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Post by centercourt400s on Jan 21, 2018 8:26:43 GMT -5
The fact that we can beat St Johns and DePaul this year is surprising to me. The only embarrassing thing to me about that game were the fan and their general level of silence outside the last few minutes and the t-shirt throw. I've never experienced a more apathetic fan base that can barely muster a golf clap during a tied game with minutes left. The players, while limited, played their hearts out, never gave up, and gritted out a much needed victory. There's nothing embarrassing about that. Totally agree sleepy. There is absolutely no way to describe this team as embarrassing. And the crowd today on TV appeared like they were watching the team ironically. The team needs the crowd. You saw the energy level when everyone finally got into it. Hoping for better for Depaul. If you were there then go ahead and whine about the crowd if you feel a need. But if you were watching on TV you should be ashamed to complain about the fans who actually made the effort to attend. They did a hell of a lot better than you did.
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dchoya72
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,488
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Post by dchoya72 on Jan 21, 2018 8:55:00 GMT -5
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Post by iheartdurenbros on Jan 21, 2018 9:51:22 GMT -5
I can only speak for my experience at home games. I hardly miss the games. In my section there is a core group who are there through thick and thin. Some regular season ticket holders come in only occcasionally. As everyone has vented, the basketball games are not played at a high level. And I understand the absences. The fans who come in regularly root for the team’s development and think of this as a long rebuild. Mistakes are duly noted. And there is some good humor as we speculate on how Coach Ewing is adjusting to the guards and the way college basketball games are called. The atmosphere is infinitely better than the past few years when fans yelled for a coaching change and often felt that the university was arrogant and stubborn, unwilling to make necessary program changes.
I should also add that Chris Grosse has done a remarkable job in bringing in people to fill empty seats. These fans aren’t vested like we are, but you might hope they come in regularly once the team improves. The Hoyas games are great family atmospheres.
Student attendance has also ticked upwards.
Yesterday was a game of runs and I really thought we were with it as they happened during regulation. As we made them, I thought we were engaged. Perhaps during first OT we were flat as a crowd. The loss of the late lead was deflating. But I thought we were raucous after MD made that clutch 3 and were fully into it after that. It really was a comfort to me, because it showed that we hadn’t lost it. It was fun and thrilling. Fans stayed to cheer the team as they left the court.
I can only ask rhetorically what others have done. I’ve seen a lot of comments from people who turned the tv off midway through 1st overtime. No one at Cap One left early.
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Post by pghhoya on Jan 21, 2018 10:14:03 GMT -5
I'm in Pittsburgh, nursing the flu. So, yes, I watched on TV. (Just a memo to DC denizens: there are fans and alumni outside of the DC metro who watch on TV.) What was weird to me, watching on TV, was that the crowd sounded larger than it was. I thought there was a natural drop off after blowing the late lead in regulation. Probably driven by the fear of what has transpired when other late leads were blown. But the home fans sounded good.
As for attendance, let's call a spade a spade, folks. Attendance will improve as soon as the team does. Fans and alums are simply not going to turn out to the tune of 15,000 for a mid-week game where the two teams are in the bottom half of the BE. Full stop.
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DanMcQ
Moderator
Posts: 30,591
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Post by DanMcQ on Jan 21, 2018 10:29:39 GMT -5
Speaking of Chris Grosse:
His group is killing it this year.
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Post by iheartdurenbros on Jan 21, 2018 10:40:49 GMT -5
I'm in Pittsburgh, nursing the flu. So, yes, I watched on TV. (Just a memo to DC denizens: there are fans and alumni outside of the DC metro who watch on TV.) What was weird to me, watching on TV, was that the crowd sounded larger than it was. I thought there was a natural drop off after blowing the late lead in regulation. Probably driven by the fear of what has transpired when other late leads were blown. But the home fans sounded good. As for attendance, let's call a spade a spade, folks. Attendance will improve as soon as the team does. Fans and alums are simply not going to turn out to the tune of 15,000 for a mid-week game where the two teams are in the bottom half of the BE. Full stop. Again speaking for myself, I know that there are lots of fans who watch tv. A great benefit of the FS1 contract is that we are most often nationally televised despite the down years. I think the Hoya diaspora is wonderful and appreciate the hat tip to the Cap One crowd.
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MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
Posts: 9,427
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Post by MCIGuy on Jan 21, 2018 11:11:35 GMT -5
Marcus: 27pts 11rbd and huge onions MOrko: 16pts 9rbds 4assts 1stl 1blk Jessie: 16pts 8rbds Blair: 15pts 1rbd 1asst Jagan: 12pts 7assts Team W... The best thing about this is that all five guys could/SHOULD be around next season.
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MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
Posts: 9,427
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Post by MCIGuy on Jan 21, 2018 11:29:38 GMT -5
Just got home from the game. First let me say Pickett showed me a lot more than I expected. Shot looked a lot better. But his ball handling is still atrocious. In my mind the jury is still out. I attended the game with two friends who are big college ball fans but not invested in the Hoyas. When you watch the Hoyas with these guys it does become embarrassing. Our ball handling is so bad that you literally hold your breath every time they make a pass or drive to the basket. Today's game was a comedy of errors. Both teams blew 5 point leads with 30 seconds left! St. John's has some phenomenal, completely boneheaded, athletes. After regulation my one friend suggested that the best team won't win because there was no best team. Basically we all agreed that all we could be sure of is that the worst team would lose - and they did! Look, I'm glad we won and I enjoy my trips to D.C. I also appreciate what PE is trying to do with limited talent. But face it, St. John's and DePaul are probably the only teams we can beat this year. This team SHOULD have beaten Syracuse and Butler, though.
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GIGAFAN99
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,487
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Jan 21, 2018 12:07:13 GMT -5
I'm in Pittsburgh, nursing the flu. So, yes, I watched on TV. (Just a memo to DC denizens: there are fans and alumni outside of the DC metro who watch on TV.) What was weird to me, watching on TV, was that the crowd sounded larger than it was. I thought there was a natural drop off after blowing the late lead in regulation. Probably driven by the fear of what has transpired when other late leads were blown. But the home fans sounded good. As for attendance, let's call a spade a spade, folks. Attendance will improve as soon as the team does. Fans and alums are simply not going to turn out to the tune of 15,000 for a mid-week game where the two teams are in the bottom half of the BE. Full stop. I have to agree now looking at the attendance and apologize to the crowd that was there. I just assumed we actually drew more than the NY game which was at 6:30pm on a Tuesday. We didn't. So kudos to the small but mighty group of supporters. The concerning thing is we can't draw 9k in our first Saturday conference game versus a traditional rival.
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Post by JohnnyJones on Jan 21, 2018 12:23:53 GMT -5
Totally agree sleepy. There is absolutely no way to describe this team as embarrassing. And the crowd today on TV appeared like they were watching the team ironically. The team needs the crowd. You saw the energy level when everyone finally got into it. Hoping for better for Depaul. If you were there then go ahead and whine about the crowd if you feel a need. But if you were watching on TV you should be ashamed to complain about the fans who actually made the effort to attend. They did a hell of a lot better than you did. Agree. I wondered how long it would be before someone would take the obligatory shot at the crowd. Enough already. How long is it going to take people to realize that until we get a lot better, this is the new reality? Less than 5k for the crap pre-conference games, 7-10k for most BE games and over 10k for Syracuse, maybe the top BE teams and any other really big names that came to DC (obviously very rare). I do think we should scrap gray out until we can assure a better crowd. It was a bit embarrassing at tipoff yesterday with all of those shirts in plain view. But the crowd filled in decently, the student section was decent (for this year) and the crowd performed admirably. Just as it has for all of the other home games this year. Complain all you want about the size of the crowd and the fact that we cant get more people in the damn building, but stop with the complaints about the effort, intensity, energy and caring of the crowd (especially from your apartment in NYC or wherever you are complaining from). You have absolutely no clue. About a dozen season ticket holders around me yesterday - we were literally hugging after the game. Nearly every one of these games has ended in disappointment the past several years, it just felt so good for everyone to leave happy, almost not mattering how crappy our opponent was. There is a core of season ticket holders (maybe 4 or 5K?) that has supported this team and program more than any others these past few years. Showing up at just about every damn game - either against a garbage opponent in November or to watch an in-conference loss (often in horrifically painful fashion). But we keep coming back. JohnnyJones himself has missed a total of 8 home games in the last 6.5 seasons, which, particularly considering his family, work and other obligations, he views as doing his part. He is looking for praise and thanks from HoyaTalk, not complaints and admonishment.
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Post by JohnnyJones on Jan 21, 2018 12:28:50 GMT -5
Speaking of Chris Grosse: His group is killing it this year. Agree - this is awesome.
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sleepy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,079
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Post by sleepy on Jan 21, 2018 13:19:15 GMT -5
I'm in Pittsburgh, nursing the flu. So, yes, I watched on TV. (Just a memo to DC denizens: there are fans and alumni outside of the DC metro who watch on TV.) What was weird to me, watching on TV, was that the crowd sounded larger than it was. I thought there was a natural drop off after blowing the late lead in regulation. Probably driven by the fear of what has transpired when other late leads were blown. But the home fans sounded good. As for attendance, let's call a spade a spade, folks. Attendance will improve as soon as the team does. Fans and alums are simply not going to turn out to the tune of 15,000 for a mid-week game where the two teams are in the bottom half of the BE. Full stop. Having been at the game, my issue isn't attendance. I thought there were plenty of people. It's that the people who are there are so quiet. It's so quiet it's like they aren't even talking to each other. It would be great if we could use the PA announcer during the game to get chants going or some noise outside of a few minutes of clapping during timeouts. We have a louder fan presence at the BET in New York with far fewer people. I've heard more HOYA SAXA chants at away games in Syracuse and Uconn than I heard yesterday for goodness sake.
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sleepy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,079
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Post by sleepy on Jan 21, 2018 13:29:38 GMT -5
If you were there then go ahead and whine about the crowd if you feel a need. But if you were watching on TV you should be ashamed to complain about the fans who actually made the effort to attend. They did a hell of a lot better than you did. Agree. I wondered how long it would be before someone would take the obligatory shot at the crowd. Enough already. How long is it going to take people to realize that until we get a lot better, this is the new reality? Less than 5k for the crap pre-conference games, 7-10k for most BE games and over 10k for Syracuse, maybe the top BE teams and any other really big names that came to DC (obviously very rare). I do think we should scrap gray out until we can assure a better crowd. It was a bit embarrassing at tipoff yesterday with all of those shirts in plain view. But the crowd filled in decently, the student section was decent (for this year) and the crowd performed admirably. Just as it has for all of the other home games this year. Complain all you want about the size of the crowd and the fact that we cant get more people in the damn building, but stop with the complaints about the effort, intensity, energy and caring of the crowd (especially from your apartment in NYC or wherever you are complaining from). You have absolutely no clue. About a dozen season ticket holders around me yesterday - we were literally hugging after the game. Nearly every one of these games has ended in disappointment the past several years, it just felt so good for everyone to leave happy, almost not mattering how crappy our opponent was. There is a core of season ticket holders (maybe 4 or 5K?) that has supported this team and program more than any others these past few years. Showing up at just about every damn game - either against a garbage opponent in November or to watch an in-conference loss (often in horrifically painful fashion). But we keep coming back. JohnnyJones himself has missed a total of 8 home games in the last 6.5 seasons, which, particularly considering his family, work and other obligations, he views as doing his part. He is looking for praise and thanks from HoyaTalk, not complaints and admonishment. Again, attendance is fine imo. But if you're going to go, maybe clap during made baskets? Complain when the refs are jobbinng the home team? And there is a whole first half of a basketball where there are no rules against taking and making sounds, I promise. This isn't a criticism against you personally or anyone in this board but point out one of the major problems this program will have to fix that can't be solved by winning or the players or coach. It's a fan problem that needs to be addressed ASAP. Maybe Grosse can put some of that marketing genius to work to get the fans we have to make some noise once they get to the arena. Maybe a sound-o-meter that gets everyone a free sandwhich once it reaches decibel level in the arena? Maybe just using the Jumbo-tron to start a chant during certain plays? I mean, I've been to empty UCONN women's basketball games in the 90s at XL that drummed up more support from the crowd than we got yesterday.
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Post by JohnnyJones on Jan 21, 2018 13:56:23 GMT -5
Agree. I wondered how long it would be before someone would take the obligatory shot at the crowd. Enough already. How long is it going to take people to realize that until we get a lot better, this is the new reality? Less than 5k for the crap pre-conference games, 7-10k for most BE games and over 10k for Syracuse, maybe the top BE teams and any other really big names that came to DC (obviously very rare). I do think we should scrap gray out until we can assure a better crowd. It was a bit embarrassing at tipoff yesterday with all of those shirts in plain view. But the crowd filled in decently, the student section was decent (for this year) and the crowd performed admirably. Just as it has for all of the other home games this year. Complain all you want about the size of the crowd and the fact that we cant get more people in the damn building, but stop with the complaints about the effort, intensity, energy and caring of the crowd (especially from your apartment in NYC or wherever you are complaining from). You have absolutely no clue. About a dozen season ticket holders around me yesterday - we were literally hugging after the game. Nearly every one of these games has ended in disappointment the past several years, it just felt so good for everyone to leave happy, almost not mattering how crappy our opponent was. There is a core of season ticket holders (maybe 4 or 5K?) that has supported this team and program more than any others these past few years. Showing up at just about every damn game - either against a garbage opponent in November or to watch an in-conference loss (often in horrifically painful fashion). But we keep coming back. JohnnyJones himself has missed a total of 8 home games in the last 6.5 seasons, which, particularly considering his family, work and other obligations, he views as doing his part. He is looking for praise and thanks from HoyaTalk, not complaints and admonishment. Again, attendance is fine imo. But if you're going to go, maybe clap during made baskets? Complain when the refs are jobbinng the home team? And there is a whole first half of a basketball where there are no rules against taking and making sounds, I promise. This isn't a criticism against you personally or anyone in this board but point out one of the major problems this program will have to fix that can't be solved by winning or the players or coach. It's a fan problem that needs to be addressed ASAP. Maybe Grosse can put some of that marketing genius to work to get the fans we have to make some noise once they get to the arena. Maybe a sound-o-meter that gets everyone a free sandwhich once it reaches decibel level in the arena? Maybe just using the Jumbo-tron to start a chant during certain plays? I mean, I've been to empty UCONN women's basketball games in the 90s at XL that drummed up more support from the crowd than we got yesterday. Of course the louder and more energetic the better. No argument from me there. But the things you are mentioning (clapping, standing, yelling at officials) are happening as far as I can tell (and certainly in the immediate vicinity of where I sit). At the same time, I (and most of the people sitting around me) are adults. I don't get the sense that is the group that is going to attempt to start Hoya Saxa chants (although I for one will certainly participate). I think the fan based is also a bit shell-shocked from the past few years. Maybe the crowd could be better during early parts of games, but in crunch time of close games I think the Verizon/Cap One crowd has held up just fine the past few years (and almost always ending up leaving disappointed). And I do actually think that winning is a huge part of it. Winning will bring out more people - and in particular, more students hopefully - that would go a long way to building energy in the arena and increasing the number of Hoya Saxa chants. Maybe we will never be Cameron, but a winning team would make a huge difference IMO.
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SSHoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."
Posts: 18,373
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Post by SSHoya on Jan 21, 2018 14:07:16 GMT -5
Agree. I wondered how long it would be before someone would take the obligatory shot at the crowd. Enough already. How long is it going to take people to realize that until we get a lot better, this is the new reality? Less than 5k for the crap pre-conference games, 7-10k for most BE games and over 10k for Syracuse, maybe the top BE teams and any other really big names that came to DC (obviously very rare). I do think we should scrap gray out until we can assure a better crowd. It was a bit embarrassing at tipoff yesterday with all of those shirts in plain view. But the crowd filled in decently, the student section was decent (for this year) and the crowd performed admirably. Just as it has for all of the other home games this year. Complain all you want about the size of the crowd and the fact that we cant get more people in the damn building, but stop with the complaints about the effort, intensity, energy and caring of the crowd (especially from your apartment in NYC or wherever you are complaining from). You have absolutely no clue. About a dozen season ticket holders around me yesterday - we were literally hugging after the game. Nearly every one of these games has ended in disappointment the past several years, it just felt so good for everyone to leave happy, almost not mattering how crappy our opponent was. There is a core of season ticket holders (maybe 4 or 5K?) that has supported this team and program more than any others these past few years. Showing up at just about every damn game - either against a garbage opponent in November or to watch an in-conference loss (often in horrifically painful fashion). But we keep coming back. JohnnyJones himself has missed a total of 8 home games in the last 6.5 seasons, which, particularly considering his family, work and other obligations, he views as doing his part. He is looking for praise and thanks from HoyaTalk, not complaints and admonishment. Again, attendance is fine imo. But if you're going to go, maybe clap during made baskets? Complain when the refs are jobbinng the home team? And there is a whole first half of a basketball where there are no rules against taking and making sounds, I promise. I drive in from Delaware for EVERY game, including the MEAC dog games. I sit in section 101 and am constantly clapping, cheering and riding the refs the best I can from 11 rows off the court. I have to remember to keep it clean as there are some children in my area. Most (not all) of those around me (season ticket holders) are also doing the same. I thought the students did a good job at the St. John's game with defense chants and L-R-L-R when a Johnnie fouled out. My only complaint is that our "cheerleaders" don't really seem to lead many cheers. They are more of a dance team. The students started chants, not the cheerleaders who are typically positioned in front of the pep band and generally not in front of the student section. I guess if you complain about the crowd here you are complaining to the wrong crowd. Those of us who participate in Hoya Talk are likely the most fanatical of the fans who are fortunate enough (financially and timewise) to attend the games and even do so in bad years. Hoya Saxa!!
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the_way
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
The Illest
Posts: 5,422
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Post by the_way on Jan 21, 2018 14:21:33 GMT -5
Just got home from the game. First let me say Pickett showed me a lot more than I expected. Shot looked a lot better. But his ball handling is still atrocious. In my mind the jury is still out. I attended the game with two friends who are big college ball fans but not invested in the Hoyas. When you watch the Hoyas with these guys it does become embarrassing. Our ball handling is so bad that you literally hold your breath every time they make a pass or drive to the basket. Today's game was a comedy of errors. Both teams blew 5 point leads with 30 seconds left! St. John's has some phenomenal, completely boneheaded, athletes. After regulation my one friend suggested that the best team won't win because there was no best team. Basically we all agreed that all we could be sure of is that the worst team would lose - and they did! Look, I'm glad we won and I enjoy my trips to D.C. I also appreciate what PE is trying to do with limited talent. But face it, St. John's and DePaul are probably the only teams we can beat this year. This team SHOULD have beaten Syracuse and Butler, though. St. John's fans feel they should have beaten us...twice this year. They would have an argument in feeling that way. Butler beat Villanova. Syracuse beat a fully healthy Maryland team. It is the nature of the beast.
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the_way
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
The Illest
Posts: 5,422
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Post by the_way on Jan 21, 2018 14:22:58 GMT -5
I'm in Pittsburgh, nursing the flu. So, yes, I watched on TV. (Just a memo to DC denizens: there are fans and alumni outside of the DC metro who watch on TV.) What was weird to me, watching on TV, was that the crowd sounded larger than it was. I thought there was a natural drop off after blowing the late lead in regulation. Probably driven by the fear of what has transpired when other late leads were blown. But the home fans sounded good. As for attendance, let's call a spade a spade, folks. Attendance will improve as soon as the team does. Fans and alums are simply not going to turn out to the tune of 15,000 for a mid-week game where the two teams are in the bottom half of the BE. Full stop. Again speaking for myself, I know that there are lots of fans who watch tv. A great benefit of the FS1 contract is that we are most often nationally televised despite the down years. I think the Hoya diaspora is wonderful and appreciate the hat tip to the Cap One crowd. This. Didn't like them at first, but FS1 has been great. Just about every Hoya game has been televised. Including the cupcakes.
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sleepy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,079
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Post by sleepy on Jan 21, 2018 14:42:42 GMT -5
Again, attendance is fine imo. But if you're going to go, maybe clap during made baskets? Complain when the refs are jobbinng the home team? And there is a whole first half of a basketball where there are no rules against taking and making sounds, I promise. This isn't a criticism against you personally or anyone in this board but point out one of the major problems this program will have to fix that can't be solved by winning or the players or coach. It's a fan problem that needs to be addressed ASAP. Maybe Grosse can put some of that marketing genius to work to get the fans we have to make some noise once they get to the arena. Maybe a sound-o-meter that gets everyone a free sandwhich once it reaches decibel level in the arena? Maybe just using the Jumbo-tron to start a chant during certain plays? I mean, I've been to empty UCONN women's basketball games in the 90s at XL that drummed up more support from the crowd than we got yesterday. Of course the louder and more energetic the better. No argument from me there. But the things you are mentioning (clapping, standing, yelling at officials) are happening as far as I can tell (and certainly in the immediate vicinity of where I sit). At the same time, I (and most of the people sitting around me) are adults. I don't get the sense that is the group that is going to attempt to start Hoya Saxa chants (although I for one will certainly participate). I think the fan based is also a bit shell-shocked from the past few years. Maybe the crowd could be better during early parts of games, but in crunch time of close games I think the Verizon/Cap One crowd has held up just fine the past few years (and almost always ending up leaving disappointed). And I do actually think that winning is a huge part of it. Winning will bring out more people - and in particular, more students hopefully - that would go a long way to building energy in the arena and increasing the number of Hoya Saxa chants. Maybe we will never be Cameron, but a winning team would make a huge difference IMO. I'm calling BS on some of this. Yes, I acknowledged the the problem isn't likely to be people on the board. However, that doesn't mean it can't be a discussion point here. Fans don't get a pass for being "shell shocked" after a couple of bad years. Once you are actually at the game there is no excuse to be a silent paricipant. I don't expect the majority of fans to be as rocous as a student section, but maybe we can aim to treat not treat the Hoyas with the indifference of a visiting team in November? Is it really too much to ask to clap when they take the court and or score? I do think it's unrealistic to expect cheerleaders to lead anything in that arena. If we could problem solve that it would go a long way to fixing the silence issue.
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bamahoya11
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,831
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Post by bamahoya11 on Jan 21, 2018 15:17:53 GMT -5
I was at the game yesterday and am just now getting around to posting about it. In terms of the game, it was an immensely sloppy game that turned into a really good basketball game. It was a slow start, with a 5-4 score around the first media break and a 10-9 score around the second. Both teams turned it over a lot. But Georgetown earned this win, and I was very proud of them. Blair and Pickett had great games, though I do agree with those saying that Blair needs to be careful. Multiple times I thought he travelled or came close to it. Derrickson was incredible, showing incredible heart in the overtimes in a game in which he played 47 (!) minutes. Govan also did well playing the second half with three fouls. Most importantly, this team showed grit, down four late in overtime, when a lot of other teams would've given up.
On the broader question of fan support, I thought yesterday was a pretty good showing. The fans were slow to arrive for the noon tip--there were only a few fans in seats when I got in about 30 minutes before tip. The slow start in the game also created some apathy. The first half especially was really sloppy. Neither team has much rhythm, and there were a lot of mistakes on both sides. Much to my chagrin, a bunch of fans started to leave late in the first OT. I didn't-- I stuck with it and was really glad I did. It's true that fans have gotten used to losing, but I still thought it was a fun game atmosphere.
Last year, I had season tickets and went to almost every game. This year I've bought seats individually but have still been at most of them. I do sense more optimism this year, and I think the fans I've sat with realize the need for patience. For what we have, I think they're doing a decent job. Also, having come from Alabama, I have ALWAYS thought Georgetown fans are a different bunch from fans in the south. Even at the top of the JTIII era, Georgetown fans stayed pretty quiet for much of the game as a whole. If Ewing gets this team on track, though, he will start to draw bigger crowds and get more crowd noise.
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SSHoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."
Posts: 18,373
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Post by SSHoya on Jan 21, 2018 15:25:49 GMT -5
Of course the louder and more energetic the better. No argument from me there. But the things you are mentioning (clapping, standing, yelling at officials) are happening as far as I can tell (and certainly in the immediate vicinity of where I sit). At the same time, I (and most of the people sitting around me) are adults. I don't get the sense that is the group that is going to attempt to start Hoya Saxa chants (although I for one will certainly participate). I think the fan based is also a bit shell-shocked from the past few years. Maybe the crowd could be better during early parts of games, but in crunch time of close games I think the Verizon/Cap One crowd has held up just fine the past few years (and almost always ending up leaving disappointed). And I do actually think that winning is a huge part of it. Winning will bring out more people - and in particular, more students hopefully - that would go a long way to building energy in the arena and increasing the number of Hoya Saxa chants. Maybe we will never be Cameron, but a winning team would make a huge difference IMO. I do think it's unrealistic to expect cheerleaders to lead anything in that arena. If we could problem solve that it would go a long way to fixing the silence issue. Actually, I think using the cheerleaders to fix the silence issue is a good start. Why don't they stand in front of the student section? The student section on its own started cheers which should be an easy job for the cheerleaders to have done so. I also seem to recall that in the distant past, the cheerleaders handed out cheer sheets to the students.
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