Rammer Today

[Westy03]

On his show today he obviously mentioned the verbal of Marcus. Anyway, he brought up the crowd from last nights game. He was saying how our crowd isnt like a normal college crowd, more subdued(which I totally agree with). The example that he gave was when we were on a run and DB and KL were running the break and KL buried the 3 to put us up 9 i believe, the crowd went wild for 10 seconds then UD called time and the crowd immediately sat right down. I noticed this and I wasnt happy I kept standing and cheering and I could tell the people behind me were all pissed cause they couldnt see how many free Nachos a college student could get from qdoba for making layups. Any other college stadium would of been rockin with cheerleaders throwing stuff and the band going nuts but our fans sit right back down. What does UD do after the timeout? they cut the lead to 3.

Do you guys think this will change with the new arena? Whose fault is it, the fans?, the cheerlearders?, the promotions? and finally how would you guys try to fix it and get it to where a college game should be?

[billikenfan05]

I thought the exact same thing i was extremely pissed that during the second half while we were barely holding on to the lead during timeouts they were playing commercials WTF!

"I was on fire, I was hotter than a pistol" Jason McElwaine

If theres no SLU basketball in heaven I'm not going!!!!!!

Official Billikens.com Sponsor of Chris Sloan and Billiken Volleyball

and Official Billiken.com Online Video Guy

[Pistol]

Yeah it's the fans fault mostly- most good teams don't need to manufacture excitement with cheerleaders, mascots, and t-shirt cannons because the excitement is already there. I think this mostly has to do with the fact that no students go to games and the typical Billikens fans are middle-aged or older alums. You don't get as much energy from the over-the-hill crowd. I would like to see this change with the on-campus arena, but the fact of the matter is the students have to go and have a presence for the atmosphere to improve.

[Westy03]

Hopefully the on-campus arena will change that but I dont see how it will happen.

[Box and Won]

I'll never understand why it's so much to ask that people:

- Clap

- Do the S-A-I-N-T L-O-U-I-S cheer

- Stand and cheer at the end of close games

Seriously, it's not that freaking hard. We definitely need more students there. It's been nice to see a decent-sized (and loud) group of students sitting towards the back of the student section on a regular basis in addition to the Blue Crew at the front of the student section.

[brianstl]

Nothing will change unless they cut down on the promotions. Nothing kills the crowd more than Guy "Correction" Phillips or the tool they have for the contest gets on the mic and starts talking over the fan noise. Sometimes they just need to let the band play and save the promotions for when the crowd isn't in the game.

[Pistol]

I definitely think it will help a lot. I've heard all the horror stories about the shuttles that go from campus to the Scottrade Center and they either send too few, or show up late, or don't show up at all, or aren't there after the game. So now students won't have the gigantic hassle of getting down there for the games, which can only help. But we also have to give them an incentive (winning) to show up. It's hard to build a great college atmosphere, and I'm jealous of the programs that have had it for so long that they don't need to worry about it as much.

[Box and Won]

Totally. I understand the need to pay the bills, but the promotions are killers.

[brianstl]

THey have so damn many that they lose effectiveness. Nobody can remember who is sponsoring what. Cut back on them and charge more to sponsor them. Save them for the points in the game where the crowd isn't into the action as much. That way you have the crowd paying more attention to them and the sponsors get more bang for their buck.

[Westy03]

I wouldnt even call it a decent size student section, granted its been better but its still pretty piss poor. Something that I think would help would be if we actually had an orginal fight song so when the timeouts come everyone stays standing singing the fight song.

BTW, I have felt your concerns every since I started going to the games which was about 15 years ago. I guess the crowd doesnt want to spill their Gin and Tonics

[Westy03]

I agree that the shuttle has been a disaster, but whats the harm of the student driving 15 blocks to the game and paying 5 bucks to park. Im just afraid when the arena is done there will be more lame excuses why student arent showing up. I agree winning cures everything.

[bonwich]

1) Someone schedules *two* halftime acts -- preventing OUR OWN DANCE TEAM from performing and not leaving enough time for Mater Dei to set up. And the little kids who did perform were already there at the prior game!

2) Someone forgets to MEASURE THE FREAKIN' BUNGEE CORD.

3) "One minute left in the game. Correction. One minute left in the half." (BTW, how many basketball games actually have a one-minute warning announced?)

4) Stats read at halftime did not match stats displayed on the scoreboard.

5) Commercial runs on board over Guy announcing something.

6) Guy MAKES FUN OF our invited guests at halftime. "We only have the room until midnight." How do you think that made those kids feel?

We remain a two-bit, rinky-dink operation at games, and for all her supposed emphasis on excellence, Cheryl doesn't seem to see this or care.

[Westy03]

Add Guy Phillips talking while Dwayne Polk is shooting a free throw. The game was just about over but the PA announcer has no business doing that.

[cheeseman]

So the older people won't stand up and cheer for 15 minutes - that is their perrogative. I got news for you - go to Mo or most other places and the older crowd is doing the same thing as us. The problem is the Scott Trade Center is so large that those who are cheering are lost in the largeness of it and are scattered around. Winning consistently will help but getting into a smaller venue will go along way. Will the students go - my guess is yes but the school has to keep figuring ways to get them there. I agree the constant promotions are real rally killers - the Rams do the same thing with commercials. At some point we have to have the school figure out how to do these promotions without killing the atmosphere. I wonder who is in charge of that stuff anyway because last night they did the bungee strap thing and they used college students instead of small kids - bungee strap stretched too long under the size of the participants. They really need to think through these things to make sure they are appropriate. Maybe somebody who goes to the last Tip Off Club Mtg can ask about this.

[Westy03]

15 minutes? Last time I checked timeouts were a little over a minute long. I dont care what Misery or "most other schools" do. The people who are staying in their seats are the ones bitching that the team lost by 1pt when in fact if they were actually CHEERING might of helped the bills to victory. I will try and bring up the promotions fiasco at the last meeting. God I hate Scotty.

[Major Majerus]

D1 hoops - the greatest show on earth.

Not true - everybody knows that Royal Banks requires you to sink a hoop from the half court line to win a few bucks...:+

[Billikenbooster]

I was talking to billikenfan05 at the game about just this issue. How much do they really make on those damn commercials. It is getting so it is almost as bad as the Ed.

That exact timeout was when we were talking. Don't know how we can fix it, hopefully the new manager of the Biondi Dome will intervene to create a more fan friendly atmosphere at the game.

GAG THE GUY WITH THE MIKE! He should be pithed.

mhg

[moytoy12]

One would guess that there is less a need for promotions in the new building since there isn't a lease that needs to be paid for (and assuming the financing is properly in order).

I could be wrong, but i would hope the money men accounted for revenues in a way that would lessen SLU prostituting itself out to business community. Or i should say, that would allow SLU to prostitute itself in a more upscale fashion, such as suites.

[Larry the Legend]

I will guarantee you that the student body will be well represented at the games. We will just have to wait and see how "exciting" they are. The student body right now has no motivation or incentive to go to games. They actually have to make an effort to get on a bus and wait in lines.... and get out of bed. Poor students. With the new Arena, these kids can just hop out of bed and walk down to a game. The students will use it as a social outing and hopefully the majority of the students realize that college basketball is exciting and the team on the court is actually competitive.

We will see.....

[slu72 fan]

Wake up, the cost of the new building will be greater than the Scott, or whatever it's called this year. Advertising will only decline when donations make up for the lost revenue. The average seat in the lower bowl, within the court, contributes less than $22/yr. to the athletic department. I guarantee you those ads bring in a bunch more. As to future donations to have choice seats in the on campus building, the great majority of the raised money is going for debt service on the bonds. The athletic department will continue to need advertising to support their budget.

As I said, there's only one way to reduce the advertising, pony up and write a big check.

[moytoy12]

The cost of the arena will be more than the lease...really...geez, i didn't even consider that. I'll try to wake up the day you learn about financing 50-100 million dollar projects. Sound fair?

[Taj79]

What is the current on-campus student population? Is it somehow greater than when Bonwich and I were in school? We had Griese, Clemens, Walsk, Marguerite and Lewis Halls with a pretty good representation in the ghetto known as Laclede Town. Channing and Grand Towers had some students but the ghetto and Channing are gone and the Towers are now dorms. And the old Ramada Inn turned into some housing hall as well.

The point being that SLU was then pretty much a commuter school with the rub being that most of the students lived at home in the community and it wouldn't matter if the games were at West Pine or at the old Kiel or Checkerdome because a drive was a drive was a drive. Going on campus has always been a want of mine but will the drive for most students, okay not Savvis but back to Frost Campus, still exist???????

[Basketbill]

that a large group of students live on campus, and now there are also just off campus options like the Continental building. Someone else more in the know chime in please.

[jimbofive]

there will be plenty of students at the game. between all the residence halls, coronado, lindell east and west, drake, continental, vandeventer apts, and the new lofts next to humphrey's, there are a lot of students on campus. believe me, the attraction of walking shitfaced 10 minutes to a game on campus is infinitely greater than finding a way to the scottrade center, which has NO billiken propaghanda up to begin with. it's not the cool thing to do to get a car full of people together and drive to the game. it IS the cool thing to do to walk out of your room with a facefull of vodka and mancans in both jeans pockets, and join the throng of like-minded miscreants who are filing across campus to watch their athletic 22-25 win team (by my calculations for 2008). all the frat guys will go. then all the frat girls will go. even the dorks will go. what the hell else are they going to do? the heavens will rain blue kool-aid and the earth will spin backwards. you'll see.

[Box and Won]

I never took the bus once in college. We would just cram a bunch of people in one car and have everyone chip in a buck for parking. It's a lot easier that way.