Appreciate Sima

[SJU65]

I'm in the lower non primo seats too, and our section was pretty full notwithstanding the band drowning us out. I invited a friend who is an alum and hadn't been on campus in years, is basketball knowledgeable and recognized the shortcomings of this team. Even though we were blown out he enjoyed the atmosphere and said he would like to come back for another game.(preferably next year) An interesting part of the game was when 4 students came down to some empty seats at the end of the game and were chanting for Mullin to come into the game. It would have been an improvement this day.

 

[Sherman Sheridan & Grant]

Yankuba Sima Fatty ‏@Yankusima Feb 5
If you ain't with us now, don't try to be with us in the future.

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If there was one positive to take away from today's game, it was that Carnesecca Arena was pretty darn close to full. Despite the way this season has gone, it was truly heartening to see so many "with us now".

If you were at the game you would have seen that the scoreboard ran through a long list of grammar schools and organizations that were at the game which helped to account for the near sellout. You would have also seen that quite a few of the primo seats in the lower tier, which are season ticket holders, were empty. Just sayin' B)

I have to disagree, at least a bit. I saw the halftime awards, and I saw the list of schools and of course days like yesterday with big ceremonies will always boost attendance. But I also know that despite the score, the building did not empty right after halftime. And I can also say, as someone who was fortunate enough to sit in the lower bowl for yesterday's game, the seats and sections near me didn't have that many empty chairs.

So for me, it still is what it is: It was a pretty full house for a team and program that's best days are ahead of it - and no one within ear shot of me was booing at all, upset with the kids at all (other than the usual discussions about protecting the ball better, improving decision making, shot selection and other random observations that all of us here make at virtually every game), and certainly not a single person complaining about the coaching. I took it all as a good sign of the overall smart, big picture view the vast majority of us are taking. Could this just have been apathy on the part of a big crowd that was there for something other than the game? Sure, of course - but I think that's short selling ourselves as a fanbase.

Agree with you. We've long criticized the athletic dept for not doing enough to promote our games. I think they deserve kudos for yesterday's turn out, regardless of how they went about nearly filling CA to capacity.

Yes Monte - nice observation - and up until this year - with some exceptions over the past twenty years - the athletic department has not had that much to promote!
I believe with better recruits and more Ws (which will happen), our program won't have to be promoted as much at all - SJU fans and college basketball fans will begin to appear.
Wow SS&G that sounds like " if you build it they will come"...
all the best

 

[austour]

FWIW generally marketing/promo people don't earn their salary trying to figure out creative ways to give the product away free. Always thought the criticism wasn't really about how well they paper the town with free tickets for folks who don't GAF. But I was probably wrong.

 

[beast of the east]

FWIW generally marketing/promo people don't earn their salary trying to figure out creative ways to give the product away free. Always thought the criticism wasn't really about how well they paper the town with free tickets for folks who don't GAF. But I was probably wrong.

That's true, but it's still smart to give away tickets that might otherwise be unused. To have a Big crowd on what will be our worst squad since entering the Big East is still an accomplishment and brought some noise into the building. Any potential recruit watching from home could see we had a nice crowd which speaks volumes.

 

[monte]

FWIW generally marketing/promo people don't earn their salary trying to figure out creative ways to give the product away free. Always thought the criticism wasn't really about how well they paper the town with free tickets for folks who don't GAF. But I was probably wrong.

That's true, but it's still smart to give away tickets that might otherwise be unused. To have a Big crowd on what will be our worst squad since entering the Big East is still an accomplishment and brought some noise into the building. Any potential recruit watching from home could see we had a nice crowd which speaks volumes.

Not to mention that live bodies have the potential to make some noise in a close game. Empty seats, not quite so much.

 

[austour]

FWIW generally marketing/promo people don't earn their salary trying to figure out creative ways to give the product away free. Always thought the criticism wasn't really about how well they paper the town with free tickets for folks who don't GAF. But I was probably wrong.

That's true, but it's still smart to give away tickets that might otherwise be unused. To have a Big crowd on what will be our worst squad since entering the Big East is still an accomplishment and brought some noise into the building. Any potential recruit watching from home could see we had a nice crowd which speaks volumes.

I guess if it was a close game that volume might have had some volume. Given the nature of the game it was obviously pretty quiet. And from a yield management perspective it's good to fill the building and hope they buy some concessions or souvenirs. Kind of like dumping last minute hotel rooms on the market hoping to sell some room service, though typically folks who wait for those deals don't spend much on property. Were the kids buying hot dogs? or were the lines too long.

 

[bamafan]

Aesthetic purposes. People watching on TV including recruits may be impressed by good crowd for a losing team.

 

[beast of the east]

FWIW generally marketing/promo people don't earn their salary trying to figure out creative ways to give the product away free. Always thought the criticism wasn't really about how well they paper the town with free tickets for folks who don't GAF. But I was probably wrong.

That's true, but it's still smart to give away tickets that might otherwise be unused. To have a Big crowd on what will be our worst squad since entering the Big East is still an accomplishment and brought some noise into the building. Any potential recruit watching from home could see we had a nice crowd which speaks volumes.

I guess if it was a close game that volume might have had some volume. Given the nature of the game it was obviously pretty quiet. And from a yield management perspective it's good to fill the building and hope they buy some concessions or souvenirs. Kind of like dumping last minute hotel rooms on the market hoping to sell some room service, though typically folks who wait for those deals don't spend much on property. Were the kids buying hot dogs? or were the lines too long.

After some really horrific waits (especially during winter break where they were incredibly poorly staffed and had no hot food at all - my son was gone 1/2 an hour to get a soda and snack), last week the line was incredibly short, with the kids in front of me back in less than 5 minutes or so. I have no problem whatsoever with dumping seats to scout groups, CYO, PAL, or other groups of kids, but I totally understand your main point. This team is so bad I don't think that a better price point will do much to attract paying customers.