Vols Take a beating in Oxford

[dgmcdowe]

Hold on my friend. The paying public has their support already in by buying the tickets - at least the season ticket holders. The students should be there in mass showing their support and aren't. Last year and the previous 4 years - been a ticket holder for 10 years now - the students haven't filled it up a single time if memory serves me correctly. They have cried to have a larger area and got it. Now they don't use it. And how can you not come to a game against Kentucky, Tennessee, or any SEC team for that matter regardless of when it is played? The students are already there and don't have to travel hours to get there and don't support the team.

Hey, I am talking about a few thousand students - there are 12,000 students on campus to fill a few thousand student seats and it is not being done. Yes, I am calling out the students who would rather go to the square and party instead of supporting their school. And yes, there are empty seats outside of the student section because not enough season tickets are being sold - too many to the opposing teams. But there is only a certain number of Oxford residents that will purchase them - the rest come from out of town and a mid-week game is hard to arrange to come to. I have been in both situations so I underrstand that piece. But the students not showing up can't be explained other than they don't care. If that is the case we will lose AK through no butts in the seats...pretty simple math.

Sorry to jump on this but having graduated from a basketball school, seeing this happen here is sickening. We have a great coaching staff, great players, and of the fans that turnout for the games - great fans in small numbers.This just needs to change and it starts with the students.

So have at it - I have said my peace and I move on.

Bull...Last year's homer against state was stacked to the rafters. I always take the time to show up to every game, and I don't like fairweather fans, either, but to say that they haven't been packed is false. It certainly isn't the seatbacks that make the tad-pad so hard to win in. Do you know why LSU fills up every game? They literally give student tickets away as long as you have an ID.

Calm down. Who can blame anyone for expecting a lackluster season, and the people who came out last night had plenty to do on a wednesday than go see a team that hasn't proven their consistency...but by the second half, I was being crushed by people...everywhere.

[rrlynch]

Rant

Bull...Last year's homer against state was stacked to the rafters.

I'm with you. To say that the students haven't been there over the last four years is false. If my memory serves me well, the 2007 game against Alabama (my Junior year) was the most highly attended game in the Tad Pad's history.

I rarely missed home games as a student during Kennedy's first two seasons. I love the up-tempo style of basketball he coaches.

[done]

My two cents...

Because of many folks' less than solid opinion of AK, it is going to take serious winning to get folks to flock to the Pad. That may not be right, but it is an issue. I for one am in no small amount embarrassed this guy represents my alma mater. Combine that with the loosy goosy style of play and I imagine it makes some folks less than enthusiastic to show up.

If I were close enough, I would probably buy the season tickets to make sure the money is there but I seriously might not show up to many games because there is winning and there is representing. If we want to win and be a program like Cincinnati or say MSU when Dontae Jones was there that is fine but not me.

I love Ole Miss, but that is truly how I feel.

[dgmcdowe]

Also-Isn't this a discussion to be having when we are losing our home games left and right?

I mean-arguably the biggest crowd of the year showed up for our loss to West Virginia.

[Chucky_38]

Great win. We have a real shot at post season play now.

As for attendance...Ole Miss basketball has never had great attendance has it? I have been to one game every year since 05 and maybe three games before that. Its just not a priority. It has nothing to do with the coaches. I just care alot less about basketball than I do football or baseball. Because we are usually better in those two sports. If we were awesome in basketball I would go to more games. If I lived closer to Oxford I would attend more games. As much as I could afford anyway. I can't afford to buy tickets and not go though.

As Pete Boone would say I'm just a cap n tshirt fan. So what do I know?

[dgmcdowe]

Great win. We have a real shot at post season play now.

As for attendance...Ole Miss basketball has never had great attendance has it? I have been to one game every year since 05 and maybe three games before that. Its just not a priority. It has nothing to do with the coaches. I just care alot less about basketball than I do football or baseball. Because we are usually better in those two sports. If we were awesome in basketball I would go to more games. If I lived closer to Oxford I would attend more games. As much as I could afford anyway. I can't afford to buy tickets and not go though.

As Pete Boone would say I'm just a cap n tshirt fan. So what do I know?

FWIW-We have been better in Basketball than football for the past two years. Both of those reached post-season berths.

[Chucky_38]

Great win. We have a real shot at post season play now.

As for attendance...Ole Miss basketball has never had great attendance has it? I have been to one game every year since 05 and maybe three games before that. Its just not a priority. It has nothing to do with the coaches. I just care alot less about basketball than I do football or baseball. Because we are usually better in those two sports. If we were awesome in basketball I would go to more games. If I lived closer to Oxford I would attend more games. As much as I could afford anyway. I can't afford to buy tickets and not go though.

As Pete Boone would say I'm just a cap n tshirt fan. So what do I know?

FWIW-We have been better in Basketball than football for the past two years. Both of those reached post-season berths.

True. I guess it would take years of winning to improve our attendance. Our maybe nothing would. I want to go to more games than I do though. But if I gotta choose, basketball gets left out. Football and baseball come first!

[MtownRebel]

Football and baseball will always come first because of outdoors, alcohol, grove, girls get a chance to dress up and pretentiousness. It's pretty true if you think about it, but flame away.

[RebelBond]

Just win baby !! The fans will come. I remember Bob Weltlic, Rob Evans and Rod Barns successful years and the fans came in large numbers. Winning cures all ills. People want to watch winners not losers. Today it is all about competing for the entertainment dollar. There is so much more to do now and it the product is not good, it will not get the support.
Why do you think Phil Fullmer was fired? Ticket sales and support were falling because they were losing games.
Just win baby!!

RebelBond

[GtownRebel]

In the Evans' years it filled up with White and Carter and team playing. But hey, I am just a season ticket holder that attends every game and if you think a one game showing by the students (which by the way didn't fill up their alottment as has been said here) is all they can do, then so be it. What great student support teams for Ole Miss have. Don't talk about a new place to play in when you can't fill it up for the SEC games. That is my point and I will stand by it. If the game is on TV, the old ticket holders don't show up. I know because the couple in their 70's beside me don't show up for any televised game. Getting your non-students to games might be a problem with weather, distance, etc., too. But students are in Oxford and frankly don't have an excuse. So if you think the showing the past Wednesday for a game against Tennessee was a great showing by the students, then you lost me. The ones that did show up, did a great job of cheering on the team. The ones that didn't show up, just indicates that the students aren't interested and don't need the space allocated to them.

[rebelliousb]

In the Evans' years it filled up with White and Carter and team playing. But hey, I am just a season ticket holder that attends every game and if you think a one game showing by the students (which by the way didn't fill up their alottment as has been said here) is all they can do, then so be it. What great student support teams for Ole Miss have. Don't talk about a new place to play in when you can't fill it up for the SEC games. That is my point and I will stand by it. If the game is on TV, the old ticket holders don't show up. I know because the couple in their 70's beside me don't show up for any televised game. Getting your non-students to games might be a problem with weather, distance, etc., too. But students are in Oxford and frankly don't have an excuse. So if you think the showing the past Wednesday for a game against Tennessee was a great showing by the students, then you lost me. The ones that did show up, did a great job of cheering on the team. The ones that didn't show up, just indicates that the students aren't interested and don't need the space allocated to them.

It's a catch 22. do you take the space from them and sell it to others who won't make the drive for a TV game? need to market more individual game tickets towards the high schools and JC's in the area at student prices and encourage the couples in their 70's to give back for resale.

[GtownRebel]

Or just give them away like someone above mentioned that LSU does for students. Still won't matter. I also think when they show they are a top notch team, we might fill it up at important SEC games. It will never be full for out of conference games regardless of if we played Duke or the Little Sisters of Assisi. JMO.

[dgmcdowe]

Football and baseball will always come first because of outdoors, alcohol, grove, girls get a chance to dress up and pretentiousness. It's pretty true if you think about it, but flame away.

You think they don't check the students pockets because it's too hard?

No. I can tell you by experience that you can walk by Cobra's with a flask in hand with nothing but a wink and a nod in return.

[done]

Football and baseball will always come first because of outdoors, alcohol, grove, girls get a chance to dress up and pretentiousness. It's pretty true if you think about it, but flame away.

Football will always come first because college football is the greatest sport of all and there isn't even a close second....and in football every single game is of significant importance (until the playoff proponents get their way). It is king and their is no worthy prince.

College basketball has deteriorated across the board. It is a glorified and sub-par minor league system for that subpar hip-hop show known as the NBA.

Baseball is great for baseball junkies and will always have a core base because of their love for the game and aside from the metal bats and DH it is still a relatively pure game.

I loved watching Weltlich, Evans and Barnes' teams because of their discipline and heart. What I see on the court now does not come close to touching me and making me want to care beyond the fact that they have Ole Miss on their jersey (which is still enough to make me care, but not to excite me).

I think that more people share that view than we might want to admit. And I don't think there is a solution because I think college basketball may be beyond saving at this point.

Baseball has now replaced basketball as my second favorite Ole Miss sport...but they are all just space and time fillers until football.

[MtownRebel]

Football will always come first because college football is the greatest sport of all and there isn't even a close second....and in football every single game is of significant importance (until the playoff proponents get their way). It is king and their is no worthy prince.

No argument.

College basketball has deteriorated across the board. It is a glorified and sub-par minor league system for that subpar hip-hop show known as the NBA.

I don't think this is a fair argument, especially not in the SEC. The SEC is not a one and done type of conference and people normally don't go pro until at least their junior year. I'll admit that the talent level across the board is down this year in college basketball, but this year has plenty of parity. The SEC is very even, every game in the Big East is exciting and the ACC is still the ACC.

Baseball is great for baseball junkies and will always have a core base because of their love for the game and aside from the metal bats and DH it is still a relatively pure game.

Definitely agree, but you take away RF and force the students to go through checkpoints with Cobra and sit in the chairbacks then you don't have a student section. They go for the atmosphere, not the game, at least a good amount of them.

I loved watching Weltlich, Evans and Barnes' teams because of their discipline and heart. What I see on the court now does not come close to touching me and making me want to care beyond the fact that they have Ole Miss on their jersey (which is still enough to make me care, but not to excite me).

I think if we get rid of Huertas then the team would care more. Looking at players like Murphy Holloway and Terrico White who give it their all every play and actually play as a team it's difficult to say that Kennedy has created a team that is only interested in its self. Huertas is a cancer for this team, just read the quotes in the DM after the UT game. When we get the leaders like Gaskins and EP back on the court it'll be a very different style of play that will show more heart during games.

...but they are all just space and time fillers until football.

That's why other sports are still around, we agree there.

I'm just trying to pass time in class by dissecting your post...