Time to add Grand Canyon to your CBB bucket list

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EasyThere Pilgrim said:
I would NEVER attend a basketball game of another team.

Like I've been saying...this board is full of fans of other teams. Not just you...others in this thread are admitting they have sons & daughters, family, at other schools...and they enjoy blasting away at the Gophers.

Winning cures everything. Although yes, our administration has sabotaged our best teams...so let's hope that doesn't happen again.
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I'll respond to this since you indirectly referred to my post(s) MNJay. I have never attended a GCU basketball game but I definitely plan to now when I see what my daughter will get to experience first hand for the next four years. Prior to this year, my family has had season tickets for 52 years. I've been to countless games through a number of coaching regimes and witnessed great basketball in the Haskins era but a declining product in the subsequent years. Gophers basketball is my favorite team of my favorite sport. I've been critical of the product recently because the administration through its actions and inactions (including but not limited to its most recent hire and its investment in game day experience) hasn't proven to me that it shares my passion for Gophers basketball. Frustrating particularly given they still ask us to make the same financial investment despite an inferior product. My conscience will be clear if/when I attend a game at GCU.
 

There's seems to be a pipeline from the high school my kids went to that runs to GCU. I don't get it. In fact, I know the parents of one of those kids that goes there and they don't get it either. GCU is doing a fine job of marketing and these kids (and the churches they belong to) are sucking it all up. But, hey, whatever little Niles or Gabby wants....

As far as the U of M basketball experience, either go to a game or watch a game on TV...you'll see the stands full of an old school generation entrenched in their seats with arms folded, wearing their worn Russell Athletic Minnesota sweatshirts. They hate change and loud noises...and people that stand. The only thing that gets them on their feet is their half-assed effort of clapping along with the Rouser and trying to chant in sync with the cheer squad while they spell out M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A at the end. They're also holding onto some "aura" of Willams Arena and its ghosts of players past that they think should somehow inspire the players.
Also, it's becoming more and more evident that the U is getting students that just don't care much for spectator sports at all. It is what it is.
 

You could do similar things at the Barn but you're going to need to expand the student section to 5000 and put somebody in charge who will ignore a thousand complaints from everybody else. Also, you're going to have to get back to at least .500 ball.
 

golfing18now said:
Even Northwestern giving away chicken sandwiches after x number of missed free throws is a creative way of energizing the student section. Not 8 barn animal costumes. I'm now envious of the Northwestern game day experience. Think about that. The flash mobs at other schools like Maryland are really cool too.
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I was at the hockey game vs. MSU a couple weeks back and once the Gophers scored 5 goals, they made the announcement that everybody gets free custard at Culvers. We then took them up on that offer and went to the closest Culvers to the north of campus on the way home and it was packed with Gopher fans doing the same thing. The whole family got free custard, so it was a good way to cap the night.
 

FredCoxRocks said:
There's seems to be a pipeline from the high school my kids went to that runs to GCU. I don't get it. In fact, I know the parents of one of those kids that goes there and they don't get it either. GCU is doing a fine job of marketing and these kids (and the churches they belong to) are sucking it all up. But, hey, whatever little Niles or Gabby wants....

As far as the U of M basketball experience, either go to a game or watch a game on TV...you'll see the stands full of an old school generation entrenched in their seats with arms folded, wearing their worn Russell Athletic Minnesota sweatshirts. They hate change and loud noises...and people that stand. The only thing that gets them on their feet is their half-assed effort of clapping along with the Rouser and trying to chant in sync with the cheer squad while they spell out M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A at the end. They're also holding onto some "aura" of Willams Arena and its ghosts of players past that they think should somehow inspire the players.
Also, it's becoming more and more evident that the U is getting students that just don't care much for spectator sports at all. It is what it is.
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LOL, you reminded me of some concerts I've attended where I've seen older folks who paid to be near the front and expected to be able to sit like they were in their living room and the act would sound exactly like it sounded on the radio or video. They get pretty upset that other fans are standing, dancing, cheering, waving their arms and singing along with the artist while the talent on stage enhances their performance of the songs in a variety of ways.

I admit that I'm not a particularly active audience member either, but it's funny to watch the other fuddy-duddies get upset at kids having a fun time.
 


@BleedGopher I noticed you skipped over this:
Gophers_4life said:
Now do the weather in Dec, Jan, Feb.
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In all seriousness, you lament that the overall atmosphere -- ie, leading up to the game, not just the game itself -- is something that the U is not attempting to recreate.

For example in one of those videos posted on the thread, it shows what looks like many hundreds if not over a thousand people enjoying a large BBQ type festivity at hundreds of picnic tables on green grass and in reasonable outdoor temperatures before the game.

Literally ... HOW ... can the U replicate such a thing here??

You want people to come sit outdoors in the frigid cold, and likely dark if during a weekday, to hang out prior to the game?

I could maybe see something like that on the weekend during the daytime, but still, where? I doubt they're going to clear out a parking lot like they do for football tailgating.


Could see perhaps setting up tables in the Pav. Maybe some people would come to that. But it would probably be a booster thing and they'd charge an arm & a leg for it. And would be for special occasions.


I'm sure the U would love to hear any ideas you have, towards this end. Same goes for anyone on here with good ideas.
 


Gophers_4life said:
@BleedGopher I noticed you skipped over this:



In all seriousness, you lament that the overall atmosphere -- ie, leading up to the game, not just the game itself -- is something that the U is not attempting to recreate.

For example in one of those videos posted on the thread, it shows what looks like many hundreds if not over a thousand people enjoying a large BBQ type festivity at hundreds of picnic tables on green grass and in reasonable outdoor temperatures before the game.

Literally ... HOW ... can the U replicate such a thing here??

You want people to come sit outdoors in the frigid cold, and likely dark if during a weekday, to hang out prior to the game?

I could maybe see something like that on the weekend during the daytime, but still, where? I doubt they're going to clear out a parking lot like they do for football tailgating.


Could see perhaps setting up tables in the Pav. Maybe some people would come to that. But it would probably be a booster thing and they'd charge an arm & a leg for it. And would be for special occasions.


I'm sure the U would love to hear any ideas you have, towards this end. Same goes for anyone on here with good ideas.
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The outdoor tailgate/eating scene was fantastic. I purposefully didn’t mention it in my OP because it’s not an option at MN, nor was there a a single student out there. They were inside creating the atmosphere.

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
The outdoor tailgate/eating scene was fantastic. I purposefully didn’t mention it in my OP because it’s not an option at MN, nor was there a a single student out there. They were inside creating the atmosphere.

Go Gophers!!
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So...you stay outside at a restaurant in an area where it's "far more dangerous than Minneapolis..."
 




MennoSota said:
So...you stay outside at a restaurant in an area where it's "far more dangerous than Minneapolis..."
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For those who clearly are unfamiliar with GCU and their campus...

GCU has a campus that is absolutely gorgeous. The campus is walled off from the immediately surrounding area because it is in a tough area of Phoenix. The place that was referenced to eat outside prior to the game is within the campus and is beautiful. You can drive within 5 minutes of campus to have decent options for restaurants that are in safe areas of the city.

As for GCU being for profit and only about the money...

I have yet to find a college that is not charging a fairly high price for a degree. However, if you were to compare attending GCU with other private colleges (including the entire MIAC), you will find them extremely reasonable. In fact many in state students find their costs to be competitve with our in state public institutions - ASU, U of A, and NAU. In addition, they have an excellent nursing program.

There is no comparison for the costs of attending sporting events at GCU to their PAC 12 neighbors, ASU and U of A. Obviously they are not playing in a P5 or P6 conference depending on the sport. They do a great job of catering to the local youth teams and work hard to create a great game day experience for them when they are in attendance.
 
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St Thomas has played their cards well. I think some people invested in the community want an institution on par academically and institutionally with U of M.

I was thinking the other day at Williams Arena that so many things in eyesight have been neglected for too many years. Rough boards decades old. Ancient wall textures decades old. Old fixtures decades old. Imagine Williams with much nicer looking visuals. If you can visually see it, then it gets replaced with something modern looking. The one thing that cannot be changed is the width of the concourses.

Time to at least fix what should have been fixed a long time ago. Will it be 40 years before anything, anything is spruced up?
 



BleedGopher said:
I'm bolding for emphasis. What an absolutely horrible, brutal and ridiculous post.

Go Gophers!!
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Well all the negativity & ridicule toward Coach Johnson & the Gophers on this board can get a Gopher fan like me in a skeptical mood. Saying how great Phog Allen and Cameron Indoor are rubs me the wrong way too.

Exchange our records with Kansas & Duke's and then compare atmospheres.
 
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BleedGopher said:
The outdoor tailgate/eating scene was fantastic. I purposefully didn’t mention it in my OP because it’s not an option at MN, nor was there a a single student out there. They were inside creating the atmosphere.

Go Gophers!!
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So it's just students? That's it?
 

AZGopher8 said:
For those who clearly are unfamiliar with GCU and their campus...

GCU has a campus that is absolutely gorgeous. The campus is walled off from the immediately surrounding area because it is in a tough area of Phoenix. The place that was referenced to eat outside prior to the game is within the campus and is beautiful. You can drive within 5 minutes of campus to have decent options for restaurants that are in safe areas of the city.

As for GCU being for profit and only about the money...

I have yet to find a college that is not charging a fairly high price for a degree. However, if you were to compare attending GCU with other private colleges (including the entire MIAC), you will find them extremely reasonable. In fact many in state students find their costs to be competitve with our in state public institutions - ASU, U of A, and NAU. In addition, they have an excellent nursing program.

There is no comparison for the costs of attending sporting events at GCU to their PAC 12 neighbors, ASU and U of A. Obviously they are not playing in a P5 or P6 conference depending on the sport. They do a great job of catering to the local youth teams and work hard to create a great game day experience for them when they are in attendance.
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Thank you for the very solid post.

I'm sure you're correct on all the GCU points as well.


The big, huge thing is the for-profit, online diploma mill that funded all of this (along with selling shares on the stock market, etc.). It's the exact same thing Liberty U does, that has also funded their rapid ascension in sports.


That's why GCU has been able to upgrade their campus so rapidly, as well as their athletics, and keep their costs down.


Perhaps in yours, and maybe many others, opinions, that is more of a "OK, so what? Every school should do that then". To which I say OK, you are entitled to your opinion, and it's a discussion for another thread.
 

Bfan said:
St Thomas has played their cards well. I think some people invested in the community want an institution on par academically and institutionally with U of M.

I was thinking the other day at Williams Arena that so many things in eyesight have been neglected for too many years. Rough boards decades old. Ancient wall textures decades old. Old fixtures decades old. Imagine Williams with much nicer looking visuals. If you can visually see it, then it gets replaced with something modern looking. The one thing that cannot be changed is the width of the concourses.

Time to at least fix what should have been fixed a long time ago. Will it be 40 years before anything, anything is spruced up?
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I doubt much gets changed until the old duffers that support U basketball and think Williams Arena is some sort of basketball Mecca start to die off.
Williams Arena should be torn down.
 

FredCoxRocks said:
I doubt much gets changed until the old duffers that support U basketball and think Williams Arena is some sort of basketball Mecca start to die off.
Williams Arena should be torn down.
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Not many are attending games at Williams Arena as it is.
 

FredCoxRocks said:
I doubt much gets changed until the old duffers that support U basketball and think Williams Arena is some sort of basketball Mecca start to die off.
Williams Arena should be torn down.
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I agree. The Gophers should play in an outdoor stadium that expects people to brave the elements. s/ 😏
 

Wet_Blanket_Guy said:
Great post. The atmosphere in the arena has been terrible for years. It needs to dramatically change!
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It won't happen until you change the average age of fans for the most part. Those people buy season tickets and that is what they try to sell at the U of M.

True however is that the atmosphere will change when the team wins.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Great thread, but it's frustration fuel because of our lame game-day experience. It feels like the weather: everybody talks about it, but nobody does anything about it. It seems that the U is some combination of ingorance and apathy about whether to do anything different or what to do if they did. Is there anything a fan or booster can do? Obviously, whoever's orchestrating the experience at games isn't very good at what they do. At the same time, I see all kinds of good ideas being voiced, here and elsewhere. Certainly, some of these ideas could make their way into practice if there were a mechanism for implementation.
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Somebody once did something about it. His name was Bill M
Bad Gopher said:
Great thread, but it's frustration fuel because of our lame game-day experience. It feels like the weather: everybody talks about it, but nobody does anything about it. It seems that the U is some combination of ingorance and apathy about whether to do anything different or what to do if they did. Is there anything a fan or booster can do? Obviously, whoever's orchestrating the experience at games isn't very good at what they do. At the same time, I see all kinds of good ideas being voiced, here and elsewhere. Certainly, some of these ideas could make their way into practice if there were a mechanism for implementation.
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somebody once did something about it. His name was Bill Musselman. The clip above from GCU/Illinois looks like a nursing home compared to the Barn when Muss brought the pre-game warmup to town in front of 17,500 fans.

Clem kept Williams rocking without the pre-game, just great talent and great basketball. The Barn was the toughest road game in America.
 

EasyThere Pilgrim said:
Well all the negativity & ridicule toward Coach Johnson & the Gophers on this board can get a Gopher fan like me in a skeptical mood. Saying how great Phog Allen and Cameron Indoor are rubs me the wrong way too.

Exchange our records with Kansas & Duke's and then compare atmospheres.
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They are great venues because they bring in great talent and play fantastic basketball. We once did something close to that.
 

FredCoxRocks said:
I doubt much gets changed until the old duffers that support U basketball and think Williams Arena is some sort of basketball Mecca start to die off.
Williams Arena should be torn down.
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So when the only people who actually support Gopher basketball "die off", the place will be rocking with all the people who never have supported it? Good take. Maybe then nobody will go there cuz it's too crowded.
 

FredCoxRocks said:
I doubt much gets changed until the old duffers that support U basketball and think Williams Arena is some sort of basketball Mecca start to die off.
Williams Arena should be torn down.
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I was prepared to ignore your prior post critical of the "old school generation" fans who attend men's basketball games, but your suggestion that my death will improve the game atmosphere goes too far, and I feel you owe me and my contemporaries an apology.

At least we “old school generation” fans are attending the games, as many of us have been doing for decades. Some of us have endowed scholarships for men’s basketball players and have supported the Athletic Department in other ways, such as through annual donations that will end when we make you happy by dying. Until that time I, at least, am not about to stop attending games just because I’m not as young as I used to be. I admit that I struggle to stand for the Rouser, but I do so, and I know the words to every school song. It’s not our fault that the “younger generation” fans haven’t experienced Williams Arena in its glory days and are staying away in droves; and I'm not sure what makes you think that they will start attending when we are dead and gone if the product on the court does not improve.

Bottom line, I’m saddened that anyone would complain about those of a different generation that are among the fans that regularly attend games and hope that they would die. The hope ought to be to fill the empty seats with students and fans that satisfy your profile of acceptable fans. Accomplish this and you won’t notice if a few seniors make a “half-assed effort of clapping along with the Rouser” or don’t “chant in sync” to the spelling of Minnesota. In the words of the late Sid Hartman, “Win baby, win,” in which case Williams Arena will likely be rocking again, and complaints about the atmosphere there will hopefully subside.
 

FredCoxRocks said:
I doubt much gets changed until the old duffers that support U basketball and think Williams Arena is some sort of basketball Mecca start to die off.
Williams Arena should be torn down.
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Well when that happens there won’t be anyone at the games. I guess you can tear it down cause no one will even know it happened.
 

So clearly we've established something on this thread:

i) lots and lots of loud, young, passionate students are the key to an intense, college basketball atmosphere

ii) the U currently does not have that.


I know the U charges students money to attend basketball games. Granted it's like $90 for a season ticket, or something?


But what if they let students in for free?
 

gopheraddict said:
I was prepared to ignore your prior post critical of the "old school generation" fans who attend men's basketball games, but your suggestion that my death will improve the game atmosphere goes too far, and I feel you owe me and my contemporaries an apology.

At least we “old school generation” fans are attending the games, as many of us have been doing for decades. Some of us have endowed scholarships for men’s basketball players and have supported the Athletic Department in other ways, such as through annual donations that will end when we make you happy by dying. Until that time I, at least, am not about to stop attending games just because I’m not as young as I used to be. I admit that I struggle to stand for the Rouser, but I do so, and I know the words to every school song. It’s not our fault that the “younger generation” fans haven’t experienced Williams Arena in its glory days and are staying away in droves; and I'm not sure what makes you think that they will start attending when we are dead and gone if the product on the court does not improve.

Bottom line, I’m saddened that anyone would complain about those of a different generation that are among the fans that regularly attend games and hope that they would die. The hope ought to be to fill the empty seats with students and fans that satisfy your profile of acceptable fans. Accomplish this and you won’t notice if a few seniors make a “half-assed effort of clapping along with the Rouser” or don’t “chant in sync” to the spelling of Minnesota. In the words of the late Sid Hartman, “Win baby, win,” in which case Williams Arena will likely be rocking again, and complaints about the atmosphere there will hopefully subside.
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Yikes. I have not endowed a scholarship but your testimony may as well be me and my season ticket peers for 30 plus years. Grateful I can still stand for the Rouser, though.
 

Holy Man said:
Yikes. I have not endowed a scholarship but your testimony may as well be me and my season ticket peers for 30 plus years. Grateful I can still stand for the Rouser, though.
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I think we still annoy our neighbors with our Rouser volume and bitching at the officials. The day that's no longer the case is the day I wander out into the woods and quietly die there.
 

GCU>UM

Its like every other business or entity in the world. You have to adapt to the times whether you like it or not. Minnesota will not do that. Thus we will have mediocre products and experiences for fans and athletes.

Alaska Anchorage volleyball has a better experience than gopher basketball. And no UAA is not for profit for those you whom that really bothers.
 

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