Whalers Repeat

[rich1122]

I thought about this long and hard. I have been to every home game and have always been a big fan. I still have the free t-shirt from opening day against Indiana.

This is like the snub the Whalers got. Not a great venue with fans who are,well, apathetic towards the team. 20,000 Season's Tickets. C'mon that did not happen overnight. Nothing to do with the current folks in charge.

Th XL is falling apart; the Rent is great but the fans don't come; nobody had a vision for what it would take to make the big time. Trot Randy or PP out and they will come - well no they did not.

I really hope that we can latch on somewhere, but we have to face the reality. It's not PP or GDL or anything current. We are viewed small-time like the Whale.

Needed an on-campus stadium.

Nov. 25, 1997
After virtually promising UConn it would have an on-campus stadium, Rowland announces he will not call a special session to approve finding for a $107 million stadium in Storrs. ``I'm sad for the university ,'' Ritter says. ``This is going to be a day that we will regret for a very long time.'' Says Perkins: ``I think we've taken it as far as we can at this point. We've been talking about this thing five or six years now.''

 

[CTMike]

I guess you think we'd have better attendance on-campus? There would be more students but far, far less other fans.

 

[whaler11]

There are similarities to the Whalers but the Rent is not one of them.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I said it another thread, and this is not directed at the people who post here. The fan base sucks. That is where the similarity to the Whalers lies. Like the Whalers, UConn has a very good die hard fan base. Problem is there's not enough of us.

 

[formerlurker]

I may be crazy but I'm one of those who thinks we're going to be just fine. We offer too much as an entire University to think we're destined for a future grouped with the"mid majors". It would take all of those other schools combined an eternity to match our National Championship totals. This CR is a logistics and money issue. We belong and compare quite favorably with every single school in the major conferences.

We may not like the wait but we'll find a good home and we'll excel on all levels. Our best days are ahead, trust me.

 

[whaler11]

I said it another thread, and this is not directed at the people who post here. The fan base sucks. That is where the similarity to the Whalers lies. Like the Whalers, UConn has a very good die hard fan base. Problem is there's not enough of us.

The biggest similarity to the Whalers is how fast the casual fans are willing to give up and walk away.

 

[jdb50]

I'm with you Lurker, which ever conference lets us in, we will more than hold up our end of the bargain.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

The biggest similarity to the Whalers is how fast the casual fans are willing to give up and walk away.

Exactly.

 

[Uconnalliance]

I said it another thread, and this is not directed at the people who post here. The fan base sucks. That is where the similarity to the Whalers lies. Like the Whalers, UConn has a very good die hard fan base. Problem is there's not enough of us.

You read my mind thank you.

 

[NutmegState]

I said it another thread, and this is not directed at the people who post here. The fan base sucks. That is where the similarity to the Whalers lies. Like the Whalers, UConn has a very good die hard fan base. Problem is there's not enough of us.

That's weird, there was plenty of fans in 2007. Plenty of fans for RG3. Plenty of fans for the Friday night UVA drubbing...

I wonder what happened to all those people, did they suddenly stop watching local sports?

Piss poor leadership. That's what has plagued this program. Hathaway, and now I'm sorry to say, Manuel. Pernetti is infinitely better than Hathaway and it appears Manuel.

Rutgers sells and sells and sells and when they are done, they sell some more.

I feel like Hathaway and Manuel think that the UConn basketball brand is so powerful that the football program should sell itself. Maybe that's what some of you think, as well? We're too new for that. We're an upstart. We need to think more like Boise and less like Penn State.


We need to sell, sell, sell and we haven't been doing that.

 

[Palatine]

This still goes to pricing.

Basketball went from sell outs to half filled as the "donation" went up.

Football was never priced market friendly.

You need to turn casual fans in rabid fans but high prices turn casual fans away.

 

[ZooCougar]

That's weird, there was plenty of fans in 2007. Plenty of fans for RG3. Plenty of fans for the Friday night UVA drubbing...

I wonder what happened to all those people, did they suddenly stop watching local sports?

Piss poor leadership. That's what has plagued this program. Hathaway, and now I'm sorry to say, Manuel. Pernetti is infinitely better than Hathaway and it appears Manuel.

Rutgers sells and sells and sells and when they are done, they sell some more.

I feel like Hathaway and Manuel think that the UConn basketball brand is so powerful that the football program should sell itself. Maybe that's what some of you think, as well? We're too new for that. We're an upstart. We need to think more like Boise and less like Penn State.


We need to sell, sell, sell and we haven't been doing that.

We played really entertaining football those years. ENTERTAINMENT.

The past three seasons, haven't been that entertaining. Yeah we went to the Fiesta Bowl, but that season felt like a series of gut punches for some reason.

Coach Ozymandias is not what we need. We need to be playing exciting football. Not grind it out football. Dynamic running game, vertical passing game you name it. We actually have to compete for fans in this market. So compete for them.

As a fan, I am borderline pathological. But most people aren't. Cater to those people, not me.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

A couple of big differences:


The Whaler's franchise relocated to a different city to continue on in the NHL - still the NHL though. In UConn's case it's the league that is leaving them broken down on the roadside. The Carolina franchise was still in the NHL, UConn's in a crappy conference,that's not big league.

The Whalers moved to a beautiful then state-of-the-art arena, leaving behind the bland Civic Center. UConn built a little on campus basketball facility (compare it with the arenas at Maryland , Virginia & Penn State before making excuses). And Rentschler Field is a tiny little bland stadium (sensing a theme here). Connecticut - always small and always on the cheap. Sure the football training facility is beautiful but how much use do the fans get out of it? How many have ever been in it? Likewise I'm sure for the basketball practice facility. And what about baseball? Big time facility? Not thinking so. Small time . . . Again.

 

[Doggie Style]

The biggest similarity to the Whalers is how fast the casual fans are willing to give up and walk away.

You basically just summarized the typical CT sports fan for all outsiders looking in. Impossible to argue this position

 

[Adios]

Once we hire a new coach after next season (let's hope), things should be better for the football program. We do have a diehard fanbase in football. Not everyone posts here.