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Post by aceloverlarry on Oct 30, 2023 7:45:31 GMT -6
Attendance of 3027. You would have to go back to the McKendree game in November 2014 to find fewer people in attendance for an exhibition game than that. The Aces need convincing Ws to keep the riverboat from capsizing. The Miami-O game in eight days would be a good time to have one. Here is all that I learned from the Wabash game. The popcorn is still too salty. The attendance number definitely isn’t a good sign. Clearly did not do well on season ticket sales if it’s the worst attendance in a decade and all season tickets are built into that. Can’t blame people for not renewing though after what we’ve been watching for 2 years. I saw on FB that Logan is giving out tickets to the Young & Established youth group. I’m sure this will lead to increased official “attendance” but hopefully the kids and their families actually show up and it’s not like when we “sold out” the lower bowl against Illinois State last year. It would be nice to reel off two convincing home Ws against Miami and Ball State, then Logan might be able to push some good ticket sales for the next home game against UNI.
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Post by ATP on Oct 30, 2023 8:37:07 GMT -6
Just wondering, maybe they should stop calling it an "exhibition" and just say it's a game against Wabash. The NCAA knows what it is, and the team knows. To Wabash, it's a bigger deal. To the fans, it's a game. "Exhibition" suggests "it doesn't count," which is the same as "practice game." I don't for an instant think the diehard longtime fans are deceived, but you are trying to harvest a few new people. It's better than giving out free tickets.
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Post by Tom Servo on Oct 30, 2023 8:58:36 GMT -6
Just for perspective on the attendance. I know one of the guys who works for Venueworks and I can tell you those numbers they report for that attendance are garbage. There were games over the last 5 years where they would say 4,000 or something like that and the actual number of people there was 1,500. Bottom line is - they have gone so far away from actual turnstile attendance those numbers really mean nothing.
And we are going to have to start playing much better basketball to have any hope of getting people back to games. Since Marty Simmons was fired this is our conference record: 15-77 - that doesn't even count the MVC tourney. 15-77. I think there are pieces on the team this year to start turning it around but when you have that level of ineptitude it's going to take a lot to get that out of people's minds.
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Post by aradace on Oct 30, 2023 9:06:46 GMT -6
But Marty was terrible coach? Was he really or did he just over stay at UE. At least when Marty was here we usually played good defense and ran an offense.
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Post by aceloverlarry on Oct 30, 2023 9:16:10 GMT -6
Just for perspective on the attendance. I know one of the guys who works for Venueworks and I can tell you those numbers they report for that attendance are garbage. There were games over the last 5 years where they would say 4,000 or something like that and the actual number of people there was 1,500. Bottom line is - they have gone so far away from actual turnstile attendance those numbers really mean nothing. And we are going to have to start playing much better basketball to have any hope of getting people back to games. Since Marty Simmons was fired this is our conference record: 15-77 - that doesn't even count the MVC tourney. 15-77. I think there are pieces on the team this year to start turning it around but when you have that level of ineptitude it's going to take a lot to get that out of people's minds. First step is just simply competing at home. It’s embarrassing the amount of games we’ve gotten blown out in at home over the last 2 years. Last year we were 3-10 at home with 4 massive blowouts. Need to say competitive in every game and win more games than we lose in the Ford Center this year. Then we can start selling fans on coming back to the Ford Center.
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Post by aradace on Oct 30, 2023 9:17:30 GMT -6
I was certainly impressed by Bailey, Cuff, Kalle. Humrichous was pretty good on offense, but one glaring thing to me, at least, was how much he was being scored on. His defense was not good, in my opinion, or else everyone was just lucky in scoring over him. I also thought Cam struggled mightily with his defense. When Wabash screened him, he seemed to be lost many times. Toumi has improved a bit on free throws. Wabash was confident in attacking either outside or inside. I really thought the Aces would prevent interior damage because of the significant height advantage, but that advantage just didn't show out like I thought it would. I thought the Aces looked improved on moving/passing the ball, taking care of the ball, and using their depth of talent. I'm just concerned that a Division 3 team, regardless of how good they have been, would be putting 40 points on the board by halftime. Bailey was indeed electric when he was on the floor. Cuff played well, and so did Kalle. Just my thoughts on what I observed ... others may feel differently. I totally agree. Cam looked lost and 2 steps slow. Did not fight through picks. Someone please tell me why Toumi got so much playing time? He is terrible. Same as last year. Thinks he can dribble, can not finish 2 ft. from basket against smaller team. I noticed on one fast break Cuff had basketball at half court Toumi was ahead of everyone. Cuff looked at him and did not throw him the ball. No Trust he would catch it and make a shot. He needs 5 minutes or less a game PT. , he is terrible. Strawbridghe was must better. Saw what you want to about Bobe, the boy play DEFENSE.
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Post by Tom Servo on Oct 30, 2023 9:48:34 GMT -6
Just for perspective on the attendance. I know one of the guys who works for Venueworks and I can tell you those numbers they report for that attendance are garbage. There were games over the last 5 years where they would say 4,000 or something like that and the actual number of people there was 1,500. Bottom line is - they have gone so far away from actual turnstile attendance those numbers really mean nothing. And we are going to have to start playing much better basketball to have any hope of getting people back to games. Since Marty Simmons was fired this is our conference record: 15-77 - that doesn't even count the MVC tourney. 15-77. I think there are pieces on the team this year to start turning it around but when you have that level of ineptitude it's going to take a lot to get that out of people's minds. First step is just simply competing at home. It’s embarrassing the amount of games we’ve gotten blown out in at home over the last 2 years. Last year we were 3-10 at home with 4 massive blowouts. Need to say competitive in every game and win more games than we lose in the Ford Center this year. Then we can start selling fans on coming back to the Ford Center. I completely agree - that would be a huge step in the right direction.
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Post by Incognito on Oct 30, 2023 11:34:20 GMT -6
Just for perspective on the attendance. I know one of the guys who works for Venueworks and I can tell you those numbers they report for that attendance are garbage. There were games over the last 5 years where they would say 4,000 or something like that and the actual number of people there was 1,500. Bottom line is - they have gone so far away from actual turnstile attendance those numbers really mean nothing. And we are going to have to start playing much better basketball to have any hope of getting people back to games. Since Marty Simmons was fired this is our conference record: 15-77 - that doesn't even count the MVC tourney. 15-77. I think there are pieces on the team this year to start turning it around but when you have that level of ineptitude it's going to take a lot to get that out of people's minds. We've known for many many years that attendance figures don't just count butts in seats. I can't tell you whether or not the announced attendance combines walk-up ticket sales and season ticket sales minus scanned season tickets at the gate. Scans are digital and not numbers clicked off on a turnstile counter as they were at Roberts Stadium. It is possible but doubtful that a Venue employee has access to digital figures and also knows overall ticket sales unless a UE official told them. It seems obvious to me that season ticket holders skip games now and then. Many of them skipped the Wabash game and many more than that will skip the pharmacy game. A light drizzle will peel off a thousand and a tenth of an inch of snow will peel off even more. Still, even though none of us trust the announced attendance, it ironically remains the big reward Holy Grail of the Prediction contest. Go figure.
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Post by Incognito on Oct 30, 2023 12:32:57 GMT -6
Just for perspective on the attendance. I know one of the guys who works for Venueworks and I can tell you those numbers they report for that attendance are garbage. There were games over the last 5 years where they would say 4,000 or something like that and the actual number of people there was 1,500. Bottom line is - they have gone so far away from actual turnstile attendance those numbers really mean nothing. And we are going to have to start playing much better basketball to have any hope of getting people back to games. Since Marty Simmons was fired this is our conference record: 15-77 - that doesn't even count the MVC tourney. 15-77. I think there are pieces on the team this year to start turning it around but when you have that level of ineptitude it's going to take a lot to get that out of people's minds. First step is just simply competing at home. It’s embarrassing the amount of games we’ve gotten blown out in at home over the last 2 years. Last year we were 3-10 at home with 4 massive blowouts. Need to say competitive in every game and win more games than we lose in the Ford Center this year. Then we can start selling fans on coming back to the Ford Center. I just can't imagine another season of embarrassing Ford Center blowouts. We may not be the best we can be yet but surely the worst is behind us.
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Post by 65pointgame on Oct 30, 2023 12:59:26 GMT -6
A bad/average team is not going to pull people off the couch to head downtown to the Ford. The location of the stadium hurts attendance, especially with inclement weather. Our performance over the past 5 years magnifies the issues with the Ford.
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Post by aceloverlarry on Oct 30, 2023 13:49:43 GMT -6
First step is just simply competing at home. It’s embarrassing the amount of games we’ve gotten blown out in at home over the last 2 years. Last year we were 3-10 at home with 4 massive blowouts. Need to say competitive in every game and win more games than we lose in the Ford Center this year. Then we can start selling fans on coming back to the Ford Center. I just can't imagine another season of embarrassing Ford Center blowouts. We may not be the best we can be yet but surely the worst is behind us. I agree it should be behind us. Hopefully we can go 8-7 at home and have really competitive entertaining basketball for all 15. I definitely think there’s a path for that, but it requires us to go undefeated at home in the non-con or pull off some shocking upsets like UNI last season. I guess we can revisit these expectations in a week. I don’t think we need to be competing for MVC titles to get 4500 real people inside the stadium a night. If we can play a competitive and fun brand of basketball, I believe in Ziggys team to be able to market that product to the Evansville community even if we’re a 6-8th place team.
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Post by Incognito on Oct 30, 2023 14:02:47 GMT -6
A bad/average team is not going to pull people off the couch to head downtown to the Ford. The location of the stadium hurts attendance, especially with inclement weather. Our performance over the past 5 years magnifies the issues with the Ford. No, not again! There are downtown stadiums and inclement weather from coast to coast. I do agree that it is difficult to pull the locals off the couch and that the Civic Center lot is a long waddle for most of the sedentary yokels. It's a nearly insurmountable two city blocks on flat pavement and without a merciful rest stop. ALTHOUGH, they do manage to waddle in great numbers from one end of Franklin Street to the other and then back again during the Nut Club Fall Festival. If the Aces had gone winless in conference at Roberts Stadium, the attendance would not have been any better than it is today. Attendance suffers from losing and the streaming availability of nearly every single D1 regular season game, but mostly from losing.
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Post by Incognito on Oct 30, 2023 14:17:39 GMT -6
I just can't imagine another season of embarrassing Ford Center blowouts. We may not be the best we can be yet but surely the worst is behind us. I agree it should be behind us. Hopefully we can go 8-7 at home and have really competitive entertaining basketball for all 15. I definitely think there’s a path for that, but it requires us to go undefeated at home in the non-con or pull off some shocking upsets like UNI last season. I guess we can revisit these expectations in a week. I don’t think we need to be competing for MVC titles to get 4500 real people inside the stadium a night. If we can play a competitive and fun brand of basketball, I believe in Ziggys team to be able to market that product to the Evansville community even if we’re a 6-8th place team. I couldn't agree more. We still have a surprisingly large core of diehard fans which is surely the envy of the majority of the MVC teams. Even with the blowouts at the Ford Center last year, the fans remained engaged and eager to give instant feedback to the refs. There were plenty of teachable moments. We averaged 4500 paid attendance last year. Early wins will move butts who have already paid from the couch to cushioned folding chairbacks. Time will tell.
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