Bay Area Billiken

SLU’s NET this morning is 22️

Watching last night’s massacre, I realized I’ve been waiting most of my life for this SLU team.

https://x.com/zakboisvert/status/2000938652998783417?s=46&t=jikm5nKg-NlIUjy2c9C9zw Everything is coming up Billikens️

https://x.com/isaacbourne_/status/2000581622354399730?s=46&t=jikm5nKg-NlIUjy2c9C9zw If the mid-major status is accepted, We’re (SLU is) #1️

Another bad optic cover over of bleacher spaces is UCLA Football at the Rose Bowl. UCLA is trying to move its football games to SoFi Stadium.

SLU Basketball’s NET is 28; SLU Soccer is in the College Cup. Life is very good.

I think that’s a valid point. Of course, I want all the games on TV or streaming, and am grateful they are. The Old Blues sometimes bring me along to Cal games, and Cal’s attendance is way down, in the 2 or 3 thousands. The team that sells out consistently is St. Mary’s, but that place seats only 3,500.

ESPN Matchup Predictor per ESPN Analytics has SLU at 81.3%. Beat the Dons. Saturday night is payback time.

Indiana lost. The Marlins used to cover over seats. The Tampa Bay Rays did it at Tropicana Field, closed the upper deck. Curtains, covering over seats is an admission you cannot fill them. The mystery, the issue is why SLU attendance has been lower in the on campus arena the vast majority of us thought SLU needed than it was at the currently named Enterprise Center and continues to lessen. (I love attending games at Chaifetz Arena. It’s a great place to watch a game, one of the very best.) Then the Cardinals’ attendance has had an appreciable drop. I am aware of the recent angst in the fanbase with the Cardinals’ ownership and upper management, was there twice this past summer, see on tv all the loyal Cardinal fans disguised as empty red seats. As a lifelong Cardinal fan, and a St. Louis football fan who has seen two NFL franchises move away, it’s troubling, irrespective of the on the surface reason. Is something deeper happening? Are these attendance drops a St. Louis issue? Are they a societal issue? Are they related? I do expect Billiken Basketball game attendance to increase as the word gets out re this team. This is an exciting, very good SLU team that plays an exciting brand of up tempo hoops. The team played a near perfect game vs. Central Michigan, scored 107 points, with only 4 turnovers.

Answer: Last Season, Wofford, and I’ll be there Saturday night. Curtains are for losers, a bad optic. This team is a winner, doesn’t need a curtain. Covering over seats isn’t the answer either. Here in the Bay Area the whole upper deck of Mt. Davis at the Oakland Coliseum was covered for both A’s and Raider games. Both teams eventually moved away.

Ron Ekker called the Steamers "those kicking guys." We once went to The Checkerdome box office on a Friday afternoon trying to get tickets for a Steamers Friday night game. Few seats remained and they gave the three of us seats in the center section between the two benches for that, as Marty Brennaman would say, titanic struggle vs. the long gone San Francisco Fog. The Steamers were a hot item in St. Louis, easily outdrew the Blues at the time, were coached by former Billiken great Pat McBride.

The infamous curtain is something right out of the Ekker Era at The Checkerdome (St. Louis Arena) and a staple of the A10 Tourney at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. While I have no issue and applaud you trying to come up with new ideas, we don't want a curtain.

I’ll gladly take a 22 point Billiken win, but expect a closer game. I don’t think this year’s USF team is as good as last year’s, but the Dons should provide good competition.

While USF losing at home to North Alabama was a bad loss, winning over Miss. State in Tupelo was a good win.

SLU's next opponent, the USF Dons (6-4) won over Mississippi State of the SEC in Tupelo, MS this past Sunday, 65-62.