Death of The "Casual Fan" | Page 4 | The Boneyard

Death of The "Casual Fan"

FfldCntyFan said:
I remember too many games against the limes of Georgetown, Nova, St John's where remaining within 20 or so (when there was no shot clock) was a moral victory. I remember a Northeastern team humiliating us and I remember only needing to beat (a then winless in conference) Seton Hall to guarantee a 500 finish (regardless of our BET results) and a bid to the NIT.

Perno's teams led the nation in no shows (except against Cuse and a stray game here or there), even when he had Corny, McKay, et al.
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I just looked at the results from Perno's final season when they were bad and went 12-16. There were 2 losses of 20 or more points that season. There have already been 6 losses by 20 or more points this season, and a third of the schedule remains to be played.

UConn played in a much tougher conference then and usually were not as talented as other Big East teams. But they didn't get blown out regularly like this team has. Perno's teams were about what you expected them to be, a little below average to a little above average with the last 4 seasons all being the latter.
 
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Fishy said:
You have to go a long, long way to find a fan base that has taken the body blows that this one has. If the casual fan has dropped off, they’ve got good reason.

The first round of realignment in 2003. The second round in 2011. The third round. The fourth round. The implosion of the Big East. The chaos with the retroactive application of the APR penalty. Calhoun retires. Being slapped into a georgraphically-ludicrous conference with schools that no one cares about. Instead of Big Monday, we know have games at 11 am on Sundays. And now not only do we play bad teams that we have nothing in common with, we lose and lose badly to those teams. Our coach is disengaged and inept and now we have the NCAA snooping around.

If you think you’re a casual fan and you’re still paying attention, you’re a hardcore fan. The casual fans have already been swept away by the avalanche of crap that’s come down on us. We can get them back, but it’s gonna take a while.
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I agree with 99% of this. The part I disagree with is the part about it taking awhile. Assuming the team can make some noise in a year or 2, the casual fans will be right back. Which goes back to me saying that fans are spoiled. It used to be good enough to go and make an NIT run. It used to be good enough to win an NCAA tournament game. For the casual fan, it's just not good enough anymore.
 
willie99 said:
Most people who talk men's basketball with me ask me about Ollie and when do I think he should be or might be fired. I say the same things I say on this board, the last two years have hurt by Hamilton and injuries and transfers after the reset. It's hard to know where we'd be otherwise, so I give him this year and next. We have good young talent on this roster, talent sitting on the bench and waiting to play, and talent arriving next season.

We need to give him an opportunity to see what he can do with a healthy and complete roster with a little more depth available to him. I don't believe firing Ollie now is the best option for the program.

If they ask about any specific game, I certainly don't pretend there's a game they won't lose, I'm just hoping for the best this year. Without Gilbert AND without Larrier being a stud, this team is simply lacking enough talent to compete day in and day out, too many holes to fill.

I also don't see how either Adams or Larrier are going pro next year, anywhere. Not unless they finish like Caron did in 2002 or MSG did in 2004. Conversely, they can both change to pro status immensely by playing on a team with more talent and more options around there next year.
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I agree with you Willie. I'd like to see Kevin Ollie get at least one more year. He obviously can coach. You don't win a National Championship accidentally. In Uconn's last championship run, we were underdog to Villanova, Iowa State, Michigan State, Florida and Kentucky and yet we beat them all. It was a team with great (though undersized) guards, good forwards and no center. They played great defense and hardly ever missed a free throw. I remember the Kentucky coach when asked why he didn't start fouling in the second half. His response was something like, you have to be kidding, they never miss free throws.

But I too have lost confidence in them this year. I dutifully record all their games but check the score before I watch. If they lose, I erase, if they win, I watch. I have not even considered attending a game. I started following Uconn when I was a student at Storrs in the early 60's. So I observed a lot to coaches - Fred Shabel, Burr Carlson, Dee Rowe, Dom Perno, Jim Calhoun and now Kevin Ollie. Calhoun was the best but Shabel, if he stayed, might have been a legend.

So what will bring fans back. HOPE! If we can bring in one or two recruits with potential, even if we lose we can enjoy their development.
 
whaler11 said:
Actual conversation I just had:

Me: you want to go to the UConn game Sat?

Casual Fan: Sure - what time?

Me: 12 - but it’s at Gampel

Casual Fan: Oh God - no - who wants to go there!
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Wait, don't kill my buzz. I'm still contemplating my first visit to Gampel, and it's a growing lean in favor.
Which side do I sit on to best observe body language on the bench?
 
Hans Sprungfeld said:
Wait, don't kill my buzz. I'm still contemplating my first visit to Gampel, and it's a growing lean in favor.
Which side do I sit on to best observe body language on the bench?
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Hans,

If you want to go I have a spare ticket. No charge.
 
.-.
Thirty Three said:
The most shocking thing I learned on the Boneyard this week:
Chief (according to him) has a masters degree (from UConn).
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Chief dropping the fact that he purports to have an MBA was second only to Husky99's revelation that he's responsible for shaping the minds of America's youth. Just two absolutely stunning bits of information.
 
Huskybass said:
What you talkin' bout Willis?

You must agree though that the Chief persona is absolutely epic. I like Chief, but I would never want to meet him in person. I like the version of Chief that captures his online persona. I would be disappointed in person, because online he is larger than life. A Paul Bunyan of a man, if you will.
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Good move because you'd be extra disappointed when you find out it's fishys alternate handle.
 
FfldCntyFan said:
Hans,

If you want to go I have a spare ticket. No charge.
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YES!
Especially after I've just mucked around in SeatGeek & RateMySeats and run up against non-eTickets, minimum purchases of 2 seats, and other inconveniences that told me to step away from things and amuse(?) myself here.
I'll PM.
 
Hans Sprungfeld said:
YES!
Especially after I've just mucked around in SeatGeek & RateMySeats and run up against non-eTickets, minimum purchases of 2 seats, and other inconveniences that told me to step away from things and amuse(?) myself here.
I'll PM.
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You should still get the Rotisserie Chicken.
 
This post is a little depressing but hits the nail on the head. I have been a jets/knicks fan for years and going into these teams seasons the whole fan base knows we have no shot. I don't expect year after year tournament dominance from UConn, thats a lot to ask. But the years when we have been competitive and at least have had a shot you can really feel the whole state buzzing. Going into this year nobody really thought we would be competitive.
 
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August_West said:
Good move because you'd be extra disappointed when you find out it's fishys alternate handle.
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Burying the lede
 
Thirty Three said:
The most shocking thing I learned on the Boneyard this week:
Chief (according to him) has a masters degree (from UConn).

Which begs the question:
Did he write his thesis in the third person?

Is his masters degree even real, or did he pull a "Drummond" on us?

How many UConn bitches did he hang out with back in the day?

So many questions.
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Always start with the premise - and yours is wrong. A thesis is a requirement of a PhD doctoral degree but not an MBA. If you got the premise wrong - it goes downhill from there.
Chief Certified.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Chief dropping the fact that he purports to have an MBA was second only to Husky99's revelation that he's responsible for shaping the minds of America's youth. Just two absolutely stunning bits of information.
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Quite frankly, it’s really not that difficult and hence not that stunning.
 
.-.
FfldCntyFan said:
Thank you Chief for cheapening one of my two post graduate degrees.
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You misunderstand me, it’s a great degree. I actually enjoy learning, especially business law. That’s why to me, it wasn’t that difficult.
 
Dove said:
I have stopped printing off schedules and having it near my desk. I forget to look for game times. I miss games. I'm okay with it.

Sad as @^!%#, right?
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I have always printed the schedule off and sat down and marked down what I thought would be wins and losses. I taped every game and rewatched, I looked forward to going over box scores with my morning coffee, and I would look forward to reading the BY. All of that is gone at this point.
 
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