Where did the fans go?

[Mung]

I just came back from watching the grizzlies play a great game, but I noticed something was missing:

about 5,000 fans.

Please tell me it was a bad night of the week, an uninteresting opponent, or that it's still preseason because turnout was spotty to say the least.

Last year wasn't great in terms of attendance but I don't recall there being entire empty sections when school was in session. The fans who did turn out acted like they would rather be somewhere else (in a grave most likely, since most of them were rather...seasoned). Very little hollering or heckling (Except for the band which just keeps getting better).

And what's with that! are the only people interested in college basketball in this town old farts? Can't be!

If this keeps up the there will be a new trend on campus. On basketball nights, kids will leave the noisy and crowded stacks of Mansfield to grab a seat in Dahlberg where they can study in peace.

A team as good as ours deserves a strong crowd...PLEASE!

 

[TrueGriz]

You have to be patient. It will take a while.

It's not like the football team garnered huge attendance figures when it started to win games. Basically it took getting into the playoffs 2 or three years, and winning some playoff games, just to get up to 12,000 to 14,000 fans. But, what really got the ball rolling with football was the 1995 National Championship. Big jump in attendance the following year. Average jumped around 2,000, from just above 15,000 average in 1995 to just above 17,000 fans a game in 1996.

Now, for the basketball team, it just may have to take a couple years of getting into the NCAA tournament and winning a game or two. Kind of like what happened back in 1975 when Griz won a game, and almost beat UCLA.

Post season is what is going to get attendance climbing. It's what got the ball rolling in attendance for football, it's what's going to have to happen for basketball. Win post season games, the media will start eating it up, and media is what is very important to bringing the excitement of sports, whatever kind of sport it is.

 

[EverettGriz]

TG, I think you're probably correct, but it's a real shame. I remember when Dahlberg was like WaGriz (packed, loud, rabid) for every game. It's too bad people don't realize that this is a team on the rise, and that riding the wave all the way up is the most fun of all. Sure it's great to go watch a winner every game, but it's also fun to watch a team go from 15 wins a year, to 18, to 22, etc. Lk's got it going on. I wish Missoula would wake up to it.

 

[Swillbury]

TG, I think you're probably correct, but it's a real shame. I remember when Dahlberg was like WaGriz (packed, loud, rabid) for every game. It's too bad people don't realize that this is a team on the rise, and that riding the wave all the way up is the most fun of all. Sure it's great to go watch a winner every game, but it's also fun to watch a team go from 15 wins a year, to 18, to 22, etc. Lk's got it going on. I wish Missoula would wake up to it.

Ive been preaching this to everybody I know. THE GRIZ ARE BACK!!!! considering what they do on friday against Stanford they are getting better and they have alot of talent. People will be there on friday to see that game and then maybe they will realize that the griz are back and there is more than just football in this town. Just keep supporting and get the rumor around town, thats all you can do!

:egriz: