Empty seats sending UK a message?
- Thread starter rick64
- Start date
Some boos. Maybe a few would leave. Empty, not a chance.
You had me until you tied how long someone has been a member of this cesspool to Fandom. Also a team full of KY kids gets their lunch money stolen in the SEC.
You are correct it's beyond 10 months ago as Cal has seemed to be bent on alienating certain parts of the fanbase circa 2015.
As mentioned multiple time in this thread, the cost of going to the game versus watching at home could be driving some of this.
Regardless of the reason; the volume of empty lower arena seats is noticeable.
I hated the kneeling too, but did he say anything that wasn’t true? That’s pretty much how it went down.
Coaching staff and school was trapped. Screwed either way. Piss off the team and scare off recruits…..or piss off a portion of the fanbase? No-win situation. We live in strange times.
This may be the best post I've read on this board in years.
I wish I could LOVE this post about a thousand times. You said everything I and MANY other longtime UK basketball fans are thinking and feeling.
*well, except the thing about IU...screw them.
Home Run , no grand slam of a post . My comments have pissed some people off but I'm tired of Kentucky basketball being whatever it is today . A hot mess . And to agitators like Ed .. you are in the extreme minority here , you can post , but most everyone knows are a total fool.
Unfortunately what we have now is indeed high level college basketball. The game has changed and if we want to stay relevant, we have to continue to change with it. Doesnt mean we have to like it though...
How about telling the players there is a better time and place to be more effective on conveying your views than kneeling before a game? I don't believe it was a binary choice. Cal has the pull to have the team meet with the Governor, or any major leader in this country with race relations. There are 100 ways he could have had the team do something meaningful with their time to advance race relations and speak out about their concerns.
Cal was trapped in that moment because he wasn't prepared to deal with it, and he wasn't forward thinking enough to understand the backlash or worse, he was so arrogant in his belief of fans just falling in line with whatever he says, that he thought Kentucky fans would just cheer him for taking action.
And if the players would have said no to differing solutions that would have been more effective in addressing racial inequality, then it was never about racial inequality to begin with, it was about getting a tweet from Lebron James.
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I’m sure a lot of people think like me, and they would only go to some of these garbage games if they got a free ticket and lived within 15 minutes of Rupp.
I HATE to admit this but UK basketball is kinda stale right now.
Some people have no problem talking about why that is. Some people are in denial.
I HATE to admit this but UK basketball is kinda stale right now.
Some people have no problem talking about why that is. Some people are in denial.
The lower arena is empty because the blue hairs are old and dont want to get out anymore. They're the ones with money. I don't know what Cal did in 2015 to alienate the fanbase so I won't comment on that. I will just say a large portion of our fan base is overly sensitive.
There is no one answer.
Some people are pissed.
Some can't afford it.
Some live far away.
Some would rather watch on TV with free booze.
Some have lifestyle changes or other things they have to attend to. Children get older and get more involved in activities. For me, hell I would be hard pressed to go to any weekday game with my kids schedules, would be damn near impossible.
The only people who can generally go to every/any game are either rich, old, or have no children/responsibility outside of work- students, singles, etc.
The world has changed, it is a mix of everything.
Some people are pissed.
Some can't afford it.
Some live far away.
Some would rather watch on TV with free booze.
Some have lifestyle changes or other things they have to attend to. Children get older and get more involved in activities. For me, hell I would be hard pressed to go to any weekday game with my kids schedules, would be damn near impossible.
The only people who can generally go to every/any game are either rich, old, or have no children/responsibility outside of work- students, singles, etc.
The world has changed, it is a mix of everything.
You're confusing the lower arena with the student uppers...one was about 85% full, the other less than 10%.
Stale? Recruiting sure isn’t. Transfers? They have breathed life into the season. How can you not be excited about this season.
Some fans live too far away to attend games - like me. Empty seats is a combination of COVID, rising inflation making dollars harder to stretch, a horrible year of basketball in 2020/2021, Calipari’s philosophy wearing thin on some fans and younger generations caring less and less about sports.
Calipari needs to have a solid year, including getting UK back to the Final Four or close to it to win back many fans. I have no grand expectations, but I truly hope this team can be successful and get UK back to its usual level of prominence.
Calipari needs to have a solid year, including getting UK back to the Final Four or close to it to win back many fans. I have no grand expectations, but I truly hope this team can be successful and get UK back to its usual level of prominence.
Hell there was no better time and place. They did it in florida in a somewhat meaningless game. It was going to happen, no other way around it. I’m just glad it didn’t happen at rupp. It happened one time, hasn’t happened since, and it’s done. Nobody got hurt. It’s over. People have got to find a way to let it go. It’s like that crazy ex girlfriend that’s still haunting y’all’s dreams.
I can't even imagine if it had happened in Rupp. It would make the current situation seem like a walk in the park. For my part, I wish they hadn't taken a knee there. I do understand why they felt they should do it but the UK fanbase doesn't understand it and many will never understand it- and many, even if they understand the reasoning, will never agree. So, it's like biting the hand that feeds you. (it would have also helped their case if they were a winning team, but they might have been the worst team UK has ever had) I wish they had found a better way to get their point across. But I am not going to hold every team and player accountable for the actions of one group.
NIL will take all of these forms of protest away. I would be SHOCKED if we ever see something like "Taking a knee" again. Players will want to keep the fans and in turn, potential sponsors, as receptive as possible.
I don’t see what y’all’s problem is.
I love paying a ton of money to go to games against crappy teams, wearing a mask when I get there, and staying rock sober while the team kneels for the anthem, the crowd stays mostly silent, and struggles against said crappy team.
it’s definitely way preferable to staying home and watching those games on a 77” OLED and saving my cash for the neutral site games against actual opponents where they actually serve beer and the crowd is into the game.
I love paying a ton of money to go to games against crappy teams, wearing a mask when I get there, and staying rock sober while the team kneels for the anthem, the crowd stays mostly silent, and struggles against said crappy team.
it’s definitely way preferable to staying home and watching those games on a 77” OLED and saving my cash for the neutral site games against actual opponents where they actually serve beer and the crowd is into the game.
I see more of the usual suspects with the "people don't go to games anymore" posts to defend Mitch and cal.
People go to other games. They go to concerts at rupp (Morgan fn Wallen sold out like 4 shows at rupp). They're just not going to these crap games.
I don't think it's sending a message per se. I do absolutely think it's a personal cost/benefit analysis where people decide going to crap games isn't worth it at the moment. You will sadly see the same thing in football this Saturday, following three straight sell outs.
The days of people religiously showing up are over
People go to other games. They go to concerts at rupp (Morgan fn Wallen sold out like 4 shows at rupp). They're just not going to these crap games.
I don't think it's sending a message per se. I do absolutely think it's a personal cost/benefit analysis where people decide going to crap games isn't worth it at the moment. You will sadly see the same thing in football this Saturday, following three straight sell outs.
The days of people religiously showing up are over
18.277 showed up on Tuesday.
18.454 showed up for the Robert Morris game.
After renovation the full capacity of Rupp is 20,545.
People are still showing up even for the crappy games.
Is a decline from 100% capacity? Yes.
Is it a significant decline and as big a deal as some make it out to be? No way.
18.454 showed up for the Robert Morris game.
After renovation the full capacity of Rupp is 20,545.
People are still showing up even for the crappy games.
Is a decline from 100% capacity? Yes.
Is it a significant decline and as big a deal as some make it out to be? No way.
I went to Sr day at Rupp 2-3 years ago ( Florida game ) Shelled out some large coin to be there , took 2 people who had never attended a game before .. it was the game Florida slowed the pace , fouled like morons and the game was total 100% bore fest . You drive 2 hours to get there , pay to park , pay an outrageous amount for tickets , and the game lacked any excitement what so ever . Its just not a good experience for the effort/cash it takes to get there .
Actual attendance or tix sold ? are you talking butts in the seats ? I honestly dont know , its not a gotcha question
I believe he's quoting the announced attendance figures, so it's butts in the seats. Those games were essentially sold out, with the exception of a few hundred seats. I know because I was looking at buying tickets and it was end zone nose bleeds available only.
And this is why I say it's not really sending a message- even if the season ticket holders want to send one- because if UK sells out their tickets they don't care nearly as much about some season ticket holders not showing up. And if I'm really being snarky (haha), those fans never stand or cheer anyway.
I never once brought up kneeling. You have repeatedly. YOu just assume you know things about me that you don't.
My issues with things from last year don't just go away when the game starts. YOu can have that mentality. It's weak. It's why things are spiraling out of control in this country. Meh....I'm over it I just want my team to win. That's your way, not everybody else's.
UK had a player claim RUpp was racist and wanted the name of the arena changed. Zero facts or even any knowledge of Rupp. Just spouted nonsense because of his name. You drink that kool aid all you want. I aint thirsty.
Significant? I don't know. A big deal? Probably not. Notable? Sure it is. This is the way we as a fanbase are looking at everything now. Losses? Not a big deal. Good home games? Who cares!
We're being conditioned to think none of this really matters anymore. And the attendance is reflecting that.
Good question and great point. Attendance figures listed were over 18k, but people that were there said there couldn't have been more than 12k in the crowd Tuesday night.
There is a decrease in attendance across every sport so it has nothing to do with lack of interest from UK fans and our schedule. As a family that done season tickets for years and no longer does, honestly I don't blame people as the cost is just to high anymore. I'd rather watch from my living room on a HD TV.
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