Our team deserves a louder crowd

[BleedGopher]

This isn't meant at one group or another in attendance tonight but just an overall comment - we just don't know how to get excited any more and our definition of "loud" isn't what it used to be. I understand that this was "only" Eastern Washington tonight, but the boys played hard, played tough and played well and we had numerous opportunities to get on our feet but it never happened. We had some big three pointers, some big dunks, some big three-point plays but not one single big thunderous response from the crowd. A few of us in our section observed Donna Smith's reaction and you could see her frustration in the crowds reaction. She was doing her part to get people up and she sat down at one point in noticable frustration that no one joined her and this was at a point when E. Washington called a 30 second time out because we went on a run. The acutal in attendance numbers are getting better so that's not the issue, but we certainly didn't match the teams intensity tonight...hopefully it was just an "off night" for the crowd.

Go Gophers!!

[GopherLady]

I watched it on TV tonight (already back home for Thanksgiving) and the crowd seemed soooo quiet. You know it's a bad sign when you can hear the 10 cheerleader's voices doing cheers...instead of the whole crowd.

I know I've brought this up to my friends, and on the board - but I just don't get this. We are selling more tickets, I've heard the student section is almost sold out, we have a top 20 recruiting class (some of them are already making big impacts), a future HOF coach, and we're undefeated....why is there no buzz or excitement around this team. Other than than the lack-lucker NC schedule...there's no reason. I loved that Tubby even mentioned that in his post game interview, I guess it's the first time he's gone 5-0 in quite a few years, and he attributed to our schedule, I love his honestly.

Back to the point - what would it take for the fans to get into these games? Should we put Donna in cheerleader uniform and try to get people fired up? I feel that in years past, even with smaller crowds and worse teams, there's been more support.

[From the Barn]

Play a decent team during a non-holiday and the crowd will be into the game.

[bga1]

If we play a good game against Virginia the crowd will come alive. Everyone knows that these games should all be won by 20+ points - even with a young Gopher team-and the average fan just isn't going to go wild for these games. This year's schedule is understandable but we have got to start spicing up the home schedule with better opponents that have a reputation or the Barn will remain dead in the preseason. A better schedule, some big home wins (beat Wisky, MSU or Purdue) and a trip to the NCAAs this year would change the atmosphere around here.

[From the Barn]

Agreed, it might not be a bad thing that we are taking for granted beating bad teams.

[BleedGopher]

Good points. I should have also said that our crowd deserves a better non-conference schedule!!

Go Gophers!!

[skoalvikings]

If Tubby decides to actually play some real teams, I'd expect the crowd to be more into it. I don't remember any really loud games against the creampuffs when Clem was here.

[andy]

The title of Bleedgopher's post was, "Our team deserves a louder crowd". Forget Tubby. They ought to have their fans fired up, regardless.

It's been said over and over, and I think it has been shown continually at Minnesota sporting events in general.... fans in MN are, for the most part, fair-weather bandwagon jumpers, who feel as though their teams OWE them something special in order for them to offer their full support.

In certain other places and following other teams, fans go absolutely bonkers, regardless of the opponent and regardless of the situation.

[GophersInIowa]

The title of Bleedgopher's post was, "Our team deserves a louder crowd". Forget Tubby. They ought to have their fans fired up, regardless.

It's been said over and over, and I think it has been shown continually at Minnesota sporting events in general.... fans in MN are, for the most part, fair-weather bandwagon jumpers, who feel as though their teams OWE them something special in order for them to offer their full support.

In certain other places and following other teams, fans go absolutely bonkers, regardless of the opponent and regardless of the situation.

As others have stated, tonight was against a below average team on the night before Thanksgiving. What do you expect? I'm also guessing there were a lot of people there that normally don't go to Gopher games but got free tickets because some season ticket holders were out of town so they gave them away.

Had a co-worker go to iowa's game tuesday night and she said it was absolutely dead in there. It happens most places. For the most part, only the elites will have crazy crowds all the time no matter who they're playing or when it is played.

[MNSnowman]

I don't know, Bleed, but I'd say the crowd was about 2/3rds of the last game's actual attendance based on the number of empty seats around us. It sure looked like the upper level was pretty sparse as well.

There's just not the same synergy when the arena is not filled.

[shikenjanski]

I wholeheartedly agree with Bleed. The crowd "SHOULD" be better. But it isn't. And the poor non-conference schedule is not the only reason the crowd is apathetic. There is a culture of apathy.

1)We are in a market with many athletic choices. Like someone else mentioned, if one sport gets rolling, people jump on. (In Nebraska, Indiana and Spokane, those are the only games in town.)
2)We are also still experiencing fallout from the Haskins & Monson eras. It will take time to win people back. (Can it be possible that the great Gopher teams of the 60's, 70's & 80's had bandwagon jumpers too?) 3) The Gopher basketball fan base has gotten older. Not everyone in their 60's and 70's want to get up and holler. 4) The local Twin Cities radio and TV media don't care about the Gopher Basketball program. The guys on KFAN know the names of the third-string players on special teams for the Vikings but they don't know who Damian Johnson is.

I think there were years that Fathers brought their kids to the games and the memories of those times were good. Then the kids got season tickets and they began to bring their kids. Maybe that cycle slacked off a bit in the mid 80's, 90's and during the Monson era. (Those kids latched on to other sports teams that were experiencing some success.) In any event, I feel that if Tubby can win and bring in a few more good opponents (and whip them!), this thing will turn around. The scene at the Barn needs to become wild again.

[Friend Of Tubby]

If Tubby decides to actually play some real teams, I'd expect the crowd to be more into it. I don't remember any really loud games against the creampuffs when Clem was here.

The Gophers in 2010 and 2011 will be stronger and more experienced. Look for tougher OOC opponents those years.

[Art Vandelay]

The Wild, T-Wolves, and Gophers all played at home last night. Genious move by the scheduling powers that be. However, the Wild will always outdraw and be a better ticket than the Gophers and the Timberwolves are irrelevant so I guess it shouldn't matter.

I know it's apples to oranges, but was Tubby this gutless with his NC schedule at UK???

[soneillumn]

Seemed as though Tubby played more top teams coaching at UK. Granted, playing at Rupp or on the road, it's probably an easier sell to have UK on the schedule than the Gophers, financially speaking.

[anonymous]

In several of the cases when Tubby was at UK, he had long-term series that there's no way he could have changed.

When you have an annual game with Indiana and Louisville, that's a pretty good start to a non-conference schedule.

In addition, UK is always a very strong draw for some of the really good tournaments -- Preseason NIT, Maui, Great Alaska -- and the one-game TV events like the Wooden or the Jimmy V.

There were also years in which the Cats played teams such as North Carolina or Michigan State.

When you do that, games against Coppin State or Morehead State or High Point are much easier to stomach.

I've said it on here before and I'll say it again: Gophers season ticket holders are being ripped off with this home n-c schedule. There isn't anything close to a marquee game on the schedule.

Because of that, I kind of disagree with my friend Bleed. While a loud crowd is great, fans are also consumers. I can't blame anyone for not getting excited about an inferior product (not a reflection on the Gophers, it's a reflection on the quality of competition/games). Fans have already sat through three games against D2 teams and a couple of other games in which the Gophers clearly had the most talent. I think the majority of fans can only watch so much of that before their interest starts to wane. They're still interested enough to show up, but some of the early-season interest/excitement has been used up.

Part of this is on the athletic department administration. They need to be responsible to make sure that the home schedule has some quality opponents on it.

In terms of when games are played, the reality is that it isn't really possible to try to work around the Wolves and the Wild. All three are working on their schedules at the same time. The reality is that there are probably already contracts signed for games next season. The bigger issues for the Gophers is working with the women (obviously building availability) and men's hockey (because of parking/traffic concerns). Next year there may also be football to work around.

[Friend Of Tubby]

In several of the cases when Tubby was at UK, he had long-term series that there's no way he could have changed.

When you have an annual game with Indiana and Louisville, that's a pretty good start to a non-conference schedule.

In addition, UK is always a very strong draw for some of the really good tournaments -- Preseason NIT, Maui, Great Alaska -- and the one-game TV events like the Wooden or the Jimmy V.

There were also years in which the Cats played teams such as North Carolina or Michigan State.

When you do that, games against Coppin State or Morehead State or High Point are much easier to stomach.

I've said it on here before and I'll say it again: Gophers season ticket holders are being ripped off with this home n-c schedule. There isn't anything close to a marquee game on the schedule.

Because of that, I kind of disagree with my friend Bleed. While a loud crowd is great, fans are also consumers. I can't blame anyone for not getting excited about an inferior product (not a reflection on the Gophers, it's a reflection on the quality of competition/games). Fans have already sat through three games against D2 teams and a couple of other games in which the Gophers clearly had the most talent. I think the majority of fans can only watch so much of that before their interest starts to wane. They're still interested enough to show up, but some of the early-season interest/excitement has been used up.

Part of this is on the athletic department administration. They need to be responsible to make sure that the home schedule has some quality opponents on it.

In terms of when games are played, the reality is that it isn't really possible to try to work around the Wolves and the Wild. All three are working on their schedules at the same time. The reality is that there are probably already contracts signed for games next season. The bigger issues for the Gophers is working with the women (obviously building availability) and men's hockey (because of parking/traffic concerns). Next year there may also be football to work around.

The first sentence is not accurate. Tubby had full control over the schedule his last 7 or 8 years at UK.

[anonymous]

Really? You mean the UK AD would have let him end either the Louisville or Indiana series?

The Indiana series has been played every year since 1970. The Louisville series has been played in the regular season every year since 1984.

I don't believe that if Tubby had a choice, he would have wanted to play Rick. Pitino obviously had an impact on Tubby's career and he knew that Rick's first trip to Rupp was going to be a circus. Tubby is too classy to want that if he had a choice.

I agree that he had control of a lot of his non-conference schedule at Kentucky. But he has more control now.

[tjgopher]

Non-marquee games just don't draw all that well. Here are attendance figures from Big Ten home games this week:

Eastern Washington at Minnesota - 11977
Southeast Missouri State at Iowa - 8184
Norfolk State at Michigan - 7544
Bowling Green at Ohio State - 12751
New Hampshire at Penn State - 4546
Oakland at Iowa - 8079
Jackson State at Illinois - 13865

[From the Barn]

Especially cringe worthy when you look at the size of the arenas at Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State.

[tjgopher]

Especially cringe worthy when you look at the size of the arenas at Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State.

Indeed. And, I guarantee you those are "tickets sold" numbers, meaning those attendance figures count season ticket holders who no-show. The actual number of seats filled was far less in all of those cases. I saw BTN highlights of Iowa-SEMO the other night. If they had 5000 people there, I'd be surprised. Empty seats EVERYWHERE.

[From the Barn]

Seemed as though Tubby played more top teams coaching at UK. Granted, playing at Rupp or on the road, it's probably an easier sell to have UK on the schedule than the Gophers, financially speaking.

True story. What does a top tier team get for a home and home with the Gophers? A chance for a bad loss at Williams Arena or a home win that won't really bump up their RPI? If you are horrible or you are great, you can get whatever schedule you want. If you are middle of the road, or even worse, not particularly predictable, no one wants to play you.

[From the Barn]

Indeed. And, I guarantee you those are "tickets sold" numbers, meaning those attendance figures count season ticket holders who no-show. The actual number of seats filled was far less in all of those cases. I saw BTN highlights of Iowa-SEMO the other night. If they had 5000 people there, I'd be surprised. Empty seats EVERYWHERE.

How big is Carver-Hawkeye? I'm lazy and don't want to look it up. And isn't arranged the same way as Marriuci, or is that somewhere else?

[ShowinGoldyLove]

How big is Carver-Hawkeye?
15,500

[tjgopher]

How big is Carver-Hawkeye? I'm lazy and don't want to look it up. And isn't arranged the same way as Marriuci, or is that somewhere else?

Yes, it is a larger Mariucci. Seats 15,500. Enter at the very top and walk down to your seat.

[From the Barn]

Yes, it is a larger Mariucci. Seats 15,500. Enter at the very top and walk down to your seat.

Ouch, at least at The Barn we can hide plenty of empty seats under the overhangs. No where to hide anything with that arrangement.

[GortonsFisherman011]

I know i've said this before, but it's so embarrassing trying to get a chant going in the student section and nobody past the first 3 rows says anything. Its very frustrating; i feel like everybody behind the first three rows either doesn't know anything about basketball or just doesn't care. In either case, things need to change. And yes, I am calling people out in the student section who never say anything. BTW, I want to extend an invitation to Mrs. Smith to come over to the barnyard's first 3 rows to hang out with the real fans.

[From the Barn]

I know i've said this before, but it's so embarrassing trying to get a chant going in the student section and nobody past the first 3 rows says anything. Its very frustrating; i feel like everybody behind the first three rows either doesn't know anything about basketball or just doesn't care. In either case, things need to change. And yes, I am calling people out in the student section who never say anything. BTW, I want to extend an invitation to Mrs. Smith to come over to the barnyard's first 3 rows to hang out with the real fans.

If you had gotten people to start singing "I'm a little tea pot short and stout" whenever Valentine touched the ball, I would have joined in. A little creativity goes a long way. Beef Stroganoff does not count.

And by the way, just because someone doesn't feel like chanting when we are up 20 in a meaningless game, doesn't mean they know nothing about basketball. It means they know a lot about basketball. It doesn't mean they don't care, it means they care the right amount. If you thought you were going to Duke, I can see why you are frustrated.

On a productive note, if you really want more people involved in the student section, spread out. You all have created your little "super fan bubble" and send a signal, unintentional or not, that you up front got the cheering covered. Try this during the Virginia game, and be pleasantly surprised, or if it doesn't work, try something else. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results doesn't make a lick of sense, and you should know that.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3062/3065350786_dd8563dcef.jpg?v=0

In short, you perpetuate the bystander effect. People think it is the job of the people in the front row to be loud, and it is their job to cheer when they feel like it. If you spread out, and keep chanting, people will join in, because they will understand it is their job to be loud regardless of where they are sitting. At the schools known for the student section, the superfans are everywhere, so start being every where.

Of course, you might not be able to sit right next to your buddies, you won't have your front row seat, and you won't be on TV as much. But you will have a more enthusiastic and consistently loud student section. If you want the rest of the student section to be loud, join the rest of the student section and make it happen.

There are plenty of people that can sit down and front and mock the other team. There are not enough people that are willing to wade into the rest of the student section (behind the band especially and the far side from you all) and actually lead. Be a leader, step up, and create this. The student section has slipped since the good old days, and you can bring it back. I've got my little nook of the student section covered, and we aren't afraid to yell.

But if you want the back left corner involved, put two guys there and get them involved. If you want the section right behind the cheer leaders and next to the band to be loud, put your 4 or five loudest guys there. If you want the folks just under the over hang involved, put someone in the middle of each section just under the over hang.

I understand the capitalist reasoning of having the "best" fans in the "best seats," but when you do that there is a lot of open space with no one taking the initiative to be loud and to lead the occasionally more conservative cheerers. You have a lot of people in the student section who are ready to act like idiots (in a good way) and they are just looking for a catalyst. Its time for the super fans to take one for the team, and start covering the real estate.

[GortonsFisherman011]

If you had gotten people to start singing "I'm a little tea pot short and stout" whenever Valentine touched the ball, I would have joined in. A little creativity goes a long way. Beef Stroganoff does not count.

And by the way, just because someone doesn't feel like chanting when we are up 20 in a meaningless game, doesn't mean they know nothing about basketball. It means they know a lot about basketball. It doesn't mean they don't care, it means they care the right amount. If you thought you were going to Duke, I can see why you are frustrated.

First of all, if someone isn't cheering it doesn't mean they know a lot about basketball. Secondly, it doesn't mean they care the right amount. It doesn't matter how many points we are up or down, we should cheer hard all game. This isn't football where everyone comes 15 minutes late and leaves at the half. And FYI, I never even thought of going to Duke, I was born a Gopher fan, and will die a Gopher fan.

You do have a good idea, however. Unfortunately, there are not enough of us to implement it successfully, in my opinion. In an ideal world, there would be world peace, no one starving, cancer cured, and enough people to have 3 crazies per 20 seat area. That's just not the case. I understand that the people under the overhang almost never cheer, and that's too lofty of a goal at this point in the program. I'm most disappointed in the lack of energy from even the first 15 rows of section 110, usually the loudest in the building. It's been abysmal this season, and I think it would be a disservice to scatter the so-called "superfans" around the section. Btw, where do you sit anyway? (I also hope that there is a lottery someday for student tickets, that way nobody can buy an extra for their parents and the people who get it because their friends do will think twice)

[inflectionpoint]

Got to agree with FTB. The Barnyard and the crew is great, but they need Gorton and others to expand their leadership. The crowd will get better as the season progresses and the big games begin, but if the leaders of the Barnyard get other fans to have a vested interest in the cheering (a little different than the game) it will produce results. Also expanding out of your little corner would be helpful. Plant a couple operatives over by the band in order surround the students with good examples. Perhaps work on some new chants that everyone can get into as well.

I'm in the student section ('05 alumni) and am a rabid fan. Would be glad to help in anyway I can.

[From the Barn]

First of all, if someone isn't cheering it doesn't mean they know a lot about basketball. Secondly, it doesn't mean they care the right amount. It doesn't matter how many points we are up or down, we should cheer hard all game. This isn't football where everyone comes 15 minutes late and leaves at the half. And FYI, I never even thought of going to Duke, I was born a Gopher fan, and will die a Gopher fan.

You do have a good idea, however. Unfortunately, there are not enough of us to implement it successfully, in my opinion. In an ideal world, there would be world peace, no one starving, cancer cured, and enough people to have 3 crazies per 20 seat area. That's just not the case. I understand that the people under the overhang almost never cheer, and that's too lofty of a goal at this point in the program. I'm most disappointed in the lack of energy from even the first 15 rows of section 110, usually the loudest in the building. It's been abysmal this season, and I think it would be a disservice to scatter the so-called "superfans" around the section. Btw, where do you sit anyway? (I also hope that there is a lottery someday for student tickets, that way nobody can buy an extra for their parents and the people who get it because their friends do will think twice)


You have at least 15 people in your little area. That is more than enough. You complain about how things are, but won't do anything to fix it, nice. Sounds like you are the one hoping to snap your fingers and have world peace. I get that you like being on TV and sitting with your friends, but you need to ask yourself if you want great seats or a great student section.

And dude, you take away the parents and peoples friends and you miss out on about 400 people in a 2,000 person section.

[From the Barn]

You need 22 people, probably less than that. Depending on your powers of persuasion, you should be able to find 21 other people in your little area willing to help out. I wouldn't try this during the NDSU game since its Thanksgiving weekend, but you should have plenty of people ready, willing, and able during Virginia game. If I were you I would seriously consider making some sort of chart, and talking to the people who stand in line before the doors open. Explain to them what you are trying to do, its goal, and why you need their help. You'll be surprised what can happen if you ask. If they are willing to stand in line for an hour just to stand around for another hour, they should be willing to take one for the team.

Any way, if you look at the chart below, the green areas are where you are now, where the cheerleaders are, and where the band is located. When you "super fans" distribute yourselves throughout the student section, your little area will still be fine. The most enthusiastic students will gravitate to that corner on their own.

The yellow areas, in my opinion, will be fine by the time the conference season starts. Yes they aren't threatening to kill anyone after a bad call, but they are engaged in the game, chanting when its needed, etc. I know you want them louder, and they will be by the time the Big Ten season starts.

The gray area is pretty much hopeless. They are reserved seats for god knows who, and won't be students. An enthusiastic student section would probably encourage some of them to be a little louder than the casual fan, but you can't put people there and they will largely do their own thing no matter what.

The red areas are the big question mark. Yes, they are quiet now, but the reason isn't as simple as simple as they don't care or they don't know nothing about basketball.

Problem # 1 is population density. At least for non-conference games, there just aren't as many people there, and the ones who are there tend to be spread out. Less people + more spread out people equals less noise.

Problem #2 is that people stand in these areas specifically because they don't want to be loud and rowdy. This is especially true in the top corners and under the overhang. Putting some loud rowdy people up there and they will get that they are still in a loud zone, and there is no safe zone.

Problem #3 is that some people in the red areas may not know much about basketball. This is where leadership is important. If they have people near them who clearly know about basketball, and are freaking out when the team needs a big defensive stop or after a great hustling play, they will follow your lead.

Problem #4 is that some people don't care. See the solution to problem #3. If they think it is just fine to not even clap during a non-conference game, if you have people near them acting like every possession matters, they will get it, and join in.

Problem #5 is that a lot of Minnesotans, regardless of their age, don't want to stick out. If the 100 people who are closest to them aren't chanting, they will be reluctant to chant themselves. You can unlocks their chanting potential.

Problem #6 is that geographically it is a very large student section, and even if there are students who want to follow your lead (and there are more than plenty) who are sitting on the opposite end of the student section, they can't see you or hear you. You can't make a speech to 2,000 without a microphone, but making a speech to 100 without a microphone is not that hard. You also can't yell at quiet sections to be louder if you can't even see where they are or talk to them. If you are in your spots before the other fans get there, you can tell them as they arrive they are expected to be loud. Heck, even practice a chant or two. Somehow the Barnyard stopped being a participatory experience, and you need to educate the rest of The Barnyard out of that attitude.

On to the graphic below. The light blue circles are an approximation of the number of superfan volunteers and where they should be. Obviously if there are parts of the student section where no one is, putting a superfan there isn't worth it. The yellow areas are fine, and the red areas need help. Concentrate on the red areas, and enjoy being the great revitalizers of the student section.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/3066084436_45cb961a8b.jpg?v=0

It also wouldn't be a bad idea for the 22 or so of you to differentiate yourselves somehow, so people will see you are the super fans and will follow your lead. I know of you guys wears some sort of atrocious plastic gopher head hat. If you all wore those, people who know who you are, and would probably be more likely to follow you because of your semi-official status. If you go for the silly hats or some otherway to differentiate yourselves, for the love of god don't revert to sitting back in your little corner, because it would only reinforce and amplify that your little corner has the cheering covered, and the rest of us can be free-riders.

[From the Barn]

And if others have ideas to revitalize the student section, chime in. The way I see it, is that we have about a month to whip the student section into shape for the MSU game, so lets get crackin.

[GortonsFisherman011]

This is a good idea. I'm going to contact the Barnyard Board and try to get them onboard with it, maybe have them help to orchestrate it. It's tough to just get my couple buddies i go with to get this done, hopefully the byb can help.

[From the Barn]

I would take the NDSU game/pregame as the opportunity to talk it up and get feed back from the 10 or so rows behind you, and then implement it for VA, and perfect it during Cornell and High Point.

[howeda7]

As a general comment on the student section and the 'aging' of the season-ticket base...How much do student season tickets cost? And have they ever considered making them free?

Minnesota is a huge school and should have no problem having a full student section year-in, year-out. Here in VA they do not have that problem, even though they have had even less sucess then MN in recent years and have a smaller student-body. Biggenst reason? The tickets are free for students. So even when JPJ is 1/3 empy, it's still louder then heck because the student section is full (if school is in session.)

Even Florida gives away the tickets in it's student section. Billy Donavan insisted on it.

This effects not only the current student section, but the future ticket-base. If people go as students because the tickets are free, they may become avid life-long fans and buy tickets for the next 30 years. Instead we continue to charge students more then most any schools I've heard of, and as a result our student section for both basketball and football is disappointing at best (especially football).

I know it would be short-term revenue hit, but they really need to consider making the student tickets free, with some restriction to ensure the holders show up, or they lose thier tickets. This would greatly improve the atomosphere at both the Barn and TCF, and pay dividends down the road.

I hope some of you in position to do so will press this matter. Minnesota has been short-sighted on this for too long.

[GortonsFisherman011]

Interesting concept; i would love to see them free! but that also means they would lose more than 200k in revenue...i dunno, i'm glad i'm not in charge of that decision.

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

The Wild, T-Wolves, and Gophers all played at home last night. Genious move by the scheduling powers that be. However, the Wild will always outdraw and be a better ticket than the Gophers and the Timberwolves are irrelevant so I guess it shouldn't matter.

I know it's apples to oranges, but was Tubby this gutless with his NC schedule at UK???

Art, that is a great Sid impersonation. On 'CCO, any time more than one team has a home game on the same night, Sid complains about it.

[From the Barn]

As a general comment on the student section and the 'aging' of the season-ticket base...How much do student season tickets cost? And have they ever considered making them free?

Minnesota is a huge school and should have no problem having a full student section year-in, year-out. Here in VA they do not have that problem, even though they have had even less sucess then MN in recent years and have a smaller student-body. Biggenst reason? The tickets are free for students. So even when JPJ is 1/3 empy, it's still louder then heck because the student section is full (if school is in session.)

Even Florida gives away the tickets in it's student section. Billy Donavan insisted on it.

This effects not only the current student section, but the future ticket-base. If people go as students because the tickets are free, they may become avid life-long fans and buy tickets for the next 30 years. Instead we continue to charge students more then most any schools I've heard of, and as a result our student section for both basketball and football is disappointing at best (especially football).

I know it would be short-term revenue hit, but they really need to consider making the student tickets free, with some restriction to ensure the holders show up, or they lose thier tickets. This would greatly improve the atomosphere at both the Barn and TCF, and pay dividends down the road.

I hope some of you in position to do so will press this matter. Minnesota has been short-sighted on this for too long.

Free tickets have been pressed for years. Some big wig needs to step in and fill the revenue gap. Until that happens there will be no free tickets. Then again, I have a hard time complaining when season tickets come out to $5 or so per game. The product on the court and the hype surrounding it is the issue, not the cost of tickets.

[skoalvikings]

Another weak crowd today. The student section isn't great, but the other thing I noticed today was that the Rouser doesn't get played when it should. When Clem was here, the band would play the Rouser right after a big run that caused a timeout--today in the second half, when Sampson III had his little spurt, the lead grew by a bunch, the crowd was excited, a timeout was called, and then. . .a Boston Scientific commercial (heart of the game or some nonsense like that). The amount of advertisements that Dick J has to read is pretty amazing.

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

A good chunk of the student section is home for the weekend.

It is always a weaker crowd during any holiday weekend or vacation week.

[From the Barn]

So, any plans for anything for the VA game?

[GortonsFisherman011]

I haven't done anything, I couldn't make it to the game yesterday to talk anything over. I think it'll get loud on its own for this game, since its an acc opponent.

[From the Barn]

You see to have moderated your views in the last few days.

[GortonsFisherman011]

That's because I'm not all-knowing

[GortonsFisherman011]

We (some barnyard members) are going to be strategizing before the game to do this. If we have enough people show up early, this should work.

[From the Barn]

Sounds great. Remember, core principle: Act crazy around non-crazies, non-crazier will become crazy.

And really, this is national TV, we need more than 4 rows acting like idiots (idiots being a positive in this case).

[GortonsFisherman011]

core principle: Act crazy around non-crazies.

preaching to the choir