Essex home field advantage??

[riversportsfan]

In the Rappahannock Times it said the Trojans won a third consecutive NND title and home field advantage until the state championship game, in front of a disappointing crowd of 575. It may surprise some that the trojans have such a lack of fan support at games, since they are so well represented on vapreps. But this is sad guys!! What more do these young men have to do?? The best three year run in the history of the program, and cannot get the fan support. My question is to all Essex faithful, what can we do differently to have more fan support at the games? Is it strictly ticket prices? I bet Essex will host a first round playoff game, and you will be able to hear a pin drop. If it wasn't for the cheerleaders and the band and a few loyal fans and family members, then there would be no noise at the game. I would just like to see a good crowd to get the players fired up. Any ideas on how to get more people to the games?? Because winning doesn't seem to help.

 

[kwhs95fan]

Sadly its like this at just about all the old Region A schools. Go to SWVA on a Friday night or Giles or Riverheads and a host of others and its like the whole community is there. Go to a state game and schools like that will have 5-6 thousand and our schools are lucky to have 500. I honestly wished I had an answer for you but I don't.

 

[mmqp]

Giles packs the stands for sure. I'm bad luck to their fanbase though.. the two times I've been at their games (05 state title and their home game vs. William Campbell) there has been a medical emergency in their stands both times.

PM packs the house too. Even during the "dark ages" they had a big following.

I don't understand the reasoning behind the old Region A schools not having large turnouts either. I could chalk it up to an older age demographic but I don't think that would be a good reason. I'm pretty sure its always been that way though as far as turnout goes. What can I say, we western Virginian's are a bunch of crazy, football loving, hillbillies lol!

 

[ESSEX84]

As a long time Essex fan, I have to agree on this. Essex first trip to the State championship. Gate City had an easy 4,000 or more fans. Essex may have had 200 fans. I don't live in the area any more so not able to attend all the games but for the games I do attend I have noticed in recent years the fan turn out has actually improved, but not by much. Only during big games you will get any turn out. Regular season games, as stated earlier, with a couple of exceptions you could hear a pen drop.

 

[uvacavs1]

kwhs95fan


before I address the Essex fan base situation, I just wanted to mention to kwhs95fan a few things about the intelligent discussion on the 2A page about an KW issue (that turned into some odd posts that seemed to have come from the WWE spokesman lol.)

I will leave that issue alone as that sounds like a major internal matter (but did try to take up for the coaches and players a bit). I do question the timing of the debate but there is never really a good or easy time to attempt change if you feel that it is the right thing to do.

Good luck to KW this weekend! Go Cavs! I always pull for the old Region A teams.

for those that attacked kwhs95fan- I will just say this- he is one of the most respected posters on here (at least by me anyway). He is always knowledgeable about teams all over the state, is unbiased in his views, is very often correct with his thoughts and predictions plus, obviously cares about King William and the kids there.




This post was edited on 11/11 5:18 PM by uvacavs1

 

[kwhs95fan]

Re: kwhs95fan

No offense taken bud. This has been something that has been going on for awhile not something that just started yesterday. Just so happened it got posted on here by another KW supporter. But this is definitely nothing new. Im not going to say anymore about it for the time being. I do appreciate your kind words though.

 

[uvacavs1]

Yes, this is a tough conversation to have. I also agree that it is a shame that more people do not attend the games. As someone else mentioned, the more eastern teams (at least the smaller divisions) tend to have way less attendance at football games than the West, that's for sure. Yes, I have been to all the Essex State title games (4) and we Essex fans were heavily outnumbered in each (especially the Gate City game where it was close to 5,000 to less than 500). However, the games were at JMU and Salem, which is far for this side of the state.

However, we are talking about home games and it is way too low at times. I will list some reasons why in a bit. I remember trying to get more fans out many times, especially during QB Broaddus' State record breaking year of two years ago. Man, we should have packed the house to see those boys and that AMAZING passing game. Someone from the West said, imagine if Essex had the rabid fans of the West - it would be insane the way they can sometimes play.

More people need to come out. Essex has more support in the paper and on social media sites than they do at games. Having said that, there are many people that almost always come - I am proud of many old timers who always come to support the kids, even though they have no or few relatives in the system. Also, Essex does play much better in the comforts of home than away so Essex definitely prefers to play at home!

1) One of the biggest problems is people only come if its a big game against an opponent that will battle us. Many games are over before halftime so people just stay home and get the score later.

2) If its really cold or rainy, crowd is way low.

3) Money- Essex County has an unreal number of people in poverty. I have heard many times "I cannot afford it" or "I am not paying to go watch a blowout." This also impedes far travel for many.

4) Essex County is a very long, big county with a small population between 10 to 11 thousand.

5) poor discipline after Jones left hurt attendance some but that has been corrected for the most part. Also, we lost some fans after Jones left, but we had some poor turnout even back then. People should support the kids regardless of the coach. Coach Fulks and staff have done a great job (major success and records). Come support them.

6) Some folks have said that there are some rude, cussing fans that stand around. Sure, all venues have their idiot fans. Come sit with us in the bleachers. I sit with some awesome folks (many from my Church). Everyone is kind, friendly, and pleasant. We welcome all folks, even the visiting fans. I would not bring my children if it wasn't fun and safe.

In the end, I have been watching the games for many years, it is usually a joy to watch the boys from E-Town do their thing! Come see! Support the kids, they need it. And yes, the boys can play lights out when they hear the cheers.

How often does a 1A team have a Broaddus, Hammond, Harris, Martin, Leo, Marquis and so on? Don't miss it.


This post was edited on 11/11 6:07 PM by uvacavs1

 

[FORT89]

Free tickets and concessions. That would help a lot. We where up there last year and I thought they had a great crowd. Some really great fans in the end zone.

 

[The Gridiron Guru]

Possibly social media????


This area is more basketball country than football. Plus if I'm a borderline Essex football fan why would I come to the game when the school's athletic Facebook Page is updated virtually every five minutes when the team plays? You can't blame the radio stations for bad attendance because they haven't broadcast a regular season game in ages.

 

[trojanehs88]

I asked a Senior the other night why no one is excited.

Her answer, we are too good nobody wants to watch a blowout.....need some close games

On the flip side, we can be good and can be awful. Very seldom is an in between. Didn't show up against JM. Beat some teams after 160 yds in penalties. For every good play comes 2 head shakers. When down we give up. When ahead we pour it on.. Love the guys and the team. But sometimes they don't look like they care if they are there. This doesn't promote word of mouth

Play hard no matter the score. Show enthusiasm. Coaches. Have plays ready so constant timeouts and delay of games doesn't take rythym away.
Rant over. Constructive criticism is all that is implied

 

[Keith_Stone33]

You can kill 2 birds with one stone here: cut practice short on the last day of 2 a days, give your players their jerseys and have them go through their neighborhoods, and to local businesses to hand out schedules (and point out rivalry games) and tell the kids to be on their best behavior (yes maam, no maam, yessir no sir, etc) to represent the school well... That helps the community see the kids and it helps to serve as a teambuilding event. The kids have to be well mannered and behave though. May not work but it's worth a try. I know Buffalo Gap and Stuarts Draft did something like this at one time., not exactly the same, but they were out in public with their varsity jackets on (stuarts draft) and their jerseys on (buffalo gap, during their 07-08 really good years)

 

[riversportsfan]

Good idea Keith_Stone33

 

[uvacavs1]

great idea

yes, excellent idea Keith-Stone33. It is all about making personal connections with folks. There is a reason politicians travel the state shaking hands and kissing babies.

Another idea that would probably help a lot is to have a table and players in their jerseys walking around at the local Farmer's Market. There is one more during this season this coming Saturday in down town Tappahannock. Full of citizens who obviously care about their community and could support athletics. Players could inform citizens about upcoming big games. If Broaddus or Hammond, for example, shakes hands with some good folks and asks for their support, (hey sir, I hope that you can make it out to a game. Thank you) there's a good chance they will come to cheer for the team. Definitely do it next year to pass out schedules as Stone suggested. Also, get the boosters active again.This is something other schools can do as well.

Also, the Essex social media people do a great job with their volunteer work. I think that it encourages folks and lets people far away support the athletic programs. Keep up the hard work.

 

[JoelzDad]

I attended an Essex game, in Tappahannock for the first time, when they played Lancaster back in Oct. I too was struck by the lack of "atmosphere". The lack of excitement. Perhaps it was because they were playing LHS....but I didn't find it to be a negative experience. I mentioned to those I was with, that it seemed like a library there. We have the same type of thing at Lancaster. It doesn't seem to be all at Essex.
I will say that the people I came in contact with. Ticket sellers, Cheerleaders, concession folks, etc....were all nice- very pleasant, and positive.
The cheerleaders even came over to the visitor side to sell 50/50 raffle tix. We bought a ton of them over there....DIDN'T WIN!! But had a good time.

One positive- the youth club football teams were in attendance and were recognized individually by name at halftime. THis was exciting for the young men...and cheerleaders to run across the field. Loved that!!!! Great for the continuation of a football dynasty. I hope Essex plays well next week, and continues to win.

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

Essex has always been one of my favorite venues in the state to go.

 

[blue bomber]

From seeing your facility during playoffs last season, I think the biggest reason fans might not like to come to games there is the facility. It's just not a very good facility to host a playoff game. I understand that facilities down in that region aren't really good and there is likely nowhere else to play the game, but I had to stand the whole game. If you are a visitor, you just don't have a decent seat. In reality, there really aren't very many good seats overall. I really believe if you could get the school to make you a better facility it would attract more fans. The concession were pretty good. The field was okay to play on, but the seating and amenities are just way below par.

 

[FORT89]

Blue Bloomers is from Bland County. They play football in a cow pasture. So I wouldn't listen to anything he has to say.

 

[trojanehs88]

Completely fair Characterization

 

[blue bomber]

The question was about games played at Essex Fort. It seems the truth does create problems for you, and as I recall, you got your backslide slammed at Essex last year. Go away, just like your team is about to do.

 

[uvacavs1]

no issues with blue's comments, Cumberland game


as you might have noticed no Essex fan disagreed with blue's comments about the facilities. We have a great field that is well maintained by the coaches and volunteers from the community. We just need some more visitor seating and mainly a new concession stand and some modern, bigger bathrooms. That would suffice for me. I'll just say this, people have tried to help. Not sure why nothing will be done.

As for tonight v Cumberland. 1) It's gonna be crazy cold 2) I respect Cumberland for making the trip and wish them safe travels. Their coach made some nice comments in the paper. Sounds like things are heading in the right direction as Cumberland has improved since last year. Good luck to them. 3) Probably won't be 100 people there tonight (both sides) but I hope that I'm wrong about that. 4) I hope no one gets hurt or sick. 5) score may be closer than you would think. 6) The game is on the radio tonight, those guys always do a great job and the post show is always good.

 

[mmqp]

Re: no issues with blue's comments, Cumberland game


Good luck to your Trojans tonight!

Does your radio station have an internet link? I wouldn't mind tuning in and listening since PM is still being punished by the Lexington station lol!

 

[uvacavs1]

Re: no issues with blue's comments, Cumberland game


Thanks. Good luck to PM and Northumberland as well since they are from the NND (sorry about the loss of the PM radio feed).

As for the streaming live on the Internet, it may be (but not positive). There are two local radio stations (105.5 WRAR) and 107.5 River Country (WNNT). I believe that the game is on 107.5. They do have an Internet feed, I believe anyway. If anyone knows for sure, please post.

 

[mmqp]

Re: no issues with blue's comments, Cumberland game


Thanks! I will check it out.

And all is good on the radio feed. I just call up people all game and harass them for score updates.

And yes I agree, best of luck to Northumberland as well! Hope they made it in to BV safely. Usually a pretty quiet trip once you get west of Richmond on I64/I81. It's a shame its getting dark so early now, the scenery really is nice out there and I'm sure for some of the kids they don't get to make it out to the mountains often. My friend texted me earlier and said it was 27 degrees in Blacksburg at that time, not sure how much warmer it will be in BV tonight.

Ah, and best of luck to Cumberland as well. Not a short trip by any stretch for them either.

 

[uvacavs1]

Re: no issues with blue's comments, Cumberland game


Yes indeed, that area is wonderful to visit. Took the wife out there (Lexington area) a few years back to visit the Lee Chapel and the Stonewall Jackson House plus the colleges, shops and all. Good stuff and great folks. Many people do not know what Lee did for the reconciliation of the country after the Civil War (but that's another story for another time ha).

I remember saying that if I ever left river living, I think I'd like it out there.

 

[mmqp]

Re: no issues with blue's comments, Cumberland game


I love the Stonewall Jackson house. If you ever get the chance you should drive out route 39 from Lexington towards Bath County. You'll go through Goshen Pass, google that if you get a chance. And Bath County is just beautiful. Then you have the Natural Bridge. Bedford is a pretty area as well and of course you have to hit the Blue Ridge parkway...its free unlike Skyline Drive. And that's just scratching the surface.


Out of hope I just checked the online stations one last time to see if maybe the Lex station decided to be kind...they didn't. Instead VMI basketball is being broadcast..they'll win about as many games in basketball as Rockbridge did in football lol.

But its a shame really. I feel like the PM announcers are the most informed and most unbiased announcers I have ever heard. They're knowledgeable about ALL sports and will discuss everything from football to baseball to hockey at halftime. A real treat. Compare that to the goobers that Rockbridge has announcing their games... their halftime show consists about talking about the 2006 state runner's up week after week after week..I'm not exaggerating lol.

 

[mmqp]

Correction


The game is on the radio.

Lexington recognizes.