Crowds have sucked this year.

[connie]

Can someone refresh my memory here ...

Who was arrested for sexual assault?  I remember no one being arrested
Who was investigated for sexual assault?  I remember no one being investigated for sexual assault?
Who was investigated for sexual harassment?  I remember that investigation but nothing came of it.
I also remember a player getting a city ticket for an incident at a Quiznos but last time I checked that was not sexual harassment.

Conclusion - attendance is down because of something that did not happen?

Thank you!

[dwaderoy2004]

Can someone refresh my memory here ...

Who was arrested for sexual assault?  I remember no one being arrested
Who was investigated for sexual assault?  I remember no one being investigated for sexual assault?
Who was investigated for sexual harassment?  I remember that investigation but nothing came of it.
I also remember a player getting a city ticket for an incident at a Quiznos but last time I checked that was not sexual harassment.

Conclusion - attendance is down because of something that did not happen?

Perception trumps reality for some.  Truth is there is a good chunk of students who don't view the team and/or certain players in a positive light.  While this is certainly not a majority, it's probably enough to prevent the students from filling the upper deck, even against premier opponents.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Geez, I am probably as liberal as anyone on this board and I was following the game on-line rather than watch the SOTU.    Where are his priorities?

Don't worry tower, the iaff will give you your marching orders. 

[tower912]

I've routinely gone against them in primaries.   And they aren't always liberal enough for me.   

[jsglow]

I've been a long time observer of the BC, its attendance, and general atmosphere.

There's no doubt that the general crowd involvement/excitement has gone down over the years.

Add to that .. I'll bet the 10 center sections' average age is many years older than it was in 2000.   The older you get, the more likely you are to just sit and observe the game.  -- Even worse .. All the fresh new, excitable and potentially loud Season Ticket Holders are shelved in the sleepy upper deck.  By the time they get seats in the lower bowl, they've been conditioned to sit on their hands.

I get what you say mu hilltopper.  Reseating put us in some outstanding upper bowl seats.  I won't mention exactly where because I'll be sitting by these folks for some time.  As early 80s graduates (you do the math), we are by far the youngest folks in the immediate area.  And while I understand that someone in their upper 70s might not participate in 'Jump Around', I have to say the totally sitting on one's hands while wearing the gold sweatervest doesn't lead to a lot of energy in the building.  

I was on one occasion somewhat miffed when this same group took exception to some younger folks who had legitimately sat in adjacent seats (maybe via a Stubhub purchase, etc.) and stood occasionally to cheer partially obstructing their view.

I'll take my late father's philosophy:  "Why the heck would I ever want to live in an age restricted community?  Nothing but complaining old people and no pretty girls."

[BrewCity83]

The enthusiasm (or lack thereof) is definitely contagious.  We need to cheer more and louder, and get the people we bring to the games to do the same.  Get your own section going a little bit.  It helps.  We are either part of the problem or part of the solution.

As for the Tuesday nights...
Everybody in town likes to go out and do something on Friday night and Saturday night.  Lots of the older folks and parents with kids don't really care to go out on a week night because it's a school night, there's work the next day, it's harder to get babysitters, blah blah blah
Also, there's way less drinking on a Tuesday than on a Saturday.  Especially for grownups.  That leads to less noise and less enthusiasm in the building.

[96warrior]

In that instance, Anderson had just fouled out for USF and they were doing the "left, right, sit down!" bit.  Anderson sat down just as Jae shot the free throw, and the crowd yelled "sit down" at that moment.  If it was planned by Anderson, it was a smart move, but our crowd has to pay attention to the situation.

Oh, ok...thanks for that clarification!

EDIT: my bad, didn't read the thread about "Automatic" before posting this. That really is the most ridiculous thing ever. Who chants during their players' free throws?!?

[Tugg Speedman]

Is Pottawatomie serious about building an arena in the valley?

This is about the only way we can change our home court in the next 30 years.

[frozena pizza]

Another factor has to be that so many games are on TV.  During the dead of winter a lot of students and other fans would rather stay in and get the game on TV.

Also, as for Tuesday nights, you have to realize that there are a ton of MU full or partial season ticket holders who do not live near the Bradley Center.  Many are in Chicago or other place over an hour from Milwaukee.  Those fans simply can't get to the BC for a 7 PM game on Tuesday but will make the trip for a Saturday game against a big name opponent. 

[Stretchdeltsig]

We live almost two hours away.  It's hard to drive to week day games because of work and the drive time.  Wish more home games were on week-ends.  Also, it should be noted that just about every game is televised now. 

[Goose]

TV definitely has an impact on the crowd to some degree. However, I do think there are other factors that play into. In my family we have twelve season tickets and every game this season I have received calls from family members wantiing to know if we need additional tickets. The ages of season ticket holders in my family ranges from 28-75, so a good spread to judge from. Usually the one's not going are out of laziness and not other activities.

In my opinion, MU and Buzz have not done a great job marketing the program and/or its players. Times have changed and you need to give people a reason to get downtown. I have had more MU chatter amongst old classmates and friends than usual, but most is online chatter and not at the game talk.

This is an exciting team with high entertainment value in my opinion. Wish there was a way to get the students to buy into more.

[Golden Avalanche]

Another factor has to be that so many games are on TV.  During the dead of winter a lot of students and other fans would rather stay in and get the game on TV.

Also, as for Tuesday nights, you have to realize that there are a ton of MU full or partial season ticket holders who do not live near the Bradley Center.  Many are in Chicago or other place over an hour from Milwaukee.  Those fans simply can't get to the BC for a 7 PM game on Tuesday but will make the trip for a Saturday game against a big name opponent. 

I think just the opposite. Lived in Chicago for six years whilst being a STH. The 7.00 P.M. start is the optimal slot for that drive. The early game at 6.00 P.M. is hard due to school/work/traffic whereas the late game at 8.00 P.M. is the one you slag off laziness on.

The weak economy line always strikes me funny. The problem isn't tickets sold as that number is always impressive. People are actually spending their discretionary income; they're simply not attending the game. Weird.

At some point, it'd be interesting to see the number of STHs who buy simply to go to four or five of the "sexy" opponents since they feel the mini-packs don't serve their needs. Afterall, it seems the opponent matters more to many fans than Marquette does.

[Tugg Speedman]

Nationally MU is the only non-football team in the top 20 of attendance.  Translated, it does not have a undergrad population of 20,000 to 40,000 to fill a stadium that sits on its campus.  Given that constraint, its attendance numbers are a remarkable achievement.

This thread is about a problem that 99% of the schools would love to have, including Duke.  MU sold 13,700 tickets to a game with a school no one cares about.  Maybe a 1,000 to 1,500 students showed up, which is twice what Duke gets.

What is the problem? 

[lab_warrior]

You know that MU is playing well when this thread appears.

Yeah, that, and psychoanalysts wondering about players' demeanors.  When we win, people have to scrape the bottom of the barrel, I guess.

[Goose]

Golden--
I do think the economy does play into for non student STH. I have heard from many friends and family over past couple years is they look at the tickets as their contributing to the school. Usually that is followed by "why compound the waste of money (on bad game night) by paying for parking, dinner or drinks?"

I will admit there have been a couple of times I have made similar decision. I realize there are parking options and not a need to go for dinner or drinks, but having gone to games for 40 years dinner and drinks is part of the event. Nothing I enjoy more than a fun pregame crowd at a bar to make the night more exciting.

[mu_hilltopper]

This thread is about a problem that 99% of the schools would love to have, including Duke.  MU sold 13,700 tickets to a game with a school no one cares about.   What is the problem? 

The problem is .. it's not all about attendance figures.   

I'd rather be a part of 5,000 rowdy fans than 19,000 quiet fans, politely gazing on the game.  I imagine the team would agree.  MU's accountants are the ones who would disagree.

[Golden Avalanche]

Golden--
I do think the economy does play into for non student STH. I have heard from many friends and family over past couple years is they look at the tickets as their contributing to the school. Usually that is followed by "why compound the waste of money (on bad game night) by paying for parking, dinner or drinks?"

I will admit there have been a couple of times I have made similar decision. I realize there are parking options and not a need to go for dinner or drinks, but having gone to games for 40 years dinner and drinks is part of the event. Nothing I enjoy more than a fun pregame crowd at a bar to make the night more exciting.

I can see that part of it but it still strikes me strange.

Certainly, if the person is willing to drop $300-800 on a packet but isn't all that bothered with missing games during the season why don't they stop wasting most of that money and buy a mini-pack (and even add some other games through secondary) and use the extra cash saved for the dinner and drinks?

In the end, it's discretionary cash and people can use it to waste or use it to indulge. That's the beauty of it. And, full disclosure, I know my thinking is colored by living in New Jersey and not being able to attend as many games as I'd like.

[warriorchick]

selected BE attendance numbers from last year.

#11 Marquette Golden Eagles - 280,545 - 15,586 - 18 games
#25 Georgetown Hoyas - 177,448 - 12,675 - 14 games
#32 Connecticut Huskies - 196,671 - 11,569 - 17 games
#38 Villanova Wildcats - 178,692 - 10,511 - 17 games

If we suck, the rest have already swallowed.

(FYI - we were third in the BE is attendance behind #2 Syracuse and #3 Louisville)

And unlike Marquette, I believe neither Louisville nor Syracuse has any professional teams or other D1 sports programs to compete with for ticket dollars.  Makes our numbers even more impressive.  

[WI inferiority Complexes]

Golden--
I do think the economy does play into for non student STH. I have heard from many friends and family over past couple years is they look at the tickets as their contributing to the school. Usually that is followed by "why compound the waste of money (on bad game night) by paying for parking, dinner or drinks?"

I love having season tickets; my wife and I are both alums, we take the kids, accumulate points, and feel like we are giving back to MU in exchange for a relatively-inexpensive good time.

That said, we drive 80 miles each way to get to a game, I drink $22.50 in Miller Lite while there (which is a neccessity...damnit), and pay $5 to park on the other side of the convention center.  We leave at 5:00 for a 7:00 tipoff and get home usually around 11:00.  We go to damn near every game, but the few times we do stay home we do save a nice chunk of change and time. (Tickets themselves are only $18.15/each).

[Tugg Speedman]

And unlike Marquette, I believe neither Louisville nor Syracuse has any professional teams or other D1 sports programs to compete with for ticket dollars.  Makes our numbers even more impressive.  

Mu enrollment - 8,000
Syracuse enrollment - 20,000
Louisville enrollment - 19,700

Given their size relative to MU means they also have several thousand more students that can attend.  It also means they have tens of thousands of more alumni with an allegiance to the school.

Given all this you would think we would have a hard time drawing more than 10,000 a game, like 'nova.  Instead we draw like a large state school that has a football program that gets 80,000 on a fall Saturday.

MU stands alone in its ability to draw fans when compared to other basketball only private institution (only non-football school in the top 20 of national attendance).  We know know it draws better than Duke for crying out loud!  Our ability to fill an NBA arena with only 8,000 undergrad (something Georgetown cannot do!) is one of the biggest assets of our program. 

Yet this thread is about how our crowds "suck."  Some people are so clueless.

[Steve Buscemi]

All of the BE games up until last nights game were during break.  That takes away roughly 1/2 of the students from being on campus.  The announced attendance may have been 13k last night, but there is no way more than 10k were there.

Did you count?

[Steve Buscemi]

And unlike Marquette, I believe neither Louisville nor Syracuse has any professional teams or other D1 sports programs to compete with for ticket dollars.  Makes our numbers even more impressive.  

Except City of Louisville splits roughly half of the people that would want to attend a college basketball game with UK fans.

[Mr. Nielsen]

How many student tickets did MU sell this year?

3,670

[warriorchick]

Except City of Louisville splits roughly half of the people that would want to attend a college basketball game with UK fans.

Ummm.....Kentucky is about an hour and a half away from Louisville.  About the same distance as Marquette is from University of Wisconsin-Madison. But I am sure there aren't many Badger fans in Milwaukee.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I might get grilled for this, but I don't really care.

I am student. I have gone to most games while being a student at MU. Most of the ones I have missed have been due to not being in Milwaukee. But, I get why some students don't go to the games. Watching the game from the upper deck sucks, the tickets have gotten to be more expensive in recent years (although they are still quite affordable), and watching from the TV while enjoying several brews that are not $8 a pop doesn't suck.

In addition, I consider myself a pretty big MU fan. I have watched every single game in the past three seasons, and I get super excited about every single one of them. With that said, when I go to the games, I prefer to sit down. I don't feel the need to stand up and partake in all of the student cheers. I get up and get pumped at exciting times, obviously, but I don't stand up and act like a buffoon the whole game. Does that make me a crapty fan? I sure don't think so. I follow the team a lot more than most of the people who do partake.

I think the crowds are fine. They definitely need to stop saying "the best student section in the country", however. It is hardly that. But when you get an average at best Big East team on weekday night, most student ticket holders who aren't huge fans are not going to go to the game. Get used to it. The students largely get up for the big games against top 25 opponents.