• 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.

KW Article: To Live, BU Spirit Must Get Younger

How is this humanly possible? I regularly chatted with JL when I'd see him at events. I'd sneak in question about a recruit and I'd often get a non-answer or smirk that told me what I wanted to know while maintaining deniability. Could JL have done some more? Sure, but if you didn't talk to JL when he was here you absolutely made no effort whatsoever, especially if someone was a writer for the Scout.

Of course I spoke to him regularly while I worked for the paper, but only in the context of an interview.

The 4 years prior to that, its kind of hard to speak to a man that you never see. You even said it yourself "when you saw him at events." If it wasn't an organized basketball event where he was scheduled and advertised to appear, he was invisible to the student body.
 
While winning is the easy answer, I do wonder why winning helps so much.
I think the answer is more of BU being relevant on a national stage, then just winning.
 
While the history of what happened to student attendance (I was part of the 1982-83 student group) is known to many on the board, I like the fact that KW wrote an article on it as JG and MC do not know the history. If you're going to get a new coach, you might as well address the other issues that are out there.

I posted this before. The student section needs to be center court lower bowl, fossilized rich boosters be danged.

JL's "connection" with the students was nonexistent. In my 5 years at Bradley, not once did he make himself visible on campus. In fact, if not for the fact that I covered the team for the Scout for a year, I would have never had a single encounter with the man.

Forming some kind of connection with the students is part of the job as a college coach, and its part of the job JL completely ignored/disregarded. I only hope whoever the new coach is doesn't do the same.

I agree 100% with the above posts! Runningfield I have posted over the years as much! The chance of it changing though is probably very low because just like our politics today, money talks, not doing what is right. The game should be for the students first and then for us old guys.

BTW...Versace did not connect with the students either but we were winning so nobody really cared.
 
I have talked with both non athlete BU students and non Basketball BU athletes and they have all told me that JL's pressence around campus was very low profile except around the BU athletic complex. It seemed like Mo had more involvement and inter action with students. I'm not saying the new coach has to be all buddy buddy with the students just be more visable. As for the current seating at the Civic Center I'd move the band away from behind the basket and closer to the opposing bench to make it harder for them to hear. If all of the lower bowl students seats aren't filled by gametime let anyone who wants to sit in that section so that it can be filled up. There's not much else you're going to be able to do at the Civic Center.
 
well...thanks but they weren't my points, they were the few points that got churned out over, and over, and over again and again as new daily columns from Mr. Wessler...
There were a few nice stories on Dodie, etc...but 90% of what has been in the PJS star the past month has been rehashed, old stuff we've heard a million times and has been on this board over and over as well.


In fairness T do you think KW is writing to people on this board? I doubt it.
While this board is very popular it still pales in comparison to the readership of the Star...most on here are more into the Braves than the normal public....I don't mean to say we aren't normal although that is debatable:D....but really much if not most what is written has been talked about on the board....but I have many people talk to me about what they read in the paper as opposed to what's on this board. Few people really know about either board actually and quite honestly even some that do know about them don't care.
 
Hmm...I don't know lefty, but there are stats available to suggest that this board may be more popular...

you are presuming that everyone who buys or reads the PJ Star is reading KW's columns...
That's like saying we can count everyone who logs onto the internet as being a BradleyFans reader, too....but of course that's ridiculous...

I will stick my neck out (and Da Coach can back me up...) that we might just have more distinct viewers and overall hits on BradleyFans
than KW's column itself does.....no way of knowing as I suspect there's no data to compare...
 
Hmm...I don't know lefty, but there are stats available to suggest that this board may be more popular...

you are presuming that everyone who buys or reads the PJ Star is reading KW's columns...
That's like saying we can count everyone who logs onto the internet as being a BradleyFans reader, too....but of course that's ridiculous...

I will stick my neck out (and Da Coach can back me up...) that we might just have more distinct viewers and overall hits on BradleyFans
than KW's column itself does.....no way of knowing as I suspect there's no data to compare...

Yeah....there would be no official stats to draw from....but I can honestly tell you T....I've never had anyone come up to me and discuss what's on this board but I have had many discuss KW's articles as well as other articles in the paper. I don't think it's even close really....I know you'll disagree because you are anti-KW and PJS:)...I get it.
 
it all depends on your perspective...
I meet 10-20 people a day who talk to me about Bradley basketball and virtually all of them read the board regularly and talk about things on the board.
In contrast, I cannot recall the last time anyone ever started talking to me about something in a newspaper column by KW -- seriously!
 
I think that winning helps the student section but at the same time, the student section helps winning. Will a winning team attract more student attendance? Definitely, but will a strong student section help promote a winning atmosphere that helps the team? Definitely. Kind of a catch 22.

Even if the student demographic at Bradley is majority female, I can go to just about any local high school basketball game and find plenty of females standing in each respective schools student section. Girls are interested in being with their schoolmates and friends but someone needs to get everyone on the same page. The local high schools have pep rally's that feature the team to get the students hyped up for the games. I agree with others that if there were more student promotions through the different on campus groups, including pep rallys etc, more students would show.

I dont think the seating matters, I remember the Molinarmy doing fairly well in the current location. I do thinking charging $1 to get in is silly. Why not let the students in for free and even maybe have a raffle for all students in attendance for gift cards etc? Couldn't hurt.

Did you really just compare a Division 1 athletic program to high school athletics?! Wow...

But I do agree with your last paragraph. All you other people saying "well, Duke and Michigan St. do it, we should too!" How many national titles do they each have to back that up? Also, the Michigan St. student body is like 3x more than Bradley, Duke enrollment is about the same, maybe a little bigger than Bradley, but its Duke for crying out loud. I can name you multiple schools where the student section is in the end zone and they dont complain about it. And these schools are a HE!! of alot bigger than Bradley. Changing the seats is not going to guarantee more students at the games. Duke, Michigan St., and Illinois are the exception, not the rule

Just to name a few whose student sections are in the end zones: Kansas, Mizzou, Virginia Tech, Kentucky, UNC, Texas A&M
 
Yeah....there would be no official stats to draw from....but I can honestly tell you T....I've never had anyone come up to me and discuss what's on this board but I have had many discuss KW's articles as well as other articles in the paper. I don't think it's even close really....I know you'll disagree because you are anti-KW and PJS:)...I get it.

Every student or recent grad I know talks about this board, not one about Wessler/PJS... Older generations probably still get their news from newspapers, but everyone I know understands that this board is quicker and more reliable.
 
Every student or recent grad I know talks about this board, not one about Wessler/PJS... Older generations probably still get their news from newspapers, but everyone I know understands that this board is quicker and more reliable.


so you are calling me old?:)....must be my circle then....as I know a fair amount of people close to the BU program and I can't ever remember them bringing up either board(of course maybe they don't want to admit it either I mean is it like a soap opera;)?

No doubt the board is quicker with info.....but I would debate more reliable....

Hey I am a fan of the boards...but I still read the paper too and I don't think I try to bash either one....
 
No doubt the board is quicker with info.....but I would debate more reliable....

Hey I am a fan of the boards...but I still read the paper too and I don't think I try to bash either one....

Maybe not EVERYTHING is reliable, but you better believe that if someone comes on here with something that ain't legit, it will be corrected sooner or later. People on here have done their HW, and are always keeping up with the latest in the college hoops world.

If posters are quick to point out flaws of other poster's posts, wouldn't you expect them to point them out in the paper too?
Maybe those who have "bashed" KW or DR in the past should hold their toungues (or fingers when typing :D), but their perspectives really make you think...and it's good to have a different perspective than the journalists, since it's only from one man's perspective.
 
Did you really just compare a Division 1 athletic program to high school athletics?! Wow...

But I do agree with your last paragraph. All you other people saying "well, Duke and Michigan St. do it, we should too!" How many national titles do they each have to back that up? Also, the Michigan St. student body is like 3x more than Bradley, Duke enrollment is about the same, maybe a little bigger than Bradley, but its Duke for crying out loud. I can name you multiple schools where the student section is in the end zone and they dont complain about it. And these schools are a HE!! of alot bigger than Bradley. Changing the seats is not going to guarantee more students at the games. Duke, Michigan St., and Illinois are the exception, not the rule

Just to name a few whose student sections are in the end zones: Kansas, Mizzou, Virginia Tech, Kentucky, UNC, Texas A&M

I can name a few others that give students decent seats and I can say the UNC Dean Dome is not the home court advantage it use to be. I'm not saying BU has to give up all the best seats to the students but there should be a section that is desirable then the freaking end-zone seats. It is a college game for college kids, just because some older people decided to change the purpose of college ball, it does not make it right. The school should take the steps to make the game as much as a positive experience as possible.
 
so you are calling me old?:)....must be my circle then....as I know a fair amount of people close to the BU program and I can't ever remember them bringing up either board(of course maybe they don't want to admit it either I mean is it like a soap opera;)?

No doubt the board is quicker with info.....but I would debate more reliable....

Hey I am a fan of the boards...but I still read the paper too and I don't think I try to bash either one....

If the shoe fits... ;)

I'm not trying to bash either medium. Simply stating that my circle of friends (20-30 yr olds) never discuss the paper, but often discuss the board. I don't think that's bashing, I think it's reality. It's why newspapers are going bankrupt - my generation and younger don't look to the newspaper for news. We'd rather read about it 24 hours earlier, for free, anywhere, any time, and be able to have our input be heard.

As far as reliability I'd would argue this board is equal to, if not more reliable than the PJS (see whether Sam asked for his release, if we've offered Biefieldt. where Wilkins committed, etc.) but I think that point is open for debate.
 
I can name a few others that give students decent seats and I can say the UNC Dean Dome is not the home court advantage it use to be. I'm not saying BU has to give up all the best seats to the students but there should be a section that is desirable then the freaking end-zone seats. It is a college game for college kids, just because some older people decided to change the purpose of college ball, it does not make it right. The school should take the steps to make the game as much as a positive experience as possible.

I was just saying that if those big schools are not above putting the students in the end zone, and the environment is just fine at these places, then why should Bradley do any different with a losing program with students who dont show up?

Is it a tough break for the students, yeah. Are the donors going to give up their seats, no. The culture of college sports has changed. $$$ talks, period. Like was said in the article or another post I dont remember, where BU messed up was not making the on campus arena big enough to even hold a few mens games. Is the RC built so it could expand or is it set pretty much in stone? I havent had a chance to go down there since I only make it back home a few times a year.
 
Back
Top