Just got home from the game... Louisville, that is...

[CTyankee]

13 hours in the car yesterday... 800 miles, give or take.

Kentucky is a beautiful state. Visited Lexington, toured a horse farm and a thoroughbred training center. Toured the Louisville Slugger factory... Ate tons of bar-b-que... Toured the Makers Mark distillery and of course drank a bit of bourbon...

The game Tuesday night has been discussed... So I won't bother with that.

Some comments... Louisville REALLY supported their team. You could go anywhere in Louisville and everyone knew the tournament was in town and that they needed the win Tuesday. The Yum Center was a sea of red. There was a rally before the game with the cheerleaders and the band. They promoted the game on TV. I think they had 14,000 in the stands. I was quite surprised as to the intensity of the crowd given what we see and hear in Hartford and Storrs. It was deafening for the entire game. And the fans were into the game. Every foul was contested by the fans. Every made shot was cheered. Every miss was groaned upon.

At the half, there was a big disparity in fouls being called in favor of Maryland. The crowd was very upset about it as were the players. Several times Dee Kanter had to separate the bigs... The players were frustrated. The technical foul called, I think, was as a result of one of these wrestling matches and was because of something said to Dee Kanter after the play.

Anyway the last minute of the game lasted about 15 minutes. It was the most exciting 15 minutes I have ever spent watching basketball. Shoni was unconscious. Steals, finding open players, blind 3 point attempts. She was hitting everything... Until the end.

A very enjoyable 5 day trip.. Great games... Vols going down and a hotly contested Elite 8 game...

Pictures, if you care, here...

https://picasaweb.google.com/aribtro/Elite8LouisvilleMaryland

 

[Striper69]

I was surprised to see that they didn't sell out the place. They had 22,000 for the last regular season home game.

 

[CTyankee]

That was Senior Night for Shoni and they packed the Yum with Indian Tribes from 36 states and they were playing... UConn...

 

[Wonkster]

That was Senior Night for Shoni and they packed the Yum with Indian Tribes from 36 states and they were playing... UConn...

You want to bet there was a hefty price differential between the regular season finale ticket cost and the NCAA regional championship ticket price? This may finally dawn on the Louisville fans, who have long been kvetching about Big East tournaments being held in Connecticut.

Anybody can fill the house with $2 or $5 prices.

 

[UofLCardinal]

You want to bet there was a hefty price differential between the regular season finale ticket cost and the NCAA regional championship ticket price? This may finally dawn on the Louisville fans, who have long been kvetching about Big East tournaments being held in Connecticut.

Anybody can fill the house with $2 or $5 prices.

Tickets for the lower arena were $16 and $10 for upper. And, no, not anybody can fill the house, because they don't.

 

[triaddukefan]

You want to bet there was a hefty price differential between the regular season finale ticket cost and the NCAA regional championship ticket price? This may finally dawn on the Louisville fans, who have long been kvetching about Big East tournaments being held in Connecticut.

Anybody can fill the house with $2 or $5 prices.

I disagree

 

[CTyankee]

I heard no complaints from Louisville fans about NCAA ticket prices... They were lower than what I paid for UConn tickets in Bridgeport. Bridgeport @ $32? Regionals @ $20. 1st & 2nd Rd in Storrs @ $12.50 for bench seats.

 

[Wonkster]

I heard no complaints from Louisville fans about NCAA ticket prices... They were lower than what I paid for UConn tickets in Bridgeport. Bridgeport @ $32? Regionals @ $20. 1st & 2nd Rd in Storrs @ $12.50 for bench seats.

I think you're missing my point, CT - it's not whose prices are cheaper, Louisville or Connecticut's, but will they maximize revenue? The NCAA and the AAC/Big East bigwigs don't care if the place is sold out but the ticket prices are a nickel so there's a thousand dollars in the cash register when all is said and done.

My prediction for Louisville is that their attendance will drop off after this year. Why? It's not just that Shoni will be gone, but after the novelty of the YUM! Center has worn off, people will be more likely to spend their cash on other things.

I hope I'm proved wrong.

 

[CTyankee]

I can't speak for the future "novelty" of the Yum Center... But I can predict the citizens of Louisville will continue to support their team. They showed up Tuesday night and weren't just "Shoni" people, but L"ville supporters... They were women's basketball fans, or basketball fans of Louisville regardless of gender.

 

[triaddukefan]

Thanks for the pics CTyankee...... the Yum center looks like an amazing facility. I know in the post game conference, they asked Walz about the idea of having a Final Four in Louisville....... he wasnt sure if there was a NCAA rule prohibiting a school's home arena from hosting a Final 4

 

[delawarehusky]

I went to the last game of the season at the Yum Center, the senior night game. As a UConn fan, I was a distinct minority but the L'ville crowd was great. And the L'ville team stayed on to give autographs after the game. It was announced several times that the team would stay as long as necessary and based on the line, I am guessing they were there after midnight. Yes, many were Native Americans who turned out for Shonni, but there is a large fan base that will be there after she is gone.

 

[CTyankee]

I was astonished in Louisville... I may not be the most attending UConn fan in Hartford or Storrs, but have been to numerous games in the past 15 or so years... The Louisville crowd was huge. They didn't have a "Ted" or a "DannyKUConn" but their cheers were led by the cheerleaders and supported by fans loudly in all parts of the arena on all their cheers.. They all wore some sort of Louisville red shirts... They were very loud the entire game. They knew the players. It was team support, not just Shoni support.

 

[uoflcardfan77]

U of L Card fan stopping by to say hello, and to answer some of the comments that have been made.

1) I don't think our attendance will fall off next year. It's been growing the past 5 or 6 years. I think the past couple of years we have been 3rd in attendance behind only UConn & UT. I've been a season ticket holder for 5 years now and will definitely continue, with our without Shoni, or Angel . . . Personally know of people that became season ticket holders this year and plan on renewing. We averaged over 9,000 this year and other than UConn & Rutgers, the rest of the conference teams weren't worth watching, but show up and watch we did. Going into the ACC next year means games against UNC, Notre Dame, Duke, etc. along with the UK game being a home game next year, I think you'll see our attendance numbers even higher. In fact my wife and I drive 40 miles from Elizabethtown for each game (only missed one this year and that was because it was the weekend that my family celebrates Christmas). I know of one couple who drive over two hours for each game.

2) No we didn't sell out the arena (which seats 22,000) but it was the highest attended regional if I remember correctly.

3) Senior night this year was something special. Not only were we hosting the Huskies it was Sr. night for a very special group. That group included Tia Gibbs, a 6th year Sr. who left to go to Vandy but then came home and suffered two injuries that cost her two seasons. "Grandma" as the other girls called her was loved not only for coming home but fighting through injuries to play because she loves the game. Antonita "Nita" Slaughter was another Ville girl, but she stayed home and never left. I was at the game when she collapsed earlier this year and the shock that went with that is still with me. We were just hoping that she would be OK, not even caring whether she would ever step on the court again. If you wanted to hear a loud crowd, you should have been there the first time she came into a game after being released to play again. Asia Taylor "Cousin Asia" as we call her in Section 105 was another player who lost a season to injury and returned and had an outstanding year. Finally there was Shoni. I'm sure UConn has had special players, maybe even as special as Shoni. At least I hope you have. Every school should be so lucky to have someone like Shoni. Not only did she provide us with 4 years of "jaw dropping" passes and shots, she also represented her school and her heritage in an exemplary manner. Seeing Native Americans from 36 states, some who drove over 24 hours to come to Louisville just for a basketball game. . . because Shoni was playing was awe inspiring. The young man who came on the floor and played a Native American tune on a wooden flute during one timeout and the dancers at halftime were unbelievable. I remember turning to my wife and a friend of ours and saying, "Makes you proud to be a Cardinal doesn't it". The entire team stayed until the final person in line had gotten their autograph. I heard it was after 1:00 a.m. when they finally got to leave. Only thing that could have made the entire night any better was if we had been able to pull out a win against you guys.

4) Like CTyankee said, we're there to support our team, not just Shoni. That support will continue and I think will continue to grow. It may take another year or two but with Jeff Walz as the head coach we're going to reach your level. So you better watch out. LOL!

5) There is no "novelty" of the YUM to wear off. It is a world class arena that rivals many of the NBA arenas. From the glass front where you can see our portion of the National Championship floor from last year hanging to the glass back where you can sit and look out over the Ohio River to 22,000 padded chair back seats, to the . . . well you get the picture, the YUM is a great place to watch top flight basketball.

6) Wonkster, they do run some special ticket deals but for the most part those seats are filled with season ticket holders who pay a "donation" to the athletic fund on top of the ticket price. We kvetched about the Big East being held in Connecticut because it basically became a series of home games for you. Had they moved it to the YUM you would have seen crowds to rival what you were getting.

7) Regarding Dee Kanter, also known as the "Blond Idiot With the Ponytail", well the less I say, the better. If you go scoreless for 7:24 you probably aren't going to win. With that being said, it was the calls that were not made that riled us up. Even with that dry spell we had a chance and a couple of obvious traveling violations that were missed hurt our chances to overcome that dry spell. But that's water under the bridge. We will go on and continue to support our Cards.

8) We are a beautiful state, and unfortunately CTyankee didn't get to see all of it. You need to come back for another stay. There's the Bourbon Trail, some of the best state parks and fishing, burgoo (a stew made with goat or lamb or something like that), the birthplace of Bluegrass Music, and many other things. CT, I'm glad you enjoyed your stay.

Thanks for letting me comment on this.

 

[Kibitzer]

Thank you for your interest in University of Louisville basketball.