Now admittedly the Gophers are having the meltdown of all meltdowns this year while Indiana doesn't stir the emotions of the Bobby Knight era. However, the idea that we'd play them on a Saturday afternoon with thousands of empty seats and stay away holders of purchased tickets startled me and should terrify the U of M although I think over at the athletic department they're likely running down the litany of excuses for the small crowd. Even when we were winning early and in the game late, the atmosphere was dead. Gopher basketball, which was once counted on for high percentage of capacity crowds that were into the games and made noise, has now become what Gopher football was and still represents to many people, rightly or wrongly. The crowds are shrinking and the core is older and makes little noise while people in their 20s and 30s largely stay away and feel no connection to the team, despite the still visible amount of kids and parents.
This has been building since the academic scandal ripped the heart out of attendance and fan interest in 1999. The U of M has pretty much ignored this growing problem since then and it was only hidden, never solved, during the post Tubby bounce. Now the bottom is falling out. Whoever takes over as athletic director needs to do what Maturi and Teague did not by getting deadly serious about how the basketball program is sold and marketed to the ticket and barn loft buying public while also taking a hard look at the disjointed game production which tries to satisfy traditionalists and younger fans while somehow doing neither. I predict it's unfortunately going to get worse before it gets better.
