swhoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by swhoya on Jun 4, 2015 21:46:30 GMT -5
Agreed. I didn't see any "look at me" in the original post. Agree or disagree, but he has some substantive complaints. On the other hand, kchoyas post was one of the more ironic, lacking-in-self-awareness posts that I've seen in a while. All he does is jump on with snarky comments. It's all about looking at how funny/sarcastic/snide I can be. Pot...meet kettle. Please show me a thread I started where I went on and on about how I no longer care about the team enough to continue the level of support I exhibited the past 10-20 years. Wasn't my point at all. I didn't question your fan-dom, just that you appear to have a similar need for attention that you were decrying. Most of the time I just ignore it, but it seemed like an unnecessary and (judging by the number of people that took issue with your statement) inaccurate attack. I don't usually use the ignore function but perhaps I should. But that's the last I'll say on it. Have a nice day.
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rockhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by rockhoya on Jun 4, 2015 21:51:19 GMT -5
If you can't excited about a top 15 program that you presumably have followed for 20 years that will have a top 5 SOS the next few years with 3 or 4 NBA prospects on the team, then maybe it's time to relinquish your seats. Amen
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rockhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by rockhoya on Jun 4, 2015 21:56:11 GMT -5
DFW, I DID THE SAME THING. " [b ]I've been a season ticket holder for over 20 years, excluding the last year of Esherick, but I've decided not to renew. If you don't care, stop reading and don't reply. But I thought some people might be interested to know why and whether my decision is an indication of things to come. Also, I am not renewing my season tickets but I will continue to attend some games home and away and make my donation to the program and support the Hoyas. A few notes:
[/i][/b] I couldn’t get watching the “boys” out of my system and sent to a half a dozen games, two years ago. Last year, I went to the Kansas game and that’s when I blew my top. To see Georgetown University allow the entire team to come out wearing the “I can’t breathe” T-shirts. GU pays III over $3 million a year and he allows this political crap on national TV? Then the team was out-played and out-coached by Kansas. They have seen my last dollar. The GU experience has been replaced by college hockey and women’s volleyball.[/quote] Seriously, what does this post even mean?
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kchoya
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Post by kchoya on Jun 4, 2015 22:22:42 GMT -5
DFW, I DID THE SAME THING. " [b ]I've been a season ticket holder for over 20 years, excluding the last year of Esherick, but I've decided not to renew. If you don't care, stop reading and don't reply. But I thought some people might be interested to know why and whether my decision is an indication of things to come. Also, I am not renewing my season tickets but I will continue to attend some games home and away and make my donation to the program and support the Hoyas. A few notes:
[/i][/b] There are lots of valid reasons to be disappointed in the program (not that I agree with all of them), but this isn't one of them. As an alum, I'm proud of the thoughtfulness the players showed (spurred by JT3) in weighing in on that issue even though I don't agree with their position. GU educates the whole person, and athletes are not excepted.
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kchoya
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Post by kchoya on Jun 4, 2015 22:24:57 GMT -5
If you can't excited about a top 15 program that you presumably have followed for 20 years that will have a top 5 SOS the next few years with 3 or 4 NBA prospects on the team, then maybe it's time to relinquish your seats. Amen I didn't say you questioned my fandom. You must have trouble reading tonight.
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DanMcQ
Moderator
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Post by DanMcQ on Jun 5, 2015 5:36:41 GMT -5
DFW, I DID THE SAME THING. ... I couldn’t get watching the “boys” out of my system and sent to a half a dozen games, two years ago. Last year, I went to the Kansas game and that’s when I blew my top. To see Georgetown University allow the entire team to come out wearing the “I can’t breathe” T-shirts. GU pays III over $3 million a year and he allows this political crap on national TV? Then the team was out-played and out-coached by Kansas. They have seen my last dollar. The GU experience has been replaced by college hockey and women’s volleyball. There are a lot of reasons to choose not to have Georgetown season tickets, but this one is just silly. Much like Georgetown's student athletes though, we are all allowed to have an opinion.
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jwp91
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by jwp91 on Jun 5, 2015 5:41:35 GMT -5
There is also no shame in losing to Kansas. Syracuse on the other hand....
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Jun 5, 2015 5:57:56 GMT -5
I've had season tickets since 2007, when I talked 2 other Bostonians (and board participants here ) into acquiring them. One of us now lives locally. The opportunity cost is not much over what I already give to support the Hoop Club (I've been a member since 1981). I manage to get to between 4-6 home games a year and that's mostly based on my work schedule. Sure there are things about the schedule or game day experience that could be better. I don't really like NBA basketball especially when the cost of tickets alone to a Celtics game in a similar seat location exceeds the total per game cost for a Hoya game (including plane ticket, hotel, car rental, and a nice dinner). The bottom line is whether you enjoy it and whether you think it works for you. It does for me.
I don't agree with all the OP's points, but thanks for raising a discussion that the Sports Promotion group can review and hopefully glean ideas for improvement. They do read things like this and they are interested in improving the game day experience.
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rockhoya
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Post by rockhoya on Jun 5, 2015 7:04:58 GMT -5
I didn't say you questioned my fandom. You must have trouble reading tonight. He obviously wasn't talking about you...smh
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Post by ColumbiaHeightsHoya on Jun 5, 2015 7:48:50 GMT -5
One other obvious issue in the DC market is options. I went to the Butler game at Butler this year and what a game day experience! It was great. I assume Creighton, Xavier & Marquette are similar. The issue there is options. In DC you have a half a dozen college teams and every flavor of pro team to attend. In those smaller markets your options aren't as plentiful. I know many Indy people who own Butler season tickets because of the experience, it isn't crazy expensive (ie.Pacers) and they don't have to drive an hour down to Bloomington to see Indiana. We just don't have that built in advantage.
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FLHoya
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Proud Member of Generation Burton
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Post by FLHoya on Jun 5, 2015 8:06:54 GMT -5
If you can't excited about a top 15 program that you presumably have followed for 20 years that will have a top 5 SOS the next few years with 3 or 4 NBA prospects on the team, then maybe it's time to relinquish your seats. Amen That's fair, and I'm certainly excited about next year's team and I've been excited enough about Georgetown teams with much lesser prospects to have season tickets for 16 years now. Though the smartest thing Dhall said was he didn't get tickets during Esherick's last year--what a super genius move that was! But that's not the choice Dhall is talking about--it's not like he's saying "ya know, the team just doesn't do it for me any more" (maybe in his #3 point he's disillusioned with college athletics). How I read it is he's saying--I can be just as excited about this team and just as big a fan, while coming to the conclusion that paying (let's say) $400 for tickets + a $1000 donation for season tickets isn't a good value anymore. I'm very sympathetic to a lot of Dhall's points, even if I'd never consider giving up my GU season tickets for any number of reasons. In fact, as I pointed out before, I did the exact same thing with DC United two seasons ago for almost the exact same reasons he lays out (not enough people are discussing his point #4, btw, that's a critical one for Georgetown going forward). I still love that team as much as ever and I watch every game on TV, except for the two (so far) I've attended at RFK this season. It ain't a referendum on your fandom--it's economic reality and life happening.
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JB5
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
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Post by JB5 on Jun 5, 2015 8:24:42 GMT -5
I can agree with most of dhall's points. The ads are annoying, the food bad and many seats available on stubhub whenever wanted. For me, however, these facotrs haven't reached the level where I feel that going to games is more trouble than it's worth. Even a noon Saturday statrt against TA&M CC is still the highlight of my weekend (what a pathetic life I must have).
I will note that customer service has taken a steep turn downhill since the marketing was outsourced a couple of seasons ago. I think I've received only 1 message this year asking if I want to renew and none at all asking if I would like to upgrade, add seats, or anything else. I think if I didn't answer, they'd let me go without any further effort.
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Jun 5, 2015 8:31:43 GMT -5
Season tickets is one measure of program support, but it's not the only one. You can be supportive of the Hoyas having never set foot in Verizon Center. Yes, Verizon Center is 100x better than Capital Centre. Students that complain about the lack of restaurants or the difficulty in getting to Gallery Place on the Metro are foolish. Navigating to the "Stars & Stripes" parking lot in Landover might as well have been a wasteland compared to the area around the House That Abe Pollin Built. But for a variety of reasons-- economic, demographic, competitive, conference realignment, TV networks, whatever-- Georgetown's fan base at Verizon Center has visibly declined over the past three years, and the momentum around the reason and rationale of the Hoya Hoop Club has not been as visible as it has been either. Getting people in the door, figuratively and literally, is a means to build back that base...and not just those inside the Beltway. I think the operative question is what Georgetown does to reach out to what the Advancement folks call the "LYBUNTS" (last year, but not this year), or do they simply consider non-renewals as churn and little else. As Dan Snyder and his minions are learning the hard way, even the best fan bases will wither and lose interest without focus on the customer. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/for-third-time-in-six-years-redskins-remove-seats-from-fedex-field/2015/06/01/555299d6-088a-11e5-a7ad-b430fc1d3f5c_story.htmlA fan base is not built on a hashtag. It takes some work.
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TC
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by TC on Jun 5, 2015 9:03:57 GMT -5
I couldn’t get watching the “boys” out of my system and sent to a half a dozen games, two years ago. Last year, I went to the Kansas game and that’s when I blew my top. To see Georgetown University allow the entire team to come out wearing the “I can’t breathe” T-shirts. GU pays III over $3 million a year and he allows this political crap on national TV? Then the team was out-played and out-coached by Kansas. They have seen my last dollar. The GU experience has been replaced by college hockey and women’s volleyball. If a t-shirt protesting a clear cut case of police brutality on video was your last straw, good riddance to you. Every other complaint in this thread is a reasonable one about the customer experience. This is a ridiculous one. I've felt #2 other places - I don't think it's just Georgetown. I had a small season ticket plan for the Red Sox that I gave up this year because I wasn't making it to enough games, but I definitely felt that there were too many announcements, promotions, and on-field ceremonies jammed in.
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TC
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by TC on Jun 5, 2015 9:13:57 GMT -5
I'm very sympathetic to a lot of Dhall's points, even if I'd never consider giving up my GU season tickets for any number of reasons. In fact, as I pointed out before, I did the exact same thing with DC United two seasons ago for almost the exact same reasons he lays out (not enough people are discussing his point #4, btw, that's a critical one for Georgetown going forward). I still love that team as much as ever and I watch every game on TV, except for the two (so far) I've attended at RFK this season. It ain't a referendum on your fandom--it's economic reality and life happening. I agree here. In my 20's when I was reading this board, I used to not understand how people were super-huge fans of the team and post 10 times a day on the board but not manage to watch games due to family + kids. Now, with three bedtimes to manage, I get it and if I manage to watch 2-3 games live on TV, I'm having a good year.
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NCHoya
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Post by NCHoya on Jun 5, 2015 9:27:30 GMT -5
I can relate to many points raised by Dhall. There is no doubt the old big east was filled with marquee games and terrific match-ups that I wished I could attend in person. Now, when picking out the 2-3 games a year I travel to DC for, I find myself struggling to choose an attractive match-up because there are so few. I appreciate the upgrade in scheduling since III has taken over, but few are home games. However, that is a function of college basketball, very few marquee home and homes happen. IMO, Georgetown actually does a much better job than most schools, the problem goes back to the conference slate being so weak from an attractiveness (as opposed to competitive) standpoint.
The in-game experience is below average. I attend games in other venues all the time, and Verizon does it worse. It is very distracting and annoying for lack of better words. The availability of all the games on TV and the quality of the broadcasts (HD, replays, stats, analysis) make subjecting yourself to that type of atmosphere 14-15 times, that much harder. Like most have said, every sport is suffering from this to some degree.
The degradation of college basketball quality over the last 10 years is an issue for me, but more on the TV side. When I am in the arena, I do not feel it as much as when watching it on TV, where you can see just how badly the refs call the game and have to withstand the constant commercials. So this is also not a Gtown issue, and I was happy to see the NCAA has taken steps to improve it.
The issue is we all have limited time and money to spend on entertainment, and it is not a surprise at all to read a post like this one given all the change taking place right now in college athletics. I really do not think it is a problem Georgetown can solve for Dhall, seems like it is much more a live sports in 2015 issue.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jun 5, 2015 9:43:07 GMT -5
Have to acknowledge that the 2-3 games I get to see a year are not always the "hoped-for" college basketball experience, particularly after watching live numerous games involving teams like SDSU, UNLV, Utah and New Mexico where the crowds are rabid regardless of the opponent. However, perhaps because of my distance and infrequency of attending, I think I would jump at the opportunity to go to every game. The television experience is not the same, no matter what the quality of the broadcast. Your view of the game is filtered through the eyes of the cameras and the decisions of the broadcasting and production crew. The camera follows the ball and I really enjoy watching the other players off the ball, the coaches and the benches during the game. This is part of the experience that is missing on television. For instance, I truly enjoyed watching a kid like Tyler Adams on the bench--or Bowen or Jabril--to see their reaction to the flow of the game.
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on Jun 5, 2015 10:14:35 GMT -5
#1 Reason: The home schedule is simply not exciting to me as a whole. Pre-conference, there is one maybe two games of even marginal interest on average. And the conference - I'm sorry, but the Big East, while decent quality, does not approach the Big East of the past in terms of rivalries and emotional connection Maybe it's not rational, but I can't get excited over more than 2 or 3 league opponents. So when I look at the schedule of 14 games and see 3-5 at most that I am burning to attend, then I start questioning whether season tickets make sense. The away non-conference schedule and tournaments are really excellent but that doesn't do anything for me as a season ticket holder other than possibly burn up funds that I could use to attend some of those away games. This is the one I don't get. The Big East undergone a change and frankly came up with some of the best possible replacements considering the conference was limited to basketball-only schools. Its time to make new traditions all the while trying to ensure that the program keeps playing Cuse, UConn, etc. St. John's, Seton Hall, Providence and Villanova are still around but the problem is that Hoya fans have devalued those programs for years, long before the Big East broke up. Hoya fans wouldn't turn out to those games. They only cared about Syracuse, Notre Dame (who had not been a rival for that long), UConn, possibly Louisville. And of course Duke whenever Gtown faced the Blue Devils. So other than getting invited to the ACC those Hoya fans are screwed. Gotta move on for that although I can understand how of those of you who have been keeping up with the team since the 70s or early 80s may think it is too much change to overcome after all this time. But for the rest of us...I hope it is more about who we follow than who we play. If the Hoyas are your passion then I would hope you would be excited regardless which opponent is on the court.
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rockhoya
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Post by rockhoya on Jun 5, 2015 10:26:58 GMT -5
I couldn’t get watching the “boys” out of my system and sent to a half a dozen games, two years ago. Last year, I went to the Kansas game and that’s when I blew my top. To see Georgetown University allow the entire team to come out wearing the “I can’t breathe” T-shirts. GU pays III over $3 million a year and he allows this political crap on national TV? Then the team was out-played and out-coached by Kansas. They have seen my last dollar. The GU experience has been replaced by college hockey and women’s volleyball. If a t-shirt protesting a clear cut case of police brutality on video was your last straw, good riddance to you. Every other complaint in this thread is a reasonable one about the customer experience. This is a ridiculous one. Exactly. Seems as if the staff and players are doing their part in improving the quality of the fan base one poster at a time. I can't believe that guy was really a GU fan, makes me feel a little embarrassed for our fanbase, I guess there will always be a few bad apples though...
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Jun 5, 2015 10:30:11 GMT -5
If a t-shirt protesting a clear cut case of police brutality on video was your last straw, good riddance to you. Every other complaint in this thread is a reasonable one about the customer experience. This is a ridiculous one. Exactly. Seems as if the staff and players are doing their part in improving the quality of the fan base one poster at a time. I can't believe that guy was really a GU fan, makes me feel a little embarrassed for our fanbase, I guess there will always be a few bad apples though... I know sky, and questioning whether he was "really a GU fan" is off base. That said, everyone is entitled to their opinions and sky is no different in that regard.
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