How was the crowd tonight?

[UConnDad]

I didnt.
That is Dan toeing the company line. It's fine. He has to. He's accepted (like all of us), and probably has been directed to say after his past comments , which brought him a bit of trouble, that we HAVE to play games in Hartford. But it doesn't mean he likes it.

Villanova, who has 2 titles and other FF appearnces in last 6 years plays 4 games a year at Wells Fargo in Philly.


Sign me up for four XL games every year. Im good. NOT HALF!

This would be perfect. Just make the XL games the four that would sell out.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Why is everyone saying it’s the venue? We’ve played at both venues for OK State, the first 30 minutes of GTown, and almost the entirety of the Nova game.

 

[August_West]

Why is everyone saying it’s the venue? We’ve played at both venues for OK State, the first 30 minutes of GTown, and almost the entirety of the Nova game.

The venue itself sucks.

 

[Hoophound]

XL does not suck. It’s a former NHL arena limping along, but as far as college ball goes, it is still pretty impressive.

 

[RayRay]

XL does not suck. It’s a former NHL arena limping along, but as far as college ball goes, it is still pretty impressive.

I agree. I just got done watching the st.johns - xavier game last night and the johnnies had hideous locker rooms and 5,600 capacity in what looked like a glorified high school game. We aren’t doing so bad here.
And it’s impressive how loud it gets at a normal cheering level. I can’t wait for when the crowd gets loud like it did on the Gtown run at an xl game. Just like last years nova game.

 

[shizzle787]

This would be perfect. Just make the XL games the four that would sell out.

Nova
Providence
2 P5 opponents

 

[ToolzieFan]

The crowd had multiple moments where it sounded plenty loud to me. I was in the 100s. I wonder if the venue sounds less loud higher up compared to near the floor simply because it’s larger. Is that incredibly obvious? Hurley and the players seemed to find it exciting. Crowd enthusiasm will always be more about the quality of the game and the opponent than the venue.

Every time people rehash the same arguments about XL vs. Gampel - with plenty of passion and logic on both sides - it simply reminds me that our current split of about half and half is pretty much perfect.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Some of it really does just come down to acoustics. Gampel is a nice, small venue where the dome is not THAT high so the noise bounces pretty good and has nice acoustics.

The XL Center is cavernous. And old. And has steep stairs and bad seats.

But you know what else? It's closer to most of where Connecticut residents actually live.

 

[EnochRoot]

Some of it really does just come down to acoustics. Gampel is a nice, small venue where the dome is not THAT high so the noise bounces pretty good and has nice acoustics.

The XL Center is cavernous. And old. And has steep stairs and bad seats.

But you know what else? It's closer to most of where Connecticut residents actually live.

It's the freakin Hartford Civic Center. Aside from the dozen or so Whalers games and the fact I saw the Police w/ REM opening, and then a month later, Robert freakin Plant (summer of '83 baby), that arena S U C K S.

 

[zls44]

XL does not suck. It’s a former NHL arena limping along, but as far as college ball goes, it is still pretty impressive.

You really haven’t been to most of the Big East buildings have you? Almost all of them have gottten big upgrades more recently than our dump. Even Carnasecca!

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

XL does not suck. It’s a former NHL arena limping along, but as far as college ball goes, it is still pretty impressive.

Agreed. If you’re a foreign recruit who grew up playing on outdoor dirt courts you will be blown away by the XL Center.

 

[UConnDad]

You really haven’t been to most of the Big East buildings have you? Almost all of them have gottten big upgrades more recently than our dump. Even Carnasecca!

Haven’t seen the upgraded Carnesecca but that’s due to our away games being played at their second home venue same as Gtown and Nova.

 

[Scrutineer]

Always amazed at the vitriol found here at times. Calling others morons or idiots when the topic is which venue people personally find best, or loudest, or most favorable for students is puzzling to say the least. That said, I'll register my thoughts.

Until we moved away a few years ago we had season tickets in both venues from the early-80's at HCC/XL and 1990 for Gampel and we liked both for many of the reasons already stated. We were winning, games were fun and most games were sellouts. It was two hours to Gampel for us so that gave an edge to the Civic Center........at least till we became good.

Several games still stand out in my memory. St. Johns in the opening night game at Gampel in 1990 was one.

Maybe it was the circumstance of being really good for the first time, or the way a team of good players played way above their individual abilities but, to me, no game at Gampel ever matched the Syracuse and Georgetown games in Hartford in 1990. It was January of the Dream Season, we came out of nowhere at the start of the season to be a contender and beat #5 Syracuse on Big Monday and #2 Georgetown five days later.

"Electric" is often an overused cliche', but it's the only word that accurately conveys how the building felt for those two games. I can still feel how bright the lights were and how excited the crowds were, how loud the building was and, especially rare for a UConn crowd, no one left early and none of the 16,294 wanted to leave the building at the end of the games. We all stood there and roared and high fived the people around us.

Imagine, if you weren't a fan or grad or didn't attend games at the time, how the long suffering fans that trudged to games in the mid-80's felt. Always in the Wednesday night game at the Big East, always losing that game except one time, and almost feeling like we didn't belong at the Garden for the tournament.

It was so bad that we were one of only three couples that showed up for the Alumni breakfast Dee Rowe hosted one year in the mid-80's at the hotel across from the Garden (name escapes me it changed so many times) the morning after the Wednesday play-in game. We had lost again and a room that could hold 150-200 people had one table of seven talking about our love for UConn basketball. Dee was ever positive and it was great he was able to see what UConn basketball became.

And now, we're arguing and name calling about which venue is the best. Progress I guess...........

 

[HooperScooper]

Jackson’s second 3 was arguably the biggest shot of the game. It came from the left side again. He was wide open, fed by a cross-court pass from Alex Karaban. This one came in front of the section where UConn family members sit. The shot, with 2:15 remaining, gave UConn a 63-56 lead after Villanova had cut a double-digit lead to four.

“I don't think I've heard this place louder than when he hit that 3 from the corner," Hurley said.

UConn's Andre Jackson drew technical fouls the past two games. Why Dan Hurley wants to 'stop that'

Defenses will let UConn forward Andre Jackson shoot. Why he can't let emotion take over when he converts.

www.nhregister.com

 

[bigknight3]

Jackson’s second 3 was arguably the biggest shot of the game. It came from the left side again. He was wide open, fed by a cross-court pass from Alex Karaban. This one came in front of the section where UConn family members sit. The shot, with 2:15 remaining, gave UConn a 63-56 lead after Villanova had cut a double-digit lead to four.

“I don't think I've heard this place louder than when he hit that 3 from the corner," Hurley said.

UConn's Andre Jackson drew technical fouls the past two games. Why Dan Hurley wants to 'stop that'

Defenses will let UConn forward Andre Jackson shoot. Why he can't let emotion take over when he converts.

www.nhregister.com

Every year we're gonna get a quote about XL being the loudest it's ever been...

Also, Hurley might have been tossed by the time XL got it's loudest during the Villanova game last year.

 

[HuskyBaggins]

Because they are the ones attending the school?

Yeah, you know, the only reason the school / team even exists ?

 

[HuskyBaggins]

I don’t disagree, but I’m not a fan of writing off students and their experience. In the end, they are the consumer, notwithstanding the fact that mom and dad are often writing the checks. Part of the selling point for a university which participates in major sports, and is successful, is that unmatched atmosphere of being at a game. I know that that was a specific criteria for one of my kids. They wanted that. The other thing to keep in mind, perhaps, more importantly, is today’s college student is tomorrow’s alumnus. If you don’t suck kids into being a fan while they are at college, the athletics department will be in a death spiral because their largest source of future fans will die out.

Those are things that would be foolhardy to forget. It’s kind of a marketing 101 thing.

Absolutely true. I spent my first two years at VA Tech. Huge D1 school coming off a bowl game and challenging for the conference basketball title in the old Metro conference in a 10K seat arena across teh road from our dorm. Then transferred to a more academic school that was D2. That's just an experience that other schools just cannot offer and it is, IMHO, an essential college experience.

 

[XLCenterFan]

I’m going to try to speak in bullet points in spots like this going forward.

- Crowd never had a chance to get really involved like we did vs Georgetown.

- It does sound louder from the lower seats at XL than from the upper deck

- Too many casuals at a game like Nova for it to be as loud as possible. The PC and Nova game last year were both louder.

- The arena is totally sufficient for a college hoops arena. So is Gampel. Shut up about arguing over either.

- Student sections are not what they used to be. Kids are soft nowadays and are also scrolling TikTok. Also probably worrying about gluten free concessions and cage-free chicken wings.

- Get at me. I’m a lunatic for the program and go wild at games. I’m not the one to question. Been to every single home game this year.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

You don't consider yourself to have benefitted from roads, sewage treatment, law enforcement, military, schools, parks, etc.?

Yeah that was a really dumb post that I meant to respond to but got sidetracked.

 

[XLCenterFan]

HA! The next time something benefits actual tax payers in any state, or federally, it will be the first time ever

Move to Mississippi so you can boil your water before you drink it and then go watch an Ole Miss college hoops game with a confederate flag flying in the crowd.