re: Once and for all. Declining college football attendance is NOT just an LSU problem

Think about it...in Tiger Stadium's heyday (i'm talking 70's-90's), LSU MAY have been broadcast 5 times a year on your 20-25 inch "box" TV. Other than that, it was Jim Hawthorne on the radio or Tigervision (which used to be an LSU production w/LSU pregame, halftime, and postgame featurettes and LSU legends calling the game. NOT an ESPN plus broadcast with no-names calling it.) I legit remember as a kid my parents having a house full of people over for a game that was NOT on TV. If you actually went to a game, you had an opportunity to see your team live and you were super pumped about it. Furthermore, there was a good chance the game was not on TV so it was an added plus. Now with big-screen HDTV and surround sound, it's alot easier and cheaper to have people over at the house for the games. LSU gameday is much more of a social event now with most people just going thru the motions. The days of bringing headphones and binoculars to a game are long gone.

BUT...in a 2019 scenario or Bama last year, it still can be a packed house! It's not the norm tho.

Who wants the hassle of going to a game? Uncomfortable seats, crappy view of the field, hot temperature or cold later in season, drunk and obnoxious people sitting nearby, parking and traffic hassles, exhorbitant cost for crappy concessions and outrageous ticket prices. Give me my big screen in my living room any day.

There's bad traffic in Oxford. Athens. Knoxville. Tuscaloosa. Starkville. Auburn. Gainesville. Nashville...

You get my point.

It was better before they did a traffic study and people weren't forced to go in directions opposite of their destinations. For years... until about 2002 before everything was paid parking, we parked at the student union or behind the Horseshoe. Left the game after 0:00 and made it off campus usually in less than 30 minutes.

Has anyone calculated the increase in game breaks for the modern college game vs the 1990s?

If the university wanted that stadium packed to 105% capacity, it would be. It's 100% a business decision to maximize game day profits over gameday atmosphere and fan experience.

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We had about 85k in the stadium last night.

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Stadium looks embarrassing on TV with wide swaths of empty seats. And those are sets in the bowl on the east side. The crowd was flat for most of the first half last night.

But LSU's administration doesn't care about that at this point. They want the money of sold tickets and increased concession prices. They don't care if the food sucks and the service is bad because enough sheep will still buy it.

And the TV money is the big thing. LSU has played 11 a.m. home game recently because TV told them to do it, and they have to do it because of the money TV game them. USC and UCLA aren't moving to the Big Ten because they want better opponents for better home attendance. They're leaving because they're guaranteed a huge increase in guaranteed TV money.

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The Gold Seat crowds dress, and act, as if they are at cocktail party.

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As an old timer you should mention that this was worse in the 80’s when women wore “sunday” dresses, men wore jackets, and bought the women corsages every week.

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Too expensive for an average Joe like me.
BS. That's an excuse.

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Nah. When tickets for the family costs a car note, your average beer drinking baw aint gonna spring for many games a year.

I totally agree with the video games. They would prefer to not have to get dressed, put up with the crowds, heat and just play the video games with their friends. Also, every person in their 20's that I know who are living on their own do not subscribe to regular television channels/networks. They only have access to Netflix, Hulu, Prime, and YouTube Video bloggers. They have no interest in college football, the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc.
Also, they have no clue about politics, the weather, etc. since they don't watch/have access to the local or national news.