Disappointed in the BC crowd

[mu03eng]

Was at the game last night and was less than thrilled with the crowd.  I understand the shooting was poor and FT's were terrible.  However, in no way does that deserve booing, especially this early in the season and the fact that these kids are 19 and 20 years old.  If this continues through out the year, maybe, but right now I think its classless not to mention counterproductive.  Us booing them I'm sure did nothing to improve their confidence.

On a positive, I thought the student section was outstanding.....they definitely picked up both the crowd and the team late in the game.  Kudos to them.

[mu_hilltopper]

I agree .. wrote the same thing on the blog.  You can express exasperation, you can sigh, you can yell "ARGH!" .. but no booing.  The shots just weren't dropping, and there's no one at the BC who wanted them to drop more than the kids in the jerseys.

You can boo refs.  You can boo the other team.  You might even boo the coach if he doesn't put in the walkons at the end of a blow out.

But you can't boo the kids when they're playing hard and just not succeeding.

.. The student section was OK .. I had the feeling that it was down from the exhibition Cardinal Stritch game, though.  (smaller).

[Chili]

I honestly thought the students sucked. A lot of the boo's were coming from them. Also, they couldn't even fill a SMALLER lower bowl last night. They had one section plucked for the visiting teams to use, and they still couldn't fill it. I actually laugh every time they say the best student section around. PATHETIC!

The students also were way to quiet all night. As I ran into one prominent member of the MU community at the BC last night, he was trying to talk two girls from bailing on the game to go to a sorority function. But alas, the girls bailed anyway.

Last night was a PRIME example of why the student section should actually be shrunk in the lower bowl, not expanded. Lets at least maximize our returns. I mean why do they need so many lower bowl seats anyway?

Note: For the students who show up on a regular basis, this isn't a testament of what you bring. I mean, you would still get good seats as you do now.

[mu03eng]

Chili I'm going to have to disagree.  I was sitting in the lower bowl on the opposite end from the students and noted a ridiculous amount of boos from my area.  Plus towards the end of the game, the students got fired up and were the only ones cheering when Marquette was down 50-44 with 3 minutes to go.

Also, we need to be objective about the student section.  Everyone holds Kansas and Duke as shinning examples of student sections.  However, the number of students at the game last night is probably equal to the number at any Duke game.  Camreon Indoor is small and therefore looks much more filled when we have equal numbers of attendance.  The student section is great.....we can't fill it to the rafts every game.

[tomahawkchop]

Missing FT's that badly deserves booing.  These aren't kids playing CYM ball...they're getting a free-ride at a major university and shooting FT's is just practice and repetition.

Now I do believe Crean deserves the boos more for this poorly constructed team and not planning for the loss of Novak.

[bartmiller#1]

I think it's a little early to say this team is "poorly constructed."  Hayward is still playing his way into shape-- and may very well go a long ways towards filling the void left by Novak. 

These guys are used to playing with a great shooter. They don't any more, and that's an adjustment. 

Crean needs to have an offensive game plan that emphasizes our strengths and forced the opposing team to scrap it's zone or lane-packing.  I think the freshmen will help with that.  Both can shoot. 

[MU Ted]

While I don't think we should be booing the players, I do believe Crean deserves some boos for last night's game.

[Chili]

MUeng -

I sit in 219 right next to the students. I have sat in this section for a few years now. There were boo's flying out of the section during the game. As for the students getting fired up during up the last 3 minutes, where were they the rest of the game? Oh yeah, throwing cardboard heads around. Also, the Duke fans are bunch of tools. Have you ever seen pictures of dorks who are the "Cameron Crazies"? Check out thetruthaboutduke.com for some insights.

My whole thing is that if the students cannot fill the lower bowl for EVERY game, I am sure there is some season ticket holder who is up top who would. I mean you don't laugh when you see that the lower bowl isn't filled and they call it the "Best Student Section in America?"

And no, I do not want them to be like MSU, Puke or "Insert some other school I do not care about" - I just want them to support their school like I did - with a 30 pack of High Life Light, a flask of Admiral Nelson and a few (now really EXPENSIVE) Miller Lites from the consesion stands. What, were they showing some rerun of the OC last night you couldn't come out? It is not like it is the most difficult school to get above a 3.0 at. Time management people!

/stepping off my soap box. but I still think the students were pathetic last night.

[mu03eng]

Well you have a better perspective on the student section than I did, so I will grant you that one about the boos.

However two points to make.  One, you say where were the students until the last three minutes of the game....I would ask the same of all the vaunted season ticket holders who sat on their hands and/or booed during the game, where were they until the last three minutes?

The other point is that I don't think you would see more seats filled if you gave every lower bowl student section ticket to season ticket holders.  There were at least 30 empty seats around my season tickets(lower 206), and it looked like a common theme throughout the lower bowl.  So I don't think the arguement that season ticket holders would have filled the seats better holds water.  In fact, you move the student section out of the lower bowl, it will be less loud and even less students will attend.

Lastly, I think relatively speaking we have equal student attendance to every other major college program in the country.  I would love to see evidence to the contrary.

Now don't get me wrong I think the students definitely need to step up their game, in fact I too made a snide comment to my girlfriend about the "best student section in the country".  I just don't think they are as bad as you make them out to be and you have to note the improvement over the last 7 years.  I was a student from '99 to '03 and went to every single home game over that four year span....the improvement is light years over what it was in '99.

Just my two cents.

[Chili]

The only difference is that a season ticket holder will be paying a $50 per seat donation plus $30 a seat per game  while the student is paying $55. One section alone, say removing section 225 from the students, could net another $120,000 into the BNGF. And with the money we could have another quality home and home.

I honestly think they should separate the lower and upper student section seats and put a mandatory 80 or 90% attendance on lower bowl bowl seats, like MSU. They could even charge a little extra since students would know they had the lower seats. Or make it a service thing, where to get those seats you have to do some campus service or leadership thing. I don't know. I mean filling the 1500 or so lower bowl seats shouldn't be that hard. Almost EVERY school in the nation can do that. (Yes, I know there are some schools who cannot, but I think most can with a decent marketing team - which MU has).

I guess I remember the old Deane days of showing up at tip off for the Cinci game when they were ranked #2 (or something around that) and getting lower bowl seats. It has gotten better, but I still think that students should show up or else get less seats in the lower bowl. I don't like giving people something for nothing, which is what the students are getting now.

One thing of note that has been better so far is the band attendance. It got bad last year at times and so far it has been quite good.

[mu03eng]

I agree with you.  I think the lower bowl should have a couple of caveats on it.  Attendence, senoirity, and a higher price.  It always drove me nuts that I went to every single game but just anybody could get the good seats for the important games.

You are also correct about the band, though it seemed like they played less this year than in years past.....dunno might have missed some of that when I had my head buried in my hands during the timeouts

[mu_hilltopper]

I think your math is pretty far off.  Opening some more seats in the lower bowl won't suddenly add new season ticket holders.  It will shift people who are upstairs, down.  The upper deck seats are $25 a pop, so you're really just adding $5 in incrimental revenue/seat, plus maybe $2 for the donation/seat.  -- And I'm not counting the $15 and $9 ticket holders, as they obviously don't care where they are sitting.

That being said, I'm with you on some of your suggestions.  I'd remove a corner section .. and I think you're on to something with the upper/lower seats.  Not sure about charging extra, but make it an attendance thing.  Them bar codes on the tickets mean big brother can watch!

--Comment about lowers being based on seniority .. I think you want to make an exception for freshmen.  You put them in the rafters, and they may never "catch the fever" so to speak.

.. also, the band?  While large in number .. wow, not in mid-season form last night.

[thisists]

This stuff about shrinking the lower bowl of the student section:
  IMO, If what you want is an apathetic, nonexistent student section, then sending them upstairs would be a good idea.
  Yeah, old folks are paying the big bucks for half court seats, but this is the MU students' team.  When the alumni went here, it was theirs. These are our classmates playing (though we may not see them in class much). The team and school are a major part of our identity and we deserve that section we've got.

A bit of a concession:
Sure the student section is weak during these first non-conf games. But so is the rest of the BC. Just wait for the BE games to come- the students (as well as the rest of the crowd) will be more energetic and have a significant presence.

[mu_hilltopper]

Whoa .. I don't think anyone really wants to remove all the students from the lower bowl.  That would be disasterous!    It's more about removing one section and moving it upstairs.  That would compact the "good" student fans a bit, but for 1/2 the games, no one would notice.

-- Also .. I think the BC should have a 2nd half policy .. in the 2nd half, you can take any empty seat in the place.  Hell, the ushers should go upstairs and encourage people to move down where the team can hear them!

[thisists]

no, i wasnt talking about moving all students upstairs. but i just disagree with shrinking the section at all.

i do love that 2nd half idea though.

[mu03eng]

As far as getting the freshmen caught up in the fever.....have a # of tickets in the lower bowl set aside for freshmen....a new group of freshmen ticket holders gets those tickets....bonus is the freshmen will be there in force on the games they have lower bowl tickets.  I think the majority of the tickets need to go to those with good attendence record and seniority for the tie breaker.

[thisists]

i like that idea.

[Chili]

If it is the students team, they would be supporting them as much as they can. Now, they just show up for the big games because it is the thing to do. I really think mandatory attendance % is going to be needed to curb this apathy.

I mean maybe it is a lottery for the lower sections with attendance requirements and then have the uppers open. I dont know - but just showing up for the "big" games is pretty weak if you ask me.

[thisists]

It happens outside of the student section too. Vacant seats happen. Dont expect everyone to get super hyped about playing teams like Hillsdale and Idaho. 

The other point is that I don't think you would see more seats filled if you gave every lower bowl student section ticket to season ticket holders.  There were at least 30 empty seats around my season tickets(lower 206), and it looked like a common theme throughout the lower bowl.  So I don't think the arguement that season ticket holders would have filled the seats better holds water.  In fact, you move the student section out of the lower bowl, it will be less loud and even less students will attend.

...I was a student from '99 to '03 and went to every single home game over that four year span....the improvement is light years over what it was in '99.

Just my two cents.

this guy's got it right.

now i have to go to class...

[Chili]

It happens outside of the student section too. Vacant seats happen. Don't expect everyone to get super hyped about playing teams like Hillsdale and Idaho. 

Who the hell is getting hyped to see Hillsdale and Idaho State? Usually, I am hyped to see MU play. It stems from the good ole days of front row seats at tip off. 

Also a vacant season ticket holder seat is still pulling in a minimum of $32.75 a game (gross) for the athletic department. While a vacant student ticket pulls in under $5. Even if you factor in cannibalization of a $25 consumer who trades up, you still end up with an additional $7.75/game with the hopes of having someone move from $15 seats to $25.

Anyway, just show up with enough people to fill the lower bowl to put some energy into the damn place. As the students are the catalyst for crowd and last night it showed.

[🏀]

I don't disagree with Chili, students just don't show up on weekdays for bad/mediocre teams. Take away lower bowl student sections, never.

The only reasonable section to take away would be behind the band, and who really wants to sit behind the band anyway?

"Marquette University, where the students never stop studying."
-Princeton Review

[ben8787]

Why the need to rag on student attendence?  I'm pretty sure the concept is for them(us) to get an education, not be held responsible for attending x amount of basketball games.  My apologies if I preferred to do something else than watch Hillsdale or Idaho St.  (even though I was at those games).
Why aren't all of you alumni at the women's games?  Maybe you should have to attend a certain number of women's games for you to hold your season tickets.  Yes, that is ridiculous and exactly my point.

As to the issue of booing - I did not boo but I can understand it.  The performance was WAY under potential so fans let them know about it.  A boo doesn't mean you have turned on your team.  You are just expressing your feelings.  Also, how can you say the student section wasn't into the game enough?  How are we supposed to go crazy when the team can't make a shot (from the free throw line or otherwise).

With all this said, I will continue to support the team whether they lose to Detroit or run the table, and I hope everyone else does as well, but if they don't, so be it.

[Chili]

Why the need to rag on student attendance?  I'm pretty sure the concept is for them(us) to get an education, not be held responsible for attending x amount of basketball games.  My apologies if I preferred to do something else than watch Hillsdale or Idaho St.  (even though I was at those games).
Why aren't all of you alumni at the women's games?  Maybe you should have to attend a certain number of women's games for you to hold your season tickets.  Yes, that is ridiculous and exactly my point.

This might be the funniest and worst argument I have ever heard.

1) Getting an education. Do it. I did it. Got above a 3.0, 2 majors, a minor, worked 2 jobs, partied my nuts off, landed a great job. Oh yeah, I think I maybe missed about 3 games in my tenor. And if you want to do something else, fine. Just don't take up good lower level seats that someone else could sit in and the university could benefit from by making more money.

2) Women's games have nothing to do with men's games. That is why they sell separate tickets. If they told me I had to purchase X number of women's tickets to get men's tickets - I would probably do it. What you are missing here is that alumni season ticket holders are not part of the general admission tickets and my two tickets for one game pay for over a year of what a fanatic does. Also, other universities have implemented attendance for people who want the tickets and will use them for every game. It is not so far fetched. Why not give premium seats to those who use them? Reward the students who show up. And if you do not want to show up for all the games, I really don't think you would mind sitting in the upper bowl.

I think what many of the you are missing here is that sitting in the lower bowl with good seats should not be a students right. It is a privilege to have the seats - so why not use it. Because I am sure someone else would surely like better seats.

[🏀]

Student attendance has everything to do with it.

If our student section is ever going to be upper echelon, the big game only fans needs to be denied tickets. However, gracefully, our coach and department are embracing the students by giving them as many tickets as they want.

It sure is great to have 3,800 kids for a big game. Looks great. However, it is these jackasses that start stupid cheers like 'overrated'.

Until Marquette starts to limit tickets and the university student body gets much larger we will continue to have a very apathetic student section.

Cameron Crazies are great fans, they live outside for months for tickets. Even the alumni here had times which they were outside for several days like that. Wisconsin has their lottery, as do MANY schools.

Instead, we have some jackass Marquette Tribune writer demanding courtside seats because he can't get the the Bradley Center an hour and a half before the game for good seats.

And please don't start about student attendance at other events, it has been crap all around. There is no way to stimulate Marquette students to get to games.

[ben8787]

For crying out loud, what do you expect from students on a Monday night against Idaho State.  I'm sorry many of the students don't live for marquette basketball like you did/do.

I think it SHOULD be the students' right to have good seats.  The students actually go to the university so they should be given priority.