weak a$$ student section

[Norm Peterson]

By the way, McTrofholz, seems to me your complaint is more with the students who don't show up than it is with the students who do.

[big red22]

Wrong… I've been to every game this year.

 

Were they quiet against Kearney, WIU, NIU, Ark St. and South Carolina St. " Absolutely

 

Totally different for the FGCU and Miami game… obviously you were not at them, because they were fantastic against Miami especially 

 

Just like everybody it is hard to get up for no name teams, Creighton's student will not be into the Pine Bluff game like they were against NU… It's not rocket science

 

The quality of opponent plays a big role here, and your post is comparing apples to oranges here

 

[Cazzie22]

I'd be more concerned about the product on the floor than the product in the stands.  Consistent winning will bring a "festive" atmosphere to any arena.

[TheKamdyMan]

 

 

Plus last time I checked this was the students basketball team and the kids playing are student athletes. Students should be able to experience those types of seats. When teams like Ohio St come to town we will be glad those seats will be filled with students and not the blue hairs that get upset when the person in front of them stands.

 

 

 

Oregon.  Iowa State.  St. Mary's.  These 3 schools for example have only recently begun to experience intermediate success as far as wins and losses are concerned, but have a longstanding history of being the more difficult places to win at due to the presence, coordination, and drive of their student sections.  Shoot, the product Creighton has put on the floor at the Century Link is statistically worse than that of the CU teams that rounded out their era at the Civic Center, yet the energy in Century Link cannot be disputed.  Yes, the alcohol factor should not be overlooked, however, the 18, 19, and 20 year olds in the student section aren't their drinking.

 

 

 

You had me until you included Oregon in this mix.  They are exactly the same type of team Nebraska is for student fan support.  They dont show up for lesser known teams and are pretty darn quiet.  The students were better at Mac Court than Matt Knight but even then its pretty dismal.

[huskerbaseball13]

To the student section at the Pinnacle Bank Arena:

I’m calling you guys out. You were given the best seats in the arena, at a ridiculously discounted rate I may add, due to the level of excitement that you were supposed to bring to this new chapter in Husker basketball. To date, you have earned a resounding “F” grade for the noise, passion, and intimidation that you have brought to the PBA. As a matter of fact, I would categorize your presence at the home games as down right embarrassing. 

Any coach or player, at any level, will tell you that the team feeds off the energy from their home crowd. This is not conjecture or a backhanded way to get the crowd excited, this is just the way it is. Having said this, the team receives their energy from the crowd, and the crowd’s energy is driven by the student section. Do you see the progression? Creighton fans love to make the blanket statement that, “Nebraska fans are largely uneducated when it comes to basketball,” and the fact that I’ve heard mouse farts booming over the lull of the student section this year, has only served at evidence that the sCUm fan base may be correct. Speaking of Creighton, I can tell you that I attend both Nebraska and Creighton home games and their student section puts ours to shame. It should be pretty humbling* to you that the Creighton students, who you outnumber 3 to 1, AND who are tucked away at the end cap of the court, are the bedrock of the passion that fills the Century Link Center. * “sickening” would also work here. 

If you disagree with me, and want to stick it to me for having pointed out the obvious, then prove me wrong through your actions. Spare me the snarky, self-apologetic letter in response to this one, and do something to improve the situation. Get a little lubed up on adult drinks before the games if you must. Start a grassroots movement of tailgating before the basketball games perhaps. One up the token Scarlets and come up with your own chants and traditions. Research the teams we are playing and, appropriately of course, antagonize the opposing players and coaches. 

Last, if you are unwilling to due these things and would prefer to just sit on your thumbs massaging your prostates through the season, then get your tickets validated and trade them with me and other season ticket holders who want to motivate the team to play well; not selfishly wait for the team to make a play to get us excited.

 

 

It would be great if the studends came out in full force and were crazy for every single game.  In reality though, most should have probably known this wouldn't be the case.  Outside of a select few and the bluebloods of college basketball most students arent going to get crazy and rowdy for Arkansas State.  The crowd was great for our "big games" and I'm guessing they will be great for the Big Ten. 

[a0t0w0]

The program isn't at a place where it's producing a lot of diehard fans.  When I was a student at UNL there were generally 3 types of student fans-

 

Those who go as a social event

Those who love a reason to drink and scream

Actual diehard fans who clung to all things Nebrasketball

 

I don't think that will change anytime soon. Even if we start winning consistently it's not too likely people will get into the non-con bottom feeder games.  The recent increase in ticket sales is a huge win in my mind.  As others have said, wait until the big shows come to town to pass judgement on the student section.

[HuskerBB]

I have actually been fairly impressed with the student numbers at the games - not always filling their section but at least much better numbers than we have had the last several years.   The student seating area is alot bigger at Pinnacle than it was the last few years of the Bob so getting more students to the games is important.

 

That said I agree that given the greater numbers I don't think they have provided much in the way of energy to the arena or the rest of the crowd and I have been at all the home games.  I attribute that mostly to the fact that they have been moved farther from the court and the fact that the students on the side are not really visible during the games.  I don't think it will happen - but to me the answer would be to allow students  to occupy the full area between their seats on the south end and that end of the court.  There is just too big of a gap there to allow them to have maximum impact - and I continue to maintain that students will impact a game much more on the end of the court than they can on the sideline.   

 

Again I don't see this happening at that end of the court largely because that is also the exit path for a large part of the arena.    It is another topic - but the arena design with only one exit corner is a problem for various reasons.  It woudl be possible for them to also let people exit out of the SW corner which would solve some of the issues but to this point they don't seem to want to allow people to go out that way.

[Nighthawk]

OK...I'm not an expert on this so I'm in more of a learning area. Take our old conference mate KU. I see them and their games that I see on TV....no matter who it is they are playing...their place is loud and rocking. Is that because we don't have the winning program they have? I'm not trying to compare our programs...but just wondering.

[The Polish Rifle]

 

 

Plus last time I checked this was the students basketball team and the kids playing are student athletes. Students should be able to experience those types of seats. When teams like Ohio St come to town we will be glad those seats will be filled with students and not the blue hairs that get upset when the person in front of them stands.

 

Where did you "check" to verify that the basketball team was the property of the students??  I would imagine that there are many many tax payers, coupled with many many boosters that would disagree with your contention.  That's a tangent though.

 

I appreciate the chicken and egg analogy, however my post was rooted in a lack of pride and passion from the students.  If showing up big for the Ohio State and Michigan State games is one's measure of pride and passion, then I guess that's your way.  A more passionate fan, in my estimation at least, are those that show up for most every game and cheer.  Fans that had student tickets in college and chose to sign on as season ticket holders after.  Fans who have endured year after year of mediocre basketball and still crawl back to the ticket office each Fall to renew their season tickets.  Call them crotchety blue hairs if you want, but these people will follow suit with the level of excitement coming from the students; which in turn funnels to the players.

 

Oregon.  Iowa State.  St. Mary's.  These 3 schools for example have only recently begun to experience intermediate success as far as wins and losses are concerned, but have a longstanding history of being the more difficult places to win at due to the presence, coordination, and drive of their student sections.  Shoot, the product Creighton has put on the floor at the Century Link is statistically worse than that of the CU teams that rounded out their era at the Civic Center, yet the energy in Century Link cannot be disputed.  Yes, the alcohol factor should not be overlooked, however, the 18, 19, and 20 year olds in the student section aren't their drinking.

 

Last, the counterpoints to mine have been to the tune of "students will cheer for big games"  or "players need to give us something to cheer for."  That's one way of looking at it I suppose. And, just maybe, I can accept that from the perception of a college kid.  Another way to look at it is that Nebraska is on the cusp of being a decent team and having a strong, proud student section could be the small advantage we give ourselves to get over the hump and start scratching out some wins that may have otherwise been losses.  With this comes confidence.  And with confidence a team isn't set up for failure when they go on the road.  Isn't this worth finding out?

 

It the university basketball team, the students have claim to those seats as much as anyone. I'm pretty sure boosters are not out on their a$$ because we have a big student section. Lets reserve judgement until at least 1 B1G game before we label the student section as a bust. I'm pretty sure you will be more than happy.

[49r]

I can't believe this is a topic of conversation.

 

I guess it beats the big topic of last week.

[hhcmatt]

I can't believe this is a topic of conversation.

 

I guess it beats the big topic of last week.

 

As long as this doesn't fly off the rails I guess we need something to gripe about until we get to Cincy

[Nebrasketballer]

Well, you have 20 active posts...So, did you really create an account to call out the student section? Seems kind've troll-ish to me...

The students (just like the rest of the fans) respond to the product on the floor in front of them. When the quality of play is poor, then the fans reaction is affected. When the quality of opponent is poor, then the fans reaction is affected.

A less-than-electric atmosphere is not specific to the student section. It's what happens.

I'm fairly confident that the student section (as well as the rest of the crowd) will be jacked and electric for the Big Ten portion of the schedule...

[Nebrasketballer]

Also, I'm pretty sure PBA sold out season tickets, but the actual attendance has only been in the 11,000ish range. So maybe your energy should be directed at the thousands of fans (outside of the student section) that haven't even bothered to show up for these games, rather than calling out the student section that you don't think is loud enough.

[atskooc]

OK...I'm not an expert on this so I'm in more of a learning area. Take our old conference mate KU. I see them and their games that I see on TV....no matter who it is they are playing...their place is loud and rocking. Is that because we don't have the winning program they have? I'm not trying to compare our programs...but just wondering.

Yes.

 

Compare their football student section to ours (generally).

[huskerbaseball13]

OK...I'm not an expert on this so I'm in more of a learning area. Take our old conference mate KU. I see them and their games that I see on TV....no matter who it is they are playing...their place is loud and rocking. Is that because we don't have the winning program they have? I'm not trying to compare our programs...but just wondering.

 

 

Yes.....if we were a top 10 team the Pinnacle would be rocking every single night.  If we were even top 25 that would be the case IMO.  I went back and watched some of the old NU basketball videos when we had some solid teams and the Devaney looked packed and very energetic. 

[GoBigRed]

OK...I'm not an expert on this so I'm in more of a learning area. Take our old conference mate KU. I see them and their games that I see on TV....no matter who it is they are playing...their place is loud and rocking. Is that because we don't have the winning program they have? I'm not trying to compare our programs...but just wondering.

 

Yes. This is like Kansas football looking at the Nebraska football crowd and saying "Why can't we have that?"

The last time Nebraska made the NCAA Tournament, current UNL students were 3-6 years old. Win, and they will come. Until then, the student section will always be good for conference games and key non-conference games, and bad for games against Prairie View A&M and Alabama A&M Tech State.

[GoBigRed]

To the student section at the Pinnacle Bank Arena:

I’m calling you guys out. You were given the best seats in the arena, at a ridiculously discounted rate I may add, due to the level of excitement that you were supposed to bring to this new chapter in Husker basketball. To date, you have earned a resounding “F” grade for the noise, passion, and intimidation that you have brought to the PBA. As a matter of fact, I would categorize your presence at the home games as down right embarrassing. 

Any coach or player, at any level, will tell you that the team feeds off the energy from their home crowd. This is not conjecture or a backhanded way to get the crowd excited, this is just the way it is. Having said this, the team receives their energy from the crowd, and the crowd’s energy is driven by the student section. Do you see the progression? Creighton fans love to make the blanket statement that, “Nebraska fans are largely uneducated when it comes to basketball,” and the fact that I’ve heard mouse farts booming over the lull of the student section this year, has only served at evidence that the sCUm fan base may be correct. Speaking of Creighton, I can tell you that I attend both Nebraska and Creighton home games and their student section puts ours to shame. It should be pretty humbling* to you that the Creighton students, who you outnumber 3 to 1, AND who are tucked away at the end cap of the court, are the bedrock of the passion that fills the Century Link Center. * “sickening” would also work here. 

If you disagree with me, and want to stick it to me for having pointed out the obvious, then prove me wrong through your actions. Spare me the snarky, self-apologetic letter in response to this one, and do something to improve the situation. Get a little lubed up on adult drinks before the games if you must. Start a grassroots movement of tailgating before the basketball games perhaps. One up the token Scarlets and come up with your own chants and traditions. Research the teams we are playing and, appropriately of course, antagonize the opposing players and coaches. 

Last, if you are unwilling to due these things and would prefer to just sit on your thumbs massaging your prostates through the season, then get your tickets validated and trade them with me and other season ticket holders who want to motivate the team to play well; not selfishly wait for the team to make a play to get us excited.

 

By the way, the Cameron Crazies pay $0 to attend Duke basketball games. Nebraska students actually have to pay money to see the product we put on the court every year, so let's not talk about what a great discount they get.

[hhcmatt]

By the way, the Cameron Crazies pay $0 to attend Duke basketball games. Nebraska students actually have to pay money to see the product we put on the court every year, so let's not talk about what a great discount they get.

 

 

http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2012/01/24/low-attendance-forces-duke-athletics-sell-student-seats

[GoBigRed]

 

By the way, the Cameron Crazies pay $0 to attend Duke basketball games. Nebraska students actually have to pay money to see the product we put on the court every year, so let's not talk about what a great discount they get.

 

 

http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2012/01/24/low-attendance-forces-duke-athletics-sell-student-seats

 

 

Thanks for posting that, Dimes. Even Duke, DUKE, is prone to poor student turnout at basketball games. Their student attendance DROPPED after they won a National Championship.

 

Makes calling out Nebrasketball's student section look ridiculously silly.

[ladyhusker]

For whatever it's worth, for a bunch of reasons, I tend to agree with the OP. Think of that what you will, but I've been less than impressed with the student section, this year and basically for the last decade. I suspect there are a lot of factors, but aside from the FGCU game (and to some extent, Miami, but even then I wasn't exactly blown away), it's been pretty pitiful. I don't expect there to be a solid mass of people every game, and I know there are the crew on here who work hard to change the atmosphere in the student section. But there's quite a bit of work to do still, and I guess I don't think it's all that crazy, on a message board, to say so.

[hhcmatt]

 

 

By the way, the Cameron Crazies pay $0 to attend Duke basketball games. Nebraska students actually have to pay money to see the product we put on the court every year, so let's not talk about what a great discount they get.

 

 

http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2012/01/24/low-attendance-forces-duke-athletics-sell-student-seats

 

 

Thanks for posting that, Dimes. Even Duke, DUKE, is prone to poor student turnout at basketball games. Their student attendance DROPPED after they won a National Championship.

 

Makes calling out Nebrasketball's student section look ridiculously silly.

 

 

While the OP was sort of above and beyond, there is an underlying set of issues and that is the student section doesn't really have any sort of go-to besides yelling "DE-FENSE", or "Air-Ball", or white-noise.  White-Noise, the loud sound you here when we have big opponents, is pretty hard to bring against inferior opponents

 

Realistically all that is needed is about 5-6 more go-tos and maybe 1-2 Nebraska-specific chant type deals.  Obviously it would be preferred if these chants would be of the non-lame variety but whatever's clever.

[Huskerpapa]

Here is a point that again should be repeated.  It isn't just the student section.  Fans in general (at Nebraska) really do not know how to react during basketball games.  I WOULD NEVER advocate obscene or boorish behaivior; yet yelling and standing is frowned upon by some.  I have six tickets, my family was up and yelling very loudly at one of our earlier games - honestly - we were loud, but very clean -- the lady in front of us asked us (in a very polite manner during a break) that perhaps we could/should quiet down a bit because we were disturbing others who simply wanted to enjoy watching.  REALLY??? 

 

Then of course we have the flood of "fans" who choose to leave starting at the ten minute mark in the second half...and where do they exit???   Well of course, in front of our band and a portion of our student section.  REALLY? 

 

So call out the students if you wish.  They will continue to get better as we continue to improve the product on the floor.  But it goes beyond the students, it is the entire fan base.  I keep getting told (and I read) that Nebraskans are the greatest of all fans.  REALLY?

[Norm Peterson]

I ran across some research a couple of years ago, and Coach Miles has made recent reference to it, about crowd participation and whether good crowds follow program success or whether program success follows good crowds.  Kind of a chicken-or-egg question.  And the researchers, I believe out of Duke U, determined actually good crowds come first.  Building a good home environment breeds success on the floor, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. 

 

So, bringing up concerns about the student section, to me, is very pertinent.  The student section has been a little un-filled, you might say.  The end seats above the level of the band are clearly being occupied by non-students, probably invited down from the 300 level, wouldn't surprise me.  But this last game, they didn't even make it from baseline to baseline of their side area in the lower bowl.

 

We gotta do something more to get students there and to be loud.  I was only half joking about the effects of having beer sales at PBA.  I don't advocate irresponsible drinking followed by getting behind the wheel.  But a little beer never really hurt anyone too much.  It lowers your inhibitions.  Makes you a little louder. 

 

I guess what I'm saying is:  SELL THE STUDENTS SOME DAMN BEER.  AND NOT THAT COORS LIGHT CRAP.

[trickey]

 

By the way, the Cameron Crazies pay $0 to attend Duke basketball games. Nebraska students actually have to pay money to see the product we put on the court every year, so let's not talk about what a great discount they get.

 

Once you compare the Duke tuition requirement before you get to the "free" tickets...You may consider the UNL price a bargain!

 

The real problem exists for both students and non...There is a reason why the Bob was called the Library...It is going to take some time to get traditions going...for instance the "threeeee" is picking up, yet more need to join in...we just need a lot more traditions...and students tend to be creative...give them some time. Perhaps they could sit down with whoever came up with all the volleyball standards.

[REDZONEDAN]

I thought the student section in the early to mid '90's did an awesome job.  I don't remember specifically what they did since it was so long ago, but it would be great to maybe adapt some of what they did if anyone on this board can remember some of the things they did.  I recall a group of 4-6 students that wore referee jerseys and basketballs as hats, and had various signs to help lead some of the chants.