I know this is beating a dead horse and things aren’t likely going to change for a while but…
if there’s any doubt what a difference having a crowd like that on hand can make, it should be erased now. I know it’s hard to get up for certain games but I long for the day when Halton is as electric for every single game as it was today. THAT was Division 1A, high major basketball at it’s finest, both on the court and in the stands.
Great job by all the students and alumni for showing a national audience how great of an atmosphere Halton can be. I know there will be a drop off on Wednesday for Houston but hopefully we can at least get close to 8K in there.
Yep… the atmosphere was great tonight. If we could produce that (or even 3/4 of that) for all games, Halton would be a much more feared place to play. The problem is that about 3,000 of the people that were there tonight see charlotte 49er basketball as a once per year event… they only show up for the Cincy game. We didn’t even sell out the Alabama game… why? What can we do to get more people to show up? I don’t have an answer… I think Lutz sees this as one of the only downsides to coaching here. We have been making progress slowly over the last few years, but I’m afraid with the A10 move we may take a step backwards.
The intensity for the Cincy game impresses me more than the headcount actually. I could get over the fact of not having 9,105 for every home game IF we could just get 7,500 who have the passion that was in the stands today. Regardless of the numbers, there’s just something completely special about the fever of the crowd for this game. Hate to say it, but outside of an ACC team coming into Halton, I don’t think we’ll be able to generate that much buzz from the crowd in the future.
Well, Halton was certainly a great atmosphere today. I grew up an NCSU fan and have been to more than a couple games at Reynolds(Valvano era) vs. UNC-CH or Duke. Reynolds was electric and so was Halton today. On days like today, you wonder why? Everyone there has teh power to make it just like that every game.
We need to get the average fan to “Come build a tradition with the 49ers”.
[i]Originally posted by NinerMac[/i]@Feb 5 2005, 10:30 PM
[b] Reynolds was electric and so was Halton today. [/b]
That's a good comparison. Reynolds had tremendous energy and was a great place to watch a game. The only difference is that they had that place rocking for virtually every game. As you suggested, the potential is there for Halton to be consistently insane like it was today but for some reason, we just can't make it happen.
Quality of opponent? Lack of other true rivalry? A coach you love to hate? Animosity between fans? Nationally televised game?
It’s the combination of all of that, and then some, that makes this game so special. I don’t know that the fans can just force it via another opponent. But there’s no doubt that we could/should be more supportive for all our other home games.
I’ve been to many Wake/unc-chapel hill and Wak/Duke games in my life. Those games have been filled with elctricity, but our games against Cincy have always been AT LEAST, IF NOT MORE electric than those Wake games.
I think we will eventually develop some Cincy type rivalries in the A-10, but it will take some time.
We also have potential to become the team to beat in the A-10… I guess kinda like the Cincy of CUSA. If we could do that, maybe that would make some noise and bring some fans out. it would probably also make it harder to win on the road because we would have a target on our chest everywhere we went.
[i]Originally posted by Over40NINER[/i]@Feb 5 2005, 11:57 PM
[b] I've been to many Wake/unc-chapel hill and Wak/Duke games in my life. Those games have been filled with elctricity, but our games against Cincy have always been AT LEAST, IF NOT MORE electric than those Wake games. [/b]
I agree. I grew up going to Wake games and our Cincy games are like no other I have ever been to. They are AMAZING!
[i]Originally posted by LutzFan[/i]@Feb 5 2005, 09:20 PM
[b] We have been making progress slowly over the last few years, but I'm afraid with the A10 move we may take a step backwards. [/b]
i agree. the A10 is definitely a less-challenging conference, and fans won't feel the need to support the niners because they think there's no reason to come since we're going to win anyways.
Unfortunately the Cincy game is always a matter of people who like being seen at the biggest party…we don’t have that many true, hardcore fans. We also don’t get a lot of great TV games against great opponents. So, that’s why Halton will only be rocking at certain times.
And honestly, I think it comes down to marketing. Georgia Tech has a big video board showing highlights and announcements on the I-75-85 downtown connector in Atlanta every day. Hundreds of thousands of folks see that big board every day and I think it’s a great tool for their program. Hell, I’ve even gotten distracted by a powerful Muhammad dunk from time to time. After touring our campus yesterday around 11am, I saw nothing that would suggest that a big time college basketball game was about to be played. No signs, no banners, no nothing. Certainly not a big video board on 49 or anything. It honestly comes down to something like that because I honestly feel that if people know about the program they will come and support it.
One more “dead horse” subject to address. I went to Dick’s yesterday before the game and plastered all over the wall was ACC gear. You would think that the UNIVERSITY location would at least have some sort of presence, but all I saw was a few hats in less than prime spots in the store. Something has to be done in the University area if strides are to be made. Also, the gear inside the arena was less than adequate. What is going on? I went to buy my girlfriend (a Florida alum) a shirt and I just couldn’t believe how sparse the selection was…
Same stuff, different trip boys and girls. We just aren’t promoted and that’s why no one knows when Charlotte plays South Florida. I’ve been preaching for years, but we really have to step up the marketing aspect.
One more thing. When I was at one of Florida’s many apparel stores, I saw t-shirts of big games and the scores and the like. Never seen one of those here…sure it may be a football thing, but hoops is our football…no real Niner specific rivalry shirts either. Hell, few Niner shirts in general. Also, it was good to run into Alan formerly of Campus Sports yesterday. He’s really the only guy to put his neck on the line to get any gear out in the market.
If I remember correctly, it took a few events to make the Charlotte/Cincy series a really big game. B-ball in the stands, big upsets by the niners, CUSA-Tourny wins (over cincy), etc.
[i]Originally posted by LutzFan[/i]@Feb 6 2005, 12:17 AM
[b] I think we will eventually develop some Cincy type rivalries in the A-10, but it will take some time.
We also have potential to become the team to beat in the A-10… I guess kinda like the Cincy of CUSA. If we could do that, maybe that would make some noise and bring some fans out. it would probably also make it harder to win on the road because we would have a target on our chest everywhere we went.
:drink: [/b]
DUDE I ALWAYS THOUGHT OF LOUISVILLE AS THE TEAM TO BEAT IN C-USA
[i]Originally posted by ATL_Niner[/i]@Feb 6 2005, 08:48 AM
[b] Unfortunately the Cincy game is always a matter of people who like being seen at the biggest party...we don't have that many true, hardcore fans. We also don't get a lot of great TV games against great opponents. So, that's why Halton will only be rocking at certain times.
And honestly, I think it comes down to marketing. Georgia Tech has a big video board showing highlights and announcements on the I-75-85 downtown connector in Atlanta every day. Hundreds of thousands of folks see that big board every day and I think it’s a great tool for their program. Hell, I’ve even gotten distracted by a powerful Muhammad dunk from time to time. After touring our campus yesterday around 11am, I saw nothing that would suggest that a big time college basketball game was about to be played. No signs, no banners, no nothing. Certainly not a big video board on 49 or anything. It honestly comes down to something like that because I honestly feel that if people know about the program they will come and support it.
One more “dead horse” subject to address. I went to Dick’s yesterday before the game and plastered all over the wall was ACC gear. You would think that the UNIVERSITY location would at least have some sort of presence, but all I saw was a few hats in less than prime spots in the store. Something has to be done in the University area if strides are to be made. Also, the gear inside the arena was less than adequate. What is going on? I went to buy my girlfriend (a Florida alum) a shirt and I just couldn’t believe how sparse the selection was…
Same stuff, different trip boys and girls. We just aren’t promoted and that’s why no one knows when Charlotte plays South Florida. I’ve been preaching for years, but we really have to step up the marketing aspect.
One more thing. When I was at one of Florida’s many apparel stores, I saw t-shirts of big games and the scores and the like. Never seen one of those here…sure it may be a football thing, but hoops is our football…no real Niner specific rivalry shirts either. Hell, few Niner shirts in general. Also, it was good to run into Alan formerly of Campus Sports yesterday. He’s really the only guy to put his neck on the line to get any gear out in the market. [/b]
I can’t believe how embarrassing the apparel and souvenir stand at Halton is. It’s really lame. I mean I’ve been to high school games whose set up and selection is similar to our’s. I believe one of the permanent concession stands should be converted for souvenirs. They need more of a selection but they also need a better area to display it. Then you add a few of the mobile food carts to make up the difference in lost food vendors.
The souvenirs should also say “Charlotte 49ers” and not have those initials on them.
Now, about Dick’s acc crap. I was in Dick’s at Birkdale 2 or 3 months ago and they had all the Charlotte hats on the bottom shelf. They had the Duke & unc-chapel hill stuff on the other shelves at eye level. At least, that’s the way it was when I walked into the store. By the time I left, some of the Charlotte hats had mysteriously made their way to the upper shelves and some of the Charlotte shirts had mysteriously appeared oin the rack that you see when walking into the store from outside.