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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 8:46:21 GMT -6
Post by jvaldon on Jan 12, 2005 8:46:21 GMT -6
Why yes it was. Ideally, I wish the construction at the KC would've included converting the facility into a basketball arena bowl setting. indoor track whould have a hard time if this happened. unless we wanted them to run under the bowl seating, that would make things more interesting i bet
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 8:48:29 GMT -6
Post by pnthr30 on Jan 12, 2005 8:48:29 GMT -6
bball30 - I am sorry if I put the cart before the horse and tried to connect the dots (incorrectly), in other words twist your words. It is just that I have had this conversation to many time, and the argument usually turns to "everyone should get an equal amount". I have no bones about saying that it shouldn't be equal, the world isn't equal, we don't all get paid the same at our jobs.......it is just a fact of life that some get more and some get less - and not without reason. I hear you on the lack of comprehension that SOME, not all, people have on the university's situation as a whole. "However, these other sports do need some attention. That is all that I was saying." I completely agree. However, everything is relative. In the world as a whole (for instance), more people go to soccer games and basketball games than say......cross country meets, swimming/diving events, etc......the same is, and will continue to, be true at UWM. I appreciate your passion for all sports - you would make a good AD. Like I said, as an athlete at UWM I had many friends in all the athletic programs offered at UWM and took the time to attend nearly all of them, and I don't think that there is any question that fan support could be increased each of them - the same can be said for men's basketball. "On a further note, as far as UWM playing bball on a "high" level, I would have to disagree." You are entitled to your opinion, but I think this statement is dead wrong. Again, everything is relative......are we playing at an ultra high level (Top 25)? Of course not. Are we playing at a pretty high level (Top 100)? A argument can definitely be made. A mid to high level (Top 150).......I don't think there is any question that we have proved ourselves to be at least in the latter category, which by the way is well within the top half of all DI basketball programs. Further, we have started to put our stamp on the HL and have positioned ourselves at the very upper end of the HL - a pretty decent conference (this year excluded ). Great strides have been made within the past 10 years, thanks to the efforts of many (administration, athletic department, coaches, players, etc.). If we want to maintain our current standing, and raise it up even further, continual changes/tweeks need to be made. Complacency leads to mediocracy, and this is definitely that case in the competitive mid-major arena. "Winning ONE, YES ONE confrence title does not constitue a move to US cellular, a plethora of media coverage, all of the states recruits, and so on." This is a pretty short sided comment IMHO. The move to the Cell was due to a variety of reasons. 1. Klotche is undergoing a major renovation; 2. Recruiting - try selling a recruit on the KC......good luck; 3. The HL wants us there; 4. Better media access/facilities; 5. Can't host a HL tournament at the KC; 6. Better image for the program and school as a whole; 7 etc. Again, if you want to compete at a high level, you need to act like it. In other words, you cannot just flip a switch one day and say we are gonna be good now, we want a new arena now, we want to fill up the arena every game, we want media coverage now, etc. It is a continual, uphill battle that must be undertaken a few steps at a time - and there will be growing pains. There is never a "good" time to make a move like this, but you have to take a leap of faith trust that it is for the best. Each game/year/etc. things will get a little better and eventually the ultimate plan/goal will start to come together. The US Cell is part of this plan. I agree that the student turnout so far this year hasn't been outstanding, but look at the schedule. We have had two home games since December 1st.........and the students are on break. I was at the MU game last week and there were no more than a handful of students there (like us). In other words, if the students aren't around, or simply don't care, it doesn't matter if the game is at the Cell, KC, or in the lobby of North Tower. I don't think there is any question that the remainder of the season will be much better in regards to student turnout. Do we need to do a better job of marketing, sure........but based on where we were in terms of student support just a few years ago, we have made great strides (this message board is a great example of the interest/enthusiasm). Again, I don't mean this to come off sounding like a hard ace, but rather just some opinions/thoughts. After all, this is a message board, correct? We don't always have to agree on everything. haha What fun would that be.
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 8:49:39 GMT -6
Post by Hack on Jan 12, 2005 8:49:39 GMT -6
indoor track whould have a hard time if this happened. unless we wanted them to run under the bowl seating, that would make things more interesting i bet Not necessarily if most of the seats were retractable.
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 8:54:10 GMT -6
Post by pnthr30 on Jan 12, 2005 8:54:10 GMT -6
By the way, I would LOVE it if the KC were converted into bowl seating.
As much of a proponent as I am of the Cell, I admit it isn't really ideal for us (just better than the KC as it currently stands).
IMHO a 7,500 seat on campus areana would be a perfect fit.
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 9:22:33 GMT -6
Post by bball30 on Jan 12, 2005 9:22:33 GMT -6
Pnthr30 "Again, if you want to compete at a high level, you need to act like it. In other words, you cannot just flip a switch one day and say we are gonna be good now, we want a new arena now, we want to fill up the arena every game, we want media coverage now, etc. It is a continual, uphill battle that must be undertaken a few steps at a time" Thank you for that quote. I included the beginning of that to illustrate that I am not closed minded on this, I agree more so with you now that I understand a little better. However, how many times has it been posted on this board about the lack of coverage, and respect that this UWM team deserves. The reason I get frustrated so quickly with this topic lies in the fact the the MAJORITY, NOT ALL, of the people who you talk to about the program want all of these things right now!! That would be ridiculous. Ok, great, everyone from here hates Marquette and vice a versa. But the fact is the went to the FINAL FOUR! UWM has still only made the tourney once in school history. I agree, huge strides have been made over the past 10 years, not trying to take away from that. All I am saying is that some people tend to push and get too greedy too fast. And it is about the little things. Is the athletic dept. responsible for making sure the whole city knows what time the radio show is? ABSOLUTELY NOT. And as far as coverage goes in the newspapers? The reason you see so much coverage to Marquette and Wisconsin lies in the fact that the JS is the states "flagship" newspaper. Hailing from New London/Tomahawk WI, the JS was always available, much better than the Merrill times . not meaning to gripe here, just wish that some, not even just people on the board, but in general, would have a little more understanding and respect for the distances this program has come, and will continue to go! GO PANTHERS!
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 9:34:23 GMT -6
Post by admin on Jan 12, 2005 9:34:23 GMT -6
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 9:42:38 GMT -6
Post by pnthr30 on Jan 12, 2005 9:42:38 GMT -6
I agree with you that some (maybe many) people want things at UWM to change overnight. To be honest, we have been very fortunate how quickly things have turned around. But with that being said, we need to continue to push and pull to get more respect, more media coverage, etc. If you don't ask for things, you never get them. In other words, if we hadn't written letters to the J/S telling them we want to see more UWM coverage, would be get getting Garry to send Dan on road trips? Simply put, I don't think so. Sure, there are unrealistic expectations floating around out there, but as a whole, we need to continue pushing for more - even if we know that we won't get it just yet. In other words, I think you and I are more on the same page than we originally thought. haha Having gone through what I have personally with regards to the UWM program, I would love for them to instantly be a constant in the JS, TV, and radio, but I know this won't happen anytime soon - but that doesn't stop me from doing whatever I can (albeit very small) to help that process along. "All I am saying is that some people tend to push and get too greedy too fast." I agree 100%. However, being pushing and being greedy is how things get accomplished. It won't happen overnight, but the more noise UWM fans make, the quicker the turnaround will be. "Is the athletic dept. responsible for making sure the whole city knows what time the radio show is?" Not directly, but it is the athletic departments job to market each program to the best of their ability. In this case, the athletic department chose to undertake the radio show, and everything that goes along with it. As such, they should do it right - don't simply go through the motions. I am not saying this is the case, but IMHO if you can't do do something correctly, don't do it at all. Meaning, if you undertake a project/venture, give it your all and make sure it is done the right way. "just wish that some, not even just people on the board, but in general, would have a little more understanding and respect for the distances this program has come, and will continue to go!" Well put. Given the recent success of the program, we have attracted a whole new fan base, many of which do not fully understand the evolution that has taken place. While I welcome these new fans with open arms, it is sometimes difficult simply because, like you said, they don't understand how far things have come - or that there will still be "bumps" in the road. Later
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 10:58:50 GMT -6
Post by admin on Jan 12, 2005 10:58:50 GMT -6
To be successful Saturday, this cannot happen... M. Rohde 35 5-9 5-9 4-4 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 19 J. Mendiburu 36 6-7 5-6 2-4 1 3 11 7 2 0 1 19
Later, UWMfreak
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 11:40:34 GMT -6
Post by uwfenske aka hardhat on Jan 12, 2005 11:40:34 GMT -6
When it comes to the marketing of the program in general, it seems that UWM does more than MU. I hear more radio spots and see more television spots for UWM than I do MU. I think I may be more biased to the UWM ads, (more likely than not that I pay attention to the UWM ads and kind of disregard the ones for MU) but it seems that we are spending more on advertising. Granted, I feel that as the 'little brother' in the city we need to do more. We are trying to grow and put butts in the seats. I was very surprised at the turnout for the Loyola game. I thought the gate would be 2500. Low team, over break, not a 'big' rival. MU already has a decent base, they don't need to do as much. So overall, this does not include campus awareness and things like the radio show time changes and the pregame at Turner's Saturday, I think UWM is doing a decent job at putting the word out to the general public.
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 11:49:14 GMT -6
Post by PANTHERfan on Jan 12, 2005 11:49:14 GMT -6
they've actually made quite a push in marketing for the upcoming GB game. i've seen ads on ESPN2, Fox, and WMLW... i was surprised to see an ad on Fox this past sunday before the packer game. that's probably a fairly expensive time slot. i'm hopeful that this game will draw as well or better than last year. i really hope the students turn out in force. they had a great student section last year... so if anyone knows anyone on the fence for this game do your own marketing and get them down to the Cell this saturday!!!
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 15:01:17 GMT -6
Post by dunzz on Jan 12, 2005 15:01:17 GMT -6
Last years GB game was a major success. We had a record crowd for that 2003-2004 season with about 10000 people rocking the cell. So i will tell you die hard fans who are going to be in the student section to get there early. But if you already knew that you can disreguard that.
This is a great time to invite those family relatives who are involved with the UW-school system. A sat game is a great time to hang out with your parents, uncle, aunts, long lost twins.
Take them to lunch and then get crazey with them.
My immediate family is coming. And leave live in Appleton. Make your family visit.
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 15:30:46 GMT -6
Post by nohopspanther on Jan 12, 2005 15:30:46 GMT -6
Not to bring down the atmosphere of the game but total attendance was 8703 last year and that was due to a saturday night game with school in sesssion on January 31st. I'll be happy with 6500 for a saturday afternoon in weather that is going to suck during winter break.
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 15:45:01 GMT -6
Post by dunzz on Jan 12, 2005 15:45:01 GMT -6
youre prolly right, but it felt like 10000, so remeber, 5500 can feel like 8000 if we go nuts!
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UW-GB
Jan 12, 2005 16:29:31 GMT -6
Post by UWMKrazie on Jan 12, 2005 16:29:31 GMT -6
The HL tournaments barely drew 10,000
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UW-GB
Jan 13, 2005 0:09:05 GMT -6
Post by uicMayur on Jan 13, 2005 0:09:05 GMT -6
hey all,
It's truly amazing how similar UWM and UIC is. UIC faces the exact same problems as you guys, and we have the exact same strengths as you. Lack of coverage, respect, etc. is something all too familiar to us. Huge strides in our basketball programs, academics, and campuses are same as well.
I think what is great is our rivalry. With our recent surge in basketball prowess, we are both mid-major powers. The UWM/UIC rivalry is arguably one of the best mid-major rivalries in the country.
I just hope we build that tradition. In the future, we will definitely get respect. We just need to bring home a big win somewhere. You guys were close to doing that in Kansas, and we were damn close in accomplishing that versus G Tech.
This rivalry, however, is what makes our programs awesome, and as long as we continue that, the media will surely take notice.
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