Attending to the problem

I'll begin this column with a caveat: Though I regularly lament the apathy of the average Virginia fan, I understand there is a set of Wahoo faithful as devoted and energetic as can be found at any school.

There is absolutely no doubt, however, that Virginia football spirit has reached a historical low and seems on the brink of diminishing even further. I offer that not as a general observation, nor with anecdotal evidence, but with concrete proof: attendance numbers.

How ugly are the attendance numbers? Profoundly ugly. The average attendance at home football games this season so far is 46,605 and falling. Only 41,713 people attended the Duke game, a number smaller even than the 43,016 who attended the rainy Georgia Tech game, which was obviously affected by the miserable weather.

Only at the William & Mary game have more than 50,000 fans come out this season. Since then, every game has had fewer attendees than the one before it. If this trend continues, it's possible that fewer than 40,000 will attend the Boston College game Nov. 14.

Certainly, the already-sold out Nov. 28 Virginia Tech game will see a spike in the number of attendees. But that's a rivalry game, particularly one against a nearby school known for rabid, traveling fans. There will be a lot of Wahoos who venture out to see if Sewell and Co. can muster a prayer against the Hokies. They should, however, also expect to see plenty of maroon in the bleachers during Thanksgiving Break.

To put the bad attendance figures into perspective, the last time Virginia averaged fewer than 50,000 fans per game was in 1999. And that was before an enormous renovation to Scott Stadium that added more than 15,000 seats.

I don't make these observations to criticize Virginia fans, even though it may sound that way. I've been impressed with the thick skin of the hardcore. I also think there's something to be said for passive rebellion en masse.

(Side note: These numbers, much more than anything related to the game itself, are the reason coach Al Groh will be fired this year. It's a lot easier to pull the trigger on a mediocre-performing coach when your wallet is suffering, too. President John T. Casteen, III may or may not get mixed up in the employment process, but either he or the next University president will make sure we have a new head coach by the beginning of next season.)

The big question is, then, why is attendance so low? There are a myriad of reasons, big and small, to answer that question. The explanation also varies from absent fan to absent fan. But here are eight reasons I hypothesize fans might be skipping out on Saturdays:\n

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1. It could be the economy. Everybody's wallets are aching right now. For many almuni, I can see why season tickets for a consistently disappointing Virginia team might be the first expense to go.
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2. Perhaps a large group of people are intentionally protesting the team by not attending the games. I know I've met several students who claim they are boycotting Scott Stadium as a vote of non-confidence in Groh or Athletics Director Craig Littlepage.
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3. I fear the fan experience in Charlottesville leaves a lot to be desired. From the horrendous difficulty of parking, to the umbrella ban, to the abysmal gameday traffic, can you blame anyone for avoiding the headache?
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4. The lack of a signature player or style is probably hurting Virginia fan numbers. Sewell is hardly a poster boy, and even first-rate defenders like junior Ras-I Dowling lack the game presence of someone like Chris Long.
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5. The ACC's general woes could be trickling down to Virginia's attendance numbers. Who wants to watch a bunch of average teams from an average (at best) BCS conference play average football?
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6. The plummet in attendance these past two weeks could partly have resulted from heightened concern about the level of safety in Charlottesville. The disappearance of Morgan Dana Harrington Oct. 17 during the Metallica concert at John Paul Jones Arena has become a high-profile news story.
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7. The University might not be fostering an atmosphere of loyalty. Perhaps alumni are turned off by Virginia's cold shoulder to the Pep Ban(ne)d and the rearrangement of season-ticket seat locations.
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8. Probably the most important reason of all, I think Virginia football has started to become stale. Compare football to every other major or mid-major sport on Grounds, all of which are going through some sort of exciting period.
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\nThe men's basketball team has a new, promising coach. The baseball team just went to the College World Series for the first time ever. The women's basketball team has one of the nation's best players in Monica Wright and a scintillating showdown against Tennessee looming. The soccer and lacrosse teams are pretty much always ranked, and, in the case of men's lacrosse, a contender for the national title.

But the football players and coaches have settled for mediocrity. It's unbefitting of such a caring, competitive student body.

Of course, there are a few people who could bring back some life and polish to this program, and one of them is only an hour southeast of here: Mike London, head coach of the 8-0 Richmond Spiders.

But there's one other person who would fill the stands even faster in Charlottesville, and he's not very far away either. He owns a lunch pail and is known for stifling defense and causing turnovers. That's right, I'm talking about Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster.

Whaddya say, Littlepage? Make this Virginia rivalry thing interesting again?