One of the biggest problems for attendance is those early afternoon games. Last year we went to see the ladies play softball on a Saturday and the men on the following Sunday. The softball field has some seating with shade, and the late afternoon start made it a little easier to watch. The 1PM game in the baseball stadium was brutal; there wasn't a shady spot in the place (the only shaded area is where the concessions are) and the heat was just too much for us. There are no TVs and that day no radio to hear what was happening. It was clear to me that the heat was a big factor for people not showing up; the softball game on Saturday was filled to the brim.
On Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 8:12 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > Paula and Terry tour UF baseball locker room today as part of a tribute to > the 2011 #2 Gator baseball team. After touring the facilities we heard from > coach O'Sullivan. > "Great facilities make it easier to recruit great players," he said. > "Thanks to you Boosters for all that you do for Gator Baseball. > > The academics here are also very important. We have a lot of players > turning down and postponing an awful lot of money from major league clubs to > come and play for us. UF has what it takes to attract players. At least 1 of > our players, Carson Whitson, passed up a $2 million contract to play for > the Gators. Our players want to be here and really love being Gators. > > We will open with Cal State Fullerton this coming season, but when you're > good it makes it harder to schedule; folks don't want to play you in > out-of-league games. > > This past year I learned a lot about what's involved in leading a > tournament-winning ball team that will make me a much better coach down the > road. Academically we run a 2.9-3.0 team average. We have a great team > tutoring program, so when one of my guys gets in front of my desk for > academic problems they are guilty; I tell 'em that up front. You've got to > make your grades to play here. > > Once again, we have a great team coming back. Tucker is delaying the major > leagues to come back for his Senior year. We're going back to Omaha." > Coach O'Sullivan told me after his talk that he was interested in getting > more fan support for the program, but wants suggestions on how to do that. > As he said, "I can't put a better product on the field than we had this past > year." I recommended inviting the Business School to do a marketing study to > come up with ideas. I did suggest that they offer $1 hot dogs, popcorn and > cokes for all mid-week games to encourage young families to bring their kids > out to see Gator baseball. He said he thought that was a good idea. > Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T > > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
