...Thanksgiving weekend should be about a traditional regular-season game that families can build their holiday weekend around well in advance. You can't do that with a game where you don't even know the matchups until six days before the game and four days before the holiday. For example, I think a Montana-Montana State Thanksgiving weekend game would be huge (not that it isn't huge already) or an SLU-Nicholls, Sam vs. Texas State, etc., etc. People would plan family weekends around that game. But if McNeese host Wofford (as predicted) few fans from Wofford would be able to go and a lot of McNeese's traveling fans who come in from out of town will have family conflicts and what would be a crowd of 18k may only be 14k.

That's 4k people worth of atmosphere!


Then you open the playoffs the next weekend when people don't have holiday plans and are more likely to be able to drop everything to go to a football game.

[MR. CHICKEN]

WE'RE...TALKIN' NCAA....DUH SAME PEOPLE WHO ROBBED US OUTTAH 12-15 PLAYS EVERAH GAME LAST YEAR.............xmadxxeekxxmadx....BRAWK!

[GannonFan]

I think the biggest thing is to get the opening round off a holiday weekend so there will be fans in the stands to have atmosphere. That's been my stance for quite a while but I've sort of resigned myself to the status quo because what seems like inevitable playoff expansion...if they expand they certainly won't be pushed back.

I've always thought the Bayou Classic has it right...Thanksgiving weekend should be about a traditional regular-season game that families can build their holiday weekend around well in advance. You can't do that with a game where you don't even know the matchups until six days before the game and four days before the holiday. For example, I think a Montana-Montana State Thanksgiving weekend game would be huge (not that it isn't huge already) or an SLU-Nicholls, Sam vs. Texas State, etc., etc. People would plan family weekends around that game. But if McNeese host Wofford (as predicted) few fans from Wofford would be able to go and a lot of McNeese's traveling fans who come in from out of town will have family conflicts and what would be a crowd of 18k may only be 14k.

That's 4k people worth of atmosphere!


Then you open the playoffs the next weekend when people don't have holiday plans and are more likely to be able to drop everything to go to a football game.


Of course, then you have that little problem of the Championship Game falling right around that other holiday, Christmas. Yeah, the first round attendance improves, but you basically kill the Championship Game. xcoffeex

[McNeese_beat]

Of course, then you have that little problem of the Championship Game falling right around that other holiday, Christmas. Yeah, the first round attendance improves, but you basically kill the Championship Game. xcoffeex

Two points
1. The first round represents 8 of your 15 post-season games, more than half. And if you are killing 20-30 percent of your attendance in over half your games...well what does that tell you?

2. Would you kill the championship game? They've already got the goshdang thing on a Friday night opposite prep football in some bigger states (state title games) and out of sight, out of mind for most TV viewers.

The nature of a national championship game is such that you can play it around the holiday. I know it's bowl week, but I think some sort of TV deal can be reached that would be attractive.

And, on a side point...the Christmas excuse has always seemed to be the end of the argument with an exclamation point. But now that there is going to be expansion, the FCS likely will have little choice but to push the championship game back anyway!

[GannonFan]

Two points
1. The first round represents 8 of your 15 post-season games, more than half. And if you are killing 20-30 percent of your attendance in over half your games...well what does that tell you?

2. Would you kill the championship game? They've already got the goshdang thing on a Friday night opposite prep football in some bigger states (state title games) and out of sight, out of mind for most TV viewers.

The nature of a national championship game is such that you can play it around the holiday. I know it's bowl week, but I think some sort of TV deal can be reached that would be attractive.

And, on a side point...the Christmas excuse has always seemed to be the end of the argument with an exclamation point. But now that there is going to be expansion, the FCS likely will have little choice but to push the championship game back anyway!

So you want 20k fans to wait until 6 days before to make arrangements to travel to a game that could, depending on the calendar, actually be on Christmas Day? Come on, that's just silly. People do have families and I doubt many would be willing to have Christmas Eve in a motel room in Chattanooga. Heck, how many people in Chattanooga, who've been doing a good job of buying up tickets lately, will be going to the game on Christmas? The Blue/Gray game ended because no one wanted to go to a football game on Christmas Day.

Even if the NCAA got better attendance in the first round games, it's not like the first round is a money maker. Heck, 90% of FCS football programs lose money anyway - your solution only makes them lose less.

And when they playoffs expand, there are already two other options (starting the season earlier and eliminating bye weeks) that would leave the championship game where it is, the week before Christmas. And those options are going to look a lot more promising than burying the championship game around maybe the biggest family holiday in the country.

[McNeese_beat]

So you want 20k fans to wait until 6 days before to make arrangements to travel to a game that could, depending on the calendar, actually be on Christmas Day? Come on, that's just silly. People do have families and I doubt many would be willing to have Christmas Eve in a motel room in Chattanooga. Heck, how many people in Chattanooga, who've been doing a good job of buying up tickets lately, will be going to the game on Christmas? The Blue/Gray game ended because no one wanted to go to a football game on Christmas Day.

Even if the NCAA got better attendance in the first round games, it's not like the first round is a money maker. Heck, 90% of FCS football programs lose money anyway - your solution only makes them lose less.

And when they playoffs expand, there are already two other options (starting the season earlier and eliminating bye weeks) that would leave the championship game where it is, the week before Christmas. And those options are going to look a lot more promising than burying the championship game around maybe the biggest family holiday in the country.

Why would you necessarily play on Christmas? Even if Christmas falls on the weekend, you could play the thing on the 27th or 28th, mid-week.

And again, if not playing on or around the Christmas weekend is such a sacred cow, why expand the playoffs to make it necessary to do so?

[URMite]

Heck, how many people in Chattanooga, who've been doing a good job of buying up tickets lately, will be going to the game on Christmas? The Blue/Gray game ended because no one wanted to go to a football game on Christmas Day.

How did I miss that?? I guess other people were missing it too, and that's why it's gone.

[HensRock]

Put in a break for Christmas and play the NC game a week later, after XMas right in with the bowls. That will increase viewers and increase the game attendance (because now fans from both schools will have 2 weeks to arrange to be there instead of 6 days.)
I've been saying this for a while - even before talk of playoff expansion. I think it's a good idea even if we don't expand. Start the playoffs a week later - let the SWAC participate in the postseason. Ivy too if they want to get off their horse and join the party.

This season it would look like this:
Thanksgiving W/E - Bayou Classic and other "rivalry" games.
Dec 1 - First Round Playoff games
Dec 8 - Quarterfinals
Dec 15 - Semis
Dec 29 - Championship game

[McNeese_beat]

Put in a break for Christmas and play the NC game a week later, after XMas right in with the bowls. That will increase viewers and increase the game attendance (because now fans from both schools will have 2 weeks to arrange to be there instead of 6 days.)
I've been saying this for a while - even before talk of playoff expansion. I think it's a good idea even if we don't expand. Start the playoffs a week later - let the SWAC participate in the postseason. Ivy too if they want to get off their horse and join the party.

This season it would look like this:
Thanksgiving W/E - Bayou Classic and other "rivalry" games.
Dec 1 - First Round Playoff games
Dec 8 - Quarterfinals
Dec 15 - Semis
Dec 29 - Championship game

You could let the TV schedule dictate when after Christmas you would play the game. Since you are already waiting more than a week for the game, you have that flexibility.

Wouldn't there be years where the potential championship Saturday game falls right BEFORE Christmas? You could just play it then those years (if that's true).

I think this would be an improvement not only for the first round of the playoffs, but also for the final week of the regular season. Some great FCS rivalries would become even bigger events than they already are.

[GannonFan]

Put in a break for Christmas and play the NC game a week later, after XMas right in with the bowls. That will increase viewers and increase the game attendance (because now fans from both schools will have 2 weeks to arrange to be there instead of 6 days.)
I've been saying this for a while - even before talk of playoff expansion. I think it's a good idea even if we don't expand. Start the playoffs a week later - let the SWAC participate in the postseason. Ivy too if they want to get off their horse and join the party.

This season it would look like this:
Thanksgiving W/E - Bayou Classic and other "rivalry" games.
Dec 1 - First Round Playoff games
Dec 8 - Quarterfinals
Dec 15 - Semis
Dec 29 - Championship game

And that works until the playoffs get expanded and then you're back to having the first round be on Thanksgiving weekend. Unless, of course, you still start a week later and now have the FCS championship game fall sometime in January. xrolleyesx

[89Hen]

Dec 29 - Championship game
Texas
Houston Dec. 28 8 p.m. NFL Network

Champs Sports
Orlando, Fla. Dec. 28 5 p.m. ESPN HD

Emerald
San Francisco Dec. 28 8:30 p.m. ESPN HD

Meineke Car Care
Charlotte, N.C. Dec. 29 1 p.m. ESPN HD

AutoZone Liberty
Memphis, Tenn. Dec. 29 4:30 p.m. ESPN HD

Valero Alamo
San Antonio Dec. 29 8 p.m. ESPN HD

[DSUHornet]

thats awful

[lizrdgizrd]

Texas
Houston Dec. 28 8 p.m. NFL Network

Champs Sports
Orlando, Fla. Dec. 28 5 p.m. ESPN HD

Emerald
San Francisco Dec. 28 8:30 p.m. ESPN HD

Meineke Car Care
Charlotte, N.C. Dec. 29 1 p.m. ESPN HD

AutoZone Liberty
Memphis, Tenn. Dec. 29 4:30 p.m. ESPN HD

Valero Alamo
San Antonio Dec. 29 8 p.m. ESPN HD
Looks like ESPN2 is free! xlolx

[89Hen]

Looks like ESPN2 is free! xlolx
Yeah, but would you want to be in the shuffle of meaningless bowels (sic)?

[lizrdgizrd]

Yeah, but would you want to be in the shuffle of meaningless bowels (sic)?
How much worse could it be than a Friday night? xeyebrowx

[grizzpaw]

ok, not suprising that i'm the odd fan outxnodx , i like to buy things or trade with other fans from the other teams,( pins, hats, shirts,... (coffee cups are my thing)). buying on line is just not the same as trading or buying at the game to remember, (to many health problems to remember without something to remind me of the gamexcoffeex ). the NCAA shirts are lame,boring plain white shirts. my god ITS the PLAYOFFS, hell i know its not the rose,orange,sugar bowl, but its more than crowd noise ((after all I'M THE MOUTH OF THE NORTH ENDZONE:D ) JUST ASK THE 26 PEOPLE WHO COMPLAINED TO THE SCHOOL THAT I'M TO LOUD EVEN FOR THE NORTH ENDZONExbawlingx ). if the other school has a band it would be nice to watch them at halftime or with the montana marching bandxthumbsupx things like that is what i'm talking about.xpeacex

[GannonFan]

The other thing to keep in mind, the more you push the playoffs back, the more chances you have that some schools will be out of session before the semifinal round - not a big deal for fans, but a lot if not most of those students will be gone - a further drain on attendance.

IMO, the atmosphere at playoff games, especially quarterfinals on, is fine as is - most places are pretty crowded, if not full, and the place is buzzing, even without the PA announcer getting "excited". I don't see why the quarterfinals on are in anyway needing to be fixed, excitement-wise. Even the championship game has improved by leaps and bounds over the past 5 years into an actual event now. So the first round games suffer a bit because they are around Thanksgiving - oh well - these aren't money makers anyway and it's still just that, the first round. There's still 3 more rounds of exciting football to be played after that. Plenty of football to get excited about.

[GannonFan]

ok, not suprising that i'm the odd fan outxnodx , i like to buy things or trade with other fans from the other teams,( pins, hats, shirts,... (coffee cups are my thing)). buying on line is just not the same as trading or buying at the game to remember, (to many health problems to remember without something to remind me of the gamexcoffeex ). the NCAA shirts are lame,boring plain white shirts. my god ITS the PLAYOFFS, hell i know its not the rose,orange,sugar bowl, but its more than crowd noise ((after all I'M THE MOUTH OF THE NORTH ENDZONE:D ) JUST ASK THE 26 PEOPLE WHO COMPLAINED TO THE SCHOOL THAT I'M TO LOUD EVEN FOR THE NORTH ENDZONExbawlingx ). if the other school has a band it would be nice to watch them at halftime or with the montana marching bandxthumbsupx things like that is what i'm talking about.xpeacex

Bands are still allowed to perform, both in the stands, and on the field at halftime - what are you talking about?

[grizzpaw]

they never seem to play at halftime here and the other teams NEVER or almost never come!

[jonmac]

Our band plays. It is definitely a different atmosphere at a playoff game. I was not expecting it last year and was a little disappointed. However, there were lots of fans leading some of the cheers that the PA announcer does. So as, Another Mountaineer...FIRST DOWN. What disappointed me most was that I planned to buy a few Christmas presents at the stadium shop but all there was 2 shabby little fold up tables of butt ugly NCAA t-shirts with a logo that you needed a magnifying glass to see. ' course I didn't spend much time looking. It does seem to cost schools some money to participate in the playoffs.

[ASUMountaineer]

Miles Brand is the problem...the man who fired Bob Knight at Indiana is leading the NCAA. He is totally committed to being PC. God forbid the other teams go to another stadium and it feel like a road game. Isn't that why you play for home field advantage? It may not seem like you're losing a lot by the music or what not being pumped in, but that is part of the atmosphere at your school's stadium for 2/3 of the season. The PC NCAA and Miles Brand have to go. Maybe then you'll see better playoff game atmospheres and maybe a National Championship game that is on a Saturday or Sunday.

[jonmac]

Although I don't totally agree with all the policies. I can somewhat understand. Winning for home field is sometimes a fallacy since gate is part of the criteria for choosing a site. Now, if we could get past that and truly award home games to those who earn home field advantage I think we could past the whole "host institution" vs. home field mess. Remember, all those "home" games at ASU the past 2 years weren't really home games we just "hosted" the playoff game. Sheesh, give me a break.

[yorkcountyUNHfan]

Miles Brand is the problem...the man who fired Bob Knight at Indiana is leading the NCAA. He is totally committed to being PC. God forbid the other teams go to another stadium and it feel like a road game. Isn't that why you play for home field advantage? It may not seem like you're losing a lot by the music or what not being pumped in, but that is part of the atmosphere at your school's stadium for 2/3 of the season. The PC NCAA and Miles Brand have to go. Maybe then you'll see better playoff game atmospheres and maybe a National Championship game that is on a Saturday or Sunday.

You don't play for homefield advantage you pay fot it.xnodx

[james_lawfirm]

Now you're sounding like those Appy St whiners from the past two years - the only real restriction is you can't pump in stuff during the game - oh well. How about just making old fashioned noise - you know, cheering? That's not outlawed. The band can still play (can't play during an actual play but that's not any different than during the year). What's the problem? Plenty of places get pretty loud without the loudspeaker telling them when it's time to cheer and what to do.

Gannon:
I don't know if I would say we were whining, more like winning!

Actually, I agree with most of your post, with one clarification. The NCAA allows old fashioned noise at playoff games, as long as it is produced with only a person's hands or mouth (I guess farting is OK too). But artificial noise-makers, like old fashioned cowbells, etc. are not allowed.

I mean no disrespect to your post, and I agree that the NCAA's rules in this facet of the playoffs seem silly. They have rules for # of players that can travel, length of time a team can stay in the visitor's town, # of cheerleaders that can travel, noise that is prohibited during the games. Why the heck do they then award a seed? There's got to be some benefit to earning a home field game. Who came up with these rules? Probably a bunch of lawyers.

[UMass922]

they never seem to play at halftime here and the other teams NEVER or almost never come!

I doubt many schools at this level have sent their bands to road playoff games. It's expensive and the games are scheduled on very short notice; I can only see it happening if the two schools are very close together. When I was in the UMass band we never did a road playoff game (our road playoff games in those years were at McNeese St., Northwestern St., Furman, and Georgia Southern), and it took a last-minute decision by our chancellor to send us to Chattanooga for the championship game in '98 (I believe he decided to pay for the trip out of his own pocket). There was talk in '99 that if we beat GSU in the quarters and played Hofstra in the next round, we would try to send a small pep band to Long Island for the game (alas we didn't beat GSU).

And for the first-round Thanksgiving weekend games, forget about it--it's impossible enough as it is to get anything close to the whole band there for a home game, much less a road game. The students being away puts a serious cramp on things.

Further, the band going to regular season road games is rare enough as it is--we did one, maybe two a year, depending. So I think you have to understand the logistics of these things and lower your expectations to a more realistic level.

[ASUMountaineer]

You don't play for homefield advantage you pay fot it.xnodx

Unless you get a seed. That too is a problem that I neglected. The teams with the best seasons should get home field, regardless of how deep their pocket books are.

[eaglesrthe1]

Unless you get a seed. That too is a problem that I neglected. The teams with the best seasons should get home field, regardless of how deep their pocket books are.


Amen. On the field play should be what earns it. All sixteen should be seeded, while you're at it.

[McTailGator]

Put in a break for Christmas and play the NC game a week later, after XMas right in with the bowls. That will increase viewers and increase the game attendance (because now fans from both schools will have 2 weeks to arrange to be there instead of 6 days.)
I've been saying this for a while - even before talk of playoff expansion. I think it's a good idea even if we don't expand. Start the playoffs a week later - let the SWAC participate in the postseason. Ivy too if they want to get off their horse and join the party.

This season it would look like this:
Thanksgiving W/E - Bayou Classic and other "rivalry" games.
Dec 1 - First Round Playoff games
Dec 8 - Quarterfinals
Dec 15 - Semis
Dec 29 - Championship game

I've said this very thing for a while myself.

No expansion past 16 teams, and push it all back a week. And MORE people are free from work/school commitments between x-mass and New Years.

But at a minimum, the current Friday Night game has GOT to go. That is typically the last day of work for me the entire year before my holiday vacation. Lot's of Chistmas parties are planned that night.

The game needs to be swit0hed with the D-II time slot unless they push it after X-mass (which they should).

[GannonFan]

I doubt many schools at this level have sent their bands to road playoff games. It's expensive and the games are scheduled on very short notice; I can only see it happening if the two schools are very close together. When I was in the UMass band we never did a road playoff game (our road playoff games in those years were at McNeese St., Northwestern St., Furman, and Georgia Southern), and it took a last-minute decision by our chancellor to send us to Chattanooga for the championship game in '98 (I believe he decided to pay for the trip out of his own pocket). There was talk in '99 that if we beat GSU in the quarters and played Hofstra in the next round, we would try to send a small pep band to Long Island for the game (alas we didn't beat GSU).

And for the first-round Thanksgiving weekend games, forget about it--it's impossible enough as it is to get anything close to the whole band there for a home game, much less a road game. The students being away puts a serious cramp on things.

Further, the band going to regular season road games is rare enough as it is--we did one, maybe two a year, depending. So I think you have to understand the logistics of these things and lower your expectations to a more realistic level.


Delaware makes it a stipulation for anyone joining the band (it is voluntary) that they need to committ to staying or comming back on the day of a playoff game, even over Thanksgiving. It wasn't always that way, but it's been for a few years now. If UD hosts a playoff game, 98% of the band is there.