Does the lack of fans @ Carver annoy Fran?

DP5555

DP5555

Well-Known Member
Look, I'm as big of a Hawk fan as there is, and this topic isn't something I enjoy bringing up. The reason I bring it up is because I want other Hawk fans opinions on the subject. I'm pretty embarrassed by the lack of fans at Carver. Fran has built this program brick by brick. They're competing for a B10 Title right now and Hawk fans simply aren't filling the place. I'm one of them. I haven't gone to a game yet. My excuse? I live in Johnston, IA. I have a wife who is 36 weeks pregnant right now. It's difficult to make it to 8 pm games on a week night. I don't place the blame on anyone else because I don't have any room to talk, but I have no problem saying that I am embarrassed at the lack of crowd support the Hawks have had so far this season.

Now I know there are some realistic excuses. For instance, Iowa's football program making it to the Rose Bowl had many Hawk fans, including myself, not quite ready to move onto basketball yet. The holiday break for students certainly had an impact on attendance as well. It will be interesting to see if the crowd improves over these next couple of weeks because the students are back and the team has built some momentum.

If the crowd doesn't improve over the next several weeks... Do you think the lack of support bothers Fran? Do you think it could play a factor in him being pouched by a more prestigious program or a basketball school? I firmly believe he's done pretty much everything he can up to this point to satisfy Hawk fans. As a fan base I don't think we're giving Fran and his team the support they have earned. Carver should be rocking right now. Fran and those players deserve that much and I hope we give it to them or I'm afraid we could end up regretting it down the road.
 


Iowas next two opponents at home are michigan and purdue and on the weekend. If carver isn't packed for those games, Fran has every right to complain or be annoyed. There's no excuse for that.

I do think the rose bowl and winter break excuses are valid though. Carver looked packed for the Michigan state game on tv at least.

Right now ranked iowa is in first place in the big ten with one player having perhaps the best season ever for an iowa basketball player. Time to show up
 


I think it's going to be this way all year. We got hosed on the home schedule this year....big time. Our remaining home games are Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Wednesday, Sunday, Wednesday, Wednesday. Not a single Saturday game to be found anywhere.
 


I live in Johnston also. I bought my one and only season ticket for Fran's first year. It really isn't feasible for me to attend the weekday games (and as Spider pointed out...Iowa really got hosed with no Big 10 Saturday home games).

That being said, my son and I attend 2 games/year.
 


Carver is just not a good basketball arena. It is too far from campus to make going to games for students a priority on a weeknight in the middle of winter, fans are too far from the court, the student section is pushed off in the corner while the big money donors sit on their hands on the sidelines, probably yelling at anyone who dare stand and make noise. What little sound that is created inside that dark dungeon escapes to the top concourse. As you have probably figured out, I can't stand Carver as a venue. Really its only redeeming quality is the parquet floor and the new addition.
 


What other people do with their time doesn't concern me.

I'm sure attendance will pick up, especially if they continue to battle for the conference. Unless you're a top program it doesn't seem like a lot of teams don't have huge attendance and that's in smaller arenas.
 


Living in Des Moines and working full-time there's just no reasonable way for me to make it to weekday games. I could definitely be better about going to weekend games though.
 


How can we expect to keep what seems to be an elite level coach if he's doing his job and fans aren't showing up?

I've always been a proud Hawkeye fan. Part of that pride is because Hawk fans are well known for being incredibly loyal. I know the dwindling ticket issue in both football and basketball is real for many schools. Not just Iowa. People are getting comfortable watching games in their own house on a big screen TV. Again, I'm not blaming anyone else because I'm guilty of that as well. However, if Hawk fans don't start to show up I can't say I'd blame Fran if at some point he decided to move on to a storied basketball program where the venue is rocking night in and night out. Even when Carver is full it isn't near as loud as some places because of the design of the stadium and the seating arrangements. Most of the big donors who sit up front do just that. They sit and clap occasionally. They aren't the kind of fans who should be up front. We should surround the court with students. I've felt like that for quite awhile. I actually emailed Barta that a couple years ago and he responded with some lame excuse basically stating that "I appreciate your support, but the seating arrangements can not be reconfigured."

As a Hawk fan, I'm embarrassed by it because I always thought our fan base would deliver if the product delivers. Right now the product is delivering and we aren't. That's the cold hard facts folks.
 




We've been top 25 in attendance the last two years. I think it just looks bad because carver is pretty big.
 


If we at least make it close against Sparty next week, Carver should be rockin for at least most of the home games left.
 


I have been jealous of what they have at ISU for BB heck even the fans that show up to a horrible football team. You want to talk about a loyal fan base. Iowa fans don’t even come close to what they have up in Hilton. It doesn’t hurt that a lot of alum live in Des Moines or close by that does play a big factor.

I think that is what it comes down to. You’re not going to get a lot of people from DM area to buy season tickets. Not as many that buy FB season tickets. Number of games, time, day, cost of travel, and so on just not feasible and especially with Iowa weather. If the students don’t show up it feels empty and the students don’t show like they used to.
 
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Sounds like a classic bandwagon effect. The climbing back on-board will come only after the quality of the team improves. May not see the impact until nest season. Once season ticket decisions are made, people tend not to make single game ticket purchases, even when the team is doing well.

Exhibit A: home games late in the season for football.
 


My excuse is that I live in Tampa, FL. Even if I still lived in Iowa, I probably wouldn't make it to more than a couple games per year. I'm just not a "season ticket" type of guy - making the road trip to every game, especially mid-week.

That said, someone mentioned the bad home schedule, but I personally thought that the atmosphere against MSU (#1 in the country!) was absolutely deplorable, considering the opponent. And it was supposedly a sellout? Iowa starts the game 10-4, and there was just some polite clapping, and then quiet again. Only later in the first and second half did the crowd really bother to make very much noise on a few occasions. With the #1 team in the land coming in, I would've thought the place would have had some energy from the opening tip. ESPECIALLY THE STUDENT SECTION. What gives?

I watched some old Iowa games on YouTube from the late 80's, etc. and the place was absolutely rockin'. The fans & students, for whatever reason, don't seem to have much enthusiasm these days.
 
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The good news is that the Iowa fans are buying tickets (thus the high attendance figures). The bad news is that the schedule and weather have really curtailed their actual attendance. The really bad news is that we have the worst student participation in the entire league. There is nothing wrong with Carver. It will rock with the best of them when full of engaged fans. Hopefully, that will be the case now that football is over.
 


When they designate seats, they should have sitting sections and standing sections. I live in des moines and had season tickets the last 2 years but dumped them this year because it's not worth it. I would drive all the way there just to be annoyed at the fans sitting on their ***** and leaving with 5 minutes left in a close game. I decided I could pick and chose which games to go to, spend less money, and probably get better seats. The problem with that though is it's too easy to not go.
 


bcl20 said:
What other people do with their time doesn't concern me.

I'm sure attendance will pick up, especially if they continue to battle for the conference. Unless you're a top program it doesn't seem like a lot of teams don't have huge attendance and that's in smaller arenas.
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I've repeated a couple times that I'm not judging anyone for not going. I can't cast stones from a glass house. What does concern me is the trajectory that Fran has the program going could very well earn him some legit offers in the next couple of years. This program was dead in the water when he took over and he's improved it every season. There's a lot to be said about that. It's going to be hard enough to keep the big dogs from nabbing him the way it is, but the lack of fan support could absolutely play a role in his decision. It's not just his decision either. It could be playing a role in their ability to attract top talent. If I'm a 4 or 5 star recruit who has elite offers I'd rather play in front of a sold out stadium night in and night out. That's exciting. Working your *** off to play in front of a lame crowd... I mean it's fun because it's B10 Basketball, but it's not as fun as it could and/or should be. Those are the things that DO concern me.
 


I'm starting to think Iowa fans have been dumbed down over the years basketball and football alike. The program became mediocre for fairly long time and the passion is dead.

I used to be a freak about Iowa back in 2003.
 


Not tryin to be a d!ck.....but oppose to what? The rockin atmosphere at Siena. CHA isn't ideal, but it is something you can work on. Keep winning and you can make it special.
 


PCHawk said:
When they designate seats, they should have sitting sections and standing sections. I live in des moines and had season tickets the last 2 years but dumped them this year because it's not worth it. I would drive all the way there just to be annoyed at the fans sitting on their ***** and leaving with 5 minutes left in a close game. I decided I could pick and chose which games to go to, spend less money, and probably get better seats. The problem with that though is it's too easy to not go.
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One of my biggest pet peeves is how so many fans leave early like that... It blows my mind. Why do they even go then???? Don't get me wrong it's great your spending your money how you want to I just don't understand the why. Is it more fun to listen to the end on the radio for them? Or miss it all together? Because like you here say it's not just blowouts one way or the other that they do it. If beating traffic is your goal in life I just don't see why one would bother going at all... I do envy what ISU has going on for their atmosphere. We aren't touching that. Be it that DSM is 2 hours from Carver as opposed to about 45 mins from Ames I suppose that has some to do with it. But Iowa should pull Cedar Falls/Waterloo and the Eastern side to come that's closer... I dunno how to fix that seems to be one of those things it just is what it is....
 


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