Seems like I used to come here and there would be tons of posts year round. Now it seems hardly anything is posted and no one is talking basketball. What's up with that? Has everyone lost interest?
Is interest in bball at an all time low?
- Thread starter hawkiniowacity
- Start date
Some in-fighting on the site drove a couple of the more optimistic posters away, and last year's lousy season left many of us feeling burned by having pretty high expectations. I know that I am in a wait-and-see mode for this year, which could be a crossroads year for Fran and his coaches.
Not as low as the worst of the Lickliter years, that almost drove more attention for the level of bad it was. There's not much to say at this point, the fan base is kind of at the point where the team has to show us something. Yes, Fran has lifted the program up from Lickliter. But it's been 3 NCAA tournaments in 8 years of Fran, and 3 in the past 12 years if you count end of Alford and then Lickliter. And if you go back further, Iowa has made the tournament 6 out of the last 18 years. Hard to blame the fan base if interest isn't at a fever pitch.
There was a point during the Lickliter years where I felt like if I referenced certain basketball players in the Lounge, most people wouldn't know who I was talking about. We aren't there yet.
Yes. To this! Plus.......
1) Life is so busy! Its hard to get too excited for the first two games. I am sure I will be highly anticipating the Oregon game a week from tonight.
2) its still the heart of FB season.
3) I heard a very smart person once say winning is the best marketing strategy ever created.
4) I think the Iowa Basketball fan base is a sleeping giant. If Fran gets this program rolling, Iowa Fans will come back in droves.
I’m always interested in hoops even in the lean years. Unfortunately much of the conversation here gets ruined by sophomoric bullshit and much of the time, for me anyway, it’s just not worth posting here.
I used to start game threads or hoops convo there during those years...if I wasn’t talking to myself, it was me and about 2 of my closest friends.
Btw, we need to start a Hawkeye hoops drinking game here...like every time Lickliter is brought up you have to drink.
I'll also add that you can barely watch games until Christmas with the advent of this BTN Plu$$$ garbage. It's hard to get excited about pretty meaningless games that you can't even watch. I used to get excited for opening night but this is at least the 3rd season you can't watch it.
And absolutely not to the original question. At least they lost games that were kind of fun to watch most of the time last season. The Lickliter 54-33 games have to be an insurmountable low of futility and lethargy.
Let's get this party started!
I believe my bushy eyebrows will help lead the Hawks to 20 wins this season. Have to hope some of those 20 are key road/neutral wins and then the good guys end up on the right side of the bubble.
I believe my bushy eyebrows will help lead the Hawks to 20 wins this season. Have to hope some of those 20 are key road/neutral wins and then the good guys end up on the right side of the bubble.
Wade, I'm going to go out on a limb and say this Iowa basketball team will be the biggest surprise of the B1G Ten this year. I'm going with 22 wins and a Sweet 16 appearance with your eyebrows propelling them.
Forget Lickliter this is Fran;s program and he's done a mediocre job. simple as that.
I remember the good ol' days of the 90s when Carver was rocking every game. I think enthusiasm began to wane at the end of Alford's tenure and hit an all-time low with Lickliter.
Fran has brought a little life back into the program but fans haven't really jumped back in, even during their 3-year run of tourney appearances. I'm not really sure why.
Fran has brought a little life back into the program but fans haven't really jumped back in, even during their 3-year run of tourney appearances. I'm not really sure why.
Did you miss the Lickliter era? Heck, with Alford there was interest, but towards the end it wasn't good interest. This is nothing compared to then.
I'm super pumped as always and think it sucks that so many people have so many excuses for not loving Iowa basketball unless the team meets their expectations. Nothing can ever happen to change my love for Iowa basketball.
I'm ready to go and excited for the season. I can't say I am overly optimistic about our chances of making the tourney, but I am very excited about the season in general because I really don't know how the year is gonna pan out. I think we could win anywhere from 12-22 games depending on our ability to play defense, player improvements, and adding a real damn good classic SF who should improve our overall shooting, rebounding, defense, and intensity/focus/drive in addition to making everyone around him better in part by allowing them to play the correct positions. Wieskamp at the 3 instead of Baer, Nunge, Pemsl, Wagner, or Uhl could make an even bigger difference in overall team performance than people realize. Not having to find minutes for guys like Ellingson and Wagner helps too.
I saw enough in the exhibition game to know that things should be different this year. That doesn't mean we are going to play lock down defense and take the Big Ten by storm, but it is enough to be curious about and to tune in to see how it unfolds.
I'm ready to go and excited for the season. I can't say I am overly optimistic about our chances of making the tourney, but I am very excited about the season in general because I really don't know how the year is gonna pan out. I think we could win anywhere from 12-22 games depending on our ability to play defense, player improvements, and adding a real damn good classic SF who should improve our overall shooting, rebounding, defense, and intensity/focus/drive in addition to making everyone around him better in part by allowing them to play the correct positions. Wieskamp at the 3 instead of Baer, Nunge, Pemsl, Wagner, or Uhl could make an even bigger difference in overall team performance than people realize. Not having to find minutes for guys like Ellingson and Wagner helps too.
I saw enough in the exhibition game to know that things should be different this year. That doesn't mean we are going to play lock down defense and take the Big Ten by storm, but it is enough to be curious about and to tune in to see how it unfolds.
Basketball issues are also beyond the court.
Carver remains a poor venue, amenities and seating wise. Yes it can fill up and get loud...but still has to rank towards bottom of B1G arenas.
Plus, the schedule. Seems like a lot of our recent weekend games ending up on Sundays for example. Hard for out of towners to make those (never mind the mid week games).
Lastly...get the students behind the opposing bench already. Not 10 yards behind the hoop in a half empty section.
Carver remains a poor venue, amenities and seating wise. Yes it can fill up and get loud...but still has to rank towards bottom of B1G arenas.
Plus, the schedule. Seems like a lot of our recent weekend games ending up on Sundays for example. Hard for out of towners to make those (never mind the mid week games).
Lastly...get the students behind the opposing bench already. Not 10 yards behind the hoop in a half empty section.
Because I'm not at home. And I can't, nor would I watch a game like that on my phone.
That's the point here. I rarely miss a game, but I can't alter my life to be somewhere to stream a basketball game. If it were on BTN then I'd be watching it.
Few new threads because there is nothing new to talk about at this point. Same players as last year with the addition of JW. Wait until we play a few games. Recruiting is limited this time of year. No scandals. All is good!
All time low? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
I didn’t read the thread, so I’m sure this is mentioned, but holy shit I’m going to assume you weren’t around here during the Lick era.
As a point of reference, Iowa fans were nuts during the last few years when Lute was coach. I remember lots of discussions about why Carver wasn't going to seat more like 20k, because fans were incredibly excited. The noise level in the fieldhouse was like going to a loud rock concert. No, dinosaurs had gone extinct before then.
This has been a 20-year story in the making. Alford years started the downward trend. Lick years were absolutely the worst. And Fran has been very average after 8 seasons.
Most of these are bogus excuses.
Get the game on TV. Btn+ is bad for the program. Some die hard fans will go out of their way to watch. 95 % of fans will only watch on TV. It is what it is.
Carver is fine. Heck I even like it. It is unique both good and bad. I can assure you that Carver is NOT the main reason for fan disinterest.
I agree or schedule sucks. Sunday games and 8pm games can be challenging for people. I would add parking to this list as well.
I see no reason to put the students behind the bench. This will not affect outcomes of games, plus the athletic department wants the extra money so it will never happen.
Lol at blaming the BTN while everyone seems to watch Netflix and Amazon just fine. It’s the same damn thing.
My wife and I attend nearly all the home men’s BB games and when out of tow, give away our tickets to friends/relatives. If you live within a 90 minute drive and are not attending the games, then YOU are part of the PROBLEM, Plenty of available seating at a reasonable price.
I wonder how many people that bitch have even been to carver since we got the new video and sound system?
Let’s maybe worry about people living within 90 blocks of Carver showing up, before demanding people drive 90 mins. No correlation to gas money spent and fandom validation.
There’s what, 80k people in Iowa City alone? Throw in Cedar Rapids even larger.
Can’t even get a 15,000 seat arena filled up or close to it.
Nobody shows up to watch bad basketball. If the team looks solid, the place will be packed in February.
After 41 years of being a season ticket holder, I chose NOT to renew my tickets this year for a number of reasons. Primarily it's a financial issue, but since the inception of the BTN, the crazy start times combined with the in game experience have soured me on attending. We were just talking about this last night. We went to EVERY game during the Lick era and still remain big fans. But my kids schedules often conflict with the odd dates and start times of games. Perpetual TV time outs and official revues make the games drag on forever. Add in the lack of TV coverage for early season games and you've got a recipe for dwindling loyalty. Game day used to be a very exciting thing for our family. Not so much any more.
I’ve said this the past couple years , it’s time for a new direction in basketball. Fran has proven to be a average if not below average coach. I was here for lute and raveling , slept on the ground outside the field house in the cold to get final four tickets the last time iowa went. Had season tickets for years I will be blasted for not being a real fan , but apathy has set in. I’m going to the women’s game tonight but had no desire to go to the men’s game last night.
CHA's design is weak. Watch your average college bball game and note where the fans are in relation to the floor...and yes, especially the students.
As people have mentioned, it's a wait and see situation. That said, I watch every game and ordered BTN+. I think the real issue is not making the NCAA tournament. If you can't make the tournament, it's hard to think you've had a successful season. Iowa's not alone, there are other schools in the same situation. For Iowa specifically, it's become almost impossible to get into tournament. There's only a handful of teams that get in from the B10, and most of those spots are taken by Mich, Mich St, OSU, Maryland, Purdue, Indiana, Wisc. It's very hard for Iowa to break into the selected group because if Iowa is tied with one of the previously mentioned team, the selection committee will take the other team. Just like in football, in order for Iowa to get to the NC game, they basically have to be undefeated.
The NCAA should expand the tournament to 96 teams. The top 32 teams have a bye for the first round. This would be a big help to increase fan support and relieve some of the pressure on the coaches. The way it is now, teams know way to early they're not going to make the tournament. So the fan support stops dropping off. The longer into the season a team still has a chance, the longer the fans will show up. Also, think about the players. Their goal is to make the NCAA. What do you think it does to their attitude to know they're not going to make it. Their play maybe starts to drop off. There would be less coaches on the hot seats because some teams will be happy as long as the team is in the tournament every year or two. Look at football. There are a ton of bowl games. I think KF has survived all these years because of the bowl games. If there were half the bowl games and Iowa wasn't always in one, KF might be on the hot seat.
Not really sure WTF I just read. The line about Iowa facing challenges from the selection committee bias is complete nonsense. Win games.
The solution to hoops also isn't to expand the tourney.
Similar threads
