How would you improve the Rutgers game day experience?

[BROTHERSKINNY]

I have been coming to Rutgers games for 30+ years now. When I started coming to RU games I was a young man, single and honestly the only reason we came to the games was to pick up chicks, drink and sometimes see the game.
fast forward 30 plus years, I still tailgate with the same crew although our group has gotten smaller as people have gotten older and moved out of state.
anyhow, when I was young I would park in Johnson park, walk from there to our tailgate in the blue lot, then reverse after the game. I did that for 20 + years with no problems.
fast forward to today and we are now in the purple lot and I walk from the bubble to our tailgate in purple. The issue is on the way to the bubble as the bus turns off from frelinghysen road to the service road, there is a wide open paved parking lot that would be perfect for a drop off point for those in the blue lot and the purple lot. The bus drivers won’t do it. This would save me a 1/2 mile walk and 20 minutes of tailgate time before the game. This would greatly enhance the game day experience for me and the many others who I see walking with me back towards the blue lot and purple lot.
what other enhancements would improve the game day experience for you?

 

[motorb54]

Would create a danger to the pedestrians as they would cross the path of the bus traffic to get to Blue or Purple. Where they drop off now the direction of movement is controlled.
For me the piped in music is a significant issue...too much and way too loud.

 

[fsg2]

A home win every year or two?

 

[bigmatt718]

Would create a danger to the pedestrians as they would cross the path of the bus traffic to get to Blue or Purple. Where they drop off now the direction of movement is controlled.
For me the piped in music is a significant issue...too much and way too loud.

Bingo. What's the point of having a damn marching band when they barely play? It ain't an NFL game so knock it off with the over the top piped in music.

 

[BROTHERSKINNY]

Would create a danger to the pedestrians as they would cross the path of the bus traffic to get to Blue or Purple. Where they drop off now the direction of movement is controlled.
For me the piped in music is a significant issue...too much and way too loud.

Actually you are wrong here. The way it is now fans have to walk back along the practice fields along the service road. For a short length, it is level ground but then it becomes uneven so fans have no choice but to walk along the service road against oncoming bus traffic. This is a dangerous condition as it now stands. By stopping at the first lot and doing a drop off there it is actually the safer option as fans do not have to walk against bus traffic.
not only is it safer but it would enhance the game day experience for many.

 

[angmo]

Couch burnings.

 

[jordkap]

competitive play against good teams

 

[RUskoolie]

I would get ride of the asinine policy with respect to "Homeland Security" all together.

Go study how the Somerset Patriots run their concessions and do that. Not having volunteers run the concessions.

The biggest thing is maybe beat a B1G team at home for the first time since Nov 2017? Coming up on 5 years now...

 

[HeywoodGiant]

Easier to get there

 

[Scarlet16E]

Add an RV dump station somewhere such as by the RU warehouses behind Livingston campus.

 

[NickRU714]

I have been coming to Rutgers games for 30+ years now. When I started coming to RU games I was a young man, single and honestly the only reason we came to the games was to pick up chicks, drink and sometimes see the game.
fast forward 30 plus years, I still tailgate with the same crew although our group has gotten smaller as people have gotten older and moved out of state.
anyhow, when I was young I would park in Johnson park, walk from there to our tailgate in the blue lot, then reverse after the game. I did that for 20 + years with no problems.
fast forward to today and we are now in the purple lot and I walk from the bubble to our tailgate in purple. The issue is on the way to the bubble as the bus turns off from frelinghysen road to the service road, there is a wide open paved parking lot that would be perfect for a drop off point for those in the blue lot and the purple lot. The bus drivers won’t do it. This would save me a 1/2 mile walk and 20 minutes of tailgate time before the game. This would greatly enhance the game day experience for me and the many others who I see walking with me back towards the blue lot and purple lot.
what other enhancements would improve the game day experience for you?

You mean pre-game?
It doesn't make sense.
This is a "you" problem - not Rutgers.
You're not supposed to be walking back up towards the busses.
I thought they would have blocked that entirely by now.

The current system has one stop and everyone gets off. Easy and streamlined.
The bus isn't from the RAC to the Blue/Purple Lot.
It's from the RAC to the stadium.
You can't even get into the Green/Scarlet lots because of the barriers unless you fully walk the entire designated Bus Exit.

Every bus would then need to stop there - regardless of having anyone need to stop. Would slow down the entire process and back up busses onto the street.
Especially when the bused are packed.
Then you have a handful of people at best climbing over everyone to get out.

I've done the long walk from Bubble to Scarlet back around to Yellow/Blue many times.

 

[SBP]

Mic the band (like others do...you can hear it on TV), allow them more time to play...more college atmosphere...keep canned music, its exciting...just more balance

 

[Tango Two]

Stop the piped in music in between EVERY play.

it’s a football game not a concert.

Now if the music has to stay turn it way down so it’s background noise not so loud you can’t talk to the person next to you…

Have the band at halftime face the home side of the stadium more than zero times.

 

[RedTeam1994]

Stop the piped in music in between EVERY play.

it’s a football game not a concert.

Now if the music has to stay turn it way down so it’s background noise not so loud you can’t talk to the person next to you…

so the two main suggestions (both of which I agree with) are:

1) win

2) stop (or at least curb) the piped-in music

Two thoughts on these suggestions:

1) “win” is by faaaaaaar the most important thing. Have competitive games against the top teams (the occasional win) and beat the Iowas of the world at home and EVERYTHING changes. They could serve shit-on-a-stick and we’d all be happy

2) these problems are related. IMHO they blast the bad music in hopes of creating some type of party atmosphere in lieu of winning football. Doesn’t make a lot of sense for the band to keep playing when down 42-3 early in the 3rd……so what do you do?……blast music !!!!

Solve #1 ….. #2 will go away (or least there will be less need for it in their minds)

 

[JayDogSmooth]

Music at game sounds like a rock concert
Gastepo police in blue lot
Inconsistent policies re bringing in items
Start winning / being competitive
Concessions are a joke

 

[Plum Street]

Bingo. What's the point of having a damn marching band when they barely play? It ain't an NFL game so knock it off with the over the top piped in music.

It’s basically an NFL game now

 

[CERU00]

The music is a HUGE turn off to me and everyone I've gone to games with. I don't want to hear any piped in music during a game.

 

[Plum Street]

Jeez you old farts .
The kids like the piped in music .
Stop stinking on the field is all I ask

 

[rubigtimenow]

As soon as I saw the title I came to post about the music and surprise surprise, many others already did.
I hadn’t quite put this together but actually winning might not be the most important thing….
Even if we win all the time, I’m not sure I can take my family anymore because of the insanely loud and continuously going noise.
Last year (or year before?) we went to a game (every year we go to 1-2 as a family) and sat in 127 on side next to 126. My teenage daughter was literally in fetal position covering ears and just trying to survive. Forget about her watching the game. My other kids were also covering ears or in the concourse. Okay, maybe my kids are too sensitive. However, as others have mentioned, I literally could not at all talk with others in our group that were 2 and 3 seats down. Like I’m hollering and they can’t make out what I’m saying. So… I can assure you, other than me, the rest of my family doesn’t care if we won or lost and they aren’t excited to return.

 

[rubigtimenow]

Here is my top 5 things to improve:
1 - Music/artificial noise is crazy obnoxious and a huge deterrent to overall fan satisfaction (see my above post)
2 - Walking bridge (temporary) over river road. Keep the traffic moving people!!
3 - Again on traffic but talking about after the game…. Why can’t we coordinate with whomever to clear the path to Turnpike and route 1 (and river road to 287?), starting 15 or so minutes after the game ends and continuing for about 30-40 minutes? We’re talking 6-7 times a year! Let’s make it happen people!
(Side note: I don’t have a problem with this as I take my sweet time leaving the game and the post game tailgate until traffic ceases, but I know it’s a significant issue for many others).
4 - Concessions. I know they get a bad rap but I think they’ve improved the past few years. I differ from strict capitalism and say the food should be more affordable. The no bottle cap on waters is as dumb as it gets.
5 - Play exciting football. Of course it’s important to win but do these 5 things and it’s still an enjoyable experience and people will want to come, even if you only win half the time.

 

[DJ Spanky]

For me it's the sound system overall, not just the music. It's too loud, too repetitive, too duplicative of pro arenas and stadiums. To this day I don't understand why they can't have a distributed sound system throughout the stadium instead of the main pulse coming from the scoreboard. And every year they get the standard package of junk noise that's distributed to every other venue including overpowering beat clips, train horn (someone please explain to me what that has to do with the Scarlet Knights?), graphics with blaring sound, etc.When you have people leaving in the 3rd quarter because they have a headache from the sound, that's a problem.

I'm amazed at how little the marching band is involved during the game. Everything comes from the sound system, it's rare that the band actually gets to play. Sadly it appears that the current band director isn't pushing to get the band more involved in the game. That's just wrong. Almost all of our contemporaries in the Big 10 have a marching band that's dynamically involved in the game, not just pre-game and halftime.

Another issue is the staffing and supplying of concession stands. When you get into the 3rd quarter, how can you NOT have a concession stand open on the upper deck? Even if it's a lightly attended game. And how can you have a concession stand run out of hotdogs or hot chocolate late in the season? C'mon, that's just a logistics issue: you should be able to resupply stands that are running low during the game. Truthfully I feel the concession stands were run better back when Rutgers Food Service was responsible for them.

Lastly, the security getting into the game. Let's drop the whole BS about this is for safety: the measures are draconian and appear to have other objectives - I mean, bringing in water for a game in hot weather is a security issue? No, I don't think so. Hassling parents trying to bring in food/beverages/toys for young children? Taking away an old man's apple? Not allowing women to bring in anything other than a tiny clutch? Not allowing parents to bring in diaper bags? And wrapping this all in the "security" argument is just insulting when you consider other professional and collegiate venues have nothing this drastic.

 

[DJ Spanky]

You're not supposed to be walking back up towards the busses.
I thought they would have blocked that entirely by now.

The current system has one stop and everyone gets off. Easy and streamlined.
The bus isn't from the RAC to the Blue/Purple Lot.

Bullshit. Many, many people who don't have parking passes yet are part of an ongoing tailgate park at the RAC and come over to the tailgating lots. This used to be less of an issue when you could park in Johnson, but since that's been taken away the only game in town now is the RAC parking lot.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

3 words:

WIN
IMPORTANT
GAMES

...and the "experience" will suddenly be 100x better for all but the 10% who will bitch about anything.

 

[RU#1fan]

A home win every year or two?

Yes….almost 5 years since our last B1G home win (November 2017 vs. Maryland).
Incredible.
must end NOW and multiple times.

 

[RUfinally2008]

Topless cheerleaders 😁 Sorry to those that won't be interested. For the others, as we need to be all inclusive in todays society- -

 

[Ray6232010]

Mic the band (like others do...you can hear it on TV), allow them more time to play...more college atmosphere...keep canned music, its exciting...just more balance

Is it a large band? Is the band any good? I've never seen them before.

 

[RUTGERS95]

I have been coming to Rutgers games for 30+ years now. When I started coming to RU games I was a young man, single and honestly the only reason we came to the games was to pick up chicks, drink and sometimes see the game.
fast forward 30 plus years, I still tailgate with the same crew although our group has gotten smaller as people have gotten older and moved out of state.
anyhow, when I was young I would park in Johnson park, walk from there to our tailgate in the blue lot, then reverse after the game. I did that for 20 + years with no problems.
fast forward to today and we are now in the purple lot and I walk from the bubble to our tailgate in purple. The issue is on the way to the bubble as the bus turns off from frelinghysen road to the service road, there is a wide open paved parking lot that would be perfect for a drop off point for those in the blue lot and the purple lot. The bus drivers won’t do it. This would save me a 1/2 mile walk and 20 minutes of tailgate time before the game. This would greatly enhance the game day experience for me and the many others who I see walking with me back towards the blue lot and purple lot.
what other enhancements would improve the game day experience for you?

Just win baby

 

[mikebal9]

I don't really buy many concessions and I'm far enough from the scoreboard that the sound doesn't bother me. For me, it's the lines at entry. They were better this year with the no-bag lines, but still not great.

 

[RULegion]

Tell everyone the game starts - half hour before it does so people go in before the game actually has started. Example: games start at 11:30 and actually start at 12:00

 

[ScarletSince86]

Win

Less cops busting students who want to tailgate

Allow us to bring in one water bottle

Faster concessions

Pick the cannon guys from a lottery of 30+ Year season ticket holders

 

[RUGuitarMan]

A winning football team would be a good start. Turn the volume down on “the music”. You used to go to RU football games to “pick up chicks”?

 

[RUScrew85]

Add an RV dump station somewhere such as by the RU warehouses behind Livingston campus.

You take your poo back home with you, mister.

 

[ruinac]

Honestly, there are so many things about the game day that are below average: The sound system, the concessions, the bag policies, no water fountains upstairs, the congestion at the gates, etc.

It’s not any one thing or another that are egregiously bad. It’s that almost nothing is done right.

 

[RUScrew85]

Jeez you old farts .
The kids like the piped in music .
Stop stinking on the field is all I ask

The 102 students that go to the games for free? Those kids?

 

[Plum Street]

The 102 students that go to the games for free? Those kids?

Yea and the players

 

[RUScrew85]

For me it's the sound system overall, not just the music. It's too loud, too repetitive, too duplicative of pro arenas and stadiums. To this day I don't understand why they can't have a distributed sound system throughout the stadium instead of the main pulse coming from the scoreboard. And every year they get the standard package of junk noise that's distributed to every other venue including overpowering beat clips, train horn (someone please explain to me what that has to do with the Scarlet Knights?), graphics with blaring sound, etc.When you have people leaving in the 3rd quarter because they have a headache from the sound, that's a problem.

I'm amazed at how little the marching band is involved during the game. Everything comes from the sound system, it's rare that the band actually gets to play. Sadly it appears that the current band director isn't pushing to get the band more involved in the game. That's just wrong. Almost all of our contemporaries in the Big 10 have a marching band that's dynamically involved in the game, not just pre-game and halftime.

Another issue is the staffing and supplying of concession stands. When you get into the 3rd quarter, how can you NOT have a concession stand open on the upper deck? Even if it's a lightly attended game. And how can you have a concession stand run out of hotdogs or hot chocolate late in the season? C'mon, that's just a logistics issue: you should be able to resupply stands that are running low during the game. Truthfully I feel the concession stands were run better back when Rutgers Food Service was responsible for them.

Lastly, the security getting into the game. Let's drop the whole BS about this is for safety: the measures are draconian and appear to have other objectives - I mean, bringing in water for a game in hot weather is a security issue? No, I don't think so. Hassling parents trying to bring in food/beverages/toys for young children? Taking away an old man's apple? Not allowing women to bring in anything other than a tiny clutch? Not allowing parents to bring in diaper bags? And wrapping this all in the "security" argument is just insulting when you consider other professional and collegiate venues have nothing this drastic.

/ENDOFTREAD

 

[RUScrew85]

Yea and the players

OK good point on the players.

 

[NickRU714]

OK good point on the players.

Is it though?
I've never heard a post game presser
"We really competed. But I didn't hear my favorite song so I really had no option but to throw that INT."

Players should better things to worry about.

 

[RUScrew85]

Is it though?
I've never heard a post game presser
"We really competed. But I didn't hear my favorite song so I really had no option but to throw that INT."

Players should better things to worry about.

Yeah but the kids on the team seem to get revved up - at least in the pregame - listening to music.

If they feel it helps during the game well that's something I hadn't considered. I still hate it too though.

 

[Plum Street]

Is it though?
I've never heard a post game presser
"We really competed. But I didn't hear my favorite song so I really had no option but to throw that INT."

Players should better things to worry about.

I don’t think anyone ever asks them about the music . Because it’s trivial. They do like the music though.
I assume all of this goes through Greg . First time around , he was very involved in game day management as he tried to build a brand