From: jb118@prism.gatech.EDU (Jeffrey N. Burch)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.college
Subject: Re: Wimpiest Arenas: was Re: Call for toughest arena votes (revised)
Date: 30 Sep 92 21:10:24 GMT
Organization: Georgia Tech Research Institute -- EOL

In article <1992Sep30.194939.29614@athena.cs.uga.edu> milleman@athena.cs.uga.edu (Richard Milleman) writes:
>Georgia has to be in this group's top five. This football school's backing
>of basketball is almost non-existant. After the first home loss of the 
>season,  tickets are ridiculously easy to come by. For instance, last year 

Sure enough.  When Mark Mitchell went over to see the Kentucky game, we
bought tickets about an hour before tipoff, from Kentucky fans who had
lots of extras available for Big Blue fans.  And this was when Georgia
was sitting on the NCAA bubble and could really have used a packed house!

Based on my experience at other schools, I was prepared to waste a whole
morning the week before to drive over and buy tickets early.  Am I ever
glad I didn't!

>Arkansas came to town with Miller, Day, Mayberry, et al, and it wasn't even
>a sellout. When Kentucky came in, they had as many fans as we did ( and 
>were far louder).

Thank you.   :-)

>These "fans" do football cheers at Bball games. There is not much of a 
>traditionhere at UGA, so the fans do not know how to act. They can come to a 
>football game, tailgate, get drunk, cheer the Dawgs onto victory, tailgate 
>again, drink more, and drive home inebriated. This is almost an art form. 
>But basketball is another story where they file in quietly, sit and watch 
>the team beat Arkansas or lose to Auburn (kind of backwards, but they play 
>to the ability of their opponents), and file out quietl

It may very well depend on your facility.  Kentucky fans do a lot of 
"tail-gating" at the Lexington Center prior to gametime, but then they
have several restaurants and bars within walking distance of the playing
site.  Georgia doesn't have that - their arena is on campus.

>To make matters worse, there is a stage in the Coliseum behind one of the 
>goals. This looks tacky and gives our team no respect. Other teams come 
>in and make funof it.

I didn't think it really looked so bad.  I sort of liked the outside
shape of the arena.  But it did seem small for an SEC facility - it
looked like it held only about 8000-9000 or so.  Of course, I was 
happy with my seats - at Rupp I sit in the stratosphere.  It is kind
of pleasant to come down to the troposphere once in a while.

>With all this considered, home games are little better than a neutral 
>site game for our team.

UGa is probably wealthy enough to kick in a little more money for
a better playing facility, and make a bigger effort to recruit good
players, if they wanted to.  Apparently they've chosen to emphasize
football, since they have a longer and better tradition in that
sport.  Perhaps they are mindful of the statement in my signature.  
:-)

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^  Dr. J(effrey Neil Burch)                 jb118@prism.gatech.edu    ^
^  Georgia Tech Research Institute                                    ^ 
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