Through the first two home games of the 2009 season, TCU's aggregate attendance stands at 72,379. Compared to just 52,605 for the first two games in '08, that's an increase of almost 38%. So with the 5-0 record and #8 ranking in the coaches' poll, is the Horned Frog bandwagon finally starting to fill up?Some might say no. After all, even with the average of about 36,000 fans a game this year, TCU's attendance figures are still dwarfed by any team ranked even remotely close to where the Frogs are in the polls. On top of that, you might argue that the 38% statistic is a bit skewed by the fact that both Texas State and SMU have brought a few thousand fans of their own, something that neither Stephen F. Austin or Stanford (TCU's first two home games last year) came close to doing. Add in the fact that thousands of extra tickets were sold to the SMU game because of Parent's Weekend (which was later in the season last year) and you might come to the conclusion that any increase in fan interest so far this year is, in reality, minimal at best. After all, there are still way too many people hanging out in the parking lots during the game, completely clueless as to what's happening inside the stadium.
On the other hand, I think it would be hard to deny that there isn't at least some boost to the fanbase this year. I've noticed a lot of people that formerly couldn't have cared less about the team taking a real interest this year. I've seen a lot more TCU shirts and hats and what-not around town and more exposure of the program in the mainstream media. Spitblood's traffic, while still quite modest, has reached new all-time highs this fall. Look at the attendance figures for the games each year that have been played in severe downpours: 25,000 (a number I'm very skeptical of) for Stanford last year, versus 37,000 for SMU this year. Yes, the SMU game was Parent's Weekend and there were a few Ponies in the house, but I highly doubt that the extra 12,000+ fans were parents that came to visit their son or daughter at school and SMU fans- most of those people were eating at Saltgrass or Blue Mesa during the game.
So what can we expect Saturday against Colorado State? While it should be nice weather, the afternoon kickoff probably doesn't help bring in families who have kid-related activities during the day. Plus you know Colorado State isn't going to bring more than a handful of fans, and having Texas-OU going on over in Dallas will certainly be a distraction to the casual fan.
While that 38% increase looks pretty good right now, I hope it isn't just an illusion. Coach Patterson stressed in the radio show last night that he wants a big, vocal crowd on hand to support the Frogs this weekend.
