• Welcome to BradleyFans.com! Visitors are welcome, but we encourage you to sign up and register as a member. It's free and takes only a few seconds. Just click on the link to Register at the top right of the page, and follow instructions. If you have any problems or questions, click on the link at the bottom right of the page to Contact Us.

Crowd

i looked over at my cousin last bight and said "remember when u had to buy your ticket early just to make sure u got a ticket to the game?" wow! those days are long gone. i wish bradley would just have all of its games in the new on campus arena. yeah, you'd lose a few thousand in ticket sales. but the house would be packed, loud, and excviting instead of half full, quiet, and less exciting than a funeral. it is sad that the 1000 to 1500 fans that go to mvc tourney are louder than the 5000 errrrr 8500 that were there last night. i know winning helps, but having fans at games instead of empty seats would be great.if they can get more malfunctioning t-shirt cannons and horrible dance routines, i think that could help attendance also.
 
peterwade75 said:
i looked over at my cousin last bight and said "remember when u had to buy your ticket early just to make sure u got a ticket to the game?" wow! those days are long gone. i wish bradley would just have all of its games in the new on campus arena. yeah, you'd lose a few thousand in ticket sales. but the house would be packed, loud, and excviting instead of half full, quiet, and less exciting than a funeral. it is sad that the 1000 to 1500 fans that go to mvc tourney are louder than the 5000 errrrr 8500 that were there last night. i know winning helps, but having fans at games instead of empty seats would be great.if they can get more malfunctioning t-shirt cannons and horrible dance routines, i think that could help attendance also.
Click to expand...

The cannon is quite a laugher isn't it......I said last nite, you need THAT to throw a T shirt 6 rows up.:)

It will be interesting to see how much attendance jumps come the Valley season....you know it will but you usually see a 2000-2500 spike. When you are only getting 5-6K we might creep up around 8K. Lets hope they keep winning, get the cannon fixed and the dancers suddenly turn into the Laker Girls and 11500 here we come.
 
peterwade75 said:
i wish bradley would just have all of its games in the new on campus arena. yeah, you'd lose a few thousand in ticket sales. but the house would be packed, loud, and excviting instead of half full, quiet, and less exciting than a funeral.
Click to expand...

One problem....the same old, quiet fans would be in those seats. It might be packed, but I dunno about loud and exciting.
 
I wonder how different arenas across the country would be if you took away all of the students, which is in essence what we have? No offense to the Red Sea members who are there every night, they do what they can.
 
real fan said:
The way BU has played the last 3 games makes it hard to get the crowd up, there were several of us standing with 4:30 left last night but as soon as the timeout came most sat down and never got back up, if the team does not start playing better offensively then ticket sales are going to be way down.
Click to expand...

Isn't this part of the reason people soured on Mo? Because of his defensive mindset?

Personally, I'd rather see a ton of D and win than a lot of offense and lose.

There aren't many successful coaches who rely on their offense to carry them.
 
I thought the Red Sea, with the number of people and empty rows there was, did a good job with what they had. I would gather that, including the band, there was maybe 100 students there tops.

What makes me worried is that the basketball program, whose foundation has been shaped by fans who have followed them for so many years, are not getting any younger.

It's a chicken or egg situation. Win, and more students will show. Continue treading towards the same path of middle-of-the-pack finishes, and students will probably not spend a lot of time caring. The older fans will care though, they may be disgruntled and want results now but will support the program be it season tickets or donations.

If you want the Red Sea membership to grow, you will need to do two things:

1. Get a sponsor (Casey's, One World) to provide free food. Free food is a draw for any college student, it doesn't have to be greasy but it better be tasty and filling. Free drinks would not hurt, maybe have a cash bar as well for those over 21+.

2. GET THE SORORITIES INVOLVED. I realize that a chapter will have various stuff on a certain day that makes it impossible to attend, work around it and don't give up! Don't just tell them that basketball is fun. What is in it for them? Why should they spend $25 to join the Red Sea? What is in it for them?

Let me repeat, do not let it hold you guys back if a chapter has events going on during the week. Tell them that they are no less of a fan if they only go to one game even, just get them to Carver.

Do you want Bradley to play ISU and the chance to play Duke or the U of I, or do you want them to play the University of Illinois-Springfield Prairie Stars as a conference opponent at the new arena?

Think about it...
 
TylerDurden said:
Isn't this part of the reason people soured on Mo? Because of his defensive mindset?

Personally, I'd rather see a ton of D and win than a lot of offense and lose.

There aren't many successful coaches who rely on their offense to carry them.
Click to expand...

Yes this is the reason why a lot of fans quit coming when MO. was coaching, I remember being in the rest room at the half and hearing a lot of people complaining about not being able to score more then 20 points in the 1st half, even though they were winning most of their home games BU attendance was shrinking.
I think this team is capable of shooting so much better if we kept our post players inside more instead of having them setting so many screens way away from the basket, if we played more inside out our guards would get better looks and Egolf, Prosser and Thompson would also contribute more inside scoring.
I know you have to play good defense and win but coach Les promised the fans that he was going to play an up tempo offense and that is not happening which is why people are not showing up to the games, the reason I know this is because I travel across the central Illinois area and have a lot of people telling me that they quit going for the same reason they quit back when MO. was coaching, not exciting to watch.
 
Our attendance is down and the crowds are dead b/c we're coming off a one game over .500 season that saw WAY too many blown leads at home. Add to that another another middle of the pack MVC predicted finish and you get a half filled arena in Nov. Those of us on this board are probably in the minority of people who pay passionate attention to BU bball even during times of mediocrity. But to get the masses in Carver and excite the regulars like the rest of us, you gotta win.

It will get better during the Valley slate, but we need to win consistently to earn back the atmosphere we all remember. I would love to see it, remember the NIT run in 94? What an atmosphere that was! The rest of mid-late 90's it was solid too. And the Mich St. game was unreal. We've had moments in the past few years, but .500 ball and NIU at home just doesn't get most folks jacked up.
 
ancona flash said:
Our attendance is down and the crowds are dead b/c we're coming off a one game over .500 season that saw WAY too many blown leads at home. Add to that another another middle of the pack MVC predicted finish and you get a half filled arena in Nov. Those of us on this board are probably in the minority of people who pay passionate attention to BU bball even during times of mediocrity. But to get the masses in Carver and excite the regulars like the rest of us, you gotta win.

It will get better during the Valley slate, but we need to win consistently to earn back the atmosphere we all remember. I would love to see it, remember the NIT run in 94? What an atmosphere that was! The rest of mid-late 90's it was solid too. And the Mich St. game was unreal. We've had moments in the past few years, but .500 ball and NIU at home just doesn't get most folks jacked up.
Click to expand...

Boy do I remember that! That NIT game against ODU was unreal! Amazing comeback and a deafening crowd! It can happen again, and occasionally you get a little taste of it. Even last night it sounded like the crowd got into the game quite a bit during Bradley's late comeback against LMU. So we can recapture some of that earlier excitement, but winning consistently at home certainly will help.
 
No disrespect, cause I am one of them, but, watching a couple home games over the Internet, the avg age of a lot of the folks in the Arena, must have been pushing 60 yrs old. Don't expect too much from them.....;-)

Perhaps scientists and drug companies could invent a little pill us old folks can take before home games that would help us all stand straight up and yell non stop for a couple of hours.....'Fanagra' :!: :!:

In case you continue to stand up and yell for more than four hours, please consult your physician....;-);-)
 
This is exactly why we need to make an effort to get students. If we do not get them now, BU may be staring at a huge lack of fans in the next ten years.
 
amckillip said:
This is exactly why we need to make an effort to get students. If we do not get them now, BU may be staring at a huge lack of fans in the next ten years.
Click to expand...

I dunno, I say screw the students. Focus on recent area alums/area yuppies. They need a recent alum season ticket package, discounted of course. Maybe an actual recent alum section. Go 5 years back.

Face it, the average 25-30 year old who isn't yet a die hard doesn't want/cant afford to cough up a grand just for a maintenance fee on decent seats plus the cost of tickets.
 
amckillip said:
This is exactly why we need to make an effort to get students. If we do not get them now, BU may be staring at a huge lack of fans in the next ten years.
Click to expand...

And at the same time, you have a smorgasbord of competition when it comes to watching a particular team.

I was watching TV in a public area on-campus, and it was the SIU-U of I game. This one girl with a Blackhawks jersey (new one I may add) rudely asked if I would move so she and her friends could watch the game against the Predators. Mind you, there are other TVs on-campus.

I teased her, asking her if she has fallen off the bandwagon because of CHI's slow start. She scoffed, and said "No way! Blackhawk fan 'til I die!"

That Blackhawk sweater will be collecting dust if they do not win another Cup. ;-)
 
So we need to screw the students while having a majority of elderly seat owners.........
The key to a ruckus arena is always the students, and I don't see any improvement from last year. Around campus, nothing has really changed: no viable strides in advertising, no offers for students and occasionally you'll see a golf cart with signs, but that just seems to annoy more then anything after awhile. Something has to change if you want students to show up to a team they see as nothing special.

Out of state enrollment has steadily been going up at Bradley over the years, so not as many know the history or importance of basketball on the hilltop. That can be fixed by either a lot more advertising or making the games easier to get to
 
sousaman2089 said:
So we need to screw the students while having a majority of elderly seat owners.........
The key to a ruckus arena is always the students, and I don't see any improvement from last year. Around campus, nothing has really changed: no viable strides in advertising, no offers for students and occasionally you'll see a golf cart with signs, but that just seems to annoy more then anything after awhile. Something has to change if you want students to show up to a team they see as nothing special.

Out of state enrollment has steadily been going up at Bradley over the years, so not as many know the history or importance of basketball on the hilltop. That can be fixed by either a lot more advertising or making the games easier to get to
Click to expand...

I'm spinning my wheels with people with this debate, but your point is moot. Students here place a priority on certain things, and watching a basketball team that has not made a trip to the NCAAs in four seasons is low on their list.

No amount of golf carts or tableside signs is going to change this.
 
sousaman2089 said:
So we need to screw the students while having a majority of elderly seat owners.........
The key to a ruckus arena is always the students, and I don't see any improvement from last year. Around campus, nothing has really changed: no viable strides in advertising, no offers for students and occasionally you'll see a golf cart with signs, but that just seems to annoy more then anything after awhile. Something has to change if you want students to show up to a team they see as nothing special.

Out of state enrollment has steadily been going up at Bradley over the years, so not as many know the history or importance of basketball on the hilltop. That can be fixed by either a lot more advertising or making the games easier to get to
Click to expand...


Making the games easier to get to will not work, period. You could offer to carry them individually by rickshaw and the majority would still be too lazy or uninterested to go. The games aren't hard to get to in the first place.

The one thing that will bring students in droves(and everyone for that matter) is a winning club. Or maybe free beer at the game.
 
AZ BU Fan said:
No disrespect, cause I am one of them, but, watching a couple home games over the Internet, the avg age of a lot of the folks in the Arena, must have been pushing 60 yrs old. Don't expect too much from them.....;-)

Perhaps scientists and drug companies could invent a little pill us old folks can take before home games that would help us all stand straight up and yell non stop for a couple of hours.....'Fanagra' :!: :!:

In case you continue to stand up and yell for more than four hours, please consult your physician....;-);-)
Click to expand...

Know I'm beating a dead horse here, but I'm over 60 and I stand when appropriate as do most of the fans, but I guess you have to be there to see it, or hear the silence at every timeout. For several seconds the arena is like the Braves are shooting a free throw, quiet. Then some annoncement from the PA, or a commercial on the scoreboard, or some promotion. Then with just a few seconds before the game starts again the band is finally allowed to play and everyone is supposed to get back into it.
As for the others posts concerning the students, the students that packed the student section at the Kingsville game had a great time and they didn't care if the Braves had been to the Big Dance the last 5 years or not.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top