Disappointed with fan turn out for Louisville game

[LongTimer]

I think the fans of Bearcat Basketball should be embarrassed. With our whole season on the line, our NCAA hopes tied closely to this one game, the chance to bring our program out of oblivion for good, a chance to pound our chest again and claim..."we're Back", we can't even sellout our arena against our biggest rival and the #7 team in the nation! That is beyond sad!!! We don't deserve to be in the Big East. We should be back in Conf. USA with the Mid-majors. There is more to being a "Big East" caliber program than recruiting players who are capable of competing at that level. You have to have fans who are Big East caliber also and we don't have them. Louisville fans were louder than ours. They sounded like they had 2-3 thousand fans at least. Add that to our 1,000 empty seats and three or four thousand students who didn't pay for their tickets and our paying fan total was pathetic! I can't imagine being a player pumped up to play a big game and running out and seeing big blocks of empty seats. A game of this type would have never been less than a sellout in the past. I can't believe how far our fan base has sunk!!!

[catsfan32]

^of course you would show up after a loss, i havent seen you all week and you decide to post now after we lose to a top 10 team, go figure! This team and the fans are still in the process of bringing this program back, i was very happy with the turnout at 5/3 today! You sir need to realize where our program is, i for one am tired of hearing about your unreachable expectations!

[NorrisHopper30]

"Embarrassing Program" should be changed to "Embarrassing Fans", because the program has exceeded my expectations this year as well as many others this year. I don't see the correlation.

[Jose_Jalapeno_on_a_Stick]

Great post.

But, I think our team rebounding the ball some more would have helped the situation, even if the fans didn't.

[Forsure21]

I think the fans of Bearcat Basketball should be embarrassed. With our whole season on the line, our NCAA hopes tied closely to this one game, the chance to bring our program out of oblivion for good, a chance to pound our chest again and claim..."we're Back", we can't even sellout our arena against our biggest rival and the #7 team in the nation! That is beyond sad!!! We don't deserve to be in the Big East. We should be back in Conf. USA with the Mid-majors. There is more to being a "Big East" caliber program than recruiting players who are capable of competing at that level. You have to have fans who are Big East caliber also and we don't have them. Louisville fans were louder than ours. They sounded like they had 2-3 thousand fans at least. Add that to our 1,000 empty seats and three or four thousand students who didn't pay for their tickets and our paying fan total was pathetic! I can't imagine being a player pumped up to play a big game and running out and seeing big blocks of empty seats. A game of this type would have never been less than a sellout in the past. I can't believe how far our fan base has sunk!!!

Is that all you can think of? That all you have? C'mon! If you want, take a look at the top 10 and find a new team.

[nolte50uc]

With our whole season on the line, our NCAA hopes tied closely to this one game, the chance to bring our program out of oblivion for good, a chance to pound our chest again and claim..."we're Back

like already posted - you're title should be fans, not program.

and i don't think our entire season was on the line today. i also don't think that one game will bring our program out of oblivion for good. and one game does not mean "we're back."

...and what does any of that have to do with attendance??? a win would influence that kind of stuff, not atendance.

[jbreeds1]

Quit complaining!!! We had a real chance to beat this Louisville team today and you want to gripe about the fans??? Get real. We need to prove that we can beat a competitive team before the crowds show up again. Not saying that I like it or agree with it but it's the truth.

[ucat4]

The fans won't be back until we're in the top 25 again....sad but true.

[Scheids21]

Yeah I pretty sick of everyone talking about how pathetic everything is. Im even more sick of explaining why you should relax about it. So I wont explain it, just come back in a couple years and youll be happier. I promise.

[mattginthenati]

I think the fans of Bearcat Basketball should be embarrassed. With our whole season on the line, our NCAA hopes tied closely to this one game, the chance to bring our program out of oblivion for good, a chance to pound our chest again and claim..."we're Back", we can't even sellout our arena against our biggest rival and the #7 team in the nation! That is beyond sad!!! We don't deserve to be in the Big East. We should be back in Conf. USA with the Mid-majors. There is more to being a "Big East" caliber program than recruiting players who are capable of competing at that level. You have to have fans who are Big East caliber also and we don't have them. Louisville fans were louder than ours. They sounded like they had 2-3 thousand fans at least. Add that to our 1,000 empty seats and three or four thousand students who didn't pay for their tickets and our paying fan total was pathetic! I can't imagine being a player pumped up to play a big game and running out and seeing big blocks of empty seats. A game of this type would have never been less than a sellout in the past. I can't believe how far our fan base has sunk!!!

Im a long time Bearcat fan though I don't normally post. I have to completely disagree with you. Were you at the game today? Doesn't sound like it. I was there. The place was packed and the fans were louder than I had seen them all year. The only part of the arena that was empty was part of Louisville's allotment of tickets, a small section in the upper corner. To say that we don't belong in the Big East and Louisvilles fans were louder than ours couldnt' be a more false comment.

[bearcatfan50]

The fans won't be back until we're in the top 25 again....sad but true.

Agree big time, so many fans lost interest after Coach Huggins was fired and until we crack the top 25 consistently and can prove that we belong in the Big Dance, attendance will be down..

[stevedodds]

If we ignore him, will he just go away?

[Doss]

The only thing bad about the crowd was the 2,000 Loserville fans. The UC fans gave lots of verbal support. To bad we could not block out or rebound. Has Jerry Smith been at UL for 6 or 7 years? Seems like it.

We can still win out or regrettable lose out.

[Irishbearcat]

I thought the fan support was fine, and I thought the team battled pretty well.

[westhillscat]

I for one am very happy with the rate of recovery of the UC program under the leadership of Cronin. Afterall, with Cashmere, UC would likely have finished in the upper half of the league standings and secured an NCAA bid in only three years under Cronin(actually two to be fair). In fact, UC still has a chance to secure an NCAA bid this year though they may need to win three of the final four games and the first game in the big east tourney....no easy task. The fans will return in full force in due time.

[Scheids21]

If we ignore him, will he just go away?

Its like if a tree falls and no ones around does it make a sound?

I will admit the Loserville fans were very loud and sounded much louder than the amount of people they actually had, but they were not louder than us.

[solomon33]

I couldn't disagree more with the title of your post, that is just a joke to even write something like this. From where we were 3 years ago to now seems like light years. If there was one thing that I was embarrassed about it was the amount of visiting fans in our arena. Not only did I have to listen of continuous chants of C-A-R-D-S the entire game from a solid block of U of L fans next to me in the student section but then had to watch a huge block of Cards fans block the stairs to the exits after the game to pose for a 30 person picture in our house. Maybe if we get people back to Shoe then the referees will remember WE are the home team and give us more than 2 trips to the charity stripe.

[milfordcats]

I'm proud to be a Bearcats fan regardless of how the team is doing. It is ludicrous to say that we have an 'embarassing program.'

[lawfive]

Cincinnati has always been, and probably always will be, a hard working blue-collar type of town. Just because people can't afford $40 a pop for one game doesn't mean we are any less of a fan.

[ralph1950]

I think the fans of Bearcat Basketball should be embarrassed. With our whole season on the line, our NCAA hopes tied closely to this one game, the chance to bring our program out of oblivion for good, a chance to pound our chest again and claim..."we're Back", we can't even sellout our arena against our biggest rival and the #7 team in the nation! That is beyond sad!!! We don't deserve to be in the Big East. We should be back in Conf. USA with the Mid-majors. There is more to being a "Big East" caliber program than recruiting players who are capable of competing at that level. You have to have fans who are Big East caliber also and we don't have them. Louisville fans were louder than ours. They sounded like they had 2-3 thousand fans at least. Add that to our 1,000 empty seats and three or four thousand students who didn't pay for their tickets and our paying fan total was pathetic! I can't imagine being a player pumped up to play a big game and running out and seeing big blocks of empty seats. A game of this type would have never been less than a sellout in the past. I can't believe how far our fan base has sunk!!!

If you do not enjoy going to the games then quit going. DePaul, South Florida, St. John's, Rutgers, Seton Hall, West Virginia, do not sell their games out. UC made the decision to take a step back in order to take a quantum leap forward. Mick has done an incredible job rebuilding the team in a short 3 year time span. The team is on the verge of becoming a Top 10 team.

[BeastUC]

I kinda understand what the thread starter means.All week long all we heard was beat Louisville the more than likely punches our ncaa ticket.Even though it will take more than that,this was a very important game and we had Louisville on their heels for a bit and couldn't get it done.Not very NCAA tourney team like.

I'm not,however,embarrassed about the program,yet i'm not happy with being able to "just play with the big boys" either.
The next 2 games give us 2 more chances to earn a quality victory over a top 25 rpi team.

[Kindog202]

If you do not enjoy going to the games then quit going. DePaul, South Florida, St. John's, Rutgers, Seton Hall, do not sell their games out. UC made the decision to take a step back in order to take a quantum leap forward. Mick has done an incredible job rebuilding the team in a short 3 year time span. The team is on the verge of becoming a Top 10 team.

Agree with everything you said except for the last sentence. This is a team that is in the Top 50 right now, they are not even a Top 25 team yet and you need to be that first in order to even enter the discussion of a Top 10 team. Let's put it this way, a team on the verge of being a Top 10 team would not have lost to Louisville today at home in a must win game.
**
Mick mentioned on his postgame that it is much easier to climb from the bottom to get where they are at now then it will be to get from where they are at now to get to contention for a Big East title. I have no doubt that Mick will eventually get them back to the top but this team right now is not in the conversation for being a Top 10 team.

[thebearcat]

Does anyone even consider high ticket prices and a poor economy as a factor? Just asking...

[jeffto]

I will admit the Loserville fans were very loud and sounded much louder than the amount of people they actually had, but they were not louder than us.If you gear your whole existence to find negative things to say about post-Huggins UC basketball, of course there will tons of empty seats and the opponents' fans will be louder. The mind is a terrible thing to waste. Unfortunately, he won't go away. All you can do is add him to your ignore list.

[STKohls]

I thought the fan support was fine, and I thought the team battled pretty well.

I agree 100%. On the TV broadcast, the fans were extremely loud - louder than I've heard them this year. If it wasn't a sellout, it sure seemed like it to the TV audience.

In fact, the announcers noted the fan excitement several times after UC would hit a big basket.

[ginsid007]

Watching todays game I said to myself UC has improved significantly. Anybody that saw the game knows that both UL and UC are deserving of playing in the NCAA. UL got to the lose balls and killed us on the boards. They have great athletes and came to play today. I am proud to be a Bearcat fan and if some of our fans don't want to pay $$$$ to sit in the upper deck corner so be it. We had a very good crowd!

[joe]

I think the fans of Bearcat Basketball should be embarrassed. With our whole season on the line, our NCAA hopes tied closely to this one game, the chance to bring our program out of oblivion for good, a chance to pound our chest again and claim..."we're Back", we can't even sellout our arena against our biggest rival and the #7 team in the nation! That is beyond sad!!! We don't deserve to be in the Big East. We should be back in Conf. USA with the Mid-majors. There is more to being a "Big East" caliber program than recruiting players who are capable of competing at that level. You have to have fans who are Big East caliber also and we don't have them. Louisville fans were louder than ours. They sounded like they had 2-3 thousand fans at least. Add that to our 1,000 empty seats and three or four thousand students who didn't pay for their tickets and our paying fan total was pathetic! I can't imagine being a player pumped up to play a big game and running out and seeing big blocks of empty seats. A game of this type would have never been less than a sellout in the past. I can't believe how far our fan base has sunk!!!

You are really surprised it wasn't a sellout? I'm not. What will surprise me is if the W.Va. game isn't a sellout. It would be telling IMO if that game was sold out, would it not? After the eight game of conference playing I saw and still see the W.Va. game as the game that will either make or break the Cats.

I also see us running into King Bob and his boys in the BEast tourney. How ironic is it that the first time Bob comes back, that he could possibly put the final nail in the coffin so too speak. I wonder if Himpher will be there. My bet is she won't...lol. UC MUST beat W.Va. and not just beat them by a handfull of points, they must pummel them, then they HAVE to beat Syracuse....doesn't matter the score of that game....but they have to beat them....and then win against the Hall and S.Fla. There is now no room for error.

gregg

[joe]

"Embarrassing Program" should be changed to "Embarrassing Fans", because the program has exceeded my expectations this year as well as many others this year. I don't see the correlation.

From the beginning I said if UC can get into the NIT and get to "at least" the third game, not even win that game, but at least get to the third game, I would say the season was a success. Next season the NCAA tourney, NO EXCUSES, I don't care if Vaughn breaks his arm etc. etc. sooner or later the excuses have to stop IMO.

These kids will have been battle tested by then, other teams do it, just like we used to. No excuses next season, but I know there will be the posters that will already have their excuses ready. I hope not, but that is my feeling.

gregg

[joe]

If you do not enjoy going to the games then quit going. DePaul, South Florida, St. John's, Rutgers, Seton Hall, do not sell their games out. UC made the decision to take a step back in order to take a quantum leap forward. Mick has done an incredible job rebuilding the team in a short 3 year time span. The team is on the verge of becoming a Top 10 team.

They are progressing, I will say that. But the "being on the verge of etc." I have one thing to say. **Puff-Puff-Pass**:rolleyes:

gregg

[solomon33]

I get the idea of $40 tickets, bad economy, etc... That doesn't make it any easier to watch a TON of U of L fans cheering and dancing on the way out the door, it made me feel like a visitor in my own home. Kinda like I feel when the Steelers are in town playing the Bengals. Just never thought I'd feel that way in the Shoe.

[cincycpaw]

Cincinnati fans are terrible. You are right, it is awful that theShoe wasn't sold out.

[ucat4]

I agree 100%. On the TV broadcast, the fans were extremely loud - louder than I've heard them this year. If it wasn't a sellout, it sure seemed like it to the TV audience.

In fact, the announcers noted the fan excitement several times after UC would hit a big basket.

I agree as well, on tv it sure sounded loud.....I would've thought it was a sellout.

[Matt1982]

give me a break people, it takes more than a mediocre season to bring back the fans. It is what it is, they're not coming back in these economic times to watch an unknown team. It's going to take a while to get the fan base back, but it begins with the students.

[LongTimer]

These responses to my thread topic are pretty funny and just prove my point. We have pathetic fans who love wallowing in mediocrity. There is zero excuse to not selling that game out...ZERO! And Ralph...lol..."we are on the verge of Top 10". Ralph, you haven't predicted us to win a single game all year and now you say we're on the verge of top 10. Dream on!! And then you group us with the 5 bottom feeder programs in the Big East....thank you Ralph for agreeing with me!! The only thing I can take from all these posts is that I really touched a nerve and I think I now know many of the fans who stayed home and watched on TV!! I'll stand by my original statement. We ought to be embarrassed letting that many Louisville fans into our home on a game that could have put us back in the NCAA.

[LongTimer]

^of course you would show up after a loss, i havent seen you all week and you decide to post now after we lose to a top 10 team, go figure! This team and the fans are still in the process of bringing this program back, i was very happy with the turnout at 5/3 today! You sir need to realize where our program is, i for one am tired of hearing about your unreachable expectations!

I'm glad you pointed out that I didn't post a damn thing after our last loss. Thank you very much. I have posted positive through our great stretch of winning and didn't say a damn thing after our last loss. You and most of the other so-called fans are the ones who need to find another program. We need a lot more hard-assed fans like myself that will come and support the team win or lose instead of sitting on this forum raving about how much further along we are than what you expected. I read this forum back in August, Sept., and Oct. Everyone was talking NCAA! The NCAA was there for the taking today and the team choked! It was a big enough choking that Mick supposedly threw them all out of the locker room. Our great fans showed up in numbers that allowed a sizable number of enemy fans to get into our arena and make a lot of noise supporting their team. You can slice and dice it any way you want. Bottom line is Cincinnati is not buying into this whole "further along than we expected" crap. We have been winning and the fans are still staying away. We can still make the NCAA and this "one year away" talk is a conversation for losers. Get off your asses, quit making excuses and fill up the arena on Thursday and help the team win a big game!

[Mick's Da Man]

Fan turnout the last few years under Huggs were about the same. He was begging fans to show up. People conveniently forget that.

[Doss]

Every game now may be like being in the Tourney, win or the season is effectively OVER. We need 2 quality wins (SayExcuse and Huggs Thugs) and no bad loses (Seton Hall and Dah Bulls). Then one in BEAST.

Anything less means NIT (Not In real Tournement).

It can be done but not unless our big men block out and man up.

UL basically bitch slapped our big men.

[Kindog202]

I still say they only need to win 1 of the next 2, then beat USF and Seton Hall and not lose to any team seeded behind them in the BE and they will get in, barring a Cinderalla like run through the BE tourney by a team like Providence, G-Town or Notre Dame. To win all the remaining regular season games and not lose to anyone seeded behind them in the BE tourney makes them a lock regardless if one of the above teams makes that run.

[ralph1950]

Once again I prove myself the guru of all gurus. I predicted 12,100 and it was 12,350. Once again I am within 500 without going over and win both showcases on the Price is Right. I predict 11,800 for the WVU game.

[ralph1950]

I still say they only need to win 1 of the next 2, then beat USF and Seton Hall and not lose to any team seeded behind them in the BE and they will get in, barring a Cinderalla like run through the BE tourney by a team like Providence, G-Town or Notre Dame. To win all the remaining regular season games and not lose to anyone seeded behind them in the BE tourney makes them a lock regardless if one of the above teams makes that run.

Beating South Florida at South Florida is not a given. Marquette could not get a win at USF, probably the only game UC will be favored to win is Seton Hall. The bright side is I very much like going to see the Bearcats play at 5/3rd Arena and the NIT, CBI, and Collegebasketballinsider.com tourney provide the possibility of home games where the NCAA tourney does not.

[Bearcat Fan Since 1958]

Fan turnout the last few years under Huggs were about the same. He was begging fans to show up. People conveniently forget that.

Only in 2006. Bearcat games in 2004 and 2005 were well attended.

Mick praised the crowd (attendance) on his postgame radio show.

[slimm]

others attendance is down as well...and they are not rebuilding
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/usc-season-attendance-2293521-year-trojans.........PAC 10 ATTENDANCE
Nine Pac-10 schools have seen a drop in men?s home basketball attendance this season. But none have experienced as dramatic of dip as USC. The Trojans have lost more fans per game than all the other conference schools besides UCLA combined (3,710 to 3,189). *2008-09 attendance figures through Jan. 25.


School 07-08 08-09 Diff Pct
Arizona 14,218 13,261 -957 -6.7%
ASU 8,008 7,820 -188 -2.3%
Cal 7,915 8,109 +194 +2.4%
Oregon 8,702 7,966 -736 -8.4%
Ore. St. 4,580 4,092 -488 -10.6%
Stanford 7,331 7,029 -302 -4.1%
UCLA 10,580 8,794 -1,786 -16.8%
USC 8,468 4,758 -3,710 -43.8%
Wash. 8,762 8,356 -406 -4.6%
WSU 8,231 7,925 -306 -3.7%
________
HOW TO ROLL A JOINT (http://howtorollajoint.net/)

[STKohls]

I still say they only need to win 1 of the next 2, then beat USF and Seton Hall and not lose to any team seeded behind them in the BE and they will get in, barring a Cinderalla like run through the BE tourney by a team like Providence, G-Town or Notre Dame. To win all the remaining regular season games and not lose to anyone seeded behind them in the BE tourney makes them a lock regardless if one of the above teams makes that run.

You're probably right. A win over Providence (or even ND) in the Big East Tourney wouldn't hurt either.

I'm just hoping that we don't see a lot of mid-major tournament upsets that would shrink the bubble.

[Columbus_Bearcat13]

Fan turnout the last few years under Huggs were about the same. He was begging fans to show up. People conveniently forget that.

That kind of makes even worse though. I don't agree with everything LongTimer said, but it seems like the majority of the fans from the Huggins era were front runners. Now you can say they left because of the way he left, but do you really think there would be empty seats if UC was ranked in the top ten? I don't and its sad.

[misterfresh]

Its never a good idea to tell people how to spend their hard-earned money...especially in these times.

I'm not sure when it became a rule, but apparently now you must attend every game to be a "fan."

If that's true, then there are only about 3-4000 real "fans." You know who you are...the ones that actually went to the games in the 80's. When you could throw a rock in the Coliseum and not hit anyone. So I was a real fan because I went then, but I'm not now because I couldn't go yesterday.

Darn.

[Jose_Jalapeno_on_a_Stick]

If you do not enjoy going to the games then quit going. DePaul, South Florida, St. John's, Rutgers, Seton Hall, West Virginia, do not sell their games out.
Right, Ralph! Tell people to quit going to games... as if UC needs any less fans :p Also, I would prefer to set the bar higher than the collection of schools you're comparing us to.

UC made the decision to take a step back in order to take a quantum leap forward.
And the school couldn't have done it any more poorly. Had UC done it right, we'd be on Mick Cronin, year 5, and perhaps, BE in the top ten, as you suggest.

[Kindog202]

Beating South Florida at South Florida is not a given. Marquette could not get a win at USF, probably the only game UC will be favored to win is Seton Hall. The bright side is I very much like going to see the Bearcats play at 5/3rd Arena and the NIT, CBI, and Collegebasketballinsider.com tourney provide the possibility of home games where the NCAA tourney does not.

I never said beating USF at USF is a given. What I outlined was what I thought was the minimum this team could do in order to make the tourney. Anything less than what I outlined, I feel, will put them in the NIT.
**
I am starting to wonder if there are 2 different people posting under ralph1950. One person says this team is on the verge of becoming a Top 10 team and another says beating USF at USF is not a given. If this team is on the verge of being a Top 10 team, then beating USF at USF should be a given.

[LongTimer]

Its never a good idea to tell people how to spend their hard-earned money...especially in these times.

I'm not sure when it became a rule, but apparently now you must attend every game to be a "fan."

If that's true, then there are only about 3-4000 real "fans." You know who you are...the ones that actually went to the games in the 80's. When you could throw a rock in the Coliseum and not hit anyone. So I was a real fan because I went then, but I'm not now because I couldn't go yesterday.

Darn.

We all have reasons occasionally to miss a game. I have chosen to not attend some this year, especially the sorry OOC games. Our problem is much broader than that. We have a huge block of fans that used to come to games that are now staying away, even though we have a pretty good team this year and are in the hunt for an NCAA berth. When I suggest that it was the Huggs and Andy situation that drove them away for good, nobody agrees. When I suggest that it was the ticket price and UCATS increase that drove them away, everyone disagrees. I actually think I am right on this and getting them back is going to be a longer and more complicated process than just winning. We are winning now and we are playing huge important games and nobody cares enough to attend. We'll never return to where we were without the strong homecourt advantage. We'll also lose recruits when they see the lack of passion in the program. Congratulations on supporting the team in the 80's. You and I both were there.

[Bcatfan08]

I guess I should be happy this is all we can complain about. We fall under about 800 people short of selling out the stadium and this is the only negative thing you have to say about the game? We can face the facts and that's until we hire Huggins back, there will always be fans looking for anything to scrutinize about this team. We could be top five, sell out a game and beat a top 5 team by 20 and I'm sure LongTimer would find something to complain about. I just wish some fans would stop being so bitter and go root for Duke or someone else that they can bandwagon.

Also, this game was far from season defining. We still have four games left, all of which are winnable. Then we have the Big East tourney on top of that. We manage to win 3 of our remaining games and we are in the bubble talk. We manage to win 4 of our remaining games and we're a lock to get in.

[ralph1950]

Beating Syracuse at Syracuse is the key remaining game. The team needs a road win against a top RPI team.

[misterfresh]

We all have reasons occasionally to miss a game. I have chosen to not attend some this year, especially the sorry OOC games. Our problem is much broader than that. We have a huge block of fans that used to come to games that are now staying away, even though we have a pretty good team this year and are in the hunt for an NCAA berth. When I suggest that it was the Huggs and Andy situation that drove them away for good, nobody agrees. When I suggest that it was the ticket price and UCATS increase that drove them away, everyone disagrees. I actually think I am right on this and getting them back is going to be a longer and more complicated process than just winning. We are winning now and we are playing huge important games and nobody cares enough to attend. We'll never return to where we were without the strong homecourt advantage. We'll also lose recruits when they see the lack of passion in the program. Congratulations on supporting the team in the 80's. You and I both were there.

If you were there in the 80's then you know why there was such a spike in attendance in the 91-92 season...

WINNING.

Yes, we are winning games right now. But we haven't gotten that one signature win that plants the flag back on the NCAA map. That's what this town is all about, like it or not. We are fickle fans. When this team is a top 25 team again, the fans will come back.

Period.

I don't agree with being that type of fan, but a good portion of our fan base are front-runners. That's just how it is.

[TheDog]

Stop worrying about other people attending the games and complain about something important in life.

[wally]

I thought FSN said the game was sold out. It looked close to being sold out on TV if it was'nt.

[Mick's Da Man]

That kind of makes even worse though. I don't agree with everything LongTimer said, but it seems like the majority of the fans from the Huggins era were front runners. Now you can say they left because of the way he left, but do you really think there would be empty seats if UC was ranked in the top ten? I don't and its sad.

I know and agree. Huggs jocksniffers conveniently forget that he deep-sixed the program with his drinking antics, and that the losing created from a decimated program is the reason fan attendance is down.

I mean seriously. If UC is top 5 in the Big East next year and ranked in the Top 25............fan attendance will be back in the 12,000 range per game.........and that is what it was under Huggins.

Had Huggins feen fired or left on his own, but left behind a solid program and roster that could win and did win, for the most part, fan attendance would be about the same, except for the crybaby fans who were loyal drinking buddies with Huggs.

[Jose_Jalapeno_on_a_Stick]

This one's begging for a lock.

CLICK!

[LongTimer]

I guess I should be happy this is all we can complain about. We fall under about 800 people short of selling out the stadium and this is the only negative thing you have to say about the game? We can face the facts and that's until we hire Huggins back, there will always be fans looking for anything to scrutinize about this team. We could be top five, sell out a game and beat a top 5 team by 20 and I'm sure LongTimer would find something to complain about. I just wish some fans would stop being so bitter and go root for Duke or someone else that they can bandwagon.

Also, this game was far from season defining. We still have four games left, all of which are winnable. Then we have the Big East tourney on top of that. We manage to win 3 of our remaining games and we are in the bubble talk. We manage to win 4 of our remaining games and we're a lock to get in.

Would you rather me complain about the coach or the team's play. That is easy to do. But then, I don't dare complain about our coach. It would hurt too many fragile psyches in here.

By the way, congratulations on this post. It was quite imformative. I learned so much about Longtimer.

[Bcatfan08]

Would you rather me complain about the coach or the team's play. That is easy to do. But then, I don't dare complain about our coach. It would hurt too many fragile psyches in here.

By the way, congratulations on this post. It was quite imformative. I learned so much about Longtimer.

I would much rather you complain about our coach or the team's play. At least it then may be a legitimate complaint.

[LongTimer]

I would much rather you complain about our coach or the team's play. At least it then may be a legitimate complaint.

Sorry, our fans are fickle and are hurting our home court advantage and probably our recruiting also. They are making Mick's job way tougher. In his postgame interview, he complimented our crowd. Unfortunately, two or three thousand of them were Louisville fans and about a thousand were dressed as empty seats. Way to go Bearcat fans! Once again, of the three things to complain about (i.e. Mick, our players, or our fans), in my opinion, the fans deserve the most crap. Nothing Mick or the players did could compare to us not filling up our arena for such an important game against our biggest rival and a top 10 team. Once again. it was embarrassing and indicitive of a mid-major mentality!

[joe]

I guess I should be happy this is all we can complain about. We fall under about 800 people short of selling out the stadium and this is the only negative thing you have to say about the game? We can face the facts and that's until we hire Huggins back, there will always be fans looking for anything to scrutinize about this team. We could be top five, sell out a game and beat a top 5 team by 20 and I'm sure LongTimer would find something to complain about. I just wish some fans would stop being so bitter and go root for Duke or someone else that they can bandwagon.

Also, this game was far from season defining. We still have four games left, all of which are winnable. Then we have the Big East tourney on top of that. We manage to win 3 of our remaining games and we are in the bubble talk. We manage to win 4 of our remaining games and we're a lock to get in.


Sweeping what is left of the regular season still will not get UC in. They MUST win the first two games of the tourney and then play out of their minds in the third game, even if they lose it. Then some things have to break their way, meaning other conference tourneys. That scenario I just said will get them in ONLY if they finish the regular season 3-1 with their only loss at USF. But things still have to happen. My guess FWIW is that neither X or UD will win the A-10 tourney, which won't help.

gregg

[joe]

Sorry, our fans are fickle and are hurting our home court advantage and probably our recruiting also. They are making Mick's job way tougher. In his postgame interview, he complimented our crowd. Unfortunately, two or three thousand of them were Louisville fans and about a thousand were dressed as empty seats. Way to go Bearcat fans! Once again, of the three things to complain about (i.e. Mick, our players, or our fans), in my opinion, the fans deserve the most crap. Nothing Mick or the players did could compare to us not filling up our arena for such an important game against our biggest rival and a top 10 team. Once again. it was embarrassing and indicitive of a mid-major mentality!


Hey Longtimer, it's not my fault I stopped attending. I am sure the administration knew that would happen in the handling of the former coach but they didn't care anyhow, like I have said before, the fans were just "collateral damage."

I along with my Dad will be at The Shoe for the first time since the president chose to allow her personal vendetta over the fans and the repercussions that would ensue. Guess it is just appropriate that our first time back in Clifton will be when King Bob returns. Even more appropriate that Himpher took her act to another school to mess up. I am sure common sense will ensue and that the witch won't be there when W.Va. and Bob comes back, because (I can PROMISE this) if she is there (which she won't IMO) and we inadverdently cross paths I will let her know EXACTLY what I think of her and more than likely her henchmen will throw us out or threaten me and my Dad with that, and it would be quite a scene. I feel I am owed at least that much if I see her and my father feels the same way. So I am just hoping that if by some stupid chance she is there, that we don't see her because she will remember our faces and what we say for the rest of her life.

**and we eat our pizza before the game right on her path, at least that is the way she used to go.

gregg

[LongTimer]

Hey Longtimer, it's not my fault I stopped attending. I am sure the administration knew that would happen in the handling of the former coach but they didn't care anyhow, like I have said before, the fans were just "collateral damage."

I along with my Dad will be at The Shoe for the first time since the president chose to allow her personal vendetta over the fans and the repercussions that would ensue. Guess it is just appropriate that our first time back in Clifton will be when King Bob returns. Even more appropriate that Himpher took her act to another school to mess up. I am sure common sense will ensue and that the witch won't be there when W.Va. and Bob comes back, because (I can PROMISE this) if she is there (which she won't IMO) and we inadverdently cross paths I will let her know EXACTLY what I think of her and more than likely her henchmen will throw us out or threaten me and my Dad with that, and it would be quite a scene. I feel I am owed at least that much if I see her and my father feels the same way. So I am just hoping that if by some stupid chance she is there, that we don't see her because she will remember our faces and what we say for the rest of her life.

**and we eat our pizza before the game right on her path, at least that is the way she used to go.

gregg

I suspect there is a sizable "silent" majority that feel just like you and they have never come back. They don't bother posting on this forum either because....let's just say...lol....well just read most of these posts and you will get my point. This is "La-La Land" in here.

Me, I chose to not let Zimpher run me away. I stayed around for that one chance to boo her *** off when she walked out onto the court. But, she is gutless and never gave us the opportunity. I'm over it now. I'll just hang around and wait till we are a power again...hopefully!!! Everyone in here says it is coming. I will just trust these experts that they know what they are talking about!!!:eek:

[Bruce Monnin]

I thought FSN said the game was sold out. It looked close to being sold out on TV if it was'nt.

FSN did say that. And it did look and sound sold out on TV.

[ralph1950]

FSN did say that. And it did look and sound sold out on TV.

attendence was 12,350, 800 short of a sellout. Look for about 11,800 for Thursday's game.

[Bcatfan08]

Sweeping what is left of the regular season still will not get UC in. They MUST win the first two games of the tourney and then play out of their minds in the third game, even if they lose it. Then some things have to break their way, meaning other conference tourneys. That scenario I just said will get them in ONLY if they finish the regular season 3-1 with their only loss at USF. But things still have to happen. My guess FWIW is that neither X or UD will win the A-10 tourney, which won't help.

gregg

Sweeping the regular season would definitely get UC in. They would then have wins over Syracuse and WVU, who are both likely going to the tourney. UC has a shot at getting in just by getting to 20 wins and at 21 they will be getting into the tourney.

[Bcatfan08]

Sorry, our fans are fickle and are hurting our home court advantage and probably our recruiting also. They are making Mick's job way tougher. In his postgame interview, he complimented our crowd. Unfortunately, two or three thousand of them were Louisville fans and about a thousand were dressed as empty seats. Way to go Bearcat fans! Once again, of the three things to complain about (i.e. Mick, our players, or our fans), in my opinion, the fans deserve the most crap. Nothing Mick or the players did could compare to us not filling up our arena for such an important game against our biggest rival and a top 10 team. Once again. it was embarrassing and indicitive of a mid-major mentality!

How can you blame our fans for there being two or three thousand Louisville fans at the game? We can't control what they buy. If the Louisiville fans buy a lot of the seats we can't stop them. We have to give Louisville an allotment of seats to sell to their fans and they can buy more if need be. It isn't great that we weren't sold out, but the student sections and the lower sections were completely full. Not having the upper corners of our arena full isn't going to kill this team's energy. This was as many fans as we've had in years at a game and I thought it wasn't exactly a bad thing.

[LongTimer]

How can you blame our fans for there being two or three thousand Louisville fans at the game? We can't control what they buy. If the Louisiville fans buy a lot of the seats we can't stop them. We have to give Louisville an allotment of seats to sell to their fans and they can buy more if need be. It isn't great that we weren't sold out, but the student sections and the lower sections were completely full. Not having the upper corners of our arena full isn't going to kill this team's energy. This was as many fans as we've had in years at a game and I thought it wasn't exactly a bad thing.

If our fans buy the seats, then Louisville only gets their small allotment of seats. In our NCAA years, I don't even think we gave out allotments to other teams. I could be wrong about this, but the bottom line is that it isn't many seats. Only when our own fans don't come do we open up larger sections to opposing fans. Louisville fans didn't even have to sit in the corners in bad seats. There were enough non-supporters for Louisville to be able to get pretty good seats.

[jelly,puffy and eddie]

If you do not enjoy going to the games then quit going. DePaul, South Florida, St. John's, Rutgers, Seton Hall, West Virginia, do not sell their games out. UC made the decision to take a step back in order to take a quantum leap forward. Mick has done an incredible job rebuilding the team in a short 3 year time span. The team is on the verge of becoming a Top 10 team.

let's start with the top 25 first. For some reason it will be sold out thursday. huh imagine that!

[cincycpaw]

How can you blame our fans for there being two or three thousand Louisville fans at the game? We can't control what they buy. If the Louisiville fans buy a lot of the seats we can't stop them.

Ummm...sure you can. Lousiville gets an allotment for the school, but if UC fans bought up all the other tix as season tix, etc. there wouldn't be any more seats to be had.

[LongTimer]

Ummm...sure you can. Lousiville gets an allotment for the school, but if UC fans bought up all the other tix as season tix, etc. there wouldn't be any more seats to be had.

Thanks CP. I'm surprised that someone had to clarify this point, but I am happy to know that someone in here understands "Ticket Sales 101"!!!

[oldcat48]

I find it so humorous that you think she cares what you think. I'm sure you could act so badly that she would always remember it, while she's sitting in her lovely NY penthouse looking over Central Park. Yeah, right.

[Bcatfan08]

I know we could have bought all those up as season tickets, but you couldn't expect us to be where we are today before the season. You can't complain how this was our biggest game and we needed to have less Louisville fans and then say it was because of lack of season tickets sold. Fans couldn't have expected us to be where we are today before the season. I understand if we sold our stadium out to season ticket holders then we would have had less Louisville fans, but that wasn't an option considering its the end of the season. We didn't have a lot of season tickets sold before the season, so that isn't an arguement for having too many opposing fans during a surprisingly good season.

[LongTimer]

I know we could have bought all those up as season tickets, but you couldn't expect us to be where we are today before the season. You can't complain how this was our biggest game and we needed to have less Louisville fans and then say it was because of lack of season tickets sold. Fans couldn't have expected us to be where we are today before the season. I understand if we sold our stadium out to season ticket holders then we would have had less Louisville fans, but that wasn't an option considering its the end of the season. We didn't have a lot of season tickets sold before the season, so that isn't an arguement for having too many opposing fans during a surprisingly good season.

Wait, with Mick coaching, how could fans have not expected some success this year. This forum was awash with NCAA predictions back in Sept. and Oct. And, who cares about season tickets? Where were the bandwagon jumpers as Ralph calls them? Why didn't they eat up the remaining seats?

[ralph1950]

Wait, with Mick coaching, how could fans have not expected some success this year. This forum was awash with NCAA predictions back in Sept. and Oct. And, who cares about season tickets? Where were the bandwagon jumpers as Ralph calls them? Why didn't they eat up the remaining seats?


The season has very much been a success, first winning season since 2005-2006. Those NCAA predictions were made anticipating 7'2" shot blocking monster John Reik playing starting Jan. 1. Unfortunately, the NCAA Clearinghouse said no, so that was that and therefore the bandwagon jumpers did not come back. With Reik the team would probably be 21-6 right now and the discussion would be about what seed instead of NCAA vs NIT.

[LongTimer]

The season has very much been a success, first winning season since 2005-2006. Those NCAA predictions were made anticipating 7'2" shot blocking monster John Reik playing starting Jan. 1. Unfortunately, the NCAA Clearinghouse said no, so that was that and therefore the bandwagon jumpers did not come back. With Reik the team would probably be 21-6 right now and the discussion would be about what seed instead of NCAA vs NIT.

There seems to be a disturbing pattern of Mick recruiting players who can't get blessed by the Clearinghouse or the NCAA. H. Hall, Adam H, and now Reik. Three ineligible players in three years. Our national reputation is starting to take a hit again! Can we please stop the bleeding?

[Jose_Jalapeno_on_a_Stick]

I know and agree. Huggs jocksniffers conveniently forget that he deep-sixed the program with his drinking antics, and that the losing created from a decimated program is the reason fan attendance is down.

I mean seriously. If UC is top 5 in the Big East next year and ranked in the Top 25............fan attendance will be back in the 12,000 range per game.........and that is what it was under Huggins.

Had Huggins feen fired or left on his own, but left behind a solid program and roster that could win and did win, for the most part, fan attendance would be about the same, except for the crybaby fans who were loyal drinking buddies with Huggs.
Hard to believe how a thread about honoring Huggins is locked, but crap like this is allowed to stick to the wall without being locked.

[Mick's Da Man]

Hard to believe how a thread about honoring Huggins is locked, but crap like this is allowed to stick to the wall without being locked.

You said the name that is not to be mentioned!

[Jose_Jalapeno_on_a_Stick]

You said the name that is not to be mentioned!
So did you Einstein.................................

[LongTimer]

So did you Einstein.................................

It's sad Jose. Some posters get a free pass on attacks. Some threads get a free pass on remaining open when there are much worse posts than the ones that got closed. I'm with you brother. Can't we all get along and exist in love and harmony? I come to this forum every day with that goal in mind and immediately get dragged into the mud by the so-called positive posters. Many of these are the ones who I complained about when I started this thread on Saturday.

We're all great Bearcat fans I assume. Let's all behave in a way that is indicative of the fine education that we got from our beloved school!

[ralph1950]

There seems to be a disturbing pattern of Mick recruiting players who can't get blessed by the Clearinghouse or the NCAA. H. Hall, Adam H, and now Reik. Three ineligible players in three years. Our national reputation is starting to take a hit again! Can we please stop the bleeding?

Hardly, Mick is well respected by the National media. No jailbirds, everyone graduates. Mick has not been dissed by Rick Reilly in Sports Illustrated, on PTI by both Tony Korsemeier and Michael Willbond, and by many other sportswriters throughout the USA.

[LongTimer]

Hardly, Mick is well respected by the National media. No jailbirds, everyone graduates. Mick has not been dissed by Rick Reilly in Sports Illustrated, on PTI by both Tony Korsemeier and Michael Willbond, and by many other sportswriters throughout the USA.

Three ineligible in 3 years. One per year. Somewhat disturbing and concerning. So are the high amount of Criminal Justice majors on his team. Big Brother is watching!

[Bcatfan08]

Three ineligible in 3 years. One per year. Somewhat disturbing and concerning. So are the high amount of Criminal Justice majors on his team. Big Brother is watching!

The three ineligible players would be disturbing if they were already on the team, but these weren't players who had played for UC yet. He was recruiting players who became ineligible. That usually isn't a problem. Most football teams average a couple of these guys a year. You can't blame Mick for trying to get these kids on the team. Now I would be upset if they were ineligible after getting onto the team, like James White and Jihad Muhammad. Those are cases where the NCAA will start looking at the team more closely. There were cases similar to those in the years coming up to Huggins being forced out.

[LongTimer]

The three ineligible players would be disturbing if they were already on the team, but these weren't players who had played for UC yet. He was recruiting players who became ineligible. That usually isn't a problem. Most football teams average a couple of these guys a year. You can't blame Mick for trying to get these kids on the team. Now I would be upset if they were ineligible after getting onto the team, like James White and Jihad Muhammad. Those are cases where the NCAA will start looking at the team more closely. There were cases similar to those in the years coming up to Huggins being forced out.

It's no different than what a prop 48 used to be. If you recruited one of those, you took some major crap from the public and the media. Yates recruited a whole roster of them. How much time did Mick waste recruiting them? How many other recruits did he lose while focusing on those three guys. Could he have closed the deal on Thabeet with more time that got wasted chasing Adam H and H. Hall? He was counting on Hall and Adam H and we got left with Marcus Sikes as center. That pretty much blew that year out the window. I'd say it is concerning

[ralph1950]

It's no different than what a prop 48 used to be. If you recruited one of those, you took some major crap from the public and the media. Yates recruited a whole roster of them. How much time did Mick waste recruiting them? How many other recruits did he lose while focusing on those three guys. Could he have closed the deal on Thabeet with more time that got wasted chasing Adam H and H. Hall? He was counting on Hall and Adam H and we got left with Marcus Sikes as center. That pretty much blew that year out the window. I'd say it is concerning

Yates recruits came on campus and eventually played on the team. Anyway the 3 ineligibles had nothing to do with Prop 48. Adam and Hernol were not eligible because they had played on foreign professional teams, grades were not involved in the decision. Reik was not cleared because it could not be determined that his course work taken in the Sudan was the equivilent of the US core courses needed. Adam and Hernol had nothing to do with Thabeet. Thabeet came for a campus visit and was very, very close to coming to UC, he simply could not turn down Jim Calhoun. Thabeet still apologises to Mick for not coming to UC when he sees Mick. It was that close.

[Jose_Jalapeno_on_a_Stick]

Mick has not been dissed by Rick Reilly in Sports Illustrated, on PTI by both Tony Korsemeier and Michael Willbond, and by many other sportswriters throughout the USA.
Seeing Huggins lit up by clowns of their ilk never resulted in my losing a night’s sleep.

Now, on the other hand, what does bother me is that all this resulted in razor-thin rosters over his last 3-4 years. I hold that against him because it’s the coach’s responsibility to recruit and stock a complete roster.

But, please, Ralph... don’t cite the arrogant media haters, who’ve never coached, or, by looking at them, probably even played, a game of basketball in their lives, as a legitimate black mark against Bob Huggins.

[jelly,puffy and eddie]

Fan turnout the last few years under Huggs were about the same. He was begging fans to show up. People conveniently forget that.

Not for the big games. You must have conveniently forgot this. Find us the last Louisville game under Huggs that not sell out

[jelly,puffy and eddie]

Yates recruits came on campus and eventually played on the team. Anyway the 3 ineligibles had nothing to do with Prop 48. Adam and Hernol were not eligible because they had played on foreign professional teams, grades were not involved in the decision. Reik was not cleared because it could not be determined that his course work taken in the Sudan was the equivilent of the US core courses needed. Adam and Hernol had nothing to do with Thabeet. Thabeet came for a campus visit and was very, very close to coming to UC, he simply could not turn down Jim Calhoun. Thabeet still apologises to Mick for not coming to UC when he sees Mick. It was that close.

Some of Yates recruits eventually played. About 15% of yates recruits never played or only for a short time. Laurent Crawford where are you?

[slimm]

FWIW...louisville vs georgetown game looks pretty empty
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