I am really shocked! ...

[Wonkster]

I've been to a bunch of 'First Night' (Blue and White game) extravaganzas and seen the attendance steadily slip from barely 9,000 many years ago to more like 4,000 the last several years. I've been largely boycotting them recently, mostly because I don't own a helicopter and don't enjoy fighting Friday night traffic for the 175 mile round trip from Westport.

But 10,000 attendees last night? That's a minor miracle! Kudos to whoever did whatever they did to get Husky fans off their collective duffs to go to a free event.
.

 

[DaddyChoc]

thats what happens when you win the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP... and bring in the NUMBER ONE recruit in the country!

 

[Wonkster]

thats what happens when you win the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP... and bring in the NUMBER ONE recruit in the country!

That's exactly my point - somehow it didn't happen with Maya Moore. Fans have been voting with their feet and attendance kept sliding when they shortened the scrimmage game from 30 minutes to 10 minutes (do I have that right?), and taking it from Saturday or Sunday afternoons and placing it right smack dab in the busy hours after the work week is over on Friday.

In the last half-dozen seasons more fans went to see games where they paid $15-20 a ticket than they went to the free 'First Night' game! What changed this year?
.

 

[justML]

More fans went to see games where they paid $15-20 a ticket than they went to the free 'First Night' game! What changed?[/quote]

The MEN won the National Championship. The MEN brought in a top recruit.

Don't even get me started about the Sports Media and MEN'S sports . . . .

 

[intlzncster]

I've been to a bunch of 'First Night' (Blue and White game) extravaganzas and seen the attendance steadily slip from barely 9,000 many years ago to more like 4,000 the last several years. I've been largely boycotting them recently, mostly because I don't own a helicopter and don't enjoy fighting Friday night traffic for the 175 mile round trip from Westport.

But 10,000 attendees last night? That's a minor miracle! Kudos to whoever did whatever they did to get Husky fans off their collective duffs to go to a free event.
.

That would be Kemba Walker.

 

[01Neaggrad02]

thats what happens when you win the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP... and bring in the NUMBER ONE recruit in the country!

Two number one recruits!!!! When was the last time a school had both the mens and womens #1 recruit in the same year? Is this another NCAA BB First? UCONN setting history yet again????

 

[Wonkster]

The MEN won the National Championship. The MEN brought in a top recruit...

So, it's the men's team fans that are fickle?
.

 

[EricLA]

Two number one recruits!!!! When was the last time a school had both the mens and womens #1 recruit in the same year? Is this another NCAA BB First? UCONN setting history yet again????

that's a really good point. i'm not sure that has ever happened before. when you go down the list of who got #1 recruits, it would be schools like Duke (Hunter), Tennessee, Baylor (Griner), Stanford (Ogwumike), Oklahoma (Paris), LSU (Augustus), and of course UCONN has the most #1 recruits of anyone.

but the only team in that list that could possibly have gotten the #1 recruit on the men's side in the same year would be Duke.

 

[NCorBust]

thats what happens when you win the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP... and bring in the NUMBER ONE recruit in the country!

Did you or I hibernate throughout last season. When did UCONN win its last National Championship ... not last year?!

 

[DaddyChoc]

haha what is wrong with this person ^^^

 

[intlzncster]

haha what is wrong with this person ^^^

Doesn't watch the news? But uses the internet....hmmm. No idea.

 

[Scotter]

Gampel was full primarily because the students showed up judging from the TV broadcast. The student body is not going to turn out equally for a men's versus a women's national championship. I think we all understand that.

What was the Sunday afternoon attendance before the men's and women's events were combined? ESPN is the biggest reason the events are now combined and take place at an earlier than ideal time for both the men's and women's team. Was women's attendance also declining on Sunday afternoon to the point where no longer holding the event made sense? Or was a still successful event traded for an event that is logistically difficult for much of the women's fan base to attend for the sake of being able to showcase both programs on ESPN?

 

[Kibitzer]

Holding the event on Friday surely generated appeal to students on campus, which is fine with me, even though the traffic was a cause (or excuse) that discouraged me from schlepping all the way from Norwalk.

The men's NC was undoubtedly the main attraction. Fair enough, and if that helps generate more student/fan interest in wcbb, I think that, too, is a plus.

I think JFK once said, "A rising tide elevates all ships," or something to that effect.

Relish today. Ketchup tomorrow. (I just threw that in. For fun.)

 

[Icebear]

Did you or I hibernate throughout last season. When did UCONN win its last National Championship ... not last year?!

Indeed they did, just not on the distaff side.