Game Day at the BC

[keefe]

How do you like your perogies and kielbasa prepared?

Who stole the Kishka?

[MerrittsMustache]

Not trying to be a downer or dismiss the ideas on this thread, but the problem with songs or extended chants during basketball games is that, unlike in soccer games, every 35 seconds (at the most) something happens. Whether it's a make, a miss, a turnover, a foul, whatever the case, there's action on the court. When there's action on the court, fans react and songs/chants end. Case in point, if either team scores before the "I Believe" chant is finished, it dies.

[Warrior Code]

I think with a little practice, people could get used to singing through whistles and scores and timeouts. We must be unrelenting!

[keefe]

I remember the pretentious wanna bes on Milwaukee's east side back in the day. Those trying so hard to be avant garde and who were apologetic to the point of being ashamed that they were from Milwaukee . I think of those idiots when I see the crowds kitted out in Sounders gear and singing songs walking to Century Link, mimicking European football customs and traditions.
 
If you need to dress and act European then move to Europe. But keep soccer bullsh1t out of college hoops. Singing at a sporting event that do not have that tradition is silly. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

This is what we should be doing

[brewcity77]

I think with a little practice, people could get used to singing through whistles and scores and timeouts. We must be unrelenting!

Or sing during the breaks to keep the energy in the building after timeouts.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Any legitimate questions yall want me to ask Wojo?

[keefe]

Any legitimate questions yall want me to ask Wojo?

Would he think people singing during time outs is weird or f#cking strange?

[Warrior Code]

Yea, I'm sure he would hate increased energy from the crowd. If you have a better idea, I am all ears.

[keefe]

Yea, I'm sure he would hate increased energy from the crowd. If you have a better idea, I am all ears.

Not sure people singing is the answer...

Bottom line - team wins the crowd responds. Trying to force enthusiasm rarely works

[brewcity77]

Any legitimate questions yall want me to ask Wojo?

Not sure how much Wojo has input on this, but if the question is the game day experience, here are my questions/thoughts:

1) Fans coming back late is a huge issue. Have they ever considered perhaps using the lights to notify fans when halftime is about to end, and possibly holding fans from entering until the next under-four-minute break?

2) All the T-shirts that came down in my section during the T-shirt drop were XS sizes. Great if you have kids, but for the rest of the world, those probably don't fit very well. Maybe a more universal size (Large, or maybe more likely XL given Milwaukee's population)?

3) The scoreboard stats are rarely accurate and updated.

4) This may be a Big East issue, but it'd be nice to see more extensive replays. It's disappointing when I know fans at home are getting a better look at the game than I am at the arena.

5) No offense intended, but they should drop the "Best Student Section in the Country" and actually give the Student Section a name. Maybe call it the Eagles' Nest, the Eyrie, I don't know...I just know that hearing "the best student..." every time from Mike Jakubowski, especially for buy games when the upper deck is empty and lower deck is 75% full feels like a complete misnomer. I don't mean this as a criticism of the students, just that giving the section a name would feel less disingenuous.

6) What happened to promotions? How about a gold-out where everyone gets a cheap gold T-shirt on their seat, where did the bobble-heads go, and in general, more entertainment during the breaks.

7) Many of the advertiser-sponsored events are just, well...lame. The dice throw often had issues, and the "pregame tie-breaker" was lame. If you have a tie, tell Qdoba to suck it up and give both rows burritos. The Grand Appliance Race is just ridiculous. Worst Sausage Race rip-off ever, especially as it is just a weak animated race of refrigerators and TVs bouncing down a track. I can't say I have a good answer, but maybe see what other teams/organizations do to make these sponsored events more exciting and interactive.

[warriorchick]

I hope that in addition to inviting kids like Chitown, Wojo also invited some students that only use their tickets sporadically, as well as students who don't buy season tickets at all.

Hard-core fans like Chitown are going to show up no matter what.  They need to find out what they need to do to get the other students to attend games.

[RJax55]

Hard-core fans like Chitown are going to show up no matter what.  They need to find out what they need to do to get the other students to attend games.

Win. Students are a bandwagon group.

[GGGG]

"You’ve been selected for an opportunity to meet with Coach Wojciechowski next week, based on your attendance history at Marquette basketball games this season. On Monday, May 4th, Coach Wojo invites you to the Al McGuire Center at 6PM to discuss the student section at basketball games, and ways to improve and enhance the in-game student fan experience. Food will also be provided, with an opportunity to see behind the scenes of Marquette basketball as well.
 
If you are able to attend, please RSVP online here by the end of the day tomorrow, Thursday, April 30th, to confirm your invitation and reserve a spot. Thanks for your continued support of Marquette basketball, and best of luck with finals next week."

Hey that's actually pretty cool.  Congrats.

[GOO]

Not sure how much Wojo has input on this, but if the question is the game day experience, here are my questions/thoughts:

1) Fans coming back late is a huge issue. Have they ever considered perhaps using the lights to notify fans when halftime is about to end, and possibly holding fans from entering until the next under-four-minute break?  This could help, but having more concession stands and more bathrooms would help as well.  If you want a beer and want to hit the can, it is usually difficult to do both and make it back to the seat in time.  And if you just get a beer, then you interfere with others when you get up to use the can after half

2) All the T-shirts that came down in my section during the T-shirt drop were XS sizes. Great if you have kids, but for the rest of the world, those probably don't fit very well. Maybe a more universal size (Large, or maybe more likely XL given Milwaukee's population)? Not an issue for me, if it is a random t-shirt there is no way to really fix this one

3) The scoreboard stats are rarely accurate and updated. I think they got better after the first half of the year, but I could be wrong.  Early on, they were really bad to the point that they may as well have turned them off and said "check your cell phone for stats."

4) This may be a Big East issue, but it'd be nice to see more extensive replays. It's disappointing when I know fans at home are getting a better look at the game than I am at the arena.  Biggest game day issue is one.  Drives me crazy and makes me think about the advantages of watching a game at home and without the expenses associated with coming to a game.  Being at the arena should be the better experience by far.. not something one has to question.

5) No offense intended, but they should drop the "Best Student Section in the Country" and actually give the Student Section a name. Maybe call it the Eagles' Nest, the Eyrie, I don't know...I just know that hearing "the best student..." every time from Mike Jakubowski, especially for buy games when the upper deck is empty and lower deck is 75% full feels like a complete misnomer. I don't mean this as a criticism of the students, just that giving the section a name would feel less disingenuous. I cringe when I hear "the best student section" at games when there are 200 students there, if that... e.g. break games.  It should only be used when the student section is completely full.  It is a joke otherwise, and the announcer has to have the freedom not to say it and the smarts to look at the section and determine when to say it or not. Embarrassing.  Draws attention to something that should not highlighted.

6) What happened to promotions? How about a gold-out where everyone gets a cheap gold T-shirt on their seat, where did the bobble-heads go, and in general, more entertainment during the breaks.  The game day is very stale.  And with more and longer breaks now that all games are on TV, more action during breaks would be nice.

7) Many of the advertiser-sponsored events are just, well...lame. The dice throw often had issues, and the "pregame tie-breaker" was lame. If you have a tie, tell Qdoba to suck it up and give both rows burritos. The Grand Appliance Race is just ridiculous. Worst Sausage Race rip-off ever, especially as it is just a weak animated race of refrigerators and TVs bouncing down a track. I can't say I have a good answer, but maybe see what other teams/organizations do to make these sponsored events more exciting and interactive. My response is the same as 6

The soccer atmosphere would be great. Yes, it would get interrupted by great plays, etc.  So what.  Get it back going.  It would be fun during time outs and keep the crowd going.  A festive party atmosphere wouldn't hurt getting the students to come to game either.  But, it can't be top down or it will fail.  Has to come from the students

[mu03eng]

Win. Students are a bandwagon group.

No Chick's right, you gotta find out how best to serve your customer.  Winning (and/or milkshakes) will bring the boys to the yard, but there needs to be more about the program than just winning.  There are some teams out there in football and basketball that have good to great atmosphere even with terrible teams.  They build a product that people want to be apart of because of the total package not just because they want to win.

[Spotcheck Billy]

Can we get better Wi-Fi in the Bradley Center?

[mu03eng]

Can we get better Wi-Fi in the Bradley Center?

This should definitely not be teal......and with increased wi-fi access they should move some promotional/engagement content from the scoreboard and court to our phones.

Offer in game, on-demand replays.  Offer quizzes.  Put lyrics to Keefe's hated sing a longs on the phone.  Engage the customers where they are already engaged.

[WarriorInNYC]

This should definitely not be teal......and with increased wi-fi access they should move some promotional/engagement content from the scoreboard and court to our phones.

Offer in game, on-demand replays.  Offer quizzes.  Put lyrics to Keefe's hated sing a longs on the phone.  Engage the customers where they are already engaged.

That would actually be really cool and very useful.  So many times I have wanted to watch replays at sporting events and you're obviously only limited to what/when items are showed on the jumbotron.

[brewcity77]

This should definitely not be teal......and with increased wi-fi access they should move some promotional/engagement content from the scoreboard and court to our phones.

Offer in game, on-demand replays.  Offer quizzes.  Put lyrics to Keefe's hated sing a longs on the phone.  Engage the customers where they are already engaged.

Having legit wi-fi and a gameday app would be fantastic. Maybe a quiz that offers one question per break and offer prizes to gameday winners? Could also use it to earn points for the Spirit Shop and such. The replay idea is excellent. Maybe link it to that seat upgrade app they currently have as well?

[DienerTime34]

Any legitimate questions yall want me to ask Wojo?

Can you fill us in on how the meeting with Wojo went?

[Celtic Truth]

I was at the meeting today, it was a really small group of about 20-25 people. It was almost exclusively about improving the student section. I was really impressed with Wojo and he was really excited about the meeting because he wants to do whatever it takes to make the team better. He didn't seem to think that the student section was as good as it could be. It was mostly an open forum with students openly talking with Wojo about new ideas. There are some small things that I think can help but there are really 2 important factors. How good the team is, and the location of the student section. Hopefully with the new arena the students will be closer to the court and be more visible on TV. And we all know that winning is most important and we didn't win much this year or last year. The more we win, the better the student section will be. Wojo also wants there to be more of a connection between the players and the fans.

[4everwarriors]

When can we expect more Jewish recruits, hey?

[DienerTime34]

I was at the meeting today, it was a really small group of about 20-25 people. It was almost exclusively about improving the student section. I was really impressed with Wojo and he was really excited about the meeting because he wants to do whatever it takes to make the team better. He didn't seem to think that the student section was as good as it could be. It was mostly an open forum with students openly talking with Wojo about new ideas. There are some small things that I think can help but there are really 2 important factors. How good the team is, and the location of the student section. Hopefully with the new arena the students will be closer to the court and be more visible on TV. And we all know that winning is most important and we didn't win much this year or last year. The more we win, the better the student section will be. Wojo also wants there to be more of a connection between the players and the fans.

So it didn't get into anything about showing replays, more gameday giveaways, new cheers/chants; it was more about having a better team and having the students sit closer to the floor?

[Celtic Truth]

No, most of the talk was about having better music/cheers/promotions. I think that some of that stuff can help to some extent. But the biggest difference maker in my mind is performance on the court