[Pain Touches] Marquette attendance second best in Big East

[Eldon]

I wasn't being a "turd" (really? Who says that?) I personally felt like at a certain point it crossed from admitting to making excuses that weren't valid.  After you shave those points off I accept everything he said.  

Explanations aren't excuses.  I see the confusion on this distinction often (so am I wrong?)

"Hey person on losing team, why did you guys lose the game?"
"Well, they played a tough game.  They played better than we did and we were outcoached.  But, no excuses, we have to work harder and blah blah blah"

That's not an excuse, it's an explanation.

[Galway Eagle]

Explanations aren't excuses.  I see the confusion on this distinction often (so am I wrong?)

"Hey person on losing team, why did you guys lose the game?"
"Well, they played a tough game.  They played better than we did and we were outcoached.  But, no excuses, we have to work harder and blah blah blah"

That's not an excuse, it's an explanation.

Note where I said crossed the line as in it crossed the line from explanation to excuse. 

[GooooMarquette]

Several valid points - kinda surprising that G'Town doesn't facilitate student transportation to the games.  

But even with Georgetown's more dispersed alumni base and the more "transplant" nature of the city, the DC metro area has nearly 6 million people according to the 2012 Census Bureau estimate (this does not include metro Baltimore), while the Milwaukee metro area has just over 2 million.  Given the national noteriety of G'Town's basketball program, you'd think they would attract a few more of the casual fans.

Also, just like G'Town has far fewer local alumni than Maryland, Marquette is in the same boat with UW-Madison.  The newspaper located about a mile from the MU campus (and 70 miles from UW-Madison) regularly gives the Badgers considerably more coverage.

Anyhow, the numbers just surprised me....

[Mr. Nielsen]

I once worked with a Canadian...big CFL fan.  This was during the era of their ill-fated expansion into the United States.  He was convinced that Milwaukee would be a great place for an expansion team because they don't have an NFL team of their own and therefore "have to root for the "Bears or Packers."

Sometimes people just don't get it.

Many people forget or are to young to know when the Packers played at County Stadium. Still today, three games belong to Milwaukee season-ticket holders for Packer games.

[mileskishnish72]

What have ticket prices done during the period of decline in attendance?

[GGGG]

Many people forget or are to young to know when the Packers played at County Stadium. Still today, three games belong to Milwaukee season-ticket holders for Packer games.

Yeah, but this was back in 1994 or so. 

[martyconlonontherun]

As a die-hard fan, it sometimes makes more sense to stay at home. Live-action is easier to see stuff on a big screen, you have a laptop to get all the stats, and you actually get to see replays. I never understood why fans who pay $50 for a ticket aren't allowed to see a close call on replay. By not replaying it, it basically admits the call was wrong. As a basketball fan, I want to see the replay not to get mad but whether or not it was the right call.


Not to mention I can drink a 6 pack of quality beer for the same price as 2 lites.

[warriorchick]

As a die-hard fan, it sometimes makes more sense to stay at home. Live-action is easier to see stuff on a big screen, you have a laptop to get all the stats, and you actually get to see replays. I never understood why fans who pay $50 for a ticket aren't allowed to see a close call on replay. By not replaying it, it basically admits the call was wrong. As a basketball fan, I want to see the replay not to get mad but whether or not it was the right call.


Not to mention I can drink a 6 pack of quality beer for the same price as 2 lites.

Sorry, I'd be hard-pressed to call anyone who would prefer to watch on TV a die-hard fan.  If you want replays, watch the game from the DVR afterwards.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

As a die-hard fan, it sometimes makes more sense to stay at home. Live-action is easier to see stuff on a big screen, you have a laptop to get all the stats, and you actually get to see replays.

Whenever I watch a game at home, I get frustrated when the announcers do not acknowledge all the substitutions.

[warriorchick]

Whenever I watch a game at home, I get frustrated when the announcers do not acknowledge all the substitutions.

And you never find out which row won the Palermo's Pizza.

[bilsu]

Whenever I watch a game at home, I get frustrated when the announcers do not acknowledge all the substitutions.

I hate it when they do not tell you who the foul was on.
At the game I hate it that they do not give the opposing teams heights.

[Brewtown Andy]

I never understood why fans who pay $50 for a ticket aren't allowed to see a close call on replay. By not replaying it, it basically admits the call was wrong.

In the case of baseball, it's because the umpires' union will flip out if you make them look bad.

[DFW HOYA]

I agree with the points made by hoyasincebirth above on Georgetown's numbers. At 33rd in the country, it's still doing very well.

A lot of factors play into attendance averages and while student turnout is, for the most part, good, season ticket comitments play a large role in building up an average. With few exceptions (Duke, Syracuse), there is always a walk-up crowd at Verizon Center which does not feel the need to commit to a season ticket package to gain admittance. Where Marquette can draw 12,000+ to sit through UMBC and Savannah State, Georgetown is drawing 7,000. When Big East play arrives, even a crowd of 15,000 ensures there will be extra seats in a 20,500 seat arena, so turnout can vary on any given game (17,000+ for Louisville, then 7,567 for Seton Hall). Add in the previously discussed factors on local alumni populations and competition for the college sports dollar (Maryland and five other D-I schools nearby) and the attendance average is not as bad as one might claim.

That having been said, I can see Georgetown's average taking a 10-20% drop this upcoming year. Unlike Milwaukee, Washington always has had a large influx of out of town and alumni fans from places like Syracuse, Pitt, West Virginia, et al. to drive attendance. Those fans are gone. Outside Villanova and Marquette, none of the other BE schools bring much in the way of interest for a walk-up crowd.  Another factor: lower season ticket sales. Season tickets were pushed to guarantee seating at the Syracuse game.That's not coming back, so those season ticket holders and/or ticket brokers that used these seats as a lever to hold on to Syracuse seats furter affects demand.

As of August 15, there are no Top 100 non-conference opponents at home this season--all the big games are on the road. Try selling that in a $600 season ticket package without Syracuse, Loyisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, etc..

[MU82]

I agree with the points made by hoyasincebirth above on Georgetown's numbers. At 33rd in the country, it's still doing very well.

A lot of factors play into attendance averages and while student turnout is, for the most part, good, season ticket comitments play a large role in building up an average. With few exceptions (Duke, Syracuse), there is always a walk-up crowd at Verizon Center which does not feel the need to commit to a season ticket package to gain admittance. Where Marquette can draw 12,000+ to sit through UMBC and Savannah State, Georgetown is drawing 7,000. When Big East play arrives, even a crowd of 15,000 ensures there will be extra seats in a 20,500 seat arena, so turnout can vary on any given game (17,000+ for Louisville, then 7,567 for Seton Hall). Add in the previously discussed factors on local alumni populations and competition for the college sports dollar (Maryland and five other D-I schools nearby) and the attendance average is not as bad as one might claim.

That having been said, I can see Georgetown's average taking a 10-20% drop this upcoming year. Unlike Milwaukee, Washington always has had a large influx of out of town and alumni fans from places like Syracuse, Pitt, West Virginia, et al. to drive attendance. Those fans are gone. Outside Villanova and Marquette, none of the other BE schools bring much in the way of interest for a walk-up crowd.  Another factor: lower season ticket sales. Season tickets were pushed to guarantee seating at the Syracuse game.That's not coming back, so those season ticket holders and/or ticket brokers that used these seats as a lever to hold on to Syracuse seats furter affects demand.

As of August 15, there are no Top 100 non-conference opponents at home this season--all the big games are on the road. Try selling that in a $600 season ticket package without Syracuse, Loyisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, etc..

Sounds like Georgetown needs to beef up its non-con schedule -- starting with a regular series with Syracuse -- if it cares about attendance much.

I sure hope we can do the same and add Notre Dame (and Louisville, if it's not a pipe dream) to our non-con schedule.

[martyconlonontherun]

Sorry, I'd be hard-pressed to call anyone who would prefer to watch on TV a die-hard fan.  If you want replays, watch the game from the DVR afterwards.

There are different kinds of die-hards. I'm not the emotional, always cheer blindly type of fan. I'm more into numbers, how the team is created and analyzing match-ups. Too many people think the die-hards are the ones who show up on an ESPN game and dress up hoping to get on tv.

I consider myself a die-hard Bucks fan. I spend countless hours on message boards, have already watched 8 complete games of the new greek player and have gone to 150 games in the last 5 years. So being able to watch the game with my full attention than worrying about talking to who ever goes with me and waiting in line for beer makes me less than a die-hard? If Junior turns the ball over, I NEED to double check if that was 3 or 4. That's just how I like the game. Don't get me wrong, I'm a very social guy but I prefer being able to watch sports by myself since I'm that into it and its my personality.