lonestar91 Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Hey, Living in Dallas and now that Southwest Airlines has nonstops to St. Louis, coming up for my first home game in almost 10 years (1/25). I've seen some postings that the student/alumni fan support isn't as good as it should be. Is that true? What's the University doing to drum up local support for games?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiphan Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 They throw out mini basketballs at the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrewprez Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 As prez of the student section, I can say that the student turnout this year is the best it's been in years. In terms of student members of Blue Crew since my freshman year, we've grown close to 200% each year: 2003-2004: 60 2004-2005: 120 2005-2006: 205 We're averaging 8,000-9,000 fans in general per game and we're getting over 10,000 for big games like Gonzaga (please correct me if I'm wrong). The University is doing some things to get the word out, but we all know nothing brings in fans like a winning team, and the hype around this team is getting bigger and bigger around campus as the season goes on. I know there is going to be an excellent turn-out for the St. Joseph's game you've said you're coming to see next week. There has been a lot of people talking around campus about the game already on our first day back to classes. There is not a very strong student showing outside of the Blue Crew, but it is growing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan Alum Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Hey Prez, I appreciate you efforts, but there are not 205 members at games. Some games I would bet there are only 15-20, which I would think is kind of embarrassing when you guys get introduced as the "6th man". More overall student support is needed, not more blue crew memberships, that go unused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SShoe Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 The past few weeks has been break, and there are never students there during break (shouldn't be and excuse, but it is). During school, students show up in better numbers and every now and again, they'll show up for big games in almost respectable fashion (except those balls eventually get thrown back onto the court at crucial moments). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrewprez Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 GMan: I was commenting on the fan support aspect on his question, trying to get the point across that students are becoming increasingly interested in Billiken Basketball. Now those 15-20 student turn-out to which you were referring happened once or twice during winter break (fyi: none of the 5 games over break were not Blue Crew-required attendance games) when most students are at home, on vacation, or unable to attend; yet even with that, you must admit that we had an excellent turn-out for Gonzaga, Iowa, and UMass (especially for being in St. Chucks). Trust me, no one feels the burden and possible embarrassment of being introduced as "the 6th man"--Soderberg may have a nice demeanor, but I am deathly afraid of the wrathful scorn; we've all seen him on the sidelines--but I think that you may just be used to seeing a poor turn-out since the students were on break, but come to the game next Wednesday and then I would love to have this discussion again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrewfinance Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Please remember, also, that we do support our team in a (very) loud manner. We stand througout the entire game, something that seems to be a bit of a challenge for the rest of the arena. We didn't ask for our introduction, but we're doing the best we can to live up to it. UB told us at the beginning of the year that we "are on his team"; we absolutely plan to use every one of our tickets every game, but is not always possible because, thus far, a large portion of our home games have been scheduled during breaks. That said, we're doing what we can to increase campus-wide involvement. We planned, organized, ran and (with your greatly appreciated help) funded Billiken Madness. When comparing our attendance with that of other schools that play in off-campus facilities, student attendance isn't bad. Our roadtrip attendees often out-number students from schools like DePaul and Memphis when we visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al 1 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 How about all the SLU students who commute or live in the St. Louis area?...Where are they?...I do not want to hear complaints again about the senior long time season ticket holders that do not stand through out the game...With out these loyal fans, SLU would be Division II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikenmetz Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I was in the Blue Crew section as an alum for the Iowa game and lost my voice yelling at Brunner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrewprez Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 That's what I like to hear. And as Bluecrewfinance said--which I should have clarified in my last post--we didn't ask to be introduced as "the 6th man", but now that we are, we have visibly stepped up our game; we wear that title with great pride and we do not take it lightly. We'll see (some of) you in Cinci! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I'm the one that complains about people not standing ... I have never asked, or has anyone else that I know of, that anyone stand all game. I do however think everyone should be on their feet the last 5 minutes of a close game. ... though now that I know you don't want to hear it, I will of course change my opinion. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestar91 Posted January 18, 2006 Author Share Posted January 18, 2006 As I said, it's been some time since the last home game....It was SpoonBall at the time, with Charlie in the lead. Great to see the feedback regarding the student sections. I assume Wed nights are still the big "activity" nights at SLU (ie Humphrey's)...so between that and the game, I'm hoping for a great turnout and a win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLUAvtr Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 And you'd be right on about Hump's. Band's always there after games, so you'll definitely hear the occasional customary "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (cont.)" before every shot (and I don't mean basketball) gets taken! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan Alum Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 I appreciate your planning and hard work to create the proper atmosphere, but I have always wondered with some many local students, why they don't consistently show up. So, the semester break should really be no excuse for lack of attendance. I wish you the best and please continue your efforts to get more and more students to the games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.