I can think of a pretty good reason why attendance will be low. Are we pretending that the pandemic isn’t on peoples’ minds?
I’ve had season tickets for 15+ years, and we’ll be back again this year, but it was a very serious conversation my family (7 of us in total) had. We debated for a long time before deciding to renew. For every two or three families that DO decide to come back, there will be one that doesn’t.
This year, regardless of performance or storylines, will still be clouded by COVID. Let’s not downplay that.
All of that said, if Illinois were to start 3-0 or 4-0, I do think single game tickets will start selling regardless. Right now, though, “new coach”, “conference opponent”, or even first game of the season don’t hold the same sway they would have in a “normal” year.
Sucks for BB, because you’re right, those ARE exciting things. I don’t want to take away from that either.