PHENOMENAL Student Turnout tonight

[Box and Won]

Sometimes I think that St. Louisans in general are apathetic toward just about everything except for the Cardinals and their high schools.

[bluecrewprez]

Sometimes I think that St. Louisans in general are apathetic toward just about everything except for the Cardinals and their high schools.

Well then, let's start promoting the games to the high schools that they went to and their alum.

[billiken_roy]

In my experience Nationally, frats are the outcasts at schools similar to SLU and the size of SLU. That's for the big state schools to help meet people in a 50k environment. But not so much at schools the size of SLU. It isn't necessary. Marquette is similar size, not a big greek life and they had top 10 attendance Nationally last year with well over 4000 student season tix for years.

my daughter is at Rose-Hulman which has a total enrollment of about 1400 students, probably 90% of the student body is in a fraternity or sorority .

[Cowboy]

Sometimes I think that St. Louisans in general are apathetic toward just about everything except for the Cardinals and their high schools.

-it is the cardinals, partly, that makes me think we can do this

-let's all remember the decade of the 1970's when the cards did not win and their attendance was below mlb avg most of the time and in 1982 (ws winner) they drew 2.1 and the next year 2.3 and did not surpass 3mil until 1987

-i think a lot of people think the cardinals have always drawn 3mil per year when that is not true

-how did they get there? they won pretty consistently, got involved in teh community, and made it seem like going to the game was the thing to do and then it became the thing to do

-this is part of the 'winning will do a lot' to help, not completely solve, everything - attendance, money, schedule, coverage - but we have to be careful of missteps along the way and do the right things, a lot of them, in the interim

[kappy96]

It was some time ago but when our group was at SLU as undergrads the pledges were required to go when the doors opened and save the best seats for our frat guys and several other frats did the same thing. We always had a big group in the the best seats in the student section at old Kiel and we almost never missed a game. I always assumed that the frats are not nearly as active these days. I also assumed that we were not as intense about the idea of studying as the kids are today! But somehow we all did fine in life!

Our fraternity made the freshman do the same thing when we played at The Arena. We'd collect as many student ID's as possible and wait in line to buy tickets. Game days were big events for us and we wanted to be seen at the game in the front rows wearing our letters. We we're also all sports fans so that helped...

[Bearvision]

It might come off poorly, but forgive me when I ask, weren't the MSU students allowed to be in the student section from a promotion? I wasn't there, this is just the way it's being portrayed from the MSU students.

If that is the case, why would you be upset with the ushers for not moving them from where they are allowed to be? And, why would you want to punch them, or fight with them?

Again, that is with the premise that they were allowed to be there from a promotion.

[Majerus Magic]

It might come off poorly, but forgive me when I ask, weren't the MSU students allowed to be in the student section from a promotion? I wasn't there, this is just the way it's being portrayed from the MSU students.

If that is the case, why would you be upset with the ushers for not moving them from where they are allowed to be? And, why would you want to punch them, or fight with them?

Again, that is with the premise that they were allowed to be there from a promotion.

I think its 2 different things.

Yes they were allowed in the section. I think most people are angry with the AD and Marketing department more than the MSU students.

i think the fighting with the MSU students came from too much boozing/ SLU kids getting pissed because MSU was in that section.

[Bearvision]

I think its 2 different things.

Yes they were allowed in the section. I think most people are angry with the AD and Marketing department more than the MSU students.

i think the fighting with the MSU students came from too much boozing/ SLU kids getting pissed because MSU was in that section.

Gotcha. Upset with the Admin for allowing it to happen in the first place, and then misplaced anger at a somewhat rivals fans sitting in your student section (I understand Dayton, and X are your main rivals).

I can't say I wouldn't feel the same way if the situation were reversed.

[billiken_roy]

It might come off poorly, but forgive me when I ask, weren't the MSU students allowed to be in the student section from a promotion? I wasn't there, this is just the way it's being portrayed from the MSU students.

If that is the case, why would you be upset with the ushers for not moving them from where they are allowed to be? And, why would you want to punch them, or fight with them?

Again, that is with the premise that they were allowed to be there from a promotion.

bearvision, i dont think any of us are upset at the southwest students. in fact speaking for myself, i am dam impressed by their passion. our students should take a look and see what a real set of students do to follow their team.

the beef is with our students and the athletic dept that allowed this to happen. had our students showed up, the bear students would have had to sit in the rafters.

and none of us have a clue what the hell the promotions folks were thinking making the offer to let the students sit in our student section. just boneheaded decision.

[bluecrewprez]

bearvision, i dont think any of us are upset at the southwest students. in fact speaking for myself, i am dam impressed by their passion. our students should take a look and see what a real set of students do to follow their team.

the beef is with our students and the athletic dept that allowed this to happen. had our students showed up, the bear students would have had to sit in the rafters and none of us have a clue what the hell the promotions folks were thinking making the offer to let the students sit in our student section. just boneheaded decision.

I'm not angry with the MSU students. I felt demeaned as a Billiken fan and I'm irate that the student section would be opened up to an opposing teams fans. I'd rather have an empty student section that a student section filled with opposing teams' fans.

[TheBand]

Curious.

Have any of you received responses to your e-mails to Chris May? What did he tell you was the problem/solution?

[bonwich]

my daughter is at Rose-Hulman which has a total enrollment of about 1400 students, probably 90% of the student body is in a fraternity or sorority .

It's a small-school Hoosier thang. My daughter is at DePauw, also tiny, also 85-90% Greek. And you can bet they pack the stadium even for D-3 football. (BTW, Roy, I keep forgetting the carpool possibilities!)

[billiken_roy]

It's a small-school Hoosier thang. My daughter is at DePauw, also tiny, also 85-90% Greek. And you can bet they pack the stadium even for D-3 football. (BTW, Roy, I keep forgetting the carpool possibilities!)

i went to one football game this fall at Rose and indeed the place was packed. probably 4-5,000 attendance. it was a parents weekend, but still i was impressed.

since my daughter pitches for rose hulman, i doubt she will be home again until the end of the school year as she will not get off for spring break to come home (she'll be playing florida instead, poor thing) or tri-mester break. so i doubt any participation in rides this year any more.

[eastsidejoe]

It doesn't matter we have a large chunk of students from St. Louis. If they can't F#$%(# drive 20-30 minutes thats pathetic! What else are they going to do? Pre-read their text books for next semester? Don't give me this break crap. We should at least had 50 solid students there.

Also,

It amazed me when I went up to several students that were at the top of the student section and asked them to come help cheer and their response? I just want to watch the game. Have you no pride????

if the majority of students are disinterested, which it appears that they are, why not allow the billiken fan who wants to cheer and make noise sit in the student section on an ongoing basis. maybe the result would be more noise and less of a void.

[bonwich]

Curious.

Have any of you received responses to your e-mails to Chris May? What did he tell you was the problem/solution?

I went over and visited B-Roy, who pointed me to where Chris' seats are (I was hoping to have a word). Roy didn't think Chris was in attendance Saturday.

Father Biondi was, indeed, there. I was wondering who he was sitting with. It seemed to be a guest, so I doubt he would have let steam come out his ears in front of a colleague, potential donor, or whatever. (In all fairness to Father B, he attends at least 75 percent, if not 90 percent, of the games.)

I'm of two minds as to whether I wanted Dr. Chaifetz to be there. I would have been ashamed; but as there are clearly only a few people with influence, I'm betting he might have given a nice motivational speech sometime after the game that actually would have had an effect.

[Box and Won]

May was at the game - he was interviewed at halftime on the TV broadcast.

[Westy03]

May was at the game - he was interviewed at halftime on the TV broadcast.

He was sitting right in front of the student section for most of the first half.

[billiken_roy]

I went over and visited B-Roy, who pointed me to where Chris' seats are (I was hoping to have a word). Roy didn't think Chris was in attendance Saturday.

Father Biondi was, indeed, there. I was wondering who he was sitting with. It seemed to be a guest, so I doubt he would have let steam come out his ears in front of a colleague, potential donor, or whatever. (In all fairness to Father B, he attends at least 75 percent, if not 90 percent, of the games.)

I'm of two minds as to whether I wanted Dr. Chaifetz to be there. I would have been ashamed; but as there are clearly only a few people with influence, I'm betting he might have given a nice motivational speech sometime after the game that actually would have had an effect.

Chris was there. he just wasnt there at the half. i tried to get his attention after the game, but he was engrossed in a different discussion.

[DirtyRican]

He was sitting right in front of the student section for most of the first half.

That's terrific!

[eastsidejoe]

That's terrific!

its nice to see the Rican Brothers back.

[Hawk]

One gripe I've always had is with the atmosphere of the crowd at the mens basketball games. For the majority of the game it's quiet. Many times we can't even get people up during the end of very close games. I'm not making excuses for the students or the school. I tivo'd the game and mentioned how the hell come the Mo St. fans are in our student section. What I'm commenting on is the noise level. If I closed my eyes, and just listened, I'd have thought it was an away game. Mo St. fans made as much noise as our fans. How many SLU fans? How many Mo St. fans? Why aren't we just so damn loud we drown them out? WE, the normal fans count can't on the student section to be rowdy and make noise. We have to get it going. The arena should be consumed with SLU cheers from player introductions until the final buzzer. Instead of blaming the students, blame us. I'm not 50% as loud as I used to be. I've gone from yelling S-L-U or defense or something every minute of the game to probably yelling only when something good happens or the refs miss a call. Why? I got tired of being the only one in my area yelling and getting looked at disgustedly by other fans. We have to create our own atmosphere, and until our season ticket holders get on board, it's not happenning.

+1

We the students have to take some blame for not going to the game, but my gripe since I have been in school has been with all the other people who come to the games. They just sit on their hands. Get there late and leave early. I wish I could see the attendance figures on a minute by minute basis from 15 minutes before the game until the end. It'd be pretty telling. 5 minutes before the game, there is almost no one there. I'd say until 3 or 4 minutes into the game, everyone is still moseying on in. And then like clockwork after the under-4 minute media timeout, it seems half the stadium heads for the exits, lest they have to wait to leave the parking garage. Students are part of the cheering, but where are the rest of the crowd? I know a lot of you here DO cheer and I commend you on that. I remember the BC or Dayton games last year. The arena was ROCKING. The place could easily be one of the best homecourts in the country.

There needs to be a change of culture. The students don't come, the alumni come late and don't cheer, Guy Philips is the epitome of not getting pumped up for a game. All of that results in what we have now.

[DirtyRican]

its nice to see the Rican Brothers back.

Sarcasm Jackie.....I was acting like a complete fool and just hope I wasnt seen. I had a virtual dance off with a lady behind the SMS bench, her husband wanted to kill me. I am kinda embarassed and for me that is really tough to do.

[courtside]

Depends on the school. At Northwestern and Vanderbilt, schools similar in size to SLU, the Greek system is extremely strong. At Westminster in Fulton, which only has about 1,000 students, the vast majority of the student body is Greek. The strength of a school's Greek system really depends on how deeply rooted it is in the school's culture. At a school like SLU, which didn't really have many national fraternities and sororities until the 70s and 80s, it's certainly not as strong as at other schools, but Greeks certainly aren't "outcasts" by any stretch of the imagination.

Westminster isn't really applicable, as I'm only interested in schools with SLU's size. Vanderbilt is a good example of long time historical greek influence there. But it's a Southern school. And, that culture began to change a little under Gee, and it's changing more under Zeppos with their Commons project, and diversifying the school more and more racially, ethnically, religiously, etc.which has been a great thing for Vandy.

[eastsidejoe]

Sarcasm Jackie.....I was acting like a complete fool and just hope I wasnt seen. I had a virtual dance off with a lady behind the SMS bench, her husband wanted to kill me. I am kinda embarassed and for me that is really tough to do.

believe me you were seen, you couldn't be missed. i was as ticked as all of the rest of you guys. how embarrassing. too bad Z and jimbo 1 wasn't there.

[drkelsey55]

I've been trying not to chime in on this because I couldn't make the game. I have attended Volleyball games, ladies basketball, and of course mens basketball and soccer games. I'm not a SLU alum. At any event I attend there have never been more than a few students save the "special games" like the 1 soccer game a year the dorms or something are required to come out. (and in that game as soon as the awards are announced at halftime they ALL leave)

One gripe I've always had is with the atmosphere of the crowd at the mens basketball games. For the majority of the game it's quiet. Many times we can't even get people up during the end of very close games. I'm not making excuses for the students or the school. I tivo'd the game and mentioned how the hell come the Mo St. fans are in our student section. What I'm commenting on is the noise level. If I closed my eyes, and just listened, I'd have thought it was an away game. Mo St. fans made as much noise as our fans. How many SLU fans? How many Mo St. fans? Why aren't we just so damn loud we drown them out? WE, the normal fans count can't on the student section to be rowdy and make noise. We have to get it going. The arena should be consumed with SLU cheers from player introductions until the final buzzer. Instead of blaming the students, blame us. I'm not 50% as loud as I used to be. I've gone from yelling S-L-U or defense or something every minute of the game to probably yelling only when something good happens or the refs miss a call. Why? I got tired of being the only one in my area yelling and getting looked at disgustedly by other fans. We have to create our own atmosphere, and until our season ticket holders get on board, it's not happenning.

This is exactly the way I feel. I also am not an alum. Only had one year of JC. I however attended every high school and junior college game I was associated with and never left a game when I was not horse.

SLU is my adopted team. I also use to allways yell DEFENSE durin the games and have previou post on this board trying to get others to be more vocal.

After a couple of years of no improvement you get worn down. I guess after you pass 40 you can't remeber all the words, DEFENSE!, which every person in the building should be canting every time the opponent has the ball in their hands.

I don't feel that is too much to ask.