Karaban not happy with the fan attendance

[UConnDad]

Evidently they almost beat Syracuse in the season opener.

So did Colgate. As a matter of fact it looks like a Cuse schedule.

 

[jibsey]

Hurley must feel like the schedule if hard enough, though when we get into the BE half the teams are not great.

 

[August_West]

How often do NFL teams sell out for preseason games?

This isn’t the preseason.

 

[CTBasketball]

That scheduling take doesnt hold water with Alex, or Hurley, or me for that matter. They expect a full turnout for EVERY game as recognition for achievements schools can only dream of and happen every 30 years or so. They also feel that there are places in the country with teams who dont come close to those achievements do in fact sell out their games against cupcakes. They have every right to expect it, and every right to call for this. If we cant fill the house EVERY game en route to a three peat, it is real pathetic and sad.

Have we become spoiled and dare I say, arrogant?

 

[August_West]

To bring this point home, go look at UNC's home opener this year (yes two weeks ago!) v. Elon. Now sure UNC has not won back to back titles, but they are frickin UNC and it was their home opener and it was a ghost town. It is shocking how poorly attended that opener was for a program of that stature.

I do think there are some areas UConn could be doing better in this area, but it looked like a good showing last night at the XL and yea it was quiet for a large portion of the game but the team didn't give anymore much to cheer about until 2nd half so I dunno.

It was a good showing for a cupcake game compared to 5-10 years ago. Actually probably double the showing , but that isn’t an endorsement of our current support as much as it is commentary on how lame our fanbase has been and is. It’s just the way it is, it’s really just the way New England is. The home of the pink hats. It boggles my mind that the excuse is now “scheduling”. It used to be our lack of success plus scheduling . But now that we have the ultimate success it has to be scheduling right? Our scheduling is perfect because it sets the table for growth and growth = success. We didn’t return our whole team. Kinks need to be worked out, and now is the only time to do it because after the next game our schedule is one of the hardest we’ve ever had. The 3 Maui games followed by a road game at Texas, plus Baylor plus the Zags? While working in 10 players into brand new roles? Only Alex, Hass, and Samson have done this. After all Hurley and Alex have done for us the last 2 years and it is too much for them to ask for support to help them grow into their best for another crack at title?

Incredible.

#CooleyWasRight

 

[UConnDad]

Plenty of fans there. Too many for the XL to handle efficiently as usual. If you think it’s helpful to play the worst teams in D1 I guess we’ll be prepared.

 

[Rocktheworld]

This isn’t the preseason.

Yes it is.

 

[Hamms30]

Yes it is.

Oh good. Villanova will be relieved those losses don't count.

 

[nadavtheman]

Love the heck out of AK, but this a bad take by him, a 22 year old future millionaire who doesn’t fully understand that people have jobs and families and kids stuff and other obligations and Financial constraints (expensive all in to go to a game) and all on a Wednesday night

 

[Fan1978]

Alex's critcism might be better reserved for the start of the season. These buy games are glorified pre-season exhibitions. 15,000+ is a remarkable turnout. Have people nothing else to do?

I listened to the interview and I viewed it as more a respectful request rather than a complaint

 

[uconnfan68]

Unless it’s a Top 10 opponent or rival (whoever that is these days), XL is the worst home court advantage in college hoops. I obviously can’t stand Duke, but that place is always rocking no matter who they’re playing.

Well, it’s smaller than Gampel, and they keep the student section directly across from the main tv camera. They’re fooling you.

 

[Padutch5]

or have at gampel... agreed.

Gee if your goal is just to play in a smaller arena, why not just play in the new Farmington HS gym.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Have we become spoiled and dare I say, arrogant?

Check out post #19 in this thread.

 

[jibsey]

Gee if your goal is just to play in a smaller arena, why not just play in the new Farmington HS gym.

BTW, my grandson just started freshman year there and I can tell you that high school is a lot different than the kind I attended a thousand years ago. Just a beautiful place. After his first day of school I asked him how it was and he said “it’s too nice for us”.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Oh good. Villanova will be relieved those losses don't count.

The cupcakes are only regular season games if you lose.

You get zero credit for winning, and a mountain of doubt to overcome if you lose.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It was a good showing for a cupcake game compared to 5-10 years ago. Actually probably double the showing , but that isn’t an endorsement of our current support as much as it is commentary on how lame our fanbase has been and is. It’s just the way it is, it’s really just the way New England is. The home of the pink hats. It boggles my mind that the excuse is now “scheduling”. It used to be our lack of success plus scheduling . But now that we have the ultimate success it has to be scheduling right? Our scheduling is perfect because it sets the table for growth and growth = success. We didn’t return our whole team. Kinks need to be worked out, and now is the only time to do it because after the next game our schedule is one of the hardest we’ve ever had. The 3 Maui games followed by a road game at Texas, plus Baylor plus the Zags? While working in 10 players into brand new roles? Only Alex, Hass, and Samson have done this. After all Hurley and Alex have done for us the last 2 years and it is too much for them to ask for support to help them grow into their best for another crack at title?

Incredible.

#CooleyWasRight

The reality is that sports attendance is dropping across the board. That we have more people than 5-10 years ago is pretty positive. Many NFL games not selling out, college football attendance way down, NBA, NHL and MLB all dropping.

It's the logical response to a live experience that is expensive and often inconvenient where every game is viewable in glorious HD at home. These aren't the days of a $20 ticket to a game you either couldn't watch on TV or were watching on a crappy tube TV.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Evidently they almost beat Syracuse in the season opener.

Yeah, but the plucky little orange was able to pull the game out by four points. Cuse also knocked off a spirited Colgate team by two a few nights ago.

If they can handle Ithaca and Utica they can then claim dominance in lower Siberia.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

That scheduling take doesnt hold water with Alex, or Hurley, or me for that matter. They expect a full turnout for EVERY game as recognition for achievements schools can only dream of and happen every 30 years or so. They also feel that there are places in the country with teams who dont come close to those achievements do in fact sell out their games against cupcakes. They have every right to expect it, and every right to call for this. If we cant fill the house EVERY game en route to a three peat, it is real pathetic and sad.

I hear what you're saying an don't necessarily disagree but this doesn't only happen here and it isn't that recent an occurrence. In I believe early season 2009-2010 Roy Williams publicly chastised the UNC fan base for a number of empty seats in a game against basically a nobody. He said that as defending champions, those who bought tickets (similar to where we are, they had sold out all games) should either find time to attend or find people who could use the tickets.

I personally would love it if we had a packed house for every game but the reality is that this will happen.

 

[UConniki]

To be fair, we're talking about a recently D2 team on a Wednesday night.

A recent D2 team that was tied with Syracuse with a minute left in their game a few days before they played us. So either they’re not all that bad or Syracuse is.

 

[jibsey]

I don’t have season tickets, I’m not here in the winter but will be going Tuesday to Storrs for a cupcake slaughter. I live in central Ct. and it’s going to be a 6 hour thing fighting through traffic, stopping for food, parking and getting home again. And this doesn’t consider the cost of the whole deal. The seats are high up which is fine, but this game as all are, is televised. From the warmth of my living room with a fire blazing, a beer, while lying prone on my couch is not a terrible way to watch the Huskies as I refresh the Chat on the Yard.
From a lot of places in this state it is a major effort to attend these games.
I agree that Alex meant nothing bad by that and just wanted to see the place full and that overall this is just not a big deal and fans should not feel defensive or guilty over it.

 

[GlastonTim]

We (4) go to every game at both venues, don’t care who they play. The cupcake games let Dan play a deeper bench. I enjoy that. The casuals don’t show up for the cupcakes. We stay til the buzzer sounds. I’m a diehard! That’s the difference.

 

[mjmoney23]

I thought it was a good crowd. There were some open rows higher up on the sidelines, but this is night and day for a comparable game a few years ago. I don't understand as a season ticket holder why you wouldn't go to a game you have tickets for but I digress. On paper, there were only a few rows open to buy tickets right before tipoff on the uconn website. They definitely were extremely close to a sellout on that metric. The face value of some of these games are unbelievable. Granted these could have been had on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar but the sticker shock for cupcake games is definitely there.

 

[UConnJim]

I was at the game and the issue was low energy due to the opponent. The number of fans at the game was fine.

People on here look down on the XL Center, but in the past year, I have attended games at XL, Gampel, BC, Providence, TD Garden, MSG and by far, the easiest to park and get into and out of is the XL Center. And, compared to TD Garden and MSG, the area around XL is much cleaner. Sure, the concourses need to be wider at XL, but I like the venue.

 

[Deepster]

Love the heck out of AK, but this a bad take by him, a 22 year old future millionaire who doesn’t fully understand that people have jobs and families and kids stuff and other obligations and Financial constraints (expensive all in to go to a game) and all on a Wednesday night

This is a rough opinion. It's clear Alex is more comfortable leading on the floor and he's being charged with getting outside his comfort zone and leading more vocally. It comes naturally to some and it's clearly something he's got to grow into.

He's not sitting in an ivory tower on a mountain of gold coins ignorant of the unwashed masses.

 

[ctchamps]

It was a good showing for a cupcake game compared to 5-10 years ago. Actually probably double the showing , but that isn’t an endorsement of our current support as much as it is commentary on how lame our fanbase has been and is. It’s just the way it is, it’s really just the way New England is. The home of the pink hats. It boggles my mind that the excuse is now “scheduling”. It used to be our lack of success plus scheduling . But now that we have the ultimate success it has to be scheduling right? Our scheduling is perfect because it sets the table for growth and growth = success. We didn’t return our whole team. Kinks need to be worked out, and now is the only time to do it because after the next game our schedule is one of the hardest we’ve ever had. The 3 Maui games followed by a road game at Texas, plus Baylor plus the Zags? While working in 10 players into brand new roles? Only Alex, Hass, and Samson have done this. After all Hurley and Alex have done for us the last 2 years and it is too much for them to ask for support to help them grow into their best for another crack at title?

Incredible.

#CooleyWasRight

It’s a case of I demand success or else but screw you if you ask me to do my part.

This forum itches for news regarding new players and what they are doing in practice. These cupcake games are scheduled for the purpose of the coaches learning what is working and what isn’t. These games give new players the opportunity to build confidence. Fans going to these games get the opportunity to witness the process of team and player development.

I find it exciting to watch team and player progress. Certainly not as exciting as watching a victory over a highly ranked opponent but a different type of excitement. Similar to watching our children grow up.

And regarding getting tired of blowouts. That’s ridiculous. I rewatched that thirty naught run over Illinois more than a dozen times and plan on watching it many more times. It doesn’t get old.

Give me blowout games any time over one point losses.