Shocks vs Indiana State & Illinois State

[WuDrWu]

Total attendance tonight was 2,230 fans on the Free Admission Pack the Arena Promotion.

Doesn't compare to the support Shocker fans would have shown given the same promotion.

Exactly my point. People support this volleyball team VERY well. I just think a person or two out there needs to realize this and be thankful for what we've got.

SOME people support this program very well.

Your comment/slam is obviously directed towards me. What exactly makes you think I am not thankful for what we've got?

Support can and SHOULD be better. You can think all you want, the rest of us are trying to grow the program and the department.

Fever, you, 'Cold and KC with your contrarian opinions are really getting tiresome.

[WuDrWu]

Excellent job ladies.


And nice call on all the gloom Doc! :good:

:posterwu: :clap:


Btw.. how many WSU fans were in attendance tonight?

I'm the first one in line to admit that I am thrilled to have been wrong.

[WuDrWu]

Slightly off topic, but Dana Loagnbill's alma mater, Moundridge, lost in the finals of the 2A state volleyball tournament today. I mention this because I believe we are interested in one of the Moundridge players.

[1972Shocker]

I think everyone is pretty happy with the support the Shocks recieve. On the other hand, some fans believe we can do even better.

Maybe we can, maybe we can't, but I really don't see anything wrong with setting your expectations and goals as high as possible.

There's nothing wrong with having lofty expectations. That's fine. And as most fans are, realism may be put on the back-burner.. which again as fans, is fine.

But to come on here and begrudge and nitpick and whine about something that just isn't gonna happen is a little irritating.

Must we always pick something wrong with the program.. even with a No.10 ranked team, with a 24-0 record, and a Top 8 attendance rank.. Must we still not be satisfied??

I guess it's just human nature. I'm just tryin' ta keep it real and in perspective.

You are probably right in that you are just being realistic. On the other hand, the reality is what Shocker fans as a group CHOOSE it to be. So it is not necesarrily a fixed and unchangeable reality subject to the laws of nature or physics. Shocker fans can CHOOSE a much higher level of support. Of course, they can also CHOOSE a much lower level of support.

Here's the way I look at it. No doubt the Men's basketball team is far and away the #1 sport at WSU and the financial bell cow. Ever increasing amounts of money are required to stay competitive in D-1 college sports.
Sure I can send in another $500 bucks to SASO or the Basketball program or I can spend $500 bucks on season VB tickets and Match Club membership, which is $500 more that can be retained for the Basketball program. Either way I benefit the Men's Basketball program. In the meantime, while I am waiting for Basektball season to come around I treat myself to a tremendously entertaining Shocker sport and a great source of pride for Wichita State University and the City of Wichita.

I think Shocker fans have done very well. I also think they are capable of much more. It's a choice that will determine what the reality is.

[1972Shocker]

Slightly off topic, but Dana Loagnbill's alma mater, Moundridge, lost in the finals of the 2A state volleyball tournament today. I mention this because I believe we are interested in one of the Moundridge players.

Doc, do you have any information on how Dana Loganbill is developing during this, her redshirt year? I kinow she was pretty highly thought of coming out of high school.

(Texas needs to score a TD, but they may not want to leave any time on the clock)

Edit: 1:29 left for Texas Tech. That's a lot of time for this Red Raider offense.

[WuDrWu]

Just enough time. What a game.

Check pm.

[ShockerFever]

SOME people support this program very well.

Is that based on financial contributions or attending a volleyball match, or both?

The economy is bumbling. Money is tight. Sorry, some can't spare the extra $5/week/person for a volleyball match. Some people have other obligations, little ones, a combination, etc. Does that make them less of Shocker fans?

Your comment/slam is obviously directed towards me. What exactly makes you think I am not thankful for what we've got?

It wasn't a 'slam'. It was an observation. I dunno. You probably are thankful to a certain extent, I hope. But I think you're missing the relativity of the whole argument.

Support can and SHOULD be better. You can think all you want, the rest of us are trying to grow the program and the department.

That's fine. But don't be expecting basketball attendance numbers and volleyball numbers to equate the same numbers. It just isn't going to happen. It's not hard to understand either. Again, we're in the Top 10 attendance. We can do a little better, but not 8,000/game better.

How many cross country meets have you attended? They're a top-level program. Or how about a tennis match? They're decent programs. Are you catching my drift?

Fever, you, 'Cold and KC with your contrarian opinions are really getting tiresome.

I never have had a problem with you, and really still don't. I've argued many a times with those two, so to group me in with them is a little harsh and inaccurate. Honestly, your complaining about the volleyball attendance is getting tiresome. You can hope all you want for better attendance, but to complain about what we do have, that's where I get a little offended, and that's where we disagree.

[ShockerFever]

I think everyone is pretty happy with the support the Shocks recieve. On the other hand, some fans believe we can do even better.

Maybe we can, maybe we can't, but I really don't see anything wrong with setting your expectations and goals as high as possible.

There's nothing wrong with having lofty expectations. That's fine. And as most fans are, realism may be put on the back-burner.. which again as fans, is fine.

But to come on here and begrudge and nitpick and whine about something that just isn't gonna happen is a little irritating.

Must we always pick something wrong with the program.. even with a No.10 ranked team, with a 24-0 record, and a Top 8 attendance rank.. Must we still not be satisfied??

I guess it's just human nature. I'm just tryin' ta keep it real and in perspective.

You are probably right in that you are just being realistic. On the other hand, the reality is what Shocker fans as a group CHOOSE it to be. So it is not necesarrily a fixed and unchangeable reality subject to the laws of nature or physics. Shocker fans can CHOOSE a much higher level of support. Of course, they can also CHOOSE a much lower level of support.

Here's the way I look at it. No doubt the Men's basketball team is far and away the #1 sport at WSU and the financial bell cow. Ever increasing amounts of money are required to stay competitive in D-1 college sports.
Sure I can send in another $500 bucks to SASO or the Basketball program or I can spend $500 bucks on season VB tickets and Match Club membership, which is $500 more that can be retained for the Basketball program. Either way I benefit the Men's Basketball program. In the meantime, while I am waiting for Basektball season to come around I treat myself to a tremendously entertaining Shocker sport and a great source of pride for Wichita State University and the City of Wichita.

I think Shocker fans have done very well. I also think they are capable of much more. It's a choice that will determine what the reality is.

I agree with pretty much everything you've said. The support, I know, is appreciated. The support can be a little better, yes. But I'm not gonna complain.

:posterwsu:

[1972Shocker]

Fair enough ShockerFever.

Now let's fill the Chuck for Senior Night next Saturday! ;-)

[SpanglerFan316]

I'll be able to sleep tonight now!!!

I don't know if I will sleep well or not, but at least I am breathing much easier.

Isn't this fun? It's come along way since watching games with maybe 300 other people upstairs at the heskett...

I can't blame the players if they may be a little tight. It's a good thing they are not gripping like I am. Yeah, it is fun.

Don't forget to make your reservations for the bus trip for the season finale vs Missouri State in Springfield.

What is the deadline to sign up? I'm hoping I can get free from work.

[1972Shocker]

I don't know if there is a deadline other than perhaps selling all seats available on the bus. I have not seen or heard anything about a deadline and I have no idea how many places are still available.

You might want to check with the Ticket office.

[SubGod22]

The reality, or whatever, is in the middle. I do believe the fans can and should show up in higher numbers. I see no reason why the Shox couldn't get to 5th in attendance. After that, there's a nice jump to the top 4 attended programs.

VB is a fine sport and one that I think is growing in interest around here. HS VB in KS has been pretty good and that's a big key. As the program continues at a high level and more young people check it out the more it'll grow. It's just not going to happen as fast as we'd all like to see.

The YMCA program got the Shox at least 4 season ticket holders this year with my brother and his girls. And I'm sure there are plenty of examples like that. It's parents taking young and interested kids to these matches that are growing the fan base. My brother and his wife took the girls because they played and both became fans of Shocker VB. My sister took her team a few weeks back and a number of the girls and parents had a blast and were blown away. Does that mean they'll be seasone ticket holders next year? Time will tell. But I can almost guarantee that many will attend a few games next season.

Most older people and many who support basketball aren't going to change their view of the sport and spend their money. It is what it is and many people make up their minds about things without actually experiencing anything. Or maybe they saw a poor product years ago and think it's all the same. Some of those parents from my sisters team made comments like that. They couldn't believe how much things have changed since they'd played the sport. And at least one of them had played college VB somewhere.

I don't know what the final attendance numbers will be but we're pretty much guaranteed to be higher than last year. I would suspect that next season we'll be higher than this year. It'll be slow growth, but it will be growth. I don't think we've come that close to hitting the ceiling yet.

And I don't buy the economy having as much of an impact as Fever thinks. It has effected some people, but the Wichita area as a whole hasn't been hit very hard. Some people are worried and think things are bad because certain areas of the country have been hit pretty hard and that's what the news focuses on.

I'll be at both games this weekend unless something horrible happens to keep me away!

[1972Shocker]

Most older people and many who support basketball aren't going to change their view of the sport and spend their money.

Actually, I think we have a pretty good representation of older fans supporting VB (I have 5 grandchildren so I guess I include myself in that demographic) and yes, I love Shocker basketball. Really, all things Shocker. That said, it is hard to support everything attendance wise. Volleyball and Basketball fit my schedule well. Baseball and Softball not so much so.

I would like to see more student support of Volleyball. The student support this year is far and away the best it has been. But again, it could be much better.

[SubGod22]

I knew when I typed that I probably should have went back and said it differently. From my personal experience it's easier to convince a younger person to give it a shot as to an older person. Many of the older people I've been around have had years of bias or prejudice thoughts against women's sports in general and VB isn't one many understand.

I didn't mean to generalize too much as we do have a very good representation amongst older individuals. And I do agree that more student support would be great. It has increased this year, or is at least more organized, but could always be better. But I don't think I'll ever figure out the students.

People often don't like what they don't understand and VB is one of those things. Who knows where I'd stand on this issue if I wasn't so involved in watching and traveling to VB matches when I was in HS. No matter how far away sub-state was (Fredonia) or when we had to leave to get to Salina for state, I was there cheering on those I grew up with.

Back to my main point that I was trying to get at.... The support will grow from the younger generation. And most of that in my mind is HS and below. Not to say it can't/won't grow outside of that by any means. But that's where most will come over time and why we'll see a slow increase of support.

[1972Shocker]

Sub, I don't really disagree with any of your points.

As long as we continue to field a competitive team our attendance will probably grow slowly and steadily, although there is probably some upper limit to that.

Like you I was exposed to high school and AAU Volleyball when my daughter played. When I took her to her first WSU VB match she had the same response. Basically "OMG, that's not the game I remember playing".

Also, a lot people remember when you could only score on your serve. Personally, I think rally scoring has made VB much more fan friendly and rewards good defense as well as good offense.

I like the addition of the Libero position as well as it gives another shot for the "little" quick athlete to participate.