bills16 Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 i was just curious what people think is the average age of a billiken season ticket holder. let's not count students or corporate sponsor that have season tickets. where will future season ticket holders come from? if the number of slu students attending games is not very large where does the future fan base come from? if you don't attend games while a student, what is the probability that you will attend games and donate to the athletic dept once you've graduated from slu? winning and winning consistently would cure alot of those questions especially in a large community such as st. louis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 93 Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 50's as a guess. I'd assume that in a couple years after out final-four run there will be all sorts of students and St. Louis folks wanting to come to the games. I'm just hoping the some of those quiet, old, folks drop dead in the next few years so I can get closer to the action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 I think he asked age, not how many show up and get loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 I know for a fact the age is at least 3 times as many as the number who show up and get loud. I was talking about the age ... 93 seems to be the correct answer ... do you think it may be higher? Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basketbill Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 I guess my avergae age is 21.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 bills16, imo, this stems from the fact that as students, the student body doesnt support the team. if you arent a fan when you are young, nuts and passionate about everything, the chances of that changing as you get older isnt good. more of an effort needs to be made to win the kids. i have been saying it since i was there in the late 70's early 80's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 if you take into account that billiken basketball hit the pits the hardest from the mid 70's until the mid to late 80's there is your reason for the gap in age. there is a whole generation of fans missing because of ekker ball. those fans would be the backbone of the season ticket base right now, but ekker f'd things so badly that instead most turned away and few probably came back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big al Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 I have forwarded a letter to Cheryl Levick suggesting a number of things to improve the program...One suggestion was to look at the average age and come up with a plan to replace the oldtimers when that time is apparent...In the meantime, go a little easy on us old farts...We basically have kept the program going through very difficult times...Hope the younger generation will soon kick in and do their part, and thereby preserve the program for future generations...I know some of the younger season ticket holders have become discouraged and have cancelled out...This does not help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 big al said, "I know some of the younger season ticket holders have become discouraged and have cancelled out" bandwagon jumpers al. they werent fans in the first place. i compare them to the idiots that would come out to the cardinal games to see mcgwire. they would watch mcgwire bat, then head out to the concession area to hang out until he was up to bat again. leave games after his 4th ab, etc. they just want to be there because it is the in thing to do. during the claggs-hughes years, that was the in thing to do, so they were there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 I agree ... but bandwagon jumpers spend money ... and we need them. What we need most though is a loud, rowdy, even a little obnoxious student section ... and for people to stand up and cheer during close games ... IMO during the last 5 minutes of a close game, every person in the arena should be up and at least clapping the entire time ... would that be hard ... no ... it might give the team some extra energy ... and help them make a steal or something. It might also cause an opponent to lose focus and make a poor play. I will never understand the passiveness of our crowds ... regardless of age. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzstldc Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 I completely agree with Roy that the student support is greatly lacking. I had season tickets each year during school a few rows from the court and the student section most nights was dead. Hopefully whenever we get an on-campus arena, the student support will greatly increase since they will just have to cross the street. Also after we join the A-10 there will be greater East Coast exposure to the school and thus a higher percentage of students will be coming from out of town and staying on campus so hopefully that will help the school spirit if more stay on campus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikens_Fanatic Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Broy, You're right, students need to step up and start being interested and passionate about the team. I know I've personally tried to drag as many friends as I can to games, and try to get them involved with the team. There's so much apathy on this campus that it's quite a monumental task. In your opinion, when do you think student interest in SLU basketball was at its peak? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Actually, I'm sure that SLU longs for the day when the average/bandwagon fan spends some more of their sports entertainment $'s on SLU basketball. I agree with Skip SLU needs any and all fans that they can attract. Let's hope that we can once again become the "in" thing to do in the St. Louis winter time. I enjoyed being at a jammed pack Arena...those were the days!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Also ... I am a product of the Claggs, Highmark, Waldman era. I am not a SLU grad ... My first year attending was 90-91. I got to StL at the end of Feb 1990. I went to a few games that year, most the next and got season tickets the year after. I wonder if my first years of watching SLU basketball had been bad ... would I be as big a fan as I am today ... I don't know. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Well I have been a Billiken fan since the 50's...Bob Ferry days, so I am sure Big Al and I could relate some of our tales from long ago Billiken days. Those Spoon NCAA teams were easy to enjoy along with the many fans that attended them. I only hope and pray that Brad can got past this speed bump and get us back in the Big Dance. The next couple of years will surely tell the tale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoSlu Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 >50's as a guess. > >I'd assume that in a couple years after out final-four run >there will be all sorts of students and St. Louis folks >wanting to come to the games. I'm just hoping the some of >those quiet, old, folks drop dead in the next few years so I >can get closer to the action. Final Four in 2 years?????!!!!! Would you care to wager on that prediction BB? GS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 same as the attendance numbers. mid 90's. when i went to slu 78-82, most nights there were like 5 of us sitting behind the basket watching the games. seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 skip, when we are winning or at least in a close game, i think for the most part that happens. it is hard though to ask the fans to get up and cheer and/or make noise in a game such as that semo game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 I can only speak from my experience, but during my four years 93-97, student interest was high. DavidNark was in school at the exact same time, and he would probably agree. During my freshman year (the year of our first trip to the big dance), students could only get their tickets on the day of the game. I remember camping out at the arena so that I could get tickets for the big games, and the local news came out to tape us. The student section during those years would sell out pretty quickly. During the Iowa State game freshman year, I remember having to sit in the upper deck (where the banners once covered the seats) because there were no seats left in the student section. The Spoon years were fun. On game days, it was not uncommon to find the campus lawns covered with plastic spoons everywhere to help promote the games! I think the success of the team while I was in college (along with all the SLU games that my dad took me to when I was growing up) is a big reason why I'm still such a big fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Amen, brother. We definitely need a rowdy student section, and for everyone else, all I ask is that they just clap their hands. There are those of us who will yell, but at the very least, even an arthritis-stricken 70 year old can clap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 What are you a six year old? Here's a little hint junior. A couple, a few, several are often used interchangably. I'll bet you that the basketball Bills make a final four before the soccer Bills. Why don't you go dry your eyes, get your thumb out of your mouth and hope for some good recruits to replace those who went pro. It'll be ok little camper. Buck up!. Daddy'll be home soon to beat your ma and get a fire going to warm up the trailer.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 I share the exact same memories of those early Spoon days. They were great! I am almost 30, but I have been following SLU basketball since I was a little kid. I have a handful of friends who also grew up following SLU basketball, and they are all still fans. Unfortunately, my college friends who didn't grow up with SLU basketball but were big fans in the early to mid 90's no longer follow it at all. I don't expect a final four or sweet sixteen in two years, but if we did a little song and dance with the top 25 I expect that interest would grow very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtside Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 I would agree that students is the place to start. And that begins first and foremeost with a serious commitment to winning basketball. A little tighter watch than past years. More funds directed to the program. Kids even more so than adults need that entertainment factor. Levick's job is to create a top 25 program, that LONG term has 3000 to 4000 student season tickets. Without football, basketball should be the destination of a SLU student once to twice a week between Jan and March. The basketball program needs to win first and foremost. You will get more kids if it is in any decent attractiveness of ball. Will Levick get the job done? Will she get the full support of the university to do so? Only time will tell. It is my personal recollection than in the 90's successful era, though student section sold out, etc...it wasn't exactly near the size mentioned above. you had the old folks, and a lot of random walk ups, adults, who do not have ties to the program who jump off when they stop winning. It will take some time, but she seemed to do it on a miniature level in Santa Clara and Stanford. This is a bigger task, with many more seats to fill as long as they play at Savvis. It certaqinly isn't impossible to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 Roy ... that doesn't even come close to happenning ... rarely do they even stand up, and if they do it is just for a few seconds. We need to be up the entire last 5 minutes of a close game ... standing and cheering I'm talking about close games ... I wouldn't expect it in a game like SEMO ... or a game we are blowing someone out. Our crowds are incredibly passive even in very tight games. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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