SEC RULZ!
There is at least one thing in which the SEC is the undisputed champion of all conferences and it isn’t arrests nor recruiting violations (thank God for Ohio State and FSU). For the 25th consecutive year, the SEC led all conferences in attendance this past season, bringing 5,593,699 fans through the turnstyles. Lest you blame this success on larger staduims, the SEC has led in percentage of attendance as well since the statistic began being kept in 1983 (97.43 percent last year). If only they could track liquor consumption by fans attending games, the SEC would have yet another reason to pat itself on the back.
A typical SEC home game is loud, crowded and smells of alcohol.
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1
Orson Swindle says:
We’ll beat posters to this:
Not true blah blah rednecks spending money on wrong things blah blah blah Pac 10 rulz blah blah fans from Big 10/Big 12 can drink you under the table blahbiddy blah blah blah.
There. Pre-emption: it’s so 21st century of us.
December 12th, 2005 at 10:39 am
2
PSUrob says:
Orson, you forgot a Notre Dame comparison.
December 12th, 2005 at 10:52 am
3
Orson Swindle says:
True. It’s on the way, we’re sure.
December 12th, 2005 at 10:55 am
4
Mike says:
What fools we are – filling our stadiums when the conference is having a “down” year based on comments from the national (eg. ESPN Gameday) media.
It must be the booze and blue jean shorts that draws us to the games. It surely isn’t the fact that gameday experiences are unrivaled and passionate support for one’s team is uncompromisable.
December 12th, 2005 at 11:00 am
5
Rick says:
Orson, you forgot a Notre Dame comparison.
Actually, after I read the article I was thinking, “that’s pretty damn cool and actually speaks very well for the overall quality of the conference if the fans/alums go to the damn games. There must not be too many (any?) terminally weak teams otherwise this wouldn’t happen 22 years in a row.”
December 12th, 2005 at 11:19 am
6
Orson Swindle says:
And we’re obsessed. Warren’s not lying in RJYH. Until you’re confronted with the physical fact of a half-million dollar RV done up in blue and orange, you just don’t fully comprehend how off-their-rocker into it people get down here.
Must be the hookworm, syphilis, and moonshine–at least that’s what it is for us.
December 12th, 2005 at 11:26 am
7
Orson Swindle says:
Continued—
South Carolina has sold out every game for the past eon or so, and they’ve suuuuuuuuuuucked for almost all of them. That’s dedication.
December 12th, 2005 at 11:27 am
8
Rick says:
I don’t think saying, “well, the stadiums are bigger” mitigates in a negative way either. It can’t be coincidental that huge stdiums predominate in the SEC. Conversely, you don’t have to be a genius to figure out why Stanford is replacing an 80,000 seat stadium with a 50,000 seat one. ND folks who’ve been to the games at Neyland have been saying for years that it was one of the greatest gameday experiences they’ve ever had and that Southern hospitality was in evidence everywhere.
December 12th, 2005 at 11:46 am
9
Orson Swindle says:
It’s a loop, right? Well, the stadiums are bigger. Well, they’re bigger for a reason–interest, capital, and fanbases who’ll keep coming no matter what.
Leave Kentucky out of this, btw, although even their attendance ain’t half bad.
December 12th, 2005 at 11:51 am
10
LD says:
Kentucky’s hoop fans make up for it. College football passion, just routed to a different sport. Rupp Arena is huge and sold out consistently. Every March they buy half the seats in the Georgia Dome for the SEC and NCAA tourneys.
December 12th, 2005 at 12:00 pm
11
Stranko Montana says:
Is it Kentucky Basketball… or the opportunity to see Ashley Judd painted in blue?
December 12th, 2005 at 12:01 pm
12
Orson Swindle says:
We just watch to see if Ashley’s going to eat something on camera.
December 12th, 2005 at 12:02 pm
13
Mike says:
When compared to the Big 10(11) the “stadiums are bigger” argument kinda goes away. They have 3 of the top 4.
Granted ACC and Big 12 have smaller venues on average. Pac 10 – I read that USC had average 90K (a record) for their games this year. I’d hate the think what the ticket demand would be for an SEC heavyweight that had won 34 in a row with 3 Heisman winners.
UM ~110,000
PSU ~108,000 – UT
OSU >100,000 –
Wisconsin >80,000 – 90,000 – AU, UA, LSU, UF, UGA, USC
Iowa/Illinois/Mich St >70,000 –
Minnesota/Indiana ~50-60K ~ Kentucky/OM/MSU
Northwestern ~ 50K ~ Vandy
December 12th, 2005 at 12:20 pm
14
Orson Swindle says:
Murder rates would skyrocket, we think.
December 12th, 2005 at 12:24 pm
15
Newspaper Hack says:
Continued—
South Carolina has sold out every game for the past eon or so, and they’ve suuuuuuuuuuucked for almost all of them. That’s dedication.
What’s worse is that Carolina fans go into every year thinking, Red Sox-esque, “This is our year,” only to have their dreams dashed early in the season. I mean, I saw Carolina spank a ranked Virginia team in ‘03 and then finish 5-6. Oh, cruel Fate. The ‘84 team was ranked No. 2 and then lost — to Navy. And Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers? Bounced out of the NFL because he had a thing for the nose candy. The chicken curse is in effect, but 80K still fill the stadium. And by God, it’s worth it.
December 12th, 2005 at 1:05 pm
16
rick says:
I read that USC had average 90K (a record) for their games this year. I’d hate the think what the ticket demand would be for an SEC heavyweight that had won 34 in a row with 3 Heisman winners.
SC was running two for the price of one ticket deals less then five years ago. When the current surge backs off and all the ex-raider fans find another bandwagon the peristyle end of the Coliseum will once again be as barren as the Mohave desert.
December 12th, 2005 at 2:13 pm
17
JD says:
The best part of SEC site’s article is this sentence: “No neutral site games were not counted in this survey.” What? Is the conference office actually hiring former SEC football players to write their releases?
December 12th, 2005 at 2:32 pm
18
RowdyRoddyPiper says:
Can the weather be a factor here. In Novemeber it’s gotta be a hell of a lot more enjoyable to see a terrible team in Oxford vs. Bloomington. If they have weekly data it could be tested. It’s easy to take a loss surrounded by bikini clad co-eds, bathing in whiskey and glorious autumn twilight.
December 12th, 2005 at 3:07 pm
19
Orson Swindle says:
Why yes it is, Roddy.
December 12th, 2005 at 3:55 pm