CBSSN is the worst

[intlzncster]

I don’t agree with this necessarily. It’s more so the school became better and then graduates got good jobs out of state. Unlike other good schools around the country where exactly can you work in CT if you aren’t an engineer or want to do finance in New York light(Stamford). There aren’t many options for jobs for recent graduates, so UConn isn’t cultivating a rabid fan base that’s where I think a lot of these issues come from.

Your not wrong about the sentiment, but when you see the difference down south at say football games and the like, it's night and day. And more than half the people at these events aren't alumni of the University.

A huge part of this is hard charging college kids (fraternity/sorority driven). School spirit is a real thing, and most schools allow or promote it. UCONN squashes it.

They don't allow almost any partying at UCONN now. No one gets energized for these things. Contrast that to things like the the absolutely madness at West Virginia or the Aggie Bonfire down at A&M. Night and day:

 

[whaler11]

The endowment at the Ivies is huge and they don't have big time fan support.

Your premise, and others in this thread, was that a better quality student is a lower quality fan, and that jobs/careers aren't readily available in the area to cultivate a bigger/better fanbase.

I don't necessarily disagree with either of those statements, but I tend to think they are more excuses and I agree with @August_West more that it's just a front runner syndrome.

this just isnt a big sports area compared to other parts of the country.

i was in raleigh last year this time and every single uber had on the local sports talk channel.

i work with scores of millenials. when we were their age all we did was talk about sports. the only thing they ever talk about is fantasy football sometimes and a little random nba. on gamedays wed get like 10 people together and just go scalp in. you are hard pressed to find a non-student under 40 at a uconn game there on their own volition. every kid under 13 in the building never looks up from the phone they are playing on.

the experience at XL and Gampel has gotten worse and more expensive. playstation 4, netflix etc - are cheaper, easier and more entertaining. a lotta kids would rather play fortnight than sit through an SMU basketball game and who can really blame them.

 

[Stainmaster]

Your not wrong about the sentiment, but when you see the difference down south at say football games and the like, it's night and day. And more than half the people at these events aren't alumni of the University.

A huge part of this is hard charging college kids (fraternity/sorority driven). School spirit is a real thing, and most schools allow or promote it. UCONN squashes it.

They don't allow almost any partying at UCONN now. No one gets energized for these things. Contrast that to things like the the absolutely madness at West Virginia or the Aggie Bonfire down at A&M. Night and day:

View attachment 39537View attachment 39537

Maybe not the best example:

1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse - Wikipedia

 

[CL82]

Hmm not sure what to make of the flames forming a Husky head...

 

[intlzncster]

Maybe not the best example:

1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse - Wikipedia

Actually, even more so. The students have moved it off campus and it's now the unsanctioned 'student bonfire'. So despite the tragedy, the party continues. That picture is from the unsanctioned event.

The locals are into it. Imagine that happening in Mansfield?

 

[polycom]

Actually, even more so. The students have moved it off campus and it's now the unsanctioned 'student bonfire'. So despite the tragedy, the party continues. That picture is from the unsanctioned event.

The locals are into it. Imagine that happening in Mansfield?

There is a massive pig roast at UConn every year but most kids don't get to go to it as it's at frat house that is significantly off campus.

 

[polycom]

Your not wrong about the sentiment, but when you see the difference down south at say football games and the like, it's night and day. And more than half the people at these events aren't alumni of the University.

A huge part of this is hard charging college kids (fraternity/sorority driven). School spirit is a real thing, and most schools allow or promote it. UCONN squashes it.

They don't allow almost any partying at UCONN now. No one gets energized for these things. Contrast that to things like the the absolutely madness at West Virginia or the Aggie Bonfire down at A&M. Night and day:

View attachment 39537View attachment 39537

Having visited my sister who is an athlete at Clemson, it feels like a different country. Really for any sport the culture is different in the south, but our fan base refuses to acknowledge that. A school like Alabama gets more out of state applicants than in-state applicants.

 

[polycom]

The endowment at the Ivies is huge and they don't have big time fan support.

Your premise, and others in this thread, was that a better quality student is a lower quality fan, and that jobs/careers aren't readily available in the area to cultivate a bigger/better fanbase.

I don't necessarily disagree with either of those statements, but I tend to think they are more excuses and I agree with @August_West more that it's just a front runner syndrome.

This was never my premise ever. Harvard v. Yale football game is a bigger draw than any UConn football game.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

this just isnt a big sports area compared to other parts of the country.

i was in raleigh last year this time and every single uber had on the local sports talk channel.

i work with scores of millenials. when we were their age all we did was talk about sports. the only thing they ever talk about is fantasy football sometimes and a little random nba. on gamedays wed get like 10 people together and just go scalp in. you are hard pressed to find a non-student under 40 at a uconn game there on their own volition. every kid under 13 in the building never looks up from the phone they are playing on.

the experience at XL and Gampel has gotten worse and more expensive. playstation 4, netflix etc - are cheaper, easier and more entertaining. a lotta kids would rather play fortnight than sit through an SMU basketball game and who can really blame them.

Fantasy sports has almost entirely taken over as the default sports talk conversation, at least in my circles. People follow their actual teams, but they live and die with fantasy leagues that they've put $100 dollars into.

In NYC nobody cares or talks about college sports except for March Madness and that's solely due to brackets. People talk NFL, Fantasy and then maybe some Yankees/Mets here, but that's about it.

You're right, it's a whole hell of a lot easier to go home, buy your own beer, sit on your own couch and watch the game or netflix, whatever.

The atmosphere was what made it worth it - especially at Gampel/XL - so I didn't mind driving up from the New London area when I was in CT, but for AAC action and having to beg someone to join? I doubt I'd be there every game.

 

[CL82]

There is a massive pig roast at UConn every year but most kids don't get to go to it as it's at frat house that is significantly off campus.

That was a part of the Spring weekend debauchery, IIRC. I have a vague memory of the pig being started too late and taking forever to cook. Around 4 or 5 PM one guy (who may have had an adult beverage or two) screams "I can't take it anymore" and runs into the fire and bites the ear off to the cheers of the crowd. They served the pig about an hour later. It was pretty good as I recall. The rest is a little hazy. (Frankly I am amazed I still have a functioning liver from even one Spring Weekend. They weren't for the faint of heart.)

 

[ConnHuskBask]

This was never my premise ever. Harvard v. Yale football game is a bigger draw than any UConn football game.

True - my mistake.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Different demographics in Canada. They do well. We dont do well because New Englanders have inbred front runner syndrome. Always have, always will. Its in our DNA.


See: fans of Patriots, New England

Well, the good thing about being a Jets fan is you never have to worry about band wagon fans or front runners joining the fan base.

 

[intlzncster]

Having gone to Clemson and chilled with my sister who is an athlete there it's a different country. Really for any sport the culture is different in the south, but our fan base refuses to acknowledge that. A school like Alabama gets more out of state applicants than in-state applicants.

Thing is man, back in the 90s and early 2000s, UCONN was still nuts in terms of partying. Game days were a blast, and I was only visiting friends there. It's easy to get into a team when you got 5,000 plus kids getting sauced for no other reason. It just carries over. These mostly weren't exactly the academic sorts. Although those people came along to be part of the excitement.

fwiw, I went to an SEC school too.

 

[intlzncster]

There is a massive pig roast at UConn every year but most kids don't get to go to it as it's at frat house that is significantly off campus.

Exactly. The school and the town surrounding it drives those kids off. Instead of promoting it. Plus, the kids aren't exactly the hard charging sort.

Is that pig roast for a sporting event like the Aggie thing? I don't know anything about it.

 

[intlzncster]

This was never my premise ever. Harvard v. Yale football game is a bigger draw than any UConn football game.

Which the universities very much promote (UCONN would have made it 'dry' and killed it). The Harvard/Yale kids really don't give a toss about the teams the rest of the time; it's academics and other assorted kinds.

My point was two fold. The university has made a concerted effort to squash the festivities and to recruit a different profile kid.

It's a dual pronged approach.

 

[polycom]

Which the universities very much promote (UCONN would have made it 'dry' and killed it). The Harvard/Yale kids really don't give a toss about the teams the rest of the time; it's academics and other assorted kinds.

My point was two fold. The university has made a concerted effort to squash the festivities and to recruit a different profile kid.

It's a dual pronged approach.

This is true as well, I was pointing out the other posters point was not really what I was getting at.