Agreed! The large majority of the students just sort of clap along with the Rouser such that when we get to the "Rah, Rah, Rah, Rah... Rah for the U of M!" part, the band is playing the song and the students are clapping the friggin off-beats... yes, I play trumpet, so it bugs me particularly and maybe it's just easy for me to stay on tempo, but its crazy how rushed it is...
Student Section - Student Perspective
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Agreed! The large majority of the students just sort of clap along with the Rouser such that when we get to the "Rah, Rah, Rah, Rah... Rah for the U of M!" part, the band is playing the song and the students are clapping the friggin off-beats... yes, I play trumpet, so it bugs me particularly and maybe it's just easy for me to stay on tempo, but its crazy how rushed it is...
GoAUpher
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Student section often gets a bum rap. But to rag on folks with jobs for not being able to make it to a 6pm game when they work until at least 5 and then have to commute in bad weather is just stupid. Not everyone has work day flexibility and if I didn't I know I wouldn't be risking a job in this economy over getting to the game. This is part of being a metro campus. Many ticket holder live and work a significant commute away from campus and can't be there in 10 minutes. If the lower level stayed empty all game then you'd have a reason to complain. But it didn't. You can easily complain that lower level fans are too quiet, etc. But going after folks for showing up late for a 6pm game on a work night while having to commute in not so great weather in a metro area known for it's traffic congestion issues is beyond idiotic.
SelectionSunday
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BC not a good example
I agree with GopherJake on this one. BC not a good example.
Pretty much the only time they get any fans at Conte is when a Duke or Carolina comes to town, and that was the case even when they had some pretty solid teams under Al Skinner. Unless they're playing the Dukies or Heels, looks to me like there's nobody there.
I agree with GopherJake on this one. BC not a good example.
Pretty much the only time they get any fans at Conte is when a Duke or Carolina comes to town, and that was the case even when they had some pretty solid teams under Al Skinner. Unless they're playing the Dukies or Heels, looks to me like there's nobody there.
GopherJake
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And your point is? Is it that they can't even fill it up?
http://www.bcinterruption.com/2009/05/closer-look-at-historical-mens-hoops.html
Even though their tickets are $20 compared to our $35?
Tough to get excited about a 25-5 team. Did you ever attend a game in 1997? I wasn't at the BC/Mary game in 2006, but the atmosphere here in 1997 was unbelievable, with twice the number of people.
Get back to me when they sell out a game when they aren't ranked #7 in the nation.
I'll bet if we won half the national championships in the past 15 years, we'd have no problem getting folks to buy tickets. Have you seen this team the past dozen years?
Hmmm. Ya got me there. Not many though. I did see several in the back of the student section though.
I never said you were lying about anything. You claimed BC had better fans than MN and I showed you some statistics that are contrary to that opinion.
I would lobby the U of MN to spread the student section around the perimeter of the floor. This would spread the excitement around. I'm all for that.
Do yourself a favor and do a search on "Minnesota" on this web page and then come back and tell me how crappy our fans are:
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/Reports/attendanceYBYtop25.pdf
Please don't skip the years where we were in the top 10. And one where we were #1 and also a #2 and #3.
Never did I say "BC fans are better than Minnesota fans"... the only point i was making about BC is that the adult fans were way more into it than the majority of the adult fans at the Barn... I love the barn and agree with everyone that being at a Minnesota game is far superior to a BC game...
However, I think its ridiculous to blame the students for "not getting into it"... The students and the band produce almost all the noise in the barn... please stop ragging on us.
However, I think its ridiculous to blame the students for "not getting into it"... The students and the band produce almost all the noise in the barn... please stop ragging on us.
GopherJake
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Ok, that's fair. But it seems to me that if you pared our "adult fans" down to 4000-5000 per game, you'd probably have a different opinion.
As far as I'm concerned, the students, while disorganized this year, seem to have a decent level of enthusiasm. Even good.
Also, I do yell and scream during the games, including last night. But you have to admit, it's tough to put too much into it, when your team gives up 58 second half points to Virginia. Right?
One more thing, some of those folks ya'll complain about have paid for an awful lot of crappy basketball over the past dozen years. Plus an academic scandal of epic proportions. You go ahead and plunk down $15K for dozens of lackluster efforts and a Royce White here-and-there and you might sit on your hands a bit until they prove themselves too. Can you give the oldsters that much? Don't worry, they will be loud. But they will never match the students.
Lobby the U to surround the perimeter with students. Please. Get organized and do it. They are re-seating NEXT YEAR. This would help a lot.
Those are definitely fair points..
The only reason I wrote this is because I'm just so pissed that fans continue to blame the students for not being into it... I'd love seats along the side... do you know how to contact the department to lobby for this??
If people didn't mention the students lack of support there wouldn't be an argument... I get the fact that people have the "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude and that's fine, but if they're not yelling, they can't speak on the students because can you imagine what'd happen if the students adopted this "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude??? It'd be SILENT!!!
I'm not a student. If I was, it would be difficult to be thankful when you are along the baseline (with half of them under the overhang) and the rest of the arena is criticizing you for not being enthusiastic enough.... or, god forbid, your TEMPO is messed up on your chants.
Put them along the sideline and the place will shake. Student attendance will also increase, because those seats are so much better.
TheHofferette
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Where were all these student ticket holders 4 years ago? 7 years ago? I don't really blame anyone for not going when we were awful, but its hard to get behind a total revamp of the student section moved to courtside just because we are good right now. The students will disappear when we are bad again and then what, are we going to move the student section back to the end again? Or have it 1/3 full courtside and look pathetic? Don't try to tell me the students are so faithful they will come no matter what...I was in the student section, almost every game for 5 years, on time, during the lean Monson years. There were hardly any students and it would have been pitiful looking had we been seated courtside.
brucekaupa
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Get that NASTY cymbal player back from years ago and the whole problem will be solved.
GopherJake
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I hear that. Particularly when they are so cheap. Cut out the data plan on your cell phone for one month and pay for them....
My idea is to give them maybe the first 5 rows (I don't know how many seats that is, but roughly 1000) - whatever the number, it should be the minimum number that you can be guaranteed to show even for the worst games. Have a lottery for those seats. The rest of the students beyond that can go in the existing sections or in either end-zone.
Something like that anyway.
As far as contacting the U to lobby - every administrator's e-mail address is publicly available. There's also a pinned thread at the top of Tubby's Barn asking for ideas. Isn't there a student organization that could gather signatures or what not? Think outside the box.....but act quickly.
To put the students on the side of the court would be stupid. The arena is not set up for that unless they take up all of the rows on the side. Plus, those seats are worth way too much. Tubby's salary is not paid for by student tickets. And nobody ever complained about the student section location when I was in school, why now?
People are complaining now because we have a good team and Williams Arena is still like a morgue for most of every home game. By FAR the most vocal and engaged fans are the students, and they are currently buried along one baseline, largely covered up by the overhanging upper deck. If you don't believe me, watch a game on TV at Breslin or Cameron, and then compare it to the Barn. The people in the seats behind the team benches and scorer's table look like the most disinterested and lazy fans I've ever seen. Not ALL of them, but too many of them, anyway.
The students in the Izzone don't pay Izzo's salary any more than the U's students pay Tubby's, but somehow MSU found a way to get them involved that looks like, sounds like, and really is, a homecourt advantage.
underground629
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True, which is why it's not really fair to compare UNC, Duke, Kentucky, Syracuse, MSU, UConn... etc.
However, what about LSU and Penn State... I literally just spent 5 minutes looking up sections that are on the sides of the court... LSU has students along the sides as well as behind a basket... they're not that great... they've had their runs, and so have we. The PSU students are on the sides (well, not so much anymore because they're garbage, but their seats are there....http://live.psu.edu/image/23562
also, on a side note, if you type in "basketball student section" on google images (http://www.google.com/images?um=1&h...l+student+section&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=) we're on the first page!!!!!!!!!! GO GOPHS!!!!!!!!!! We have a good student section and whether or not we're moved doesn't really matter... Sure, I'd love to be on top of the court, but regardless of that, we are responsible for almost ALL of the noise.
However, what about LSU and Penn State... I literally just spent 5 minutes looking up sections that are on the sides of the court... LSU has students along the sides as well as behind a basket... they're not that great... they've had their runs, and so have we. The PSU students are on the sides (well, not so much anymore because they're garbage, but their seats are there....http://live.psu.edu/image/23562
also, on a side note, if you type in "basketball student section" on google images (http://www.google.com/images?um=1&h...l+student+section&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=) we're on the first page!!!!!!!!!! GO GOPHS!!!!!!!!!! We have a good student section and whether or not we're moved doesn't really matter... Sure, I'd love to be on top of the court, but regardless of that, we are responsible for almost ALL of the noise.
Just looking around some more... Texas A&M has the students all around the lower deck. Michigan has been nothing better than average... they do it.. New Mexico (only recently good) does it...
Maybe it's not fair to say 'most' do, but there are a TON of arenas that make it work... despite having huge salaries for coaches. It's not the students that pay the coach's salary... but it almost is indirectly... hear me out... if the students are around the court, it makes the atmosphere more intense... watch a Duke game... holy crap. If the team wins almost always at home, the team does better, and when the team does better, it makes money for the program. I don't find it a coincidence at all that the best programs have the best student sections... obviously, it's not the student sections that are responsible for the program's notoriety and success, but it certainly helps.
Maybe it's not fair to say 'most' do, but there are a TON of arenas that make it work... despite having huge salaries for coaches. It's not the students that pay the coach's salary... but it almost is indirectly... hear me out... if the students are around the court, it makes the atmosphere more intense... watch a Duke game... holy crap. If the team wins almost always at home, the team does better, and when the team does better, it makes money for the program. I don't find it a coincidence at all that the best programs have the best student sections... obviously, it's not the student sections that are responsible for the program's notoriety and success, but it certainly helps.
Stop it, you are making too much sense!
Don't you understand? Those people EARNED the right to sit courtside and be quiet! They pay the coach's salary and so if there's a lack of atmosphere or homecourt advantage it is someone else's problem!
I was pointing out that the feeble excuse of the courtside seats paying Tubby's salary isn't a good-enough tradeoff for a quiet arena. As cfield explains above, many schools around the country put the students along one sideline. It excites everybody, energizes the players, intimidates opponents, and is a great way to get the student body involved. They will be buying the season tickets soon enough.
ZPI
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I don't see how anyone could think this.
I believe there is ample evidence to contradict this statement.
underground629
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Fair enough. I agree with you. I just thought the MSU comment was a little misleading because even with the arena situation we have right now, I'm sure we'd have a much better atmosphere if our teams were as good as MSU's. I don't really think our crowd is that bad. Last night was different because our play was so frustrating.
They only thing you'd do is tick of the really old old folk. You're fine where you are at. Like I said try being a factor were you sit now. For a campus of 40,000 + students we have horrible student support win or lose. It's nothing new, been that way for a LONG time. In my opinion it shouldn't matter where you sit, go to the game cheer, have fun and be loud.
I don't think anyone's complaining about how dumb it is that we're not courtside...
We're all just trying to make these points:
1) The students are responsible for the noise.
2) Putting us courtside is in fact more intimidating to the opponent.
3) Even smaller programs with highly paid coaches have done this, so why not us?
Go watch the Illinois vs. UNC game on ESPN to see what I mean... that's a great example of a program (Illinois) that currently is about as good as we are.. yet they're courtside.
Maybe if the rest of the "old old folk" were loud or even vocal at all... the students would feel like there's some support...
inflectionpoint
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In fairness to our somewhat mundane Barn on Monday the (recently) famous Orange Crush at Illinois is somewhat subdued for having UNC in town. Even in UNC is down, it is still UNC and it is the spotlight game on ESPN. Not saying they are bad, but the Crush (and the rest of the crowd) have been much, much better.
Ours wasn't horrible. It was Monday, it was snowy, we had a (gulp) minor opponent in record and somewhat in bball legacy.
It'll get better.
Ours wasn't horrible. It was Monday, it was snowy, we had a (gulp) minor opponent in record and somewhat in bball legacy.
It'll get better.
Putting the students on the side would not help. They only have enough students to fill out 3 sections which would not even span an entire side. They cant do the first 15 rows bit like other schools because of the way the arena is set up. Students can be extremely loud where they are now. The key is for them to actually try and be loud. Just because the students stand, does not make them loud. They were just as quiet as everyone else most of the game.
brucekaupa
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Frankly, I doubt that opposing players would be intimidated regardless of where you sat.
That's not a comment on the student section. That's a comment on the fact that when players are in a game, they are fairly oblivious to what's going on more than 2 feet beyond the court.
Oh, and here's a tip. Screaming and waving when the opposing team is shooting free throws does nothing. Complete silence would be MUCH more effective.
Instead, we give our own players silence...
ChemEGopher
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Can't believe I wasted 10 minutes reading this whole thread.
SelectionSunday
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Can we all just get along? The student crowd is important, as are the long-time season-ticket holders who foot the large share of the bill.