Where are the Big Blue fans?
by ozlil on Feb 21, 2012 3:53 PM EST
Email
PrintAfter many years of watching Kentucky basketball, I have finally attended several home games this season. I have never been more shocked to see the lack of support of the fan base seated in the lower arena. I have watched many Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse,etc, this year and the crowd stays on their feet the entire game rooting their team along. The people and families who have held the seats in the lower arena for years seem to have their rear ends glued to their seats and would never raise their hands to applaude their beloved Cats! I think it is time for the 'preferred seats' to be released to the general public and fans who are willing to show their support. We have the best team in the nation and to see these seats wasted on people who are too dignified to be seen acting like UK students is a disgrace. I would be ashamed for my face to be seen by the public just taking up room @ Rupp Arena. There are too many die-hard fans who are willing to pay hard earned money for those seats! Get off your duff, Big Blue nation and show some interest in the Cats...if you are not will to do so, you may know someone who would be thrilled to be at the game so pass on those tickets!!!!
34 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Amen brother...this has been a major gripe of mine for years
Rupp Arena could and should be the loudest, most intimidating place to play in all of college basketball. But it’s not at all.
IMO they are a “show me” crowd. In other words, they are not proactive in cheering. They sit and wait for something big to happen and even then it doesn’t always get the crowd energized. It’s as if they sit there with their arms crossed and say " Impress me and then maybe I can be bothered to stand and cheer."
The student sections on both ends aren’t that rowdy either.
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
I have been to several games this year.
The crowd doesn’t stand for the entire game but definitely rises to it’s feet when great offensive or defensive plays are made and when the game is close they rise to cheer the Cats on. Many of the people down in the lower seats are older fans, people who have contributed to this program for a long time. They are not capable of standing and jumping up and down for an entire game, which by the way I find to be extremely annoying. The game is about the players, not a bunch of people desperate for attention. All I am hearing is sour grapes from people who will have to wait for their opportunity as the seats become available through attrition.
By the way, the student section is only at one end and I would like to see it expanded to twice it’s capacity.
Making waves in a sea of blue.
I do agree with you but when the players are trying to rally the fans from the court, it is a sad day…
Simple economics
The people who get those seats are the ones with the money to pay for them, and those aren’t always the same people who want to go wild for the whole game. If you want to give those seats to others, be prepared to live without the money the people who hold those seats now bring to the program in terms of ticket prices, other donations, and the other rich people they know (they run in packs, you know) who might also donate to the program. Without that money, we might not have the same quality product to cheer for.
It is a sad commentary, but you are right, at least in part.
The other half of that equation is that the Cats have been successful for so many years that no one lets go of their season passes, and those folks are now going on 40 years of being ticket holders. It is a catch-22.
Combine that with the way season tickets were so closely guarded family secrets for so long back in the old days, and the Social Security genre has the market cornered.
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Feb 21, 2012 5:57 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
I know a guy
that has 4 lower level tics that he got when Rupp was opened, hes in his 80s, he cant jump up and down, but he loves his cats, and hes not gettin rid of his tickets either
You cant blame them.....he probably waited 20 years to get the things at Memorial.....
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Feb 22, 2012 12:13 AM EST up reply actions
I totally agree with you, ac and with wineman
I hate to hear the older traditional fans disparaged because they don’t act like Cameron Crazies. Of course I wish Rupp was a more consistently intimidating place to play, but those who are fortunate enough to sit in the lower level have paid VERY handsomely for that privledge and have the right to cheer their team how they see fit, imo. Being older (and being folks for whom attending a UK game is not a rare, cherished event but just an enjoyable activity they get to do with regularity), their way to cheer is just not going to be jumping around screaming for 2 hours straight. It would be lovely if tickets could be distributed to those to whom they would mean the very most rather than to those who can afford them, but well, welcome to capitalism. Them’s the breaks.
by blue kentucky girl on Feb 21, 2012 8:28 PM EST up reply actions
Exactly, at least they always show up and we don't see empty seats.
Unless you count the empty seats when they leave early because we are going to win.
Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!
Hold your horses there sonny!
You might want to check your facts, before bemoaning the fact that there are long time Kentucky fans who pay a premium, yes a premium to buy their season tickets for the Cats. First check the attendance at some of those other places you might think have a better level of fan support, and how many of their games are sold out.
the first three teams in total attendance in 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball are: #1 UK, #2 Syracuse, #3 Louisville, with ave. attendance of 23,603; 22,312 & 21,832. UNC is #4 with 19,144. Where is Duke that hot bed of basketball?? they draw 9,314! The average attendance is 5,025 in all Div II games, and 19,186 in NCAA tournament games.
Think about those numbers. We are routinely sold out and have more fans in the arena even when we are playing one of our warm up games against West Podunk College of Dental Hygiene than the average NCAA Tournament attendance. And one of the reasons is those blue haired alums who pay their booster fees and buy their season tickets, and also probably contribute to all manner of other University fundraising drives. And while the student section is going nuts and comparing Teague to Wall, they are wondering how thecurrent crop would have matched up to Dampier or Chapman.
They get excited, they appreciate good play, but they aren’t going to rush the court, they have seen this before… several times.
You want tickets? You can make friends with a season ticket holder and maybe they will share with you. That little old widow lady might welcome a little companionship. You can buy them off a scalper, so what if you have to sell your first born child. Or you sell your soul to the devil for tickets, those you don’t have to pay for until you no longer have any use for them.
check out the attendance figures for your other storied teams here:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/bdf2030046a3609298bddcc110a6426c/2011_NCAA_mens_basketball_attendance.pdf?MOD%3DAJPERES%26CACHEID%3Dbdf2030046a3609298bddcc110a6426c&pli=1
Who would have thought UCLA averages 7,759 per game? Or tonight’s opponent Mississippi State 5,710. Easy to make the joint rock when you only have to sell 11,000, but as you will note they sell approxiamately half that on an average.
Well said, but you are talking to the "I want it all and I want it now" generation.
Making waves in a sea of blue.
the "Iwant it all and I wantit now,.. but without having to work for it"?
Junior High and High School I got in by being an usher, all that was required was to be a member of the Boy Scouts back at Memorial. Then I was a student and lined up to buy my tickets for all the games. After that I moved away, so not many chances to go, but everytime I was home during BB season i generally got to see a game, only once through a scalper. Friends of the family have tickets, and generally someone would have a ticket to spare.
When the Cats came to Canada last year I got to talk to a bunch of fans, most of whom rarely get to see a home game, but many of them regularly go to away games, since tickets are so easy to come by at places like South Carolina. They loved Canada, three games at $10 per, and not a seat that wouldn’t have been a lower bowl seat in the house. LOL
I just figured he was one of those zanies who like to paint themselves blue and be part of the “show”, instead of watching the “show”. If he really wants in he will figure out a way to get in, although he might have to work at it. If he gets down with the grey haired set he better watch his behavior, too much foul language and he’ll get whacked with a cane. (Just to get his attention.)
by blenheim bard on Feb 22, 2012 4:52 AM EST up reply actions
Interesting reading, this thread.
I have been wondering when somebody was going to stand up for the older fans who inhabit the expensive seats. I have been hearing this complaint for many years, yet nobody complains about the vast wealth the “blue hairs” contribute to the coffers of Kentucky.
Are they supposed to shut up, write checks, and be happy in the nosebleed section so the young can reap all the benefits of their generosity without any perks to those who pay the bills? is that what our younger fans really think? If so, you have a lot to learn, my dear young friends. Might as well start today.
All the arenas that have wild fan participation right down front, like Cameron Indoor, are tiny old gyms that cost relatively little to maintain, and where the best seats are often not right near the court. Several times recently, laments have surfaced that Duke is having trouble filling the Crazies section, and there is no doubt the economics involved in maintaining those student sections in the prime seats cost them significant amounts of money. Perhaps it’s worth it to them, who knows?
But UK understands the laws of supply, demand, and the value of a dollar. Call it what you will, but it contributes significantly to what we have before us — the best college basketball team in the land, with the best facilities, the second-largest on-campus arena, and the leading attendance in the nation year after year, as well as … ahem … the most expensive and successful coach in college basketball at this point in time.
Would it be nice to have the most raucous arena in the nation? Sure. Would it be worth it? I guess it depends, but in my opinion, probably not.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
the ageism inherent in the complaints has always irked me
Before I thankfully found asob, I used to sometimes go to the Cats Pause board (blurgh), and I remember one thread where some jackass posted a picture of an older female fan at one of our Maui games, overweight and wearing a silly UK hat and vest—the whole point of the thread was to make up “funny” insults about her. It went on and on, with fans coming up with the most offensive things they could think of to mock her. That was about the last time I visitied that site. It’s like they were seriously offended by being represented by someone who had the nerve not to be a hardbodied 20 year old. Well, who the hell do you think can afford Maui tickets, hot young things or mature ladies and gentlemen?
Give me the very highest quality product possible on the floor and older, sedate fans who are willing and able to financially support that product in the prime seats ANYDAY—and I speak as someone who is not and will never be one of those well-off types.
by blue kentucky girl on Feb 22, 2012 8:57 AM EST up reply actions
I don't think it is so much that the younger generation of UK fans resent the "Older and Financially Fit" Generation,
It’s that the process of getting season tickets, even if you are fortunate enough to manage a shot at them is beyond the reach of most loyal UK fans.
We have to remember that we really do have more fans than practically any other college team and most pro teams. There are only so many seats. And Kentucky is the prime seat in the sport. It can be very frustrating. I use the season tickets of a couple family friends a couple times a year, and I pay them face value for four upper arena seats.I would gladly pay for season tickets if the opportunity presented itself, even if I had to split the tickets with someone to afford them, but the opportunity almost never presents itself. And when it does, there are 10K people trying to get 4 tickets.
I don’t begrudge those who have them, I just would like it to be easier for those of us who want them to get them.
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Feb 22, 2012 9:32 AM EST reply actions
I don't think you understand how season ticket distribution works.
First, season tickets aren’t really that hard to come by. In fact, I know of 3 different people that have simply called up the Athletic Department within the last 6 years and were able to purchase season tickets with zero wait after the required donation to the K Fund. All three sets are upper arena but all three are within 5 rows of row A.
Second, lower arena tickets aren’t THAT hard to get, as long as you are willing to pay up. The minimum required donation to the K Fund is not going to allow you to move up the list. It also isn’t that mysterious. Here is a link explaining how K Fund points are rewarded and where your points fall within the pecking order.
I constantly hear people talk about either the “mysterious process” in order to get season tickets or the “infinitely long” waiting list. Neither of which is an accurate description of the process. I believe UK has done an admirable job in clearly explaining how the process works and created a system that is equitable to all parties.
Please take the following words and replace them with their antonym: "Always coming from take me down."
I have entered lottery every time I have had the chance.....which is, I believe, every year in the last 5....and not gotten in
after looking at the “K” Fund levels, which is a good thing, mind you, I don’t bemoan it’s existence, it is just beyond the typical UK fan.
If someone got tickets just by making a phone call, they clearly also wrote a pretty good sized check as well……at least according to that funding list. I don’t know how big a check you have to write to get immediate access, but I am betting it is a pretty good chunk.
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Feb 22, 2012 10:45 AM EST up reply actions
I sympathise with you Greg...
but fail to see how this differs with any other successfully marketed sports team. You cannot walk up and buy tickets to a Maple Leafs game (NHL), nor can you just purchase a season ticket. and they don’t have a perennial “winner”. In fact the last time they won the Stanley Cup was 1967, and generally they have not made the post season in recent years. It is somewhat easier to get tickets than it was in Maple Leaf Gardens, but only somewhat.
And yes families have been known to fight at funerals (or immediately after) over who inherits the tickets.
The “answer” would be to build a larger facility, but the economy of running a larger facility probably doesn’t make sense (cents), or they would have already done it. The reality is that it costs to have and maintain every seat, and while you could fill and sell a lot more tickets for basketball, it costs to maintain them even when you can’t fill them for other functions. And from a marketing point of view you want demand to exceed supply enough to keep the ticket buyer “hungry”. Contrast this to the common game ticket to a baseball game. Unless a prime rival (Yankees or Bosox) are in town, a Blue Jays ticket is easy to get. they even give stuff away to get you to buy tickets, even discount tickets when you buy multiples or for certain games, and this is true of every baseball franchise..
If you look at new construction of facilities, almost all of the new ones have smaller capacities than the older structures, or if they have increased capacity, it is minor (e.g. Cleveland and Detroit). They increase the high priced seats, like the luxury boxes, and decrease the total capacity. And don’t root for that, typically the “luxury” area pushes the common man’s upper tier seats further into the stratosphere. LOL
by blenheim bard on Feb 22, 2012 11:23 AM EST up reply actions
Oh, don't misunderstand me.....I completely get the reasons behind it......
And I really do appreciate the freedom it allows UK when it comes to what that money funds.
I just believe that if the Reds can keep a $7 bleacher seat available with an $85M payroll…..(yes I know 150+ games a year), but only half are home, then a guy that drives a truck for a living ought to be able to buy season tickets.
IT is an overly simplistic statement, I agree…..just my thoughts
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Feb 22, 2012 11:27 AM EST up reply actions
Depends on what you think is hefty.
Out of the three sets, I only know what one ended up paying. He had to make a one-time donation of less than $1000 and obviously he has to make the annual contribution to the K Fund correlated with his two tickets. If memory serves me correctly, it is less than $200 a year.
Also, the number of points in the top tier of the priority rank system has sky rocketed in the last three years. I will give you one guess as to what caused this inflation. Prior to Coach Cal’s arrival, the cost of entry was significantly less.
Remember, you aren’t competing with people in the top 10% of the priority rank system. Most of those people already have tickets.
I personally haven’t navigated the waters of trying to secure season tickets, as I am lucky that my father has a set and I have about dozen friends with tickets, so I am offered extra tickets fairly often. So most of my information is second hand, but is consistent with everything on the UK Athletics homepage.
Please take the following words and replace them with their antonym: "Always coming from take me down."
If I knew for a fact that a one time check for 1000.00 and an annual 200.00 donation would keep me in season tickets
I would be willing to make that commitment…..I bet a lot of people would….
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Feb 22, 2012 11:23 AM EST up reply actions
better act soon...
if the word gets out and a lot of people do it will drive the level up. :-0
by blenheim bard on Feb 22, 2012 11:25 AM EST up reply actions
that aint no lie.......lol
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Feb 22, 2012 11:29 AM EST up reply actions
It did as of about 5 years ago.
The only way I know to find out is by calling and asking.
Remember, points are cumulative. So if you have season tickets to women’s basketball, you get 5 points for that each year. If you are a member of the UK Alumni Association, you get 20 points there. Buy a personalized brick for campus, that nets you 30 points.
Please take the following words and replace them with their antonym: "Always coming from take me down."
UK Fans
My wife and I went to my first UK game at Rupp in more than 10 yrs last Saturday. We were in the upper level….way up in the upper level….and we were surrounded by season ticket holders of all ages. We got there early and were able to talk Cat basketball with some of them. That enhanced the whole expierence. Everybody in that section were polite fans meaning they stood up at the right time and sat down at the right time. I’m 50 and far from being over the hill but I don’t want to stand the entire game especially if I haven’t been there for 10 years. The whole expierence of Rupp is more than just cheering. To me the place is a shrine…a holy shrine….and on the rare occasions that I make it to a game I sit there and soak it all in. Maybe I would feel different if I went more but I doubt it. Ky fans get a bad rap for “sitting on their hands”. I think most are there to WATCH the game. I mean really WATCH. For me the last thing I took away from Saturday’s game was the crowd noise. Or lack there of.
Maybe Older But Maybe Not SO Wealthy?
UK Basketball is not that high up on the revenue Chain as you would think:
Rank Team MBB Rev Index
1 Duke $26,667,056 2.64
2 Louisville $25,890,003 2.57
3 North Carolina $20,551,168 2.04
4 Arizona $19,285,038 1.91
5 Syracuse $18,309,470 1.82
6 Wisconsin $17,666,311 1.75
7 Kentucky $16,781,239 1.66
8 Indiana $16,570,158 1.64
9 Ohio St. $16,190,723 1.61
10 Michigan St. $16,138,167 1.60
11 Kansas $16,116,502 1.60
12 Texas $15,602,348 1.55
13 Arkansas $15,515,830 1.54
14 Illinois $14,413,222 1.43
15 Marquette $13,877,475 1.38
16 Minnesota $13,733,316 1.36
17 West Virginia $13,306,654 1.32
18 Tennessee $13,301,579 1.32
19 Pittsburgh $13,117,849 1.30
20 UCLA $12,353,487 1.23
Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.
TV revenues?
As “basketball” conferences do the ACC and Big East attribute more of their TV money to BB, while the SEC racks up the $ for the football programs? And our merchandising has not been “hot” during the end of Tubby’s reign and BG’s short tenure. I remember going into a dozen sporting apparell shops in Florida and being unable to find any UK caps just a few years ago. All the Florida teams, the bigger Big 10 teams like Michigan & OSU, Duke and UNC from the ACC, Big East teams, even Tennessee and ’Bama, but no Kentucky. Same thing in Michigan, but less Fla. and more Big 10.
This Christmas there were UK caps and shirts and hoodies at multiple stores in Michigan. We are relevant again. And i don’t know the rules in the ACC, but the Big East gets to add beer and liquor sales at their home game concessions, which is prohibited in the SEC. (never slowed me down when I was a student and fighting the chill weather at football games. And come to think of it I believe the Paddock did a brisk business right before games at Memorial . LOL)
One thing for sure UCLA is not making over 12 million off attendance of 7700+ per game, or the ticket prices are really really high. (given it is California I wouldn’t rule anything out..)
Has it changed ...
..in these days of Homeland Security? My date was generall a Delta Gamma, so I took a full pint in a plastic flask. Never bothered at basketball, a drink before the game and then 2 blocks home after to party.
by blenheim bard on Feb 22, 2012 11:24 PM EST up reply actions
or were you making a sizist remark..
when you said you took a “half pint”.
by blenheim bard on Feb 22, 2012 11:27 PM EST up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Community Guidelines
[UPDATED 01/18/2012]
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
