DFW HOYA
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by DFW HOYA on May 9, 2016 22:36:06 GMT -5
There have been some recent threads noting deficiencies in the Georgetown basketball fan base, for a variety of reasons. With that in mind, here's a topic well-positioned for a long off-season: What would you do to improve the situation?
Some opening questions for discussion:
1. What's the best thing Georgetown does to build fan support? What do they really struggle with?
2. Is the "base" too suburban, or too urban? Are out of town fans even part of the discussion?
3. What is the measure of success for a fan base--attendance, donors, road crowds?
4. With poor turnout at recent Big East tournaments, have New York fans given up on the Hoyas?
5. How far would you travel to see a Georgetown regular season game from your home town?
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eagle54
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by eagle54 on May 9, 2016 23:28:30 GMT -5
There have been some recent threads noting deficiencies in the Georgetown basketball fan base, for a variety of reasons. With that in mind, here's a topic well-positioned for a long off-season: What would you do to improve the situation? Some opening questions for discussion: 1. What's the best thing Georgetown does to build fan support? What do they really struggle with? 2. Is the "base" too suburban, or too urban? Are out of town fans even part of the discussion? 3. What is the measure of success for a fan base--attendance, donors, road crowds? 4. With poor turnout at recent Big East tournaments, have New York fans given up on the Hoyas? 5. How far would you travel to see a Georgetown regular season game from your home town? 1. What's the best thing Georgetown does to build fan support? What do they really struggle with? They build fan support by putting all of their efforts into D-1 men's basketball to try and have one program that can compete nationally to build school support.
They struggle by accepting mediocrity year in and year out in the post season and never even dreaming of changing the status quo. Hard to believe things will change when you keep repeating what we are doing. 2. Is the "base" too suburban, or too urban? Are out of town fans even part of the discussion? I think this applies for home games but I think success would drive attendance. I think they could do more to reach out to community to help drive attendance versus relying on local alumni. If they are a ranked program even non Hoya fans will want to attend as it's something to watch. 3. What is the measure of success for a fan base--attendance, donors, road crowds? Winning will cure all of these and we haven't seen any success since 2007. The people on this board kid themselves with success that we've had but we've been embarrassing when it counts against much lesser programs.4. With poor turnout at recent Big East tournaments, have New York fans given up on the Hoyas? I'm sure they are apathetic as most are that aren't blindly following the program. Why turn out and waste the energy and effort to watch what we are putting forth.
5. How far would you travel to see a Georgetown regular season game from your home town? I'd travel but the people on this board are a small minority of most that have any interest in this program. Winning drives excitement and would drive more people travelling to games outside of the inner circle that protects the current program state. Same is true in most walks of life. |
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Post by FrazierFanatic on May 10, 2016 11:19:26 GMT -5
Eagle - you could have saved hundreds of words by just responding "get a new coach" - or "see my last 125 posts"!
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njhoya78
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 7,760
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Post by njhoya78 on May 10, 2016 12:52:11 GMT -5
Eagle - you could have saved hundreds of words by just responding "get a new coach" - or "see my last 125 posts"! I'm sorry, but this made me laugh out loud. Literally. |
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Post by hoyalove4ever on May 10, 2016 13:07:57 GMT -5
The best that each of us can do, in my humble opinion, is to support the team and all associated with it unequivocally and to the full extent of our human capacity. Show up for as many games as possible, in light of all of the other things we deal with in life. Cheer as loudly and enthusiastically as possible at all times. Wear your Hoya gear. Donate if possible. PROUDLY support the Hoyas in all facets of your life. There is no formula, or the formula is different for each of us. Being a fan is not the same thing to all people, but to me it means die-hard backing of your team and lending the small measures of support that we offer as fans whenever possible.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 10, 2016 16:00:16 GMT -5
With regard to the winning part, of course winning helps. Georgetown doesn't have the rabid fan base that a lot of state schools have, where people will turn out no matter what. Also, I realize there are a lot of alumni in the DC area and suburbs, but consider that many state schools draw support from a LOT of people who don't even go to the school. State schools also tend to keep a much higher percentage of their alumni in-state.
For example, take a school like LSU. The whole state is crazy for LSU football, even thousands and thousands of people who never even attended LSU. It's a matter of state pride. Granted, that's on the more extreme end for football, but schools like Kentucky and Kansas tend to emulate that model to some degree in basketball (maybe not to the extremes of SEC football, but it's still somewhat like that).
Ironically, many of the factors that make Georgetown a great academic destination (DC, government, lots of outside interests for students, etc.) work against it being a great place for "fandom."
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tgo
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
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Post by tgo on May 10, 2016 17:50:03 GMT -5
There have been some recent threads noting deficiencies in the Georgetown basketball fan base, for a variety of reasons. With that in mind, here's a topic well-positioned for a long off-season: What would you do to improve the situation? Some opening questions for discussion: 1. What's the best thing Georgetown does to build fan support? What do they really struggle with? 2. Is the "base" too suburban, or too urban? Are out of town fans even part of the discussion? 3. What is the measure of success for a fan base--attendance, donors, road crowds? 4. With poor turnout at recent Big East tournaments, have New York fans given up on the Hoyas? 5. How far would you travel to see a Georgetown regular season game from your home town? It is a source of pride that - in my estimation at least- GU travels above its weight class and has held its own with much larger schools at elite 8's and final fours as well as at the BET in the past. Am I off base on that? At the 2007 final four Hoyas were a much larger percentage of the crowd around town than you would expect with the state universities of two of the largest states in the union in town. What are the numbers behind question #4? It seemed like Hoya #'s were lower than usual in NYC this year (in the sample group of my friends #s were down) but given the horrid season numbers should be expected to dip. Have they been down or slipping of late? Would be very interested to hear what metrics you are using to measure that. |
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eagle54
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 2,471
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Post by eagle54 on May 10, 2016 20:31:15 GMT -5
Eagle - you could have saved hundreds of words by just responding "get a new coach" - or "see my last 125 posts"! You are probably right but I don't think the core of this board would understand anything of logic other than things are wonderful in Hoyaland. Keep taking your Hoya pills board and everything will be alright! |
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Post by FrazierFanatic on May 10, 2016 20:48:33 GMT -5
Eagle - you could have saved hundreds of words by just responding "get a new coach" - or "see my last 125 posts"! You are probably right but I don't think the core of this board would understand anything of logic other than things are wonderful in Hoyaland. Keep taking your Hoya pills board and everything will be alright! I think "core" is overstating it. I believe it is fair to say there is no one who was satisfied with the last season, or thought it was anything other than a disappointment. Same with 3 seasons ago, although it was not quite as bad. There are maybe 12-15 posters who are avid supporters even in the darkest of seasons, and who fully support the staff and the players without qualification. There are also many of us, myself included, who acknowledge the failures, especially the indefensible NCAA losses. The difference then becomes one of degree. I believe that a season can be a successful one - but certainly not a great one - with a strong regular season, high rankings and a high seed, even with a postseason flameout. You don't. We are all entitled to our own definitions, does not mean I drink the koolaid, or that you have abandoned the program. I think we have a good coach who has to do much better than 2 of the last 3 seasons, and has enough success to have earned the chance to do so. You feel that there have been enough failures to require a change already. Again, a difference of opinion. That is what fan forums engender. At least we all have enough passion for the Hoyas to care and to argue and to come back here week after week to defend our positions. So we have that going for us. Here is to better - much better - days ahead. We can ALL use that! |
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DanMcQ
Moderator 
Posts: 30,469
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Post by DanMcQ on May 10, 2016 21:09:47 GMT -5
There have been some recent threads noting deficiencies in the Georgetown basketball fan base, for a variety of reasons. With that in mind, here's a topic well-positioned for a long off-season: What would you do to improve the situation? Some opening questions for discussion: 1. What's the best thing Georgetown does to build fan support? What do they really struggle with? 2. Is the "base" too suburban, or too urban? Are out of town fans even part of the discussion? 3. What is the measure of success for a fan base--attendance, donors, road crowds? 4. With poor turnout at recent Big East tournaments, have New York fans given up on the Hoyas? 5. How far would you travel to see a Georgetown regular season game from your home town? What are the numbers behind question #4? It seemed like Hoya #'s were lower than usual in NYC this year (in the sample group of my friends #s were down) but given the horrid season numbers should be expected to dip. Have they been down or slipping of late? Would be very interested to hear what metrics you are using to measure that. My unofficial survey (conversation with GU athletics staff after the Friday night semis) told me that all the schools sold more of their BET strips than last year and that Georgetown sold more tickets than any of the schools. How many of those were to Hoya fans? Who knows. What I do know from being in the building is that the atmosphere rivaled some of the old BET Friday nights. |
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SaxaCD
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by SaxaCD on May 11, 2016 5:22:17 GMT -5
What are the numbers behind question #4? It seemed like Hoya #'s were lower than usual in NYC this year (in the sample group of my friends #s were down) but given the horrid season numbers should be expected to dip. Have they been down or slipping of late? Would be very interested to hear what metrics you are using to measure that. My unofficial survey (conversation with GU athletics staff after the Friday night semis) told me that all the schools sold more of their BET strips than last year and that Georgetown sold more tickets than any of the schools. How many of those were to Hoya fans? Who knows. What I do know from being in the building is that the atmosphere rivaled some of the old BET Friday nights. Yeah, I had some Hoya friends in the stands tell me that GU support was pretty darn good this past year, but I guess a lot of that is very subjective -- where you were sitting, who you were with, how much you drank beforehand, etc.  |
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tashoya
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Post by tashoya on May 12, 2016 18:39:04 GMT -5
My unofficial survey (conversation with GU athletics staff after the Friday night semis) told me that all the schools sold more of their BET strips than last year and that Georgetown sold more tickets than any of the schools. How many of those were to Hoya fans? Who knows. What I do know from being in the building is that the atmosphere rivaled some of the old BET Friday nights. Yeah, I had some Hoya friends in the stands tell me that GU support was pretty darn good this past year, but I guess a lot of that is very subjective -- where you were sitting, who you were with, how much you drank beforehand, etc. I'm assuming you meant to say how much Kool-Aid you drank beforehand  |
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eagle54
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 2,471
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Post by eagle54 on May 12, 2016 19:51:41 GMT -5
Yeah, I had some Hoya friends in the stands tell me that GU support was pretty darn good this past year, but I guess a lot of that is very subjective -- where you were sitting, who you were with, how much you drank beforehand, etc. I'm assuming you meant to say how much Kool-Aid you drank beforehand S..., you boy's drinking your Kool-Aid could mean two other Hoya fans in the building means we are reporting record numbers. That's all good as perception is reality. I'm just glad to hear from those in attendance that it seems the feel of the tournament hasn't changed with the change of the teams involved. I actually think those new ACC members miss it (as does their recruits) more than we miss them. |
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SaxaCD
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by SaxaCD on May 12, 2016 19:56:12 GMT -5
Yeah, I had some Hoya friends in the stands tell me that GU support was pretty darn good this past year, but I guess a lot of that is very subjective -- where you were sitting, who you were with, how much you drank beforehand, etc. I'm assuming you meant to say how much Kool-Aid you drank beforehand Haha, these friends were decidedly not "kool-aid drinkers" -- as far as anything else, well, possible! |
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Post by strummer8526 on May 12, 2016 21:10:11 GMT -5
There have been some recent threads noting deficiencies in the Georgetown basketball fan base, for a variety of reasons. With that in mind, here's a topic well-positioned for a long off-season: What would you do to improve the situation? Some opening questions for discussion: 1. What's the best thing Georgetown does to build fan support? What do they really struggle with? 2. Is the "base" too suburban, or too urban? Are out of town fans even part of the discussion? 3. What is the measure of success for a fan base--attendance, donors, road crowds? 4. With poor turnout at recent Big East tournaments, have New York fans given up on the Hoyas? 5. How far would you travel to see a Georgetown regular season game from your home town? As someone who went to every home game for about 5+ years and still travels back to DC 2-4 times a year, I think we desperately need to improve the in-game experience. There are some games—even against decent, non-cupcake teams—where the whole environment feels either amateurish or just dismal. If I didn't care as much as I do about the school/team, I can't think of a single thing that would bring me back for more than a game or two each season. Sure, being at a game is more enjoyable if the home team is winning. But I think some schools/teams/venues have figured out ways to make the event fun, even in a down year. I'm not sure we've come anywhere close to that. |
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tashoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by tashoya on May 12, 2016 21:44:01 GMT -5
I'm assuming you meant to say how much Kool-Aid you drank beforehand S..., you boy's drinking your Kool-Aid could mean two other Hoya fans in the building means we are reporting record numbers. That's all good as perception is reality. I'm just glad to hear from those in attendance that it seems the feel of the tournament hasn't changed with the change of the teams involved. I actually think those new ACC members miss it (as does their recruits) more than we miss them. Eagle, Since you weren't at those games, outside of replacing the current coach, would winning more cause you to attend more games? I realize that's a question that nearly answers itself but I guess the inferred question is at what point do you feel the disconnect and stop attending games? I don't think you'll find many here that don't share your disappointment but you'll also find many here that, regardless of performance, will show up for games when their lives allow them to do so. I ask because I'm curious about when it happens for you. I don't have the answer for myself either as I don't get to attend many games in a great year but I have questioned to what degree the level of performance has shaped my idea of my ability to attend. I get the impression that you've mostly given up on going to games. Is that the case? |
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eagle54
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by eagle54 on May 12, 2016 22:19:11 GMT -5
S..., you boy's drinking your Kool-Aid could mean two other Hoya fans in the building means we are reporting record numbers. That's all good as perception is reality. I'm just glad to hear from those in attendance that it seems the feel of the tournament hasn't changed with the change of the teams involved. I actually think those new ACC members miss it (as does their recruits) more than we miss them. Eagle, Since you weren't at those games, outside of replacing the current coach, would winning more cause you to attend more games? I realize that's a question that nearly answers itself but I guess the inferred question is at what point do you feel the disconnect and stop attending games? I don't think you'll find many here that don't share your disappointment but you'll also find many here that, regardless of performance, will show up for games when their lives allow them to do so. I ask because I'm curious about when it happens for you. I don't have the answer for myself either as I don't get to attend many games in a great year but I have questioned to what degree the level of performance has shaped my idea of my ability to attend. I get the impression that you've mostly given up on going to games. Is that the case? If I lived in the DC area I'd have season tickets regardless and go to as many games as I could but I'm not the normal fan that we are likely discussing. I do have colleagues in the DC area that have no relation to our school or program but when we are a top 25 team and playing well they will go against a good opponent just because they are sports fans and want something to do. I often find it crazy when you tune in and the arena looks to have all those great open seats in the first level. I think when you win you draw interest. |
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kchoya
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Post by kchoya on May 12, 2016 23:20:08 GMT -5
I'm assuming you meant to say how much Kool-Aid you drank beforehand S..., you boy's drinking your Kool-Aid could mean two other Hoya fans in the building means we are reporting record numbers. Anyone think that eagle54 really talks like this? |
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2ndRyan
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
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Post by 2ndRyan on May 13, 2016 9:49:16 GMT -5
I will weigh in on Points 2 and 5.
2. More could be done to cultivate out of town fans. Two things come to mind. One, coordinate buses to weekend home games with local alumni chapters e.g. Philadelphia and S. Jersey. Two, work with some hotels to devise "a Weekend in DC" events which would include a Georgetown home game. Relative to the BET could we work something out with Amtrak or NY hotels?
5. I have driven from Philadelphia to Washington for a game at least once a year. I often combine business with a game. I have to be in Baltimore on business on November 15th and will try to coordinate that with the Maryland game that night.
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skyhoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by skyhoya on May 13, 2016 12:07:27 GMT -5
Since the split up of the BE, there are fewer big times games to draw attention to the BE. Other conferences
are also attacking the BE venues. in 2017 the Big Ten will hold their tournament at Verizon and 2018 ay MSG.
There is also less big time TV exposure. For those critics that want to fire JTIII, that is a pipe dream
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