Jacobs: UConn Fans Partially to Blame

[cockhrnleghrn]

The NCAA really needs to fix the WBB Tournament. They should GIVE tickets to a certain number of students. When I was a student, I couldn't have afforded post-season basketball tickets. I could barely afford to eat after my ten weekly meals ran out. The only way to grow the sport is for people to attend games in person, get to know the players and have more parity. Just putting this out there, but our booster club paid for tickets for 500 students to attend, so there's no reason fans or your booster club wouldn't be allowed to do the same thing.

I know Title 9 is a factor, but reducing the number of scholarships in WBB should increase parity a little bit like it has in FB and MBB.

 

[triaddukefan]

At least Albany is on a Saturday and you get good start times. The ASU-FSU game is scheduled to tip-off at 9:30 Friday night.... and the ND-Baylor game is scheduled for a 10pm EST start... though its 9pm local time in OKC

 

[HuskyStars]

My husband and I would have gone if it were not so late. A good 45 mins to an hour home AFTER getting out of the traffic, and have to go to work in the morning. 7:00 start? We would have been there.

 

[Woof 101]

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn...obs-column-kml-three-point-record-column.html


Have to Agree, more UConn fans should have been in attendance at last night's game.

If its not Spring Break time, would like to have seen more Students at the Game.

No attack but you fail to mention if you were there. That and possibly your age and distance of travel on a Monday night. Are you like some unlike Jeff who have to be up for work at 4:30 AM? Jeff makes some good points but he should realize the only time he has to work in the AM is if a game goes past midnight.
He does mention the median age of our fan base but does not recognize the game was being played when most would be going to sleep.
Maybe just me but this one is on the NCAA. The starting time was as bad as the officiating crew.

 

[j66kicker]

ESPN says this year's tournament attendance is UP, except for some "hotbeds that have to do more to market their teams" - UCONN, Duke, Stanford. (Aren't these the same ones who got screwed on the game times?) "Bright spots" [were]... South Carolina, Maryland, Iowa, Oregon State and South Florida."

http://espn.go.com/womens-college-b...2553346/attendance-ncaa-tournament-sees-boost

 

[lanieer]

Jeff Jacobs called Nykesha Sales Soupy Sales and a clown like atmosphere after the Villinova game in which the two coaches chose to honor a wonderful classy athlete
Keesha woke up in her hospital room in tears after reading his column. I will not be spanked by Jeff Jacobs again because I chose not to show up because I didn't want to arrive home after midnight. I agree with Geno and everybody else that is embarrassed about the attendance and blame but please Jeff Jacobs look in the mirror. Don't be so condescending. He has written some wonderful award winning columns but he can also be a real jerk.

 

[JFC613]

Jeff Jacobs called Nykesha Sales Soupy Sales and a clown like atmosphere after the Villinova game in which the two coaches chose to honor a wonderful classy athlete
Keesha woke up in her hospital room in tears after reading his column. I will not be spanked by Jeff Jacobs again because I chose not to show up because I didn't want to arrive home after midnight. I agree with Geno and everybody else that is embarrassed about the attendance and blame but please Jeff Jacobs look in the mirror. Don't be so condescending. He has written some wonderful award winning columns but he can also be a real jerk.

I have to second that Lanieer. I've struggled with Jeff's condescending writing style for years. And, yes, he can be a complete jerk, not to use another word. I'm sure that many fans would have loved to celebrate KML's and Kiah's final Games in person, but couldn't because of just absurd starting times. So, Jeff, we are partially to blame? How's that? How am I partially to blame for a starting time that my personal schedule will not accommodate? I have been to every home game played in the state this year; Gampel, XL, Mohegan and Bridgeport. I'm sure many others who missed the Tournament at Gampel fall in the same category. I lost all respect for Jeff after his article on fan racism towards the women's team he wrote last year. I wrote him my opinion, like many fans did, but he never acknowledged my email or wrote anything further on the subject. I think Jeff writes crap like this to stir the pot and make his column appear relevant. He needs to stick to making poor predictions and then walking the highways of CT when he looses. What a complete idiot.

 

[Woof 101]

I have to second that Lanieer. I've struggled with Jeff's condescending writing style for years. And, yes, he can be a complete jerk, not to use another word. I'm sure that many fans would have loved to celebrate KML's and Kiah's final Games in person, but couldn't because of just absurd starting times. So, Jeff, we are partially to blame? How's that? How am I partially to blame for a starting time that my personal schedule will not accommodate? I have been to every home game played in the state this year; Gampel, XL, Mohegan and Bridgeport. I'm sure many others who missed the Tournament at Gampel fall in the same category. I lost all respect for Jeff after his article on fan racism towards the women's team he wrote last year. I wrote him my opinion, like many fans did, but he never acknowledged my email or wrote anything further on the subject. I think Jeff writes crap like this to stir the pot and make his column appear relevant. He needs to stick to making poor predictions and then walking the highways of CT when he looses. What a complete idiot.

Your both spot on. I could be wrong but many of Jeff's awards as far as I am concerned are due to lack of competition in the dying news print industry. He has come out with some pretty azzinine stuff over the years.
Got to give him credit though he finally stopped putting coaches salaries in every other story a few years ago. Then again I am sure that was due to many e-mailing him with how envious he came across and the fact we already knew the coaches income from his last rant.

 

[winitall]

Another issue beside the late start time is the amount of time UConn had to market and sell these tickets. In the past tickets for the first 2 rounds were sold in advance the NCAA was doing something different this year. I also personally know older people who will not order on line which was necessary because of the short turn around, getting through on the phone was doable if you have time to sit on the phone. There was alot of things that contributed to this but I think the biggest thing was the start time, if people didn't have tickets in advance they weren't going to buy them for such a late start.

 

[Icebear]

Did Jeff talk about the terrible people had getting through to buy tickets? I wonder how many got tired, exasperated and quit trying.

 

[Striper69]

Absolutely agree. This is an arrogant, condescending, self-righteous, and naive story by Jacobs that enables him to meet his publishers deadline and stake out holier than thou ground for himself. Really ticks me off. We fans do what we can and have to manage the complexities of our own lives. It does not take a genius to recognize that a late start is a problem to the fan base. Yet, some people expect they can have it both ways, a very late tip-off for families that have to travel AND a full stadium. Sorry - NOT! We fans have to be disappointed that the system creates scheduling that does not allow us to see our team, and then we get kicked for the outcomes of decisions we had no say over. Jacobs - go advocate for timing that can allow us to attend and please stop harping on us fans!

Fans do have to sacrifice a little to show support for their team especially when it may be one of the best in the history of WCBB. I could understand if the team was having a bad season. So you lose a little sleep and have to fight traffic...BIG DEAL!

If I lived close to UCONN you bet your ***** I'd be right there cheering them on- sleep be darned.

 

[JBMudd]

Fans do have to sacrifice a little to show support for their team especially when it may be one of the best in the history of WCBB. I could understand if the team was having a bad season. So you lose a little sleep and have to fight traffic...BIG DEAL!

If I lived close to UCONN you bet your ***** I'd be right there cheering them on- sleep be darned.

Some us need to keep our jobs in order to afford to go the games we do go to.

 

[CTFIRERETIRED]

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn...obs-column-kml-three-point-record-column.html


Have to Agree, more UConn fans should have been in attendance at last night's game.

If its not Spring Break time, would like to have seen more Students at the Game.

Mentioned the same thing on Face Book the other day. Friend that was at game gave me lame excuse that the tourney does not bring out the crowds? Really? The NCAA tourney, last 2 home games to see Kia and KML. ESPN shots of the upper bowl showed vast expanses of emptiness. Maybe we are becoming too complacent. Maybe it's expected to make the final 4, and these first round games are just "not important". " Come back to me when we get to the Regional or the Final 4". That kind of thinking may be detrimental to the womans game. Then again, shlepping all the way to Storrs is no picnic either. Those roads to Oz, aka Rt.s 44, 195 have taken a severe beating this winter. Just sayin.

 

[ocoandasoc]

A whole lot of things conspired to keep attendance down... and many were interrelated.

A late start for a game in Storrs is tough for a lot of people... especially parents with kids and retirees -- two of the UConn Women's biggest demographics. I'm a night owl, but I still don't like getting home after midnight. And fans have a good alternative....

The TV coverage by ESPN is spectacular compared to the non-existent coverage we had for UConn's first few NCAA games in the early 90's. (I noted that the attendance from the other night was the lowest for an NCAA game at Gampel since the Clemson game in 1990. I took my daughter to that game and we were amazed that over 2,600 other fans were there!) I have the best Comcast cable package and a Roku hooked up to my big screen led TV with surround sound. I can watch ALL the NCAA games live - switching between them as I wish -- and on replay. My incremental cost? Zero! I see more and save a ton of money on tickets, gas, concessions, etc. No uncomfortable bleacher seat, no long waits in the parking garage or worrying about the weather for the late ride home. Sure, being there is great, but watching at home is now pretty great, too... and a whole lot less expensive and inconvenient. I went to the Final Four games last year and spent the big $$$ on tickets and had to watch the games on DVR to see everything that I had missed.

Here are some other factors that affect attendance, in no particular order.

The thrill of UConn winning has worn off a bit. The underdog and upstart is now the overdog. UConn only makes big news when it LOSES! When was the last time the Huskies were even challenged at home by someone other than Notre Dame?

Many UConn Women's fans are not big fans of WCBB overall.

Retirees are getting older, many are leaving the State (but still watch every game on TV... ESPN says that UConn WCBB games average twice the national ratings of every other team... which is why they are on mationally at 9 pm est.). Many retirees that shoulder on in the Nutmeg State simply don't have the money to go to games. In the early 90's you could pay $2 and sit right behind the bench... now they seem to prefer that the seats stay empty if they can't sell them at an inflated price.

I'm a marketing professional, so consider this an educated opinion. The UConn sports marketing team does a lousy job of selling tickets, and the NCAA just makes it harder. Geno himself has been unhappy with the way the team has been promoted and tickets allocated and sold since 1994. Big donors get the best seats... some who really don't care that much about WCBB... then they don't show for many of the games.

And as for Jacobs, he often doesn't have an agenda... or even a point to his writing. He just has this space he needs to fill.

 

[JellyBean]

Man if I lived in the CT area (Minnesota for me), I would be at every game!!

 

[CTFIRERETIRED]

Man if I lived in the CT area (Minnesota for me), I would be at every game!!

CT area? Granted Minnesota is a big damn state, but try schleping to Storrs from anywhere. Or for that matter travel to the of the State, Hartford. You would be singing a different tune.