It isn't like this everywhere...

[wsu789]

Coach said he uttered words to this effect when discussing with the team the fan support that WSU receives.

My question is, is it like this anywhere?

Are there other basketball teams that continue to sell out (and not just sell out, but draw full or nearly full houses), when the team has one trip to the NCAA tournament in the last twenty years and is several games under .500 for the year?

I know Kentucky draws well without a winning record, or in a down year, but they have numerous national championships and one, I believe, in the last decade. Bradley always seems to draw pretty well in the Valley, regardless of the record.

But, I'm curious, where else do teams receive this type of fan support?

Incidentally, this isn't just a homer's pump up the fan base sort of rhetorical question, I am really curious what other programs can point to this type of support.

[shockball]

A few years in a row like the Cohen/Thompson years and attendance could drop to the 5,000-6,000 average we had with them. Even then it was extraordinary that we had so many in the stands.

[RoyalShock]

No doubt, people are still coming to the arena to support this team. The x-factor is that no one expected the season to be this bad, and season ticket sales reflected that.

Next year, things could be different. Based on the number of empty seats I see scattered around the arena each game (I'm guessing several hundred), I have a feeling we won't be sold out to start the season.

However, with the way the recruiting class has been pumped up by Marshall and in the paper, I could be wrong.

[Born2Shock]

I thought the big cheer that went up for the team as they left the court Saturday was very classy by the fans. Everyone let the team know how much we appreciated how hard they are trying, and we know that things have just snowballed on them.

[WuDrWu]

I thought the big cheer that went up for the team as they left the court Saturday was very classy by the fans. Everyone let the team know how much we appreciated how hard they are trying, and we know that things have just snowballed on them.

Without starting a new thread (and I am not promising I won't) I think the reaction post game by the remaining fans was HUGE and it is ENORMOUSLY IMPORTANT that it is continued throughout the rest of the year. You don't need to read anything into it, just realize its the right thing to do. We expect a lot from our team and coach...we should expect the same from ourselves.

:wsu_posters: :goshocks: :posterwu: :posterwsu:

[Born2Shock]

I almost posted this in a new thread as well. I thought the spontaneous cheer that went up was well-deserved, and I hope it was received well.

[ShockBand]

I hope HCGM also realizes that the boos right at the end of the game Saturday night were for the zebras, and I'm glad we gave the team a good ovation as they left the floor. As long as the fight and battle, they will earn that. In a sense, we as fans can kind of put the team on our shoulders to help get them through this crazy season.

I'm busy at the scorer's table for a MS game tonight, otherwise I'd call in to the coaches show tonight. Someone get on and tell HCGM that the vast majority of us DO realize and appreciate the effort they are all making, and that when we DO chalk up the next win at home this year (think positive), we will blow the roof off the place.

Stay strong Shockers!

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

With all the bad breaks, injuries, losing record, and an all around frustrating season it would have been easy to throw in the towel being down by 21 at the half.

They earned those applause by battling hard for 40 minutes, and I am sure those applause were well accepted after the fighting they did to get back into the game.

[ShockerEngr]

Next year, things could be different. Based on the number of empty seats I see scattered around the arena each game (I'm guessing several hundred), I have a feeling we won't be sold out to start the season.

It'll be interesting to see how season ticket sales go...it may just be more of a changeover to new people in the seats...I know I'm considering season tickets now since my grad school has been on and off now

[Born2Shock]

I have been so impressed with this team. They have never quit. Not once in a game have I felt like they threw in the towel.

[HockeyShock]

I'm busy at the scorer's table for a MS game tonight, otherwise I'd call in to the coaches show tonight. Someone get on and tell HCGM that the vast majority of us DO realize and appreciate the effort they are all making, and that when we DO chalk up the next win at home this year (think positive), we will blow the roof off the place.

Stay strong Shockers!

On it.

[shockar25]

I agree... the problem is not in the effort, it's in the execution. I suspect coaching effort is more difficult than coaching execution, which is another reason to be excited about the future.

[wsu789]

While the kudos for the crowd and team's effort are no doubt deserved, I would've thought that at least ABC would have taken a shot at answering the original question.

Does anyone know if the NCAA tracks capacity percentages by member institutions, i.e. what percentage of the arena is filled/sold night to night? I can find total attendance numbers for hoops, but not by capacity. I did find capacity percentage numbers for football.

Couple of possibilities from the attendance list (i.e. schools that seem to draw well but don't have a ton of recent success, at least as far as I can remember): New Mexico, Dayton, BYU, Iowa State, KSU.

Interesting side note, SC drew about 9000 a game in 2006 but 12000 a game in 2007, on average. It's always hard to tell how many of those are tix sold versus attending, of course.

[GarH]

The Shockers get incredible support from their fans. There probably isn't a handful of college teams that get the support of fans that the Shockers get through the good times and the bad times. I think it might very well be one of the major reasons that HCGM doesn't leave for the SC job.

[ShockBand]

Yeah, I was thinking this morning as I heard Chris Allison talking about HCGM's comments about the crowd. It HASN'T been easy being a faithful Shocker fan over these past couple of decades. Certainly some very trying and frustrating times with some wonderful sparkles.

Over the same period, it has been relatively easy to be a Jayhawk BB fan - since Larry Brown came on, things have rolled and rolled. Much like it is easy to be a spoiled Shocker baseball fan. When KU had their last hard times at the end of the Ted Owens era, their attendance was down around 9 to 10 thousand, IIRC.