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Northwestern football attendance and the effect of Jim Phillips' marketing

"Nobody comes to games"

Ask many Northwestern students who enjoy and follow sports about the atmospheres at Ryan Field and, to a lesser extent, Welsh-Ryan Arena, and many have that same reaction. They're shocked at the poor turnouts. Especially for those who have come from places around the country where college football is king, and where as many as 100,000 fans packing a stadium every Saturday is a given, empty bleachers can be an odd sight.

In fact, we at Inside NU are often quick to point out those empty patches of bleachers, especially in the student section for football games.