Last Night's Student Section = Weak Sauce

[MUfan2]

Yeah, that's right, you're being called out.  You have a top 10-15 team, playing their 3rd to last home game of the year, against a quality opponent that has been playing well as of late...and you guys drop the ball.  Bottom level wasn't even completely full, we saw whole rows of the section behind the band open, and there were maybe 100 scattered in the first few rows of the upper deck.  You can't use midterms as an excuse as they are two weeks away. 

Very disappointing.  I expect nothing short of chaos next Wednesday.  You need to go and redeem yourselves. 

[mosarsour]

Yeah, that's right, you're being called out.  You have a top 10-15 team, playing their 3rd to last home game of the year, against a quality opponent that has been playing well as of late...and you guys drop the ball.  Bottom level wasn't even completely full, we saw whole rows of the section behind the band open, and there were maybe 100 scattered in the first few rows of the upper deck.  You can't use midterms as an excuse as they are two weeks away. 

Very disappointing.  I expect nothing short of chaos next Wednesday.  You need to go and redeem yourselves. 

I'm not even a student and I'm taking a half day from work to attend. Plus the UCONN game is already sold out so the crowd should be phenomenal.

[robmufan]

Yeah, that's right, you're being called out.  You have a top 10-15 team, playing their 3rd to last home game of the year, against a quality opponent that has been playing well as of late...and you guys drop the ball.  Bottom level wasn't even completely full, we saw whole rows of the section behind the band open, and there were maybe 100 scattered in the first few rows of the upper deck.  You can't use midterms as an excuse as they are two weeks away. 

Very disappointing.  I expect nothing short of chaos next Wednesday.  You need to go and redeem yourselves. 

A thread like this is started every year.  You could yell whatever you want, but it will get you no where!  I would spend some time watching the first MU Big East game ever and get pumped for this one!

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

I'm not going to call out the students for last night, but I will say that I'm sitting in a night class right now, and from those I've talked to today so far and in previous weeks, there should be maybe 5 or 6 students here max next week.

I wouldn't sweat one bit over student turnout for next week. 

[bs4173]

I'm not going to call out the students for last night, but I will say that I'm sitting in a night class right now, and from those I've talked to today so far and in previous weeks, there should be maybe 5 or 6 students here max next week.

I wouldn't sweat one bit over student turnout for next week. 

+1. Everybody I know is skipping class...except me because i have a midterm. i'll be there by 5:30ish 

[dcmk89]

The ones that were there stepped up for the two technicals. It got really loud.

And no, the showing wasnt that bad. The bottom bowl was filled, which on a tuesday night against a team everyone thought was bad (Seton Hall isn't that bad, but people think so), isn't that bad.

[GuyIncognito]

If only all the fans were as excited as this guy...

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/VqMAziLYe_U&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/VqMAziLYe_U&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1</a>

[mu_hilltopper]

Clearly, we gotta stop the announcement about the "Best Student Section in the Country" before games, after showings like last night. 

[MUWeb7]

Excited marquette fan = mucrew.     

There ya go kyle...

[spartan3186]

oh Kyle...

[MarquetteFan94]

I have to agree with this thread.  Those students that were there did a nice job....but where was everyone else?!  I don't get it.  Top 10 team, 3rd to last opportunity to watch an amazing group of seniors and there were barely any students in the upper deck....baffling.

[MUUWUWM]

honestly?....I'd cut the student section by 1500 seats.

[Warrior1969]

Just pathetic, what exactly would it take to get the students all there?  as stated already, top ten team, three games left!  They are so predictable, of course next week its a big name top rated team so they will all show up.  Well last nights game was important as well.  How many students have night classes, just pathetic!

[muwarrior87]

I do and will be at the game anyway next week as I have for every other game this year when i was in the state. (a visit to Dallas around New Years are the only games I missed)  Hopefully the rest of the student body realizes that this is going to be a special run to the finish of the season.  The next two at home are absolutely HUGE! Win over Uconn would help a ton in the race for the conference title and senior night should be something special as well.

[warrior_rugby15]

Marquette students ain't what they use to be. They worry way to much about grades now. They don't even realize that these are the best years of their lives and be able to get hammered and root for your hoops team on a Tuesday night.
Plus Angelo's getting raided by the cops last night after the game isn't cool either.

[muwarrior87]

I actually had an alum come up to me during halftime and say there are some ppl in their 70's that were more energetic than parts of the student section. You're only here for a few years, unless you're Ahoya  , and it's worth it to miss a class or two to take in a game...but I guess if you have a test during that time slot there isn't much you can realistically do.

[Moonboots]

Yeah last night was weak.  I honestly thought there wouldn't be a "We Are Marquette" chant during intros until someone in our row finally got it going just before they announced the lineups.  My sore throat didn't give me enough to start it up, only join in.

I honestly at least expected the upper bowl to have scattered pockets of students, if not fuller than that.  I was underwhelmed.  I'll be skipping class and heading to the BC at 2-ish next Wednesday, and plan to enjoy every minute of it.

[MilWarrior]

The "best student section in the country" has always been laughable to me. Kind of like a local restaurant saying, "World's Best Pizza".

[Markusquette]

I was actually a bit surprised for the turnout on a weekday night.  I mean it wasn't full but it was very loud at times.

[massmu]

   as a current student i was disappointed as well but calling students out on this site isn't going to do much when you consider how few students are here. everyone here realizes the importance of each game and how much a home court advantage helps a team, however the majority of students can't even name ten big east teams and as a result they don't show up for weekday games against teams that arent ranked. that being said, every weekend game the student section will be filled and loud as hell. i mean, we are the number one student section in the country

[MUsoxfan]

My freshman year there was barely a student section at all.

Now it's full on the weekends and half-full during the week.  Sounds about right.   Marquette's tuition has skyrocketed in the last 10 years and these kids take class seriously.  About half of the undergrads have student season tickets which is a huge number.   It's reasonable to expect a large chunk of those students to study on a Tuesday night when a BE bottom-feeder comes to town.

As long as it fills up on the weekends and for huge weekday games, I'm cool with that. 

[Desert_Eagle]

Could we please stop this stupid thread from being started every year? Boo-hoo, the student section isn't the best in the nation (as if that is actually a serious claim or something we all believe). Do we not have better things to talk about?

And thank you MUsoxfan for stating the situation so well and thinking like a reasonable person. We students love basketball at Marquette, but it's not the only thing we do.

[rocky_warrior]

We students love basketball at Marquette, but it's not the only thing we do.

Heh - you know, I think a lot of the angst from alums comes from the fact that nearly everybody attending MU could take 6 hours out of their week too go to a Big East basketball game (assuming 2 home games per week, 3 hours per game including travel time).

Seriously, skipping a max of 6 hours of sleep in a week for an 18-21 year old college kid?  I spent more time than that playing video games when I was in college.  Did I go to every home game? No.  Do I wish I would have now?  Yes.

The students are great, but we're like pushy parents, we always know you could be better. 

[Doris Burkes Thong]

Dickey Simpkins was at the game last night and he told me MU's student section = Hot Sauce.

[krocheck]

You don't know what you've got until you don't have it anymore.

I'd give anything to go to every game MU game (and have my front-row Band seat back), but I'm a poor alumnus now 

Keith

[Ahoya06]

You're only here for a few years, unless you're Ahoya 

Zing!

I think I'm gonna keep the old man seats in 428 during grad school, though...

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

Two things to munch over. The first thing to remember is the MU Student Section is what? 3k seats? When you consider that culturally, on a whole, undergrads tend to have more of a connection to the college's sports teams than the grad students, that equates to almost one out of every two undergrads.

If you want to cut the size of the student section 1.) You're not going to have the demand to fill those empty seats except for really big games (as evident by the half-empty upper deck during buy game season). You'll be trading fair-weather/big game students for fair-weather/big game alums and then you're right back where you started and 2.) that will only drive up demand for the remaining student seats, furthering the price increases in place the past few season. Student season tickets were as low as $55 only a few seasons ago.

Second, you think half the undergrads at Marquette are going to drop whatever they're doing because 5-7 in conference Seton Hall is coming to the BC? Please. While I got my MU studies and my MU education by (and Ahoya06, The General, and MUfan12 will certainly verify) blowing off more than enough classes, drinking more than enough dollar pitchers, and spending way more time freezing my stones off in line at the BC (even for like....Coppin State) than most, the thing to realize is exactly that...."than most."

MU Scoop and these message boards represents a tiny tiny tiny tiny slice of the Marquette community/fanbase. While there's certainly a difference of opinion across a lot of issues here, MUScoop and similar message boards are in a sense a bubbleworld. While it's nice to be able to communicate with MU fans across the country who have similar interests, it has a tendency to create a bit of unanimity of thought. The end result is that there is usually a twice-yearly thread about how "the student section sucks" or "man, back in my day we rode harder and drank longer and were way crazier than these kids." I'm guilty of it myself sometimes.

So while you'd have no problem getting half the Scoop board out to the BC for a Conference game midweek (especially those of us who remember the cringe-worthy C-USA years....East Carolina, Tulane, UAB, etc.), getting Joe Sophomore from Manitowoc who for whatever reason, never got into college basketball or Jane Casualfan from Downers Grove who bought her season tickets because she wanted to make the big games, or could maybe make 10 out of 18 home games requires a little more than a middle-of-the-pack* Big East team.




* While Hall was on a bit of a run, do you think someone who doesn't follow the conference as closely as we do would have known that?

[MarquetteFan94]

Heh - you know, I think a lot of the angst from alums comes from the fact that nearly everybody attending MU could take 6 hours out of their week too go to a Big East basketball game (assuming 2 home games per week, 3 hours per game including travel time).

Seriously, skipping a max of 6 hours of sleep in a week for an 18-21 year old college kid?  I spent more time than that playing video games when I was in college.  Did I go to every home game? No.  Do I wish I would have now?  Yes.

The students are great, but we're like pushy parents, we always know you could be better. 

Agreed.  The students are great....the ones that are there always bring it.  I don't buy the "we Marquette students have other things to do argument."  Really...like what?  Please don't tell me studying...it's a Tuesday night in February...it's 3 hours out of your day.  I understand not wanting to miss a class, but indifference or hanging out on your couch is not a good excuse.  This school hangs its hat on basketball, this team is top 10 and there's 3 frickin home games left for this group...get to the Bradley Center!  Ugh.

[Hards Alumni]

I went to every game I could have.

INCLUDING games against these prestigous highly touted basketball programs

East Carolina University
St. Louis University
University of Alabama-Birmingham
UNC-Charlotte
Tulane
Houston
TCU
Southern Miss

Lets not forget the marquee matchups against
Coppin St.
Texas San Antonio

but my favorite home game of all time:

Nike All Stars.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT I WOULD GIVE TO SEE MY TEAM PLAY IN THE BEAST WHILE I WAS A STUDENT?  DO YOU?

[MU B2002]

Lets not forget the marquee matchups against
Coppin St.

Was that at the Mecca? 

[LON]

Agreed.  The students are great....the ones that are there always bring it.  I don't buy the "we Marquette students have other things to do argument."  Really...like what?  Please don't tell me studying...it's a Tuesday night in February...it's 3 hours out of your day.  I understand not wanting to miss a class, but indifference or hanging out on your couch is not a good excuse.  This school hangs its hat on basketball, this team is top 10 and there's 3 frickin home games left for this group...get to the Bradley Center!  Ugh.

Couldn't agree more.

[mucrew08]

I was happy with the turnout for a Tuesday night, I thought it would be worse. This thread comes up all the time and its annoying, and its not just with our fans either. I was on the Georgetown board and their alumni complain to. When you think about how big the student section is and compare that with the undergrad population, we do just fine. While we are all huge basketball fans, there are quite a few students who don't care one bit about it. Be happy with the group that comes.

Just for the record I was the only one standing when the camera guy came...I had to yell

[foreverwarriors]

Completely agree with notkirkcameron.

There is a reason everyone that reads or posts on muscoop does so...it is because they feel invested and care deeply about the program and want to know in real time what is happening...I hate to break it to what seems to be a lot of you - outside of the outcome of the games and the ability to brag to others about a successful basketball team (or complain when a coach ditches his team), most people that "follow" Marquette basketball don't place much extra attention on it.

That's why unless the team is on a local station, out of town alums don't go out of their way to find a bar where it is playing - they only complain to those who did watch it about what they think happened in a loss.

That's why most fans probably don't know anything about incoming recruiting classes until after the season is over (and in most cases when the school year starts and the basketball season gets near) - how many times do any of you here need to explain to people that just because the three amigos are done after this year, next year will not be awful...that we have a spectacular class coming in.

For the majority of us on this board, Marquette basketball can be considered our top (or one of our top) passions in life. For the majority of Marquette students and alumni, there are many, MANY other things in life that come before Marquette basketball - clubs, student goverment, church, academics etc. Sure they are passionate about Marquette basketball when it falls in line with their priorities, but that passion will definitely then be saved for the games they attend.

It is not like this isn't commonplace nationwide. With the exception of very few schools, the vast majority of student bases are simply game-passionate fans...which is exactly why when I tell people that graduated from other schools (and even those that wen tto MU) that I am going to 4 of the final 5 games of the season - here in DC for Georgetown, traveling twice to Milwaukee and once to Pitt, they think I am crazy and throwing money out the window.

It's fine if you look at me wierd for saying I'm doing this - I'm probably going to look at you wierd if you were a student (or local alum) and said you weren't going to a game...but I'm not crazy...I just know where my passion lies.

[🏀]

Nike All Stars.

Excellent Matchup. The Wisconsin All-Stars were also stacked that year.

[dsfire]

Was that at the Mecca? 

Ark-Pine Bluff was the game at the Cell back in December '01, if that's what you're thinking of.  APB had a surprisingly large traveling crowd, which my roommate and I somehow ended up smack in the middle of with tickets we bought from a scalper.  They were pretty vocal for a team that got doubled up!

[Brewtown Andy]

Could we please stop this stupid thread from being started every year? Boo-hoo, the student section isn't the best in the nation (as if that is actually a serious claim or something we all believe). Do we not have better things to talk about?

The reason why it's worth starting is because invariably either the Tribune staff or a random student will write an opinion piece for the Tribune about how the student section needs to either be expanded or moved to along the sidelines.  None of these will happen when the athletic department keeps seeing showings like against Seton Hall.

[dsfire]

Excellent Matchup. The Wisconsin All-Stars were also stacked that year.

I miss those exhibition teams.  I think one of the other Nike All-Stars teams took out a team in the ACC the same night that we played.  I also remember Marathon Oil making the college circuit back in the 90s... always fun seeing some of the street ballers that end up on some of those teams.

[MU B2002]

Ark-Pine Bluff was the game at the Cell back in December '01, if that's what you're thinking of.  APB had a surprisingly large traveling crowd, which my roommate and I somehow ended up smack in the middle of with tickets we bought from a scalper.  They were pretty vocal for a team that got doubled up!

In an effort to not be lazy, I looked it up.  We played Coppin State at the Mecca in 1999.  I think I also remember the Ark Pine Bluff game.

[Badgerhater]

Expecting a G-Town or UW size student crowd for Seton Hall is not realistic, but Tuesday night was pathetic.  The student upper deck being a third full for a BE game should be the minimum for a university with hoops as its prime sport.

This whole "I have to study" excuse is simply BS.   A college student who does not have a PT job is the least busy person alive.    18 credits (more like 15) with two hours of studying (like who does that?) per credit is 54 hours over SEVEN days!   Leaving plenty of time to Wii, Facebook, text, hang in the coffee shop, get drunk, have sex (some things can be multi-tasked!), eat, sleep and GO TO THE MARQUETTE GAME!

If college students think they are busy now...just wait until they enter the adult world with a real job and a family!......and one where they have to pay big bucks to get a lower bowl seat in the BC for a Marquette game.

[MarquetteFan94]

Expecting a G-Town or UW size student crowd for Seton Hall is not realistic, but Tuesday night was pathetic.  The student upper deck being a third full for a BE game should be the minimum for a university with hoops as its prime sport.

This whole "I have to study" excuse is simply BS.   A college student who does not have a PT job is the least busy person alive.    18 credits (more like 15) with two hours of studying (like who does that?) per credit is 54 hours over SEVEN days!   Leaving plenty of time to Wii, Facebook, text, hang in the coffee shop, get drunk, have sex (some things can be multi-tasked!), eat, sleep and GO TO THE MARQUETTE GAME!

If college students think they are busy now...just wait until they enter the adult world with a real job and a family!......and one where they have to pay big bucks to get a lower bowl seat in the BC for a Marquette game.

Well played sir.

[Tribby]

For the majority of us on this board, Marquette basketball can be considered our top (or one of our top) passions in life. For the majority of Marquette students and alumni, there are many, MANY other things in life that come before Marquette basketball - clubs, student goverment, church, academics etc. Sure they are passionate about Marquette basketball when it falls in line with their priorities, but that passion will definitely then be saved for the games they attend.

+1

[LON]

+1

So it's ok to demonstrate school spirit, only when it falls in line with your priorities?

Sorry, poor poor showing for a BE game.  If I were still a student I'd be ashamed.

[MarquetteFan94]

For the majority of us on this board, Marquette basketball can be considered our top (or one of our top) passions in life. For the majority of Marquette students and alumni, there are many, MANY other things in life that come before Marquette basketball - clubs, student goverment, church, academics etc. Sure they are passionate about Marquette basketball when it falls in line with their priorities, but that passion will definitely then be saved for the games they attend.

Clearly you're a passionate fan so this is not directed to you and I understand the angle you're taking with your post.  I still don't buy the "priorities" debate.

Men's basketball games represent the one time the student body can come together in large numbers to show their spirit and represent the school....not to mention have a great time.   I wouldn't expect all the students to be lined up for 6 hours with their faces painted before every game...but, honestly, students now don't know how good they have it with this team. 

If we can't get students into the upper level for a conference game when we're ranked 10th in the country after 3 consecutive NCAA appearances how are things going be next year when we'll be forturnate to be in the bubble or NIT conversations?

Again, the studying argument doesn't work, it's 3 hours out of a day.  If kids can't move their club meeting to accomodate a game then so be it and I'm pretty sure there's not a 7pm mass on Tuesday nights.  To me it's indifference....which is hard to understand given the success of the team, the fun had while attending games, etc.

[Ari Gold]

notkirkcameron is right. Obviously a lot of you folk are just old and have that "back in my day we were better..." philosophy even though lets be honest, you weren't and you had some bad showings back in your day too. Right some of you spent 16 hours waiting outside for UAB or whatever, but most of your classmates didn't.  Hell I didnt even wait outside for more than 3 hours for Georgetown. Why not? Because I am smart enough to realize that if I get in line at 10am I'll still have lower bowl seats and therefore don't need to need to camp out.  As for the Seton Hall game let me offer a few insights into why the student section was "weak sauce"

A) it's Seton Hall... they suck. No way around that and they aren't a rival.  Since we're playing them on a Tuesday, is it really worth it to venture out to watch a 15 point win? MU tickets are really only worth 5-6 games. UW, Gtown, ND, Lville DePaul and whichever Big East team is ranked and unnamed in the prior. Outside of that, most games are watchable from the dorm room.
b) unlike some of you who probably skated by on a 2.5 and say studying doesnt matter... things have changed a bit here since the mid 90s, studying is important and along those lines it's actually close to mid-terms. If you have a 3 paper/test class before finals those are either happening this week or next, so I don't fault students for taking some time out to study
c) there has been a virus going around campus. There is, on average, there are about 5-8 students missing class. Now unlike some of you that'll claim that as long as you're in remission or can bring an IV into a game, most (all) students will skip a game or two if they are sick. -For the record I consider myself an above well above average  MU fan but even I missed UWM because I was too sick.-


Clearly you old guys just need to quit crying that the students don't meet your expectations. they don't care.

[MarquetteFan94]

notkirkcameron is right. Obviously a lot of you folk are just old and have that "back in my day we were better..." philosophy even though lets be honest, you weren't and you had some bad showings back in your day too. Right some of you spent 16 hours waiting outside for UAB or whatever, but most of your classmates didn't.  Hell I didnt even wait outside for more than 3 hours for Georgetown. Why not? Because I am smart enough to realize that if I get in line at 10am I'll still have lower bowl seats and therefore don't need to need to camp out.  As for the Seton Hall game let me offer a few insights into why the student section was "weak sauce"

A) it's Seton Hall... they suck. No way around that and they aren't a rival.  Since we're playing them on a Tuesday, is it really worth it to venture out to watch a 15 point win? MU tickets are really only worth 5-6 games. UW, Gtown, ND, Lville DePaul and whichever Big East team is ranked and unnamed in the prior. Outside of that, most games are watchable from the dorm room.
b) unlike some of you who probably skated by on a 2.5 and say studying doesnt matter... things have changed a bit here since the mid 90s, studying is important and along those lines it's actually close to mid-terms. If you have a 3 paper/test class before finals those are either happening this week or next, so I don't fault students for taking some time out to study
c) there has been a virus going around campus. There is, on average, there are about 5-8 students missing class. Now unlike some of you that'll claim that as long as you're in remission or can bring an IV into a game, most (all) students will skip a game or two if they are sick. -For the record I consider myself an above well above average  MU fan but even I missed UWM because I was too sick.-


Clearly you old guys just need to quit crying that the students don't meet your expectations. they don't care.

Interesting introduction to the board.  Very respectful.  My point exactly....indifference.

[tower912]

I was there straddling the Majerus and Dukiet eras and I never missed a home game.   I sat through Canisius and Fordham and Niagara and Western Michigan and Chicago St and Loyola (Chi) when we were actually nervous about beating them.    There were lots of fair-weather fans back then, too, but I wasn't one of them.    We weren't in a conference then and we were never ranked  and we never once beat ND in my 4 years.    Miss a conference game because it is on a Tuesday against  a non-ranked team?    Weak

[LON]

notkirkcameron is right. Obviously a lot of you folk are just old and have that "back in my day we were better..." philosophy even though lets be honest, you weren't and you had some bad showings back in your day too. Right some of you spent 16 hours waiting outside for UAB or whatever, but most of your classmates didn't.  Hell I didnt even wait outside for more than 3 hours for Georgetown. Why not? Because I am smart enough to realize that if I get in line at 10am I'll still have lower bowl seats and therefore don't need to need to camp out.  As for the Seton Hall game let me offer a few insights into why the student section was "weak sauce"

A) it's Seton Hall... they suck. No way around that and they aren't a rival.  Since we're playing them on a Tuesday, is it really worth it to venture out to watch a 15 point win? MU tickets are really only worth 5-6 games. UW, Gtown, ND, Lville DePaul and whichever Big East team is ranked and unnamed in the prior. Outside of that, most games are watchable from the dorm room.
b) unlike some of you who probably skated by on a 2.5 and say studying doesnt matter... things have changed a bit here since the mid 90s, studying is important and along those lines it's actually close to mid-terms. If you have a 3 paper/test class before finals those are either happening this week or next, so I don't fault students for taking some time out to study
c) there has been a virus going around campus. There is, on average, there are about 5-8 students missing class. Now unlike some of you that'll claim that as long as you're in remission or can bring an IV into a game, most (all) students will skip a game or two if they are sick. -For the record I consider myself an above well above average  MU fan but even I missed UWM because I was too sick.-


Clearly you old guys just need to quit crying that the students don't meet your expectations. they don't care.

Undergrad '06
Graduate degree '07

Not an old guy, and yes, we did do it better.

[Brewtown Andy]

Expecting a G-Town or UW size student crowd for Seton Hall is not realistic, but Tuesday night was pathetic.  The student upper deck being a third full for a BE game should be the minimum for a university with hoops as its prime sport.

This whole "I have to study" excuse is simply BS.   A college student who does not have a PT job is the least busy person alive.    18 credits (more like 15) with two hours of studying (like who does that?) per credit is 54 hours over SEVEN days!   Leaving plenty of time to Wii, Facebook, text, hang in the coffee shop, get drunk, have sex (some things can be multi-tasked!), eat, sleep and GO TO THE MARQUETTE GAME!

I admit it, I laughed at the placing of the parenthetical comment.

[Badgerhater]

Just don't multi-task the wrong things!

[MUsoxfan]

I was there straddling the Majerus and Dukiet eras and I never missed a home game.   I sat through Canisius and Fordham and Niagara and Western Michigan and Chicago St and Loyola (Chi) when we were actually nervous about beating them.    There were lots of fair-weather fans back then, too, but I wasn't one of them.    We weren't in a conference then and we were never ranked  and we never once beat ND in my 4 years.    Miss a conference game because it is on a Tuesday against  a non-ranked team?    Weak

 

[DJO's Pump Fake]

Could we please stop this stupid thread from being started every year? Boo-hoo, the student section isn't the best in the nation (as if that is actually a serious claim or something we all believe). Do we not have better things to talk about?

And thank you MUsoxfan for stating the situation so well and thinking like a reasonable person. We students love basketball at Marquette, but it's not the only thing we do.

Desert Eagle I think you meant:

OH BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[MUsoxfan]

This is from last season, but I can't imagine much has changed.     You guys whine about not being able to fill up a 4,000 seat student section when Duke and their fabled "Cameron Crazies" can't get 1,200 to half their games. 


http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3100960

People are goofing on others for saying "Well, you guys just like telling people how great you had it back in the day when you were here and how you think everything was better."       I'm here to tell you how great you have it here now.  I've been pretty proud of the student section every time I've driven up to see a game this year. 


It's simply not with in the realm of being reasonable to expect a full house in the student section for every game.  Yes, there were a handful of us here that post at this forum dedicated to MU bball that went to every game.   That passion does not convey to the casual fan when they have other things on their plate.    Simply by being a Student Season ticket holder does not make someone a great fan, but it's nice to have them whenever possible

[HomeCourtAdvantage]

When it comes down to it, students should get their butts into the gym for every game.  I don't care if they're playing Marathon Oil, the power of a well-attended and energetic student section cannot be ignored.

[LON]

This is from last season, but I can't imagine much has changed.     You guys whine about not being able to fill up a 4,000 seat student section when Duke and their fabled "Cameron Crazies" can't get 1,200 to half their games. 


http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3100960

People are goofing on others for saying "Well, you guys just like telling people how great you had it back in the day when you were here and how you think everything was better."       I'm here to tell you how great you have it here now.  I've been pretty proud of the student section every time I've driven up to see a game this year. 


It's simply not with in the realm of being reasonable to expect a full house in the student section for every game.  Yes, there were a handful of us here that post at this forum dedicated to MU bball that went to every game.   That passion does not convey to the casual fan when they have other things on their plate.    Simply by being a Student Season ticket holder does not make someone a great fan, but it's nice to have them whenever possible

My issue isn't with filling it completely up on Tuesday, I know that's going to be tough unless it's a very highly rated opponent or rival.

I don't know if you saw it on Tuesday though, there was barely ANYONE in the upper level student section and the lower bowl section wasn't nearly full as well.

[foreverwarriors]

So it's ok to demonstrate school spirit, only when it falls in line with your priorities?

Who ever said that attending Marquette basketball games is the only way to show school spirit? How do you know that the activities they are doing that keeps them from attending games is not how they show their pride in their school?

Quite a few times through my time at Marquette, I would have to attend state, regional and national conferences that meant I would miss games - and everytime, it gave me the ability to showcase my pride and school spirit to other schools nationwide.

Men's basketball games represent the one time the student body can come together in large numbers to show their spirit and represent the school....not to mention have a great time.   I wouldn't expect all the students to be lined up for 6 hours with their faces painted before every game...but, honestly, students now don't know how good they have it with this team. 

If we can't get students into the upper level for a conference game when we're ranked 10th in the country after 3 consecutive NCAA appearances how are things going be next year when we'll be forturnate to be in the bubble or NIT conversations?

Again, the studying argument doesn't work, it's 3 hours out of a day.  If kids can't move their club meeting to accomodate a game then so be it and I'm pretty sure there's not a 7pm mass on Tuesday nights.  To me it's indifference....which is hard to understand given the success of the team, the fun had while attending games, etc.

I agree that there are few events where Marquette as a whole can come together as one, but basketball games are by no means the only (Hunger Cleanup, Mass of the Holy Spirit, Al's Run, etc). I agree that students don't know what they have in this team...but at the same time, by saying that, they didn't know what they had in 02-03 - we have already passed the total season attendance from that entire season and with only 30k more this season, this season will be the most attended season of all time (yes I realize that takes all seats into account, but the students are a big chunk of that seating).

I do not agree with you thinking that indifference is the cause of them not going to games. On any given game night, there are probably close to 50 other things that any given student could choose to do that is related to Marquette. Just because you have the most fun attending a game does not mean that everyone else does. While they care about the game and the team, they get more enjoyment and fun (and, yes, may even feel they are showing more school spirit) out of another activity.

[1617novakn]

Oh the good ole days.... I genuinely want to barf.

A previous poster nailed it on the head. MU students aren't satisfied with a 2.5 anymore. This school is trying to do something more than produce a good basketball team. If you haven't noticed, the school itself is moving up the academic rankings just as fast as the basketball team.

And stop calling this a "Big East" game. St. Johns vs Depaul is a Big East game, do you want to go see that. Quit being shell shocked by the BEast. Call it what it was, a game against a crapty crapty Seton Hall team.

For whoever posted that they were a MU grad in 06 and they "did it better"...that is a joke. I came here in 05 and can say that is 100% not true.

I apologize that you guys miss your college days, but please, dont feel sorry for us. We are having more than our share of fun, getting good grades, and FILING the Bradley Center with regularity.

[MUUWUWM]

Oh the good ole days.... I genuinely want to barf.

A previous poster nailed it on the head. MU students aren't satisfied with a 2.5 anymore. This school is trying to do something more than produce a good basketball team. If you haven't noticed, the school itself is moving up the academic rankings just as fast as the basketball team.

And stop calling this a "Big East" game. St. Johns vs Depaul is a Big East game, do you want to go see that. Quit being shell shocked by the BEast. Call it what it was, a game against a crapty crapty Seton Hall team.

For whoever posted that they were a MU grad in 06 and they "did it better"...that is a joke. I came here in 05 and can say that is 100% not true.

I apologize that you guys miss your college days, but please, dont feel sorry for us. We are having more than our share of fun, getting good grades, and FILING the Bradley Center with regularity.


Filling the Bradley  Center with regularity??.....Hardly!

2000 seats max for the students and you'll still fill the seats for only 2-4 games a year.

[romey]

Oh the good ole days.... I genuinely want to barf.

A previous poster nailed it on the head. MU students aren't satisfied with a 2.5 anymore. This school is trying to do something more than produce a good basketball team. If you haven't noticed, the school itself is moving up the academic rankings just as fast as the basketball team.

And stop calling this a "Big East" game. St. Johns vs Depaul is a Big East game, do you want to go see that. Quit being shell shocked by the BEast. Call it what it was, a game against a crapty crapty Seton Hall team.

For whoever posted that they were a MU grad in 06 and they "did it better"...that is a joke. I came here in 05 and can say that is 100% not true.

I apologize that you guys miss your college days, but please, dont feel sorry for us. We are having more than our share of fun, getting good grades, and FILING the Bradley Center with regularity.

I'm sorry, I can't resist............  Maybe you should study even more, so you can learn how to spell.

[jmayer1]

Filling the Bradley  Center with regularity??.....Hardly!

2000 seats max for the students and you'll still fill the seats for only 2-4 games a year.

The student section is approximately 4,500.  Right now I would say it's almost completely filled at least 5 times a year if not more (I can't go to every game because I live in Chicago).  The lower level of the student section is probably almost 2,000 and that's filled almost every game I would venture to say.

I'm not sure why this topic always comes up.  Do you think if the student section was smaller that those tickets would be bought by other fans?  I think that's highly doubtful.  The attendance of the student section tends to correlate with the attendance for the rest of the seats sans season ticket holders.  For big games, the student section is packed as is the rest of the Bradley Center.  For lower games the student section attendance is down as is the rest of the arena.  I think the size and location of the student section is good right now. 

Some of you can chrip all you want about how you went to every game when you were there but I guarantee student attendance is higher now than it was during most of the 80's and 90's.  Heck, I know itss higher than when I first started going to games (2001) when I could walk in just before tip and get a lower level seat for most games with the exception of Cincy and Louisville.  Obviously, a lot of that has to do with the fact that the team has experinced sustained success.

In my opinion both the "student section sucks" and "the student section should be bigger"/"the student section should be moved to surround the court" are dumb threads.  Unless the students start having significantly better/worse attendance there is no reason to change the current placement of the student section.

[1617novakn]

You're right, I actually spelled "crappy" wrong. No no...not a typo. I'm an idiot.

Regardless, I feel that last point is almost too good and too thorough to argue against. Very well put.

Also, why was the Duke Cameron Crazy article on the first page just swept under the rug? That is the best student section the nation isn't it?

"What? Wait a second....they don't fill out there much smaller student section? Well that takes away merit for our current MU student bashing, lets not address it at all."

[Brewtown Andy]

My issue isn't with filling it completely up on Tuesday, I know that's going to be tough unless it's a very highly rated opponent or rival.

I don't know if you saw it on Tuesday though, there was barely ANYONE in the upper level student section and the lower bowl section wasn't nearly full as well.

Here's the picture I took from my seats:  http://twitpic.com/1jo4s

[spartan3186]

I'm sorry, I can't resist............  Maybe you should study even more, so you can learn how to spell.

He didn't spell anything wrong "crapty" is an autocorrect from sh*tty.

[muhoosier260]

in three months when i graduate i don't plan on criticizing for the most part casual student fans who don't feel the need to go to a crummy game on a week night...a $4.88 ticket i remind you. maybe if tickets were pricier, students would feel more obligated to go to a game they otherwise wouldn't, but in that case they probably wouldn't buy tickets in the first place. so you tell me what would be best.
its selfish and stupid for people to criticize others and take offense for not going to a basketball game. i see the "when i was a student...." personal narratives as negatively and as circular as some see the "other priorities" argument. i guess it does offend some enough to make such a big deal about it though. i mean i thought it was a personal decision, but i guess buying a student ticket is a binding contract according to some.
i personally haven't missed a home game other than winter break games, but thats just me. i'm not going to crap on people who have other things to do or simply don't want to.

[romey]

He didn't spell anything wrong "crapty" is an autocorrect from sh*tty.

How about "filing" the Bradley center?

[Badgerhater]

How about "filing" the Bradley center?

There has probably been some DEfiling of the BC.