Why don't you go to men's basketball games?
If you are reading this I assume that you are a Michigan basketball fan. If you live within say a 50 mile radius from Ann Arbor why aren't you going to support the team?
I post this as a 20+ year season ticket holder who drives 45 miles each way to Crisler for probably 90% of the games.
It was very disappointing to have the #3 ranked team in the country come to Crisler only to have only 2/3 (at best) of the arena full by tip-off. On rewatching the game the announcers commented on this during the 2nd half saying something like "there sure are a few empty seats here". I read the Purdue game thread on a Purdue site and there were several comments from the Purdue fans about how empty the place was.
Today the OSU game is supposed to be a blue out. I commented to my wife that that seemed dumb as a maize out pops but a blue out looks dull. She adeptly observed that the empty seats won't be as noticeable in a blue out.
So why aren't you going to the games? Uninterested? Don't like the game atmosphere? Disappointed in the team this year? Don't want to wear a mask?
February 12th, 2022 at 4:38 PM ^
Sometimes it is hard to be a Michigan fan. Don’t go to games, get bitched at. Go to games and stand up and get bitched at. Complaining about people standing up and get bitched at. Don’t make enough noise and get bitched at. Storm the court and get bitched at. Post a question on a blog and get bitched at. Answer the blog question and get bitched at.
February 12th, 2022 at 4:52 PM ^
Fuck the downvotes, it's a legitimate question to ask this fanbase. Thanks for attending the games.
February 12th, 2022 at 5:18 PM ^
Nah. I am not able to watch UM sports due to some sort of outcome-affecting curse. Plus, I have massive impatience with the time suck of actual attendance. Maybe if I ever had a date, and they gave a f*** (in whatever sense) about sportsball, I would feel differently.
I suppose having "dates" would involve me moving out of mom's basement. I'll have to ask if that's OK.
/s
February 12th, 2022 at 5:22 PM ^
Are you going to say the same SHiLT about playing osu today..................IFFFFFFFFF the stands are empty? NOT everyone can attend a late game when they have to work and support their family the next day. Today is an earlier game and more fans will be there.
February 13th, 2022 at 5:05 PM ^
My point is that I don't see half empty arenas when I watch North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and even MSU.
Their fans have the same problems of work, family, late start times, etc.
February 12th, 2022 at 5:27 PM ^
My answer would make Ace and ThiccStauskas angry
February 12th, 2022 at 5:34 PM ^
What a post
February 12th, 2022 at 5:39 PM ^
I have my reasons; once things change or improve, I will begin attending indoor events again.
February 12th, 2022 at 5:44 PM ^
Beilein's last 5 or 6 years, Crisler was full and rocking for probably 2/3 of the games. This, IMO is all about:
1) The team has been disappointing.
2) The team has often not been fun to watch ( while that overlaps with #1, some of the .500 BT teams of the past felt like they were more exciting in style of play).
3) An inordinate number of late starts and late week night starts.
4) Wearing a mask is- not ideal, especially if you wear glasses.
February 12th, 2022 at 5:50 PM ^
I only went to two games when I was a student. No way am I driving 2+ hours now. I've got stuff to do.
February 12th, 2022 at 5:54 PM ^
I live in Ann Arbor and had season tickets. I used to live in Milford and had season tickets for a few years. I was not happy to pay a PSD and for tickets in the upper bowl only to see the lower bowl usually half full. Now I go to a handful of games. My parents had 4 tickets in the lower bowl for 20+ years and those tickets were always used.
I felt the AD does exactly zero to solve the lower bowl problem. There was a good discussion with Seth, Brian and Ace a year or two ago with great suggestions to address the problem. I passed the along to Warde and no response.
February 13th, 2022 at 5:03 PM ^
Agree completely.
I have enough points for seats in the lower bowl but behind the basket. I used to have great seats just at the corner behind the Michigan bench but then Dave Brandon (Let's go Brandon) reseated the place based on points and I now have the worst seats in the lower bowl. I am there every game where the people that have my old seats show up maybe half the time.
February 12th, 2022 at 6:16 PM ^
The people who have the points to get the seats you see sitting empty are casual fans. Often the upper bowl is full while the lower bowl is half full except for students.
February 12th, 2022 at 6:18 PM ^
I don’t like watching the game itself. I love to play it, but not watch. I follow the team and I root for the team, but only go to a game every few years.
February 12th, 2022 at 7:19 PM ^
I live 3 hours away and wish I could go to more games. If I lived within an hour I would be there more often.
February 12th, 2022 at 8:14 PM ^
DJ Carstensen final answer!!!
February 12th, 2022 at 8:50 PM ^
Tonights game should do wonders for attendance going forward.
February 12th, 2022 at 10:34 PM ^
I was at the Duel in the D tonight. I love our basketball team but this is a once a year thing that I could bring my kid to for the first time this year. MSU hockey fans are the best part of that fanbase, and we didn't have a single nasty word shared in our whole section. I know not to have my 7-year-old around Ohio State fans for any sport.
I was at Crisler on Thursday.
February 12th, 2022 at 11:49 PM ^
Work. Other obligations. 50 Miles?? Grow up a bit.
When you get older and have responsibilities, sports are not very important.
If the team were championship level, you make more of an effort but this team is not.
Purdue is the only thing happening within 50 miles of that place. I've been there.
That's all they have. No judgement at all, just true. I live in a place like that and I like it.
Also, since you asked, masks are probably useless at this point since Delta is gone. Omicron has run through most of the population and is much less likely to put anyone without serious underlying conditions in the hospital. So, following the science is something we should all be pressing our leadership on.
February 12th, 2022 at 11:55 PM ^
I have season tickets in football and hockey. I tripled up my senior year and it was fun and all, but no way I can pull that off as a working adult who does in fact have some other hobbies in life than sports. Basketball is the odd sport out because I just don't like basketball as much as the other two, and 90% of football and hockey games are conveniently on weekends.
As far as why I don't go to individual game, that's rather complex and not all related to basketball. Part of it is mental. For whatever reason, I just don't tend to mentally get over the hump to buying tickets for one-off games to, frankly, anything. I can do special events, like the Winter Classic, and I can get into one-time events as part of hockey or football, like Duel in the D, going to a road game, etc. but I just can't motivate myself to go to one-off games. If someone comes to me and offers me tickets or says they want to go, I'm definitely in, but I'm just not the guy who is going to be doing the asking, nor and I seeking to go alone. I didn't even go to football and hockey games in the gap years between being a student and getting regular season tickets, except maybe ones or twice when someone else asked me.
I'm also pretty down on the individual ticket buying experience in general. It really pisses me off to go to Ticketmaster and Stub Hub and get bent over on their garbage fees. They don't deserve anywhere near what they charge for their service, and that's assuming I can find tickets that are reasonably priced to begin with. A lot of times face value is not worth it anyway, and the problems with secondary markets have been well discussed here, so even if I go the TickPick route that might not make the tickets reasonable. Neither me or anyone I would potentially go to a game with are interested in playing a cat and mouse game for the last second pricing collapse that might not even happen if people are willing to just eat it if they can't get what they want.
The last part is the key reason for the sole exception. Baseball is, at best, my third favorite sport and yet I tend to end up at 3-6 Tigers games every year. Sill hate the fee nonsense that I run into sometimes, but the reality is that they play so many baseball games that I have way more opportunities to decide to do it and as a natural consequence of that tickets can be had plentifully for reasonable prices even after potential fees. Even when the Tigers are good or something like Miggy chasing 500 is happening it's usually not hard to find something reasonable any time you want.
February 13th, 2022 at 1:22 AM ^
Cost. I live in Ann Arbor, about a mile and a half from Crisler, so I could easily walk to the games. Even at that I don't want to pay as much as it would take to buy a ticket, and then have to schlepp around in the cold weather when I could be drinking a smoothie in my slippers on the couch. That said, as a student I camped out for days to get prime seats for the Fab 5. Times change; both are great in their own way. These kids, though, the students now? They should be fucking going to the games.
February 13th, 2022 at 4:43 PM ^
I am an absolute fair weather Michigan basketball fan. I've suffered enough with the football teams. If Michigan basketball is bad I'm a "see you in March, hope it gets better!" kind of guy.
February 13th, 2022 at 4:59 PM ^
Upvote for your honesty!
February 13th, 2022 at 6:00 PM ^
When I did live within 50 miles of Ann Arbor, it was because I was spending my money and non-studying time at the hockey games instead.
February 13th, 2022 at 8:53 PM ^
Cuzz they won’t let my kind in, I don’t got one of dem fancy new ID cards that says I’m jabby jabbed
February 14th, 2022 at 8:19 AM ^
this was a rescheduled game. The available tickets on stub hub were limited, and therefore expensive. It was also 9:00 pm start on a Thursday.