Sad, indeed.
First, the announcement of the football team signing autographs in the concourse before the game, then the free "rally towels," and now I just got an email advertising $5 tickets. The powers that be seem scared to death to show an empty LNC on national TV this Saturday.
Can't say I blame them.
I just wish we had better fans. The begging is sad.
believe me, I WANT to go, but I live two hours away and half our city is without power.
When they come to Tulsa, I'll be there, clad in crimson
But you know... an autographed football WOULD be nice...
Not pointing this at you directly AT ALL, but just in general, it seems there are always excuses for the hoops team.Originally Posted by badger
believe me, I WANT to go, but I live two hours away and half our city is without power.
When they come to Tulsa, I'll be there, clad in crimson
But you know... an autographed football WOULD be nice...
But let me ask you this: Let's say it was OU-Arkansas in FOOTBALL in Norman this week, under the exact same conditions.
I have a feeling 80,000 people would still find a way to pack that place
Yet, we'll be fortunate to get 10,000 on Saturday.
that's different. it's footballNot pointing this at you directly AT ALL, but just in general, it seems there are always excuses for the hoops team.
But let me ask you this: Let's say it was OU-Arkansas in FOOTBALL in Norman this week, under the exact same conditions.
I have a feeling 80,000 people would still find a way to pack that place
Yet, we'll be fortunate to get 10,000 on Saturday.
if this cross-promotional thing works, they should try it more in the future. stoops goes to basketball games anyway. I'm sure he'd be happy to help the team out.
i love the sooners and watch football or basketball every chance i get.
but i can't seem to get into this team yet. looks like alot of people feel that way right now.
I went to a few games last year and Capel seemed as frustrated as the fans. Of course, I lived in Norman then
There's a lot going right for this team, but they still don't have that connection that other programs have with fans yet. Here's some things I would like to see:
1- More games around the state of Oklahoma
>>> Sure, you've got your annual "hide your eyes from bright orange" in Stool, but there are two pretty good state teams in ORU and TU. Play them in Tulsa! We're about to have the BOK Center!
2- More cross promotional thingys.
>>> Sherri Coale once sang "Tennesseee is coming to town" to a full crowd for the men's team to try to get fans to come to women's games, too. She and her staff did numerous things like this to get OU fans to be fans of more than the traditional hotspots of men's basketball and football. Now which team is having trouble filling the stands, hmm?
3- Introduce Capel more to the Sooner Nation.
>>> Who can name where Stoops is from, both coaching and playing-wise? Ok, now how 'bout Sherri Coale? Most likely, you can all say that Stoops is from Ohio, played in Iowa and coached at Florida. You will likely also know that Coale is from Oklahoma, played at Oklahoma (Christian) and last coached at Norman High. Capel is largely still a young mystery. Sure, we might have seen that Duke last second shot, we might remember that mid-minor school he coached at, but what else?
4- Cheapen the tix.
>>> Yes, we need the athletic department to make money so there's no "what about ackydemmies?" argument when it comes to finances. However, it's tough to get some fans to buy expensive tickets in advance for a team they are not familiar with, have not really followed before and isn't currently a national success. Push the family promos! Push the $5 ticket games! Push the freebies!
Right now, we have seen substantial improvement in many OU team followings:
1- Women's basketball. Just a few years ago, there were many, many empty seats in both the lower and higher levels. Now, the student section is full, the fans that buy tickets actually show up and more are interested in attending.
2- Women's volleyball. Huge kudos to Santiago. He would go out the morning of games in the South Oval with donuts to get students interested. The national rankings and success brought even more interest in beyond that.
However, there are also teams that seem to be in the decline.
1- Men's basketball. A loss of national ranking will not work wonders, but more needs to be done off-court to bring those fans that came for a winning team to come back for the team, period.
2- Baseball. They had some good crowds when they made their playoff run. However, the crowds I've seen are still pretty modest... not that baseball crowds can cause false starts (um, false swings?) or timeouts (catcher-pitcher meetings?) or something.
So, there's my two cents. Discuss?
I realize it's something of a moot point over the holidays, but having the arena clear down on the south side of campus is a factor. In cold weather it's too far to walk from the dorms (especially the long walk back against the north wind), and getting out of the parking lot is something of a PITA, such that you can probably get back to the dorms faster by walking.
Just thinking of one reason my attendance slowed as a student in the in the early-mid 90's...
The Oklahoma City Blazers of the 1990's could not have done a worse job with their accounting if they had kept their ledgers on Big Chief tablets...
More often than not, I would agree that the OU bball fans are all but non-existent (in terms of #'s). This particular game, though, I would absolutely go to but for a few key reasons. #1. I tree, and a large one at that, thought it appropriat to take a nap on my car. #2. I still don't have power (at my house. office has power though). And, #3. Round 2 of weather awesomeness is scheduled to directly precede the game and I doubt that I want to drive a borrowed car w/out 4wd from NW OKC to Norman in that. I do think that OU's doing a great thing in lowering the ticket prices and giving abundant advertisement to let everyone know (no sarcasm intended). It would be great if they got together with OKC/Tulsa public transport to set something up with that, for those of us who happened to have our cars rendered imobile over the course of this week.
I wish they would make student tickets free.
I'm goin to that game. Transportation ain't a problem for me because I live in walking distance to the LNC.
"If your dream ain't bigger than you, there's a problem with your dream." -Deion Sanders
Bottom line = fickle fans who don't care about basketball. That's the reality. Fans that would brave any kind of weather to see the football team can't drag themselves to a basketball game.
Considering the ice storm, I can see how people have more important things on their minds than basketball. But, it'd be the same anyway.
Hope Capel keeps working his magic with recruiting because the lack of support for this team could bite the program in the *** down the road in that regard.
I'm pretty sure there will be a free game or two this year for the students.
"If your dream ain't bigger than you, there's a problem with your dream." -Deion Sanders
They are free.
Yep, all students need tomorrow is an ID to get in. If you don't have that or the $5 to buy a ticket, then please stop reading this and go get a job!
Anybody remember how our attendance at football games was in the '90s?
Attendance (beyond the die hard fans) is a product of excitement, which is a product of one of two things: scoring and winning. Last season was the worst for OU roundball since Billy's first season.
If we start scoring/winning like Billyball or winning like Calvin Simpson, attendance will spike. Actually, all that matters is making the tourney and making it past the first round. If this team does that, attendance will be much higher in 2008-9. Mark my words.
I agree with Badger. Since Capels arrival, the team hasn't created an identity yet. Fans identify with a teams personality but so far this team is a bit unknown. We knew what Sampsons teams were all about and it was easy to identify with them. I think Capel was a good hire and in time I'm sure his teams will create their own identity.
Re: OU BEGGING People to go to Arkansas Game
I know this seems shallow, but showing up in gray uni's is not a brilliant scheme to allow for more connection to the fans. I know, they are still young men playing for the sooners. Screwing around with the OU crimson and cream is akin to the aggies, hell, we are the only other team(I think) to pull this stunt in b ball. I know, I know , we are not cheering for the color, but please coach, get them back in the traditional colors. By the way, have the women done this???
this might just be a clever ploy to drum up fan interest in basketball. it would never happen in football, but hey, no need to drum up interest in football.
notice how many people started talking about men's basketball after they did the gray thing
well in all fairness, there are about 15-20 home basketball games while there are about 6 home football games. That probably plays a part in it. That said, most OU fans SUCK when it comes to supporting the basketball team. Many are donors but there are plenty of opportunities to get in the game if you want.
Sadly, its probably never going to happen here. Even when Sampson had us in the Final 4 we had trouble selling out (unless it was KU, UT or OSU in the house).
It's been stated on here before, but I'll say it again: the LNC is not a good place to watch basketball. And it's not just the dim lighting, poor seating arrangements (students split up/in the upper level? wtf?), and low ceilings.
Since when did the LNC turn into some high-security compound? Notice the first things you see when you walk in the door: about 10 of those CSC Event Staff people and several ITEMS PROHIBITED signs. No signs like "home of three straight Big XII titles" or anything like that, just DON'T DO THIS-type signs everywhere. Then you get inside, where it seems like there's a CSC Event Staff guard by every section, plus around the court, hawking over everyone and checking their ticket stubs as they make their way from the concession stands back to their seats. It's like, there's 3,000 people here, are you really that worried that someone's going to defy the odds and plop down in an occupied seat? It's ridiculous. Sure, there needs to be some security, but this overdoing it. It's an OU basketball game, not some Longest Yard-type matchup.
Posting Permissions
