Eddie George rips Tennessee State football fans for not supporting winning team: 'It hurts the kids'
Now that Tennessee State football is winning, Eddie George doesn't want to hear any more whining from fans who don't show up for the Tigers games.
The third-year coach heard from fans over his first two seasons who said they didn't attend TSU games because it had been so long since they were winners. TSU went five years without posting a winning record.
But the Tigers are 4-2 heading into Saturday's second of three straight home games at Nissan Stadium against Lincoln (2 p.m. ESPN+) and George is wondering if fans will ever support his program.
"We have the chance to go to 5-2, we have the chance to have a winning record and a winning season and the people who are interested in watching us play will come out and support us and the people who aren't then so be it," George said. "Some people may not agree with me being the hire here and that's fine. I'm OK with that. But it's not me that you're not supporting; it's these kids. These kids who get up at 4 o'clock in the morning and bust their tails to study, to practice and give the fans something to be excited about."
George, who spent nine seasons in the NFL before embarking on an acting career that included Broadway performances, has already had a lifetime of praise. He would like for his players to enjoy that same experience.
"I've already had my name called and cheered by hundreds of thousands of fans as an athlete and as an actor so it doesn't bother me," he said. "It hurts the kids. I hear their cries when they say, 'We need more fan support.'"
TSU has played in front of an average of 23,907 fans in all games this season. In their two home games, however, the average attendance was 8,632. That was for a Big South/OVC game against Gardner-Webb (3,869 attendance) and homecoming last week against fellow HBCU Norfolk State (13,395).
The homecoming attendance was particularly disturbing for George for two reasons.
First, it was 9,256 fewer fans than showed up for last year's homecoming against Bethune-Cookman when the Tigers brought an 0-4 record into the game.
Secondly, many left after the halftime festivities after the school's bands performed even though the game was still on the line with TSU leading 17-6.
If fans only showed up to see the bands George warned his players this week not to expect much support for the remainder of the season. He has found TSU fans to be fickle so he's not sure what to expect from them.
"What I find interesting is that there was almost 30,000 fans (tailgating) outside of Nissan at homecoming while we were playing the game and a lot of them never came into the stadium," George said. "Some people might not find football appealing. It might be more for the social atmosphere. I told my team we may be playing in front of empty bleachers the last three games."
There was a dropoff in attendance in the second half of the 2022 season. After an average of 16,892 showed up for the first two home games the average dipped to 10,680 for the last two.
"If that happens again I told my team it doesn't matter, we're going to use that to our advantage. We're going to play for each other," George said. "It's going to be important for us to gather up our own energy for each other."
Senior quarterback Draylen Ellis was surprised to hear so few fans cheering late in the fourth quarter last week after he scored the winning touchdown on an 18-yard run.
TSU OFF TO BEST START SINCE 2017: Eddie George has Tennessee State football off to its best start since 2017
HOW TSU SALVAGED HOMECOMING: How Tennessee State football salvaged a 24-17 homecoming win over Norfolk State
"We had the fans there at the beginning of the game and all the way up to halftime and then they left," Ellis said. "We need their support all four quarters. We need that energy the entire game. We bring our own support but when guys can look up in the stands and know that we have a bunch of fans and alumni supporting us it means the world to us."
Eriq George out with injury
George's son Eriq, a freshman defensive end from Montgomery Bell Academy, is expected to miss the next two games after dislocating his shoulder last week.
George recorded one assisted tackle before being injured in the second quarter. He has 17 total tackles including three for loss and 1.5 sacks on the season.
"The MRI and everything else came back pretty clean," Eddie George said. "We're just going to let him heal up and rest."
TSU up to No. 3 in HBCU rankings
Tennessee State moved up to No. 3 in the HBCU power rankings by NCAA.com Digital's Stan Becton. The win over Norfolk State kept the Tigers undefeated this season vs. HBCUs.
TSU was No. 4 last week.
North Carolina Central (5-1) is No. 1 and Florida A&M (5-1) is No. 2.
The complete rankings are at bit.ly/46FMlVa.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee State football: Eddie George rips fans for lack of support
