NCAA match attendance.

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Hoolio

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I have been really shocked by the number of open seats at many of NCAA matches. Maples Arena was 1/2 full last night for stanfords match. The Penn State match is on right now and there are large sections less than 1/2 full. That would never happen at the Pav.
 

Even the Pav seldom sold out for NCAA matches. I never really understood why. People want to have more time to plan to attend? The holidays? The prices?

And let's not kid ourselves, hardly anyone showed up when the Gophers weren't playing. I don't understand that either. Don't people enjoy the sport itself?
 

Too bad about UNI, but I sure do want to see some new teams in the round of 8. Missouri, Purdue, Marquette (good luck with that), Creighton, TAMU and Dayton. Even be nice to see Florida return. What we don't need is Pitt, Kentucky, Stanford, Louisville, Penn State (yuck), Texas (double yuck), Wisconsin (triple yuck) and Nebraska (infinite yucks) again.
 

(R)uffda! said:
Even the Pav seldom sold out for NCAA matches. I never really understood why. People want to have more time to plan to attend? The holidays? The prices?

And let's not kid ourselves, hardly anyone showed up when the Gophers weren't playing. I don't understand that either. Don't people enjoy the sport itself?
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I think the answer is a qualified "No". People enjoy seeing their favorite team do well. If the Gophers are "stinking" up the joint ", then it's not enjoyable.

This is why winning means the success to a program.

In the 1970s, the football team wasn't winning as much, but were competitive and attendance was flat. The move to the Dome on the 1980s git a curiosity bump in attendance, but the team was not competitive. People decided they didn't want to see a team that would get blown out in virtually every game despite being in a new stadium.

People expect a volleyball team that is dominant in the conference and dominant in the tournament. This year wasn't that.
 

Ewert86PC said:
I think the answer is a qualified "No". People enjoy seeing their favorite team do well. If the Gophers are "stinking" up the joint ", then it's not enjoyable.

This is why winning means the success to a program.

In the 1970s, the football team wasn't winning as much, but were competitive and attendance was flat. The move to the Dome on the 1980s git a curiosity bump in attendance, but the team was not competitive. People decided they didn't want to see a team that would get blown out in virtually every game despite being in a new stadium.

People expect a volleyball team that is dominant in the conference and dominant in the tournament. This year wasn't that.
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(R)uffda! is asking why people don't go to the non-Gopher game when the Gophers are hosting NCAA volleyball at the Pav.

If the Gophers are hosting, they had a good year...so not sure what you're getting at here.
 


NateDawgUM said:
(R)uffda! is asking why people don't go to the non-Gopher game when the Gophers are hosting NCAA volleyball at the Pav.

If the Gophers are hosting, they had a good year...so not sure what you're getting at here.
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Well, maybe the other team doesn't travel well enough to fill the stands, because it seems Gopher fans only care about Gopher teams.
 

Ewert86PC said:
Well, maybe the other team doesn't travel well enough to fill the stands, because it seems Gopher fans only care about Gopher teams.
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Season ticket holder here. When we host, I try to get to the 3rd set of the match the Gophers are not playing in. I want to check out the other teams, but no way am I sitting on a bench seat for 5 to 6 hours. Many people say how much the love the Pav. When you look around at the different arenas that top programs play in you realize that the Pav is nothing special. The seats are uncomfortable and crowded. On a cold night there is no place to put your jacket. I for one would like to be able to sit in a seat with a chair back. I know section 1-6 have chair backs, but they are impossible to get unless your a big donor or a corporation. Time to upgrade facilities.
 

My original post had nothing to do with the game not involving host team. Attendance at those games is always lousy, including at the Pav. The games I watched attendance was crap at the host teams game. Specifically the Stanford and Penn State matches. It was not just a few empty seats here and there it was 1/2 full arenas. Those are two of the top programs in America and both teams are legit championship contenders yet nobody shows up. Very sad. I felt bad for the players. The Pav is always full or darn near full when we host.
 

Hoolio said:
My original post had nothing to do with the game not involving host team. Attendance at those games is always lousy, including at the Pav. The games I watched attendance was crap at the host teams game. Specifically the Stanford and Penn State matches. It was not just a few empty seats here and there it was 1/2 full arenas. Those are two of the top programs in America and both teams are legit championship contenders yet nobody shows up. Very sad. I felt bad for the players. The Pav is always full or darn near full when we host.
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In PSU defense the football team was playing Orego for the BIG 10 championship
 



So why does Nebraska get to use their flooring in their regional?
 

The host tram gets to play in their arena. Flooring, banners, everything. They earned that by being a #1 seed.
 

(R)uffda! said:
So why does Nebraska get to use their flooring in their regional?
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I think only PSU had a different floor due to them not having a teraflex floor normally. They brought in a "NCAA" one for the regional.
 

Hoolio said:
The host tram gets to play in their arena. Flooring, banners, everything. They earned that by being a #1 seed.
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This is not true. They have always used the same floor in all 4 regionals. And the NCAA was very strict with signage too. It could be true that Nebraska (and others?) got a pass because they use Taraflex, but I didn't think that was the criteria in the past.
 



vonner is correct about Louisville and Pitt. I wonder when they made this change. I was always under the assumption the NCAA didn't want programs advertising themselves, although I know it is also a sponsorship thing. For Taraflex.

Also, never mind. And go Creighton!
 
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Louisville vs Penn State would be my favored outcome. I'd be okay with either winning it. Louisville winning at home, plus CC gets a ring. Penn State with the feel good story for KSC.
 

Sure would be nice for a female to win, even if I don't want any of the 4 teams to win.
 

Love the decision to go with the endline view but why the hell can't the director get the crane out of the way? It's simple. If the crane is in the shot, use the crane shot instead.
 
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Some of the athletes in this Pitt/Louisville match seem to dwarf any of our women. Do we need to kick it up a notch in recruiting these type of athletes? Maybe our NIL limitations are holding us back. How did Pitt get so good, and Louisville for that matter? Where is our Olivia Babcock?
 

GopherJack said:
Where is our Olivia Babcock?
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Her name was Stephanie Samedy. She graduated a few years ago.

Special players like her aren't growing on trees. Pitt has a very good coach who recruits well, there are rumors he will be the next coach fo the women's national team, I don't think Pitt can recover if he leaves.
 

NateDawgUM said:
Her name was Stephanie Samedy. She graduated a few years ago.

Special players like her aren't growing on trees. Pitt has a very good coach who recruits well, there are rumors he will be the next coach fo the women's national team, I don't think Pitt can recover if he leaves.
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Controversial opinion. Samedy was the most overrated AA ever to play for the Gophers AND she hurt the development of other players. Not her fault. But making her the focus of the offense did not work, imo.
 

I mean, watching those two semifinal matches last night, I felt like those teams are in a whole different stratosphere than our Gophers. The athleticism and pace of play was amazing.
 

(R)uffda! said:
Controversial opinion. Samedy was the most overrated AA ever to play for the Gophers AND she hurt the development of other players. Not her fault. But making her the focus of the offense did not work, imo.
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I get the feeling that you really don't like Gopher Volleyball...well, anymore, I know your history. ;)
 

Ruffed, you have never been so wrong. AA for 4 years has got to tell you something
 

It's one thing to take cheap shots at Schaffmaster. At least there's some reasonable reason to criticize there. Far less than the haters would have you think but that's an argument for another thread. Going after Samedy however only proves that you don't know jack about volleyball. Seriously Ruffda, what Gopher player has ever lived up to your standards.
 

dlw4gophers said:
Ruffed, you have never been so wrong. AA for 4 years has got to tell you something
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It does. It's part of my statement. The most overrated AA. Not the most overrated player. She was good, sometimes great. But she was inconsistent and had a terrible final year. Her pro career backs me up on this, I think.

Now, maybe it was the setting, but I don't think so. We have had so many players who just refuse to take a rip at the ball unless the set is perfect. She was the best example of this. Part of it was Hugh's coaching philosophy, I know. But she took it way too far.
 

Hoolio said:
It's one thing to take cheap shots at Schaffmaster. At least there's some reasonable reason to criticize there. Far less than the haters would have you think but that's an argument for another thread. Going after Samedy however only proves that you don't know jack about volleyball. Seriously Ruffda, what Gopher player has ever lived up to your standards.
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Want a list?

Jackson, Berg, Dedecker, Branagh, Bauer, SSS, Hart, Nelson, Gentil, Peniata, Wilhite, Harms, Gibbemeyer, VanderWell, Pittman, Martin ... the list goes on and on. All of them had their flaws, mind you, but they were not overrated.

Again, THAT is my argument. Samedy was not as good as the honors she accumulated AND the focus on her hurt the development of the rest of the team.

Regardless, feel free to disagree with me. You don't have to comment on my level of volleyball knowledge. Although you can. Quiz me, why don't you? Ask me about rotations. Defensive schemes. Blocking styles. The history of the sport.

But seriously, how do you compare Samedy to someone like Babcock? Skinner? Other members of her AA peer group? I think she is not nearly at their level.
 

And this all started with a comparison to Babcock. But it's all OK. I said it was controversial. I've been wrong before and will be again. It's just my opinion, as a 35-year fan of Gopher volleyball and volleyball in general.
 

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