Hoyas Schedule now official, but...

[PushyGuyFanClub]

Tix that are x-ed out in Sharpie marker are still valid at MCI. The scan fine and the ticket takers don't ask any questions...at least not last year or the year before. But man, those x-es look imposing when you get the package.

[GUHoya07]

Thanks for the info Pushy, thats definitely good to know. When I got my tickets last season I couldn't believe that they just crossed out the tickets with a black marker. I'm gonna try to get back early and go to the uconn game so I'll test out my x-ed out ticket, and hopefully it all works out.

[doublehoya]

I think Hoya Blue, or the AD, or someone should make a serious effort to educate the "tweener" fan on how EASY it is to get to MCI. Describe the many different options (GUTS to Dupont Metro is prob. the quickest on a weeknight, in my opinion) available at no cost (or minimal cost).

I posted on this point a while ago and I really think it would go a long way to dispelling the conventional wisdom amongst "tweeners" that it is just too hard to get to MCI. I suggested a article in the hoya or the voice -- does anyone else think this is a good idea?

We can argue amongst ourselves about how hard it was to get to the cap centre, etc, but none of it matters if the discussions go no further than this Board. Those of us that are here (and are in D.C.) are going to go to games -- let's figure out ways to get the "tweeners" to go!

[GUHoya07]

doublehoya said:

I think Hoya Blue, or the AD, or someone should make a serious effort to educate the "tweener" fan on how EASY it is to get to MCI. Describe the many different options (GUTS to Dupont Metro is prob. the quickest on a weeknight, in my opinion) available at no cost (or minimal cost).

I posted on this point a while ago and I really think it would go a long way to dispelling the conventional wisdom amongst "tweeners" that it is just too hard to get to MCI. I suggested a article in the hoya or the voice -- does anyone else think this is a good idea?

We can argue amongst ourselves about how hard it was to get to the cap centre, etc, but none of it matters if the discussions go no further than this Board. Those of us that are here (and are in D.C.) are going to go to games -- let's figure out ways to get the "tweeners" to go!

That's a great idea, and I've heard it brought up in some of our discussions and plans for the coming season. We definitely need to educate the average Georgetown student about the best ways to get to and from MCI. If we can do that I certainly think it would help out a lot with attendance because it would remove some of that uncertainty about how exactly they are supposed to get down to MCI and watch a game, and then how they can get home.

Obviously there are buses provided by the school straight to MCI, but it is also really important that people know how to get to and from games without the buses, especially since there often isnt room on the buses coming back, which we are also working on solving.

[CAHoya07]

My roommate just made a good point. As of right now, there are 15 home dates at MCI, assuming the TBA game on Dec 12 ends up being a home game (note: location is also TBA). Citadel game will be over Thanksgiving break. Norfolk, Howard, UConn, and Rutgers are over X-Mas break. Season finale against Providence is the 1st day after spring break begins. Thus, only 9 of the 15 games occur when students are actually on campus. So for most, it would be cheaper not to buy student season tickets and just buy individual tickets at games ($8, unless they have jacked up this price over the off-season). If you go to 9 or 10 games, it's cheaper than season tix - $72 or $80 versus $85.

While I plan on trying to attend some of these games over breaks, $85 is still a rip-off, even with this "free shirt" which students will probably get for free regardless. I went to every game that I was on campus for last year, which ended up being 10, I think. Even though I consider myself one of the more diehard fans, I'm not sure if I'm gonna order season tix or not because of the price factor, and that's a shame.

[FLHoya]

CAHoya07 said:

My roommate just a good point. As of right now, there are 15 home dates at MCI, assuming the TBA game on Dec 12 ends up being a home game (note: location is also TBA). Citadel game will be over Thanksgiving break. Norfolk, Howard, UConn, and Rutgers are over X-Mas break. Season finale against Providence is the 1st day after spring break begins. Thus, only 9 of the 15 games occur when students are actually on campus. So for most, it would be cheaper not to buy student season tickets and just buy individual tickets at games ($8, unless they have jacked up this price over the off-season). If you go to 9 or 10 games, it's cheaper than season tix - $72 or $80 versus $85.

I thought about that a couple weeks ago but I never brought it up.

You would think they've jacked up the price of single game tickets (maybe they're $10 now, who knows) to compensate for this. Otherwise they've got a really screwed up situation on their hands.

So what do you do with the information? Is it really legit for the powers that be--or for the people "educating" those "tweener" fans to be saying somethink like: Yeah, that situation sucks when you add it up. Don't tell anybody about it.??

I don't know. If people are getting ripped off if they purchase season tix, on one hand you should try to save people the money. On the other, for every "tweener" fan that doesn't by season tix in favor of going on a game-by-game basis, they're going to go to fewer games now--they just won't feel like going to McD once or twice a week to buy a new ticket for a Norfolk State type game. They'll find better stuff to do. Least if they have a sheet of tickets already they'll have more incentive to go--paying back the investment.

Tough situation there. I still think the single game price must have gone up--makes no sense otherwise.

[GUHoya07]

I would have to assume that they are raising the price for individual tix as well. It just wouldn't make any sense at all to raise the season ticket price and not raise the individual ticket prices. That would take away the main incentive in buying season tickets-the cheaper price.

[GUHoya07]

FLHoya said:

I thought about that a couple weeks ago but I never brought it up.

You would think they've jacked up the price of single game tickets (maybe they're $10 now, who knows) to compensate for this. Otherwise they've got a really screwed up situation on their hands.

So what do you do with the information? Is it really legit for the powers that be--or for the people "educating" those "tweener" fans to be saying somethink like: Yeah, that situation sucks when you add it up. Don't tell anybody about it.??

I don't know. If people are getting ripped off if they purchase season tix, on one hand you should try to save people the money. On the other, for every "tweener" fan that doesn't by season tix in favor of going on a game-by-game basis, they're going to go to fewer games now--they just won't feel like going to McD once or twice a week to buy a new ticket for a Norfolk State type game. They'll find better stuff to do. Least if they have a sheet of tickets already they'll have more incentive to go--paying back the investment.

Tough situation there. I still think the single game price must have gone up--makes no sense otherwise.

Yeah, the price must have gone up, and I definitely would be in favor of not telling the average student that there is even a possibility that buying single tix could be cheaper(which I dont think it will be).

You make a great point when you say that simply having the sheet of tickets makes someone much more likely to go then if they have to go buy an individual ticket. I've never done it but can't you buy an individual student ticket at MCI as well, you must be able to, I can't imagine that you would have to go over to McD.

[FLHoya]

doublehoya said:

I think Hoya Blue, or the AD, or someone should make a serious effort to educate the "tweener" fan on how EASY it is to get to MCI. Describe the many different options (GUTS to Dupont Metro is prob. the quickest on a weeknight, in my opinion) available at no cost (or minimal cost).

I posted on this point a while ago and I really think it would go a long way to dispelling the conventional wisdom amongst "tweeners" that it is just too hard to get to MCI. I suggested a article in the hoya or the voice -- does anyone else think this is a good idea?

GW did something like this in the school paper last Thursday. There was a 2-page spread in the middle that advertises for season tickets and joining the Foggy Bottom version of Hoya Blue.

The big thing is that there's no less than 18 FAQs answered on the page, divided up between general questions, quesitons for faculty and staff, and student FAQs.

Among the student questions they answer are about how the student section works (and they needed a FAQ trust me, there's no less than 6 different levels of season tix, plus the general admission for being in the "Colonial Army"), special sections for certain groups, and what to do when you can't be on campus for a game (like over X-mas break).

There's obviously no need for questions on transport b/c the Smith Center is "on-campus". But I think GU could do something like this in "The Hoya" or via Hoya Blue/broadcast email and people would read it. We could focus on how to get to MCI, where the student section is, which side is the front and which is the back of the shirt Kurt designed, who's that new guy with the bald head on the sidelines. Stuff for the "tweeners" and die-hards alike.

[Joe Hoya]

In regards to what I said about not wanting the "hungover" types, that's more out of personal frustration than anything else. For two years now, I've gone to just about every home game that I was on campus for (I had an exam so I missed our thrilling victory over Elon) and even some road games (NIT Championship, Temple). I go to the games to support the team, cheer, yell, scream, and hopefully see a high-quality (or at least a close) basketball game. There have been plenty of the close ones over the last two years, so I have enjoyed myself a fair amount. What I cannot understand are the people who pay for tickets to the game just to buy overpriced beer and get wasted so they can yell at the players on our own team and make obscene gestures at players/coaches/officials. I mean, if your idea of fun is to get drunk and be obnoxious, stay on campus and find a keg. It's cheaper, and you're out of my hair. It's my belief that we go to the MCI Center to support our team adn WATCH BASKETBALL. That's what I think it should be about. The culture of going to the games just to imbibe may be fostered by the current...I'll say "themes"...that Hoya Blue promotes, and if that's the case, then I can assume it will get better since I hear from sources that things are looking up in the student-fan-club department. It's just that while I do think it's important to try and recruit people to go to games who normally wouldn't, I don't want to do it at the expense of those who do, you know? And just to add another thought I had, which might rankle some on the board, but it's true: I bet Duke doesn't have a problem getting a crowd for a noon start on a weekend. I've seen Pitt and Syracuse have home games on weekend afternoons at noon, and those places are packed. Win games, and it doesn't matter what time those games start.

P.S. FL, I remember watching the 4-OT Notre Dame-GU game on TV outside Philadelphia when I was a senior in high school, but I don't recall if I saw the whole game or just a few overtimes. So it's possible that they were just showing the OT's, but I think it's just as possible that I saw the whole game without having ESPN+.

[GUHoya07]

I agree with you in large part about those drunken a-holes who I can't stand either. I would like to limit that as well and have it be almost exclusively true supporters of the team. Unfortunately, you are going to get dumbasses like that at just about every college in the country. While reaching out to the "average Joe Hoya" may bring in some of those drunken a-holes who are a nightmare to be around, it will also bring in a lot of decent people who want to go watch a basketball game and cheer on their team. We're just gonna have to take the good with the bad and hope that the bad isn't too terrible. The fact is we need to reach out to the "tweeners" and get them out to the games, we can't give them a test beforehand to determine whether they are going to be drunken S.O.B.'s at games.

I agree that you make a great point about winning increasing attendance enormously. If we were a top 25 team our attendance would be enormously better, however, having your arena on campus for a game at noon is a lot easier than having your arena 30 minutes away no matter how good you are. And there are other factors that make that travel time even more of a hassle as well.