Oakland & Detroit Game Ticket Prices

[agibson]

2448.  Upper deck was bare for this "premium" game.

I'd say the upper deck was about typical.  A fair number in the lower portions of BB-DD.  AA and EE pretty empty.   Not a "good" crowd, but not a "bad" one either.

I was a little disappointed by the student section turnout (looking ahead to Monday classes, with homework due, perhaps?) and by turnout in general.  What else do we have going on for a Sunday matinee?  The NFL's over!

I was fairly pleased by the sound output of the student section, however.  Pretty good intensity down the stretch. 

[Chairback]

chairback, i ask you--as someone who occasionally found myself in your namesake section--what does it take to get your side of the court to stand up?  i would stand up and yell back in the day and the old people around looked at me like I was ruining the sanctity of Moellering

I moved out of the chairback section years ago.  I had chairback seats for many years.  At the time you had to buy crusader club passes to get chairback seats.  We had kids and I wasn't going to continue pay for crusader club passes for multiple kids under age 2 at the time. I asked if it could be waived for the kids but was told no and moved to the other side.

I 100% agree that the chairback section doesn't like to get up and cheer.  I was told multiple times by surrounding chairbackers to please not stand.  My wife and I would tell them this is a basketball game, you stand for your team.  I believe at one point in time the cheerleaders had a big yellow sign that said "School song, please stand" and they would hold it up in front the chairback section.  It is wonderful that we have the great financial support of the chairback section but I agree they need to liven it up.

[historyman]

chairback, i ask you--as someone who occasionally found myself in your namesake section--what does it take to get your side of the court to stand up?  i would stand up and yell back in the day and the old people around looked at me like I was ruining the sanctity of Moellering

I moved out of the chairback section years ago.  I had chairback seats for many years.  At the time you had to buy crusader club passes to get chairback seats.  We had kids and I wasn't going to continue pay for crusader club passes for multiple kids under age 2 at the time. I asked if it could be waived for the kids but was told no and moved to the other side. I 100% agree that the chairback section doesn't like to get up and cheer.  I was told multiple times by surrounding chairbackers to please not stand.  My wife and I would tell them this is a basketball game, you stand for your team.  I believe at one point in time the cheerleaders had a big yellow sign that said "School song, please stand" and they would hold it up in front the chairback section.  It is wonderful that we have the great financial support of the chairback section but I agree they need to liven it up.

I sit in the chairback seats and I don't pay for what is now called the Hilltop Club (I assumed it was changed so it wasn't confused with the Crusader Fund.) They are now checking tickets so people just don't move into the chairback section. So if you liked the chairbacks I would look into moving back to your namesake seats. Yes, we do need more people who will stand.

[valpotx]

chairback, i ask you--as someone who occasionally found myself in your namesake section--what does it take to get your side of the court to stand up?  i would stand up and yell back in the day and the old people around looked at me like I was ruining the sanctity of Moellering

I moved out of the chairback section years ago.  I had chairback seats for many years.  At the time you had to buy crusader club passes to get chairback seats.  We had kids and I wasn't going to continue pay for crusader club passes for multiple kids under age 2 at the time. I asked if it could be waived for the kids but was told no and moved to the other side.

I 100% agree that the chairback section doesn't like to get up and cheer.  I was told multiple times by surrounding chairbackers to please not stand.  My wife and I would tell them this is a basketball game, you stand for your team.  I believe at one point in time the cheerleaders had a big yellow sign that said "School song, please stand" and they would hold it up in front the chairback section.  It is wonderful that we have the great financial support of the chairback section but I agree they need to liven it up.

I remember that they had these signs when I was in school.  It sounds like they don't have them anymore?

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I was told multiple times by surrounding chairbackers to please not stand. 

wow dude, that's sad.  i'm so sorry for you.  thanks for representing us well on "the other side".

[valpo64]

We have been sitting in chairbacks for years and I have never seen such a sign...and if someone would make a comment about sitting down, etc. I would completely ignore them anyway.  If someone looks more closely I believe you will find more and more "chairbacks" stand up at various times during a game.  I think we should be more concerned about overall attendance than how the "chairback" sections act.  It is sad to see so many vacant seats across from the chairbacks.....that is what people should be talking about.

[valpotx]

The signs were definitely there, and made us laugh as students.  I agree with your assertion that overall attendance should be spoke about more, versus whether chairbacks stand

[vufan75]

We have been sitting in chairbacks for years and I have never seen such a sign...and if someone would make a comment about sitting down, etc. I would completely ignore them anyway.  If someone looks more closely I believe you will find more and more "chairbacks" stand up at various times during a game.  I think we should be more concerned about overall attendance than how the "chairback" sections act.  It is sad to see so many vacant seats across from the chairbacks.....that is what people should be talking about.

I am also a "chairback seat fan". I as well wish more would stand up and cheer, though it does seem to get a little better in that regard each year. There are a fair amount of older folk who maybe just can't get up and down like we want them to. But the dumbest thing I had happen to me this very season was I was yelled at by several fellow chairbackers sitting in nearby rows mostly behind me to sit down during halftime while entertainment was going on. Halftime...not during the game. I thought it was OK to stand, stretch, move about, etc. Shall we say I was pretty surprised but somehow held my tongue or I probably would of been escorted out. 

[LaPorteAveApostle]

There are a fair amount of older folk who maybe just can't get up and down like we want them to.

That's true.  As a transplanted Neapolitan, you'd think I would know that.

I thought masters' in music & theology would be enough for this job.  Who knew I needed one in gerontology, too?

[valpospartan]

Another chairback denizen here.  I have never understood the value of standing and cheering.  Sitting and cheering emits the same number of decibels. It is noise that will bolster our players, not people standing, since hopefully they are concentrating on what they are doing not taking attendance in the seats.  I stand when I feel that action on the floor deserves a little extra oomph.  I have never been asked/told to stay seated, but I have asked others to sit, when my view of the game is unnecessarily blocked. 
I agree with others that the emphasis should be on why there is better attendance in the chairbacks than there is in the Valparaizone.

[StlVUFan]

I don't know if this is a case of  for me.  I trust someone will let me know if it is.

If I was working event staff and someone complained to me that the people in front of them made better walls than windows, I think I'd strongly consider escorting them out.  There is an implied contract (spelled out in the fine print on the back of the ticket) between the vendor and the customer, and nowhere on it does it require them to stand during the game.

There *is* on the other hand a requirement not to impair someone else's enjoyment of the game, and in my opinion obstruction fits the definition.  For starters, there are people who have trouble standing up and they are certainly qualified to buy a ticket.  They have a right to an unobstructed view.

For my part, I'm fine with standing up at any time in a game, as long as it's okay with the people behind me.  If it's not, I ain't doing it.  Period.  And if you're in front of me, "It's a Basketball Game!!!!" will not work on me.  It's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard, and I will always think so.  For that matter, I've heard it before, and I've never been impressed.  And I've said so to no less than Matt Gastel, all 6' 10" of him.  Also to the shrill ORU fan sitting right behind me and hitting 200 decibels right in my ear.

Of course it would be great if all the fans would stand up and support their team, though as valpospartan points out, it's hardly impossible to provide a great home court advantage while remaining seated.  On the other hand, we do see players urge their fans to stand up at crunch time, so it must mean something to them.  If it makes you sad that fans aren't interested in standing and making noise, I understand.  It makes me sad too.

But if they ask you stop blocking their view, you should grant their request.

[valpotx]

I do have to say that the greatest atmosphere I have been a part of was 2 seasons ago, when I flew up for the conference tournament game against Butler.  I stood the entire game, in the chairback section, and it seemed like just about everyone in the building was doing the same over the entire second half.  No one told me to sit down, and it seemed people actually enjoyed my youthful enthusiasm (30 at that time).  I was on the side of the section near the concession stand, so that might have helped as well, not being in the middle.  It reminded me of the games we would have against ORU while in the Mid-Con, but that Butler atmosphere was just electric all game.  It'd be great to get a rival again that can generate that for us, but it probably will take awhile. 

[vufan75]

I don't know if this is a case of  for me.  I trust someone will let me know if it is.

If I was working event staff and someone complained to me that the people in front of them made better walls than windows, I think I'd strongly consider escorting them out.  There is an implied contract (spelled out in the fine print on the back of the ticket) between the vendor and the customer, and nowhere on it does it require them to stand during the game.

There *is* on the other hand a requirement not to impair someone else's enjoyment of the game, and in my opinion obstruction fits the definition.  For starters, there are people who have trouble standing up and they are certainly qualified to buy a ticket.  They have a right to an unobstructed view.

For my part, I'm fine with standing up at any time in a game, as long as it's okay with the people behind me.  If it's not, I ain't doing it.  Period.  And if you're in front of me, "It's a Basketball Game!!!!" will not work on me.  It's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard, and I will always think so.  For that matter, I've heard it before, and I've never been impressed.  And I've said so to no less than Matt Gastel, all 6' 10" of him.  Also to the shrill ORU fan sitting right behind me and hitting 200 decibels right in my ear.

Of course it would be great if all the fans would stand up and support their team, though as valpospartan points out, it's hardly impossible to provide a great home court advantage while remaining seated.  On the other hand, we do see players urge their fans to stand up at crunch time, so it must mean something to them.  If it makes you sad that fans aren't interested in standing and making noise, I understand.  It makes me sad too.

But if they ask you stop blocking their view, you should grant their request.

I can't disagree with what you say except maybe the one part. Asking or maybe better put yelling for someone to sit down at halftime seems a bit over the top to me. If the halftime show is that good, then I suppose those affected could get up themselves to see better. I sort of expect my halftime to be interrupted by fans exiting/entering the row I'm sitting in for various reasons, and I don't have a problem with that. Halftime is an intermission in play which is the reason people buy game tickets, and any and all should be allowed to stand, sit, sleep, yawn,  move around at their pleasure when they want to during that halftime intermission.

Having said that, I agree with all who wonder why we can't sell more tickets in general, and especially why a school with 4000+ students can't get 500 or so to come out to every game. The student section is great IMO. They are vocal and cheer loudly, and create a great game atmosphere. Somehow though it needs to get to that point for all games, not just the national tv games. I do think the athletic administration tries hard to grow student attendance, but, just is not always successful. I get that academics or other areas of interest come first or may interfere with game schedules. Just seems we could get somewhere around 1/8 or more of the student population to every game.     

[classof2014]

For the most part there has only been 2 games where students didn't show up in full. The GB game which was a Wednesday night, I know Valpo loves having class on Wednesday nights, so I would imagine that cut down on the number of students. For me it would have definitely been a good excuse to miss class unless there was a test that night. Also if there was a big exam Thursday morning perhaps you studied.

For the Oakland game, I think the main issue was the timing and I don't think they promoted the game much in the union or anywhere else. Perhaps students didn't know. It was also at an odd time. 1:30 is a bit early and Sunday is a typical study day. That being said with a student body of 4000 plus we should have no issues filling the student section every game. This year has been better than years past which is a good sign.

I do think the student attendance is going in the right direction and will probably grow year-by-year.

That being said... the marketing team needs to get there act together and promote Valpo as NWI's team. A billboard off of 80/94 in Hammond and off of 30 in Merrillville is nowhere near enough. NWI doesn't have much as it goes for sports. Indiana is a college basketball state, and there is a high quality mid-major team in its own backyard. I feel people know about the games in the City of Valparaiso but outside of Valparaiso I feel people don't really care.

[Smj]

Sorry - this will be harsh "and I mean no offense" but the student section is sometimes a joke. (see meme below)

https://i.imgflip.com/6v7zz.jpg

Turnout should not be so low in general.    They need to find ways to get a bigger loyal fan base.   And winning games just gets a bandwagon fan base...  (need to turn them "loyal".)

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/34031012.jpg

[StlVUFan]

Asking or maybe better put yelling for someone to sit down at halftime seems a bit over the top to me.

I don't think it's as bad as during the game, but technically, the halftime show *is* a part of the entertainment for the evening for which the person bought the ticket.  If I have kids who get a kick out of Zooperstars, and who, even if standing, still could not see, I would still not be bashful about telling them to sit down.  Granted, I didn't buy the ticket because of the half-time show, but it's part of the package.

That said, I would not yell at someone for simply getting up to go the restroom or the concession stand (like I want to do when people can't wait until a timeout -- or in the case of baseball, until the end of a half-inning for crying out loud).

[vufan75]

If I was working event staff and someone complained to me that the people in front of them made better walls than windows, I think I'd strongly consider escorting them out.  There is an implied contract (spelled out in the fine print on the back of the ticket) between the vendor and the customer, and nowhere on it does it require them to stand during the game.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________


St. Loouie, you may be right. I'm certainly not a lawyer, so I would defer to others on this. And there may be an implied contract as you mention, but there is nothing spelled out in fine print on the back of the ticket for Valpo games. The back of the tickets I have left for this season only have promotions from Culver's on them.

I would think fans (whether they choose to sit or stand at times) have "rights" though perhaps not spelled out on the ticket. I'm not sure whose rights supercede whose, but I'd like to think anyway that I have a right to occasionally stand and cheer during the course of the game. Others certainly can cheer while sitting, though for me my preference is to stand and cheer. We are not buying tickets to a museum, art exhibit, library, chapel or church where expectations for individual behavior are clearly different. And I am not suggesting that I would stand the whole game, just during key or special game moments prior to or immediately after when impactful Valpo plays are made. Standing and cheering at sporting events is pretty normal from the games I either have attended or watched on tv. Not sure why it is even an issue at Valpo.     

[valpotx]

Asking or maybe better put yelling for someone to sit down at halftime seems a bit over the top to me.

I don't think it's as bad as during the game, but technically, the halftime show *is* a part of the entertainment for the evening for which the person bought the ticket.  If I have kids who get a kick out of Zooperstars, and who, even if standing, still could not see, I would still not be bashful about telling them to sit down.  Granted, I didn't buy the ticket because of the half-time show, but it's part of the package.

That said, I would not yell at someone for simply getting up to go the restroom or the concession stand (like I want to do when people can't wait until a timeout -- or in the case of baseball, until the end of a half-inning for crying out loud).

If standing to go to the bathroom outside of timeouts bothers you, then you definitely wouldn't want to be around my wife and I at these Mavs games we have gone to this year.  Being 30 weeks pregnant now, she has gotten up 7-8 times per game, always outside of timeouts .

[Smj]

Valpo TX -  How rude to the other fans... 

JK

[StlVUFan]

If I was working event staff and someone complained to me that the people in front of them made better walls than windows, I think I'd strongly consider escorting them out.  There is an implied contract (spelled out in the fine print on the back of the ticket) between the vendor and the customer, and nowhere on it does it require them to stand during the game.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________


St. Loouie, you may be right. I'm certainly not a lawyer, so I would defer to others on this. And there may be an implied contract as you mention, but there is nothing spelled out in fine print on the back of the ticket for Valpo games. The back of the tickets I have left for this season only have promotions from Culver's on them.

I would think fans (whether they choose to sit or stand at times) have "rights" though perhaps not spelled out on the ticket. I'm not sure whose rights supercede whose, but I'd like to think anyway that I have a right to occasionally stand and cheer during the course of the game. Others certainly can cheer while sitting, though for me my preference is to stand and cheer. We are not buying tickets to a museum, art exhibit, library, chapel or church where expectations for individual behavior are clearly different. And I am not suggesting that I would stand the whole game, just during key or special game moments prior to or immediately after when impactful Valpo plays are made. Standing and cheering at sporting events is pretty normal from the games I either have attended or watched on tv. Not sure why it is even an issue at Valpo.     

There always used to be rules and regulations on the tickets last time I remember checking, and I'm pretty sure I've heard a ticket to a sporting event described as a contract.

I would of course hope that most people coming to a sporting event don't think they are coming to a museum.  But again, that's not exactly germaine, as we're not talking about noise level (except for the ORU fan screecher I mentioned), but rather visibility.  And I suspect there are similar etiquette rules at a museum, by the way.

[agibson]

That said, I would not yell at someone for simply getting up to go the restroom or the concession stand (like I want to do when people can't wait until a timeout -- or in the case of baseball, until the end of a half-inning for crying out loud).

I wouldn't yell at them.  I've not even said anything in the past.  But, it does annoy me.  Usually I'm in the upper deck with plenty of room, so it's not a matter of them having to scoot past my seat, etc.  But, still, why are you walking up the stairs, and obstructing my view, while there's game action going on?

I understand that some people may need to leave in a hurry, as an emergency more or less (pregnancy counts here, for purposes of discussion).  And, I don't expect them to explain their rationale too me.  But, I'd hope that, when there's no urgency, fans would have the courtesy to stay out of the line-of-sight of other fans when the action's in progress.

Standing to cheer is quite a bit trickier.  Seems like there has to be some collective "wisdom of crowds" decision about when the game situation merits standing, and when it doesn't.

I might jump up occasionally to cheer, as a quick intense outburst (e.g. to celebrate a single play).  But, for the most part, I cheer from my seat (in the upper deck), except in end-of-game type situations.

I often don't even stand for the fight song, unless I feel like stretching.  We can't be bothered to sing it, but still feel obliged to stand for it?

[Chairback]

So I'm still trying to figure the reasoning behind increasing the price for these two games. Were they expecting a large crowd thus the premium price. You'd think someone in ticket sales would be watching seats sold and availability and decrease the price for the upper deck.

[StlVUFan]

I might jump up occasionally to cheer, as a quick intense outburst (e.g. to celebrate a single play).  But, for the most part, I cheer from my seat (in the upper deck), except in end-of-game type situations.

Same here on both counts.  Just so nobody gets the wrong idea, one year at the Mid-Con tourney, a Valpo fan had to ask me to tone it down because I was being so boisterous, jumping up out of my seat, pumping my fist, and letting out a huge yell.  It wasn't the least bit pre-meditated, it was totally instinctive.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

a Valpo fan

if you were like winston churchill, you would've been all like, "my good man, the etymology of 'fan' is from 'fanatic', so i must conclude from your lack of passion that you, sir, are no valpo fan."

then harrumphed and resumed yelling.

[justducky]

So I'm still trying to figure the reasoning behind increasing the price for these two games. Were they expecting a large crowd thus the premium price. You'd think someone in ticket sales would be watching seats sold and availability and decrease the price for the upper deck.

As far as I know nobody heard anything that we said or if they did saw no reason to respond to our polite and logical arguments. So why in the hell did we bother?

The fact remains that almost all of us preseason would have chosen Green Bay, WSU, and CSU as being the 3 most important HL games this season and in that order. So it makes perfect sense that they chose middle to bottom half teams to be premium games.  Brilliant! Just brilliant!

Please somebody relay this message, that if in future years you are not 95% certain in August that a game deserves Premium pricing then it should not receive that designation. The next time I see a couple of names randomly drawn out of a hat I may respond by becoming completely unglued. And you wonder why northwest Indiana tends to completely ignore you!