Just can't understand why we don't have better attendance at Carver.
- Thread starter BrewHawk
- Start date
I bought a pair of tickets to the Maryland game before the wheels fell off this honey wagon, it's been almost 15 years since I've been to a game in Carver and now I'm wondering if we just go have a weekend free of kids and eat the ticket cost.
Nebraska fans showed up to their game and they suck. Our fanbase sucks.
And yes... so does our team.
And yes... so does our team.
But we aren't THAT bad. I know they are playing absolutely horrible right now but these games have been dreadfully attended all year.
Also, good seats open tonight for the women.
they are THAT bad
Exactly- this team flat out sucks
Garza was worth going, Mr Bloody Nose was fun to watch.
Keegan was worth going, lots of dunks and 3’s.
There is no one on this team I need to see in person. None.
Eastern Iowa fans. Nothing more to be said.
I say this everytime, I wish Iowa would play 3-4 home conference games in Des Moines where the people & the money are.
Plus it would help put a premium on the less games that we play in Carver.
Really sucks that Ames is so close to Des Moines & Iowa City is just far enough away from DM.
I say this everytime, I wish Iowa would play 3-4 home conference games in Des Moines where the people & the money are.
Plus it would help put a premium on the less games that we play in Carver.
Really sucks that Ames is so close to Des Moines & Iowa City is just far enough away from DM.
Iowa basketball hasn’t been significantly relevant since the 80s. And that was for fleeting moments. Current situation: Shit Show. Future Outlook: Bleak.
After 40 years of disappointment I‘m worn out.
After 40 years of disappointment I‘m worn out.
You’re assuming everyone is Des Moines is an Iowa State fan, which isn’t even close to true.
What? No, not at all. I’d say there’s more Hawkeye fans in DM than Cyclones. Probably 60/40 Hawks in my opinion.
Not sure what your post is supposed to mean. Or what you’re getting at.
It sucks. I know you have been beating this drum for awhile. I spend a lot of money to go to games and I am right here near Iowa City. It sucks to see so many people that don't attend.
But it is high school stuff too. Our student sections there are dreadful. Girls basketball is almost non existent, even in rivalry games. Guy's gameday student sections can't even fill up a small section of bleachers. But they have their cool camo, jersey, construction, etc... outs.
I hear ya & not trying to argue but somebody had better tell Hilton fans all of the same excuses Eastern Iowa fans have.
Then maybe their atmosphere & empty seats will drop to our level.
Bottom line, zero excuses. And the blame falls squarely on Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, & Davenport residents for not supporting.
What I’m getting at is that there’s plenty of people in the Iowa City metro to support a basketball game. Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty are around 105k people. Add in Cedar Rapids, Marion, and Hiawatha and that’s another 185k. The Iowa City metro isn’t lacking in people, Iowa fans just don’t support basketball like they do football.
Agree. I said the exact same thing in the post above yours. I called out the 3 cities that filling Carver squarely falls on.
It’s that none of us believe Fran is the guy to get us to a higher level. Dude is stale, can’t coach defense and more often than not missed on his targets recruiting
No, I wasn't trying to be defensive. I'm agreeing with you. I'm trying to do my part because I'm close.
Hats off to you for representing. You’re in the minority out there.😉
If Iowa had 3 sweet 16s in the last decade including one last season Im pretty sure things would be different at Carver. They had an elite 8 too since Iowa's last s16. Gotta give people real reasons to get excited, Fran has failed there
It's impossible to pick a worse week to try to make the case the fans should be more enthusiastic. They just suck
There are lots of reasons people are not going. We have debated them ad nauseum.
They are swimming in so much BTN and now Fox cash that the school administration sees a black bottom line and doesn't care.
It's pretty frustrating. I was at Eastern IL. You don't lose games like that. I like Fran. I appreciate that he got us to a competitive level after Lickliter, but that game really has me thinking it's over. Kid 3 isn't playing here.
They are swimming in so much BTN and now Fox cash that the school administration sees a black bottom line and doesn't care.
It's pretty frustrating. I was at Eastern IL. You don't lose games like that. I like Fran. I appreciate that he got us to a competitive level after Lickliter, but that game really has me thinking it's over. Kid 3 isn't playing here.
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This current group stinks. Add an unlikable coach into the mix, a school that refuses to surround the court with what few students that do attend, and you have a bad situation.
This wont be popular, buttt, basketball is a great game to play, boring as hell to watch.
My take is that Iowans appreciate hard work and effort. Nothing about Fran's style of play emphasizes those characteristics.
I want to see kids busting their asses on defense and the boards. That is what gets fans into the game.
Sure, three pointers going in a lot are fun, but that isn't a winning basketball philosophy.
I want to see accountability for lack of effort. I want to see kids rotating out because they're spent and it's the next guy's turn to go in and give it his all.
Defense travels, defense generates offense, defense wins games, defensive effort gets fans excited.
That is not the current state of Iowa Basketball.
I want to see kids busting their asses on defense and the boards. That is what gets fans into the game.
Sure, three pointers going in a lot are fun, but that isn't a winning basketball philosophy.
I want to see accountability for lack of effort. I want to see kids rotating out because they're spent and it's the next guy's turn to go in and give it his all.
Defense travels, defense generates offense, defense wins games, defensive effort gets fans excited.
That is not the current state of Iowa Basketball.
A
anon_b29nm7v7dwp6r
Guest
Bingo. Iowa has done nothing consistently of note since the 80’s besides getting hot in a few weekend tournaments then fizzling out when the actual tournament starts.
This team sucks, this staff sucks, it’s time to move on.
Maybe some younger fans can chime in. I was told by a recent Iowa graduate that the Iowa players were not very popular on campus. (Arrogant dickheads was the term used to describe) led by J-Bo. Part of the Apathy thing.
It's up to Fran and the players. Get your doors blown off by EIU and Nebraska and think fans are going to turn out? Fran refuses to recruit over guys and/or use the portal so a scholarship at Iowa is a union gig. Regardless of performance you are going to play and be entitled to minutes with seniority. There is a fine line here as I recognize development isn't linear but after two years if a guy can't contribute then it's time to look for upgrades i.e. Mulvey and Josh.
For those that rush to Fran's defense and say he tried really hard in the portal but struck out, I don't buy it. Fran doesn't like the portal # 1 and #2 to believe this you are saying that out of the hundreds of kids available from all levels, Fran couldn't find one 4 or 5 that would be an upgrade to two guys are so bad they can't even get on the floor. The bar wasn't a 4 or 5 star portal kids with offers from Duke, UNC, etc.. A Ryan Hawkins like player that was at Northwest Missouri State would be huge plus.
For those that rush to Fran's defense and say he tried really hard in the portal but struck out, I don't buy it. Fran doesn't like the portal # 1 and #2 to believe this you are saying that out of the hundreds of kids available from all levels, Fran couldn't find one 4 or 5 that would be an upgrade to two guys are so bad they can't even get on the floor. The bar wasn't a 4 or 5 star portal kids with offers from Duke, UNC, etc.. A Ryan Hawkins like player that was at Northwest Missouri State would be huge plus.
I live in FL so can't make it to games, but speaking for myself - just look at my signature. That explains my feelings in a nutshell. It's decades worth of frustration, and apathy has completely set in for me. Nothing I'm seeing makes me feel like this is about to change, either. We had Luka and Keegan. A 2 seed and a 5 seed. Still can't win more than a single NCAA game. If Iowa can't make a tournament run with that setup, then when?
I'll always be a Hawk fan, and I'll always care about the program, but the last two early NCAA flame outs really took a bite out of my enthusiasm. These last few games zapped whatever was left. I simply didn't feel like watching last night. As it turns out, glad I didn't. Right now, I just don't care about the outcome of any given game.
Regular season success is one thing, but I need a good NCAA Tournament run (a Sweet 16 would be enough) to re-energize me as a fan. It's long past due. Sadly, it doesn't look like it's about to happen, either.
I'll always be a Hawk fan, and I'll always care about the program, but the last two early NCAA flame outs really took a bite out of my enthusiasm. These last few games zapped whatever was left. I simply didn't feel like watching last night. As it turns out, glad I didn't. Right now, I just don't care about the outcome of any given game.
Regular season success is one thing, but I need a good NCAA Tournament run (a Sweet 16 would be enough) to re-energize me as a fan. It's long past due. Sadly, it doesn't look like it's about to happen, either.
Somebody forgot to tell Hilton this excuse. They need to be as empty as us.
It’s not fair that their fans attend. They should have to have Eastern Iowa fans also.
Not trying to pile on here after a loss, just trying to add some perspective.
I agree with almost everything written here. As a Cyclone fan living in CR, I agree with BrewHawk's comment about defense. ISU fans do not have any better Bball IQ than Iowa fans, but we appreciate what TJ has brought to ISU with his emphasis on defense. It is fun to watch + makes you support the team more - especially when things aren't going well (in our case, shooting). They may only win half of their conference games, but I can't wait to watch simply because I LOVE how they play.
I don't understand why Fran doesn't hit the transfer portal harder, but I do understand why players don't transfer to IC. Maybe (I'm just guessing here) transfers see the extent that Conner + Patrick play, and other coaches use that against Iowa? The same could be said for HS recruits? I can see another coach saying "you don't want to go to Iowa, Fran will play his sons over you no matter what." Again, just a guess.
It has to be amazing to coach your sons, but I'm sure there are times (like now) where it would be easier if they weren't there. I knew a couple of HS coaches in CR who coached their sons. The hardest part (I was told) was dealing with their Mom.
Finally, it's easier to support players who appear to be good people. We have no idea what any of these guys are like off the court, but someone like Bohannon is hard to cheer for. His reputation (even from die-hard Linn-Mar people) wasn't positive.
Fans will support a team that plays hard. The 2-22 team ISU had a few years back was impossible to support because it was obvious they could give a shit and played with zero effort. I was happy to see Rasir Bolton leave. Pollard had to fire Prohm and start over. A new approach was necessary to re-energize the fan base. Reading these message boards makes me believe Iowa bball is at a tipping point.
I agree with almost everything written here. As a Cyclone fan living in CR, I agree with BrewHawk's comment about defense. ISU fans do not have any better Bball IQ than Iowa fans, but we appreciate what TJ has brought to ISU with his emphasis on defense. It is fun to watch + makes you support the team more - especially when things aren't going well (in our case, shooting). They may only win half of their conference games, but I can't wait to watch simply because I LOVE how they play.
I don't understand why Fran doesn't hit the transfer portal harder, but I do understand why players don't transfer to IC. Maybe (I'm just guessing here) transfers see the extent that Conner + Patrick play, and other coaches use that against Iowa? The same could be said for HS recruits? I can see another coach saying "you don't want to go to Iowa, Fran will play his sons over you no matter what." Again, just a guess.
It has to be amazing to coach your sons, but I'm sure there are times (like now) where it would be easier if they weren't there. I knew a couple of HS coaches in CR who coached their sons. The hardest part (I was told) was dealing with their Mom.
Finally, it's easier to support players who appear to be good people. We have no idea what any of these guys are like off the court, but someone like Bohannon is hard to cheer for. His reputation (even from die-hard Linn-Mar people) wasn't positive.
Fans will support a team that plays hard. The 2-22 team ISU had a few years back was impossible to support because it was obvious they could give a shit and played with zero effort. I was happy to see Rasir Bolton leave. Pollard had to fire Prohm and start over. A new approach was necessary to re-energize the fan base. Reading these message boards makes me believe Iowa bball is at a tipping point.
Because it sucks. Those that think that not going to games is going to send a message, that is clearly not the case.
The biggest complaints Iowa fans make for why they don't go to Carver:
Nebraska basketball:
Our team absolutely sucks this year, no doubt about it. But for some fanbases (i.e. Nebraska) the fans still stow up to the games even though their team, and coach, stink out loud. We are undeniably a fair weather fanbase for basketball.
- Lack of Sweet Sixteens;
- Poor Play;
- Dont like the coach;
- Weeknight, 6:00 p.m. games
Nebraska basketball:
- Literally never been to a Sweet Sixteen. Been to ONE NCAA tourny in the last 22 years;
- Was 7-6 heading into last night;
- Hoiberg has an overall record of 32-73 since being at Nebraska, and hasn't shown much improvement. (could easily finish with another losing record once they hit the meat of the B10 schedule); and
- Yesterday's game was a weeknight, 6:00 p.m. game.
Our team absolutely sucks this year, no doubt about it. But for some fanbases (i.e. Nebraska) the fans still stow up to the games even though their team, and coach, stink out loud. We are undeniably a fair weather fanbase for basketball.
Yeah I don't buy the start time excuses, either. Iowa had occasional 6pm/8pm start times on ESPN back in the 1990's, and CHA was rocking. This is not a new phenomenon.
If fans wanted to be there, they would be, tip time be damned.
