The stadium experience is lousy…
What started to worry me was when I traveled to away games or attended other college football games. Their stadiums are electric, and fans are engaged for the entire 4 quarters. They show up before the game starts and leave when the game ends, which is not typical for a Buffs game. Buffs fans show up a little late and leave early. Why is that?
At the Minnesota game, it felt like we weren’t even playing at home. Coming off a close loss to one of the best SEC schools, the energy should’ve been electric, but the stadium felt dead even with a close to full stadium. I can’t imagine what it’s like for players, coaches, and attending recruits to see your fan base disappear after the half. It must be discouraging, especially when away fans stay till the end, so their size grows in relation to the number of CU fans throughout the game.
Stadium attendance is not all about wins/losses (although that is a big factor). It is about the experience. It seems like the University of Colorado assumes fans are just there to sit and watch football for 4 quarters, but people can do that at the comfort of their home. The pressure is 100% put on the players and coaches to perform in order to keep their fans around. That is not fair! Take the pressure off the team and start making Buffs game the best experience for fans (win or lose)! Do people go to concerts because of the music… yes, but it’s mostly to experience something they can’t get at home listening on Spotify.
We need to find new ways to engage with the fans. The speaker system is outdated. I sit in section 109, I’m young and I can barely hear anything said over the speakers, and the music sounds like background music. There should be speakers throughout the stadium with upgraded quality. There are even companies that enable immersive and interactive sound experiences like Spatial.
We introduced the Buff Clap where the stadium claps with Chip, an incredible experience for all the fans and energizes the football team. But why stop there?
There are significant benefits to improving the overall experience:
• Attendance will rise, and fans should stay longer if they know that part of their experience is not just tied to the performance of the team (fans leave if we are winning or losing, which tells you a lot).
• Better recruiting. Recruits want to see if this would be a fun fan base to play in front of. They want to picture themselves on the field and the crowd erupting… but when the fans are not engaged or leaving it is not very convincing. Coaches should have the confidence that bringing a recruit to CU (one of the best campuses in the world) should be a mind-blowing experience (win or lose). Again, take the pressure off coaches recruiting efforts so that they can still sell a vision to a recruit even if the team loses.
• Home field advantage. We can make Folsom one of the most challenging places to play. We have the altitude advantage, but we don’t have a loud and engaged fan base. This can change the momentum of a game and the outcome.
All of the points above should be a significant ROI for the Buffs football program and university. It is time to improve the experience!
Here are just a few examples of great football experiences:
• I went to a Wisconsin game where they played “Jump Around” after the end of the 3rd quarter and leading into the 4th quarter… it was one of the coolest college football experiences.
• Nebraska has not been a good football team for quite some time, but their fans show up. And I hate giving credit to Nebraska, but their stadium experience is next level.
• Every stadium with a great atmosphere has loud and energizing music. You need to keep the student section around for the 2nd half. They are the loudest fans. And students love music!! It’s the easiest way to keep them at the game.
We just had a huge turnout for the Arizona game for an 0-5 vs 1-4 matchup. We have one of the best turnouts in the Pac12. The fans are dedicated, but CU is not doing enough to keep them around! It is time to start making CU football games the best football experience from start to finish.
What started to worry me was when I traveled to away games or attended other college football games. Their stadiums are electric, and fans are engaged for the entire 4 quarters. They show up before the game starts and leave when the game ends, which is not typical for a Buffs game. Buffs fans show up a little late and leave early. Why is that?
At the Minnesota game, it felt like we weren’t even playing at home. Coming off a close loss to one of the best SEC schools, the energy should’ve been electric, but the stadium felt dead even with a close to full stadium. I can’t imagine what it’s like for players, coaches, and attending recruits to see your fan base disappear after the half. It must be discouraging, especially when away fans stay till the end, so their size grows in relation to the number of CU fans throughout the game.
Stadium attendance is not all about wins/losses (although that is a big factor). It is about the experience. It seems like the University of Colorado assumes fans are just there to sit and watch football for 4 quarters, but people can do that at the comfort of their home. The pressure is 100% put on the players and coaches to perform in order to keep their fans around. That is not fair! Take the pressure off the team and start making Buffs game the best experience for fans (win or lose)! Do people go to concerts because of the music… yes, but it’s mostly to experience something they can’t get at home listening on Spotify.
We need to find new ways to engage with the fans. The speaker system is outdated. I sit in section 109, I’m young and I can barely hear anything said over the speakers, and the music sounds like background music. There should be speakers throughout the stadium with upgraded quality. There are even companies that enable immersive and interactive sound experiences like Spatial.
We introduced the Buff Clap where the stadium claps with Chip, an incredible experience for all the fans and energizes the football team. But why stop there?
There are significant benefits to improving the overall experience:
• Attendance will rise, and fans should stay longer if they know that part of their experience is not just tied to the performance of the team (fans leave if we are winning or losing, which tells you a lot).
• Better recruiting. Recruits want to see if this would be a fun fan base to play in front of. They want to picture themselves on the field and the crowd erupting… but when the fans are not engaged or leaving it is not very convincing. Coaches should have the confidence that bringing a recruit to CU (one of the best campuses in the world) should be a mind-blowing experience (win or lose). Again, take the pressure off coaches recruiting efforts so that they can still sell a vision to a recruit even if the team loses.
• Home field advantage. We can make Folsom one of the most challenging places to play. We have the altitude advantage, but we don’t have a loud and engaged fan base. This can change the momentum of a game and the outcome.
All of the points above should be a significant ROI for the Buffs football program and university. It is time to improve the experience!
Here are just a few examples of great football experiences:
• I went to a Wisconsin game where they played “Jump Around” after the end of the 3rd quarter and leading into the 4th quarter… it was one of the coolest college football experiences.
• Nebraska has not been a good football team for quite some time, but their fans show up. And I hate giving credit to Nebraska, but their stadium experience is next level.
• Every stadium with a great atmosphere has loud and energizing music. You need to keep the student section around for the 2nd half. They are the loudest fans. And students love music!! It’s the easiest way to keep them at the game.
We just had a huge turnout for the Arizona game for an 0-5 vs 1-4 matchup. We have one of the best turnouts in the Pac12. The fans are dedicated, but CU is not doing enough to keep them around! It is time to start making CU football games the best football experience from start to finish.
