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

[GGGG]

Brew City 77-I hear your point that MU fans don't want to buy Panther 4 packs. What's wrong with just seeing a college basketball game? I get it that some do and some don't. Like I said it worked in 2006 with the Badger game.

Honestly, I think you are the exception rather than the rule.  I don't think the general public is going to buy a 4 pack of tickets to get the ticket they want, and be stuck with three games they don't want to see.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Honestly, I think you are the exception rather than the rule.  I don't think the general public is going to buy a 4 pack of tickets to get the ticket they want, and be stuck with three games they don't want to see.

Maybe or maybe not. How can you go wrong with 4 games for $40, with 2 of the 4 games in one of the plans having MU and Butler.

The NCAA toury in Milwaukee is a sell-out. What do we really care about those 8 teams?

I know many who got the Panther 4 Pack and really want to see Butler-UWM and Northern Iowa-UWM because they just like the game of college basketball.

I've had MU season tickets for years. In 2006 I bought a UWM mini plan to get the tickets for the Wisconsin-UWM game and I liked it so much, my wife and I bought season-tickets for UWM as well every year since that time. ( this would be an example of the exception of the rule 

[MUfan12]

Seriously. Who gives a flying f*ck about a hyphen? Is UWM that pathetic that its fans are offended by a hyphen?

Let's see- Your fans and students are terminally apathetic. You draw 2500 on an average night. Your coach has been nothing but mediocre since Pearl's players left. You have no chancellor. You have no AD.

But those GD Marquette fans mocking by hyphen. The outrage!

[Mr. Nielsen]

What your tone, if you are talking to me.

[MUfan12]

What your tone, if you are talking to me.

Frankly I'm tired of seeing this great hyphen outrage here, or the JS, the UWM board, or anywhere else the game is being discussed. It seems like a lot of the conversation ends up degenerating into hyphenhood.

Of all the many issues facing UWM's athletic department, punctuation seems to set their fans off. No wonder they are mired in apathy and mediocrity.

My suggestion for Panther Nation- Leave punctuation for English class and get your house in order. Maybe then people will take this series seriously.

[Jay Bee]

Maybe or maybe not. How can you go wrong with 4 games for $40, with 2 of the 4 games in one of the plans having MU and Butler.

The NCAA toury in Milwaukee is a sell-out. What do we really care about those 8 teams?

Well, if you don't give a crap about 2 or 3 of the 4 games, you can go wrong. 

The NCAA tourney is postseason.  It's good basketball with fans from each team represented at the games (and bars before and after the games).  I'm not sure I'd call UW-M good basketball.

[bilsu]

The four pack did not make sense to me. I live in Sheboygan and would not drive down to see the other games I would be forced to buy. So I did not buy or attend the game.

[BrewCity83]

Hey, I went to the game and had a good time.  It was fun to watch a game in the old MECCA that Al and the Warriors made famous.  I was preparing to buy tickets on the street or at the gate but a friend scored some free ones through a connection at UW-M.   

[Mr. Nielsen]

Well, if you don't give a crap about 2 or 3 of the 4 games, you can go wrong.  

The NCAA tourney is postseason.  It's good basketball with fans from each team represented at the games (and bars before and after the games).  I'm not sure I'd call UW-M good basketball.

I never said UWM basketball was good or bad basketball. If you don't want to go that is your choice. They do have bars before and after UWM games.  

Many want to see the big 1 seed versus 16 matchup in the toury. That's good basketball?
Than you don't give a grap, I don't care what you do! Buy the single game tickets than, I don't see what the problem is.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Frankly I'm tired of seeing this great hyphen outrage here, or the JS, the UWM board, or anywhere else the game is being discussed. It seems like a lot of the conversation ends up degenerating into hyphenhood.

Of all the many issues facing UWM's athletic department, punctuation seems to set their fans off. No wonder they are mired in apathy and mediocrity.

My suggestion for Panther Nation- Leave punctuation for English class and get your house in order. Maybe then people will take this series seriously.

They do go overboard, it's like the Warriors nickname.

[jaybilaswho?]

I have to say that I am very much so enjoying this whole thread.

UWM Basketball < Marquette
UW-M Basketball < Marquette
UW-Milwaukee Basketball < Marquette

38-0

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

UWM did put single game tickets out on Nov.8. What is so wrong with UWM trying to make money? So people had three weeks to buy tickets.

A scheme is four games for $40, Come'on!

There's nothing wrong with UWM trying to make money.

The problem is, not that many people purchased tickets, which led to a 1/3 empty building.

The 3K remaining seats might have sold if UWM took a different marketing approach. Obviously MU can draw in Milwaukee, so there is a market for MU hoops. The UWM athletic department missed on attracting them.

Maybe that was on purpose. Maybe they didn't want the building to be 3/4 MU fans.

Also, do we know who picked the date? A date when students were in school could have added 500-1000 MU student fans. But, again, maybe UWM didn't want that.

[Mr. Nielsen]

There's nothing wrong with UWM trying to make money.

The problem is, not that many people purchased tickets, which led to a 1/3 empty building.

The 3K remaining seats might have sold if UWM took a different marketing approach. Obviously MU can draw in Milwaukee, so there is a market for MU hoops. The UWM athletic department missed on attracting them.

Maybe that was on purpose. Maybe they didn't want the building to be 3/4 MU fans.

Also, do we know who picked the date? A date when students were in school could have added 500-1000 MU student fans. But, again, maybe UWM didn't want that.

You bring up great points!
I think the date worked well with both schools. I don't know if you saw what I said before, in 2006 UW-UWM game had over 10,000 at the Cell with UWM not putting single game tickets out untill two days before the game. I'm sure UWM thought the game would've sold-out with MU.

[kryza]

Brew City 77-I hear your point that MU fans don't want to buy Panther 4 packs. What's wrong with just seeing a college basketball game? I get it that some do and some don't. Like I said it worked in 2006 with the Badger game.

I didn't go to MU or UWM, my wife and I just have full-season tickets to both and never miss a game.  

I see the none sell out Saturday, as everyones fault Marquette fans and UWM fans and the people who live in Milwaukee that are not a fan of MU or UWM, but says I like all 4 of the state schools.

Badgers played at the Cell during the 2008 season. Maybe your facts are wrong?

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

You bring up great points!
I think the date worked well with both schools. I don't know if you saw what I said before, in 2006 UW-UWM has over 10,000 at the Cell with UWM not putting single game tickets out untill two days before the game. I'm sure UWM thought the game would've sold-out with MU.

You seem to like the UW comparison, but it's not apples to apples, and if the UWM or UW-M or Milwaukee athletic department thought that it was, they are not that smart.

UW GAME
- UW is the default school for people to be fans of in the state of Wisconsin. I hate to admit that, but it's true.
- UW has a much larger alumni population in the Milwaukee area than MU.
- UW only comes to Milwaukee once ever 5 years (approx.), so UW fans in the Milwaukee area are definitely going to be excited to see them play in their own backyard.
- UW has a strong alumni association in Milwaukee, and I'm willing to bet they purchased a lot of the tickets to the UWM game from group sales. I don't know this for a fact, but I would put a large wager on this.

MU GAME
- Season ticket holders see MU 19 times this year. Non-season ticket holders can buy single game tickets to most games
- MU does not have the large alumni base in Milwaukee like UW
- The game was on Thanksgiving weekend
- MU alumni association was not purchasing group tickets and promoting this game for MU alumni

It's not apples to apples, and I'm not surprised it didn't sell out.

We all talked about this a before the game ever occurred.

http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=21242.0;all

* Just re-read my post, I'm not trying to pick on you, specifically Panther, just trying to de-bunk "UW sells out" comparison. *

[Mr. Nielsen]

I agree with you! mu2002

It must not be apples versus apples.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Badgers played at the Cell during the 2008 season. Maybe your facts are wrong?

It was 12/12/07

[StillAWarrior]

You seem to like the UW comparison, but it's not apples to apples, and if the UWM or UW-M or Milwaukee athletic department thought that it was, they are not that smart.

UW GAME
- UW only comes to Milwaukee once ever 5 years (approx.), so UW fans in the Milwaukee area are definitely going to be excited to see them play in their own backyard.

I agree with pretty much everything you said, but UW comes to Milwaukee every other year to play Marquette.  That minor issue doesn't change the fact that you're absolutely correct with respect to why UW-UWM would sell out, but not Marquette-UWM.

[kryza]

It was 12/12/07

AKA the 2008 season

[Mr. Nielsen]

AKA the 2008 season

sure  

[ZiggysChestHair]

Well I guess you can't read at all or you must not be on this board that much.

1st) It was four game pack for $ 40

2nd) Single game tickets went on sale on Nov.8 for the game. I posted it and others on here time and time again.

Prior to Nov 8th,  I had already looked at ticketmaster and seen I couldn't get tickets.  I assumed it was because they had sold the majority to UWM fans or through the the multi pack deals.  As a result, we got tickets through a poster with extra tickets on the board.  As others have noted, UWM did a terrible job marketing this game to the MU fans who would have sold it out. 

Also, a few of our UWM interns at work received an email the week prior to the game that in addition to their 1 FREE ticket to the game, any student could receive a 2nd FREE ticket .  None of our UWM interns took up this offer, and evidently few other students did either.

If UWM cared, they would have marketed this game first to MU fans instead of failing to give the tickets away for free to their own (lack of) fans.

[brewcity77]

Many want to see the big 1 seed versus 16 matchup in the toury. That's good basketball?

Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, but the NCAA tournament gives you four games on the first day, of which at least 2-3 should be competitive. All of the teams in the field are conference winners or the best at-large teams in the country, so in theory all of the teams involved play good basketball.

But in terms of apples to apples comparisons, you can't possibly think individual games, even UW-M v Butler or Northern Iowa, are on the same level as a full day of hoops in the NCAA Tourney.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, but the NCAA tournament gives you four games on the first day, of which at least 2-3 should be competitive. All of the teams in the field are conference winners or the best at-large teams in the country, so in theory all of the teams involved play good basketball.

But in terms of apples to apples comparisons, you can't possibly think individual games, even UW-M v Butler or Northern Iowa, are on the same level as a full day of hoops in the NCAA Tourney.

As a UWM fan, I care more about a Panther game than an NCAA toury game.
That is really not what you are asking me. A college basketball fan with no rooting interest, 100% I agree with you, would say NCAA toury over a Panther game.

I guess I more speaking about those fans I read on JsOnline and who live in the area that say "I'm a fan of all 4 D-1 schools in the state of Wisconsin. Those people.

I laugh when those people say we should have a team toury at Miller Park. It's a must see, it would sell-out, it's great for the state and yet they don't go to any Marquette and/or UWM games.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Prior to Nov 8th,  I had already looked at ticketmaster and seen I couldn't get tickets.  I assumed it was because they had sold the majority to UWM fans or through the the multi pack deals.  As a result, we got tickets through a poster with extra tickets on the board.  As others have noted, UWM did a terrible job marketing this game to the MU fans who would have sold it out. 

Also, a few of our UWM interns at work received an email the week prior to the game that in addition to their 1 FREE ticket to the game, any student could receive a 2nd FREE ticket .  None of our UWM interns took up this offer, and evidently few other students did either.

If UWM cared, they would have marketed this game first to MU fans instead of failing to give the tickets away for free to their own (lack of) fans.

How would they market to MU fans?

They had billboards out for the game and TV adds for Panther Basketball. I don't see MU market any better or different than UWM.

[brewcity77]

I guess I more speaking about those fans I read on JsOnline and who live in the area that say "I'm a fan of all 4 D-1 schools in the state of Wisconsin. Those people.

I think that there are basically two kinds of college basketball fans in Wisconsin. Die-hards that either are or want to be season ticket holders, and bandwagon jumpers that just support any local team.

There's nothing wrong with either one, but the die-hards are generally going to just support one team. As an MU grad, I wouldn't have any real interest in going to a regular UW-M, Green Bay, or Bucky game. If someone handed me tickets and it looked like a decent matchup, I might take the time to go, but I certainly wouldn't rearrange plans. And I wouldn't want to buy tickets for four games if there was only one I wanted to go to.

Then you have the bandwagon jumper. Again, they like all the home teams and will support any of them that have success, but don't have a strong, vested interest. If a team is up, they'll support them, but if they're down, they probably won't take much notice. Certainly the Packers are the exception, but I think that most Wisconsin fans are like that for all the teams. Not many people bother with the Bucks, Brewers, or any of the college basketball teams when they aren't making some sort of run.

How many Milwaukeeans that were cheering on UW-M in the Sweet 16 could tell you what the team's record was last year? Or could tell you the last time they went to the postseason, or even which team ended UW-M's season last year? I would be virtually none of them. And you won't sell season tickets, or even four-packs, to most fans like that. They'll watch the team if they're on, maybe get tickets to a game or two if they're winning, but just because they say they're a fan of all four D-1 schools doesn't mean they're enough of a fan to actually vest any money in the team.

Sure, the fans you are looking for exist, you are proof of that. But I would say that when it comes to Wisconsin college basketball fans, 25% are the die-hards, 60% are the bandwagon-jumpers, 14% are fairweather fans of whichever team is the national flavor of the month (Duke, UNC, etc), and 1% simply love the game enough to be a season-ticket holder for more than one team, like yourself. I'm sure those aren't completely accurate figures, but I think your hope is that the 60% are like you, when the truth is, they simply aren't.