This past weekend the Georgia Bulldogs kicked off their season with a dominant win over the Marshall Thundering Herd but, as his team cruised to victory, everything wasn't up to Kirby Smart's liking. As the Bulldogs cruised to victory, even the fans at home could notice that Sanford Stadium was emptier than it was in the first half.
The fans leaving early isn't a fully new concept and it should be one he's very familiar with from his time in Tuscaloosa. When Nick Saban's dynasty was in full swing, the legendary Head Coach called his fanbase "entitled" for their attendance at games against lesser opponents.
When asked about how the Bulldogs could fix the trend, the idea of incentives were thrown out but, Smart believes the fanbase should be fully bought in on attending a Georgia home game as there are only a few a year.
"I don’t know that you incentivize the turnout. I don’t really believe in incentivizing things. I think it has to be a core DNA trait, a belief, you know, when we sell things as ‘I will do this if you do this’ and incentivize, I don’t think that’s great motivation. I think it’s intrinsic in who you are, I think people should love to (attend) a Georgia home game because there are only so many of them. There are limited opportunities."Kirby Smart
If Georgia fans were looking for an incentive to attend the games where Georgia isn't facing off against the true powers, they can forget about it. Kirby Smart compared potentially incentivizing attendance with incentivizing players to play hard, stating that at the end of the day, fans and players alike have to want greatness and then do it.
"It’s the same thing with our players. We don’t incentivize them to run to the ball by saying we’ll go up in your NIL if you run to the ball. You’ve got to do it because you want to be great. You’ve got to do it because you want to be different. If our fans want to be great and different, then they’ll do it."Kirby Smart
While Kirby Smart has the right idea, no matter what he says if the game is in hand, the stadium is going to start to empty out. This weekend, Georgia hosts Austin Peay and most likely, the Bulldogs are going to dominate which will in turn lead to an empty Sanford Stadium in the second half.
The biggest culprit anytime a fanbase leaves early is the students as they're leaving to either get an early start on the party or to find space in a venue on campus to continue the night. Maybe the solution is there but, at some point, the coaches and schools may have to accept this is the case and either schedule tougher opponents or let it go.
More Georgia Bulldogs News: