No sport in America attracts larger crowds than college football games and just about every FBS stadium can fit the population of several small towns into them. That’s what makes one recent attendance video so embarrassing.
During yesterday’s game between Stanford and Arizona State, Jim Nagy shared a video of the Cardinals coming onto the field for their pregame ceremony. But there was one huge problem: Massive swaths of the stadium were completely empty.
“Someone in Cali please explain what else, besides football, people are doing on Saturday afternoons in the fall. Whatever it is, that’s what Saturdays in the winter, spring, and summer are for,” Nagy pleaded. Nagy’s video is going viral with over 300,00 views.
But apparently people in the Bay Area of California don’t agree with Nagy’s sentiment. While some took the opportunity to diss California as a state, others pointed out that college football just isn’t as important in the area as it is elsewhere:
We are going to the beach, going to the city, going to the mountains, or watching any other game. https://t.co/UgqrdkRmTL
— Bryan Eglesia (@b_eglesia) October 23, 2022
Pac-12 crowds baffle me every week. https://t.co/lDsnkIR4Ji
— Barkley Truax (@BarkleyTruax) October 23, 2022
We have lots of options. With decent weather year round. I, personally, am always busy with kids’ sports. I catch half the games on a phone app at random parks. https://t.co/FrDNBzEYPb
— West Coast Tide Fans (@WCTideFans) October 23, 2022
Nobody not trying to watch Stanford football that’s been trash for years breh https://t.co/wzadUL85bi
— Vontel (@DVontelJ) October 23, 2022
The ultimately culprit might just be the team’s recent struggles as a football program. They’ve won just 14 games in the last four years and haven’t been to a bowl game since 2018.
Head coach David Shaw won the Pac-12 title three times in his first five seasons and took them to the Rose Bowl three times in that span.
Winning tends to cure everything and college football attendance is no exception.
Will Stanford reach peak attendance again anytime soon?