Big 12 Tournament Observations

[cycloneworld]

Now that I'm a day removed from the 4 day bender in Kansas City, I had a few Big 12 Tournament notes to share. We spent Thursday afternoon and evening (with a break in between to go to the game), Friday for both games, and Saturday afternoon and early evening at P&L watching the games. This was my first trip to the Big 12 tournament since the old Kemper days. It did not disappoint.

1. The Big 12 Tournament should never leave Kansas City. This coming from a biased ISU fan but the setup they have now is absolutely perfect.

2. Breakdown of fans at P&L was probably 80/20 ISU fans vs. everyone else and closer to 60/40 during KU games including the championship game. Breakdown of fans we saw out and about KC was probably 80% ISU, 15% KU, 5% all other teams. We had great interactions with all opposing fans we saw and talked to, including KU fans.

3. The atmosphere was electric both inside and outside the stadium. I couldn't believe how loud it was inside Sprint Center late in the second half of the Texas game. After the OU win, P&L went crazy.

4. Drinking $11 beers gets expensive when you drink all day.

5. We were told by numerous opposing fans, including KU fans, how insane it was that this many ISU fans traveled to KC. KU fans are used to dominating the City and we definitely caught them off guard this year.

There was a group of 10 of us on a bachelor party and we are going to make it an annual trip. That's how much fun it was. If you've never gone, I'd HIGHLY recommend giving it a try next year.

 

[RubyClone]

Outside of the the games - I saw two Baylor fans the entire weekend. Not many Tech or Texas fans either. A few TCU fans. Surprised how many WVU fans I saw - not a ton, but given the distance more than I expected. A bunch of of OSU. OU was tough to pick out simply because of the sea of red.

But overall - it was ISU everywhere. Never been to the tournament before and I got to do the entire weekend. Extremely impressed.

Was listening to Blair Kerkoff (sp) on Marty and Miller (during Fanatics commercial) and he was talking about the bid process going out. You're right - Big XII is insane if they move this. They should consider home attendance of schools and proximity to the tournament site. It gets so much worse as you head south. We stayed for the OU/OSU game Thursday night. Did anyone else notice that during those intro videos - both the Okl schools highlights were in front of arenas of empty seats? Sad really - good teams with really good histories.

Of course, the Texas lap dogs will want that money in Dallas.....

Expensive is right.... 3 nights hotel, food, drink, my ticket (wife's shopping), etc and so on - about 2K

(and worth every damn penny)

 

[chuckd4735]

Last year was my first ever Big 12 tourney, and after that experience, I will do whatever I can to make it an annual trip. I was a tad afraid going into it this year that it would not be able to top last year, but somehow it did.

Sitting in the game on Thursday with about 3 minutes left, I was so ******, and figured the rest of the weekend would be total downer. Thanks Monte!

 

[JP4CY]

Agree with everything you said. I stayed in P&L last year, and down at plaza this year, and you can't go wrong with any of them.
Way, way more people this year than last year. Tried to offset the cost of $11 beers by not being in the P&L all day.

Did other people see the streetcar tracks they are installing? It'll go from River Market to Union Station. Too bad they didn't include Westport and the Plaza in this. I rode the one in Memphis a lot during the Liberty Bowl.

 

[mcdrier]

What did they do with Kemper? Is it still standing? Is it used for anything at all? Is it an eye sore?

 

[RubyClone]

Agree with everything you said. I stayed in P&L last year, and down at plaza this year, and you can't go wrong with any of them.
Way, way more people this year than last year. Tried to offset the cost of $11 beers by not being in the P&L all day.

Did other people see the streetcar tracks they are installing? It'll go from River Market to Union Station. Too bad they didn't include Westport and the Plaza in this. I rode the one in Memphis a lot during the Liberty Bowl.

We stayed out in Westport for the weekend - aside from getting a little lost Thursday night (I think all that construction may be altering the routes a bit) after the game, the bus system to and from couldn't be beat for $1.50 a trip. Driver on Friday night was trying to set some sort of record or something - was like being on the set of "Speed". Was passing the cabs left and right.

 

[ISUFan22]

All of this. We've been the last 2 years. First time was that 2012 vs Texas debacle and we left after the game.

This will be an annual thing for us.

 

[CloneinWDSM]

My only minor complaint inside the P&L is the whole bathroom situation. There isn't really a good way to have it, but going into random bars with 15-20 minutes wait and trying to maneuver your way through thousands of people sucks.

 

[cycloneworld]

Agree with everything you said. I stayed in P&L last year, and down at plaza this year, and you can't go wrong with any of them.
Way, way more people this year than last year. Tried to offset the cost of $11 beers by not being in the P&L all day.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn on the Plaza and used Uber to get back and forth from P&L. Cost about $8 each way. The Plaza was busy but not bad. It was nice to have the choice to hit up the bars and restaurants on the Plaza and get away from all of the people around P&L. We would definitely stay down there again.

What did they do with Kemper? Is it still standing? Is it used for anything at all? Is it an eye sore?

It's the American Royal arena (or something like that) now. They have a few things there but mostly used for the BBQ competition.

 

[RubyClone]

My only minor complaint inside the P&L is the whole bathroom situation. There isn't really a good way to have it, but going into random bars with 15-20 minutes wait and trying to maneuver your way through thousands of people sucks.

My problem with P&L is that it's not big enough..... :wink:

Little disappointed we couldn't get in for the rally. Probably could, but the wait and lines to get in the various bars were nuts.

And thanks to the nice women who passed their table off to us at Bar Louie so it wouldn't go to KU fans Sat night....

 

[JP4CY]

My only minor complaint inside the P&L is the whole bathroom situation. There isn't really a good way to have it, but going into random bars with 15-20 minutes wait and trying to maneuver your way through thousands of people sucks.

The need to RAGBRAI it up and line a street with porta potties.

 

[cycloneworld]

My only minor complaint inside the P&L is the whole bathroom situation. There isn't really a good way to have it, but going into random bars with 15-20 minutes wait and trying to maneuver your way through thousands of people sucks.

That definitely sucked. But not sure how they would fix it.

About 4pm before the championship game, they stopped letting people into P&L. One in, one out. That's how busy it was.

 

[CEcyclone]

ISU definitely painted KC cardinal and gold this weekend! It was awesome and I can't wait till next year! Threepeat!

 

[CloneinWDSM]

That definitely sucked. But not sure how they would fix it.

About 4pm before the championship game, they stopped letting people into P&L. One in, one out. That's how busy it was.

We were about 10 feet from the stage where the band entered on the right side and had a buddy go to use the bathroom at Gordon Biersch. Right after he got to the bathroom they started not letting people in. He started freaking out at about 4:15 and started running around the whole district to see if anyone was letting people in. He was pretty relieved that they ended up letting people in after awhile.

 

[83Clone]

My third year in a row. ISU turnout has grown every year-only differece is this year all couldn't get tix due to final being against KU. Crowds at P and L have grown at same pace. This year we didn't even get in for rally Sat or post game, and from the looks of the crowd glad I wasn't. Agree with all who say this tournament should never leave KC; hopefully we keep our program at this level forever and it's a no brainer

 

[cyfan1243]

Everything besides the bars close early. JJ closed at 5 on saturday wtf. P&L is too small for cyclonenation. During the pep rally's you couldn't move and there were a bunch of people waiting to get in.

 

[Cycsk]

Good thread. Nice to have a place to reflect on the experience.

You are definitely correct that KC is an awesome place for the tournament. I can't imagine that another conference had anything close to the bowl-like atmosphere we brought. Of course, it was "us" that brought it, not the Big 12. If ISU loses, it goes back to being just a nice event rather than a spectacular one. KC should do whatever it takes for the Big 12 to keep the tournament there . . . and pay whatever it takes to the refs and/or for our opponents to flop . . . because it is our fans who pack the place and spend the money in KC.

Can you imagine 10,000 fans of a team hanging around outside the United Center or Madison Square Garden while their team plays inside? Iowa State in the finals in KC against KU is the perfect storm for a college basketball tournament. Actually, the KU part didn't really matter. We would show up no matter what. And many more ISU fans would get tickets if KU wasn't in it.

It seemed like the KU fans who wanted to be there already had tickets and not very many came out once the tournament started. Unlike Iowa State who probably had at least 10,000 who hadn't gotten tickets in advance through the ISU ticket office, but came anyway.

And inside the stadium, our fans were so great. KU fans cheered out of a sense of entitlement when their team did something good. ISU fans cheered out of a sense of being part of the team even when our team couldn't make a shot or a stop. The quality of the cheering by the KU fans improved in their game with us, but that was only because we set such a great model for them and dragged them along into actually cheering for their team.

Not enough has been said about the cost of food and beer in the Sprint Center. Frankly, I thought $9 for a 16 ounce craft beer (Blue Moon, Leinenkugals, Redd's Apple Ale) wasn't a bad price in a venue like that. And the entrees were $8-11 for a half-pound hot dog with brisket and BBQ sauce, four big chicken strips with fries, or a big cheeseburger with fries. We ate mostly in the Sprint Center and spent much less than if we had eaten in nearby restaurants.

The pep rally was less than I expected. Not in terms of the fans who were great, but the program. Jamie Pollard's video on Saturday was clearly the highlight. And our band. The guy leading it was okay, but it felt generic. It needed more presence by Iowa State people on the platform.

Lastly, why did so many KU fans stay for our pep rally? Was it payback for us having such a presence during theirs (which came first)? Or were they just clueless? At any rate, it was frustrating to see how many KU fans held on to their good spots for the entirety of our pep rally. There should have been much more beer-spilling in those situations.

 

[heitclone]

One of my favorite things about last weekend was KU fans trying to get inside p&l, I heard 10+ people say "How is this possible?" "Why are there so many ISU fans here". Any fabrication that KU's teams/coach/fans didn't care about this game went out the window when they saw the support we brought.

I had lots of good interactions with KU fans but there was always a smugness about being surprised we travel so well. The original Hilton South was Keumper Arena, this isn't a new thing since Fred or the Sprint Center. Idk how any diehard fans of KU would be shocked by the ISU turnout.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

The guy leading it was okay, but it felt generic. It needed more presence by Iowa State people on the platform.

I agree. It wasn't a pep rally as much as a generic social gathering, but it was better than that for KU.

Lastly, why did so many KU fans stay for our pep rally?

They didn't have tickets either, and didn't want to lose their spots in P&L. Either that or they just couldn't move. We didn't have very many around us.

 

[Cycsk]

I hadn't thought that they were just holding on to their spots in order to watch the game because they couldn't get tickets. Some of those Beakers may have been smarter than I thought . . .