More talk on the SEMO game in Renaissance Arena - and more...

Seems that this is the most active topic of discussion both on message boards and when I bump into people here & there...

Here are just a few thoughts - I will - as usual - post logic and facts but make what you want of it as everyone seems to form their own opinions regardless of what's obviously true or untrue...


---as I have done in each of my other posts in this thread -- I have shown that a number of other mid-major and major programs DO play games at alternate HOME arenas...

BELIEVE it or not even Wichita State does and last year when they did there was a little angst as people who had great seats at their Koch Arena were worried that they might get crummy seats at the InTrust Bank Arena in Wichita. BUT -- the grumbling was quite minimal and really never went further than a few polite gripes on their message board.
http://blogs.kansas.com/shockwaves/2010/12/09/curious-about-your-seats-at-intrust-bank-arena/
http://www.shockernet.net/sn/viewtopic.php?t=17913&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=19

BUT once the game was played virtually every bit of the complaining totally disappeared.....almost everyone loved the game and loved the entire experience.
http://blogs.kansas.com/shockwaves/2010/12/22/tulsa-at-wichita-state-day-after/

In fact --- it turned out to be such a success and silenced all the grumbling and critics -- that THIS YEAR Wichita is planning to do the exact same thing and now NOBODY is complaining -

Here is just one representative post by a long time Shocker fan about this year's game at the alternate arena...

"Last year I was upset with the seats given to me at IBA. I was on the verge
of not even going. I felt that being a season ticket holder for 13 years I
deserved a better seat than 3 rows from the ceiling. I can't afford the big
SASO donations, but I still donate what is required of me none-the-less. I
still feel I deserved better seats.....

HOWEVER, once the game got going my anger faded quickly. I can say that I
was as into the game as ever. I could see the game without a problem and
the crowd around me was pretty electric. Was it as good as the best
atmosphere at Koch? No, but not many places are. It was still a pretty
electric crowd. Even coach and many players mentioned how big time the
whole experience felt and how great the crowd was. Never have so many
shocker fans been able to gather at one place in town to cheer on their
team. It's not fair to compare ANY place to Koch Arena. Koch Arena will come
out a winner majority of the time. IBA is just a good venue to help more
Shocker fans enjoy a game. I think it's great! Seating won't keep me away
from watching the Shox play."
http://www.shockernet.net/sn/viewtopic.php?p=399591&highlight=iba#399591

and..."Marshall and the players loved it. From my perspective, it was a great atmosphere and a good night for the arena and the community."
http://blogs.kansas.com/shockwaves/2010/12/22/tulsa-at-wichita-state-day-after/

Hmmm...wow -- you wonder if maybe all that grumbling and whining was wasted as those folks that really enjoyed the game in the new venue were pretty happy to have gone!


---second -- there's a whole lot of totally ignorant things being said -- but everyone has a right to say what they want.
Examples...
-"how can they call it a season ticket package when you have to pay extra and land tickets for one extra game?"
duh....read carefully - Bradley is not calling the package a "season ticket package" - they are quite carefully saying the season ticket holders are first being offered a "Carver Arena ticket Package".

-"it's all about money" - this one really gets me --- did you just figure out that money is part of college athletics?? Of course money drives many decisions -- otherwise they'd let everyone in for free!!

If Bradley can seat 4500 for a game that wouldn't draw any more than that anywhere in the world...and if they can make roughly $80,000 profit by doing it on campus compared to losing about $50,000 hosting it in an arena that is quite costly -- and if in the process the season ticket holders STILL get 16 quality games downtown in Carver Arena (this game is a complete and 100% bonus EXTRA game!) -- then who in their right mind wouldn't agree this is a no-brainer.

-the very same people who have been whining for years about wanting Bradley to do something to get more students involved are the ones now whining that doing this and saying the students were part of the reason is a lie and that BU shouldn't care about the students since the students don't care about anything but winning.

Anyway -- almost all of the current fans - including the big time donors - were once students and if nobody tries to get them involved at the student stage and get them interested -- then down the road it will be disastrous for the fan base in general -- I agree 100% with Dr. Cross' plan to get the students more involved NOW!

-"the students don't come because when they moved games to the Civic Center that ticked off the students"
...ha, ha ...LOL ...30 years have passed since they moved to the Civic Center -- the kids who were students when that happened are not students now....the current students have all been born, raised, and attend Bradley with Carver Arena as the Braves home court - so if moving TO Carver was bad 30 years ago -- the surely the same argument would demand that MOVING back to campus NOW MUST BE good for the students and will get them more engaged!

-"Bradley only cares about corporate donors"
...this is really a childish rant....and one of the silliest things I have ever heard.
Bradley only has a couple dozen "corporate donors" and of course they DO care about them but if they cared only about them how do we regularly get 10K fans -- think about things before you say something so silly.

-"I would be upset if I were a season ticket holder"
...in other words you don't even follow nor care about Bradley but you like to try to always find something to get upset about...

-the very same people who for years have lamented that BU didn't have an on-campus arena or play games on campus -- are now griping that the very thing they wanted is now happening ..

-"This is just the beginning - they're going to try to move all the game on campus" -- hmmm...this is absolutely ridiculous -- and even if anyone proposed it it would get shot down for the very same reasons why Creighton will never move their men's game in the big downtown arena to their smaller on-campus arena where they play their women's games and volleyball.
BUT -- they do have their Bluejay Madness there -- just as any reasonable person would expect...


Lastly -- it doesn't take a genius to see that the very people who were so upset that others opposed the administration's actions in firing JL -- are the ones who are attacking that same administration right now. hmmm...



BTW -- did you see this -- ISU's Tim Jankovich is teaching a run and gun offense!!!
He hopes to cash in on it and get rich!
http://www.basketballgearreviews.co.cc/tim-jankovich-beating-pressure-with-early-offense-dvd/



Lastly -- after more than 600 entries in this blog over TWO years -- I have still NOT seen even one person or one comment anywhere -- neither here (by reader response) nor posted elsewhere - refuting or proving wrong even one fact or statement ever made.
That's a pretty good record that I intend to continue.