Crowd

[sousaman2089]

So ignoring the students is the answer.
We either need to make drastic changes or just accept the fact that it will be like this for 70% of Bradley games until we have a team winning Valley Championships.

 

[AZ BU Fan]

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.

No offense intended for us seniors Chico, and I am one of them....When I was still attending BU games, it was difficult to stand and yell for a whole game. I was first off the seat when the game situation called for it, as were most of the fans.

I was hoping the "fanagra" comment would give this post enough tongue in cheek to not be interpreted as a call out for older fans!

It is difficult to maintain cheering with commercials and public info announcements, and taped music coming in and out.

Cheer on fans!

 

[BUFanatic]

If this win over USC, maybe winning tomorrow for the Championship, doesn't draw the Students, I don't know WHAT WILL!!! Every game we win, the more I say we might have a chance at Duke! Oh, ND is winning 17-3 THIS IS A GREAT NIGHT!!

 

[jrish12]

The way to a college kid's heart is through their stomach. Free food/free drinks if of age would get a ton of butts in the seats. The catch 22 though, is that most of those people would just be there for the food and not give two hoots about the game.

Just wanted to ask a question on this though: If you want a raucous crowd, where should the students sit? I understand that people pay good money for the seats that they sit in, and that's fine, but at every arena that has a great atmosphere, where are the students? They are in the lower bowl right on top of the action, not in the end zones or upper bowl.

I dont know how to fix it, I was lucky enough as a kid to have a dad and grandparents that had season tickets in the lower bowl. My first few years away at college I would look at the schedule and see how many games I could make when I was home from breaks. After seeing how dead the atmosphere is the past couple years and the poor product on the floor, its almost not worth it to go and sit in an arena that I can hear the lights buzzing over the crowd noise.

 

[theBUer]

The way to a college kid's heart is through their stomach. Free food/free drinks if of age would get a ton of butts in the seats. The catch 22 though, is that most of those people would just be there for the food and not give two hoots about the game.

Just wanted to ask a question on this though: If you want a raucous crowd, where should the students sit? I understand that people pay good money for the seats that they sit in, and that's fine, but at every arena that has a great atmosphere, where are the students? They are in the lower bowl right on top of the action, not in the end zones or upper bowl.

I dont know how to fix it, I was lucky enough as a kid to have a dad and grandparents that had season tickets in the lower bowl. My first few years away at college I would look at the schedule and see how many games I could make when I was home from breaks. After seeing how dead the atmosphere is the past couple years and the poor product on the floor, its almost not worth it to go and sit in an arena that I can hear the lights buzzing over the crowd noise.

Food food is a great idea, although your idea that they may not care about the game is moot. With cell phones, they will simply text and go on FB if nothing else to them is interesting (all in the eye of the beholder).

Red Sea, if you're here, promote the hell outta beating USC. That is no small potatoes.

At Carver, the students sat next to the band in the lower bowl. They are under the massive "BRAVES" banner.

 

[Chico]

No offense intended for us seniors Chico, and I am one of them....When I was still attending BU games, it was difficult to stand and yell for a whole game. I was first off the seat when the game situation called for it, as were most of the fans.

I was hoping the "fanagra" comment would give this post enough tongue in cheek to not be interpreted as a call out for older fans!

It is difficult to maintain cheering with commercials and public info announcements, and taped music coming in and out.

Cheer on fans!

Didn't take it as an offense or call out AZ. Just wanted to say why the arena is so quiet most of the time. When everybody, not just us seniors, want to stand and cheer we can't because of the commercials and PA announcements. Maybe the Prez can have some input in this and put a stop to this nonsense. She's at the games and has to notice.

 

[BUFanatic]

AGREE! PROMOTE THE HECK OUT OF BEATING USC! AND TCU!!! Most students won't even know that these schools aren't as good at basketball as they are at Football/Baseball (For TCU). You think we might be able to get a big RED SEA banner instead of a BRAVES one? Oh, and btw, an excellent place to see the lower bowl seating would be Michigan State. I don't think they have seats left for alums there. lol

 

[theBUer]

AGREE! PROMOTE THE HECK OUT OF BEATING USC! AND TCU!!! Most students won't even know that these schools aren't as good at basketball as they are at Football/Baseball (For TCU). You think we might be able to get a big RED SEA banner instead of a BRAVES one? Oh, and btw, an excellent place to see the lower bowl seating would be Michigan State. I don't think they have seats left for alums there. lol

Hold on there, we didn't beat TCU just yet.

I don't know if the school would want the banner to go down (some of the retired numbers and other stuff is on there as well), but the student section does need to set itself apart. Maybe it's the way Carver is configured, but you really would not know that there is actually a student section.

It's unrealistic because we're a smaller school and the arena we play in, but I would love to have the atmosphere of an Allen Fieldhouse. I don't root for the school's teams, but watching the videos online (along with other schools like Pitt), it gives me goosebumps. Not so much the "waving of the wheat," but the Rock Chalk Jayhawk that makes it as though you are in mass. And it seems that everybody gets involved...

Believe me, if this school was serious about having a mascot (we'd have one that was PC by now), the Red Sea could rally behind it and come up with lots of stuff they never could think of.

 

[jrish12]

Didn't take it as an offense or call out AZ. Just wanted to say why the arena is so quiet most of the time. When everybody, not just us seniors, want to stand and cheer we can't because of the commercials and PA announcements. Maybe the Prez can have some input in this and put a stop to this nonsense. She's at the games and has to notice.

Wouldn't that be the PCC's deal? Or is it Bradley's sponsors? Im not really sure, trying to ask. From what I remember, they are mainly ads for Civic Center sponsors, not just Bradley.

 

[amckillip]

Wouldn't that be the PCC's deal? Or is it Bradley's sponsors? Im not really sure, trying to ask. From what I remember, they are mainly ads for Civic Center sponsors, not just Bradley.

No matter how much anyone complains, they are not going away, they are a major source of revenue for the school and venue and are necessary to support the athletics department, especially at a school the size of BU.

 

[sousaman2089]

The most ruckus fans are, of course, the Cameron Crazies and their seats are right behind press row and on the other side. But Cameron is such a smaller arena, it's easier to pack and easier to make it sound loud.

Of course, some of my favorite memories is when Carver Arena is jumping like crazy like the Michigan St. game, the Providence NIT game and the first couple minutes after Chris Robert's shot (even though there was probably only around 2,000 there.)

The crowds will grow as the win amount does this season, but the Eastern Illinois game is going to be brutal. All the students (except us in the basketball band) will be gone and Eastern isn't going to draw many.

 

[Chico]

No matter how much anyone complains, they are not going away, they are a major source of revenue for the school and venue and are necessary to support the athletics department, especially at a school the size of BU.

The only reason I complain about them is because there are so many complaints about the crowd not being in the game.

 

[Future Walk-On]

If there was free beer......limit 5 per student.......or maybe we could organize underground kegs on weekend games (heck weekday games) for the game?

I also think we should copy Utah State "I believe that were gonna win" chant! because that is awesome

 

[Chico]

If there was free beer......limit 5 per student.......or maybe we could organize underground kegs on weekend games (heck weekday games) for the game?

I also think we should copy Utah State "I believe that were gonna win" chant! because that is awesome

Sounds familar. Gimme, gimme, gimme.

 

[BUFanatic]

Hold on there, we didn't beat TCU just yet.

I don't know if the school would want the banner to go down (some of the retired numbers and other stuff is on there as well), but the student section does need to set itself apart. Maybe it's the way Carver is configured, but you really would not know that there is actually a student section.

It's unrealistic because we're a smaller school and the arena we play in, but I would love to have the atmosphere of an Allen Fieldhouse. I don't root for the school's teams, but watching the videos online (along with other schools like Pitt), it gives me goosebumps. Not so much the "waving of the wheat," but the Rock Chalk Jayhawk that makes it as though you are in mass. And it seems that everybody gets involved...

Believe me, if this school was serious about having a mascot (we'd have one that was PC by now), the Red Sea could rally behind it and come up with lots of stuff they never could think of.

OOPS! lol, didn't meant to throw TCU into the mix. Wrote this after getting back from a drive so I was still pumped that we held on. hahaha Hey, if we can get the community (IE D150, EP, Morton, etc.) kids and others behind us, any atmosphere is possible. Where you at the Richwoods State Final? Lordy, i've never heard it so loud in the Arena and they only took up about 4 sections! Agree about the mascot, though. As an ND fan, I would love it if we got a leprechaun! lol You could STREEEETTTCHHH it and say that it's a Brave Irishmen lol

 

[That Guy]

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.

Well to counter that point, many of the recent Alumns are moving away from Peoria once they graduate. I'm not sure of the numbers (someone might want to look it up), but is there a negative population growth trend in Peoria in recent years?

 

[Chico]

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.

There are many good seats at Carver that don't require a maintenance fee. The ones I had included. But I joined the Chiefs Club a long time and that was my way of supporting the program. It's up to the individual.

 

[Buesch N Chips]

There are many good seats at Carver that don't require a maintenance fee.

This is very, very true.

 

[dogsrus]

I told BU once if they gave me front row seats I'd do my OWN maint. as my dad was a TV repair man and left me this awesome set of tools......

I know sit in the same row as Chico......