great interest, but not what it was previously. I noted things started sliding after the second championship, not a major drop in crowds, but they definitely thinned out with the exception of the marque match-ups.
Look at the numbers, average attendance, % capacity etc and you will find that it just isn’t true. Solid interest absolutely. Great, not so much and on a downward trend for years.
I have a sense that the George Mason game, not exactly the loss but the whole attitude of the players and to a degree even Calhoun, sort of soured many people on the program. First there was laptop thing, then a team that struggled against decidedly middling completion in the tourney and seemed not to really care that much. I think at that point a big chunk of people just said the heck with it. Hard to explain really but I talk to people who refer to that game and the aftermath as what caused them to lose interest. Plus there is a general decline in both attendance and interest in college sports. Partly the professional leagues take all the oxygen out of the room. Partly I suspect some over exposure is occurred ( though going to Fox sports may cure that. Is that a real network?). Other factors are that the team hadn’t been that good. Two championships in a way masked a steady decline. Both had mediocre regular seasons. Truth be told neither 2011 nor 2024 were on many brackets. But UConn attendance pretty much peaked in2006 at almost 14000/game but has been going down consistently since.
what barometer do you use?
I don't think there's any 1 good way to quantify it but I have very little interest in going to any UConn games and most of my friends are the same way. More enjoyable watching at home than from the stadium
While there are some like you, attendance is a great indicator of interest in the program. If fans are going out of their way to attend games in person it shows they are heavily interested in the team.
during that era the athletic department had really begun to take the fanbase for granted, particularly season ticket holders (in all sports, not just men's BB).
what did they do to make you feel this way?
We'll have to agree to disagree here. There's a reason attendance has been declining in all sports for the past decade, regardless of whether teams are good or bad
TV ratings, maybe. I know several former season ticketholders that follow UConn as much as ever but don't go to games anymore. Mostly due to the lousy way they were treated by the Athletic department over the years.
Post #210
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Thanks