Standing at the game

[MNHawkeyeFreak]

Good post, no don't stay at home as long as you can still get up once in a while and go crazy. Once that stops then get yourself an awesome HDTV so you can get a better view.

I have never been to a game where I stand just for the sake of standing. Either something really good just happened or something really bad happened and I feel I gotta "talk" to the refs. When Iowa goes on one of those 5 to 7 minute scoring droughts I am on my butt, along with timeouts and half time. It is usually when I am jawing is when I get tapped on the shoulder because some old guy can't see but the last game I attended I could hear the old couple complain all game long. I am sure they were not happy I bought the four 8/9 year olds who were with me foam fingers.

I think you like to say "foam fingers"...

 

[ssckelley]

I think you like to say "foam fingers"...

I do, and I was laughing the entire game. I got poked in the eye about 5 times but it was worth it, those kids waved them the entire game.

 

[MNHawkeyeFreak]

Did you ever have one of those gold foam Hawkeye bricks? You threw them at the TV whenever you didn't like what was going on. Really need like a huge basketfull of those some games.....

 

[ssckelley]

No but I bet I could have gotten one through my TV had I tried it. I was pretty hot watching Iowa pi$$ away the Nebraska game.

 

[ColoradoHAWKEYE]

Oh you people..."youth is a fault that improves daily with age"!

You/we all want the team to win, how you go about it to see that depends on your own perogative. Some yell, some donate, some stand, some attend, some whistle (very loudly), some clap, some cat call, some pi$s and moan, some do all of these, some do none. Don't lose sight of the groups desired result...a W. Be tolerant of others...and, if sitting or standing anywhere near me, protect your ears from game changing shrill whistles.

 

[rodg12]

Isn't there a happy medium between standing the entire game and sitting the entire game?

In my opinion, it's wrong to expect to sit the whole game and expect everybody else to do the same. I also think it's wrong to stand the whole game and expect everybody else to do the same.

To me, each of those extremes are equally dooooshie.

Not everybody can stand the whole game, but if you're at a game you have to expect there will be a good amount of standing. If you can't stand at all, and you're not in the handicapped section, you should expect (and accept) that you're going to be staring at butts for a good portion of the game. There are times, and we all know when those times are (like "key" plays at football games), when the crowd needs to be standing and going nuts.

Other times, it's OK to take a breather and sit down for awhile. However, if you're standing behind one of those "superfans", you don't get that luxury.

I destroyed my knee playing football, and to stand for LONG periods of time hurts like hell. I can stand some of the time, like when it's called for, but if I stand for the entire game I would probably have tears in my eyes from the pain. I guess according to some of you "standers" I'm not a good fan and should just stay home.

The bolded is exactly what happened last night (at least in my section). Stand and cheer when it's needed. No need to stand the entire game, though. That is, indeed, a dbag move.

 

[DodgerHawki]

You make a good point..

The crowd was great. One question- What's stopping that "great crowd" from buying tickets the rest of the year?

And oh by the way those old geezers were some of the only fans that stuck with the program and continued to pay for season tickets through the lean years while most of the "fans" that were there tonight were the ones hitching how crappy the teams were.

Every fan has a place whether some people want to believe it or not.

the crowd last night was fantastic and a credit to the Iowa fans. But to point out the older folks who have been quiet in recent years as the problem is ridiculous. They are the only people who kept Iowa basketball from missing out on even more revenue than they did in recent years.

Things will be just fine should the winning continue - fans will continue to come and be excited and involved at games. But God bless the older Hawk fans who have been faithful ticket holders through thick and thin. They have some disposable income, and have chosen to spend it on the UI over the years.

 

[DodgerHawki]

Good ideas mostly...

Plenty of blame to go around about why you could hear a knitting needle drop at some Iowa basketball games in recent years. Instead of pointing fingers, though, how about a few positive steps by everyone for the coming year:

- Iowa ticket office, make it easier for the kind of fan who attended last night to buy more prime tickets at a reasonable price throughout the season, hopefully turning them into regular patrons, season-ticket holders and ultimately donors, even if at a very low level.
- Athletic Department, put more students around the court, make it more affordable for them to come.
- Season-ticket holders, come, give your team plenty of vocal and visual support, make CHA one of the most difficult venues in the country for opponents.
- Donors/season-ticket holders, leave your reading and needlepoint at home, come and yell, stand, support your team. If you're not up to that, give your tickets for that particular night to younger fans who will. (Perhaps create a local StubHub style ticket clearinghouse to donate and re-distribute tickets on short notice.)

Fran and his players are on the verge of turning this thing around in a big way. They deserve every decibel of crowd support.

with a few thoughts

1) What do you mean by making more prime tickets at a reasonable price? What may be reasonable to you or I may not be reasonable to the free market. That's why those seats go to the big donors. It's the same reason why I can't have never previously bought football season tickets or donated to the UI Foundation and expect to be given season tickets on the 50-yard line, 20 rows up. There is an economic reality to who gets what seats.
2) I do think they could/should reduce the student prices and/or let them in free. Not sure logistically how you can ring them around the arena. The prime seating around the arena has been reserved for big donors, that's how they are paying for the CHA renovations. Last night proved it can be plenty loud when the crowd was involved.
3) People who have continued to buy season tickets through the Dark Ages of Iowa basketball can do whatever the heck they want as far as I'm concerned. Since there have been only 5,000 or so of them the last few years how is it they were supposed to make it loud and raucous by themselves?
4) All of the season-ticket holders I know are the most loud and rabid fans at the games. I'm sure that's not true of all of them, but those fans I know have been paying good money for crap for a decade or more. They DESPERATELY want a good team to cheer for. I would agree that some sort of Ticket Exchange would be great (maybe it exists already).