It usually seems like the spring game attendence numbers reflect the last game/ bowl game/offseason....obviously. With us falling low of expectations in the last year, I can see lower numbers.
The one I can't get my head around, is the 2000 spring game.
We were coming off of the 1999 season, a season in which we could have [read: should have] won a National Championship had we not had a case of the fumbles that year. 1999 was the last year we beat Texas*, the last time we won a conference title, and we dominated in the Fiesta Bowl against Tennessee, and clearly was the best team playing at the end of the 1999-2000 year. I truly believe we would have won the National Title if we had a chance to get in like we should have been.
Crouch was going to be a Junior, Newcombe and Davison were going to be Seniors, Tracey Wistrom was coming onto the scene, we had a solid backfield with Buckhalter, Miller, Diedrick and Alexander, Dominic Raiola and Toniu Finoti were on the line, Carlos Polk was going to be a Senior, Charlie McBride retired so we would see a new defensive coordinator in Craig Bohl. What was not to get excited about?
We were going to Notre Dame that year, going to Norman to go against Bob Stoops, who was recently hired the year before, and going to Kansas State to get revenge from the 1998 game there, Iowa was coming to town, and coming off of Frank's best team, yet attendence was still extremely low. I don't know what gives. The weather maybe? But even then most people buy tickets ahead of time or walk in at the front for the start.
Maybe people thought we should have won the national title and we didn't so attendence was down.