Fan Support

Do not agree, I have 2 season tickets front row on the upper ring and paid just over $200 FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON. I buy a extra general admission ticket for my 5yo for $5 on the online outlet on Soonersports. Concessions will be that at any sporting function, expensive and over-priced. But I cannot agree on the pricing being the issue. You would be hard pressed to find anything else in town where me, the wife and the kid can be entertained for 2 hours for $25 bucks.

I said specifically the donations required to get a lower bowl seat. $500 a seat donation for corner/behind the goal lower bowl seats is too expensive and my seats are 4 rows for the top of my section so they could get more expensive the lower you go. You can't ask for top of line prices for a subpar product.
 
"You're not going to be entertained, but you need to show pride in your school"--I hope that pitch goes over well.

So any student who doesn't go to men's basketball games doesn't have pride in the school? Is attendance of every on-campus sporting event mandatory for school pride? What about non-athletic competitions, such as debate? Where do you draw the line?

Most OU students aren't big college basketball fans. If choosing not to attend an event because you derive little enjoyment from it makes someone selfish, then I would like to know who among us isn't selfish. How many on-campus quiz bowl matches did you miss when you were a student? If the answer is greater than zero, you're selfish.

We all wish that more students were OU basketball fans and attended games, but not everyone thinks like the fans on this board. As Marlo Stanfield said, "You want it to be one way...but it's the other way."

what's your excuse for not going?

you can twist this argument any way you want.
it's still embarrassing that no more than 100 OU STUDENTS can figure out how to show up on a consistent basis to support the team's basketball program.

if we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the debate team, and had a 12,000 seat arena to showcase our debaters then i would say the same thing.

with that being said, i bet there is still more relative support of our debate team vs. the basketball team.


all in all, most students on campus are WELL aware that we field a basketball team, where the LNC is located, and when games are played. just another excuse. they are just too lazy to do anything about it. lazy and selfish. yep i said it again.

Most OU Students are just bunch of front runners, and i'm extremely fearful that if our football program falls into any dissaray that these same students will have to be the future donors of the program.

sorry this hurts your feelings. you obviously care more about deconstructing my arguement, versus acknowledging the truth in front of you. you can make any arguement you want, twist the logic, and try to point out one exception....at the end of the day the results are the same.

we have a campus of 24,000 students, and 100 show up to support a major division 1 basketball team on any given night. i get it. not a shock, that most people want to support a winner. why is anyone disputing our students absolutely suck at supporting our basketball team. its starts and ends with the students.
 
Don't underestimate how much the '09-'10 debacle turned people off Sooner basketball. The most unlikeable team maybe in OU history. We went from solid crowds as late as January with OSU and Mizzou to maybe a half-full arena for senior day against A&M. It's going to take more than a marketing campaign (and vacated wins) to erase that memory.
 
thegreyghost....i agree...it's a broken record.....but everytime i think it's reached an all time low, i stand corrected.

at this rate by end of season, there will be about 25 students down on the court...each one with a pizza to their own.
 
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I said specifically the donations required to get a lower bowl seat. $500 a seat donation for corner/behind the goal lower bowl seats is too expensive and my seats are 4 rows for the top of my section so they could get more expensive the lower you go. You can't ask for top of line prices for a subpar product.

I can agree with the lower bowl prices, that's why I am on the upper level. Still, if anyone wanted to get into a game, they can probably get in for $5 or less and just walk down....
 
what's your excuse for not going?

Pretty sure Smash doesn't miss a home game...so he would be the wrong person to go after concerning this.

Most OU Students are just bunch of front runners, and i'm extremely fearful that if our football program falls into any dissaray that these same students will have to be the future donors of the program.

Sort of like our donations in the 90's when we sucked at football...then when we started winning, applications and donations came pouring in after 2000. What does that say about the students in the 60's, 70's and 80's??
 
I remember back under Tubbs, when us, KU and MU were going back and forth at being ranked #1 and at one point were #1, #2, and #3, we still were not filling LNC for every game. Last night in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse against Georgetown had attendance of 27,000.
 
what's your excuse for not going?
you can twist this argument any way you want.
it's still embarrassing that no more than 100 OU STUDENTS can figure out how to show up on a consistent basis to support the team's basketball program.

Reading comprehension, bud:

I've been to every OU home game this season

Just because I can understand someone else's perspective doesn't mean I share it. I go to every game but understand why a lot of people don't.

When I didn't attend games as a student, my excuse was that I was working full-time on nights and weekends while going to school full-time. That was rather selfish and lazy of me, so please accept my apology.

all in all, most students on campus are WELL aware that we field a basketball team, where the LNC is located, and when games are played. just another excuse. they are just too lazy to do anything about it. lazy and selfish. yep i said it again.
Or maybe they're just not college basketball fans. I have a few friends who went to OU but never went to a football game because they're not sports fans. That doesn't make them lazy or selfish. This idea that attending a sporting event makes someone superior to anyone who doesn't is just absurd.

sorry this hurts your feelings. you obviously care more about deconstructing my arguement, versus acknowledging the truth in front of you. you can make any arguement you want, twist the logic, and try to point out one exception....at the end of the day the results are the same.
It doesn't hurt my feelings at all; it hurts the part of my brain that processes logic. I'm not the one lashing out at students for not attending a sporting event that they have no interest in watching.

why is anyone disputing our students absolutely suck at supporting our basketball team. its starts and ends with the students.
They do suck at supporting the basketball team. Everyone in this thread who has argued with you--including myself--has also stated that they wish there was more student support of the program. However, this idea that anyone who chooses not to go to basketball games is a horrible person is a bit extreme.

An OU football game is a social event for a lot of students, as many of them attend simply to hang out with their friends and enjoy the pageantry. Thus, the student section has a ton of casual fans mixed in with the hardcore football fans. It's one of the biggest reasons the student section is half-empty in the second half, yet many of the same people who complain about this football issue want to fill the LNC student section with a bunch of students who care even less about basketball? Brilliant!
 
i understand that the students won't support them until they are good. the thing that really hurts us is the people who buy season tickets and just don't use them. Every game we have on TV makes us look like slapdicks since the arena is only 1/3 full.

Now, i'm not sure if these are corporations and businesses buying these tickets or if its donors trying to get points for football tickets. Either way it significantly hurts the national perception of our program and recruits see that. Until this ticket policy changes we are gonna be hard pressed to be an elite program again.
 
i understand that the students won't support them until they are good. the thing that really hurts us is the people who buy season tickets and just don't use them. Every game we have on TV makes us look like slapdicks since the arena is only 1/3 full.

Now, i'm not sure if these are corporations and businesses buying these tickets or if its donors trying to get points for football tickets. Either way it significantly hurts the national perception of our program and recruits see that. Until this ticket policy changes we are gonna be hard pressed to be an elite program again.

FWIW, I have a student season ticket holder friend who is interning with an OKC-area company. He said he receives emails each gameday asking if anyone wants to use the company tickets. The fact that emails are going around the day of isn't a great sign. He said he thought they had at least 4 corporate tickets, maybe more.
 
I remember back under Tubbs, when us, KU and MU were going back and forth at being ranked #1 and at one point were #1, #2, and #3, we still were not filling LNC for every game. Last night in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse against Georgetown had attendance of 27,000.

we played KU on saturday when they were #1, beat them.

then new rankings came out on monday, and MU was #1, and we beat them as well. both at home.


but your memory is wrong...it was freaking packed, and loud as ever. those were days, when there were students waiting in front of the doors to open up and get down to their seats.

student section was full. from the middle of the west section all the way around the pep band, and into the top bowl. in fact, the section was so full that if you didn't have a lower section priority ticket you had to sit in the top section. the myth that the LNC has never been full is strictly a falsehood.
 
smash and camp...no issues with you guys...and kudos for trying to inject a general sense of understanding about your peers.
i appreciate that perspective.


not calling the students a bunch of devil worshippers or evil doers...just selfish when it comes supporting their basketball team. most students come from a high school that has a basketball team and in fact probably supported their teams very well. just go to any high school gym in the winter. they obviously had school spirit then, right? this is how basketball is different than asking someone to show up and support our speech or debate team. basketball is not a foriegn subject...and the game itself is exciting..even our team this year. their is a historical benchmark for thise same students, that now CHOOSE selfishly to do something else.

in addition, i'm not asking for every single student to show up every night. but it's plausable that 2-3K students could show up to each game...less that 10% of the student body.

with all of that being said, i do know this. a majority of the 24000 that cruise campus are very aware of the basketball team. coach kruger and the athletic department have gone overboard on trying to drum up attendance. even dudes on this board have done their part. but still no attendance. the team is actually competitive in their home games, and they are pretty good. it's not like it's bad basketball.


at the end of the day, this is my opinion. sorry you guys feel like you have to change it.
please continue to support the team like you have, and try to keep inviting your friends.
and as we win, we might be able to get a few more butts in the stands
 
Pretty sure Smash doesn't miss a home game...so he would be the wrong person to go after concerning this.



Sort of like our donations in the 90's when we sucked at football...then when we started winning, applications and donations came pouring in after 2000. What does that say about the students in the 60's, 70's and 80's??[/QUOTE]

this discussion is about students. not all donors are students and alum in the school. therefore i won't hold the same level of expectations around school spirit for those people...and yes they were front runners/band wagon...no one is denying that.

as for the 90's when i was in school, the student section was still full even though we sucked. in addition, the student section at basketball games had significantly more than now...and conference games were packed.
 
That's the point right? There isn't going to be a drastic change overnight, but notoriety from solid wins at home carries weight and gets the ball rolling.



It might have had a difference, however, just like almost every other school in the United States, there has to be success to draw the casual fan in. It is not realistic to expect the LNC to be packed when the team has a 12-8 record.

False, sports are entertainment in general. If it was just about the institution, why are there not 500 students at baseball, gymnastics, soccer, volleyball, softball, etc? Because it's not entertaining.



Agree with you on this one, it sucks, but it's also reality. The effort is being made to pull people back, but until the team strings together some wins (which hopefully they will) results will be tough to come by. However, as I said previously, to those who follow the program closely it appears that the program is headed in the right direction.[/quote]

where in my discussion have i asked for the student section to be packed....hell, one section being half full would be a huge improvement. again, i cannot find one situation where 2-3K students are all doing something other than wanting to go support their basketball team on any given night.

2-3000 students...that's it. not 20, 15, or even 10K.....

but yes, i do believe that with winning comes greater attendance...just not sure if winning will be enough based on the reasons you have provided to why they don't attend now.
 
i understand that the students won't support them until they are good. the thing that really hurts us is the people who buy season tickets and just don't use them. Every game we have on TV makes us look like slapdicks since the arena is only 1/3 full.

Now, i'm not sure if these are corporations and businesses buying these tickets or if its donors trying to get points for football tickets. Either way it significantly hurts the national perception of our program and recruits see that. Until this ticket policy changes we are gonna be hard pressed to be an elite program again.

Most of the vacant seats are donor tickets owned by corporations for use by their customers and employees. When the Sooners are losing excessively the demand for those tickets are nil and therefore mostly not used. Couple this lack of interest with OU not having a significant number of true basketball fans and now experiencing the competition of a winning OKC Thunder and attendance is only going to wain until the Sooners start winning big.

However anyone buying basketball tickets to get priority points for Texas football tickets are shooting themselves in the foot. You get 1 priorty point for every sport you purchase a season ticket. If you purchase 4 season football and 4 season basketball tickets you earn only 2 priority points.

Donate the same dollar amount to the Sooner Club as a season basketball ticket costing $500 cost and you earn 15 priority points instead of only 1. Donate the cost of 4 basketball tickets to the Sooner Club instead of buying the tickets and will earn you 60 priority points instead of the same 1 point for purchasing the tickets. Some individuals may purchase basketball tickets to enhance their priority points for Texas tickets but that is a foolish approach and a waste of a lot of money.
 
please continue to support the team like you have, and try to keep inviting your friends.
and as we win, we might be able to get a few more butts in the stands

I've got really nothing else to add to this subject...except the fact that I am not a student. Been there, drank that.
 
we played KU on saturday when they were #1, beat them.

then new rankings came out on monday, and MU was #1, and we beat them as well. both at home.


but your memory is wrong...it was freaking packed, and loud as ever. those were days, when there were students waiting in front of the doors to open up and get down to their seats.

student section was full. from the middle of the west section all the way around the pep band, and into the top bowl. in fact, the section was so full that if you didn't have a lower section priority ticket you had to sit in the top section. the myth that the LNC has never been full is strictly a falsehood.

Actually, we played MU on a Sunday, when they were ranked #1 and beat them by 17 or so. Then the ranking were released on Monday, and KU was then #1 and we played them on Tuesday and beat them by 22.

I think we were top 5 for the MU game but not #3 whereas we were definitely #2 when KU came 2 nights later.

I was at both games as a freshman year. We had 3 #1 teams come into the LNC that year (UNLV, MU, and KU). All 3 games were sold out and full even for SRO. We peaked the week of the MU and KU game which was about a month too soon.

I can remember going to many games that year where we had 2-3 K seats empty. Even the student section wasn't full for some games.

EDIT: according to soonerstats.com, we were 10 when we played MU then 5 when we played KU. After the KU drubbing then a 13 point win in Stillwater, we took over as the #1 team.
 
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Have we, or could we, approach the greek system to see if we can get their involvement?

I would think at minimum they could require their pledges to go to the games and dress up funny or something and tell them to be loud. If you did this for a while other students will see how wild the students are being and maybe more will jump on board.
 
the easiest fix to get people to the games would be to sell beer. tons of students would attend if that could happen.
 
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