Do Cougar fans travel well?
Depending on who you asked, you likely heard a variety of answers to that question this week. It's been a popular discussion while WSU waits for bowl selections to be announced. Fan attendance can play a role in selections, which is either a good thing, or a bad thing for the Cougars.
The discussion has gone something like this:
"Any bowl should want WSU, Cougar fans are going to flood the town."
"Uh, have you checked the attendance numbers in Pullman over the last decade?"
"Yeah, but that's for home games. We always travel well on the road."
"So, why didn't WSU travel well to _____ (insert random Pac-12 game)?"
"Corvalis (or other Pac-12 city) is boring. Don't you remember the UNLV game? Or the time WSU fans drank all the alcohol in Auburn?"
"True, but fans also had months to plan and save for those trips, not weeks."
"We've had all year to save."
"Except for the fact the athletic director essentially said not to expect a bowl at the beginning of the season?"
"But, it's been 10 years."
"But, who wants to go to Albuquerque."
We could wait to see if WSU is selected to a bowl game, then see how well fans travel to it. Or, we could perform some highly-scientific Internet research and launch a poll. Obviously, no one would ever vote in an Internet poll then not follow through. Plus, there is always a chance the poll will get 10,000 "yes" votes and persuade a bowl committee to take WSU. OK maybe not, but don't let that stop you from sharing this post on Twitter and Facebook.