[Chip R]

I think one big problem that UC football has - and I know this sounds silly - no place to tailgate. I know about the practice field where they have games and stuff going on but that seems very contrived to me. If you want to park, you have to do it in the garages. Does not make for a real good time.

I think another thing is that it is a commuter college. A lot of students are from Cincinnati and the surrounding area. When Friday afternoon comes they go home. They aren't staying on campus because they don't have to. If the public doesn't see the students at the game they probably figure they shouldn't go either.

I used to go to 3-4 UC games a year when I first moved here. That was more because my girlfriend at the time was a UC student. I was there for the Wisconsin game. It was a great atmosphere but they were playing a Big 10 team who brought a lot of fans. I think if UC Football had had success like UC hoops has had recently, it might be more popular. It's not like people don't like football here. They're crazy about high school football and are passionate about the Bengals. Stands to reason UC football should be popular as well. It's not like they don't recruit local players either.

I don't necessarily think it's one thing that is to blame. It's a lot of little things. I think they ae going in the right direction. They have some good rivalries in the Big East with WV and Pitt and LOU and Syracuse. But sometimes you can't pay people to go to your games. Like when the Reds were playing the Padres and they cut ticket prices and sold $1 hot dogs. They didn't get any more than they would have if they had sold them at regular price. The fans lost interest. Right now, UC fans don't have much interest in the team.