calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,351
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Post by calhoya on May 14, 2018 15:50:51 GMT -5
Winning solves a lot of problems. So too does playing an exciting brand of basketball. Ewing can address both of these factors. However, having every game on television combined with the early starts at 6:30 p.m. and the late starts at 8:30 or 9:00p.m. also hurts live attendance. Did not travel across country to any game this year, but in 2016-2017 season I attended three, one of which was in Providence. Crowds were late arriving and the arenas mostly without energy. Empty seats everywhere. The experience was not good for us and most of the fans around us. Actual attendance is down across the country. Despite official attendance figures which include season ticket holders, even the big games have many empty seats readily visible on television.
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guru
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,596
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Post by guru on May 14, 2018 16:01:34 GMT -5
We can blame the millenials or that Washington is a poor sports town but that's a dodge. Georgetown has let far too many passionate fans wander away and a lot of them aren't coming back--not because of the NCAA's or JT III, but that the collective experience is no longer worth their effort. Where are all those kids who rushed the court against Duke in 2006, who walked through the snow to beat Villanova in 2010, or filled Verizon the Hoyas to its last great Big East game in 2013? How did we lose them? The kids rushing the court against Duke in 2006? Again, those are people who are now in the 31-35 age range. They are raising families, working hard to establish themselves in their careers, etc. I think a very large percentage are also outside of the DC area - very few of my immediate friends from my time at Georgetown are in the DC area. This is also a generation that got thrown into the workforce basically as the recession was happening, which means in some cases, their professional development didn't quite progress as quickly as in normal times. I don't think DFW was literally wondering where the specific kids who rushed the court in 2006 are now - rather, where are the passionate current Georgetown students who would rush the court if it happened today? I mostly agree with the rest of your conclusion. Winning would cure a lot of the ills that have brought the program to its current state over the past decade of increasingly disappointing results. Open question as to whether those wins are coming anytime soon, but the recruits look solid. |
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LCPolo18
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,406
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Post by LCPolo18 on May 14, 2018 16:44:21 GMT -5
I feel like you continually attack one of the only things that this program does right just because there's whimsy and creativity in it. Chris Grosse is a national treasure. I've not met him so I can't speak to a national treasure, but I would suspect even he would admit that attendance isn't where it should be. Totally agree with all of this. I mean, just look at the Stonewalls. They were members of those young alumni classes and tried to build a group that supported the program. But continued disappointing seasons, building personal commitments, and a lack of recent graduates that were passionate fans to step in made the Stonewalls a much lower priority for everyone to the point where they dissolved. A far larger question, perhaps, but where is the next passionate fan base? The classes of 1965-72 still show up in representative numbers despite a seven year record of 99-97 and not a single NCAA invite. Joe Lonardo will be back for his 54th season but a lot of grads aren't coming back for their 5th or 6th. We can blame the millenials or that Washington is a poor sports town but that's a dodge. Georgetown has let far too many passionate fans wander away and a lot of them aren't coming back--not because of the NCAA's or JT III, but that the collective experience is no longer worth their effort. Where are all those kids who rushed the court against Duke in 2006, who walked through the snow to beat Villanova in 2010, or filled Verizon the Hoyas to its last great Big East game in 2013? How did we lose them? I mean, without actual information about which classes make up the number of season tickets sold, the number of donors, and the amount of donations, it's hard to be anything but anecdotal about this topic. I know that there are still a good number of people from my class and adjacent classes that are season ticket holders, but none of my friends have ever attended the reception/banquet (besides those that were in the pep band and attended as students). For the games you mentioned, 2006-2013 included great teams that had a lot of on-court success, which naturally interests fans. During my college years (02-05 seasons), the fan attendance was pretty dismal. Winning over the next 8 seasons changed all of that. If we're being hypothetical, then maybe the classes of 1965-1972 aren't that different from the 1998-2005 classes. Similar to the Red Sox and Cubs fans, maybe losing (or only moderate success) created a bunch of passionate fans with low expectations but high hopes, while winning brought out a larger quantity of fans with higher expectations. What aspects of the collective experience has changed over the past 15 years, or even 4 years, that makes it no longer worth a fan's effort? The only thing that I see that is very different is the on-court performance. Meanwhile, I have seen a lot of improvement or at least effort towards improvement in other aspects of the program that'll enhance the collective experience when/if the team has more success. The marketing department certainly seems to be trying, and the ticket office at least sent out a survey after this season to solicit thoughts and ideas from the season tickets holders on how to improve the game experience. |
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LCPolo18
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,406
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Post by LCPolo18 on May 14, 2018 16:56:57 GMT -5
The kids rushing the court against Duke in 2006? Again, those are people who are now in the 31-35 age range. They are raising families, working hard to establish themselves in their careers, etc. I think a very large percentage are also outside of the DC area - very few of my immediate friends from my time at Georgetown are in the DC area. This is also a generation that got thrown into the workforce basically as the recession was happening, which means in some cases, their professional development didn't quite progress as quickly as in normal times. I don't think DFW was literally wondering where the specific kids who rushed the court in 2006 are now - rather, where are the passionate current Georgetown students who would rush the court if it happened today? I mostly agree with the rest of your conclusion. Winning would cure a lot of the ills that have brought the program to its current state over the past decade of increasingly disappointing results. Open question as to whether those wins are coming anytime soon, but the recruits look solid. I read it as DFW wondering where the young alumni were, but from your interpretation I would say that the students that would rush the court are still there. For the Syracuse and Villanova games there was decent student attendance. On a whole student attendance appeared to be higher than the previous season. |
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Post by HometownHoya on May 14, 2018 17:47:35 GMT -5
I don't think DFW was literally wondering where the specific kids who rushed the court in 2006 are now - rather, where are the passionate current Georgetown students who would rush the court if it happened today? I mostly agree with the rest of your conclusion. Winning would cure a lot of the ills that have brought the program to its current state over the past decade of increasingly disappointing results. Open question as to whether those wins are coming anytime soon, but the recruits look solid. I read it as DFW wondering where the young alumni were, but from your interpretation I would say that the students that would rush the court are still there. For the Syracuse and Villanova games there was decent student attendance. On a whole student attendance appeared to be higher than the previous season. Students definitely responded well to Big Pat and Chris Grosse's promotions. Mac and James will just add fuel to the fire. |
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DanMcQ
Moderator 
Posts: 30,469
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Post by DanMcQ on May 15, 2018 6:22:03 GMT -5
I hope season ticket holders responded to the survey the ticket office sent out about game experience that also asked what we would suggest they do to enhance it and acknowledge those of us who support the program with season tickets. No access like direct access to get your creative ideas through IMO.
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