attendance issues

[Walker]

Cdizzle was pretty spot with the fact that that they’ve catered to the whine and cheese crowd to pay the bills and understandably so. Also, I love what they’ve done the Innovation Campus but they may want to make the next addition another Parking Garage. This would help for the weekday games so fans aren’t competing with night class students for parking spots.

I was given tickets to the Gardener-Webb game had a great time but thought to myself that it would be hard to justify forking out $150 for most families just for a game like that. Yeah, you can do the stub-hub thing and pay a lot less but shouldn’t really have to. The university could hook us proles up with more affordable tickets. It would definitely make a noticeable difference in the atmosphere just like it did for the TBT. There was what, about 7,000 in for those games? The atmosphere and energy was electric for those games that meant nothing and I suspect it was because it was pretty accessible to blue-collar portion of the fan base.

If they tweek SASO donation requirements a bit, lower GA ticket prices, address parking a bit, it’ll get better.

[Shocker Mama]

WstateU will not be waving a phone; only girlymen wave their phones.

I just carry a tiny LED flashlight in my pocket, and turn that on. It’s plastic, so it doesn’t even set off the metal detector.

[abdullah_sharif]

I just carry a tiny LED flashlight in my pocket, and turn that on. It’s plastic, so it doesn’t even set off the metal detector.

i might suggest that security turn up the sensitivity on the metal detectors for reasons other than Shocker Mama 's

[im4wsu]

I understand coach’s concern, but he gets a little critical at times with the wrong people. For example calling out those IN ATTENDANCE for not waving their cell phones during intros. Even offering to loan his own to anyone who didn’t have one. Perhaps Mrs. Coach should’ve borrowed it as she wasn’t waving one either.

The cellphone flashlight is not even what is requested. The season ticket package said we should load some app, enter our seat number and hold it up. The ORU game, I think I saw one person at center court about 16 rows up that myabe had used that app. I tried it last year, no access. I didn't try it this year. But nothing has been written about "use the cellphone flash"

[shock-it-to-me]

I'm not worried about attendance. The home schedule has simply been underwhelming and only the most die hard of fans are going to attend these nobody games.

This isn’t the point. At all. FREAKING GIVE YOUR TICKETS AWAY TO SOMEONE WHO WILL USE AND APPRECIATE THEM!! How hard can this be. Friend, neighbor, relative, Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters, League 42, MILITARY, biddie teams. No excuse other than laziness and/or feeling like since you paid for them, someone else shouldn’t benefit for free.

[Aargh]

I'm watching Tulsa vs. Arkansas St. on ESPN3. On the half court shots, the camera picks up 7 rows of seats behind the team benches. There are about 20 seats per row in those sections. There are 28 people in those seats behind the Tulsa bench and 13 in those seats behind the Arkansas State bench.

[jcdshocker]

We are fortunate to have multiple tickets available. In 30+ years of season tickets, I may have missed 10 games total. If we don’t use all of our tickets I always attempt to give them away. I have never sold extras. I am usually successful in getting people in our seats. It is good feeling getting someone to the game that normally don’t attend. I think there are many reasons for low attendance. Sat afternoon start times, all games televised, pain of finding parking without a parking pass and the competition. Weak Competition will not be an excuse going forward this season.

[Shockm]

I think it is a little bit of everything adding up to the dip in attendance. When your most high profile home game out of 6 games is Oral Roberts, you are probably going to have issues getting people to the games. Yes, these games may appeal to us fanatics, but why would a causal fan want to go watch WSU get up by 30, then completely coast of rest of the game? There is also plenty of other things to do this time of the year. Now, if we have an issue getting people in the area for VCU, Memphis, Cincinnati, and Oklahoma, then we may have an actual issue.

I agree. Watch the OU and VCU games to see if we have issues. I’m not concerned about Memphis and Cincy.

[JVShocker]

We enjoy going to basketball games when we can. 7pm on a weeknight is difficult with our schedules but doable, if not stressful. A lot of "personal apathy" or laziness about attending all the games is due to a number of issues.
1. Cost. Plain and simple. It ain't cheap to have season tix. We had 6 of em just off the visitor bench for years. Row 3 I think. When we dropped, the 6 tix were about $7000 for the package. I'm guessing there at least 1.5 to 2x that now. Better for the cost-value argument to pick tix online and go to a decent game here and there. My son and I went to the Thunder-Pelicans game day after thanksgiving. Purchased the tix originally hoping to see Zion and the young Pelicans. We sat row 3 almost center court. That was value for $$$ even if it was the NBA.
2. Inconsistency and accountability. This is a MAJOR sticking point and is rapidly bruising my love for basketball, both at the NCAA and NBA levels. There is no consistency in how games are called and rules enforced. Harden is a good shooter, but he's like playing a video game with the cheat codes. He gets a pass on a lot of things that just leaves me shaking my head. Lebron is just plain unwatchable because of the same reasons. Others that are difficult and almost unwatchable...Giannis, Embiid, Anthony Davis, Gobert, Wiggins.
Accountability. There is NO accountability in the NCAA regarding eligibility, infractions, and blatant rule breaking. I could run off a list of no fewer than 20 colleges, almost all of them ranked in the top 30 right now, that should probably have more important things to do than worry about the next opponent. And that's 20 job openings at high high majors that should be available. They're all chasing the almighty dollar - the schools, players, coaches and the NCAA itself. So few are doing the RIGHT THING. The market is saturated with law, policy and conduct breaking people that it is sort of becoming no fun to watch, listen to, and read about. And when it stops being fun, the $$$ dry up.
The biggest economic concern I have, is that as people turn from one entertainment product because of some of these issues to an as-entertaining product but cheaper product, how in the hell do you get the consumer back in the seat when the prevailing conditions remain the same.

[pinstripers]

I agree. Watch the OU and VCU games to see if we have issues. I’m not concerned about Memphis and Cincy.

Pretty obvious that we have issues

[proshox]

This isn’t the point. At all. FREAKING GIVE YOUR TICKETS AWAY TO SOMEONE WHO WILL USE AND APPRECIATE THEM!! How hard can this be. Friend, neighbor, relative, Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters, League 42, MILITARY, biddie teams. No excuse other than laziness and/or feeling like since you paid for them, someone else shouldn’t benefit for free.

Harder than you think... especially if you have a late scratch for illness, etc.

[Dan]

There’s a lot of money in Wichita and there’s also a lot of hard working middle class families. You gotta cater to both demographics to fill the arena.

[JVShocker]

Maybe they could put removable placards or labels on the lower bowl seats. If the placards remain in place either 5, 10, 20 min into the game....."Come on Down!!!" Might look better than empty seats. And if they show up 6, 11, or 21 minutes late, go back to your regular seat.

[pogo]

Student section and East side looks pretty sparse at times

[Shockm]

Pretty obvious that we have issues

It’s obvious to some but others seem to be kicking and screaming that there’s nothing here to see and we (coach included) just need to move on.

Those who disagree probably don’t know the athletic history of the Shocks and therefore aren’t as appreciative of our recent respect as a basketball power by many sports journalists and the connection of them respecting our home court advantage. which GM has used with his recruiting success.