VT rapidly ascended between 1993 - 2011. Sellouts, stadium expansions, conference membership shufflingit was a really heady time to be a fan. We we "making a case" for entrance into the football elite. (Hell we made a literal empty trophy "case") We put a great cv out there. There was a feeling around the program that something special and rare was happening. 99 validated the buzz around the program. The excitement continued, but there was something missing that nobody really faced head on. The recruits weren't coming, at least not in the way they would need to for this to be more than a flash in the pan afterglow.

Instead, we lost the big games, we lost the recruiting battles. We failed to jump the chasm from decent program to college football royalty. We watched Clemson start from well behind us and clear that chasm virtually overnight. UNC landing top classes whenever it decides to get serious about football is disheartening. Stories like UNC, and Clemson's meteoric rise have been a reality check for me personally. After 25 straight bowl games, we still struggle to attract elite players from within our home state. I mean its difficult to imagine what more could be done. We've had maybe 1 top 15 class in all those years. Strip away Enter Sandman and the light show, and that's who we are. Take away Bud Foster and what are we? Not sure I want to know.

My goal isn't to paint a picture of doom and gloom, just to try to realistically explain what I think underlies the flat ticket sales and HC support. We're definitely in a post-ascendency period now. The question of "how far can this thing go?" that drove excitement and ticket sales from many years has largely been answered. We know who/what we are now. We're a middle of the pack ACC program located a long way from its fan base.

VT football is still a great product, but because of its location so far from population centers, it needs more than say a South Carolina to sustain a high level of fan support. I've been to several Gamecocks tailgatespretty much everybody there is local to the Columbia area. Its a thing to do. So what if they are mediocre? It doesn't cost much for most of the fansbase to be there. VT tailgates are mostly full of people that made long road trips, and had to book hotel room or take a day off work to be there. Its a different dynamic. Of course VT fans are going to be more cost conscious.

So, there's market forces at work + I think theres a correction taking place as VT fans come to terms with what VT football has ultimately become.






[Post edited by Techsupport at 04/25/2019 12:05PM]