Iowa vs Iowa State - Iowa trounces ISU in ticket sales

HandSanitizer · 06-19-2006, 07:33 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cydkar @ Jun 19 2006, 04:51 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'> Iowa fans haven't been repeatedly kicked in the nuts either. It's not just money.

[/b][/quote]

cydkar,

you took the words right out of my mouth. Lets check out the previous seasons for the Hawks. Correct me if I am wrong.

Win-Alamo

Lose-Bad BCS Orange bowl loss.

Win-Outback -Crushed Florida

Win-Capital One bowl - Most thrilling finish of the bowl year?

Lose-Outback -Crazy comeback and wierd ending.

Put ISU in the place of Iowa for the last 5 years and then lets see how tickets sales would be like. hell, we probably would have already bowled in the south endzone and would be working on our 2nd deck in the south endzone. We have been kicked in the nuts way too much and its time to take the next step.

tbolan · 06-19-2006, 10:22 PM

To be real Honest I could give a rats @ss who sells more tickets, they have more fans period that is the way it is I don't really care, I hate that argument that , the fact they have more fans makes them a better team or school. It's like saying Cowboys are better then the Patriots because there are more cowboys fans then patriot fans. I buy my season tickets for my family and donate to NCC every year thats all I can do, the clones need to bring in a championship and the rest of the half@ss fans will get off their butts and join the club

zach379 · 06-19-2006, 11:35 PM

I think it come down to quality over quanity,would you rather have the quanity like Iowa where they have a bunch of rich casual fans or do you want quality which is are hard working blue colar die hard fans like us. Its easy for people to root for somthing that is suposively winning, so the casual(poser) fan roots for iowa, it takes guts and heart to root for somthing thats not always on top.

Its weired because most Iowa fans i know by the time march rolls around they pretend to be Duke or Carolina fans, thats not being a true fan, thats being a, i never want to be heart broken because ill win no matter what fan.

All i know is that there are two kinds of Iowa fans, diehard and casual, there is one type of Iowa State fan diehard. I bet we have just as much die hard fans as them if not more.

goonies_89 · 06-20-2006, 12:37 AM

this dudes a traitor, he wore an iowa hat!!!!

goonies_89 · 06-20-2006, 12:37 AM

but yeah iowa fans are pretty much along for the ride and when its over they hop off.

dkiene · 06-20-2006, 12:58 AM

I think so much of it comes down to expectations. Every year since Ferentz has been at Iowa, there have been high expectations, like competing for the Big 10 title, playing in a Jan. bowl game, etc. Even this year, the expectations are high. Some publications have them picked high, play in a major bowl, etc.

Contrast that to us. What are our expectations for the season? Pissing away 2 B12 North titles in 2 years lowers expectations. People buy season tickets on hope, or the possibility of a magic season. With our tougher schedule, loss of key players, etc., what are our expectations for this year?

Beating Iowa is one thing. It keeps people interested in the rivalry, and sure is fun to brag for one week. But if we really want to establish more season ticket holders, we have to prove to Joe Fan that we are a consistent team, that exceeds expectations, and competes for titles and major bowls. Obviously, our in-state rival has done that, and the tickets sales reflect that. We have a long way to go to prove that we can take our program to the next step and fill the stands.

isucy86 · 06-20-2006, 12:59 AM

Iowa fans need to be commended.

I've always felt there are 2 keys that drive ticket sales:

1) Teams that win consistently over a long period of time and also have an occasional great season.

2) Living Alumni for a school

Iowa FB kicks ISU FB on the first item. Not only did Iowa enjoy consistent success and an occasion bowl game during Hayden Fry's 20 years, Iowa also had a nice little run with Forest Evischeski(sp?). It's amazing the long memories that some fans have. Compare Iowa MBB to ISU MBB- attendance figures are basically even. ISU might not have had the consistentcy of Iowa's hoops program, but we've had solid teams for 20+ years and we've had NCAA success under JO, TF, LE & WM.

Sure both Iowa and ISU have a decent number of fans that never attended either college, but alumni comprise any school core fan base. Again Iowa has more living alumni, but I'd be surprised if it's 15-20% more.

Iowa fans need to be commended for traditionally having between 25-30k students and putting 70-75k fans in their stadium. Schools like Michigan, PSU, Ohio State and Texas draw 90k+ but their campuses have over 50k students.

ornryactor · 06-20-2006, 01:56 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CyinCo @ Jun 19 2006, 05:57 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'> Not trying to justify anything here since that difference is embarassing but the UofI does have 40,000+ students where ISU has 26,000+ (i'm only guessing on those numbers but they are close).
[/b][/quote] Um, actually, Iowa only has 29,000 students to ISU's 27,000. (Roughly speaking) Which means that there's even less of an excuse for ISU students to be so apathetic and unsupportive, especially since we have a ton of options for sports tickets that UI students don't have.

BryceC · 06-20-2006, 07:33 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ornryactor @ Jun 20 2006, 12:56 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'> Um, actually, Iowa only has 29,000 students to ISU's 27,000. (Roughly speaking) Which means that there's even less of an excuse for ISU students to be so apathetic and unsupportive, especially since we have a ton of options for sports tickets that UI students don't have. [/b][/quote]

ISU's students have sold out their allotment for the last few years so they aren't the problem.

I think it's going to be a good ten years before ISU builds up another good alumni base who have experienced not only the increased success within Jack Trice, but the great atmosphere outside before the game. Then we'll see season tickets increase even if we don't win at a higher level, although I pray we do. I think fans now realize that we're going to have a great time at the games, and the team will perform well. I just think we may have to raise a new generation of fans before we can really rope in some new people.

Another little note, I don't think it's all doctors and lawyers who are buying season tickets. It's also the random people working around Iowa City, who have nothing to do with the university and the rabid alumni buying tickets. Ames and ISU doesn't have this luxury.

Jeremy · 06-20-2006, 08:30 AM

I think everybody had good ideas and arguements. It's debates like these that this site was created for. I honestly don't care too much if Iowa sells more tickets, I expect them to. I care that the difference is so big but as long as we continue to sell more and more tickets each year, that's all anybody can ask. We aren't going to sell out every game over night, however, we do need to expect a bigger crowd to the non-key games.

Also, I think a few people misunderstood me, I don't mean to imply that only doctors and lawyers are buying season tickets, quite conversely I think they make up a small minority. That's where the problem lies thought, the common folk that buy tickets to UofI games are the same general people that could buy ISU tickets, they don't because they grew up with success at Iowa and not at ISU. That is changing though!!!

One of the reasons I think there is also a bigger difference is that the majority of Iowa's fans are starting to get a lot older than ISU's. We used to have a fairly old fanbase but they stopped going to games because they never saw improvement. Now that we're improving, we're bringing in the younger Iowans as fans and that will mean bigger and better crowds in the future, not necessarily now though. The younger fans are less likely to buy season tickets due to the money factor.

iowast8 · 06-20-2006, 08:39 AM

Of course Iowa is selling more tickets than ISU. They have a much larger fan base. In Eastern Iowa, it is very difficult to find a cyclone fan. In my high school alone, we had 1...yes that's "ONE".....cyclone fan in my class of 100. It was not me, as I was a hawk fan at the time. High school is tough enough without being the only cyclone fan in the school. In Des Moines (25 miles from Ames), it is probably a 50-50 ratio of cyclone fans to hawk fans. As close as Des Moines is to ISU, this percentage should favor ISU much more than it does. Overall in the entire state, I would like to see a scientific poll comparing the number of fans, but my guess would be 5-1 in favor of Iowa.

So what I'm saying is....I think ISU's 30,000 compared to Iowa's 45,000 season tickets shows the commitment that ISU fans have. That is a 3-2 ratio in favor of Iowa compared to my estimate of actual numbers within the state of 5-1. Beyond that, Iowa is expected to do great things recently. Iowa is expected to be a top 10 team recently. ISU is expected to do just well enough to reach a bowl game. ISU has more commitment. ISU has more love. ISU has more heart. How else do you explain the recent success of ISU over an Iowa team that has proven to be better by season's end? It's the heart.

JHpsyclonz · 06-20-2006, 08:41 AM

One thing that is being overlooked is the fact that Iowa City is better than Ames. I went to Iowa State and now I live in Iowa City, the bars are better here, there are more better looking women than in Ames, I do think that tail-gating is better at ISU but if you go down to the ped mall during a home game every bar is packed.... The only thing that sucks is that they are full of Iowa fans

BryceC · 06-20-2006, 08:51 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JHpsyclonz @ Jun 20 2006, 07:41 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'> One thing that is being overlooked is the fact that Iowa City is better than Ames. I went to Iowa State and now I live in Iowa City, the bars are better here, there are more better looking women than in Ames, I do think that tail-gating is better at ISU but if you go down to the ped mall during a home game every bar is packed.... The only thing that sucks is that they are full of Iowa fans
[/b][/quote]

I think anybody that has partied in Iowa City will say that the bars and the chicks are better (I probably would have become an alcoholic had I went to Iowa) and that's why I hope that Pollard markets more to families. Now that I'm married and I don't really hit up the bars all that often, I really don't care about that stuff. I like tailgating, hanging out with my friends, having a few beers...maybe a couple of beer bongs, followed by a couple games of beer pong, then some throwing up in the woods by the student lot. Ya know, good family fun.

But in all seriousness, I think the gameday environment is a lot more fun since I've started going to games in 2000. I hope that sells people more than the bars. If not, we're still doing something wrong.

monkeybrow · 06-20-2006, 09:04 AM

"There is no reason Green Bay of all places can sell out a stadium and have season tickets the most prized possession in a Will. Population doesn't support it. Income brackets don't support it. Weather sure as hell doesnt' support it. But they come. They all come. So many come you can go bowing on main street. They are fans. (This pains me b/c I hate the packers)"

SlyCy · 06-20-2006, 09:16 AM

Here are my reasons:

1) Most of the population of Iowa is in Eastern Iowa, naturally lemmings follow lemmings.

2) The difference in Iowa fan base is they bring in fans that have no connection to the school (i.e. didn't graduate from there, don't have any family members that go there) Why? Because their friends are fans and because their football program CONSISTANTLY wins year after year.

3) Iowa football games are an experience. It is so crowded in the parking lots around the stadium that football games are more about the tailgating, drinking and parties afterward. If you're any Iowa State fan you have never seen tailgating like the Iowa fans.

4) You can preach all you want about donating to ISU and about buying more tickets, but you're preaching to the choir. Until Iowa State brings in a fan base not somehow connected to ISU, they will never be like Iowa.

5) There are surprisingly a lot of Cyclone fans in Eastern Iowa however, since I live in Iowa City, you take a risk everytime you display something ISU. I've had my car keyed, beer bottles thrown at me and rude comments made when I walk into a restaurant. It's hard to be a Cyclone in Eastern Iowa when you're losing and swimming up stream.

I hope things improve.