In the Oracle

[bigbull]

Half-empty: Students absent from Sun Dome

by Thomas Simonetti

Columnist

January 25, 2005

After a loss Saturday, USF's most talented basketball player, Terrence Leather, spoke to the media -- and just before he finished, he took a moment to apologize to the fans for the way his team played.

Which led me to wonder: Shouldn't USF's students apologize to the Bulls?

Over eight home games this season, the average announced attendance is 2,619, well below average for Division-I basketball. In 2004, the average national crowd was 5,154, and no top-25 team averaged less than 12,000 fans. And the Big East, which USF moves into next year, brings in just over 9,000 a game. Only Tulane has fewer fans at its home games this season.

It's not just the men's team. The USF women's team is having one of its best seasons to date and has its sights set on making its first-ever NCAA tournament.

But an average of only 506 have come to see games this season -- although even that number is inflated.

Against St. Louis on Friday, the announced crowd was 606 and it seemed the players, coaches, and band were added to that total. The average attendance at seven away games this season: 2,720.

Why doesn't anyone want to come to watch these teams play?

Some say USF's teams aren't worth watching or that they're not good enough to waste a couple of hours on.

The men aren't terrible and the women are pretty good this year. The men's season so far is highlighted by an 8-4 start, including a win in their conference opener. The team suffered a last-second loss to No. 22 Marquette on the road.

The women are off to a 14-6 record, including a nine-game home winning streak, even taking then-No. 8 Connecticut to overtime on the road.

It could be that the students' lack of interest has to do with some of the fans that already go to the games.

Understandably, some students probably don't want to be associated with those Bull fanatics that grace the front row of the student section. If you've been to a game this season, you know who I am talking about.

On many occasions, this group of hooligans has shown no class, including chants of "wife beater, wife beater" being directed at Jeremy Hunt at the Memphis game.

That display of disrespect had me hoping Memphis players would go Ron Artest on Bulls fans.

At least those guys show up to the women's games.

Some people on campus are trying to rally support.

The Bulls Club has a new promotion called the "Sixth Bull." You can tell who they are because of the mustard-colored shirts they wear with a large No. 6 on the front. It's sad to say, but if the USF student section is the sixth man for the basketball team, the Bulls shouldn't go to their bench very often.

If the students at this university really wanted a quality team, they would use their free tickets and fill up the stands.

After all, how many of the potential recruits watching Thursday's game against Cincinnati are going to be psyched about playing in an empty Sun Dome next season?

The blame shouldn't be heaped solely on the students, though. I know the USF Athletic Department has to take some responsibility. Calls to Associate Athletics Director Tom Veit and Associate Athletic Director for Development Vicki Mitchell, who is also with the Bulls Club, were not returned Monday.

Who can blame them? They have a lot of work to do.

I do not know if this is the way to get students to the games or not.  I know that sometimes we might be a little classless but it is because we love the Bulls so much that sometimes we get a little carried away.  I'm not sure but if I was a student who did not go to games, I don't know if I would go if I was told I might not want to be associated with the students but that might just be me.  We are going to keep being in the front cheering on our Bulls and try to not be as "classless".  Just my opinion on the article.  What does everyone else think?

[Omniscientbull]

I've been to every game and haven't seen anything that's classless.

What's wrong with calling someone who was arrested for beating their spouse a wife beater?  It's the friggin' truth.  The guy brought the situation upon himself.  There aren't too many things worse than a wife beater.

[bigbull]

Thanks for the support

[bullMD2005]

Let's call a spade a spade.  If you're a wife beater, you're a wife beater, and deserve to hear it day and night.  Keep up the good work Bulls fans.

[Brad]

I think this guy needs a case of writer's block.

Makes me wonder if he ever played sports.  I think fans should get all over players and coaches (my specialty was the officials), but should keep it clean.  I don't see a lot wrong with "wife beater" for a guy that allegedly beat the crap out of a girl...he could have been called a lot worse.

That display of disrespect had me hoping Memphis players would go Ron Artest on Bulls fans.

Oh, that's how the "hooliogans" should be dealt with Thomas - violence?  I guess the campus isn't as soft as I thought it had become.  

Instead, maybe Simonetti should have a "lay down" to peacefully protest the hooligan nature of the fans that DO SHOW UP.  Maybe instead he should just have a "write out" - you know, drop his pen in protest and refuse to write about the fans that at least care enough to attend.

"Calls to Veit and Mitchell were not returned"  Ha... read "Thomas who?"

If I am understanding this correctly he is implying other students don't go, because of the raucous students that do go... victimology strikes again.  Losers.

Soon he'll suggest we only get 20K to a football game, the other 45K stay at home, because of all the drunks at the game...unless of course he is a drunk...than that couldn't be the reason.

This guy is full of himself, which makes...well you know.

[bigbull]

Good as long as I was the only one who did not like the article

[Velcro]

This guy has no future working for newspapers... what a joke.  Or at least write about stuff he has SOME type of knowledge about, knitting, basket-weaving, rest area night-life.

[beastiebull]

Horrible writing and very uninformed article.  He obviously doesn't watch major college sports.  

[Jewbull]

The hell with that newspapar every year this **** newspaper speaks poorly of USF Athletics and the University itself, they have no business being on our campus and I would love to find a way to dismantle the paper and have someone start up a new school newspaper.

BOYCOTT THE ORACLE

[79 Bull]

Bigbull, as Pres. do you write a response to totally wipe out the negative this guy is spewing and ask other students to join you and find out on their own what the atmosphere can be on Thursday night?

OR do you ignore him and hope he hasn't done too much damage to SBC.

What do you think the average student reading the oracle will take away from this article?  Given our attendance, I am not so sure that most have never witnessed college sports and this will now skew their view or opinions that it is a bad/not fun event.