Yeah, it's been depressing for quite a while, and you feel for the players looking up and seeing maybe 5K in the stands some days - very much like the early scenes in Major League. The attendance is better for sure - 24K+ for Jackson State and 19K+ for Nevada, and we showed up big in SATX too, giving them their 2nd biggest crowd ever.
Damphousse does indeed give off big CDC vibes - he's all over twitter and facebook. The guy is an Energizer Bunny - he's at 2, 3, 4 events every single day. Super accessible too - I've sent him DMs on twitter a couple of times, and he's replied. Spoke to him at the alumni tailgate before UTSA and asked him to come by our greek reunion tailgate for Nevada and he did - shook hands, took pics, etc. Athletic Director came by and actually addressed the whole group (100+). They're doing a lot to build/rebuild bridges that the university has been ignoring since forever.
Speaking of the motorcycle, one of my friends won the right to lead the team out vs Nevada, and he rocked the Evil Knievel onesie.