It’s Quiet in There--Too Quiet : Aztecs: If an opponent falls in their stadium, and nobody is there to see it . . .

SAN DIEGO —  The first time Dan McGwire ran onto the field for a football game as a freshman at the University of Iowa, a sellout crowd of 67,700 at Kinnick Stadium gave him a standing ovation.

“They had heard so much about me before I got there, they were just glad I was there,” McGwire said. “Something like that sends chills up and down your spine. The excitement of seeing that many people in a full stadium is unbelievable.”

But if McGwire, who transferred to San Diego State two years ago, were to receive the same recognition Saturday night against New Mexico, he might not notice. Forty-five thousand empty seats do not make much noise.

Welcome to an Aztec home game.

Attendance at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium is down to an average of 20,507 per game this year, and the players say they feel the difference. They miss the excitement a large crowd generates, the rush those cheers give them and the support they provide at crucial points in a game. They long for a time when they too can count on a noisy crowd to enhance their home-field advantage.

“The crowd brings out the best in you,” McGwire said. “You make a big play and the crowd starts cheering, and it makes you want to make another one and another one. It feeds on itself. I just hope we get the crowds back soon.”

Playing in a stadium that is three-quarters empty has lately become as much a part of an Aztec home game as lights, black jerseys and Monte Montezuma. It is not what several players said they envisioned college football would be like.

“I went to a small high school where the only people cheering for your were the 20 or 30 people who came with you on the bus to the game,” said Milt Wilson, a senior defensive end from Daniel Murphy High School in Los Angeles. “I figured when I got to college the crowds would be huge. I didn’t think there would be this trouble getting people to come to the games.”

Average attendance for the Aztecs’ first four home games is lowest in the Western Athletic Conference by more than 2,000 per game. This despite SDSU playing in the second largest stadium and being situated in the largest metropolitan area of any conference school. Crowds have ranged from a high of 31,639 for the home opener against UCLA to 13,548 four weeks ago against Cal State Long Beach. It was the smallest SDSU crowd since 1985.

“I talked to a friend of mine in Los Angeles, and he said, ‘You’re drawing less than New Mexico,’ ” said Monty Gilbreath, the Aztecs’ leading receiver. “It’s hard to play in front of 13,000 people. That’s 50,000 empty seats.

“I come out to field punts, so I’m one of the first guys on the field for warmups. You look out there, and there is no one in the stands. You can’t say that doesn’t affect you.”

But while his players say they are bothered by the size of the crowd, Coach Al Luginbill said he will not use that to explain away some less-than-impressive home performances against Cal State Fullerton (41-41) and Long Beach (30-26 victory).

“That has nothing to do with it,” Luginbill said. “They are lucky they have two people out there the way they played in those two ballgames. They go out and crush those teams and watch how many people start coming back.”

Attendance was not always a problem at SDSU. For their first 15 seasons in San Diego Stadium, the Aztecs consistently averaged more than 30,000 per game and set a school record by averaging 42,040 in 1975. From 1967 through 1981, the smallest season average was 24,845 in 1980. In the eight seasons since, the Aztecs have averaged more than that only--31,723 per game during their 1986 WAC championship season.

The players say they understand why the ticket-buying public has stayed away. Several of the opponents--Fullerton, Long Beach and Pacific--have lacked marquee value, and the Aztecs have given them little to cheer about since their 1986 Holiday Bowl appearance. But they said at least half of that is changing in that SDSU is winning again.

The Aztecs enter Saturday night’s WAC game against New Mexico having won three in a row and four of their past five to move over the .500 mark (4-3-1) for the first time since 1986. The players said they hope the victories will bring back the crowds but recognize that a 1-8 New Mexico team is a difficult sell, even for a winner. School officials are predicting a crowd of 15,000 Saturday.

“There are a lot of things to do in San Diego on a Saturday night,” said John Wesselman, a senior nickel back and the team’s leading tackler. “I think the fans look at who we are playing and decide if they want to go. If it is someone they think we should beat, and it won’t be a good game, they do something else.”

Evidently, a lot of people in San Diego have found that something else to do.

Ticket sales are below preseason projections, Athletic Director Fred Miller has said. But he has declined to give specific figures except to say that the crowd of 31,639 for UCLA exceeded its goal. Attendance prospects for the remaining three home games are not encouraging. The projected crowd for New Mexico is below expections, as are the early estimates of 17,000 for Wyoming Nov. 11 and about 25,000 for Brigham Young Nov. 25.

No one understands what the Aztecs are missing better than McGwire, their junior quarterback. He transferred from the Big 10, where large crowds in big, historic stadiums were commonplace. If there is there one aspect about playing football at Iowa that he misses, it would be the crowds.

“I knew when I came that the crowds in the WAC would be smaller than the Big 10,” McGwire said. “I accept that. But I still miss it. Those stadiums were something special. Going into Michigan Stadium with 100,000 people cheering, it brings back the feeling of all the great players who have played there. You get the feeling you can be part of it, too.”

About the only time that McGwire and the other Aztecs play in front big crowds now is on the road. Sometimes they wish they didn’t.

“I remember going to Brigham Young two years ago,” Wilson said. “It was cold, rainy day. The sky was gray, and the stadium was filled. The cheer went around the stadium. It started on one side with a ‘B,’ then ‘Y,’ then ‘U,’ then, ‘Cougars’ The stadium shook, it was so loud. That can be intimidating.”

The Aztecs can only dream about a time when their home crowds will generate that kind of noise. Until then, they must make the most of the fans they have.

“We’re glad for what we have,” Gilbreath said. “I know this, I’d rather play in front of our 13,000 than on the road in front of Hawaii’s 40,000.”

Aztec Notes

San Diego State was without its three top running backs in practice Wednesday, but Coach Al Luginbill said he is hopeful all could be ready to play Saturday night against New Mexico. Darrin Wagner, the team’s leading rusher and scorer, was out with the flu. Ron Slack, the regular starter, is sidelined with a groin pull. Curtis Butts, a sophomore walk-on, was given permission to miss practice to visit hospitalized family members. That left Kipp Jeffries, a freshman who has not played in a game, to handle the work load in practice. Luginbill said he his most concerned about Slack’s recovery and said there was a possibility he would not play Saturday.

HOME ATTENDANCE FOR SDSU FOOTBALL

Year G Total Average 1979 6 236,978 39,978 1980 6 149,068 24,450 1981 5 171,829 34,366 1982 6 122,711 20,452 1983 5 89,743 17,949 1984 7 163,650 23,378 1985 7 136,396 19,485 1986 6 190,336 31,723 1987 6 137,464 22,911 1988 5 111,992 22,398 1989 4 82,028 20,507