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Post by cruskater31 on Oct 14, 2022 10:13:55 GMT -5
I compiled the highest attended games at Fitton field year by year since we went 1-AA in 1982. (40 years, how about that!). There are some seasons, denoted below which saw multiple games with high attendance. I included #11 1991 since that was our last undefeated season. I don't think anyone would be surprised by the first two. I did not always have data on which games were FW, but I did have homecoming every season. Interestingly, FW outdrew Homecoming many years. Our game vs. Yale (and hopefully the Fordham game on 10/29) was the highest attendance at Fitton since the UMass night game in 2011. In 2006, 2010, 2012, and 2014, Fordham was our highest attended day game. | Year | Date | Opponent | Attend. | Notes | | 1984 | 12/1 | Boston College | 25,000 | Flutie game (20k for UConn, 19k for Dart.) | | 1986 | 11/22 | Boston College | 23,271 |
| | 1983 | 10/8 | Colgate | 21,551 | Homecoming | | 1982 | 11/6 | Harvard | 20,681 | Family Weekend | | 1987 | 10/24 | Brown | 20,661 | Family Weekend (2 games of 20k+) | | 1990 | 10/20 | Lehigh | 17,848 | Family Weekend | | 1989 | 10/21 | Colgate | 17,803 | Family Weekend | | 1988 | 10/15 | Lehigh | 16,441 | Family Weekend | | 1985 | 9/14 | Colgate | 16,211 |
| | 2011 | 9/1 | UMass | 15,942 | Night Game, (10,962 for Fordham)
| | 1991 | 10/19 | Brown | 15,481 | (Ireland Game vs. Fordham drew 17k) |
Attendance since 2011: 2022 9/17 Yale 13,847 Homecoming 2021 10/2 Harvard 10,023 Homecoming 2019 10/26 Colgate 10,926 2018 9/15 Yale 7,397 Homecoming 2017 10/28 Georgetown 9,063 2016 9/24 Dartmouth 9,878 Homecoming 2015 10/24 Lafayette 10,725 2014 9/27 Fordham 10,002 Homecoming 2013 10/26 Lafayette 9,184 2012 8/30 UNH 12,291 Night 2011 9/1 UMass 15,942 Night (10,962 for Fordham) |
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Oct 14, 2022 10:41:01 GMT -5
Great work, ‘skater!
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Post by longsuffering on Oct 14, 2022 11:52:04 GMT -5
1992-2010: Coaching matters. Thanks FADNP for getting at least one thing right.
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Post by cruskater31 on Oct 14, 2022 12:01:43 GMT -5
I am hopeful we can add 10/29 vs. Fordham to that list. Anyone with a "friend" in the ticket office have any idea on how sales are going?
While we did draw some large crowds on the road in the 90s and 2000s (some Harvard and Yale games were over 20,000 as well as our FBS games), you have to go back to the 80s to find 20k at Fitton. Even '91 didn't draw 20k. I also acknowledge the growth of sports television networks, streaming services, and the proliferation of youth club sports tournaments. It is tough to draw 15k to an FCS game. Our largest road contests in recent memory were 9/28/2019 at Syracuse, 40,575 and 40,311 at BC in 2018).
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Post by timholycross on Oct 15, 2022 10:23:05 GMT -5
Did your research turn up the Colgate game in 2003? Maybe by then my expectations were so diminished that what I thought was a solid 15K was a lot less than that.
Mostly Colgate fans who were there to see if their team could finish the regular season undefeated, which they did (although HC gave them a much better challenge than was expected).
The 91 mention of the Brown game is surprising, didn't think there were that many there. That was a terrible home schedule for a good team. Four home games, 3 of which were 10/19 or later. Only saving grace for HC fans were the short rides to BU/Harvard/Umass road games.
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tj
Crusader Century Club
Posts: 144
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Post by tj on Oct 15, 2022 16:57:25 GMT -5
Did your research turn up the Colgate game in 2003? Maybe by then my expectations were so diminished that what I thought was a solid 15K was a lot less than that. Mostly Colgate fans who were there to see if their team could finish the regular season undefeated, which they did (although HC gave them a much better challenge than was expected). The 91 mention of the Brown game is surprising, didn't think there were that many there. That was a terrible home schedule for a good team. Four home games, 3 of which were 10/19 or later. Only saving grace for HC fans were the short rides to BU/Harvard/Umass road games. Between FW and the 2 teams record coming in I think Fordham game will be huge crowd. Now we just need a perfect Fall day! |
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Post by cruskater31 on Oct 15, 2022 17:17:58 GMT -5
Did your research turn up the Colgate game in 2003? Maybe by then my expectations were so diminished that what I thought was a solid 15K was a lot less than that. Mostly Colgate fans who were there to see if their team could finish the regular season undefeated, which they did (although HC gave them a much better challenge than was expected). The 91 mention of the Brown game is surprising, didn't think there were that many there. That was a terrible home schedule for a good team. Four home games, 3 of which were 10/19 or later. Only saving grace for HC fans were the short rides to BU/Harvard/Umass road games. You are not wrong on Colgate. I wish my memory was that sharp! The game drew 10,166, just a little shy of the top game of the year vs Harvard. The 91 home schedule looks brutal. I am sure the weather was not always cooperative late in the season. |
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Post by HC92 on Oct 16, 2022 10:40:18 GMT -5
$7 ticket promo for Fordham game ends today. I believe at 2 pm.
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Post by jflare on Oct 17, 2022 6:20:23 GMT -5
I compiled the highest attended games at Fitton field year by year since we went 1-AA in 1982. (40 years, how about that!). There are some seasons, denoted below which saw multiple games with high attendance. I included #11 1991 since that was our last undefeated season. I don't think anyone would be surprised by the first two. I did not always have data on which games were FW, but I did have homecoming every season. Interestingly, FW outdrew Homecoming many years. Our game vs. Yale (and hopefully the Fordham game on 10/29) was the highest attendance at Fitton since the UMass night game in 2011. In 2006, 2010, 2012, and 2014, Fordham was our highest attended day game. | Year | Date | Opponent | Attend. | Notes | | 1984 | 12/1 | Boston College | 25,000 | Flutie game (20k for UConn, 19k for Dart.) | | 1986 | 11/22 | Boston College | 23,271 |
| | 1983 | 10/8 | Colgate | 21,551 | Homecoming | | 1982 | 11/6 | Harvard | 20,681 | Family Weekend | | 1987 | 10/24 | Brown | 20,661 | Family Weekend (2 games of 20k+) | | 1990 | 10/20 | Lehigh | 17,848 | Family Weekend | | 1989 | 10/21 | Colgate | 17,803 | Family Weekend | | 1988 | 10/15 | Lehigh | 16,441 | Family Weekend | | 1985 | 9/14 | Colgate | 16,211 |
| | 2011 | 9/1 | UMass | 15,942 | Night Game, (10,962 for Fordham)
| | 1991 | 10/19 | Brown | 15,481 | (Ireland Game vs. Fordham drew 17k) |
Attendance since 2011: 2022 9/17 Yale 13,847 Homecoming 2021 10/2 Harvard 10,023 Homecoming 2019 10/26 Colgate 10,926 2018 9/15 Yale 7,397 Homecoming 2017 10/28 Georgetown 9,063 2016 9/24 Dartmouth 9,878 Homecoming 2015 10/24 Lafayette 10,725 2014 9/27 Fordham 10,002 Homecoming 2013 10/26 Lafayette 9,184 2012 8/30 UNH 12,291 Night 2011 9/1 UMass 15,942 Night (10,962 for Fordham) |
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Post by jflare on Oct 17, 2022 6:21:21 GMT -5
How about Yale at Fitton in 1981 I think we had over 21,000 for that game
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Post by hcpride on Oct 17, 2022 7:03:52 GMT -5
How about Yale at Fitton in 1981 I think we had over 21,000 for that game Cruskater was looking back to '82 (our first year in 1-AA). But that was a very large (21,601) '81 crowd and a very close loss (29-28) to a VERY strong (Rogan, Diana, Grieve, Rohrer, etc.) Yale team. Same year the 4-point loss to Frosh Flutie's team drew 22,500. Coach Carter's first year. I'd like to see us hit 15K (or more) on parents weekend v a top 20 Fordham led by a star QB. |
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Post by cruskater31 on Oct 17, 2022 9:16:17 GMT -5
Thanks hcpride. I am hoping for 15k or more. I remember UMass bringing a good amount of people (and their band) to the night game back in 2011 (I believe it was a Thursday night because I drove out to Worcester from the Boston area and had to work the next day) and we nearly had 16,000. Certainly it will take some Fordham fans to help us achieve that number. Fordham fans are already talking about the HC game on their message board and believe if their defense plays like they played against Stony Brook they can hang with us. Some even think they can run the table. Hopefully that confidence will have them driving to Worcester.
I do hope all of the promotions and engagement in the Worcester community help put fannies in the seats, I mean benches. The Polar Park game and trips to pizzerias and coffee shops are definitely a step in the right direction with community engagement. Winning doesn't hurt either. I am sure a lot of people from the area remember our success in the 80's and early 90's. We need more people like Mark and Dave (The Cross is Back and NAD) who stick with us through thick and thin. But winning helps!
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Post by hchoops on Oct 17, 2022 9:27:21 GMT -5
On. a Beautiful day Fordham drew 1914 on Saturday at Rose Hill
I have little hope we will get many Ram fans
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Post by longsuffering on Oct 17, 2022 9:46:55 GMT -5
How many more chances will they have to see DeMorat? He should be the Y.A. Tittle of New York QBs at this stage of his career.
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Post by hcpride on Oct 17, 2022 10:38:53 GMT -5
/\ DeMorat (along with Greenhagen) is part of a strong 5th -year contingent at Fordham that rivals HC’s group of 5th-years in terms of quality contributors. Can’t be a coincidence that those two teams are now ranked nationally (and completely dominating the PL).
As far as fans go, we should see a few Fordham fans at Fitton (maybe enough to bump us over the 15k mark for what promises to be a competitive high stakes game on parent’s weekend…if the weather is OK).
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Post by HC92 on Oct 17, 2022 10:43:52 GMT -5
I think you’ll get a decent number of Fordham fans. It’s basically a league title game. Like HC, Fordham doesn’t get many shots at titles in anything. They have a loyal, if frustrated, group of alums.
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Post by hchoops on Oct 17, 2022 11:04:27 GMT -5
Last season was also a de facto championship game at Rose Hill.
There were about 3200 fans. HC had at least 1200-1400 of those fans.
I do not see many Fordham fans travelling
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Post by hcpride on Oct 17, 2022 11:24:26 GMT -5
I think you’ll get a decent number of Fordham fans. It’s basically a league title game. Like HC, Fordham doesn’t get many shots at titles in anything. They have a loyal, if frustrated, group of alums. Well above and beyond the PL Championship there are VERY significant playoff implications at stake. Fordham’s not going to see another DeMorat soon so this year is huge for them. Fordham has fans/alums within easy striking distance of Fitton Field. And, unlike the rest of the PL, it’s a very strong applicant overlap school so the familiarity is built in between these Jesuit rivals. |
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Post by longsuffering on Oct 17, 2022 11:39:52 GMT -5
Fitton has the easiest access of any stadium I can think of. It is a dream for visiting fans. Get on an interstate and have no traffic lights or stop signs the whole way.
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 17, 2022 11:49:51 GMT -5
And many HC grads go to Fordham for grad school. Lots of siblings also go there and outside of Fairfield, perhaps the most HC students/alums have relatives that go/went to Fordham.
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Post by ndgradbuthcfan on Oct 17, 2022 11:50:53 GMT -5
Former MA Lt. Gov. and Worcester Mayor Tim Murray (and at least one of his brothers) and former Hampden County DA, Bill Bennett (his brother, Sean, is a HC grad) are two of them.
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Post by longsuffering on Oct 17, 2022 12:09:29 GMT -5
Should be a big turnout of political has beens.🙂
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Post by cruskater31 on Oct 17, 2022 12:18:01 GMT -5
I do know there were a few posters on the Fordham board thinking of coming to "piss in their clam chowder" and spoil an undefeated season for us. I do hope some turnout for attendance purposes, but I hope we can have a good home field advantage. Even for the small playoff crowd (which I suppose considering the weather was an ok turnout), I thought we made some good noise in the bleachers.
First we must go on a Leopard hunt. Undefeated this weekend
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Post by longsuffering on Oct 17, 2022 12:22:23 GMT -5
Great line from the Ram board.
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Post by Crucis#1 on Oct 17, 2022 16:44:00 GMT -5
Attendance for the Fordham game will exceed the Yale game according to the ticket office.
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