The problem with your thinking is that you are picking a couple of potential reasons and acting as if that they are obviously THE ONLY REASONS. The things you pointed out can be 100% accurate, yet only account for a portion of why the game wasn't a sellout. Let's go through a list of some reasons, just for the heck of it:UnBiasFan wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 6:59 amTo put in perspective how far we have fallen, we used to have to get to the stadium hours early. And thousands of cars filled the lot.
Now directly as a result of our government incompetence we have no stadium. So we move to the practice field. And to kick off life at the practice field there is no tailgating and just water. And no scientific reason vaccinated people can’t just have a regular game experience like in other states that have world class universities and far more brain power than we will ever have.
I know local culture is don’t say bad things about authority because we are on a plantation. But I am just laying out the truth as I see it. I suspect that a large part of the public sees what I am seeing. And I am no nutcase, or Trump guy, or anti-Vax guy, or what ever label they like to throw to deflect. If I got it wrong, well my post can be ignored or deleted.
1. No kids under 12 because of vaccination requirements - this not only keeps kids away, but also parents. This is the most impactful reason based on logic. Still, they still drew over 56% capacity with a very large portion of ticket buyers ineligible to attend the game.
2. Price - this is the second most obvious reason, and it is intentional. the average cost of attendance per game is less if you buy season tickets, and the pricing structure is set up to motivate people to buy season tickets (my season tickets are $250, but I would pay $300 if I bought a ticket for each game). Also, individual game tickets are not expected to be available under normal circumstances because they will likely sell out the season tickets under normal circumstances. Should they have reduced ticket prices for this game because of the circumstances? Probably, but they didn't.
3. Team performance - If a team is hot, indvidual game sales will be up. If a team is not doing well, sales will be down. this is not a new thing, nor is it specific to the pandemic or to the 2021 season (Or to Hawaii). this is why you try to sell as many season tickets as possible, because you just don't know. Do low individual sales in the back half of a season where the team is underperforming mean that people have given up on the program? not at all. but it might mean that they gave up on the season. It happens.
4. COVID restrictions - between the masks, proof of vaccination, and the limit on concessions, there are too many caveats for some to feel the price and effort is worth it at the moment. Perhaps some will have "given up" but others will just wait until next season.
5. COVID fears - there are still a good amount of people who are not comfortable being around large crowds and are not ready to attend a sporting event like this because they feel like it is still too soon.
6. Venue uncertainty - There are some who didn't go to the game because they were weary of the venue change and were worried about things like finding parking or were just not willing to make the longer drive if they were coming from the west side. It is unfortunate, because parking was easy and there wasn't much traffic. The crowd for a football game is not larger than a sellout crowd for volleyball or basketball, yet it was made it to be a logistical challenge by some.
7. last-minute schedule change - tickets went on sale the week of the game, and for anyone who was not on the season ticket list they were only able to buy tickets 2 days before. a lot of people already had other plans or just couldn't make it happen on such short notice. If you log on to look for tickets for the last home game, there seem to already be more tickets sold with a week and a half to go. Throw in that the game was an early start as well. Selling 9000 tickets under circumstances in 4 days is just difficult.
8. Wait and see - there are a lot of people that just need to wait and see how things go, and need to be reassured by people who attended the first full-capacity game at a new venue during covid that it is worth doing and not too inconvenient.
There are a lot of reasons. You can choose to focus in on one or two or whatever if you want, but in doing so you should also acknowledge that it may be more of a reflection of your own reasons than an indicator of what everyone else is thinking and feeling. You are likely overemphasizing the "stupid government" reason and I may be underemphasizing it. I think if people really care about solving problems and making this thing better, it is important to not lose persective. if it is just venting for venting's sake, then vent away, I guess.