Dont Read if You Support Having a Lame Crowd at the Barn.

[Blizzard]

I hate to say but even Peegs had a thread with a few replies about our crowd last night. I was also there and there just wasn't a lot to cheer about in the first half. After Rodney's huge slam it was deafening though.

Also, I was loading up on cheer when most of the kids complaining were still loading their diapers. There was a time when I would stand in the crowd and scream my fool head off the entire game sorry to say but I'm just not into doing that anymore.

 

[Moonlight]

I know we all like to believe that we are important, but a little lesson in cause and effect is needed. The team is responsible for their play. The crowd responded well when the gophers woke up. Like bga, I was also hoarse last night, but not from the first half. My job as a fan is to encourage, not will them to victory. Because that is the reality of what a fan can do.

I agree w/SS and Holy Man. I am weary of needing to check to see who is imploding this week. Last week I was cheering on Joseph and this week he is history. Should I be more committed than the players?

 

[bga1]

I know we all like to believe that we are important, but a little lesson in cause and effect is needed. The team is responsible for their play. The crowd responded well when the gophers woke up. Like bga, I was also hoarse last night, but not from the first half. My job as a fan is to encourage, not will them to victory. Because that is the reality of what a fan can do.

I agree w/SS and Holy Man. I am weary of needing to check to see who is imploding this week. Last week I was cheering on Joseph and this week he is history. Should I be more committed than the players?

You are right Moonlight. You can orchestrate students to do stuff during a game to create some atmosphere, but for the most part the fans play off of what they see from the coach and the players. I think our players and coaches are good guys, but I also think the fans see a team that looks in some disarray on both ends of the court. That is taking the air out of the building.

A dunk can get a crowd excited as can a three pointer. But what really gets a crowd excited is locking down the opposition on defense with great effort and then an offense that opeartes with movement, purpose and tempo to create results. This team is showing neither and the coach, despite his great track record appears unwilling to make adjustments.

 

[GopherJake]

I got my balls cut off here for making this very point during the game vs. Virginia, in which 1/3 of the lower deck was empty until 10 minutes into the 1st half. Attendance was better for this one, although there is no difference between most of those lower deck "fans" (attendees) and an empty chair in terms of noise production. I guess they are getting better about driving in faster from the western suburbs and getting their childcare obligations taken care of in order to get there by 6:00 (no small feat as was pounded into me).

I got news for you, Chief, last night the student section was half-full until late in the 1st half too.

But what really gets a crowd excited is locking down the opposition on defense with great effort and then an offense that opeartes with movement, purpose and tempo to create results. This team is showing neither

This.

Please refer to the non-existent season of 96-97.

 

[anonymous]

I was not there last night, but did listen to the first half in my car.

Twice in the first half, Spencer ripped the "season ticket holders" for not making enough noise.

At one point he said, "you're better than that."

Never heard anything like that before.

 

[WestBank08]

I can't believe I read all of this. Everyone knows gopher basketball only gets love from the students and upper level. Corporate tickets ruin the barn. It's just the way it is.

 

[boryancheetz]

Nothing wrong with the crowd last night.

In regards to the first half, there was absolutely nothing to cheer about after Mbakwe was taken out and his hot start ended. After that, it was snooze-fest. Hell, there was a smattering of boos as the boys left the court for halftime. The theory of "you don't boo college kids" notwithstanding, their play was certainly deserved the negative feedback.

I don't think the crowd has anything to apologize for in that respect.

Down the stretch when the players gave us something to get excited about, the crowd responded in kind. It was a collective feeling of "about goddamn time they gave us a reason to get into it". But since the Virginia game (and add in the buzzkill of the Joseph situation) there hasn't been much to get excited about.

 

[Ski U Master]

If you think the corporate seats are killing The Barn now, just wait until they reseat everyone and charge premium seat fees. It is going to destroy any atmosphere in both Mariucci and in Williams.

 

[tikited]

If you think the corporate seats are killing The Barn now, just wait until they reseat everyone and charge premium seat fees. It is going to destroy any atmosphere in both Mariucci and in Williams.

And the people in charge will shake their collective heads and wonder why is this happening! I swear everyone in charge of athletics at the U have no clue.

 

[sec105]

Fake excitement mugging for the camera ain't going to do it.

\
+100

Also, I was loading up on cheer when most of the kids complaining were still loading their diapers

We must remember that indeed most of those complaining are still kids or not too far removed.

...but it's a two-way street. Teams also feed off of a raucous crowd...

If the Gophers or any Big Ten team used poor crowd enthusiasm as an excuse for lackadaisical play I doubt it would be well received by most of the fans.

 

[andy]

Um ... you're watching on TV but are bitching and making generalizations about the people who were actually there? Pretty amazing even if you're sitting in rural Mongolia with no way to get to the game.

Yes, I am "bitching" and "making generalizations". You can see a lot from the eye in the sky, including the thousands of fans who refused to stand even after a play like Rodney's dunk.

I'm half way to Mongolia... Alaska good enough? If I was in Minnesota, I would buy a ticket, and then move up to some absentee corporate dude's 7th row seat and scream my head off most of the game. I hope you don't think it's "amazing" that the crowd's energy, or lack thereof, was noticeable enough to elicit a post-game thread. This comes up often on this message board.

When the Gophers become a force in the Big Ten, then the crowd will also.

This seems to be the rule with Minnesota sports, and I think it's reactionary and lame. I don't care how few titles the basketball or football teams have won... "What have you done for me lately?", or worse, "Woe is me" is just a sad, sad way to approach supporting college athletics.

Please refer to the non-existent season of 96-97.

I hope we don't have to be absolutey dominant and ranked in the top 5 in the country to have an excited crowd at Williams.

If the Gophers or any Big Ten team used poor crowd enthusiasm as an excuse for lackadaisical play I doubt it would be well received by most of the fans.

The team won't. But I am. Others are, too. And it's not an excuse for lackadaisical play, but it contributes to it. And OF COURSE the fans wouldn't receive it well, because it involves them!

 

[Moonlight]

If you think the corporate seats are killing The Barn now, just wait until they reseat everyone and charge premium seat fees. It is going to destroy any atmosphere in both Mariucci and in Williams.

Exactly.

And the people in charge will shake their collective heads and wonder why is this happening! I swear everyone in charge of athletics at the U have no clue.

Exactly again. And then people like andy will not even bother to moan about the problem.
The U continues to screw their fan base which doesn't lead to happy people in the seats.

 

[GopherJake]

I hope we don't have to be absolutey dominant and ranked in the top 5 in the country to have an excited crowd at Williams.

We don't. I think one of the most rambunctious crowds I've ever seen in the Barn was for a *loss* in the NIT in like 2003 (??). Terrence Simmons was a senior, I think. There were about 4500 people there and the Gophers were working their asses off to try to win the game. Terrence Simmons was having the game of his life, it seemed. The folks that were there were going crazy. Oh, and there were about 12 students in attendance.

Against Indiana, Tuesday, that first half sucked. The team was completely flat. And I nearly fell asleep it was so boring. I'm not going to stand up and scream and yell encouragement to that. Sorry, my man.

 

[EG#9]

Minnesota is certainly not the land of "front runners" especially with regards to Gopher athletics. The Gophers are often in the top 25 in attendance nationally despite not winning an NCAA tournament game in a mind blowing 13 years.

I think the lack of noise late in the game was due to the crowd being genuinely worried the Gophers were going to lose a must win game. All of the losses in close games the past two years makes people nervous and less likely to make noise. It's kind of like the Vikings when the Dome used to get mind numbingly loud on key 3rd downs only to see the defense constantly fail to get the stop in the early 2000's. Eventually, some people said "F it, I am not going to scream my lungs out while we give up another 3rd and 12" and the Domefield advantage started to go away.