UCONN Student Section

[Milo65]

Student section with 12 minutes left in the 4th.

 

[uconnell]

If they don't want to stay at the game they will probably go to the parking lot and party till the buses arrive. I don't see that as being held hostage.

The other gripe I have is that a lot of the 25 to 45 age fans treat this as a social gathering at the game. Even sitting in the stands they yak instead of watching the game. For cryin out loud socialize at the tailgate, watch the game and cheer.

 

[Milo65]

With about 7 min left in the 4th quarter...

 

[Ha Who]

This stuff about the students won't come if you make them stay brings to mind one thought: Scott Haney is predicting half an inch of snow, so I can't drive to the basketball game

 

[ConnHuskBask]

This thread is ridiculous on a lot of different levels. Not even sure where to begin.

I'll just say this. Going to a game is supposed to be fun, not some sort of duty or obligation.

The last few seasons it hasn't been fun to be a UConn football fan.

I've had tickets for ten years now, stay till the end of every game but I'd be lying if I said the tailgate isn't the most enjoyable part of the games lately.

 

[Hoophound]

Crowds are loud for competitive games. If that was a competitive, down to the wire game, the stadium would have been electric. We got our asses kicked.

Had we won, things would improve. With each win and the exciting atmosphere that comes with it, more people will get in their seats earlier next game. It's the simple premise that if you enjoy something, you'll want to do it more often and for longer periods of time. Until we start winning games, fans are being trained to look forward to the tailgate and loathe the game.

 

[Ha Who]

This thread is ridiculous on a lot of different levels. Not even sure where to begin.

I'll just say this. Going to a game is supposed to be fun, not some sort of duty or obligation.

The last few seasons it hasn't been fun to be a UConn football fan.

I've had tickets for ten years now, stay till the end of every game but I'd be lying if I said the tailgate isn't the most enjoyable part of the games lately.

I agree with what you are saying, but try thinking in these terms. My immigrant grandparents worked lousy jobs and lived in a small apartment so their son could go to college and have a better life. You are sacrificing to change the perception of UCONN and get us in the P5. You could take the generations of welfare route and stay outside and tailgate all game ensuring a lifetime in the "American". Kudos for staying, I know how hard it is.

 

[businesslawyer]

People want to talk about the damn crowd? Unreal. A few thoughts.

1. It took me two hours and fifteen minutes from Fairfield. I make it on 65 for a Saturday game. I took the day off and was there by 5:30 anyway, but not every fan is going to take a day off from work or school to ensure that they will be there on time no matter what the traffic. It's not the fans fault that you can't drive anywhere in this damn State without being caught in traffic.

2. If you want to complain about something we can control through complaints, complain about the fact that there is always a ten minute delay getting into the stadium. As if I'm any safer because of the cursory search they do of people.

3. I hate to tell you this Dooley, but you have no more control of when a student or any other fan chooses to get to a game than you do about play calling. Probably less, actually, because if a coach blows you can pressure the school to fire him.

4. Given what our program has been through with incompetence and the situation deteriorating around us, I was not disappointed with the crowd last night. It will not be a long way back if we start winning again. But to blame those who are showing up for their conduct rather than those who don't show up makes no sense. Until we have a waiting list of people wanting to get tickets, anyone who shells out their hard earned cash to come can do what they please and I'm happy they are supporting the program.

 

[Waquoit]

The only problem is that this is how our student section looks at EVERY 3rd quarter except for 2-3 games since the Rent opened.

Not even close to being true.

 

[Drew]

With about 7 min left in the 4th quarter...

If you look close you can see me standing on the bleachers in the left side! Blue gameday polo and blue bucket hat with khakis

 

[uconnell]

Walking thru the blue lot to get into the stadium, I noticed that more people were packing up than normally happened. The walk from the red lots is quite long which cuts down on tailgating time. I think the lots should open 6 hours before the game to give people a chance to tailgate, pack up and walk in.

We even got there late and we only have to drive from the eastern shoreline,by the time we set up, cooked and ate it was time to pack up.

When the Rent first opened shuttle buses ran from the red lots, what happened to them?

The Husky walk should go back to where it originally was.

 

[kemba]

Not even close to being true.

Yup.

It empties out for blowouts, and yea, you can pick out a couple of examples like the DJ Hernandez Pitt game where the students left way to early, but in general they stay and are loud when games are competitive. And comparing this student section to Gampel is apples and oranges.

Bottom line is if we win games people will want to be in on time and stay till the end. Forcing people to packup tailgates early isn't the answer, and neither is making it so students aren't able to leave until after the game. It's not supposed to be an obligation.

 

[uconnell]

It's not supposed to be an obligation.

Well yeah ,in a way it is an obligation, if we want to get into P- 5 and also protect our basketball programs.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Well yeah ,in a way it is an obligation, if we want to get into P- 5 and also protect our basketball programs.

True but my stance is that I want us to land in a P-5 conference to protect the football program.

 

[upstater]

Did the photo being passed around as 3rd qtr come from Buccigross? If so, he's an ESPN guy. Why is he falsifying information? What is the source?

I agree that the problem of not having a campus stadium is partially to blame, but I don't agree with the people saying students will become prisoners of the stadium.

Many sporting venues have public transport that doesn't leave until after the game. I know the Patriots, even during the lean early 1990s, had the MBTA trains leave 30 minutes after the game, and not a moment before. They still had 50k+ show up.

Mid 4th qtr. sounds right.

It's also a Friday night at the start of school year. There are a ton of parties to go to, right? (Wasn't a UConn student, so I don't know what goes on there on a Friday night.)

 

[kemba]

Well yeah ,in a way it is an obligation, if we want to get into P- 5 and also protect our basketball programs.

And you think students showing up late and leaving early is the difference in doing that? Every single former Big East team that got picked over us has had the same issues.

And regardless, good luck convincing some college kids to sit through a blowout on a Friday night so that maybe someday down the road we can get into a better conference.

 

[uconnflyer88]

I was at my buddy's house the other day who is a Texas Longhorn fan and he had the Longhorn Network on. They had a three hour block dedicated to showing the incoming freshmen class, basically how to act during the football game as part of their orientation. They brought them into Longhorns stadium, showed them the mascot, the cannons, the cheer squad came through and taught them all the cheers (apparently they have one for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th down) and then the football team came in and introduced themselves and told them that they need the fans to help lift them up throughout the game.

And apparently Texas isn't the only program that does this

Now I know we are not on that level, but maybe if we worked something like this into freshmen orientation it may increase the "care factor". Diaco is kind of doing it with these pep rallys, but this would take it one step further and this is something you can bring to the UConn front office.

 

[BugsyCT]

Maybe a poll should be done of how many 18-20 year old students care or are even aware of the competitive or economic needs of landing in a P5 conference to protect the sports programs. Because you can almost guarantee that knowledge alone won't motivate many of them to stay the whole game, let alone even go at all.

If the team stinks and is getting pasted without hope of victory, they won't stick around. Period.

 

[Dooley]

Not even close to being true.

Huh? Are you seriously trying to convince me/anyone that our student sections stay packed throughout the entire game? Why would Temple choose to go INTO the student section in an OT game in 2012? We were 5-7 that year. That loss cost us a chance at a bowl game. That's just one example of MANY examples of our students bailing on games early. A half-empty student section by the mid/late part of the 3rd quarter is the norm, not the abnormal.

 

[Dooley]

People want to talk about the damn crowd? Unreal. A few thoughts.

1. It took me two hours and fifteen minutes from Fairfield. I make it on 65 for a Saturday game. I took the day off and was there by 5:30 anyway, but not every fan is going to take a day off from work or school to ensure that they will be there on time no matter what the traffic. It's not the fans fault that you can't drive anywhere in this damn State without being caught in traffic.

2. If you want to complain about something we can control through complaints, complain about the fact that there is always a ten minute delay getting into the stadium. As if I'm any safer because of the cursory search they do of people.

3. I hate to tell you this Dooley, but you have no more control of when a student or any other fan chooses to get to a game than you do about play calling. Probably less, actually, because if a coach blows you can pressure the school to fire him.

4. Given what our program has been through with incompetence and the situation deteriorating around us, I was not disappointed with the crowd last night. It will not be a long way back if we start winning again. But to blame those who are showing up for their conduct rather than those who don't show up makes no sense. Until we have a waiting list of people wanting to get tickets, anyone who shells out their hard earned cash to come can do what they please and I'm happy they are supporting the program.

So you're telling me that we don't have any input over student participation at games but you're trying to convince us that there is something that we can do about traffic in #1?? Got it. So we have no ability to make suggestions to the UCONN AD to try to improve game day experiences for all fans, including students, but we DO have a say in traffic from Fairfield County to Hartford. I didn't realize the 'Yard had that kind of control over state traffic. I'm putting my request in right now for a busway from Middletown to the Rent!

 

[Dooley]

I was at my buddy's house the other day who is a Texas Longhorn fan and he had the Longhorn Network on. They had a three hour block dedicated to showing the incoming freshmen class, basically how to act during the football game as part of their orientation. They brought them into Longhorns stadium, showed them the mascot, the cannons, the cheer squad came through and taught them all the cheers (apparently they have one for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th down) and then the football team came in and introduced themselves and told them that they need the fans to help lift them up throughout the game.

And apparently Texas isn't the only program that does this

Now I know we are not on that level, but maybe if we worked something like this into freshmen orientation it may increase the "care factor". Diaco is kind of doing it with these pep rallys, but this would take it one step further and this is something you can bring to the UConn front office.

Watching the Baylor game last night, they line up their incoming freshmen on the field to form a tunnel for the players when they come out of the tunnel. I thought that was cool. It's probably too tough to do that here given the fact that our students don't get to their seats until the 8 minute mark of the 1st quarter (or later). But I agree that introducing incoming freshmen to our football program and game day excitement wouldn't be a bad idea. Watching some of the students get polled on "The Blitz" is absolutely painful to watch sometimes.

 

[tense50]

From the end of the 1st qtr. to the middle of the 3rd qtr. the student section was packed and making most of the noise in the stadium. Then I caught wind of the BYU cheering section and they sounded almost as loud as the students. The people in 203 (my section) were pretty tame throughout. It's not the UConn kids, it's everybody else. By the way, I yelled myself hoarse!

 

[uconnell]

From the end of the 1st qtr. to the middle of the 3rd qtr. the student section was packed and making most of the noise in the stadium. Then I caught wind of the BYU cheering section and they sounded almost as loud as the students. The people in 203 (my section) were pretty tame throughout. It's not the UConn kids, it's everybody else. By the way, I yelled myself hoarse!

my son's voice was gone by the end of the first quarter. If you watch the tape on the first quarter you can see and hear the tinkle from the student section. It looks so darn wimpy!
I agree about the BYU fans, they were quite loud, of course they had something to cheer about.

If RGIII was playing here on Fri. He would not make the same comment he did 5 years ago. Tinkle, tinkle

 

[jackl]

my son's voice was gone by the end of the first quarter. If you watch the tape on the first quarter you can see and hear the tinkle from the student section. It looks so darn wimpy!
I agree about the BYU fans, they were quite loud, of course they had something to cheer about.

If RGIII was playing here on Fri. He would not make the same comment he did 5 years ago. Tinkle, tinkle

From what I could see and hear it was 1st game jitters for all participants except for BYU of course. Too many fans tried to raise the cheer level up when BYU fans were making noise for their defense on thirds downs or any big play. Its the UCONN offense that needs quite and our crowd starts making noise because BYU fans do, not smart. For whatever reason our 3rd down defense standing and cheering was so out of wack. People forgot what and when they were suppose to do. I suppose when the big HUSKY is on the video board and as the eyes start to go red we should say now is the right F#C#en time. Hopefully as we start winning our fan coordination falls into place. Maybe getting a wave going or something would help.

 

[upstater]

The students need to show more dedication: