Having been through Round 1 of this last year, it's about the most surreal experience imaginable.  It's an exhibition game several weeks before the season actually starts and yet it sells out.  To the uninitiated, unless we end up having one of those incredible seasons like 2005-06, we will likely sell out one more game with the help of VCU fans who will gladly drive to DC on a Saturday morning to watch their team play.  Barring unforeseen circumstances, we will not sell out games against St. Louis, Dayton, St. Joe's, etc.  

As for the game itself, last year's edition resembled the polar opposite of what used to be regarded as an exhibition.  Typically, GW might host a UDC or Bowie State for a pre-season exhibition, win by about 40 (although UDC scared the shit out of us on one occasion), and play everyone including walk-ons.  Today, exhibitions tend to better emulate actual games (Georgetown has already defeated Wake Forest) with coaches trying to simulate "real" conditions including playing a shorter bench than what had been the case in the past.

As for the meaning of the game, I can argue that a GW win might, and I emphasize might energize the student body which could translate into a better supported team.  Word of a GW victory will barely leak to the public, to the point where GW could get a slight bump in paid ticket sales but not much more.  Personally, I would take about as much actual pride in defeating Georgetown in an exhibition as I did unhappiness over losing to them last year, which is to say, not a tremendous amount.  It's certainly better that the teams are playing an exhibition than not at all, but this is exactly why the programs need to figure out how to make this work in the regular season when more is on the line.