Interesting tidbit from Illini vs. Western Michigan(crowd)

[peterwade75]

Illinois has been in control of this game from the beginning. i'm listening to the game on 1290am. and even though illinois is up by 18 in the first half, the crowd is still very loud and into the game. you can hear crowd chanting defense and yelling. granted it isn't helping western michigan, but it must be nice to have some excitement at a home game. where did we go wrong?

 

[mrcoachdude]

Illinois has been in control of this game from the beginning. i'm listening to the game on 1290am. and even though illinois is up by 18 in the first half, the crowd is still very loud and into the game. you can hear crowd chanting defense and yelling. granted it isn't helping western michigan, but it must be nice to have some excitement at a home game. where did we go wrong?

kinda of curious...what do you do at BU home games?

 

[tornado]

agreed -- when Tom Izzo came to play at the Civic Center -- he cited the Bradley crowd as one of the best he'd ever seen...and he would know

 

[peterwade75]

i usually get tired of people staring at me when i try to cheer. that's mostly what i do. you are telling me we'd still have an excited crowd if we were down 24 at half? if we are down 3 it sounds like a funeral. and tom izzo may have said that. 1) it is called political correctness and 2) the crowds were better then than now. that last game was the worst. i hear louder crowds when the first graders are playing @ eastside. that is why i asked what happened?

 

[buballer82]

i usually get tired of people staring at me when i try to cheer. that's mostly what i do. you are telling me we'd still have an excited crowd if we were down 24 at half? if we are down 3 it sounds like a funeral. and tom izzo may have said that. 1) it is called political correctness and 2) the crowds were better then than now. that last game was the worst. i hear louder crowds when the first graders are playing @ eastside. that is why i asked what happened?

I have to agree with that one. I have people yelling at me to sit down when i stand up and yell to try to get people around me loud. And Tornado, there is no way Tom Izzo would have said that about the crowd at any of the home games this season. I'm sure he would have love to have had the crowd as it was against Northern, LMU and EIU. If the crowd had been into the EIU game, I think it may have pushed the players a little harder and the team would only have 1 loss right now.

 

[Bravesfan]

i usually get tired of people staring at me when i try to cheer. that's mostly what i do. you are telling me we'd still have an excited crowd if we were down 24 at half? if we are down 3 it sounds like a funeral. and tom izzo may have said that. 1) it is called political correctness and 2) the crowds were better then than now. that last game was the worst. i hear louder crowds when the first graders are playing @ eastside. that is why i asked what happened?

Listening to the EIU game online, the crowd definitely got loud during Bradley's rally late in the second half. That's encouraging considering the caliber of competition we were playing that night. But I agree that the problem with Bradley's crowds is that they seem to be very passive and reactive instead of proactive.

When I attended Bradley during Coach Mo's early years the crowd would find a way to will the team to victory. I attended at least four or five games in 1994 where BU was down double digits early in the second half. Then usually a stop and/or a made three pointer sparked the crowd to stand and cheer. The crowd stayed loud until BU completed these comebacks.

My point is the crowds at Illinois, Michigan St. and Duke would never ever give up on their team if they fell behind. They would stay loud the whole game, or at least until they were mathematically out of it, which doesn't happen too often. Maybe a lot of it has to do with these schools much larger student populations and/or configuration of their arenas which help channel the sound better. But I do know one thing. Bradley crowds in the past have, still occasionally can be, and could potentially be loud if they want to be. The administration needs to help promote the team better and offer enticements to get more students out to the games. Yes, winning more would help a lot, but there are plenty of mediocre programs out there that still manage to get the students out to and into the games.

I for one hope the administration looks into finding more ways to get the students to the games, and therefore feeding this energy towards the rest of the crowd.

Oh, and regarding Tom Izzo's comment, the crowd was loud that day because we were playing a nationally ranked top 10 team. I think that fact speaks for itself!

 

[tornado]

...the crowd was loud that day because we were playing a nationally ranked top 10 team. I think that fact speaks for itself!

duh....and just maybe that's why the Central Michigan crowd is loud today....?
(which was my point)

 

[peterwade75]

this kind of crowd is promoted by the university. ok, here is what we will do..... to start each half, we will stand and cheer for the defense. but once the team score, sit down and be good. why not promote standing and rooting for defense for first 4 minute segment?

 

[peterwade75]

first off it is western mich and they were louid down 25. dont think we would have been.

 

[shaunguth]

duh....and just maybe that's why the Central Michigan crowd is loud today....?
(which was my point)

Exactly what I was thinking as well. I'd say playing a Top 20 team on a Saturday afternoon is a little different than playing Eastern Illinois the night before Thanksgiving! Seems easy enough to me. Besides, I doubt half the number of people would be louder, but I could be wrong.

 

[Chico]

this kind of crowd is promoted by the university. ok, here is what we will do..... to start each half, we will stand and cheer for the defense. but once the team score, sit down and be good. why not promote standing and rooting for defense for first 4 minute segment?

I'd be for that, but then after the firat 4 minute segment we are practically told to quit cheering, we have a promotion to announce, a commercial on the scoreboard or that crowd inspiring race. Sure hope that cactus can get me a discount on a burrito the heck with game. Would be interested if W. Michigan's students are there.

 

[shaunguth]

this kind of crowd is promoted by the university. ok, here is what we will do..... to start each half, we will stand and cheer for the defense. but once the team score, sit down and be good. why not promote standing and rooting for defense for first 4 minute segment?

Actually, I was just thinking about the very same thing the other night just as a random thought to myself! It seems that it just might work to the "advantage" of the other team when they realize "ohhhh.....they aren't going to remain standing?". It is a bit overwhelming when the entire place sits down at once, expecially if the other team scores right away. I'm all for standing until the first media timeout! At least it would be less obvious than everyone sitting down 15 seconds into the game.

 

[shaunguth]

I'd be for that, but then after the firat 4 minute segment we are practically told to quit cheering, we have a promotion to announce, a commercial on the scoreboard or that crowd inspiring race. Sure hope that cactus can get me a discount on a burrito the heck with game. Would be interested if W. Michigan's students are there.

Yes...and please don't stand and cheer when you might think it's appropriate. If so, be prepared to endure the wrath of those around you! :roll:

 

[Bravesfan]

this kind of crowd is promoted by the university. ok, here is what we will do..... to start each half, we will stand and cheer for the defense. but once the team score, sit down and be good. why not promote standing and rooting for defense for first 4 minute segment?

That's exactly what ESPN's Doug Gottlieb was alluding to when he called the Bradley/SIU game here in 2008. He couldn't understand for the life of him why we were still standing after Bradley scored in the 2nd half, but then sat down after SIU scored!

Many teams that look for ways to attract students and the public to attend games also find creative ways to get the crowd into the game once they are there. Standing for the first four minutes of each half is an excellent way to that. The student cheering section can come up with ways themselves that don't require the "blessing" of the administration. Plus no one is pointing a gun to those who don't want or cannot stand during the game, but at the same time these people need to understand that many do want to stand up and cheer. That's what an athletic event is all about.

 

[Bravesfan]

I'd be for that, but then after the firat 4 minute segment we are practically told to quit cheering, we have a promotion to announce, a commercial on the scoreboard or that crowd inspiring race. Sure hope that cactus can get me a discount on a burrito the heck with game. Would be interested if W. Michigan's students are there.

Exactly! Again, the Red Sea does not need to consult with the administration if they decide to have the crowd stand up and cheer throughout the entire game.

Or do they?! Maybe I'm missing something here, but I highly doubt anything the Red Sea comes up with has to be run by the administration. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought they were completely independent of the administration.

 

[Chico]

Yes...and please don't stand and cheer when you might think it's appropriate. If so, be prepared to endure the wrath of those around you! :roll:

Not in my section. We stand when it's appropriate and we're not close to the students, who even if they are standing have to keep quiet along with the band while we have to hear how many points BU needs for me to buy one get one free or who gets the best seat in the house.

 

[Bravesfan]

Not in my section. We stand when it's appropriate and we're not close to the students, who even if they are standing have to keep quiet along with the band while we have to hear how many points BU needs for me to buy one get one free or who gets the best seat in the house.

This is the problem with sports in general. I cannot take one more of these stupid game break promotions, no matter which team I go and watch! I also don't get why many pro teams have the crowd standing during a timeout[i/], and then basically telling them to get quiet once the game starts again!

Try telling someone to sit down and be quiet at Cameron Indoor Stadium and you might be thrown out of the building!

 

[shaunguth]

Not in my section. We stand when it's appropriate and we're not close to the students, who even if they are standing have to keep quiet along with the band while we have to hear how many points BU needs for me to buy one get one free or who gets the best seat in the house.

Well.....I've seen more than one Bradley student/recent alum standing and cheering on their team and almost get in a fight with the people 4-5 rows behind them.

 

[Chico]

Well.....I've seen more than one Bradley student/recent alum standing and cheering on their team and almost get in a fight with the people 4-5 rows behind them.

I know what you're saying, but not everyone has the same amount of enthusiasm but can still be into the game. Doubt if any students in the student section underneath the basket are told to sit down. Maybe there should be a section(s) for those who have the energy to stand all night.

 

[peterwade75]

i've always wished the same thing. i wish they would have just a "general seating section" near the court that is for people who want to stand/cheer/be loud/not offend the casual fan. there are plenty of open seats in area behind band/red sea that would be a great place for those of us that want to stand. the nice thing about it if they ever did this would be that the fans who want a more relaxed view of the game could enjoy the game the way they wish, and us fans who might just still need to grow up can have a spot to go crazy!!