Game Day Experience???

[MU gimp ONE]

I am not one to complain or view anything Marquette negatively, but I do feel that speaking up when value drops is important.  This has nothing to do with the team since i believe they are playing the hardest they can and overall i am entertained for 40 minutes.

However, what has happened to the Marquette Gameday Experience?  There have been zero handouts before the game, side from the schedule magnets.  The scoreboard stats, replays, etc have been atrocious.  They went from giving away free nights at the Hilton and dinners, to a burrito for signed programs.  To cap it all off, there has been a severe lack of halftime entertainment.  I don't need the Jesse White Tumblers, but even the 4th grade basketball games were more entertaining than the same student musical chairs.  If someone from the athletic department would like to chime in, I'm curious as to why the value of the experience has dropped when ticket prices have not.

[warriorstrack]

I was talking about this last night with some friends at the game.  We were "spoiled" a few years ago with bobble heads, youth D-Wade uni's, t-shirts for us, half-time entertainment,  Heck even the alumni from the different sports were brought into the Cambria club (early season game), usually three sports at a time.  Was great alumni relation stuff for the former athletes.  I know it all costs money.  The only new thing I have really noticed this year is that you can pay more money when you get the the game to move down to a better seat, no thanks.

On a side note, the times of the games has really hampered the pre-game post game revelry.  I would rather have the fox sports money and play when they tell us to play, but a sat night game would be nice

[MerrittsMustache]

A majority of the games this season have been against no-name opponents and/or when the students aren't in session. I would guess that the "experience" will pick up from here on out. No use wasting money on a juggling family or trampoline dunk team if they're going to perform in front of a half-empty stadium.

[GOO]

Odd.  I was thinking last night how stale the game experience has gotten.  Part of it is that we don't have a great team, stagnant offense (nothing like last year, at least we can hit some shots), but the other things are missing.  I don't need or want handouts, but the game experience is down.  This doesn't matter much for those on this board, but for casual fans, it will hurt attendance.  
I think the Admirals really do an exceptional job and making the games an event even for those who are not really into hockey.  Maybe MU needs to hire someone or consult with their PR staff/promotion staff.

Mu used to be on the cutting edge of the game experience.  Better than others.  Now, we are very pedestrian to worse.  Crean did something right, and promotion was the number one thing.  It has been a gradual slide since.

[warriorstrack]

A majority of the games this season have been against no-name opponents and/or when the students aren't in session. I would guess that the "experience" will pick up from here on out. No use wasting money on a juggling family or trampoline dunk team if they're going to perform in front of a half-empty stadium.

I get your point.  This is something I have noticed for the last few years, not just this year.

[MU gimp ONE]

It definitely is not just his non-conference portion, it has been a slide for a few years as another poster had mentioned.  Once again, i don't need professional trampoline acts, but something entertaining.  I don't think the St. Whatever 4th grade basketball team is demanding big bucks.  It was always fun cheering on the little kids or seeing how intense the wheelchair basketball games were. 

We have been regressing for a few years.  Don't get me started on the Moderately Larger than Real Life Noggins they unveil every game.  Time for those to go.  Extremely played out across the country and we weren't the first to do it either.  I would love to see more of those spinning hypnotizing signs that they have a couple of.

[Spotcheck Billy]

What happened to the gatling t-shirt gun? not that it reached the 400 level anyhow but...

[MerrittsMustache]

It definitely is not just his non-conference portion, it has been a slide for a few years as another poster had mentioned.  Once again, i don't need professional trampoline acts, but something entertaining.  I don't think the St. Whatever 4th grade basketball team is demanding big bucks.  It was always fun cheering on the little kids or seeing how intense the wheelchair basketball games were. 

We have been regressing for a few years.  Don't get me started on the Moderately Larger than Real Life Noggins they unveil every game.  Time for those to go.  Extremely played out across the country and we weren't the first to do it either.  I would love to see more of those spinning hypnotizing signs that they have a couple of.

Those teams pay to play at halftime.

[warriorstrack]

Yeah where did that gun thing go?  The only time something got to the upper decks was when the guy cheerleaders would use that slingshot.  Maybe don't want someone to fall trying to catch one.  Parachutes are meh, funny to see grown men jump on top of each other to grab one though.  Big heads are not big anymore literally and figuratively, maybe they should have a big head shark, (jumped the shark) and then retire the whole thing.  We could hand out big eagle feathers, but that probably wouldn't be PC even though we are the eagles.  They can't even throw the dice (new thing this year to win a hot dog or something) from the top of the lower bowl, someone must have spilled their beer and complained.

Yes, small ball, from the little guys and girls would be a great add.

[DienerTime34]

Agree, I've had season tickets for 10 years. But we left at halftime and watched the rest of the game at home. I enjoyed watching it on TV more.

Now, a LARGE part of this is team performance and opponent. That's probably 75%. There was NOTHING like watch Jae Crowder and company play against a screaming Bob Huggins, or the Three Amigos take on Slick Rick Pitino on a Saturday afternoon. Last night was a poorly played game, no superstars, no real sideline presence from either coach. Just blah.

And ever since we lost TC, neither Buzz nor Wojo have any interest in the dog and pony show. Do you remember how Crean would hype up big games "We're going to get the fire marshall and see how many people we can squeeze in!" He'd come out and fire up the student section, pausing to clap for them for awhile. Heck, he even did a live Q&A session with fans after practice one year. As much as people hate him now, the guy was a great salesman. Shoot me for saying it, but I miss that.

[MerrittsMustache]

Yeah where did that gun thing go?  The only time something got to the upper decks was when the guy cheerleaders would use that slingshot.  Maybe don't want someone to fall trying to catch one.  Parachutes are meh, funny to see grown men jump on top of each other to grab one though.  Big heads are not big anymore literally and figuratively, maybe they should have a big head shark, (jumped the shark) and then retire the whole thing.  We could hand out big eagle feathers, but that probably wouldn't be PC even though we are the eagles.  They can't even throw the dice (new thing this year to win a hot dog or something) from the top of the first section now, someone must have spilled their beer and complained.

Yes, small ball, from the little guys and girls would be a great add.

Buy 100 group tickets and your group can play at halftime of a game.

[warriorstrack]

Buy 100 group tickets and your group can play at halftime of a game.

45 y/o out of shape guys going at each other, that might be fun too.

[mu_hilltopper]

Agreed on all the above.   While the past 18 months has seen MU's on-court entertainment value plummet .. the game day experience has also decreased substantially.

No more bobbleheads, no more towels, no more cups or paperweights, etc.  Last year they brought back the magnet, but that appears gone this year.

Wow .. everything is gone:  http://www.gomarquette.com/tickets/m-baskbl-promotions.html

Correct this if it's wrong, but I thought the Fox Sports contract was going to bring even more revenue than the ESPN contract did?  And didn't our coaching expense go down?  

.. No half-time entertainment .. not even the little kids' basketball stuff.  

.. And for the love of all that is holy, get someone to sing the damn national anthem.   Couldn't believe that for the Badger game, the biggest game of the year .. zip.  No singer.   I've mentioned this to MU before, and they've suggested it's because of scheduling and TV, like a singer might take longer to finish the anthem than the band.    

Seems really weak to suggest you can't tell a random student with a good voice they need to keep a regular tempo.

Add in all these 8pm start times .. brutal.    

After a decade+ of going to nearly every home game .. I've skipped half this year.   A past thread figured out MU lost about 1500 season ticket seats this season .. I'll bet that trend continues.  

Sad, really.

[DienerTime34]

Right! I forgot to mention ... has anyone sung the National Anthem this year? The band gets in and out of it in about 45 seconds ... it just seems so cheap.

Remember a few years back when there was a kid who sang it, and all the Marquette players rushed to center court to congratulate them? All those sorts of moments are lost.

[warriorchick]

And they don't have the Chicken handing the giant pizza to a row in the upper deck.

The lower bowl gets all the swag.  You would think they would focus on the 400 level since the majority of those are general admission tickets.  You don't need to bribe the sweater vests with free stuff to get them through the turnstile.

[esotericmindguy]

1st world problems. Guys not going to games because of half time entertainment, t shirts and bobbleheads. My goodness you sound ridiculous. The game day experience stinks because the team stinks. In the Brian Wardle days we couldn't even fill the lower bowl with students...team was awful. Wade came and all of a sudden it was awesome. The trend of 1500 less season tickets will not continue, there is nothing to sell this year. Bring in a top 5 class and a McDonald All-American and the casual fan will come back. Simple as that.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Am I the only one that couldn't care less about gameday giveaways?

I remember the final four ring, and the wade bobblehead, but I've never been that into collecting that stuff.

Maybe I'm a minimalist at heart.

As far as overall "gameday experience", to me, the students make all of the difference in the world. When they are there, and they are into it, it completely changes everything for me.

[DienerTime34]

1st world problems. Guys not going to games because of half time entertainment, t shirts and bobbleheads. My goodness you sound ridiculous. The game day experience stinks because the team stinks. In the Brian Wardle days we couldn't even fill the lower bowl with students...team was awful. Wade came and all of a sudden it was awesome. The trend of 1500 less season tickets will not continue, there is nothing to sell this year. Bring in a top 5 class and a McDonald All-American and the casual fan will come back. Simple as that.

Anything related to fans enjoying college basketball could be considered a 1st world problem. That doesn't negate our points. We want our university and team to provide a world-class experience.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

"1st world problems?" What a moronic thing to say.

[Daniel]

Wel, as the saying goes: "Where's the hoopla boys? Where's the hoopla?"

It has declined over the years. Part of it is sponsorships. Companies have cut back of their discretionary marketing budgets. Without their money, it is very difficult to give away lots of things. But I still have my bobbieheads - including the Fr Wild bobble head - and I like them.

The parachute t-shirt drop is about the most exciting thing there is going now, and none of the upper seats have a chance at getting one.  

Marquette needs someone who will work the local corporations for participation. I noticed West Bend is not a sponsor now. It's a full tme job trying to get sponsors to buy-in. And I have no idea how much the Marquette budget is or got cut.  But game day hoopla can draw more students and fans. Though winning is the best draw.

[Shark]

I was at the game last night and I was really impressed by the student attendance. They had most of the upper section filled on a Wednesday night 8:00 pm game. They also were extremely loud to end the game.

[Coleman]

The game day experience is something Tom Crean did best. It dropped off when he left.

I have lots of problems with Crean, but this is something I miss.

I enjoy the bobbleheads, figurines and T shirts. I still have most of them and they are great momentos of my college years 2004-2008.

[mu_hilltopper]

I was at the game last night and I was really impressed by the student attendance. They had most of the upper section filled on a Wednesday night 8:00 pm game. They also were extremely loud to end the game.

Whoa, what game were you at?  Most of the upper section filled?  Not last night.  Maybe 10% of the upper student section was filled.  

At best, I'd say it was a slightly above average Wednesday crowd.

[mu_hilltopper]

Another note .. I can't recall if it's every single year, but certainly a bunch of years, at the end of the season. MU sends out a SurveyMonkey type survey to ticket purchasers, asking about the process, tickets, seats, giveaways, experience, etc.

I'm sure they get a lot of feedback.

[bradley center bat]

Whoa, what game were you at?  Most of the upper section filled?  Not last night.  Maybe 10% of the upper student section was filled.  

At best, I'd say it was a slightly above average Wednesday crowd.

What game were you at.  The upper deck of the student section was almost filled to the top with many gaps in the rows. I would say the student section of the upper deck was 65% filled.