Sure, the home crowd is fine, but why not demand more?

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bga1 said:
At some point we are going to have to have enough patience to work with a coach through the ups and downs. To recruit against Minnesota right now, all you have to do is say, hey the coach never lasts there, if you go there the coach might be gone. We have tried changing coaches every 6-7 years. I repeat, Pitino's years 4-5-6 and now 7 are better than 1-2-3. The trend is up. He needs more good players like Oturu and Carr. He needs to continue to bring in better and better classes. That may well come with patience and momentum. If he finishes this year well, goes to the NCAAs then he is 3 of the last 4. It's never been done here before.

If he misses the NCAAs then we have a real discussion. Right now, it is midseason we are 5-5 which is better than most thought we would be and we are right on the bubble.

I'll add one more thing. If we make it or don't make it this year but we are on the bubble...and Oturu stays- we are going to be starting next season ranked in the top 25.
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Patience?? 7 years IS patient.

And you really dont want to get into recruiting, do you?
 

USAF said:
Patience?? 7 years IS patient.

And you really dont want to get into recruiting, do you?
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bga1 said:
. ... If he finishes this year well, goes to the NCAAs then he is 3 of the last 4. It's never been done here before.
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That would be a nice accomplishment for the program given our history, but it would be the second time in our history going to 3 NCAAs in 4 years, that is if you're not a believer in asterisks (I'm not). Gophers made the NCAAs in 1994, 1995, and 1997.

If the Gophers can get into the tournament this March, Michael Hurt will join some pretty select company (Big John Thomas, Trevor Winter) as being the only Gophers ever to be part of 3 NCAA Tournament teams.
 

SelectionSunday said:
That would be a nice accomplishment for the program given our history, but it would be the second time in our history going to 3 NCAAs in 4 years, that is if you're not a believer in asterisks (I'm not). Gophers made the NCAAs in 1994, 1995, and 1997.

If the Gophers can get into the tournament this March, Michael Hurt will join some pretty select company (Big John Thomas, Trevor Winter) as being the only Gophers ever to be part of 3 NCAA Tournament teams.
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That shows how poorly we have hired. Hard to do but it has been done elsewhere.
 

the next five games are going to decide this season and Rich's future here.
 


idagopher said:
the next five games are going to decide this season and Rich's future here.
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Not sure why you cut if off there. We have a stretch of 7 that we need to win a minimum of 4 during to keep reasonable NCAA hopes.
Then two really tough road games @ Wisc and @ Ind.
Then home for a game with Nebraska

The 7
@ Ill - I have a good feeling about that one, although normally I'd say 1 in 10
Wisc - If we are serious about getting to the tourney we win this
@PSU - tough one
Iowa - same situation as Wisky game
Indiana - we should beat them here
@NW- must road game
Maryland- ideally we already have the 4 wins by now and we win a big one here
@ Wisc -likely loss
@Indiana - tough game but could win, really a better chance than Illinois so maybe
Nebraska - must win

Hold the home court from here and win the NW game 11-9
Hold all but one on the home court, and steal one more road win 11-9
Finish 10-10 and win one or two in the BTT

If he gets to the tournament - he's back
If it is close then it becomes qualitative with the AD determining his chances of improving with a new guy he has in his pocket.
8 wins or less - he's gone, almost no doubt, unless they win the BTT....
 

bfast said:
What's the verdict?

Is it the team's job to get the crowd in the game, or is it the crowd's job to be in the game from the start?

I wager that it's the latter - especially if the team is having a reasonable amount of success on the year. If a crowd is in the game from the start, then it has an excuse to quiet down if the home team goes down by 15-20 points. However, there is no excuse for Williams Arena to be a morgue when the game is close and/or just starting!

I want you to contrast Williams Arena today with what the Indiana crowd did against Michigan State a few days ago. Night and day difference. Indiana's crowd willed them to victory and was mind-bendingly loud from the tap, while the Gopher crowd today seemed to sit on their hands for the most part (an ongoing theme).

We always here about how Williams has such a great home court atmosphere, but is that even true anymore?

What's the solution?

Fewer scandinavians?
Cheaper ticket prices for the upper deck?
Move the student section to the sides instead of stuffing it under that overhang that blocks the sound?
More messages over the PA/video board to make noise?

I insist that WE. CAN. DO. BETTER!
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BRING BACK COACH BILL MUSSELMAN
 

bc2211 said:
Our MINNESOTA chant, while great, comes almost immediately after EVERY single timeout. Anytime momentum shifts in our favor and the away team calls a time out, the chant starts before the players get to the huddle and cuts off the crowd’s opportunity to cheer in earnest about the recent play. The chant lasts 10 seconds, finishes with a lack luster ‘goooo gophers’ (who else wants to cut this part of the chant out... it sounds awful and ~35% of the fans yell it as loud as the letters), and the crowd is prompted to sit because the chanting is over. Away team takes a time out and silences our crowd in 15 seconds because of that damn chant. Let us cheer throughout the time out and make it loud for them in that huddle.
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Completely agree. In pretty much every away game I’ve watched, if the home team goes on a run before a timeout they cut to electronic music or something else with high energy that keeps people, especially students, excited. The Rouser is great at the right time, but is vastly overused at the Barn.
 





bga1 said:
Yep, just make a home run hire. Got it! Why hasn't anyone else in the last 45 years thought of this??!!

Great advice. A home run hire "who gives the team a quality B1G team" will help. Thanks.
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Brilliant stuff guys. We also need to keep in mind not to let the other schools know our little secret of the "home run hire" strategy. Imagine if every school figured out this little gem of wisdom. Pretty soon Northwestern, Nebraska, or even lowly South Dakota State would all have Duke like programs all because they decided to NOT accept mediocrity.... and where would that leave us?

This goes hand in hand with the "we wont be fans until can beat Michigan State" strategy. Lets see how the university likes fans who sit on their hands for a few years. We will teach them a hard lesson...
 

Wisconsin somehow able to show how it's done today.

SHOCKER!

We can do better.
 




bfast said:
What's the verdict?

Is it the team's job to get the crowd in the game, or is it the crowd's job to be in the game from the start?

I wager that it's the latter - especially if the team is having a reasonable amount of success on the year. If a crowd is in the game from the start, then it has an excuse to quiet down if the home team goes down by 15-20 points. However, there is no excuse for Williams Arena to be a morgue when the game is close and/or just starting!

I want you to contrast Williams Arena today with what the Indiana crowd did against Michigan State a few days ago. Night and day difference. Indiana's crowd willed them to victory and was mind-bendingly loud from the tap, while the Gopher crowd today seemed to sit on their hands for the most part (an ongoing theme).

We always here about how Williams has such a great home court atmosphere, but is that even true anymore?

What's the solution?

Fewer scandinavians?
Cheaper ticket prices for the upper deck?
Move the student section to the sides instead of stuffing it under that overhang that blocks the sound?
More messages over the PA/video board to make noise?

I insist that WE. CAN. DO. BETTER!
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Hi bfast. This is a great thread idea which was sidetracked. I would love to hear ideas from people on how to get fans back into the game. Having attended gopher games since the 70s as a kid the atmosphere now is pretty tame. I remember being in the student section when we handed Bobby Knight his worst loss. We were brutal to him and you could tell that he was getting really mad and then by the end of the game he was grinning at the student section and playing into it. What a blast. We did have pretty good team that year with 4th in Big Ten and 2nd round of NCAA. Loved Clem.

My suggestion would be better organization of the students section with a superfan to lead chants aimed at visiting players and coaches. Should be new chants at every game with the students tryign to goad the crowd into joining in. Irreverance is good - keep the f-bombs out of it though. Imagine what fun could be had with Davison at the upcoming game if you had a creative team working on some chants and a solid superfan leading them vs WI. Not sure what organization is there now but seems lacking...
 

Great question. Both. In going to games all over the country for a really long time it is about winning. Rutgers used to be a ghost town, PSU usually is. The old fieldhouse at UW was usually quiet with small crowds. UVA was not loud until they won big. UCLA is a ghost town now. Texas tech you could sleep, now it is crazy. Some schools sit students on the side and sell out, most of those are smaller schools too. There is more to do in Minneapolis but it would be packed if we were a conference champ, had tourney runs etc.. People here are starving for success and will come out in droves. Tons of big boosters are not even going to the games now and they loved going. I do think that some of the people that do go could get off their rear end and get and stay loud.
 

My guess is that things are slow to change and adapt because of "we've always done it this way" syndrome. Joe bagadonuts in the athletic department has been there for 25 years and his job is safe so long as the bottom doesn't fall out. "Good enough" is all that's required.

It is basically a government organization, after all.
 


"home court advantage" implies getting behind the team and making it difficult for the opponent no matter what the score.

"It gets really loud when Minnesota is playing well or goes on a run" is not a home court advantage.

"Give us something to cheer about!" misses the whole point.
 

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