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"I've never been to another Big Ten arena when it's been as LOUD as it gets in Carver."

Franisdaman

HR King
Nov 3, 2012
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Heaven, Iowa
"I know every team says they love their home crowd, but it's actually different here. I hope our fans know that. It definitely helps." --Makenzie Meyer, postgame, yesterday.

The Iowa wrestling program & its fans love CHA.

The Iowa women's basketball program & its fans love CHA.

I have said this before. The men's basketball program & its fans need to stop making excuses about CHA. In men's basketball we don't have an arena problem when it comes to filling up the seats. We have a fan problem.

Here is the game story from HawkCentral.

Iowa women's basketball: Hawkeyes outlast No. 13 Indiana in double overtime
Dargan Southard,
Hawk Central
Published 6:23 p.m. CT Jan. 12, 2020

IOWA CITY, Ia. — A solid Iowa contingency dodged the Sunday ice storm for a chance to see another glimpse of greatness inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. One ranked foe had already fallen earlier in the week, and here was a great chance to make it two. The Hawkeyes thrive behind their own support as well as anyone.

It’s been a journey on this riveting home winning streak, which covers part of three seasons and nearly two calendar years. There have been plenty of seesawing affairs like Sunday’s double-overtime thriller, a contest that tested mental fortitude and perseverance from all involved.

Buoyed by their people once again, Iowa has solidified itself among the Big Ten’s elite.

The Hawkeyes landed their second ranked win in four days, toppling No. 13 Indiana, 91-85, in double overtime, for the Hoosiers’ first Big Ten loss. The victory is Iowa’s 30th in a row at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and perhaps one of the more exciting ones. Questions about whether the Hawkeyes (13-3, 4-1 Big Ten Conference) are for real no longer linger.

"I know every team says they love their home crowd, but it's actually different here," senior Makenzie Meyer said. "I've never been to another Big Ten arena when it's been as loud as it gets in Carver.

"I hope our fans know that. It definitely helps."

The home crowd of 7,397 roared as Iowa put this one away on its senior shoulders. Kathleen Doyle poured in 30 points and Meyer added 17 — the duo accounted for 13 of Iowa’s 14 double-overtime points. A 6-0 run in the final minute put this one away. Monika Czinano added 23 points before fouling out. McKenna Warnock chipped in with 11.

It was a hard-earned conclusion to an exhausting Iowa day. As the final horn sounded, coach Lisa Bluder threw her hands up in the air as if to say “finally, this one's over.”

"This was obviously a really important win for us, now and for March and for the Big Ten standings," Bluder said. "I'm just really proud of our women. We were down 14 points in the second quarter, and we just kept battling back and battling back.

"And then you're down six with three-and-a-half minutes to go in the game, and you come back and tie it up. These women were amazing. They just kept believing and kept the faith."

Before overtime, there were plenty of chaotic moments in a frantic regulation finish. It was only fitting after Iowa wiggled out of Indiana's grip in the second half, from down 14 to back ahead late in the third quarter.

First came Meyer’s trey with 1:18 remaining, which handed Iowa its first and only fourth-quarter lead, at 72-71. But back came an answer from Ali Patberg — followed by Jaelynn Penn’s free-throw split — and Indiana (14-3, 3-1) could smell a regulation victory. All it needed was one final stand with 10 seconds left.

Doyle wasn’t having it. She drove hard to the basket through traffic, fought off contact for a game-tying layup. The play’s only blemish came after Doyle missed the and-1 free throw. Iowa would’ve owned a 75-74 advantage and clinched a win after its last-second stop — but instead, overtime beckoned.

"My teammates did a great job of pulling me out of that and just pushing me forward into that overtime," Doyle said. "It was obviously disappointing to leave that one out there, but there's nothing you can do about it — just go play that next five minutes and get it done."

The first extra period ended in a 3-3 standstill. Iowa took control of the second behind its emphatic crowd and support.

Expect more of that in the coming weeks if this is the Hawkeye product we're going to consistently see.

"It was a good week-and-a-half," Bluder said. "It really was."

Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.

LINK: https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/s...-ten-conference-womens-basketball/4448276002/
 
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The problem is fran putting out nothing but a mediocre product every single year. Simple as that. Wrestling meets in carver are the best sporting events I've been to, besides the grapple.

I would have to agree with this. There is never a ton of hype built around Iowa basketball. Always, decent teams but can never finish the year strong.
 
Carver is poorly designed for a basketball arena. Period. There is no debate about it. Not letting students in free and failing to seat them in the bottom 8 rows from bench to bench exacerbates the problems, but that one could easily be rectified.

But the posters are correct that, despite Carver's built-in disadvantages, the fans are the key factors. The evidence has been well documented in both wrestling and women's basketball that lively fans can turn Carver into a true home-court advantage, despite its innate flaws. Instead of making excuses, Hawkeye fans should make noise. That's the point of being there. That's the fun of being a sports fan.
 
Carver is poorly designed for a basketball arena. Period. There is no debate about it. Not letting students in free and failing to seat them in the bottom 8 rows from bench to bench exacerbates the problems, but that one could easily be rectified.

But the posters are correct that, despite Carver's built-in disadvantages, the fans are the key factors. The evidence has been well documented in both wrestling and women's basketball that lively fans can turn Carver into a true home-court advantage, despite its innate flaws. Instead of making excuses, Hawkeye fans should make noise. That's the point of being there. That's the fun of being a sports fan.

When it comes to basketball, I have heard a lot of people say there is not a bad seat in the house (no obstructed views, etc). Granted, would it be nice to have a midlevel concourse so you didn't have to do all the stairs? Sure. But when you arrive to the game, you go down, which is easy. And when you leave, you simply have to make your way up the stairs that one time. And it's not like you are running sprints up those stairs ;)
 
Carver is great when you fill it up...

My biggest complaint is the bowl. If you look at fieldhouse type gyms, they have wider rows of chairs courtside.

At the base of Carver you have stairs between every 6 to 8 seats. That takes away from the courtside atmosphere.

Kansas has like 16 chairs between stairs at Allen Fieldhouse.

I'd rather pack 15k fans as close to the court as possible. If you sit beyond row 30 at Carver, the fans aren't very loud.

Kind of the same logic why 70k fans at Kinnick get as loud as 100k at Ann Arbor.
 
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From a pure viewing and comfort perspective, CHA is better than virtually every other similar sized arena I've been in. I've had seats in multiple different sections and had relatively good views in all of them.
And it absolutely can get loud in there. I've been to #1 vs #2 wrestling, more than once, where the volume was incredible.
 
It’s not Carver, it’s the athletic department. We’ve failed to bring a fun atmosphere for a decade+ and are way behind when it comes to integrating technology & entertainment. The fact we still don’t sell beer, or let students go for free during shitty weather is a testament to our stubborn ways.
 
Carver is poorly designed for a basketball arena. Period. There is no debate about it. Not letting students in free and failing to seat them in the bottom 8 rows from bench to bench exacerbates the problems, but that one could easily be rectified.

But the posters are correct that, despite Carver's built-in disadvantages, the fans are the key factors. The evidence has been well documented in both wrestling and women's basketball that lively fans can turn Carver into a true home-court advantage, despite its innate flaws. Instead of making excuses, Hawkeye fans should make noise. That's the point of being there. That's the fun of being a sports fan.
 
BS on students getting court side seats— there are more Pom Pom girls than students at games! Basketball is not a student interest— too many Illinois or foreign students???
 
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Carver is poorly designed for a basketball arena. Period. There is no debate about it. Not letting students in free and failing to seat them in the bottom 8 rows from bench to bench exacerbates the problems, but that one could easily be rectified.

But the posters are correct that, despite Carver's built-in disadvantages, the fans are the key factors. The evidence has been well documented in both wrestling and women's basketball that lively fans can turn Carver into a true home-court advantage, despite its innate flaws. Instead of making excuses, Hawkeye fans should make noise. That's the point of being there. That's the fun of being a sports fan.

What do you mean it can’t be debated? I completely disagree. Carver is big and unique and we should embrace it. Who gives a crap if the students are 15 feet closer to the court, they don’t bother coming anyway. The idea that the students would change anything in a meaningful way is laughable to anyone who regularly attends games.

just sell beer and be done with it.
 
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Women’s BB yesterday was around 7,000 but sounded louder than the Men’s games. Different profile of those who attend?

a lot of ill informed bad narratives in this thread. Women’s games are also filled “blue hairs” in the lower bowl. The only major difference is where they allocate the season ticket holders.

people just love to make stuff up and bitch.
 
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The loudest I ever remember it was January 22, 1987 when we beat Indiana 101-88.

I distinctly remember opening my mouth to yell and not being able to hear my own voice.

I was at that game as well. Iowa was #1 and Indiana #2 in the country if I recall correctly. The game was much closer than the final score indicates.

Absolutely the most electric atmosphere & exciting game I’ve ever attended at Carver.
 
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Carver is VERY loud, period, including Mens hoops. The IU game when they were #1 5-6 years go right before New Years i went to was so dang loud as was the Dayton NIT game. It is who is there.
Yes. Two of the most fun basketball games that I have attended were the Dayton NIT game and the Stoney Brooke (sp?) NIT game. It was VERY loud those games. Some of us gave Stoney Brooke a standing ovation. The MSU game when we had Horner, Brunner, ETC was very loud. As was their senior day. Those are the four loudest/most fun games I've attended.
 
I would be happy if they got rid of the 30 feet of open grey carpet behind the basket and put in some floor seats.
 
I would be happy if they got rid of the 30 feet of open grey carpet behind the basket and put in some floor seats.

They used to have wheelchair seating right along the baseline and a row or two of seats right behind that. Wasn’t really safe for fans or players. So they eliminated them and made ADA platforms further behind the north basket. The view from anything but courtside baseline seats would be terrible, because you could raise them or they block the view of the seats behind
 
I was at that game as well. Iowa was #1 and Indiana #2 in the country if I recall correctly. The game was much closer than the final score indicates.

Absolutely the most electric atmosphere & exciting game I’ve ever attended at Carver.

A big 3 by Alford was negated because he stepped out of bounds, I believe. And at the time it was the most points given up by a Knight team.
 
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A big 3 by Alford was negated because he stepped out of bounds, I believe. And at the time it was the most points given up by a Knight team.

Yes, that’s exactly right.

Little did anybody know at the time that play would be the first of many bone head plays by Alford on the Iowa sidelines.
 
Carver is VERY loud, period, including Mens hoops. The IU game when they were #1 5-6 years go right before New Years i went to was so dang loud as was the Dayton NIT game. It is who is there.
LOL. The fact that you're talking about games 6+ years ago should show the reason carver sucks during mens games are because Fran's teams will never contend for anything. Thats why no one shows up.
 
Iowa v. Michigan after Christ Street's death was about as loud as any game I can remember.

That was crazy loud..I had floor seats for that game across from the bench and it was almost like you could feel the noise coming down.

But nothing will compare to the night they filled the entire place for a women's game...like 22,000...that night was as loud as any arena I've ever been in.
 
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It’s time for a new basketball arena. Field house style with bars & restaurants surrounding it. Make it 12k. Wrestling can continue to use CHA. No more 25 foot run ways behind each basket and the stands.

If money were no object, this would be the best solution...
 
Carver is poorly designed for a basketball arena. Period. There is no debate about it. Not letting students in free and failing to seat them in the bottom 8 rows from bench to bench exacerbates the problems, but that one could easily be rectified.

But the posters are correct that, despite Carver's built-in disadvantages, the fans are the key factors. The evidence has been well documented in both wrestling and women's basketball that lively fans can turn Carver into a true home-court advantage, despite its innate flaws. Instead of making excuses, Hawkeye fans should make noise. That's the point of being there. That's the fun of being a sports fan.

This is the best way to describe the situation. Carver was not built for a home court advantage, it was built for comfort and sight lines. In the end, it still comes down to the fans that show up and the teams that are on the floor.
 
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This is the best way to describe the situation. Carver was not built for a home court advantage, it was built for comfort and sight lines. In the end, it still comes down to the fans that show up and the teams that are on the floor.
Yeah this is well put by the both of you, there are no artificial ways to boost the crowd noise like a lot have, it takes the crowd to be into it over anything else and when it is its as loud as they come but it takes a lot and the product being something to get after it is always #1.
 
It’s time for a new basketball arena. Field house style with bars & restaurants surrounding it. Make it 12k. Wrestling can continue to use CHA. No more 25 foot run ways behind each basket and the stands.

Why would wrestling not use the new arena?
 
a lot of ill informed bad narratives in this thread. Women’s games are also filled “blue hairs” in the lower bowl. The only major difference is where they allocate the season ticket holders.

people just love to make stuff up and bitch.

Yes, but they are a different kind of "blue hairs." The ones at the WBB games stand up, yell, and get in to the game. The ones who attend MBB are mostly there to see and be seen.
 
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