Post by gman2 on Nov 13, 2006 13:37:47 GMT -6
I have been following UWM basketball for many years. I was at the Field House in 1992 when they beat Wisconsin. I was at the Arena in 1993 when they beat UWGB in front of 8000+ fans. I was also there during the Ric Cobb years when you could literally count the number of fans in attendance at the Arena. I was at the Bradley Center when Marquette kicked our ass by 60+ points in the mid 90's. So I have seen UWM's highs and lows in person. While this weekend wasn't pleasant, times have been worse for UWM.
Now, on to the subject at hand. I must say that overall Saturday was a disappointing evening. Notice I do not say disappointing game, but evening.
For the past two seasons I have taken my kids to UWM games. My kids love UWM games. We get on the Panther gear and make signs. Before the game the kids hum along to the UWM fight song. At the games the kids cheer for the team, wave their signs and just plain get into it.
We attended the WSU game Saturday night. During a timeout in the second half, my kids were screaming and waving their signs. After the timeout my daughter looked and me and said, "Dad nobody is cheering and helping the Panthers." My son was also disappointed in the lack of crowd participation. The very next timeout, the same thing occurred. After that both my kids said they were bored and wanted to go home. So we left. On the way home they both said they don't want to come back to any Panther games (I think this will change over time). But the damage is done. In my household money is tight. I actually reduced the number of Brewer games I attended this year in order to afford UWM games. But if the kids are bored, so sense wasting money on the games.
The atmosphere at the arena Saturday reminded me of the atmosphere of a Bucks game during the Chris Ford era. The basketball wasn't good and the crowd sat on their hands. I can accept the bad basketball, we have young players that need to grow and mature. The fan support was horrendous.
UWM is a commuter college in a metro area that is not a typical college town. Forget all the crap about a boisterous student section, it isn't going to happen. My sister-in-law's boyfriend recently graduated from UWM. He is one of the fair weather fan, ride the band wagon UWM student. They only care when the Panthers are playing the conference championship game on ESPN. Outside of that they could give a rats ass about seeing a game at the Arena. Other UWM students I know are just too busy to make it to games on a regular basis. I don't put much into a regular season student section.
UWM needs to cater to the metro area, which means getting more area alumni and families to the games. On the whole I bet my kids scream more at Panther games than the average student in the student section (you should have heard my son yelling at the WSU players and we sat in the WSU fan section behind the basket). Multiply my kids by a couple/few hundred and you will have a screaming section. (been to a Wave game lately, talk about getting a small crowd to cheer) But how to get families to the games? That is a tough one. Well they can start by getting kid amenities at the games. They give a slight price reduction to kids, but they should consider more of a reduction.
UWM also needs to partner with a local retailer to sell merchandise outside of the bookstore and Arena. It's just BS that I have to go to campus or a game to see the gear in person (gear at the game is limited). Since UWM has a partnership with the Brewers, maybe sell merchandise at Miller Park. Just do it somewhere outside of the campus.
OK, I'm done. Let's see what others have to say.
Now, on to the subject at hand. I must say that overall Saturday was a disappointing evening. Notice I do not say disappointing game, but evening.
For the past two seasons I have taken my kids to UWM games. My kids love UWM games. We get on the Panther gear and make signs. Before the game the kids hum along to the UWM fight song. At the games the kids cheer for the team, wave their signs and just plain get into it.
We attended the WSU game Saturday night. During a timeout in the second half, my kids were screaming and waving their signs. After the timeout my daughter looked and me and said, "Dad nobody is cheering and helping the Panthers." My son was also disappointed in the lack of crowd participation. The very next timeout, the same thing occurred. After that both my kids said they were bored and wanted to go home. So we left. On the way home they both said they don't want to come back to any Panther games (I think this will change over time). But the damage is done. In my household money is tight. I actually reduced the number of Brewer games I attended this year in order to afford UWM games. But if the kids are bored, so sense wasting money on the games.
The atmosphere at the arena Saturday reminded me of the atmosphere of a Bucks game during the Chris Ford era. The basketball wasn't good and the crowd sat on their hands. I can accept the bad basketball, we have young players that need to grow and mature. The fan support was horrendous.
UWM is a commuter college in a metro area that is not a typical college town. Forget all the crap about a boisterous student section, it isn't going to happen. My sister-in-law's boyfriend recently graduated from UWM. He is one of the fair weather fan, ride the band wagon UWM student. They only care when the Panthers are playing the conference championship game on ESPN. Outside of that they could give a rats ass about seeing a game at the Arena. Other UWM students I know are just too busy to make it to games on a regular basis. I don't put much into a regular season student section.
UWM needs to cater to the metro area, which means getting more area alumni and families to the games. On the whole I bet my kids scream more at Panther games than the average student in the student section (you should have heard my son yelling at the WSU players and we sat in the WSU fan section behind the basket). Multiply my kids by a couple/few hundred and you will have a screaming section. (been to a Wave game lately, talk about getting a small crowd to cheer) But how to get families to the games? That is a tough one. Well they can start by getting kid amenities at the games. They give a slight price reduction to kids, but they should consider more of a reduction.
UWM also needs to partner with a local retailer to sell merchandise outside of the bookstore and Arena. It's just BS that I have to go to campus or a game to see the gear in person (gear at the game is limited). Since UWM has a partnership with the Brewers, maybe sell merchandise at Miller Park. Just do it somewhere outside of the campus.
OK, I'm done. Let's see what others have to say.
Sunday was very disappointing. 27000 kids go to this school and we cant get 500 kids to a game, much less 50 on Sunday (especially after the two successful years we've just had!). My little brother lives in the dorms, and I dont think he would have even known about the games this weekend if I hadnt told him. Making sure that kids in the dorms are aware of homes games is a MUST.