The Unique Camaraderie and Togetherness of the Big East 2.0

[Eldon]

http://www.bigeastcoastbias.com/2015/4/6/8340431/the-unique-camaraderie-and-togetherness-of-the-big-east-2-0

The Big East coaches and fans all seem to be rooting for each other. The camaraderie among league members and their fans is something not seen anywhere else in the country...

I was actually mad when Nova was knocked out.  Not mad as in half-heartedly mad, but actually pissed--swearing like a sailor pissed.  Idk why, but I was rooting especially hard for BE teams in the tourney this year (more so than previous years).

Do you guys think that the BE is special in regards to rooting for each other?  If so, why do you think that is the case?  Because so many people doubt the conference?  Because the BE is the now the little guy at the table?

I have to say that most college bball fans outside of the BE schools don't really seem to care about how their conference mates fare in the tourney.  Though I must say that it seems to me that in college football, SEC fans seem to take pride in their conference.

Thoughts?

[GGGG]

http://www.bigeastcoastbias.com/2015/4/6/8340431/the-unique-camaraderie-and-togetherness-of-the-big-east-2-0

The Big East coaches and fans all seem to be rooting for each other. The camaraderie among league members and their fans is something not seen anywhere else in the country...

I was actually mad when Nova was knocked out.  Not mad as in half-heartedly mad, but actually pissed--swearing like a sailor pissed.  Idk why, but I was rooting especially hard for BE teams in the tourney this year (more so than previous years).

Do you guys think that the BE is special in regards to rooting for each other?  If so, why do you think that is the case?  Because so many people doubt the conference?  Because the BE is the now the little guy at the table?

I have to say that most college bball fans outside of the BE schools don't really seem to care about how their conference mates fare in the tourney.  Though I must say that it seems to me that in college football, SEC fans seem to take pride in their conference.

Thoughts?

Kind of this.  I think they want to prove people wrong.

[Coleman]

This is furthest thing from Marquette basketball, but I found myself getting really excited for Providence men's hockey while I was watching the Frozen Four at the gym today. They won and are going to the championship game BTW...

[Balrogs]

I believe this to be true.  While we were down and out of the tourney, my sole focus was on the BE teams and how well they were doing in the tourney. I think the shared identity among the schools in the conference is a factor in wishing our peers success.  The conference appears to be stable and the chance to be a long-term home so its natural to want the conference to succeed in its early years.  It will be interesting to see if we have the same goodwill a decade from now.

The BE is not the little guy at the table, but rather the non-football majors that have to put up with all the football schools.   I think this bonds us together as we realize that we live in a football and dollar-driven world.  I am very concerned regarding the takeover of the NCAA that allows the 5 football conferences + ND to create a separate and distinct set of rules.  This has the potential to create an uneven playing field and reduce the ability of the other D1 schools from competing with them in sports besides football.  That has caused me to root against those conferences more than anything.  Personally I root against the Big 1X and then the ACC.  The other 3 football conferences I don't have as much issue with.  The Big 1X is the root of most of the instability due to their love for the greenbacks.  I remember that they lobbied the WI state legislature to require Time Warner to carry their TV network on the base tier in order to force every household to support their conference.  

That and Big 1X fans are obnoxious and seem to have the inability to understand anything outside the Big 1X.  I kept telling my father-in-law that the football schools were eventually create a separate structure just for them and he thought I was crazy until they passed the recent changes.  My brother-in-law started rooting for the other Big 1X teams once he noticed how much I was rooting for the other BE teams.  I had to explain why Duke was seeded higher on the S-curve than Madison because of how poor the Big 1X was in the non-conference.

The ill-will for the ACC is more about raiding the BE than anything else.

[Oldgym]

In Wisconsin, Marquette occupies a niche relative to the elephant in Madison.  We're not the default setting around here; most hardcore MU fans are directly affiliated with university in some way.  The us-against-the-world mentality is hard to miss and totally understandable. I love it.  Scale that attitude up and this same thinking is apparent with the Big East.  It's a unique and high quality product with some measure of throwback to a less complicated time in college sports.  Those who don't see that (or look down their noses at it) probably have a rooting interesting in P5 school or write self-important requiems in Bristol, CT.  Or both.

The B1G-whatever will always be around. The Big East (glad we finally stopped calling it the NBE) is too young and small for its success to be assured like that.  It takes some TLC and boosterism to get there. What's not to cheer for? When we look at the other schools, we see a lot of ourselves. 

Except DePaul.  I really want DePaul to rise up, but one sketchy move after another...

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

This is furthest thing from Marquette basketball, but I found myself getting really excited for Providence men's hockey while I was watching the Frozen Four at the gym today. They won and are going to the championship game BTW...

Especially cause they were playing Nebraska-Omaha...

[The Equalizer]

 I had to explain why Duke was seeded higher on the S-curve than Madison because of how poor the Big 1X was in the non-conference.

I think the fact Duke beat UW in non-conference is a better explanation as to why Duke was seeded higher on the S curve.

[Litehouse]

I dislike the B1? and ACC the most because I think they're actively trying to kill the Big East.  They both want the east coast market, especially NYC and DC, and are actively trying to push the Big East out.  Both conferences raided took teams to kill the old Big East (primarily the ACC), and both are trying to displace us with their conference tournament sites.  The marketing of Syracuse as "New York's College Team", the BTN commercial with the cartoon map of the US showing NYC and DC as "their" territory, ACC ads in Yankee Stadium, this is all a threat to the Soul of College Basketball.

[dgies9156]

The us-against-the-world mentality is hard to miss and totally understandable. I love it.  Scale that attitude up and this same thinking is apparent with the Big East. 

We always had this. Al McGuire played this chord over and over again.

The rest of the world used to hate us. We were outstanding. We played a different brand of basketball than the finesse ball played in much of the country. The NCAA was out to get us (they were). Adolph Rupp was a racist jerk (he was).

The "We Are Marquette" cheer always has been a reminder of the us against the world theme.... oh and that we're here and you better like it!                                 

[GGGG]

I dislike the B1? and ACC the most because I think they're actively trying to kill the Big East.  They both want the east coast market, especially NYC and DC, and are actively trying to push the Big East out.  Both conferences raided took teams to kill the old Big East (primarily the ACC), and both are trying to displace us with their conference tournament sites.  The marketing of Syracuse as "New York's College Team", the BTN commercial with the cartoon map of the US showing NYC and DC as "their" territory, ACC ads in Yankee Stadium, this is all a threat to the Soul of College Basketball.

You are misguided about the Big Ten.  They may be the BE's biggest ally.  The Gavitt Tip Off games start next year between the two conferences, they aren't trying to force the BE out of MSG when holding their conference tournament there, and could very well be a limited partner on FS1 after the next B10 television contract.

[Litehouse]

You are misguided about the Big Ten.  They may be the BE's biggest ally.  The Gavitt Tip Off games start next year between the two conferences, they aren't trying to force the BE out of MSG when holding their conference tournament there, and could very well be a limited partner on FS1 after the next B10 television contract.

I think we could view them as our enemy's enemy is our friend, since they're fighting with the ACC for NYC, but I still think they'd prefer we didn't exist.  They aren't forcing us out of MSG because they can't yet, but I'm sure they will try for our slot when the current contract expires.

[GGGG]

I think we could view them as our enemy's enemy is our friend, since they're fighting with the ACC for NYC, but I still think they'd prefer we didn't exist.  They aren't forcing us out of MSG because they can't yet, but I'm sure they will try for our slot when the current contract expires.

Sure they could.  But in part that is up to the BE to make sure that the product on the floor remains a good one. 

Ally is probably the wrong word, but the B10 and BE are partners on some projects, and may be on more.  I don't think the B10 feels that it has anything to fear by the BE's existence.  They are much bigger and play football.

[MUMountin]

http://www.bigeastcoastbias.com/2015/4/6/8340431/the-unique-camaraderie-and-togetherness-of-the-big-east-2-0

The Big East coaches and fans all seem to be rooting for each other. The camaraderie among league members and their fans is something not seen anywhere else in the country...

I was actually mad when Nova was knocked out.  Not mad as in half-heartedly mad, but actually pissed--swearing like a sailor pissed.  Idk why, but I was rooting especially hard for BE teams in the tourney this year (more so than previous years).

Do you guys think that the BE is special in regards to rooting for each other?  If so, why do you think that is the case?  Because so many people doubt the conference?  Because the BE is the now the little guy at the table?

I have to say that most college bball fans outside of the BE schools don't really seem to care about how their conference mates fare in the tourney.  Though I must say that it seems to me that in college football, SEC fans seem to take pride in their conference.

Thoughts?

While I think that the BE adopts the camaraderie especially well, I don't think it is particularly unique.  As you mention, the SEC, particularly in football, seems to prefer that if your personal team doesn't win, it'd better be someone else from the SEC, even if it is a hated rival (Alabama and Auburn, e.g.).  Likewise, I know a lot of OSU fans that were cheering for UW and MSU in the final four because they cheer for the Big 10, and other folks from B10 country that tend to cheer for all the B10 teams in postseason plays, because B10.

I live in Denver and work with a group of alums from several MW schools--CSU, Wyoming, UNM.  While they all rip on each other during the season, they all root for the MW as a conference otherwise.

I was at a wedding a few years ago during Wichita St's final four game against Louisville.  The groom and many of the guests had gone to Bradley, and the TV in the bar was absolutely swarmed during the game, as they were all cheering for the Shockers as if their Braves had somehow made the final four run (a true shocker!).

Now, I don't think that all conferences are necessarily the same way, but I think that especially conferences in which the schools are fairly homogenous, there will be a common bond and a us-vs-them mentality against the rest of DI athletics.  In BE, smaller private schools in urban settings .  In B10, large state schools from upper midwest.  In MWC, mid-sized/second-tier state schools from out west that have a little sibling complex with the Pac12.  In MVC, small-town middle 'merica. 

As conferences continue to morph and expand, I think that it is easier to lose some of that--my guess is that the ACC will struggle in terms of camaraderie with the addition of disparate schools like Louisville, Syracuse, and Pitt.  Don't know if WVU will ever feel the love from the rest of the B12 because it is such an outlier.  And the American...good luck.  Even the old BE--it was easy for me to cheer for some of the teams, but I struggled identifying with cheering for Syracuse, UConn, etc.

All this to say--I love the new BE, and think it is about as good of a landing place as we could have had.  It is much easier to cheer for all the other teams, and I really can't say that I hate any of the other schools.  Even when we are getting shellacked by them like this year, I still respect them and hope that they carry the conference well.  But, I don't think that this is a trait unique to our conference. 

[Windyplayer]

This is furthest thing from Marquette basketball, but I found myself getting really excited for Providence men's hockey while I was watching the Frozen Four at the gym today. They won and are going to the championship game BTW...

You should work in the Big East offices in New York. Your passion for the product is truly exceptional

[Coleman]

You should work in the Big East offices in New York. Your passion for the product is truly exceptional

Would I get to arrange Val's furniture?

[Spotcheck Billy]

Would I get to arrange Val's furniture?

hmm, is that a double entendre?

[BrewCity83]

Don't forget the $$$ that our conference mates are earning us with every NCAA tourney win.