Dooley
Done with U-con athletics
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2012
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http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/11/0...ca-where-college-football-means-the-most.html
That's right. Ahead of New Jersey (Rutgers). Ahead of New York (Syracuse). Ahead of Massachusetts (UMASS...some BC fans too)
.
This needs to be here for our B1G and ACC friends who like to come over to our board and proclaim that CT doesn't care about college football. As chairman of the attendance tards, this is important to me. This study shows the untapped potential of Connecticut as a college football state and asset to a P5 conference. While it's just one piece written about college fandoms, anything positive for UCONN is good news. Considering how often the 2011 NY Times piece is cited by CR fans across the country, this latest piece should carry weight.
What's most positive (and a testimony to how loyal/avid a fanbase CT has), the criteria thought to have aided some other areas don't apply to Connecticut at all:
1. "College football attracts the most fans in rural areas without professional teams" - while CT itself doesn't have a professional team, there are literally dozens of pro teams within a 30-90 minute drive of most CT residents (depending where you live). All sports; year round. The competition for the sports entertainment dollar is fierce here in the northeast and to see UCONN Football as a top choice in and around CT is encouraging.
2. "Recent excellence (may) matter" - not sure how "recent" "excellence" has to be defined as according to this study, but 2010 seems like ages ago. The past 4 seasons have been absolutely dreadful. The last 2 seasons we've been a laughingstock of college football. Yet, there CT is, ranking ahead of NJ (Rutgers) and NY (Syracuse).
3. "The South loves college football (but so do pockets of the Midwest)" - From the article itself: "The states with the lowest rates of college football fandom are five New England states (all but Connecticut) followed by New Jersey and New York."
So to summarize:
Connecticut is not in the south. UCONN has not seen any recent excellence. There are literally dozens of professional sports options within a 1 hour drive of most CT residents. Yet here Connecticut ranks as the highest state in the northeast for college football fans.
This kind of publicity is nothing but good news for UCONN's CT resume. Before I'm misquoted or taken out of context by someone here, this is not the only metric that will/should be used for getting UCONN out of the AAC. But it's a darn good one.
That's right. Ahead of New Jersey (Rutgers). Ahead of New York (Syracuse). Ahead of Massachusetts (UMASS...some BC fans too)
.This needs to be here for our B1G and ACC friends who like to come over to our board and proclaim that CT doesn't care about college football. As chairman of the attendance tards, this is important to me. This study shows the untapped potential of Connecticut as a college football state and asset to a P5 conference. While it's just one piece written about college fandoms, anything positive for UCONN is good news. Considering how often the 2011 NY Times piece is cited by CR fans across the country, this latest piece should carry weight.
What's most positive (and a testimony to how loyal/avid a fanbase CT has), the criteria thought to have aided some other areas don't apply to Connecticut at all:
1. "College football attracts the most fans in rural areas without professional teams" - while CT itself doesn't have a professional team, there are literally dozens of pro teams within a 30-90 minute drive of most CT residents (depending where you live). All sports; year round. The competition for the sports entertainment dollar is fierce here in the northeast and to see UCONN Football as a top choice in and around CT is encouraging.
2. "Recent excellence (may) matter" - not sure how "recent" "excellence" has to be defined as according to this study, but 2010 seems like ages ago. The past 4 seasons have been absolutely dreadful. The last 2 seasons we've been a laughingstock of college football. Yet, there CT is, ranking ahead of NJ (Rutgers) and NY (Syracuse).
3. "The South loves college football (but so do pockets of the Midwest)" - From the article itself: "The states with the lowest rates of college football fandom are five New England states (all but Connecticut) followed by New Jersey and New York."
So to summarize:
Connecticut is not in the south. UCONN has not seen any recent excellence. There are literally dozens of professional sports options within a 1 hour drive of most CT residents. Yet here Connecticut ranks as the highest state in the northeast for college football fans.
This kind of publicity is nothing but good news for UCONN's CT resume. Before I'm misquoted or taken out of context by someone here, this is not the only metric that will/should be used for getting UCONN out of the AAC. But it's a darn good one.
(and yes I saw the post that it alludes to.)
