Syracuse Football Giving Away Tickets To Help Bolster Attendance

September 28, 2011 / Football

Syracuse, NY — A telltale sign of the poor student showing Saturday for the Syracuse University football team’s 33-30 overtime victory over Toledo in the Dome occurred when the Rockets lost the coin toss before the overtime session. SU elected to go on defense first and Toledo got to choose which end of the field it wanted to play at. It elected to drive toward its tiny fan section, which was also where SU student section resides. Those lower-section seats behind the end zone were virtually empty save for the SU band.

“We’re excited about the people who are there,” head coach Doug Marrone said when asked if the student turnout was disheartening. “So we’re excited about them and we need to continue to keep trying to win and represent the program well and see if we can get more people to watch us play. That’s what we hope for, but I wouldn’t use the word disheartening.”

That noted, SU students received an email from Marrone on Tuesday informing them that admission for the Rutgers game was free.

“I’d just like to see the students come back and are given an opportunity to come and watch and support this football team,” Marrone said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Overall, the announced crowd Saturday was 39,123, a figure that drew laughter from some fans in the vicinity of the press box when the PA announcer released it. Still, it was loud at times, and Marrone hopes it will be even louder this week.

“It’s a big advantage,” Marrone said. “It can be a great asset to us. It feels good when people start talking about that, because that’s what it can be and that’s what it will be. You have 10 Syracuse fans in the Carrier Dome and it sounds like 1,000 fans anywhere else in the country, so we’re excited we’re playing at home.

 


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