Carnesecca Arena Attendance

Students have only showed up in #'s beginning once this team turned it around under Lavin. Early last season, even after we had won a few games, student attendance was horrible, save for a small, loyal contingent of fans, many of whom are members here.

The announced crowds of 4,000 plus have to include no show season ticket holders. There weren't that many people in the house. Most alumni that work in Manhattan and has to travel home by LIRR to get your car would have to leave work before 5 to make a 7 pm game. Last night, there was a lot of traffic heading westbound from my home to CA. I arrived midway through the first half.

 Then why doesn't it happen to Arizona when they play scrub teams.....they had the placed packed for their 7:00 game start. Our game showed nothing but empty red seats. It's not the teams we play its the fan base. They have always sucked at Carnesecca/Alumni for years. That includes pre Norm and post Norm. It's not the students (they show up in #'s) it's the alumni. Even when they are there the place is a morgue. Let's be honest. don't blame it on the opponents.
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 Students have done a really good job. Maybe the lack of attendance is because of the fact that NYC isn't a college town, it's a pro city. It's a shame I go to school upstate or else I would have been at a couple of these ones...

Personally I don't mind the lack of attendance, it doesn't effect my enjoyment of the game. 
 
If we return to a consistent top 15 or 20 program, MSG will once again rock. SJU basketball at its best is another pro sport in nyc.

 Students have done a really good job. Maybe the lack of attendance is because of the fact that NYC isn't a college town, it's a pro city. It's a shame I go to school upstate or else I would have been at a couple of these ones...

Personally I don't mind the lack of attendance, it doesn't effect my enjoyment of the game. 
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 Students have done a really good job. Maybe the lack of attendance is because of the fact that NYC isn't a college town, it's a pro city. It's a shame I go to school upstate or else I would have been at a couple of these ones...

Personally I don't mind the lack of attendance, it doesn't effect my enjoyment of the game. 
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I think it's more than not being a college town. There's no pro game right now. We are just one of the local schools. There are so many of them in this area. While the big state schools get many followers from the area who didn't actually go to that school, we don't get as much of that. A Fordam or Hofstra grad is not likely to root for St John's just because we play in the Big East. People who live or work in the city are just as likely to have gone to another school with a good basketball team that they can follow. NYC has just as many grads of other top schools all over the place. That's why when we play Duke or Cuse we only have half the building. As the team gets better, things will improve and we can gain more of the casual fans but I think this will likely always be an issue for us. I remember it being an issue in the Artest/Barkely days. The Syracuse and Ohio St games were like neutral site games even though we had good teams back then. So it's not all about winning but winning is definitely the start. At the end of the year last season our crowds were the best I've seen in the last 15-20 years of following the team.

The real test will be the Garden and how the crowds are there. Especially this year if there continues to be no NBA, there's a greater chance and opportunity for us to attract new fans if we play well enough.
 
 I would expect a large contingent of students to go to Red Bull Arena for the men's soccer game, which competes with the UMBC game.
 
 I live in NJ (53 miles from campus). I left at about 5:15 and arrived on campus at about 6:50. The traffic was just brutal all the way in. In contrast the trip home was about a 1 hour.
 
I live 7 miles from campus and it takes me just as long to get to the games as it does to get to MSG via LIRR. 
 
There are no tickets available on Stub Hub for tonights soccer game. Should be a good crowd. 
 
 Students have done a really good job. Maybe the lack of attendance is because of the fact that NYC isn't a college town, it's a pro city. It's a shame I go to school upstate or else I would have been at a couple of these ones...

Personally I don't mind the lack of attendance, it doesn't effect my enjoyment of the game. 
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I think it's more than not being a college town. There's no pro game right now. We are just one of the local schools. There are so many of them in this area. While the big state schools get many followers from the area who didn't actually go to that school, we don't get as much of that. A Fordam or Hofstra grad is not likely to root for St John's just because we play in the Big East. People who live or work in the city are just as likely to have gone to another school with a good basketball team that they can follow. NYC has just as many grads of other top schools all over the place. That's why when we play Duke or Cuse we only have half the building. As the team gets better, things will improve and we can gain more of the casual fans but I think this will likely always be an issue for us. I remember it being an issue in the Artest/Barkely days. The Syracuse and Ohio St games were like neutral site games even though we had good teams back then. So it's not all about winning but winning is definitely the start. At the end of the year last season our crowds were the best I've seen in the last 15-20 years of following the team.

The real test will be the Garden and how the crowds are there. Especially this year if there continues to be no NBA, there's a greater chance and opportunity for us to attract new fans if we play well enough.
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I disagree somewhat. I think there is a tremendous, but currently dormant, fanbase in the Queens/Long Island area consisting of people who are in no way connected to St John's other than the basketball program. I am from central Nassau County, and I grew up a St John's fan beginning in the late 80s (when I was ~8 years old). My dad and grandfather were fans even though they had no affiliation with the school itself. The same can be said for my friends' families.

Admittedly, these fans are usually the first to go when the team is doing poorly and the last to hop on the bandwagon when the team is winning. Fair weather fans tend to piss off die hards, but they are the people who fill the 300s in the garden. It's a good sign when my dad says "Who is this Moe Harkness guy I keep reading about?"
 
Yes, hard to believe that we can't fill CA for every game based solely upon the number of full time students and local alumni. Student tickets for CA should be free and issued lottery style as they are at Villanova and other schools. That eliminates the cost factor. If you want to be on national or regional TV (which is a good thing for recruiting) then you are at the mercy of the networks as far as game times are concerned. Most CA games used to have an 8 PM start time but I do not recall any better attendance.
What amazes me is the lack of attendees in Sections 7-11 (the chair back seats). After these new seats were installed my season tickets were automatically moved to Section 3 in spite of the fact that I had been a season ticket holder in Sec 9 since 1965. So I can only assume that all these seats went to larger university benefactor$? If so then why all the no shows? I suggest that if these folks contribute but hardly ever come to a game then those seats should be reallocated to students or long time season ticket holders who actually show up for every game. The new bar code system should be tracking shows vs. no shows......ya think?
 
Yes, hard to believe that we can't fill CA for every game based solely upon the number of full time students and local alumni. Student tickets for CA should be free and issued lottery style as they are at Villanova and other schools. That eliminates the cost factor. If you want to be on national or regional TV (which is a good thing for recruiting) then you are at the mercy of the networks as far as game times are concerned. Most CA games used to have an 8 PM start time but I do not recall any better attendance.
What amazes me is the lack of attendees in Sections 7-11 (the chair back seats). After these new seats were installed my season tickets were automatically moved to Section 3 in spite of the fact that I had been a season ticket holder in Sec 9 since 1965. So I can only assume that all these seats went to larger university benefactor$? If so then why all the no shows? I suggest that if these folks contribute but hardly ever come to a game then those seats should be reallocated to students or long time season ticket holders who actually show up for every game. The new bar code system should be tracking shows vs. no shows......ya think?
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They pay for the seats then it's all gravy. We're getting 4400 fans to a stadium that holds a little over 5k and it's early season mid-week during rush hour. It's not great but not terrible. We need a few good years to keep improving that. MSG attendance will improve as our team's national rep does.
 
 I would expect a large contingent of students to go to Red Bull Arena for the men's soccer game, which competes with the UMBC game.
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Yea if the soccer team wins tonight expect Sunday to be a ghost town in the student section. Between that and the football games that day turnout will be lower than usual. I'll be there but most people I know won't be able to make it if the men's team wins.
 
 I would expect a large contingent of students to go to Red Bull Arena for the men's soccer game, which competes with the UMBC game.
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Yea if the soccer team wins tonight expect Sunday to be a ghost town in the student section. Between that and the football games that day turnout will be lower than usual. I'll be there but most people I know won't be able to make it if the men's team wins.
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The soccer team is a good example of a SJU team that has built great support and fan base because of long term success. I expect the same from bball over the next few years under Lavin.
 
Yea if the soccer team wins tonight there will be a trip back to red bull arena for the championship which I will be attending. I'm at just as many soccer games as I am basketball games and I can honestly say that it's really a different crowd, there's a lot of basketball regulars that don't regularly attend soccer games, and a lot of soccer regulars that don't attend basketball games. There's enough student interest now that we fill the small student sections even during winter break now, so I'm sure the student sections will be full on Sunday. However if the soccer team loses tonight, I might be able to show up for the first half of the basketball game Sunday, but I need to be at the meadowlands parking lot by 3 B)  
 
hello all, ive been reading this forum since the old one for years now, im 22, from bayside and been a st johns fan as long as i can remember.

heres the deal. i never attended st johns, never will but since i was around 8 id say my dad always took me to st johns game, i remember my favorite 2 players were zendon hamilton and colin charles. dont ask me why i was too young to remember.

st johns was always the game in town, no one in family ever went to st johns but it was OUR team, our HOMETOWN Queens team, and it still is, but ive come to notice that there arent many like me. i have no affilation with the school other than being born and raised in Queens, and living in Bayside my whole life. But as long as I can remember St Johns came before the Knicks to me. Even when I fell in love with basketball (93-94 finals team) I still get more satisfaction from st johns winning than the knicks winning.

now that im a little bit older, i have my own money, my own job, my own life, ive been going to a lot more games in the past 5 seasons. i was a fan when frans team was up and coming, i was a fan when jarvis took his players to the elite 8, then ruined us, i was a fan when norm stepped in and pssshhh enough said. i am still a fan today.

artest, bootsy, tyrone grant, barkley, showtime, marcus hatten, etc. thats basketball to me

ive been at both games this year and honestly i am a little confused as to why attendance wasnt at least at 5k for either game. are there any other kids like me around? or is it basically alum and current students? where is queens? i wish there was something i can do to get my city, and my county to support OUR team.

to me the knicks represent my state, but st johns represents my city, it always means more to me that queens wins.

anyway thanks for reading this if you did, im hapopy to finally posting on this forum after YEARS of following this forum and st johns. again if anyone has any idea how to get more people like me around this team

regardless of our record, i was here when we were a 6-21 team 8 yrs ago, i was here when we were in the elite 8 10 years ago, and i am here now

i am not a st johns student, i never was, no family ever was but this my team, WE ARE ST JOHNS

NOW LETS FILL THOSE SEATS! 
 
hello all, ive been reading this forum since the old one for years now, im 22, from bayside and been a st johns fan as long as i can remember.

heres the deal. i never attended st johns, never will but since i was around 8 id say my dad always took me to st johns game, i remember my favorite 2 players were zendon hamilton and colin charles. dont ask me why i was too young to remember.

st johns was always the game in town, no one in family ever went to st johns but it was OUR team, our HOMETOWN Queens team, and it still is, but ive come to notice that there arent many like me. i have no affilation with the school other than being born and raised in Queens, and living in Bayside my whole life. But as long as I can remember St Johns came before the Knicks to me. Even when I fell in love with basketball (93-94 finals team) I still get more satisfaction from st johns winning than the knicks winning.

now that im a little bit older, i have my own money, my own job, my own life, ive been going to a lot more games in the past 5 seasons. i was a fan when frans team was up and coming, i was a fan when jarvis took his players to the elite 8, then ruined us, i was a fan when norm stepped in and pssshhh enough said. i am still a fan today.

artest, bootsy, tyrone grant, barkley, showtime, marcus hatten, etc. thats basketball to me

ive been at both games this year and honestly i am a little confused as to why attendance wasnt at least at 5k for either game. are there any other kids like me around? or is it basically alum and current students? where is queens? i wish there was something i can do to get my city, and my county to support OUR team.

to me the knicks represent my state, but st johns represents my city, it always means more to me that queens wins.

anyway thanks for reading this if you did, im hapopy to finally posting on this forum after YEARS of following this forum and st johns. again if anyone has any idea how to get more people like me around this team

regardless of our record, i was here when we were a 6-21 team 8 yrs ago, i was here when we were in the elite 8 10 years ago, and i am here now

i am not a st johns student, i never was, no family ever was but this my team, WE ARE ST JOHNS

NOW LETS FILL THOSE SEATS! 
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I feel very similar to you. About the same age, didn't go to St. John's, but I've lived in Queens my whole life and this is our hometown team. I have the same problem in that most of my friends don't feel the way we do at all about St. John's. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the lack of winning during the last decade, but still. I love the Knicks, but I really love how local SJU is-it's a different, better type of pride.
 
Agreed with the "better type of pride" remark..

I graduated in '04 but became a fan between the Mahoney and the Frachilla years. One of my 1st memories re: SJU was in Jr. High when the Principal came over the loud speaker during homeroom announcements and said something about "local university St. John's is looking for qualifed basketball coach.." thought is was funny announcement for Jr. High School at the time.


All time fav memory was Marcus Hatten- Duke game.. was sitting 2nd row behind the basket.. crazy atmosphere.. rushed the court.. and was fortunate not to get leveled by the security gaurds..
 
I'm curious. didn't you graduate?

Yea if the soccer team wins tonight there will be a trip back to red bull arena for the championship which I will be attending. I'm at just as many soccer games as I am basketball games and I can honestly say that it's really a different crowd, there's a lot of basketball regulars that don't regularly attend soccer games, and a lot of soccer regulars that don't attend basketball games. There's enough student interest now that we fill the small student sections even during winter break now, so I'm sure the student sections will be full on Sunday. However if the soccer team loses tonight, I might be able to show up for the first half of the basketball game Sunday, but I need to be at the meadowlands parking lot by 3 B)  
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I'm curious. didn't you graduate?

Yea if the soccer team wins tonight there will be a trip back to red bull arena for the championship which I will be attending. I'm at just as many soccer games as I am basketball games and I can honestly say that it's really a different crowd, there's a lot of basketball regulars that don't regularly attend soccer games, and a lot of soccer regulars that don't attend basketball games. There's enough student interest now that we fill the small student sections even during winter break now, so I'm sure the student sections will be full on Sunday. However if the soccer team loses tonight, I might be able to show up for the first half of the basketball game Sunday, but I need to be at the meadowlands parking lot by 3 B)  
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Since he's at the soccer game, I can answer that for him.
He took a year off as his mom did a tour in Iraq.
 
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