If you've forked over money for a ticket to a football game, do you have a responsibility to stay there until the end of the game?
If you are a student, sitting in the student section at a Michigan State Football game, the answer seems to be yes, you do.
Coach Mark Dantonio and Spartan Athletic Director Mark Hollis have been very clear: They were disappointed in seeing so many fans leave early last Saturday night against Nebraska.
There were nearly 76,000 in the crowd at the start of the game, and there were plenty of empty seats by the end, when MSU nearly lost the game.
Some raise this question: The kick-off time is at 8:14 at night, when MSU football can make more money with the prime time nationally televised game. Are fans obligated to sit through the game at midnight so their team can look good for TV cameras?
Michigan Radio sports commentator John U. Bacon says MSU should be careful not to alienate its fans.
"They keep looking at the customers as the problem, and not their policies. You try to sell out your fans who show up to the ones around TV. Well guess what? The fans that show up become fewer and fewer, if you are catering to the ones watching on TV. No brainer," says Bacon.
Bacon suggests instead of accommodating the TV time, college football should decide on a fixed schedule to cultivate fans who actually attend the games.
"If you keep moving around your kick-off times, you're going to kick off the fans you've got," says Bacon.
* Listen to our conversation with John U. Bacon above.
