I didn't realize it was largely our fault the UW-M game didn't sell out

[ChicosBailBonds]

http://milwaukeepanthertracks.blogspot.com/2010/11/no-cigar-milwaukee-battles-tough-falls.html



"While the Cell was not sold out as many had hoped when this deal was struck (thanks in large part to the severe lack of Marquette fans who seemingly protested this game because they do not think the series benefits MU), it was a rollicking house of 7,000+."

[GGGG]

Their school is twice the size, and plays in about an arena with a capacity half that of the Bradley Center, and they are blaming MU???

[MUEng92]

Wow, I thought I was just watching a basketball game in my home.  I didn't even realize I was actually protesting at the same time. Multitasking!

[GGGG]

On top of that, I was drinking too!!!

[Coleman]

Says it all...

attendance at MU 2009......14244
attendance at MU 2008......15168
attendance at MU 2007......18283

attendance at UWM 2010....7120


Yup clearly Marquette's fault for lack of interest and attendance...

[chapman]

When I make the flight into town to see a game, the UWM game in an ancient building isn't exactly at the top of my list.

[PE8983]

They wanted the game.  They got it.  They didn't show up.  Enough said.

I guess they were expecting 8000 MU fans to show up to make it a sellout.  If they hadn't sold the game as part of a 1/2 season ticket purchase, maybe we could have helped them with the sellout they wanted. 

[Golden Avalanche]

When I make the flight into town to see a game, the UWM game in an ancient building isn't exactly at the top of my list.

+1

[MU_4_Life]

I looked into buying some tickets for the game, I believe you had to buy a 5 game pack of tickets.  You could not just buy tickets for the MU game.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Says it all...

attendance at MU 2009......14244
attendance at MU 2008......15168
attendance at MU 2007......18283

attendance at UWM 2010....7120


Yup clearly Marquette's fault for lack of interest and attendance...

UWM's average home basketball attendance.....2883 (+147%)

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/8753820042742b01b8b6be967b4a3893/Awide_Mbkbattlists.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=8753820042742b01b8b6be967b4a3893

[Coleman]

I looked into buying some tickets for the game, I believe you had to buy a 5 game pack of tickets.  You could not just buy tickets for the MU game.

You could...but not until VERY recently. And they were $20 a pop...plus a ticketmaster fee. Not worth the drive from Chicago IMHO.

[Hards Alumni]

You could...but not until VERY recently. And they were $20 a pop...plus a ticketmaster fee. Not worth the drive from Chicago IMHO.

I went to the game, and $20 a pop is cheap for any college basketball game.

[chren21]

I went to the game, and $20 a pop is cheap for any college basketball game.

And no ticketmaster fees when you buy at the MECCA box office.

[RubyWiscy]

I bought tickets at the gate. $15 for top row with back against the wall. I should have gone back out and found a scalper.

If UW-M's home attendance average is 2883, they should be extremely happy with the gate. Instead, they continue to complain. There were almost no students. It was really sad.

MU came away with nothing positive from the game. Embarrassed at the final score in a win. Whined at because our fans didn't show. This is just a stupid series for MU to play.

[SalsaMan]

MU came away with nothing positive from the game. Embarrassed at the final score in a win. Whined at because our fans didn't show. This is just a stupid series for MU to play.

Concur. We need to turn the page and keep on truckin'

[HoopsMalone]

I have been pretty apathetic about playing this game.  However, I am a convert to cancelling the series.  There really is nothing good about this game at all.  It is no different than playing Bucknell. Not worth the headache. 

[DavantesInferno]

I think that a large part of the lack of Marquette fans had a lot to do with the amount of season ticket holders in the Chicagoland who didn't think shelling out the money to drive out was worth more than watching it at home on espn3d (if they have Comcast).

[SqueallyDRyan]

I actually think it is pretty beneficial to get the road game RPI bonus every few years in Milwaukee.  The attendance was surprising, but that doesn't mean the game was worthless.

[warriors1991]

1)It hurt that this was Thanksgiving weekend; many students were probably still home.

2)I was there, at least half the fans were MU's.

3)UWM's 'student section' is comical. Nobody there. Wide open seats.

4)UWM wanted this game but then made it hard for MU fans to buy tickets. Did they think 8000 of their fans that never come were suddenly coming out of the woodwork? They should have just made tickets available, sold the place out, and at least gotten some of our money for the hassle.

5)There were still tons of empty seats. I wish MU's fans would have shown even better and shown UWM what a fan base really is.

6)I don't care if we play them or not. But a team that has 38 chances to beat us and hasn't pulled it off even once, it's kind of hard to call this a 'series.' More like an exhibition.

[Ari Gold]

Yep totally my fault.

Went to a bar, ate and hung out with friends. Cost was about the same as the ticket, but I would have been hungry. Never really wanted to go to the game. -Didn't think it'd be close.

[SacWarrior]

I'll send my condolences.

[Pepperoni_Cannoli]

I went to the game, and $20 a pop is cheap for any college basketball game.

$20 is, however, more expensive than my tickets at the Bradley Center.  Our season-ticket holder group of five (who live 80 miles away from Milwaukee) just watched the game on DirectTV.  Everyone threw in 10 bucks and we had pizza and Old Style.  De-lish!

[brewcity77]

This has me on the verge of joining the converted of telling UW-M to go screw. I like the idea of the RPI bonus, and actually find some value and fun to the in-city rivalry, but blaming us for not selling the place out when they made it virtually impossible to get tickets? They're the ones giving tickets away to their own students and still can't fill the building? And then they have the gall to say it's our fault when they made tickets only available for people that bought five-game packs? What Marquette fan wants a five-game pack to UW-M, aside from mupanther?

It's funny. They get the series back, they get a game in their own building, and they're psyched because they expect to finally sell out The Cell. But then they worry that MU fans will take over the building, so they make it difficult and expensive for us to get tickets, which keeps a large portion of MU fans away. By the time they realize their sell-out plan isn't going to work, it's too late to draw in the Marquette fans that already decided not to come when they took measures to keep us from coming.

Morons. You know what, I am at the "screw UW-M" point. I don't think we should continue the series. Not because I don't see value, but just to spite them. Let's see them draw 7,000 for anyone but us.

[Brewtown Andy]

If you want to blame Marquette, blame the athletic department for doing no advertising for the game because there was no financial benefit to do so.

Something that could have boosted ticket sales would have been throwing all the available tickets onto Ticketmaster on the first day of sales. That's the day I bought my tickets and I was halfway up in the 400s.  A week later, you could buy a whole row of seats in the 300s. Tuesday before the game you could buy seats in the 200s in the UWM student section.

Are there MU fans who found out tickets were on sale and didn't want to sit in the rafters? Probably.

And for all the talk of MU ducking UWM, isn't putting this game on Thanksgiving Saturday UWM ducking the MU student population?

[GGGG]

This has me on the verge of joining the converted of telling UW-M to go screw. I like the idea of the RPI bonus, and actually find some value and fun to the in-city rivalry, but blaming us for not selling the place out when they made it virtually impossible to get tickets? They're the ones giving tickets away to their own students and still can't fill the building? And then they have the gall to say it's our fault when they made tickets only available for people that bought five-game packs? What Marquette fan wants a five-game pack to UW-M, aside from mupanther?

It's funny. They get the series back, they get a game in their own building, and they're psyched because they expect to finally sell out The Cell. But then they worry that MU fans will take over the building, so they make it difficult and expensive for us to get tickets, which keeps a large portion of MU fans away. By the time they realize their sell-out plan isn't going to work, it's too late to draw in the Marquette fans that already decided not to come when they took measures to keep us from coming.

Morons. You know what, I am at the "screw UW-M" point. I don't think we should continue the series. Not because I don't see value, but just to spite them. Let's see them draw 7,000 for anyone but us.

+1,000,000

What UWM fans don't seem to realize is that we view a game with UWM on just a little higher level than a game with the likes of Longwood.