Fan flyer for distribution at Shocker games.

[rrshock]

I know this may sound weird but I could see them possibly thinking that if a lot of people are standing and being loud "too much", some season ticket holders might not re-up next year.

There's enough people out there that want tickets that this wouldn't be a problem, plus would probably give a better crowd in the long run. If they don't want to cheer, just write a check to the athletic department and let someone else buy their tickets.

[HockeyShock]

Next revision, with thanks to Cold for correcting and adding to the quote list. With 12-pt font, and bumping the upper and lower margins a little, this comes in right at one page, so any proposed changes will have to involve either removing something or shrinking the font.

"It [WSU] was louder than Duke tonight" – Chuck Walsh, Florida State sports information director.

“It’s the hardest arena I’ve ever played in. Even when it’s quiet, it’s loud.” – former Bradley (and current Golden State Warriors) center Patrick O’Bryant.

“…so loud it was like [the Shockers] had an extra man on the floor.” – former George Mason forward Jai Lewis.

"This building is tough to play in because it's so loud. It challenges you. If guys are weak-minded, you're going to give into it here. I told the guys to try to embrace it and thrive on it. It's just a great college venue." – Creighton coach Dana Altman

“…Shocker fans would take that improvement and raise their usual level of bonkers a notch.” – USA Today, 2007-2008 season preview.

"Even before we came here, we had heard an awful lot about the tremendous enthusiasm that Wichita State University has for its men's basketball program. I think it's kind of legendary around the country." – George Mason coach Jim Larranaga

"I'll be honest with you: This might be as good (of a road atmosphere) as I've ever been in, I've never seen a crowd so energetic and with so much enthusiasm and passion in support of their team." – Florida State University coach Leonard Hamilton, who has also had tenures at Oklahoma State and Miami.
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Reputations aren’t built in a day, but they can be lost almost as fast. The Roundhouse has earned a reputation for being the loudest place to play in the Missouri Valley, and one of the loudest places in the country. Part of what sold Wichita State to Head Coach Gregg Marshall were the stories of how incredibly loud the home crowd is.

Meeting those expectations is OUR responsibility as fans and season ticket holders.

While we all agree that there’s no place for rude or vulgar behavior at any sporting event, there is a responsibility to be loud, and not just at the beginning of each half. At the very least, respect those that are trying to uphold the hard-earned reputation of Charles Koch Arena. Better yet, if you can, please stand and cheer too! All we want is for the Shockers to win; and believe it or not, being a noisy crowd helps! It helps motivate the players, it helps confuse the opponents, it helps convince recruits that Wichita State is the school they want to play for.
__________________________________________________ ______________________

“The guys keep telling me, ‘Coach, you haven’t seen anything yet…’” Coach Marshall, 12/4 Coach’s show.

GO SHOX!!

(Please feel free to copy and redistribute as necessary. Thank you for your support!)

[RoyalShock]

Looking good.

This is a very minor thing, but I'm not wild about the O'Bryant quote. I understand what he's saying, but it seems a little contradictory to the purpose. But don't take it out unless there are others who agree.

Still waiting on a reply from the AD.

[BostonWu]

For what it is worth, I think it should be kept simple with one central message.

Agreed. Personally I think the central message is completely lost in this long list of quotes. To be honest, my gut feeling says this will accomplish very little in getting fans up and louder. What it might do is prevent the “sitters” from telling the “standers” to sit the eff down. Then again this might just piss off some old geezers and there becomes an internal conflict within the Roundhouse. I’ll be interested to find out the AD’s position.

[SubGod22]

Looking good.

This is a very minor thing, but I'm not wild about the O'Bryant quote. I understand what he's saying, but it seems a little contradictory to the purpose. But don't take it out unless there are others who agree.

Still waiting on a reply from the AD.

I thought the same thing

[HockeyShock]

Okay, so other than the O'Bryant quote, which other ones should be removed for brevity's sake? If we really want to shorten it up again, I'd suggest taking out the Jai Lewis and the Leonard Hamilton quotes.

:clap: :wsu_posters: :yahoo: :clap:

[RoyalShock]

I really like the Lewis and Hamilton quotes, which to me are the essence of our goal.

I'd take out the USAToday quote since it applies to the fanbase as a whole and not necessarily the arena atmosphere. At least, that's the way I took it.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

I like it, and think the quotes are what will get peoples attention to keep reading. Everyone likes to hear good things about the team they support, and most are open to doing whatever they can

I am anxious to hear what AD Schaus has to say about the idea, although the quote

"possible problem with flyers all over the concourse floor"

That I'm sure will be included somewhere in the response.

[derbycpa]

LOL, print and distribute flyers if that is what makes you feel good. As to having any type of impact sorry. The crowd reacts to the preformce on the floor not the reverse. But I know reading from the posts many think the crowd is the most important factor. Yes, the team can feed off the crowd and at times it is a good thing, but the game will ditate the noise and excitement level. Flyers will give the maintenance staff just more trash to deal with little else.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

LOL, print and distribute flyers if that is what makes you feel good. As to having any type of impact sorry. The crowd reacts to the preformce on the floor not the reverse. But I know reading from the posts many think the crowd is the most important factor. Yes, the team can feed off the crowd and at times it is a good thing, but the game will ditate the noise and excitement level. Flyers will give the maintenance staff just more trash to deal with little else.

Sorry, I disagree. Yes, some people won't like it, but if they disagree they can throw it in the trash can. Hopefully they respect the university and staff enough not to just throw it on the ground!

[The Mad Hatter]

LOL, print and distribute flyers if that is what makes you feel good. As to having any type of impact sorry. The crowd reacts to the preformce on the floor not the reverse. But I know reading from the posts many think the crowd is the most important factor. Yes, the team can feed off the crowd and at times it is a good thing, but the game will ditate the noise and excitement level. Flyers will give the maintenance staff just more trash to deal with little else.

Sorry, I missed it in the first post....DERBY and CPA in one name must mean two things:

1. Stiff that thinks having fun includes removing the tape from your co-workers 10 key

2. Seeing Derby was rated as a top place to retire, that you must be getting close and also wish, besides for a quiet relaxed atmosphere, that the games would start earlier so you can get home and to bed at a descent hour.

I have to say that I generally agree with derbycpa on this point. I'm not convinced that a flyer will do anything to help crowd volume. I say this for two reasons:

1. As derbycpa points out, game flow and game importance are going to determine the volume of those in attendance.

2. More importantly, the problem this year has been people not showing up at all. No matter how many flyers you give to people actually at the games, it won't have any affect on people not using tickets. If anything, such a flyer appears to put the blame on those who take the time to attend the games instead of on those not there.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Better yet, if you can, please stand and cheer too! All we want is for the Shockers to win; and believe it or not, being a noisy crowd helps! It helps motivate the players, it helps confuse the opponents, it helps convince recruits that Wichita State is the school they want to play for.

Maybe then this part needs to stand out more. I think the point is to encourage those who want to stand and cheer to do so, those that can't stand to sit and cheer, and most importantly to understand that the people around you may want to stand and be loud for you.

If this letter results in only 100 or 200 more people being louder then that will help, and will then over time encourage more people to do so, or be understanding of those who are.

[RoyalShock]

LOL, print and distribute flyers if that is what makes you feel good. As to having any type of impact sorry. The crowd reacts to the preformce on the floor not the reverse. But I know reading from the posts many think the crowd is the most important factor. Yes, the team can feed off the crowd and at times it is a good thing, but the game will ditate the noise and excitement level. Flyers will give the maintenance staff just more trash to deal with little else.

Sorry, I missed it in the first post....DERBY and CPA in one name must mean two things:

1. Stiff that thinks having fun includes removing the tape from your co-workers 10 key

2. Seeing Derby was rated as a top place to retire, that you must be getting close and also wish, besides for a quiet relaxed atmosphere, that the games would start earlier so you can get home and to bed at a descent hour.

Please, let's not resort to disrespecting those with different opinions on this issue. They are just as valid.

[small tyme baller]

so are ya'll doing this or what? Im always in the student section and i think its just not as fun with the rest of the crowd not getting into the game as much as they use to. Also some of the student section doesnt get into it as much as i'd like. maybe we were spoiled by the FSU, Creighton, SIU, and UNI games. I've been calling all my friends who are comin home from college for break and getting them to come (they are from KU and go to all their games). so hopefully we can get some better showings for the next 5 games.

p.s. some of our chants "you cant do that" and "sit down, shut up" to name a couple are lame and/or not enough students yell it to have a positive affect. And the Bull**** chant seems to be the one everyone cares about the most... i think that should be the least. We need to find some more creative chants that other schools use or we come up with on our own. :goshocks:

[RoyalShock]

Ok, here is what I sent Mr. Schaus:

A number of fans who participate at ShockerNet have noticed a lack of crowd energy at the men’s basketball games. We thought perhaps distributing a flyer that encouraged fans to do more standing, clapping, cheering, etc. might help boost the energy and help the team. We are working on the text for such a flyer and would like permission to independently bring copies and pass them out to the fans sitting near us, encouraging them to make copies of their own and do the same thing. Basically a “grassroots” system.

There would be no mention of ShockerNet on the flyer and of course, we would submit the final version to you for approval.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

And the pertinent portion of his response:

Thanks so much for your e-mail. We have great fans. We appreciate the tremendous support by you and the many fans on Shockernet. I never take our support for granted. I have been at some places where they can’t even scratch the surface of what we have.

I can appreciate your thoughts and that of some of fans about the energy and enthusiasm at home games. This is, of course, very important us and we exercise a lot of effort to maximize our home atmosphere.

It is early and we have the main part of our season ahead. Sometimes we may have a game where we might hope for a higher sound level, but the ebb and flow of the game sometimes contributes to this. I think we will be fine. I am confident that our fans be strong players in the stands and helps us make Charles Koch Arena the special place it is. Our fans are truly the best in the country. I will take them against anyone, anywhere, anytime. They are loyal and have pulled us through so many games.

In my nine years here, I have seen our average attendance grow by thousands to consistent sellouts. We all have enjoyed visiting coaches having to scream right next to their players to be heard. I guess I am loyal and believe in our fans. They have been there to help bring Shocker basketball back to success. I will stay strong in believing they will come through again to be a great crowd this year and in the future.

It is people that make a place special. Wichita, WSU and Shocker Athletics are the best because of its people—the best I have ever know. They won’t let us down.

Thanks so much again for sharing your thoughts. It always means a lot to know how our fans feel about any subject. The Lord has blessed me so much in being the AD here and it starts we having such special people that are all a part of the Shocker family.

He did not directly answer the question, but I think it is safe to deduce that he doesn't think this effort is necessary.

From my point of view, I am going to back off this idea (I know I suggested it but I'm going to defer to the judgement of AD Schaus). If anyone else wants to pursue this, I will keep this topic here. But it needs to remain an independent project, not endorsed by ShockerNet.

Thanks to those who put some time and input into this.