Several weeks ago there was concern over slow season ticket sales for Georgia State University football's 2010 season. Some were initially hoping for a crowd of 10,000 for last night's Shorter opener, won by GSU, 41-7. Then the pace began picking up and this writer's August 26 article predicted maybe 20,000 showing up.
However, this past week ticket sales continued to be brisk and campus excitement was self-evident. Please take a look at the slideshow below where you can see the pregame excitement on the Georgia State campus, the Georgia Dome parking lots and at the Dome.
This writer visited the campus yesterday and saw lines at the GSU ticket office only hours before the game. The campus bookstore had plenty of visitors looking for Georgia State sports paraphernalia, which by the way used to be relegated to an obscure corner in the upper level.
There were numerous tailgaters in the Georgia Dome's Orange and Brown lots. The Georgia State Alumni Association's tailgate tent was full of excited hot dog and hamburger eaters. GSU President Mark Becker and Director of Athletics Cheryl Levick spoke briefly about how important this gameday was to the campus community.
Even before the Dome gates opened at 6 p.m., thousands of students were cramming outside Gate A. Fans were still buying tickets at the box office but the lower level, capacity 28,157, was already sold out. The decision to move the overflow to the mezzanine section, one level higher, was easy.
There were some who derided Georgia State's choice of the Georgia Dome as its football venue because of its size, but no one had to be turned away unhappy yesterday. Another advantage was fans being able to watch at a temperature of 72 degrees, compared to the 90 degrees outside.
Once allowed inside, the students were juiced and they obviously energized their beloved Panther football team. When slot receiver Parris Lee scored the game's first touchdown directly in front of the students with 9:07 remaining in the first quarter, the Dome and students exploded.
Certainly, Georgia State's first-ever football game was an historic event for a 97-year old university and some showed up to experience that. Likely, the Lambuth September 11 game will not have as many fans; plus, it will be interesting to see if Georgia State football fans will ignore competing major conference football games on a Saturday afternoon.
However, think about what happened last night. A school that averages 1,000-1,500 for men's basketball and far fewer for other sports just drew over 30,000 fans. Even the most fanatical Panther sports fan never thought that would happen this soon.
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