I'm done beating this dead horse. If you're a sports fan, you know when your team is playing. It's up to you to decide if you want to support them or not. Don't care how old you are. GO BRAVES, you can depend on the "blue hairs".
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Where were the students??
- Thread starter wizard1
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I'm done beating this dead horse. If you're a sports fan, you know when your team is playing. It's up to you to decide if you want to support them or not. Don't care how old you are. GO BRAVES, you can depend on the "blue hairs".
The problem the vast majority of this generation are not true sports fans like the last few. They have grown up with so many other entertainment options it is not even funny. The competition for their mind share is greater then ever. It is that simple and if BU wants to continue their basketball legacy then someone needs to find a way to get these kids away from a virtual screen and participate in an event with real people. All this talk of them being Cub fans or Bears may be true but how many of those games do they attend when home? BU students are no different then any other and I'm sure there are countless of other schools with the same issue.
Believe what you will, but it's true. I chose Bradley for it's proximity to home and it's academics. Like I said, I was an Illini fan, I didn't give 2 craps about Bradley's athletics until I experienced them firsthand.
Attending a college doesn't create an automatic allegience to that school's athletic teams, at least not anymore. Maybe it did in your time, but it's just not true these days. For most students, you have to convince them that the team is worth watching and get them to the games. That's step one. Step two is providing a quality product on the court that keeps them coming back. The problem is BU is ignoring step one completely.
You might not like it, but it's reality.
Agree for the most part...but lets make sure we have our priorities straight.
STEP 1 - PROVIDE A QUALITY PRODUCT ON THE COURT
STEP 2 - Get the students to a game to experience said "Quality Product".
How well do you remember college? I had a difficult major, and I rarely remembered when Bradley was going to play next. There are a lot of things in college that come before going to a basketball game, and college students need to be repeatedly reminded of an event to get them to attend. My friends from college follow Bradley basketball more now than when they were in college.
I echo this sentiment.
Future Walk-On
New member
I don't...I and others I know plan our class schedules around the basketball schedule.
People like you and I were/are not the norm.
Study, pre-party, give ourselves enough time to roll down the hill, grab a beer and find our seat.
Then again there was no game boy or whatever, internet, text messaging and the games was a place where we knew everyone was going to be hanging out. It sort of was like Saturday night mass in HS.;-)
Buesch N Chips
New member
Although BB says the same thing every time he posts, in this case it is true.
DeltaBrave03
New member
Didn't take long to learn to try to avoid night classes and at all costs no Tuesday or Wednesday night classes. Heck I changed classes at the beginning of my Frosh year so I wouldn't miss the MSU game for my Monday night math class.
Some people would rather sit in their rooms and play COD Black Ops by themselves for 6 hours instead of interact with other people. It's just the way my generation has developed, and thankfully I am in the minority when it comes to this.
Maybe not so much technology as it is culture. Chicagoland is pro sports first, and when you consider the traffic for students it is probably not worth it to make it a go to a football/basketball game at their high school.
I come from a rather large town in Illinois (not Peoria), and HS football is huge. It is definitely culture though, since traffic is light in the night and there is nothing else going on sports wise. Even with cell phones and FB and whatnot, plenty of my classmates made sure others went out to the football/basketball games. In fact, there was a student group for basketball games that had a guy dress up in various costumers (not a pep squad mascot).
I get what Chico is saying, but it really only applies if you are a large state school where the athletics is talked about all throughout the state/country OR a private school that is well-known for its athletics. You can't expect students to spend time looking for sports. It's not because of new technology, it's because they likely have more going on in school right then and there that they can't afford much time to look. That is where advertising comes into play.
Bradley is more or less known as an academic school, and in my hometown folks know of its basketball based on the fact they play ISU or that they used to play at the Field House. That's pretty much it.
Future Walk-On
New member
Like Brandon Miller ;-)
AZ BU Fan
New member
Cub attendance was pretty crummy in the mid 80's.
When the stadium and Wrigleyville became known as a place to drink and party, before, during, and after the games, people started showing up.
Don't think it had much to do with baseball....
AZ BU Fan
New member
WHERE HAVE ALL THE BU FANS GONE?
(Apologies to Pete Seeger ;-) )
Where have all the BU Students gone?
Fewer are attending
Where have all the BU Students gone?
Versus BU games a long time ago
Where have all the BU Students gone?
They??™ll show up for some free food and if BU starts winning every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?
Where have all the younger fans gone?
Fewer are attending
Where have all the younger fans gone?
Versus BU games a long time ago
Where have all the younger fans gone?
Bored of Pep Band Songs, Quick Change and Frisbee Dogs every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?
Where have all the older fans gone?
Sadly too many are passing
Where have all the older fans gone?
Versus BU games a long time ago
Where have all the older fans gone?
Fewer local alumni, poor results, bad economy and higher prices/seat licenses affect every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?
(Apologies to Pete Seeger ;-) )
Where have all the BU Students gone?
Fewer are attending
Where have all the BU Students gone?
Versus BU games a long time ago
Where have all the BU Students gone?
They??™ll show up for some free food and if BU starts winning every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?
Where have all the younger fans gone?
Fewer are attending
Where have all the younger fans gone?
Versus BU games a long time ago
Where have all the younger fans gone?
Bored of Pep Band Songs, Quick Change and Frisbee Dogs every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?
Where have all the older fans gone?
Sadly too many are passing
Where have all the older fans gone?
Versus BU games a long time ago
Where have all the older fans gone?
Fewer local alumni, poor results, bad economy and higher prices/seat licenses affect every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?
Don't tell this to 'cubs fans' they go to 'support their team.' Granted a huge number of people who go couldn't name the usual line up or rotation, let alone know a middle reliever, but they are 'Die-Hards!'
Future Walk-On
New member
Since half the students are friends with TB on facebook......maybe they will show...
We do have a thread about this subject like every 3 months.......kinda getting old.
We do have a thread about this subject like every 3 months.......kinda getting old.
I grew up in Peoria, my great grandparents had season tickets, my grandparents had season tickets, and my dad had season tickets. I grew up going to games and I love Bradley basketball even though I am not(and never have been) a student at Bradley. Bradley Basketball is an acquired taste. You cant just expect most students to love the basketball team just because they enroll at the school. Yes, there is the exception, like was stated about guys scheduling classes around games. That is all well and good, but how many people do you know that did that, honestly? 20? 30? Bradley has an enrollment of around 6,000 if im not mistaken, so those numbers are 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively, of the student body. The athletic department should promote games. Here at Truman we have Purple Fridays on game days, and even on away game days. There are people out on the quad clad in Truman gear and handing out flyers for games and they even have promotions that are only good if you show up wearing purple. Since Purple Fridays have started ,there has been a noticeable increase in student attendance at home events, and Truman's enrollment is the same as Bradley's, but Truman is D II so it should even be easier for Bradley to promote the games.
Having a football team helps as well, because the sports fans on the campus that are supposed to support their team, are dormant until late october - early november, and then "real" games dont even start until late November. A majority of people in this country dont care about college basketball until March anyway, and by that time lately(last 5 years since the Sweet 16 run) Bradley has been irrelevant in the conversation.
Having a football team helps as well, because the sports fans on the campus that are supposed to support their team, are dormant until late october - early november, and then "real" games dont even start until late November. A majority of people in this country dont care about college basketball until March anyway, and by that time lately(last 5 years since the Sweet 16 run) Bradley has been irrelevant in the conversation.