A new example of the lack of home court advantage at the Barn

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I wanted to wait to bring this up because I didn't want to take away from the discussion of the Gophers win on Saturday. When Brandon Paul went to the line with 12 seconds left and the Illini leading 62-61, only the student section appeared to be making any noise. The camera shot on the BTN showed Gopher fans with good seats sitting down and simply observing these key free throws. If you're not going to get on your feet and make some noise in this situation, when are you going to do it? I don't think the Barn as a whole did even a decent job of making these free throws difficult for Brandon Paul and that needs to change. This isn't the first time I've noticed something like this either as the Barn was quiet as could be for two key free throws for Michigan last year.
 

It's a combination of things. The lack of the band playing all the time, and not getting the crowd involved is a big part of the problem. Instead, the fans have to listen (for as much time as the band plays) to the MP3 quality ads and music (with a terrible speaker/amp system) which makes the atmosphere pretty crappy. Also, the older folks in the crowd tend to treat the whole experience like a movie instead of a NCAA Big Ten college basketball game.
 


Thank Maturi. Alot of people checked out when he kept Monson too long. It was starting to improve last year and then the decision was made to re-seat and alot of long time noise makers like yours truley were priced out (and insulted after years of supporting the program). So now what you are left with are people that need walkers (not that there's anything wrong with that) and people with alot of money that can buy their way to the front of the line. So congrats Joel for killing the Vibe.
 

One thing I started doing as my own personal protest is I refuse to stand or do anything when they do promotions. If somehow you could get the whole student section to not acknowledge the stupid promotions, the U might back off a bit. Granted the odds of that happening are slim to nill, but I will fight on
 


Yes the promotions are buzz kills. The promotion should be the team/game and nothing else in a perfect world. Having said that, the $$ are hard to pass up for the U. Other schools tend to figure it out - why can't the U?
 

Saturday night I said if the team gave the crowd a reason to come to life it would happen, and it did. I thought there was good crowd support even tho the team went cold in the second half and we had every reason to think they were going to loose having seen bad losses to Iowa and Purdue. That game was a lot of work for the fans! Of course, we sit upstairs and enthusiasm is high there and camera coverage is low.

The crowd was good and it'll get better if the team strings some wins together and plays with intensity. I'm pretty sure there is a physics formula that states the enthusiasm of the crowd cannot exceed the effort of the team. They're starting to give the pedestrian fan a reason to get excited.

Also: The band sits behind the basket and I believe they are not allowed to do what the students would do if they were back there.
 

If enough of you wore yellow "Occupy Williams" t-shirts and turned your back on the promotions (similar to when Elia Kazan was given a lifetime Oscar), it would probably become a national story. It would also be a nice way to p@ss off the athletic department without worrying about any ramifications.
 

In any venue it is the students who lead the cheering. Our student section is limited to poor seating behind one basket. At other Big Ten arenas I see student on one side of the court, standing from one end two the other and also behind the baskets to disrupt the freethrows of their foes. For whatever reason we have fewer student seat and they are in a place where standing only effects other students. Often at other schools there is a tier between the students and other fans. So students can stand without blocking the views of others. This just one of many design advantages the barn lacks.
 



What was even more disturbing was a decent amount of fans leaving with about 3:00 remaining in the game.
 

I was at the game on Sunday and I will agree with the others. Three of my friends froms Wisconsin came with me and they couldn't believe how the barn lacked energy in the key points of the game. They were shocked people weren't standing and cheering on their team down the stretch.
 

Moonlight said:
Also: The band sits behind the basket and I believe they are not allowed to do what the students would do if they were back there.
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I play in the band for the women's basketball games, and as the Wisconsin players were being introduced before the beginning of last week's game, the band hissed at them, and the director told us to stop. However, we haven't been told to stop making noise and waving our arms around when the other team is shooting free throws and we're behind the basket.
 

34Gopher said:
What was even more disturbing was a decent amount of fans leaving with about 3:00 remaining in the game.
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How long have you been a gopher fan?
This happens in every sport at every level of Minnesota sports teams. I don't know how much it happens in other cities because I don't have the experience but it has happened for decades here.
 



I get a hoot out of how people who didn't even attend the game sit in their armchairs & tell everyone how crappy the energy level was at The Barn. The Barn had energy Saturday night. There are nights when you enter The Barn and you know as soon as you step in the building (in the foyer) there's a little extra electricity. Saturday night was one of those nights.

The trick is, we need to make that (electricity) happen much more often. That I'll buy. But if you're one who thought the crowd sucked Saturday, you need to get out more often.
 

Yep, which brings up a pet peeve for me.
Leaving early, or visiting concessions/bathrooms/whatever while play is on. There are plenty of time outs, or pauses after fouls where a person can walk out. But people seem unconscious of the fact that when they are walking out they are BLOCKING OTHER PEOPLE'S VIEW. I know complaining here is pretty much pointless but I can't believe how selfish it is to decide you want to leave before the conclusion of the game during play. And Rosemountian is right - it happens regardless of the venue or even how close the game is.
 

freshtrout said:
Yes the promotions are buzz kills. The promotion should be the team/game and nothing else in a perfect world. Having said that, the $$ are hard to pass up for the U. Other schools tend to figure it out - why can't the U?
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Seriously? Have you been to any other school's arena/stadium? This stuff happens EVERYWHERE.

It's not an Excuse for "being a buzz kill." Down in Champaign they had a kid run around the arena as the whole crowd cheered him on to win a gift card. It's sports marketing, get used to it, all of you.
 

CrocShots said:
Seriously? Have you been to any other school's arena/stadium? This stuff happens EVERYWHERE.

It's not an Excuse for "being a buzz kill." Down in Champaign they had a kid run around the arena as the whole crowd cheered him on to win a gift card. It's sports marketing, get used to it, all of you.
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Yeah, I've never understood the complaining about the promotions. Maybe they need to get better, but its stuff that just about everyone does. If they stop doing these promotions/sponsorships, guess where the money will come from to make up for it? That's right, you wallet.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Yeah, I've never understood the complaining about the promotions. Maybe they need to get better, but its stuff that just about everyone does. If they stop doing these promotions/sponsorships, guess where the money will come from to make up for it? That's right, you wallet.
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Bingo.

But we do want a new practice facility and maybe even a new arena, but not a preferred seating plan that will force quite a few folks (myself included) to dig in and pay a little more? That's why I love the "something for nothing" crowd.

"I want nicer and bigger toys, as long as I don't have to pay more while others do."
 

I was at the game, and I definitely agree, the Barn was missing something on Saturday night. We were excited in spurts, but the crowed really ditched the team right when the Gopher's needed us most! You could really feel the momentum swing when Illinois started their run to climb out of their 10 point deficit, and it's during these critical moments of the game that home court advantage is huge! When the home team grabs momentum, it is the home crowd's job to build that momentum for the team. Also, when the momentum starts swinging to the away team, and they start going on a run, it is the home crowd's job to help turn the momentum around by sticking behind the team! You could literally just sense every fan thinking the same thing as Illinois went on their run: "here we go again!" It's almost as if Gopher fans have been stung too many times in close games, that no one wants to take the chance to get behind them again in close games because they don't want to feel like they've gotten sucker punched at the end of the game if we lose. Especially this year, I think fans are cautiously optimistic because we're all secretly waiting for the "other foot to drop" and the imminent collapse to begin. As a fan, I think that's bull s***, and as a fan, it is absolutely your responsibility to blindly support your team no matter how much we suck, and no matter how slim our chances of winning are.
 

Rosemountian said:
How long have you been a gopher fan?
This happens in every sport at every level of Minnesota sports teams. I don't know how much it happens in other cities because I don't have the experience but it has happened for decades here.
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Been a Gopher fan all my life, 29 years. I fully agree it happens at every level of Minnesota sports teams, but I've never understood it which was the main reason for the post. At any rate, I do think the energy was better than some people are suggesting. Best crowd of the year for sure.
 

Moonlight said:
Yep, which brings up a pet peeve for me.
Leaving early, or visiting concessions/bathrooms/whatever while play is on. There are plenty of time outs, or pauses after fouls where a person can walk out. But people seem unconscious of the fact that when they are walking out they are BLOCKING OTHER PEOPLE'S VIEW. I know complaining here is pretty much pointless but I can't believe how selfish it is to decide you want to leave before the conclusion of the game during play. And Rosemountian is right - it happens regardless of the venue or even how close the game is.
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Yup, I had season tickets for 29 years; giving them up in 2007 because of the ever changing game times due to TV. I've never yet quite figured out the mindset of Minnesotans. They will spend 8 hours at an auction waiting for the last possible item, or stand in line for an estate sale for a couple of hours just to be the first one's in to review the items. In the 29 years I was a season ticket holder if I had a dollar for everytime people pulled up stakes and left at the 3 minute mark with the game undecided I could pay for my trip out to Vegas to see the Gophs play football. I'm Irish, my wife is Polish. We stand and scream. I've often thought that our years at Williams Arena we were stuck surrounded by stoic Norwegians who were thinking about a better way to make Lefse. Unreal.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
I'm Irish, my wife is Polish. We stand and scream. I've often thought that our years at Williams Arena we were stuck surrounded by stoic Norwegians who were thinking about a better way to make Lefse. Unreal.
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Norwegians are cold people-that is for sure.
 

tikited said:
Norwegians are cold people-that is for sure.
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I take offense to this. Norwegian is the largest percentage of ancestry for me. I definitely stand and yell at basketball games.
 




I'm embarrassed to see how early our fans leave. We pay plenty of money for games that don't even last that long. Why the hell would you be anxious to leave? And the fact that it's in close games is even more pathetic. As long as you don't park in a parking ramp/lot (btw, why does anyone do that for Gopher games?), the traffic really isn't that bad.
 

underground629 said:
As long as you don't park in a parking ramp/lot (btw, why does anyone do that for Gopher games?)
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From 1970 until '86-'87, we parked on University right in front of Embers. Pre-game meal and post-game pie. A lot of cold, long walks.
From '87-'92, I walked/stumbled from/to the dorm/Dink House and sat in the student section when Williams rocked.
From '92-''04, we had a gentleman's agreement with the manager of Baker's Square that we could park in the lot if we ate there. More cold, long walked.
From '05-'07, the hotel got pushy and we struggled to get a spot at BS and often had to try to get a spot on the street...sometimes futilely...sometimes having to park in one of the $10 lots.
From '08-'09, I parked at the Wash St. Rad ramp. Covered parking for a Gopher game was nice!
From '10-present, I have a spot in a ramp right across the damn street from Williams on University and I love it.

So, having parked many different ways....who would park in a ramp? ME, BABY! I will not go back!!!
 

brucekaupa said:
From 1970 until '86-'87, we parked on University right in front of Embers. Pre-game meal and post-game pie. A lot of cold, long walks.
From '87-'92, I walked/stumbled from/to the dorm/Dink House and sat in the student section when Williams rocked.
From '92-''04, we had a gentleman's agreement with the manager of Baker's Square that we could park in the lot if we ate there. More cold, long walked.
From '05-'07, the hotel got pushy and we struggled to get a spot at BS and often had to try to get a spot on the street...sometimes futilely...sometimes having to park in one of the $10 lots.
From '08-'09, I parked at the Wash St. Rad ramp. Covered parking for a Gopher game was nice!
From '10-present, I have a spot in a ramp right across the damn street from Williams on University and I love it.

So, having parked many different ways....who would park in a ramp? ME, BABY! I will not go back!!!
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Wimp. Me and the boy walk from 8th Ave. and 6th St., stopping for a cold one or breakfast at Al's as appropriate.
 

When you start carrying your boy, I'll listen, Jack. ;)
 

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