CHA Atmosphere
- Thread starter Valholl
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I hope everyone complaining has season tickets and attends a majority of the games. Otherwise you're just whiny hypocrites.
We didn't have nearly the amount of 6pm and 8pm games in the 80's and 90's. The increase is due to the Big Ten Network squeezing in 2 games a night.
Yeah, that's true. It was always 7pm tip unless it was an ESPN game. Saturday/Sunday day games aside, of course.
Still, most of the excuses I see regarding CHA really are nothing new.
Bingo, you hit it on the head. They come to football games because they can party their asses off pregame. Basketball? They are ambivolent or maybe don't want to brave the cold. FWIW, the student numbers at Kinnick, decline towards the end of the season when it gets nipply.
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anon_b29nm7v7dwp6r
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I do think a lot of it has to do with the product…but I also think Carver does stink.
Compared to modern arenas on other campuses it is night and day. If you are near the top you are close to amenities, but miles from the action….and if your near the middle/bottom you are closer to the action but a long hike from any amenities. In my opinion there isn’t many good seats in the place.
As a disclaimer- One football game this year I sat on one of the sidelines and quickly remembered why I switched to the new north endzone…talk about cramped.
Compared to modern arenas on other campuses it is night and day. If you are near the top you are close to amenities, but miles from the action….and if your near the middle/bottom you are closer to the action but a long hike from any amenities. In my opinion there isn’t many good seats in the place.
As a disclaimer- One football game this year I sat on one of the sidelines and quickly remembered why I switched to the new north endzone…talk about cramped.
Agree! If you don't attend, you have no right to complain.
I also don't understand all the vitriol towards the so-called "blue hairs". These are the people that have continued to support and show up for games even during the Lick years. And they tend to cheer as much or more than anyone else.
I had season tickets one year...Fran's first. I sat next to a blue hair...a woman in her 80s that had season tickets since Carver opened. Not only was she knowledgeable about basketball, but she was an enthusiastic fan who cheered long, loud, and often.
You give Hawkeye fans an exciting product to watch in general they will show up. The Hawkeyes WBB had been on an upward trajectory for the last 7 to 8 years but we have had some generational talents helping to increase their reach. Plus the offensive game plan is very entertaining to watch. Clark just ramped it up to a whole extra level. I don’t anticipate the next couple years to be as watched as this season but I don’t anticipate a massive fall off.
Crap product + Fran arrogance = fan apathy.
There was a time when I’d plan my whole week around the 1-3 Iowa games available. Now IDGAF, and typically am surprised the Hawks are playing when I see the game threads. Plus tickets being $30/pop on top of it is completely asinine.
There was a time when I’d plan my whole week around the 1-3 Iowa games available. Now IDGAF, and typically am surprised the Hawks are playing when I see the game threads. Plus tickets being $30/pop on top of it is completely asinine.
False. Iowa had sold out seasons AFTER the Pierce debacle. Horner, Bruner and Haluska team. Undefeated home record. Went to Senior day against Wisconsin. Sold out and electric atmosphere. Paid $100 for a ticket that day.
Apathy towards the same old Fran shit and performances on the court are to blame. P. Pierce has nothing to do with the current situation. Current students at Iowa have never heard of P. Pierce. Something else is keeping them away. Maybe shitty seats?
We have a crazy coach with an even crazier wife. Coach plays his kids in favor of other better players. Wife throws F-Bombs around at local high school games including screaming at the head coach of her son's team.
Years ago, us blue hairs didn't have the games on tv as much and also the electronic distractions of today. If you were a BB or FB fan you bought tickets and attended the games. An 8:00 game now on tv is what I would do as opposed to going to Carver since I have the choice. There are a lot of variables that play into attendance now days than 20-30 yrs ago.
I don’t think the decline in atmosphere can be attributed to any one cause, but IMHO the biggest problem right now is the fans ourselves, especially the students (although recent women’s games prove the “blue hairs” can be heard loudly cheering without them here.)
The lack of gameday enthusiasm has been building for years now and it’s hard to stand up and cheer loudly when you walk into a quiet 2/3 empty arena. Until this year we’ve had a fast-paced offense and some of the nation’s best players yet the turnout is subpar. I have no solution except we fans have to take it upon ourselves to get the crowd going. I’m there most games in case anyone wants to join me.
The lack of gameday enthusiasm has been building for years now and it’s hard to stand up and cheer loudly when you walk into a quiet 2/3 empty arena. Until this year we’ve had a fast-paced offense and some of the nation’s best players yet the turnout is subpar. I have no solution except we fans have to take it upon ourselves to get the crowd going. I’m there most games in case anyone wants to join me.
Yes, it can get loud and has on many occasions. no doubt.
The arena still sucks and was poorly designed. Kinnick enhances the game day experience...CHA doesn't.
I moved to FL in 2004, so I haven't been to a game in over 20 years, but from what I can tell based on what I see on TV, those who do attend don't seem to make much noise, for the most part.
The ones I can see on TV (in the lowest rows closest to the court) don't seem to do much. Looks like they just sit and watch, and clap when something good happens, but that's about it. I do hear some cheering at times, but a far cry from what I recall from 20-30+ years ago. I usually hear nothing at all that sounds like any kind of organized student section. Is there even a student section?
Maybe it doesn't come through well on TV.. But crowd seems dead.
The ones I can see on TV (in the lowest rows closest to the court) don't seem to do much. Looks like they just sit and watch, and clap when something good happens, but that's about it. I do hear some cheering at times, but a far cry from what I recall from 20-30+ years ago. I usually hear nothing at all that sounds like any kind of organized student section. Is there even a student section?
Maybe it doesn't come through well on TV.. But crowd seems dead.
The fab five said carver was the loudest and toughest road game they had. We won too.
We all know CHA can get loud and be a great atmosphere. What bothers me most is there are too many aisles down low around the court. I realize it’s the design of the bowl, but I wish there could be a way to have a “walkway/landing” about where the rails are currently dividing the pull out seats and the permanent seats, fill in the aisles, and bring them closer to the court. I think that would affect the number of wrestling mats that can be put down though.
Unfortunately, like someone else said it was designed for comfort not necessarily college basketball rowdy ambience. And, it’s not even comfortable.
Unfortunately, like someone else said it was designed for comfort not necessarily college basketball rowdy ambience. And, it’s not even comfortable.
Its no different from going to a concert or game at many arenas. I've seen numerous concerts and games at the Tmobile center in downtown KC and there is NO leg room either. (Its much newer then Carver). I'm 6'2 and about 250lbs. and I have to turn my hips sideways to get into the seats, and my legs are compressed quite a bit with no legroom to extend them at all. I pray for reasons to stand up to cheer, just so I can stretch my legs. None of these places are designed for "comfort".
I hear you. I'd love to make a few games if I didn't have an 11 to 12 hour round trip. I tried to get tickets to the des Moines games but those tickets were gone QUICK!
Seats behind each basket directly on the floor in the 40 acres of land and emptiness would be a start.
Or 250 million for a new fieldhouse type arena downtown.
Or 250 million for a new fieldhouse type arena downtown.
That was a special night, I was there. But it's far from representative of a typical game at CHA...quite the opposite.
Maybe the coach we had against the Fab 5 was a better all around coach who did put a lot of focus on defense. I have noticed how some great defensive plays and stands can fuel the crowd. A big steal, a big block, a huge lockdown defensive stand. I saw a lot of games at the old fieldhouse as Lute was building his program, I went to most all of the great Drake teams games at Old Vets in the late 1960s, and some games in CHA (the Georgia Tech-Iowa NIT game iirc was very loud) and many times the biggest plays and loudest noise comes from the defensive end.
I have been somewhat off of IA men's Bball for awhile because of the poor to avg defense I see. Fran should know the defensive end can ignite the crowd.
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anon_b29nm7v7dwp6r
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I will be honest I thought originally Fran would be in the fast paced pressing defensive mold of Dr. Tom and I was really excited…..then I found out there is no defensive part for Fran….
To be fair that pressing style is great when you have the athletes, guys like Kenyon Murray, Chris Street, Val Barnes, and not so much when you have the roster that Fran has constructed.
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anon_b29nm7v7dwp6r
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Fran, in his defense, has won a fair number of games. It's his style that wrankles people and the fact he can't win in March.
Of course its on Fran. That was my point. Its been a major weakness for some time...
Was a student when it was built, so yes. One bad incident 35 years ago shouldn’t ruin how you feel about a program the rest of your life. Almost every program has had some kind of scandal in their history. The fans just don’t quit going ever again.
One bad incident? Two, and with a woman's player as I recall.
Bluder wasn't real fond of the golden boy.
Look man, it was bad. But Alford was a long time ago, and especially that incident. It’s ridiculous to say that something 3 coaches ago keeps you away from Carver. But whatever. If that’s how you feel that’s your deal.
I live in Indy so I'm not part of the problem.
Pierce certainly started it, Lick didn't help, and it's NEVER come back to what those crowds used to be.
