Bulldog fans could almost go unnoticed outside of Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium before Saturday’s game. The few fans wearing maroon paled beside the blazing orange adorned by thousands of Auburn fans.
Orange-clad tailgaters with orange tents that held everything from orange coolers to orange tablecloths surrounded the stadium. The same scene in maroon was hard to find.
Things didn’t change much inside the stadium either. While MSU players struggled on the field, Bulldog fans struggled to fill just one section in the nation’s 8th largest on-campus stadium, which seats over 87,000.
Even with MSU’s pep band, only one section of the stadium was predominately maroon, and there were several orange strays there. Two other sections had rows of maroon, but were mostly filled with Auburn fans.
Sophomore communication major DeAnna Basden said she expected more students to make the four-hour drive to watch State’s first SEC game.
“There aren’t as many students as I thought there would be,” she said. “In the student section, there are more alumni than students.”
MSU alumnus Wes Fulgham of Jackson said he thinks there are several factors that could have affected MSU’s fan turnout-including the game airing on Jefferson Pilot sports and the effects of Hurricane Katrina. He also noted that Auburn’s undefeated season last year made it more difficult to get tickets.
“Most of the tickets for this game were already sold back in the summer,” he said.
Fulgham and his brother, MSU alumnus Robert Fulgham of Auburn, attend most of the Bulldogs’ games.
“This definitely seems to be a small turnout-lighter than usual, even for an away game,” he said.
Tickets for the game were also more expensive than most students are willing to dish out, senior business major Sara Creecy said.
“If Auburn didn’t charge us $45 a ticket, I think there would be more students here,” she said. “I’m only here because I had a free ticket.”
Still, some students were willing to pay the price in hopes of witnessing the Bulldogs take their first conference win of the season.
“I’m sure our record last year has something to do with low turnout, but our winning last week and Auburn losing last week raised our spirits,” undeclared freshman Lori Brooks said. “The reason I came is because I thought we actually had a shot.”
Senior mechanical engineering major Brian Coffman said one reason he went to the game was because he had friends in Auburn. He didn’t expect many Bulldog fans to make the trip.
“I didn’t expect this many people actually,” he said. “Since we weren’t expected to win coming into it, probably fewer people came.”
He noted that the few fans who did attend were still getting into the game. Most MSU fans even stayed until the end, despite the Dawgs losing 28-0.
“It’s a sad game, but I thought it was a good turnout and there is a lot of crowd participation,” Coffman said.
Brooks agreed.
“I’m proud of our one section,” she said.