• 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.

The idea was a success!

lake Camelot said:
I will agree it was a success last night. However in the long term I hope that it doesn't encourage this in the future. That has been my fear all along. I think even if the arena held double what it does that would be too small for games if BU wants to compete at a decent level. 8,000 is the absolute minimum to play on campus too me. And even that is bad.

Now if they someday come up with money to build an 10,000 or more seat arena on campus I would be all for it. But I would still need to find a differnt place to park than the deck.
Click to expand...

I couldn't disagree with you more on this lake Camelot. Try asking Gonzaga and St. Mary's that they aren't successful programs with each arena holding far fewer than 8,000 seats. And these are two programs that have been playing at a much higher level than Bradley has the last few years.

If the issue is with season ticket holders not being able to get into this game, well, I'm sure there are plenty of people who can't get tickets to Cameron Indoor Stadium for Duke games either, especially considering over half of the 9300+ who show up for Duke games are students. Plus we are only talking about at most one game a year, one game reserved for the students who would like to get a taste of what it is like to have an on campus facility to see the games. Every other game would still be held at the PCC, and it as we all know can be very loud when it is filled with students and we are winning consistently. But one game at the Renaissance Center each year wouldn't hurt anything, at least in my opinion.
 
bigdaddystuck said:
The game itself was a success because we showed improvement, faced adversity, overcame it and pulled out the W.

As for the whole event being a success....I don't know what the goals where in bringing the game up on campus. IF the goal was to increase student interest, only time will tell. IF more students start going to games downtown, then this was a success. IF there is no change in the number of students going to games, then this was not a success.

My problem with the whole idea was that it potentially is a limiting venue. Only 4300(?) can get in there. That COULD scare off a lot of people from going. BU is a program that has more than 4000 diehard fans. Many people, like myself, who are diehard BU fans can't afford to be season ticket holders. Playing at the CC allows for a lot of people, who go to a handful of games, the seating to go and watch.

I have no problem with this being a once a year thing, just don't want it to go beyond that!
Click to expand...

I agree with this being a once a year thing, but I still don't understand how one game could scare people off, or make season ticket holders upset when there will still be 14 or 15 more games at the CC. See my post above which explains this more.
 
The idea was a success because the reason behind it was to get more students involved and it worked for this one game. I still say that the 1981-82 team should have been honored at a game in the Civic Center. The kids today don't remember that great team and proved it when so many of them left at halftime.
 
The few students who left weren't the only ones to leave early. It has also become common for non student fans to leave Carver early, often with the outcome of the game still in doubt. This vaunted Bradley fan base is in danger of becoming a myth. These are not the same fans who parked on side streets and walked blocks through cold, snow, and ice to sit on hard bleachers in a hot and cramped FH - without beer - and actually cheered. We all need to step up.
 
78Brave said:
The few students who left weren't the only ones to leave early. It has also become common for non student fans to leave Carver early, often with the outcome of the game still in doubt. This vaunted Bradley fan base is in danger of becoming a myth. These are not the same fans who parked on side streets and walked blocks through cold, snow, and ice to sit on hard bleachers in a hot and cramped FH - without beer - and actually cheered. We all need to step up.
Click to expand...

Tell me about it. I walked many times from W.Peoria to the Fieldhouse, including the game against Creighton when all the side streets were impassable. Many other times we parked several blocks away and made the walk. Wouldn't try it now. Many of the fans you brought up still go to Carver, but the Fieldhouse days were 30 years ago and just like walking several blocks, things have changed. The blue hairs aren't the cause of the fan base becoming a myth.
 
Bravesfan said:
I agree with this being a once a year thing, but I still don't understand how one game could scare people off, or make season ticket holders upset when there will still be 14 or 15 more games at the CC. See my post above which explains this more.
Click to expand...

My meaning was that many people may think/suspect/believe that a ticket would be hard to come by. Myself, I am not a season ticket holder, I usually buy a few game tickets based on my schedule. I would be worried about ticket availability, IF more games would be played up there during a season. I understand that this season there is the regular number of games downtown.
 
Chico said:
Tell me about it. I walked many times from W.Peoria to the Fieldhouse, including the game against Creighton when all the side streets were impassable. Many other times we parked several blocks away and made the walk. Wouldn't try it now. Many of the fans you brought up still go to Carver, but the Fieldhouse days were 30 years ago and just like walking several blocks, things have changed. The blue hairs aren't the cause of the fan base becoming a myth.
Click to expand...

The quality of basketball on the court has changed along with how much winning has been done recently at Bradley. Look no further than that.
 
buschsquirrel2011 said:
The quality of basketball on the court has changed along with how much winning has been done recently at Bradley. Look no further than that.
Click to expand...

Hard to disagree, but even with that the number of season ticket holders continues to impress. May not get the 10000 crowds anymore for every game, but many have been coming for years and will continue and most have to come alot further than the campus.
 
There is no doubt that winning will make a big difference. But Bradley didn't always win - mid 70s etc and the crowd enthusiasm was much better than it is now. Alot of the fans at the Fieldhouse were older too. There is also no doubt that the student support is not near what it was when I was a student or before and shortly after. There is no one factor but it seems clear that there has been a significant drop in the excitement level at the games. It is not only the lack of students. Bradley needs to continue to do whatever they can to increase student interest. And the non students need to get more into the games. Oh and Pandering? I don't think so but if it is check out the cost to attend Bradley. Bradley should be pandering to them.
 
mrcoachdude said:
Really? I am thinking we can look much further than quality and amount of wins.
Click to expand...

What do you mean? I think pretty much over the history of Bradley basketball the excitement level, attendance, student involvement etc. has pretty much trended with the level of play on the court and how much winning has been done.

To me it's kinda tough to argue that. Is there evidence to suggest otherwise?

Of course, to be fair, its been over 10 years since Bradley has played a meaningful home game after Jan. 15 so maybe people have forgotten whats its like to go to an MVC game in February that mattered.

Hopefully that changes soon.
 
buschsquirrel2011 said:
Of course, to be fair, its been over 10 years since Bradley has played a meaningful home game after Jan. 15 so maybe people have forgotten whats its like to go to an MVC game in February that mattered.

Hopefully that changes soon.
Click to expand...

So I guess the February 14, 2006 game vs SIU didn't matter in the grand scheme of things when it came to selection Sunday a few weeks later? I guess that team cold have taken that game off and everything would have been the same.:roll:
 
Beninator said:
So I guess the February 14, 2006 game vs SIU didn't matter in the grand scheme of things when it came to selection Sunday a few weeks later? I guess that team cold have taken that game off and everything would have been the same.:roll:
Click to expand...

I don't want to get into it again. However, after Jan. 15 or so in the last 11 years Bradley hasn't played a home game with any type of conference championship implications on the line. You can try and cherry pick games all you want and nitpick the issue.

And that also gets off the point of the conversation.

Winning leads to excitement which leads to big crowds which leads to student involvement, etc.

I just don't see how this issue is hard to grasp or understand.
 
buschsquirrel2011 said:
I don't want to get into it again. However, after Jan. 15 or so in the last 11 years Bradley hasn't played a home game with any type of conference championship implications on the line. You can try and cherry pick games all you want and nitpick the issue.

And that also gets off the point of the conversation.

Winning leads to excitement which leads to big crowds which leads to student involvement, etc.

I just don't see how this issue is hard to grasp or understand.
Click to expand...

Not a difficult concept to grasp at all. But games with conference championship implications was not mentioned as your original criteria. Therefore my response.
 
78Brave said:
There is no doubt that winning will make a big difference. But Bradley didn't always win - mid 70s etc and the crowd enthusiasm was much better than it is now. Alot of the fans at the Fieldhouse were older too. There is also no doubt that the student support is not near what it was when I was a student or before and shortly after. There is no one factor but it seems clear that there has been a significant drop in the excitement level at the games. It is not only the lack of students. Bradley needs to continue to do whatever they can to increase student interest. And the non students need to get more into the games. Oh and Pandering? I don't think so but if it is check out the cost to attend Bradley. Bradley should be pandering to them.
Click to expand...

I think they pander as much as they can. Cheap seats, free transportation to the games, etc. They gotta want to go. In the Fieldhouse during timeouts there wasn't constant commercials on the scoreboard or goofy promotions or constant mean nothing chatter by the PA guy. Watch what happens tomorrow night during the timeouts before the band is allowed to play and when the Braves are on a run and ND calls a timeout. You have to be allowed to show excitement and it's hard to do right now.
 
Buesch N Chips said:
Here we go....
Click to expand...

Not "going anywhere" Buesch.

I was just responding to the topic about fan support. Instead of trying to overanalyze why the fans don't come, why the "excitement" isn't there at home games then you need to look no further than wins and losses and on court success. My answers have to do with that, nothing else.

All the other stuff is window dressing and fluff and works only on random instances. I don't care about marketing, playing on campus, going to the dorms, giving away free tickets, where the game is played, etc.

Win, they come. Lose, they don't. Pretty easy.
 
buschsquirrel2011 said:
I was just responding to the topic about fan support. Instead of trying to overanalyze why the fans don't come, why the "excitement" isn't there at home games then you need to look no further than wins and losses and on court success. My answers have to do with that, nothing else.
Click to expand...

Last season was a really bad one and I believe we had pretty big crowds at the end of the season. I'm guessing most of those people paid more than $1 and didn't have free transportation provided.
 
Chico said:
I think they pander as much as they can. Cheap seats, free transportation to the games, etc. They gotta want to go. In the Fieldhouse during timeouts there wasn't constant commercials on the scoreboard or goofy promotions or constant mean nothing chatter by the PA guy. Watch what happens tomorrow night during the timeouts before the band is allowed to play and when the Braves are on a run and ND calls a timeout. You have to be allowed to show excitement and it's hard to do right now.
Click to expand...

I agree with you completely about the promos, commercials, band, etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top