Big Ten Attendance: Uhh, where'd everybody go?

There have been a few commenters here recently who have called for boycotts of games at Rutgers.  Calls to burn game tickets in protest over the state of the football program.

There are a few (and I'd guess more now) fans at Purdue who are happy they decided to hang on to, and use, their tickets last Saturday.  The smallest home crowd of the season saw the then 1-6 Boilermakers down the ill-fated Cornhuskers, 55-45.  The crowds at Ross-Ade Stadium have gotten smaller as the losses have grown, averaging just 37,042, just a few ahead of Northwestern.

And on that topic of Rutgers failures and how to address it, should there be protests by not going to games in Piscataway?  It's one thing with the pros, as Giants fans burned their tickets in protest of bad football in the '70's.  But these are student-athletes...kids. Protest by not donating, write letters to Julie and whomever else, but support the players.  My opinion.

Who was there around the B1G

There were five games in the Big Ten last weekend, and at three sites there were season lows in attendance.  And, yes, Rutgers at Wisconsin was one of them.  But there was also miserable weather, and even dedicated fans may not want to see an uncompetitive game.  Along with the Badgers, Minnesota and the aforementioned Purdue pulled in their smallest crowds.

It was the fourth time in six home games that the Lions have not drawn over 100,000 to Beaver Stadium.  Was it the weather?  Nope, 57 degrees, partly sunny.  The team is 7-2.  Why aren't the #unrivaled fans of PSU showing up.  I mean, they're still averaging over 98,000 per game, but the % of capacity is actually less than Rutgers this year.  It is a puzzlement.

Schadenfreude

As Bob Diaco continues to build his escape plan from Storrs, it appears the fans have already executed their own.  UConn's smallest crowd of the year saw the Huskies defeat East Carolina last Friday, getting the dawgs to one game under .500.  The numbers are numbing.

Life is good.