Cliff: OSU-UW kickoff « Cliff Kirkpatrick

Article written

on 11.04.2009
at 01:14 PM
by Cliff Kirkpatrick

category: OSU Sports

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The Oregon State football team’s Nov. 14 home game with Washington will kick off at 12:30 p.m. and be broadcast live on FSN Northwest.

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beavsfan10 says:

November 4, 2009 at 8:21 pm

Cliff, what is with all the early start times? I don't believe OSU has had a home night game all year. Most major programs across the country play at night and it creates a great atmosphere for the fans, players, and most importantly the recruits. How is the game day atmosphere supposed to be fun at 12:30 when most college students are just getting up? And think of how early people have to get up if they have a ways to drive. Do you think the Ducks would have played their game against USC at 1230? This is really starting to get old and Bobby D needs to fix it.

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ckirkpatrick says:

November 4, 2009 at 8:26 pm

OSU likes to play in the day. Coach Mike Riley's favorite time is 3 p.m. kickoff.

The feeling is it's better to get up early, get the game in and be done. More fans don't like night games because they have to go home late.

College football is better played in the day. A special night game is cool, too, but those who put the whole thing together want them in the day.

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ean says:

November 4, 2009 at 9:05 pm

I think most fans with families prefer day games before some of the folks have a chance to take the alcohol consumption overboard.

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WebTraveler says:

November 4, 2009 at 10:22 pm

I agree with the concerns on start time; I have kids in sports & Saturdays are filled with kids sports and other events. A 12:30 game is tough. After 12 years of season tickets I am going to have to pull the plug. I just can't do the day games, especially when we don't know until a few days out for sure.

I know many people like an early start time; but it is clear these folks do not have kids or they would run into conflicts. Maybe there are more of the folks with lots of time for early games than there are of me with tons of events on Saturday. I guess in the end Bobby D can't make everyone happy.

But I know Bob is having a hard time filling the stands this year. I would like to see what Bob's demographics are on the season ticket holders….how many retirees, how many parents with kids/kids events, how many folks right out of college w/o kids, and so forth.
I understand Cliff's position, he wants time to write his articles. But Cliff, don't you have kids? How do you do the Saturday kids sporting events?

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ckirkpatrick says:

November 4, 2009 at 10:31 pm

For me to have a job in what I do, I make sacrafices. I'm out of town half the time. I missed my son's first goal in u-8 soccer this year due to my work. As it keeps going, my wife will be a video person and I'll be reviewing his work in the middle of the night.

But, if I was paying for tickets and not getting paid to do what I do, I would stop buying tickets. My children come first over recreationaly football watching.

The people the Beavers lose who are in the middle aged part of their life, they better get from the 20-somethings with money to spare. That's OSU's biggest future concern. They've lost that group.

I think this is where the disconnect fans have from what De Carolis is saying. If you can't go to games due to family, just keep donating – maybe less than a season ticket – and attend games when you can.

When life changes and you can be a season ticket holder again, go for it.

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aaron_ says:

November 4, 2009 at 11:06 pm

hot damn! i love this start time. I live out east and i think a 1230 (3:30 eastern) is a great time.

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JuneauJim says:

November 4, 2009 at 11:47 pm

This is an interesting discussion. Certainly, Bob can't please everyone every time. And TV must have something to do with it too. The Ducks would have played USC at 12:30 if ABC told them to!

I flip on my TV at 8:00 AM on Saturday mornings and ESPN and ESPN2 are covering Big 10 football. Packed stadiums with games starting at noon or 12:30 seem to be the norm. Does this mean that the youth soccer fields in the Midwest are empty save the kids? Perhaps. Does that mean that the children of Penn State or Michigan alums are unloved because their parents didn't witness every soccer game they played in? Of course not.

Last week, some fans were upset because of the early start time which allowed kids to get back home to trick or treat. This week, other fans are upset because the early start time causes them to miss their kid's events (the same kids that went trick or treating last week?!). There are five or six home games a year. There are 46 other weekends to participate in all kinds of kid activities.

I am Orange too.

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- WebTraveler says:
  
  November 5, 2009 at 2:05 am
  
  Well, I disagree with the other 46 weekends issue. Fall & Spring are the busy times for kids. There are lots of conflicts in Sept/Oct/until Mid-November. There are not as many conflicts the other 46 weekends. Fall is just a busy time.
  
  I earned my undergrad at Arizona State; with some big dollar TV exceptions we played every single game at night – and they still do. They do this because the fan base wants the game at night because of these conflicts.
  
  Yes I turn on my TV on Saturdays and somewhere in the USA someone is starting at 12 Noon their time, or perhaps 11am if in some parts of the Big 10. How are they doing it? I do wonder about this. Buy I also note that quite a few programs play a lot of night games, some Thursday games, and so forth.
  
  Here in Oregon many complain about the night games. The Oregon universities are far from population centers and the travel is an issue. But Penn State is far from a population center too!!
  
  I would like to see a better mix of night games. This would allow me to attend many of the games I am paying for. Thursday night games are easier to attend than 12:30 Saturday games. I am hopeful Bob will look at this next year. There is minimal impact for Thursday and night games in September. The weather is good, the students are not in school, etc. Then throw in some out of town games, a bye week and October can be light. Many of the kids sports end by Mid-November and Thanksgiving is wide open for some different scheduling, etc.
  
  There is a way, but I realize Bob can't do it for everyone all the time. But I know he is worried about filling the seats. I will probably give up next year because of the schedule. I hope some reasonable consensus can be found.
  
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  - JuneauJim says:
    
    November 5, 2009 at 4:08 am
    
    Doesn't ASU play night games because it is too flippin hot during the day? Isn't that part of the reason why the Arizona Cardinals built a stadium with a retractable roof? No one would show up to roast in the sun for an afternoon football game?
    
    Penn State is playing five of their eight home games at noon, two at 3:30 and one in the evening. Everyone of their games is on a Saturday.
    
    OSU had an 11:30 start vs. Portland St and 12:30 for UW. The other home games were all at 3:30 or later. Seems like night games are only going to happen if TV is involved nationally. And even then, the marquee matchup of the week on ABC comes on at 4:30 or 5:00. It's never going to be at 7:00 or 8:00 because it is bedtime on the East Coast.
    
    I think the difference is, other schools have rabid followers that would never think of missing a home game. And their kids wouldn't think of missing a home game to play soccer and have the obligatory juice box either. We just don't have much of that at OSU.
    
    Reply
    - WebTraveler says:
      
      November 5, 2009 at 12:46 pm
      
      In September it is HOT. But if you watch, even when it cools off later in the season the PM games continue at night.
      
      It doesn't much matter for me. If OSU wants me in the stands on Saturday it's going to need to make a commitment to schedule things so people with kids and sports can make them.
      
      Funny as it is EVEN with the day schedule attendance is way down. When we played some at night there were larger crowds. And the numbers they announce are usually sold tickets, not who is actually in their seats. So maybe there is something to be said about night games? There are a lot of factors at play here….I still would be interested in the demographics of the season ticket holders if that data is out there anywhere?!
      
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