LickLiter takes a jab at the hawk fans

ISUFan22 · 12-10-2007, 03:30 PM

Take the $10 ticket crap and shove it, to be frank. I'm talking about today, right now. We didn't need $10 tickets this season...you know...selling record numbers of season tickets and all. ISU fans knew the football season would be rough and Iowa fans knew their hoops season wouldn't be much more fun.

ISU is supporting their new coaches. Iowa is not.

Period.

bostinelosd · 12-10-2007, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by SouthernHawk

'm not going to argue that JP is a marketing genius. He really got things going with fan support and all that. Plus, there were times that football tickets in JTS cost less than a weeknight basketball ticket in CHA. I'm not sure which I would rather do - spend 10 bucks to watch ISU play Colorado (which wasn't a sell out), or spend $25.00 on a weeknight at 8:00 and watch Iowa play Northern Colorado.

My point isn't that ISU can't support their football team - it's that when ISU had a very similar marketing scheme to Barta's, the situations were very similar. The better the team on the field, the more people in the stands.

Do you think our fanbases are similar? I seem to think we have more loyalty than hawk fans do, no matter the W/L's. Like I said, there are fairweather fans, but I want to say in general our fans stick with the team better, especially in low moments. Maybe taking such a knocking in multiple sports (on and off field issues) will shape the hawk fanbase up and change the face of Iowa altogether.

cyfanatic · 12-10-2007, 03:36 PM

Originally Posted by ISUFan22

Take the $10 ticket crap and shove it, to be frank. I'm talking about today, right now. We didn't need $10 tickets this season...you know...selling record numbers of season tickets and all. ISU fans knew the football season would be rough and Iowa fans knew their hoops season wouldn't be much more fun.

ISU is supporting their new coaches. Iowa is not.

Period.

I would say the same thing about MBB as well. We knew (or had a strong idea) that this season would be rough in MBB. And we have sold tickets as a positive rate. Every school has fair-weather fans...I think ISU has a pretty loyal base...it just might not have that fringe base in the same numbers as Iowa. But if ISU was 10-1 and playing in the Orange Bowl...I guarantee that ISU football would become just a tough a ticket as Iowa was after their Orange Bowl season.

SouthernHawk · 12-10-2007, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by cyfanatic

Hawk fans would know! Hayden's last year was ugly at Kinnick! The place looked empty! Even KF's first two years tickets were more than available. Iowa even sold half-priced tickets to games at the end of those seasons. Then the "magic" happened and the place was always sold out. One more 6-6 season and that might all happen again.

Actually, during Hayden's last years and KF's first few years, Kinnick still averaged around 60,000 tickets sold, and about 55,000 people in the stands.

Originally Posted by ISUFan22

Take the $10 ticket crap and shove it, to be frank. I'm talking about today, right now. We didn't need $10 tickets this season...you know...selling record numbers of season tickets and all. ISU fans knew the football season would be rough and Iowa fans knew their hoops season wouldn't be much more fun.

ISU is supporting their new coaches. Iowa is not.

Period.

It makes a HUGE difference. And if you want to compare similar situations - when Alford was hired, Iowa sold out CHA with season tickets. 15,500 season tickets sold in Alford's first year. After 8 years of mediocre basketball, and a predictable bad year, do you honestly expect for fans to cough up hundreds of dollars to "support their new coach", especially after coughing up hundreds of dollars to support a mediocre football season?

No.

Iowa still sold nearly 60,000 season tickets in football, regardless of the past two bad seasons. While expectations were higher this year, they didn't just stop paying, and I doubt they will next year.

Originally Posted by bostinelosd

Do you think our fanbases are similar? I seem to think we have more loyalty than hawk fans do, no matter the W/L's. Like I said, there are fairweather fans, but I want to say in general our fans stick with the team better, especially in low moments. Maybe taking such a knocking in multiple sports (on and off field issues) will shape the hawk fanbase up and change the face of Iowa altogether.

I think core fan bases are very similar. There is nothing different about a true Hawk fan and a true ISU fan. The thing that gives Iowa fans the reputation of being "fairweather" is, and this is my opinion, the fact that for years, Iowa has been the "default team" in the state, and has attracted more casual fans than ISU. I mean, lets face it, before the last couple of years, you were either a casual Iowa fan, a die hard Iowa fan, or a die hard ISU fan. There really weren't many casual ISU fans.

Cyclone62 · 12-10-2007, 03:44 PM

The reason that ISU and Iowa fanbases aren't similar are because TODAY, no one is supporting Iowa basketball (men's or women's). New coach, no fans. Why? because they're frustrated with football? IF that's the case, Alford was right, Iowa is only a football school.

cyfanatic · 12-10-2007, 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by SouthernHawk

Actually, during Hayden's last years and KF's first few years, Kinnick still averaged around 60,000 tickets sold, and about 55,000 people in the stands.

Exactly...if Iowa's attendance was 60,000 then there would be plenty of tickets available. That is the point. Iowa was not a hot ticket at all during that time period! I never said ISU was a hot ticket. But this idea that Iowa has always enjoyed this un-dying support is simply wrong!

SouthernHawk · 12-10-2007, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by cyfanatic

Exactly...if Iowa's attendance was 60,000 then there would be plenty of tickets available. That is the point. Iowa was not a hot ticket at all during that time period! I never said ISU was a hot ticket. But this idea that Iowa has always enjoyed this un-dying support is simply wrong!

Averaging 60,000 tickets during a 1-10 season is pretty good. There were tickets available, but I mean, come on - are they supposed to average a sell out during seasons like that? The fact that 60,000 people still showed up when the team was so crappy is pretty impressive.

Cydkar · 12-10-2007, 03:55 PM

Tubby's knock was recruiting, not coaching. He coaches great defense and should be fine in the Little 11.

rd4isu · 12-10-2007, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by SouthernHawk

After 8 years of mediocre basketball, and a predictable bad year, do you honestly expect for fans to cough up hundreds of dollars to "support their new coach", especially after coughing up hundreds of dollars to support a mediocre football season?

That is the quintessential Hawk attitude. *****, cry, moan and complain about Steve and when he's finally gone no one shows up anyway. Go figure.

BryceC · 12-10-2007, 03:59 PM

Originally Posted by SouthernHawk

I'm not sure which I would rather do - spend 10 bucks to watch ISU play Colorado (which wasn't a sell out), or spend $25.00 on a weeknight at 8:00 and watch Iowa play Northern Colorado.

You do realize Iowa did something almost exactly like this during Ferentz's first year right?

BryceC · 12-10-2007, 04:01 PM

After 8 years of mediocre basketball, and a predictable bad year, do you honestly expect for fans to cough up hundreds of dollars to "support their new coach", especially after coughing up hundreds of dollars to support a mediocre football season?

There were large numbers of Iowa fans saying exactly that last year. Fire Alford and the fans would come back. It was a load of crap.

SouthernHawk · 12-10-2007, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by rd4isu

That is the quintessential Hawk attitude. *****, cry, moan and complain about Steve and when he's finally gone no one shows up anyway. Go figure.

I'm not complaining. In fact, I've been to a game this year in Iowa City. They have sold 9,500 tickets, it's just a matter of fans not feeling like they need to make the trip, which is too bad.

Originally Posted by BryceC

You do realize Iowa did something almost exactly like this during Ferentz's first year right?

I should have use the sarcasm button. I was trying to make the point that I would rather go see a football game where tickets were relatively cheap (season tickets for ISU football were still cheaper than Iowa basketball student section tickets).

I realize Iowa did the same thing in KF's first years - half priced, packages, etc... and it worked. Thank you for proving my point. The fact is, marketing is very important in selling tickets to an improving program, and Iowa was successful with it when KF first came around, and ISU is successful with it now. Iowa isn't marketing at all for basketball, and it's showing up with the number of people in the stands.

ISUFan22 · 12-10-2007, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by SouthernHawk

It makes a HUGE difference. And if you want to compare similar situations - when Alford was hired, Iowa sold out CHA with season tickets. 15,500 season tickets sold in Alford's first year. After 8 years of mediocre basketball, and a predictable bad year, do you honestly expect for fans to cough up hundreds of dollars to "support their new coach", especially after coughing up hundreds of dollars to support a mediocre football season?

No.

Iowa still sold nearly 60,000 season tickets in football, regardless of the past two bad seasons. While expectations were higher this year, they didn't just stop paying, and I doubt they will next year.

This response makes little sense to me.

ISU fans got a new hoops coach last year. ISU fans were subjected to the embarrassment Larry left behind and the Morgan years of very undisciplined basketball..."wasting" what was probably our best backcourt duo ever.

New coach...major fan support.

In 2006, very ugly 4-8 season, which followed 2 consecutive seasons of last-game choking...that followed a 2-10 season...that followed a great start only to completely crumble in the last half of the season (Iowa hoops has been somewhat like this, up and down).

New coach in 2007 - major fan support.

You continue to ignore this fact, that Cyclone fans, even amid some tough times, are supporting their new coaches. Iowa fans are not, instead chosing to sit at home, sip hot chocolate and not even watch the team play - as many don't get the BTN.

wonkadog · 12-10-2007, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by SouthernHawk

Averaging 60,000 tickets during a 1-10 season is pretty good. There were tickets available, but I mean, come on - are they supposed to average a sell out during seasons like that? The fact that 60,000 people still showed up when the team was so crappy is pretty impressive.

I'm glad you specified TICKETS in your post because there struggled to be 50k actually sitting in the stands by about halfway through that year.

ISUFan22 · 12-10-2007, 04:11 PM

Originally Posted by SouthernHawk

I realize Iowa did the same thing in KF's first years - half priced, packages, etc... and it worked. Thank you for proving my point. The fact is, marketing is very important in selling tickets to an improving program, and Iowa was successful with it when KF first came around, and ISU is successful with it now. Iowa isn't marketing at all for basketball, and it's showing up with the number of people in the stands.

'Scuse me...but marketing has little to do with the fans that already have tickets not showing up for games. The paid attendance numbers in Iowa City are not horrid. It's the number of the people that actually attend the game.

Marketing sells tickets. The fans, all on their own, are choosing not to use them.