These people who bash Rupp after we lose on the road make my butt...

[Samwise Ganjee]

They go to the game, they come home after we lose on the road, and all they can talk about is how "great" the atmosphere was, how "loud" the other team's fans were, how "awesome" the gym was and "if only Rupp Arena were like that"....it makes my butt tired to hear this bullcrap

You go on the road in the SEC, to some little band-box arena of 8-9K capacity, it's truly their "Super Bowl," a chance to put one on Kentucky who has beaten them down like a red-headed stepchild for almost a century, the sound system is amped up, there is recorded, amplified crowd noise pumped in over the regular crowd noise, the fans scream until they are hoarse and the team completely pull one out of their ass....and you wanna' come home and bash the crowd at Rupp?

Just stay there, dammit! If it's so great become an Auburn fan!! We don't need you!

And don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, moron

Duh!!!

 

[jameslee32]

Bashing the blue hairs is an annual rite of passage. Nobody contributes more to the program or is quieter than papaw. haha

 

[ukfan79]

I was at the Dayton vs George Washington game on Friday night. Great atmosphere. I was telling my daughter, could you imagine the atmosphere UK would have if this was our arena.

But it's not realistic at all. We can't have and don't want a 12,000 seat arena like Dayton has. If we ever did the same people that complain about crowd noise would complain about ticket prices.

 

[WeWant9]

I'm very interested in how the turnout will be for AU hosting instate rival Bama tonight. I highly doubt the atmosphere will be anything near what it was on Saturday, which is kind of sad when you're hosting a hated rival. It just shows the priorities of the majority of the SEC, in hoops.

 

[OHIO COLONEL]

Use to live in Georgia and went to up to Athens a number of times for UGA games. Would go to a game where UGA was playing, say Auburn. Coliseum wasn't full, good crowd but not great, not a ramped up atmosphere, etc. Would go to the UK game...place would be packed to the rafters, 100% of the crowd screaming, students going nuts, etc. Completely different.
Same with Georgia Tech in the games at Alexander when they played UNC or Duke. Nothing like their other games.

 

[KYtotheCore]

 

[cats2010]

There is no better venue than Rupp Arena for a big time game, but on the reverse side there may not be a worse venue for non big time games which unfortunately makes up a majority of the home schedule. That is not bashing at all, it is called realty. Having 24,000 people in the stands is not a home court advantage when the overwhelming vast majority of them are watching the game like they would watch a movie.

 

[Kybluedude]

Play one game a year in Memorial. Put the txs in an open lottery.

 

[Ben101er]

There is no better venue than Rupp Arena for a big time game, but on the reverse side there may not be a worse venue for non big time games which unfortunately makes up a majority of the home schedule. That is not bashing at all, it is called realty. Having 24,000 people in the stands is not a home court advantage when the overwhelming vast majority of them are watching the game like they would watch a movie.

But, for a "non big time game" Rupp is still filled with 24,000 fans, that if it becomes a tight game, they get loud and try to help the team. At the venues that the OP was talking about, their "non big time games" are less than half full. They only show up for a tv game, or against us. Are those really great fans?

 

[UK90]

there is recorded, amplified crowd noise pumped in over the regular crowd noise, the fans scream until they are hoarse and the team completely pull one out of their ass...
!

Oh for chrissakes, there's NO recorded crowd noise being pumped into those games. Any other silly conspiracy theories you buy into?

Look, there are some reasons why Rupp tends to be quieter than other home arenas, but that is NOT one of them. And the real reasons starts with the fact that demand (and willingness to pay BIG money) for UK tickets is so high in this state that the good seats get dominated by older people with lots of money here far more than at other places. And the fact is older people with money aren't nearly as likely to scream, jump up and down and cheer loudly as do students, younger people and working class folks--groups that tend to get dispersed or pushed up into the rafters at UK far more than at other schools.

It's no coincidence that the loudest and rowdiest UK home crowds tend to be when we have a rare home game outside of Rupp, for example that NIT game we played at Memorial a few years ago and those annual games we used to play at Freedom Hall every year. The reason for that is largely because the ticket dispersement was done differently for those games in a way that resulted in a different type of fan (far more middle working class) getting a much higher percentage of the good seats--which changed the whole crowd dynamic surrounding the court.

 

[cats2010]

But, for a "non big time game" Rupp is still filled with 24,000 fans, that if it becomes a tight game, they get loud and try to help the team. At the venues that the OP was talking about, their "non big time games" are less than half full. They only show up for a tv game, or against us. Are those really great fans?

Yes I totally agree with this. Rupp when needed does bring the noise, but would be nice if it was that way more often. Players feed off of crowd energy and there are times when there is absolutely no energy at all with the Rupp Crowd thus we get more lethargic play as a result.

 

[Jkwo]

Oh for chrissakes, there's NO recorded crowd noise being pumped into those games. Any other silly conspiracy theories you buy into?

Look, there are some reasons why Rupp tends to be quieter than other home arenas, but that is NOT one of them. And the real reasons starts with the fact that demand (and willingness to pay BIG money) for UK tickets is so high in this state that the good seats get dominated by older people with lots of money here far more than at other places. And the fact is older people with money aren't nearly as likely to scream, jump up and down and cheer loudly as do students, younger people and working class folks--groups that tend to get dispersed or pushed up into the rafters at UK far more than at other schools.

It's no coincidence that the loudest and rowdiest UK home crowds tend to be when we have a rare home game outside of Rupp, for example that NIT game we played at Memorial a few years ago and those annual games we used to play at Freedom Hall every year. The reason for that is largely because the ticket dispersement was done differently for those games in a way that resulted in a different type of fan (far more middle working class) getting a much higher percentage of the good seats--which changed the whole crowd dynamic surrounding the court.

Agree that Rupp has sucked plenty of times entirely on their own doing.

Disagree that pumping in crowd noise is a conspiracy theory type of thing, in general. No idea if anybody in the SEC is doing it, but it's been done before. It's not particularly scandalous or hard to pull off.

 

[Hjack]

They go to the game, they come home after we lose on the road, and all they can talk about is how "great" the atmosphere was, how "loud" the other team's fans were, how "awesome" the gym was and "if only Rupp Arena were like that"....it makes my butt tired to hear this bullcrap

You go on the road in the SEC, to some little band-box arena of 8-9K capacity, it's truly their "Super Bowl," a chance to put one on Kentucky who has beaten them down like a red-headed stepchild for almost a century, the sound system is amped up, there is recorded, amplified crowd noise pumped in over the regular crowd noise, the fans scream until they are hoarse and the team completely pull one out of their ass....and you wanna' come home and bash the crowd at Rupp?

Just stay there, dammit! If it's so great become an Auburn fan!! We don't need you!

And don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, moron

Duh!!!

This is a Blue Hair Alert post. Those old folks who pay the price to be there shouldn't be there, even though they are the ones who helped finance Memorial and now Rupp. How dare they think that they deserve to sit or stand when they want. And letting them sit in those lower seats, when so many have to sit in the uppers.

It really, really disgusts me, but now I are one.

 

[AGEE11]

We need the lower 10 rows all around the court to be student sections, then lift the blue hairs up a bit.

Get the students all around and rowdy, instead of one end zone and keep the rich close. Wish the overhaul would have gone through. Maybe get some luxury suites and move the quiet ones there.

 

[toonces11]

There is no better venue than Rupp Arena for a big time game, but on the reverse side there may not be a worse venue for non big time games which unfortunately makes up a majority of the home schedule. That is not bashing at all, it is called realty. Having 24,000 people in the stands is not a home court advantage when the overwhelming vast majority of them are watching the game like they would watch a movie.

The answer you are looking for is Allen Fieldhouse.

 

[Blueworld_3.0]

I kinda understand the atmosphere in Rupp being subpar for games against directional schools. It's tough to get loud and excited about beating Poop State by 40 points.
At the same time, Rupp rarely gets loud for games against conference foes either. That may be because we've owned the SEC for so long and most of the season ticket holders expect to win anyway. And finally you do have some people who are just not going to stand up and yell for whatever reason. Maybe they're older and can't or just come to be seen. Who knows but, that will be the way it is forever. Even if UK had its own arena, the big donors would still demand courtside or lower arena seats. They can't all fit into luxury boxes.
I just wish we could get 100% participation to wear UK blue at every home game. Invariably you will see a anchor shot during a UK televised broadcast and in the background will be someone wear some non-UK color. Hard to believe.

 

[Ben101er]

This is a Blue Hair Alert post. Those old folks who pay the price to be there shouldn't be there, even though they are the ones who helped finance Memorial and now Rupp. How dare they think that they deserve to sit or stand when they want. And letting them sit in those lower seats, when so many have to sit in the uppers.

It really, really disgusts me, but now I are one.

I disagree, Hjack. Those seats are no longer occupied by real old people, as most perceive. The original owners of those seats have passed them on to family members and the median age of the sections you are talking about, 12, 13, 14, and 15, are no older than any other sections in the arena, other than student sections. It is just a perception that people keep perpetuating, but it isn't so. People who don't attend the games don't realize this, since the cameras are on that side of the arena, and all viewers see is the other side.