While this is true for the most part, there are exceptions. While there are some crazy people (and I mean some CRAZY guys there that are hilarious to watch during the game) in the section it is still a matter that some people there are there because their boyfriend (or girlfriend) dragged them there to watch. I don't remember (and correct me if I'm wrong) the section being completely full AT ALL during the season. There were always some empty seats there. I know I for one always wanted to sit there during the season but I had to drive from Denham after teaching indoor drumline (we got out at 5:30). Hopefully next year I'll be able to.:grin:
The bottom was for the most part full all of the time. The people who sit in the front row can get nuts. The rest were just there to shout profanities
Why not charge a nominal fee for student tickets in the lower half, but bring back the old student section. You might actually get better attendance if students knew they could buy seats, rather than showing up hours before. Keep the free seats in the upper section. That 300 seat section is a pathetic joke.
Students have very little effect on the game when they are up there in BFE. The students are traditionally your noisy, rowdier bunch. They need to be down there, closer to the action to really have an effect. Are those seats up top resereved for students only??? I can imagine that they could make some money from those seats that the students use. I think they should put a cap on how many students can get in without paying. If they put it at 500 or so, they'd have the most avid die hard students down there in the lower bowl making noise, and a few thousand other seats to sell. Having said that, would those seats have gone unused this year if the students didn't fill them up? Think about it, there are 9000 or so people in the arena, these are paying customers. Not to mention some no shows. Only about 2/3 of the arena consists of people who actually pay to get in.
I don't know if I would necessarily call it a joke. I mean every one has their goofy names for the student section, the only difference between us and them is we limit ours to 300 people. Look at the Cameron Crazies, Orange Crush, or hell even Lebo's Lunatics at Auburn, the fill the entire side of the stadium. I mean, even if they started charging just a little bit for students to go to the games I would still go, but let them all sit together so that they can say "left, right" when a player fouls out as one, not many.
I think that the students pay enough money to the University to get a few good seats at athletic events:thumb: I agree that the students should be able to be together to build uo on each other and get rowdy and loud!
The most avid die hard students would be willing to pay some nominal fee guaranteeing them a seat. Only those students having two or three hours to kill before a game will wait. That in itself does not make them the best fans - it only proves they have time to waste. In fact, they are probably not the most all around active students. If most could buy tickets and not sit around for a few hours, they probably would go to more games. And let me say this, I'm not one who always advocates for rising ticket prices. But something has to change so that more students are near the floor for basketball games. I believe the rafter seats and the perception of having to wait hurts attendance.
Actually, there was not a single game where every seat in the bottom section was full.... Because they give out 300 wristbands to sit in that section, and not everyone who gets a wristband sits there, they do not get 300 students in that section.
It's difficult to tell. I think the way LSU handles that is not great. I just think you lose a lot of the atmosphere in the arena when the historically more raucaus people, the students, are up in the rafters.
We just changed the student seating for the this past season. Are you saying the PMAC was more raucaus last year or the year before or the year before or the year before? Don't think seating has anything to do with getting students to the game or getting them fired up...
