Basketball game atmosphere

[jayhahkerbabe]

I never thought I would post anything here, but here goes. My husband and I moved here several years ago from a big college town and we are huge college basketball fans. We went to the games on Friday night and thought the games were great. Congrats Cats on some great play.

But I came away wondering if I wanted to come back. What awful game atmosphere you have. The band is awful--why do they have to play all the time? I've never been to a college game where a band played all the music. How boring can it get? And the cheer and dancers? I won't even start--but could they do some cheers that people can cheer with? Besides when they go out on the floor, all the stuff they do on the sidelines is non-descript yelling that nobody can follow. Do they know any of the regular cheers?

Have your music people or cheer coach ever been to another college game anywhere? I think your crowds would yell and get excited but your cheerleaders don't know how to get them to cheer and you need some music over the loudspeakers that isn't dance machine music. I'd rather listen on the radio at home

[jagur1]

jayhahkerbabe let me put this so you'll understand it. MSU is the kansas state of this state. MSU just like KSU has a HUGH complex about it. Might as well become a Griz fan and feel the love.

[rtb]

I never thought I would post anything here, but here goes. My husband and I moved here several years ago from a big college town and we are huge college basketball fans. We went to the games on Friday night and thought the games were great. Congrats Cats on some great play.

But I came away wondering if I wanted to come back. What awful game atmosphere you have. The band is awful--why do they have to play all the time? I've never been to a college game where a band played all the music. How boring can it get? And the cheer and dancers? I won't even start--but could they do some cheers that people can cheer with? Besides when they go out on the floor, all the stuff they do on the sidelines is non-descript yelling that nobody can follow. Do they know any of the regular cheers?

Have your music people or cheer coach ever been to another college game anywhere? I think your crowds would yell and get excited but your cheerleaders don't know how to get them to cheer and you need some music over the loudspeakers that isn't dance machine music. I'd rather listen on the radio at home

Our atmosphere does suck! It will improve and the games and crowd get into it later in the season, but I think a large part of the atmosphere has to do with the facility. The crowd is too far from the court and often times it feels like you could take a nap in there. It's sad because basketball is my first love and even I being a diehard Bobcat fan often find something else to do rather than go to the games. I would love to see this thread turn into a thread offering positive suggestions on what MSU can do to make the atmosphere more appealing.

[CelticCat]

I love the Bobcats, but I agree going to basketball games isn't usually something I crave. It is like a library in there. No student support, no yelling, jumping, or really anything. People don't sit near each other so it is very spread out. I see a great play and look around and people are just sitting there. I've actually not gone to a game cuz I get so frustrated that everyone is so apathetic. Most people don't even wear Bobcat apparel.

[BelgradeBobcat]

The program has had some relatively down years and the fan support has slipped. I think basketball fandom has slipped in a lot of places around this country-everybody's focused on football. The fan support picks up a little after new years-usually. I think this team has a chance of building that back up-Will Bynum is worth the price of admission all by himself.

If you don't like the band's music-bring along an IPOD I guess. Usually the compliant I hear is there is too much canned music.
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If you think we're bad-go to any other Big Sky basketball game...

Don't ever expect to see us duplicate Allen Fieldhouse-good grief-that's about as good as it gets.

[BelgradeBobcat]

I would love to see this thread turn into a thread offering positive suggestions on what MSU can do to make the atmosphere more appealing.

Don't have a game the night of the Christmas Stroll (I assume that's where everybody was tonight?)

[MSU01]

The thing is, I think back to the mid-90s when the atmosphere at basketball games was much better than it is today, and I can't think of anything significantly different that was being done at the games than that isn't being done now. It's probably a combination of reasons that have led to this point - the fact that the team hasn't been to the NCAA tourney since 1996 certainly doesn't help, nor does the ever-increasing number of other forms of entertainment one can choose from on a Friday or Saturday night. Ultimately, if the team turns into a consistent winner (one good year out of every five or six isn't good enough), the fans will come back, although probably not ever to the level that it once was.

[Dagger281]

All I can say is that I am usually one of the only guys yelling at the games, its kind of funny really! Seems like the people around me are almost embarrassed or something to yell. I have fun so thats all that counts! GO CATS!!! Great conference win tonight!

[WeedKillinCat]

I think part of the problem could be that football just wrapped up, kids are getting ready for finals, Christmas is coming up and usually nobody gets into basketball until after the first when the conference schedule starts. Why conference play started so early this year I don't know why. I remember in the early 90's basketball was it. The great games against old conference foes of Idaho and Boise State made it fun. I am planning to bring my boys over to game this year, weather/roads permitting. I haven't been to a game in Bozeman since I graduated in 93. I did attend some of the games here in Billings against Wyoming. At most games, there were more folks up from Wyoming than Cat fans

[ddlalum]

often times it feels like you could take a nap in there

If Huse would only quit yelling all the time

I think he should get "fan of the game", it seems like he makes more noise than anyone

[Bleedinbluengold]

Does MSU charge for students going to bball games? If so, they should just let students in for free. In Bozeman, most of (not all, OK?) of the adults attending, just aren't the type to yell cheers. Sorry, that's just the facts. The more students that could get in, the more inspired the atmosphere would be; no question.

Everyone remember, back in the day, where the pre-game warm-up was globetrotter drills to the tune, Celebrate? I don't remember paying anything to get in, but if we did, it was prolly like $3 or something. The student section was always jam packed starting at warmups, and we pretty much stood the whole game.

Ya know, it's just not that hard to create an awesome atmophere - even in the Fieldhouse.

[Common Cat]

I haven't been to a game in years, but when I was going it was pretty fun (Years 01-05). I specifically wanted to comment on the Fieldhouse...and that is it is an awesome venue in my opinion. I love how dark everything is except the floor. It makes the floor look like a well lit stage.

[BelgradeBobcat]

I've been going to Bobcat basketball games as long as I can remember-starting in the mid-70's. Back then MSU was going through one of its lowest times. Nobody came to the games-the place was 10 times deader than it is now for a women's non-conference game over Christmas break.

The Fieldhouse was quite different in those days. The building's floor was dirt, and the basketball court was this big raised apparatus set up on cinder blocks. To get to the court the players walked on board walks and up some steps-wiping their feet on a floor mat. The Fieldhouse was absolutely cavernous.

In the late 70's Bruce Haroldson took over as coach, and a scrappy point guard named Mick Durham and smooth long distance shooter named Craig Finberg led the team. Haroldson also brought in an influx of JC talent, including my all time favorite Bobcat-Arnold McDowell. A McDowell dunk would absolutely bring the house down. Today dunking is pretty routine but back then it was quite a novelty. Bobcat basketaball was suddenly a big deal around here.

Going into the 80's the Fieldhouse got some much needed work done. Primarily a tartan floor surface was installed throughout the arena. The bleachers were upgraded and the place got a new coat of paint. The arena was a lot brighter-and felt more intimate. Anyway-Haroldson was let go (I don't remember why, but there was some sort of scandal), and Stu Starner took over. Starner brought us the likes of Tony Hampton, Ray Willis, Tom Domako, and the Ferch brothers among others. By the mid-80's basketball was going through a mini golden era as I look back on it now. The crowds were big, the students showed up early, and Kral Ferch was dunking on everybody. That team got us an NCAA birth and an NIT game which we hosted.

Starner took a sabbatical in the early 90's and Mick Durham took over as interim head coach. Starner never came back and Durham got the job permanently. Try as they might in the late 80's and early 90's but Starner and Durham couldn't recapture the magic of those teams from '86 to '88...until 1996. A senior laden team led by Quadre Lollis, Adam Leachman, Nico Harrison, and Scott Hatler were supplemented by a precocious freshman named Danny Sprinkle. The team rolled through the Big Sky regular season and hosted the tournament. The place was full all three nights-even the first night when the Cats weren't playing. We beat Weber State in front of a packed house to go to the NCAA's.

In the late 90's, the Fieldhouse was extensively renovated. Everything became dark blue and the student section and the booster sections swapped sides. Things were reconfigured so a standing student section wouldn't block the view of the upper level. Ironically, the student section-which is behind the benches and press row and a long ways from the court-hardly stands anymore. The arena looks a little more modern-but I wonder if the darkness of it all puts the crowd to sleep? Crowds are not as big as in the 80's-even Cat-griz doesn't completely fill it up anymore even with the reduced capacity from the renovation.

Enter Brad Huse. During the transition from Durham to Huse the program has struggled. Fan support has dipped, and student support is tepid at best. But the Huse era received a shot in the arm at the end of the 2008-'09 season when they unbelievably upset the grizzlies in Missoula in the first round of the Big Sky tourney and made it all the way to the final-only losing by 2 to Portland State in the last seconds. That team has most eveybody back-except center Divaldo Mbunga (a big loss) and and they have shown signs of being a good team so far in '09-'10. So maybe we're building back up to something.

If I were a billionaire-I'd donate the money to completely gut the inside of the Fieldhouse and build an entirely new arena underneath the dome. The pitch of the stands would be much steeper and closer to the court. But alas I'm only about a billion dollars short of full-filling that dream. Until then the Fieldhouse is what it is. Come out and support this team. I think they could be good.

This post was a completely self indulgent trip down memory lane. Sorry it was so long.

[whitetrashgriz]

that's a great post. i'm a little too young to rememeber the teams of the 80's but i was in highschool during the '96 season and it was awesome. every now and then i like to pop in the tape of that game on espn to see myself and my buddies storming the court with all of the college kids when we were just tiny freshmen in highschool! so fun. i agree the fieldhouse could use some tlc to get the most out of it. however, just as i've said in regards to the football team...winning trumps all! if this team starts winning the conference consistently, and making the field of 64...er, 65 then the fans will come. i promise if we made the dance a few years in a row no one would be complaining about the fieldhouse! for what it's worth, i think this year is going to be a good one, and i think it's the year that huse puts it all together. i'm saying right now we'll be hosting the big sky tourney.

[longhorn_22]

I was actually impressed with the student attendance on Friday. Last year was awful but it looks to be improved this year. Hope we can build on it.

[Old Skool Cat]

You know, I have been thinking about this thread all weekend and how to respond. What I have come up with is that I am so sick and tired of people complaining about the atmosphere, whether it be at the football or basketball game. If you don't want to come to the basketball game because you don't like the way the band plays or the way the cheerleaders cheer, then screw you, go back to your big college town. The person that started this thread begin their post by stating that they are big college basketball fans. They end the post complaining about the cheerleaders! WTF?? You either come for the the game or for the atmosphere! If you were a big college basketball fan, then you shouldn't be offended by the cheerleaders or the band, because the team on the court is as good as advertised. Say what you will, but the Big Sky plays some damn good basketball. If you came to the game because you were a big college basketball fan, you would have taken pleasure in watching the Cats dismantle a very good undefeated UNC team Friday night, and make a resounding comeback and run away from NAU on Saturday to start conference play at 2-0. So don't give me this "I'm a big college basketball fan" and then try to flame the band or the cheerleaders or whatever. Sorry for the rant, but if want to whine just stay home; we don't need fans like this thank you very much.

[rtb]

Old Skool - While I can understand your sentiments I think you're wrong. We do need fans of every type. We can't build better facilities, we can't continue to take our program to the next level with die hard Bobcat fans only. There are a lot of people in this area that don't have strong ties to MSU like many of us. For those people to spend their discretionary income on MSU events they need a reason to come and I don't think we've given people that reason to come to basketball games unless they are a true basketball diehard that has to watch games live to be satisfied. I know a lot pf people with strong ties that don't make it to every basketball game because they find other things to do. If we all want MSU to continue to grow and succeed on the athletic front we need more casual fans to show up along with the diehards.

[GOKATS]

Old Skool - While I can understand your sentiments I think you're wrong. We do need fans of every type. We can't build better facilities, we can continue to take our program to the next level with die hard Bobcat fans only. There are a lot of people in this area that don't have strong ties to MSU like many of us. For those people to spend their discretionary income on MSU events they need a reason to come and I don't think we've given people that reason to come to basketball games unless they are a true basketball diehard that has to watch games live to be satisfied. I know a lot pf people with strong ties that don't make it to every basketball game because they find other things to do. If we all want MSU to continue to grow and succeed on the athletic front we need more casual fans to show up along with the diehards.

[Old Skool Cat]

Old Skool - While I can understand your sentiments I think you're wrong. We do need fans of every time. We can't build better facilities, we can continue to take our program to the next level with die hard Bobcat fans only. There are a lot of people in this area that don't have strong ties to MSU like many of us. For those people to spend their discretionary income on MSU events they need a reason to come and I don't think we've given people that reason to come to basketball games unless they are a true basketball diehard that has to watch games live to be satisfied. I know a lot pf people with strong ties that don't make it to every basketball game because they find other things to do. If we all want MSU to continue to grow and succeed on the athletic front we need more casual fans to show up along with the diehards.

I know, rtb; I fully understand the economics of needing all types. I completely understand that you need the die-hards as well as the bandwagoneers to make a program grow. But maybe it's just the sub-zero cold this morning, but I am just so sick of hearing people complain. Like BAC has stated in a thread about the football gameday atmosphere, maybe this guy ought to approach the athletic department with some ideas or volunteer some help rather than bag on the band and the cheerleaders. His post just chapped me the wrong way. Yes, the game atmosphere has dropped since when I was in school, and even in the last several years. But I go to watch the game, not be entertained. If you want to be entertained, go rent a movie. I remember the Earle Solmonson years in football, when we could barely draw 3,000 fans to a game and there was absolutely no theatrics associated with the game. But you know, in some aspect, that was some of the most fun I had at Bobcat games because you knew that everyone there was at the game because they loved the Cats, they wanted to be there regardless of the outcome, and it was like a family because you knew everyone and we all shared the joys and agonies together. Today, you can't get people to come to the football game if you don't play the right music, don't have a flyover, don't have t-shirts being shot into the stands, don't have videos on the scoreboard, can't tailgate, blah, blah, blah.

[ddlalum]

Maybe MSU should invest in a Kiss Cam. That will get the fans to the game