UCONN Home Game Atmosphere

[CL82]

UConn is making significantly more money playing in the XL than Gampel and UConn needs the money.

I'm not sure that that is actually the case. The athletic director has said that we lose approximately 7 million a year by playing at CDRA venues. I suspect he's not just manufacturing that number and it is based upon an internal study.

 

[husky429]

I don't care where we play, but I do wish we would choose one venue (ideally owned by the university) and renovate it. Both can work, but neither is particularly good at the moment.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

hasn't been an issue for a few years, maybe attend some games and you'd know that.

I was there for the Dayton game, still smelled a little though it is better than it used to be.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Apparently, the answer to your question is "Not recently". I still don't understand the obsession over where we play by people that don't go to games. It's clearly not because of any competitive disadvantage, UConn is the champ. UConn is making significantly more money playing in the XL than Gampel and UConn needs the money. No, the XL may not be as loud as AFH at it's loudest like it was last Friday, (according to Self) but it's louder than Gampel. Gampel doesn't direct the sound on to the court the way the XL does.

I don’t disagree with that, however I think playing on campus at Gampel gives the home team a slightly bigger edge than playing at the XL Center does for a several reasons.

 

[joelerg87]

I was there for the Dayton game, still smelled a little though it is better than it used to be.

This is the men’s board.

Also your opinion that XL is a neutral court is stupid.

 

[Deepster]

Let me come at this from a slightly different angle.

What sport in CT in what building has EVER consistently been a great atmosphere, even during a few down years?

None.

It’s not XL. It’s not the new students. It’s not the Rent. It’s not the Whalers. We are bad sports state. Tucked amidst tons of other options and venues close by to go get your fix.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

XL games get rowdier than Gampel games since we’ve been back. The local drunks of CT who frequent XL are a lot louder than the students nowadays.

Is that a humblebrag?

 

[UConnSwag11]

I don't care where we play, but I do wish we would choose one venue (ideally owned by the university) and renovate it. Both can work, but neither is particularly good at the moment.

Yeah. Both venues get loud and people are missing the point by harping on that. The point of the post was to see what can we do so we’re more uniformed. It looks half-a__ed by fans and the university. We have a storied and successful history but when you’re there it’s - fans show up late, they sit, game is on, still sitting, hypeman, fans leave early, game ends.

I remember being at games prior to 2012 and the students had to chant “stand up Gampel or stand up Hartford.”

 

[businesslawyer]

On the other hand population density in Connecticut is significantly higher than population density in Kansas. Fun fact within 125 miles of Storrs there are over 26 million people.

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The same can't be said about Lawrence Kansas
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Which is no way a knock against KU. In fact it makes their turn out all the more impressive.

But when people talk about stores being out in the boonies or in the middle of nowhere, they're right as far as that goes but if you were looking at a potential audience for game attendance, or ratings, UConn is very well situated.

The definition of "boonies" in the Northeast bears no resemblance to the definition of "boonies" in other parts of the country.

 

[businesslawyer]

Yeah. Both venues get loud and people are missing the point by harping on that. The point of the post was to see what can we do so we’re more uniformed. It looks half-a__ed by fans and the university. We have a storied and successful history but when you’re there it’s - fans show up late, they sit, game is on, still sitting, hypeman, fans leave early, game ends.

I remember being at games prior to 2012 and the students had to chant “stand up Gampel or stand up Hartford.”

No, they didn't "have" to chant it. It was normally just young people being obnoxious. Do the football season ticket holders chant about how lame the student section is when it's almost totally empty? Or do they just cheer for their team and hope others join in?

 

[kemba]

People’s takes are so over the top with gampel vs xl. Xl is not a neutral court lol. Maybe when we play Manhattan it is, not for a big game. It gets loud for a big game. it’s also not a better environment than gampel on any type of consistent basis

 

[CONN78SEJ]

This is the men’s board.

Also your opinion that XL is a neutral court is stupid.

Quite the contrary, it’s stupid to pretend XL isn’t neutral. Why do you think certain teams refuse to play at Gampel? Lol. Just so a bunch of old men who post online don’t have to drive all the way to and from Storrs in the dark? Lol

 

[CTBasketball]

Is that a humblebrag?

I may drink for most games, but I go to all games regardless of venue. I just hate when people at Gampel yell at me to sit.

 

[husky429]

Quite the contrary, it’s stupid to pretend XL isn’t neutral. Why do you think certain teams refuse to play at Gampel? Lol. Just so a bunch of old men who post online don’t have to drive all the way to and from Storrs in the dark? Lol

You are monumentally stupid. It's actually impressive at this point. Bravo!

 

[CONN78SEJ]

You are monumentally stupid. It's actually impressive at this point. Bravo!

I totally understand, coming from a jerk like you.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Both venues on their own have about the same charm as a Home Depot, but with that said both buildings get extremely loud for big games and it's beneficial for us to play in both of them.

But, I'm glad we're having the debate again for the 7,584 time.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Both venues on their own have about the same charm as a Home Depot, but with that said both buildings get extremely loud for big games and it's beneficial for us to play in both of them.

But, I'm glad we're having the debate again for the 7,584 time.

Gampel does need to be expanded, though not sure if the superstructure would permit it.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I may drink for most games, but I go to all games regardless of venue. I just hate when people at Gampel yell at me to sit.

Tell em, "Mr. Wonderful said to ehff off."

 

[FfldCntyFan]

As a fairly recent graduate I’d say the Gampel experience is a bit lackluster when considering our elite status in the sport. A few reasons come to mind:

1. Mansfield is tiny and not into sports compared to these Big 10/12 college towns. There aren’t a ton of bars to go to beforehand, the parking sucks, and the townsfolk just aren’t into it. They resent the university rather than embrace it. Completely different from other places in the country. Which is sad.

2. The arena itself kind of sucks. It’s an old ugly nipple in the middle of campus that until a few years ago didn’t serve beer. Theres no real history in it either so I’m not sure why they haven’t built a more modern one for their flagship programs.

3. The teams we play there aren’t that exciting. Usually it gets crazy for Villanova or a good Marquette team but nobody’s really thrilled to play St John’s or DePaul. It’s not like we’re playing other big state schools.

4. There is a lack of tradition. There’s nothing that’s passed down by the classes or alumni, people just pregame and show up. Besides a couple chants it’s really just like a professional environment - nothing really school specific.

Not sure how to break this to you but Gampel is quite new when compared to Allen, Cameron, Assembly Hall (Indiana), etc. This isn't the issue.

As far as beer sales, until recently, no school sold beer/alcohol for on campus sporting events and I'm pretty sure that there are still some that don't today.

The basic attitude of Northeasterners may play a role but there have been games at Gampel and in Hartford where the crowd was as involved as anyone could hope. The biggest issue here is the consistency, which falls dramatically when compared to other schools (imagine if we had Indiana's results for the past 35 years), we need to improve here. We also need to find some way to get the fans to stay for the entire game. The standing joke for decades has been "many fans stay until the end to avoid traffic".

 

[husky429]

I totally understand, coming from a jerk like you.

Well shiver me timbers

 

[John]

Quite the contrary, it’s stupid to pretend XL isn’t neutral. Why do you think certain teams refuse to play at Gampel? Lol. Just so a bunch of old men who post online don’t have to drive all the way to and from Storrs in the dark? Lol

@CONN78SEJ Which teams have refused to play at Gampel?
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