FAIL: UCLA Students Once Again Fall Short In Showing Support For Our Bruins
by Nestor on Dec 6, 2009 5:20 PM PST
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PrintOur team showed effort and desire against number 1 ranked. As for our students? As Ryan noted in the post game thread:
The most disappointing part of the day was the students not showing up. The courtside Den brought it, but the upper level students never filled more than 3 of their sections. They started letting other people sit in a couple of the students’ sections because they all knew that the sections wouldn’t be filled by students. It’s okay though. Those buses make it tough for the students to get there.
Here is the picture:
Ryan further noted re. the picture:
That picture was taken about 2 minutes before tip. The rest of the arena filled up pretty well. There were some empty seats scattered about, but for the most part, it was full. The student section? Nope. Not only was it empty, but the students in the upper level were never standing, were barely cheering and some had their feet up in the seat in front of them. Except for a game or two a year though, that’s been the norm recently.
What will be the excuses this time:
- All of them had 8 am finals?
- Couldn't take bus to Pauley?
- Couldn't make it down through the snowstorm on Bruin Walk?
- Showing up to cheer for your tradition rich basketball program against the number 1 team in the country is just a tacky thing to do?
What are the excuses for this? Discuss.
GO BRUINS.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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Dance performances
Maybe they didn’t have enough dance performances and spirit games to help them protect the Bruin Bear…oh wait I mean go to a game against the #1 ranked bball team.
it's sad when a game here at Bucknell
gets more student support than a UCLA game against KANSAS. We played big bad St. Francis (PA) a few weeks ago and the student sections were full and absolutely rocking. Granted, there are less seats to fill, but when a 3500 student school supports their Patriot League team more than a 30,000 student school supports the greatest program in college basketball, that’s just sad.
Has there ever been a player better than Detlef Schrempf?
Students
To be honest, I’m getting kind of sick of the complaining about students on this site. Obviously any students that participate on here are going to the games and cheering constantly. You’re preaching to the choir.
As a student that goes to every football and basketball (and most volleyball, soccer, water polo, etc) games early and makes a lot of noise, I get really sick of the adults and alumni showing up late, sitting silently the entire game, and leaving with 8 minutes left on the clock like happened today. But I know that the users of this site aren’t those people so I don’t waste my time.
Obviously, many students at our school chose to study for finals instead of going to a game that we were assuredly going to lose (in their eyes). Do I agree with that thinking? No, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I think its a shame how many people (students and alumni) have lost faith in our program so quickly. However, all I can do is show up and make as much noise as I can.
by UclaBruin47 on Dec 6, 2009 5:37 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
To be honest we are getting sick of students not showing up
If you have solutions let’s hear it. We certainly don’t hear much for students as often here on BN. Let’s hear what you guys are doing to fire up the students.
Let’s hear what solutions you guys can come up with to show more support for our teams on campus. The performance this year has been horrible on all fronts. So if you don’t like us pointing that out then tough.
No excuse for students not showing up today. It’s pathetic.
...
I just take offense at being told that I’m not showing enough support for teams on campus.
Well clearly we are not directing it towards you
So not sure why you are taking offense. Students are not showing up for our games and there are no legit excuses. There are none for today.
uclaBruins47 does not equal all UCLA students
I think I learned that in a logic class…
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Dec 6, 2009 6:32 PM PST up reply actions
Out of curiousity
Why don’t YOU go to the games, Nestor? (I assume it’s because you don’t live in the area, but there are other factors into attending games than just being geographically close. It’s a bit disingenuous to complain about other people not going when you aren’t yourself)
The student’s (lack of) showing up has been atrocious, I agree with you there; but the alumni don’t show up either and are deadly quiet.
I don’t think it’s a student thing; I think it’s a regional thing. In my personal experience, southern Californians in general seem pretty “meh” on sports. Yet USC doesn’t seem to have problem filling up their football games. So is it just UCLA? No, because when we in the midst of our Final Four runs, we had no problem making noise at Pauley. Yet this season we’ve seen nothing. I usually hestitate to throw around the “fair-weather fan” moniker but my experience here so far has led me to feel it may be appropriate.
I went to every game as a student
During my 5 years at UCLA. Have been to few games whenever they come out to East. So don’t lecture me on that account.
What I'm trying to say is
If you truly believe that geographic distance is the only excuse to miss a game, then I can understand that. At the same time, I’m just trying to say that other people may have other reasons which are also perfectly reasonable. We’re in finals week, and kids accumulating huge amounts of debt in a terrible economy should probably be studying for those finals instead of going to a basketball game we were probably going to lose.
You’ve obviously got a reason for being out East (be it family, job, cost of living in LA, etc.) when you could be living in LA and attending games as an alum. Someone could (unreasonably) argue that if you were a “TRUE FAN”, you’d give that up and be living in LA and going to games anyways. That’s unreasonable, but that’s what these constant complaints about the students come off as, and why guys like me and UclaBruin47 get ticked off by them. Students who read this are going to the games, and students who don’t go to the games are likely not reading it. So why make the post about it?
I understand the financial excuse for SOME, but come ON.
When I was an undergrad, my reg fees TRIPLED.
Yep. TRIPLED.
And the student body STILL showed up.
If you come on this board and follow the team, then OBVIOUSLY we aren’t complaining about you.
Don’t get mad at us when it’s on TV for all to see.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
The reg fees argument are so ridiculous
Not only they tripled, I had two jobs while going to UCLA. Balanced those two jobs with classes, extra curricular activities, friends, and still managed to go to almost every game while at school. I believe I missed four games but transferred the tickets over to my room-mates/friends, who were eager to snatch them up.
And as mentioned above have been to almost every game whenever UCLA basketball/football has been near DC (although it looks like I might be in a freaking airplane during this Eagle Bowl).
Dude, you are just HATING life right now.
Can’t you and the family transfer to an earlier flight? A red-eye? A military hop so you can parachute into RFK? Something???
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
I’m assuming you don’t mean this in a malicious manner but I’d be careful with the financial argument being ridiculous. Different era and a lot of people are unemployed and there aren’t many opportunities to find adequate work right now.
by NoOceanJustLakers on Dec 6, 2009 8:30 PM PST up reply actions
It's a weak excuse
UCLA has been through worse. And even in the darkest of times, UCLA students showed up.
The bottom line, and this is obviously not directed at students who follow BN (since they’re the ones who follow our programs) is that too many members of this generation are too self-absorbed and too obsessed with the vapid, reality-program-based, superficial, celebrity-worshipping pop culture that the jackholes at MTV pimp at every opportunity.
Gee, I sound like a freakin’ old man, I know, but come on people, you only get to go to college once. You need to take the damn experience in.
Back in the day
guys like Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton were literally rock stars…you can bet there was no problem filling up Pauley back in those days.
Now, students who would have no problem lining up a mile down a Westwood street to catch a Twilight premiere or shell out a couple of hundred to see some hip hop artist, are too busy or too broke to support our student athletes.
"I don't forget very much" Rick Neuheisel, 11/28/09
Well said
Twilight makes me want to puke. Insta-ban for any teeny girly men who come in here and tell me how “great” or “sweet” or “romantic” it is.
thats a fair point
and again, not being a student or alum i’m a little disconnected here, but it just seems insane to me that students are not showing up to watch us play the #1 team in the country, especially when its Kansas.
It really makes me sick to my stomach in fact. I’m constantly trying to prove to people here in Texas that there are loyal fans in LA, on the pro and college level, but its hard when they see us getting out numbered and out cheered in our own backyard.
The day after most of us Los Angeles/SMU guys get home (there’s actually quite a few of us now), we’re going down to Eagle Rock to watch our Mustangs take on Occidental. Although a lot of us are in different fraternities, we organized it all through facebook.
Does the Den have a facebook? Maybe that could be a helpful way to keep reminding people they need to get in there and yell their asses off. Spam their inboxes or whatever it takes.
William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.
Have things changed that much?
I moved to Texas in 2002.
From 1991’til then, I had alumni tickets and attended almost every game. The alumni sections were full and somewhat noisy — especially when the Yell Crew made an effort to involve them.
I went to the football games during the same period. There is no question that the alum sections at the Rose Bowl were the cheering sections. Geoff fired up the old folks and we made noise.
Is it no longer the case that the alum’s use their tickets and cheer? If that’s true, that really saddens me.
sjh
Alumni
They are fine at football games, especially on third down. Still leave way too early.
BTW -- I don't buy that the alum's are only loud on 3rd downs
they are far more organized and louder throughout the entire game.
sjh
I've sat in the alum section before
and it is definitely loud in that section and everyone there is passionate.
Complaining about fans leaving too early in Los Angeles is pointless and will get you nowhere. The Lakers own this town right now and the majority of fans don’t show up on time and then they leave early.
by NoOceanJustLakers on Dec 6, 2009 8:04 PM PST up reply actions
I think the fair question to ask alums is whether we attended the games when we
had access to tickets and lived in the area.
We are not faulting anyone who is a current student but studying away from WLA.
What’s pissing us off is that we know the value of the rare opportunity of attending these games — and hate to see it squandered.
I asked, a week ago, in another thread, if UCLA was becoming such a difficult grind that student’s truly don’t have time to sniff the flowers and enjoy all of these opportunities. I don’t ask as a disinterested alum — I’ve got a kid who just applied to UCLA. And, as much as I’d love her to carry on the tradition (father mother and both maternal grand parents), I really don’t want her to go to a school where the workload, competition or pressure are so great that students cannot take advantage of things like football and basketball games or guarding the Bear.
If UCLA is that much of a grind, I’d rather have her go to a school that offers a more balanced life and experience.
sjh
It depends on her major and life direction
I had a double major in Neuroscience and Molecular Genetics (MIMG), 30 hrs/wk research position at Cedars-Sinai for soph-senior years, started my own company, and with my remaining time worked on about 8-9 other extracurricular activities and jobs, and studied for and scored in the 99.5th percentile on the MCAT.
Based on information from older doctors who worked in admissions, 20 years ago my resume would get me a full scholarship at Harvard. 10 years ago I would be a shoo-in. Today I am competitive but not guaranteed (so far: rejected from 1 top 10, interviewed at 5, accepted to 1, waiting on the rest). On the interview trail I’ve met students who designed (and I don’t mean worked in a lab that designed—they were in charge) state-of-the-art medical devices, affected NIH policy in Washington D.C., etc. etc.
My story is not commonplace, but also not unique. You can tell by the statistics: every year students accepted to UCLA have even higher SAT scores and GPAs. Of the ones I know, their high school extracurriculars become more and more impressive. What do you think think those students prioritize when they get here?
Then consider this: when they do get here they’re on top of the world—and then the ones who major in science hit the weeder classes: 5 chem, 3 physics, 4 bio, and a significant proportion of higher division courses where the average is curved to an 80% B- (if you get a single C+ you can say pretty definitely say goodbye to the top 50 medical schools). Consider the rest of your class was composed of students with a 4.something average high school GPA.
So … yeah I am sorry to be one of the students who did not attend every football or basketball game. I am sorry to be one of the students who never guarded the bear. It’s not that I don’t have a social life—I go partying or hiking or to the beach etc. with my friends—but these activities adapt to my schedule and never take place the weekend before finals.
But it doesn’t mean my UCLA pride isn’t high. If I went to another school, I would not likely have met the professors who mentored me and the friends who matured my view of the world. I mention UCLA in every single national conference when I am talking to scientists or doctors. At every medical school interview, I say I went to UCLA proudly. And in the future, if I am lucky enough to be a professor contributing significantly to advancement of medicine, I’ll tell my graduate-school-oriented students about UCLA as well.
Yeah, a lot of UCLA students have a lot of time and they should show more spirit. Especially if you’re already at a game, there’s no excuse to not be yelling until your throat throws a strike. But it’s a different time: things are competitive on a global scale, and it is unfair to ask students to go to a game before finals even if it is Kansas.
Sorry, I forgot to answer your question: if she intelligent and not aiming for a top medical, business, or law school then she will have a very balanced life. If she is, then she will need to be both intelligent and an insomniac to have a balanced life. But either way UCLA is the best place for her to learn and mature.
Thank you for the very thoughtful and complete answer
Jen never sleeps — well she does but she studies until at least 1 every night and gets up at 6:30 to go to school. She studies much harder in high school than I did in college — her efforts probably match what I went through in law school — and I worked really hard.
Even in my day, the pre-med competition was nuts. I can only imagine what it is like, today.
Fortunately, Jen does not want to be a doctor — not sure where she will end up for grad school — but she may be a Neuroscience major. (I think she will end up in law school but, because that’s what I did and because I taught in a law school, I’m keeping my mouth shut.)
I think UCLA may be a stretch school for her — so all of my worry about whether she will have a full and complete college life is very premature.
But, like all parents, I want my kid to have everything I had and more — and part of what I had was an incredible 4.5 years at UCLA. It sounds like your years have been incredible, too.
sjh
Don't worry too much
The only students that don’t have a good time are the ones that just take classes, and never really talk to professors; the ones that just keep a tiny exclusive circle of friends, and never expand their perspective; the ones that remain sheltered, and never challenge themselves.
From what you say, it sounds like she is very independent and active. That is the best indicator that, wherever she goes, she’ll succeed by any definition of the word.
We all have to make our own choices … and choice by definition means having to forego some things as well—nobody can have everything! Although if you’re like any other parent I know, this falls on deaf ears and you’ll try your damn best to make sure your daughter has everything anyways.
Quick thoughts
hey all. first post here, just wanna throw some thoughts in to the mix
I think there are a plenty of reasons people aren’t showing up, not many of them are valid, or generally acceptable, but its going to be hard to generate momentum with attendance at least right now.
One of the biggest problems to me, and this is just speculation, seems to be matching up tickets for students that want to go with students that have tickets.
I’m not a big fan of the lottery system. It makes it too easy to say screw it for a particular game. Tickets are too cheap, and, I believe like football, they are subsidized out of tuition or some other fee. If there was a greater financial investment, I think attendance would see a spike. I missed out on the lottery my first two years, and never really had a good opportunity to go aside from sneaking in late in the 4thq/OT for our loss against ASU last year. There are plenty of games I would have gone to if I could have purchased a few single game seats.
It’s hard to believe the only “market” for student tix is a standby line. Thats unacceptable. Tickets should either be transferable, or at least have some sort of buyback program. Refund a percentage of the ticket if the student wishes to do so (you could pay more for bigger games like today, and less for more undesirable games) and then resell those tickets. Brings in more money for the program as well as allowing students that want to be there to be there.
It would be so easy to implement as well. It can all be done electronically. I am baffled why we don’t have any system at all like this.
by wildthang on Dec 6, 2009 6:14 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
OK, THIS I can understand.
One would think that the massive amount of tech available to students today — shoot, I remember having to line up for 2+ hours just to get GTE PHONE service in my dorm room — can have a set confirm/ don’t confirm system for tickets, or at elast have it keyed into the student ID like the meal plans used to be, to insure you could get in or that tickets wouldn’t be squandered.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
The tech is easily available to CTO/Morgan Center
They just have not seen fit to use it.
formerly bruinhoo
Definitely agree with this.
I’m a second year UCLA student and I have the full Den ticket package. I would have gone to today’s game but I had a final from 3pm to 6pm for my Programming class (yes, a Sunday final), so my ticket went unused. I definitely know people that would have gone to the game had I been able to give them my ticket, but without any sort of transfer/buyback system there was literally nothing I could have done about it.
I agree with what is said here. It is hard to get tickets to get in.
I dont know if alums are aware of how the system is now. There is a lottery for season tickets. The tickets are then placed on your bruincard (where the tickets are non-transferrable), and you show that to get in. If you dont have season tickets through this system the ONLY way to get tickets is to line up right before the game starts, where you will surely be up in the nosebleeds. If I didnt have season tickets, there would be no way to get the lower section seats, even if i was willing to camp out all night and pay any amount of money.
During my freshman and sophomore years it wasnt like this. Season tickets were actually tickets, and if you didnt get season tickets you could buy individual tickets from someone with season tickets, and you could still camp out for a number to get in to the game for the lower section. The way it is now, if you dont get through the season ticket lottery, you are pretty much screwed. You can maybe get into the game and even then, you have to sit in the 300 section.
I think there needs to be two changes. Go back to paper tickets, and reserve some student spots for single game tickets which they should sell a few days before the game, so you can camp out or whatever and still get down to the floor seats.
See this is good info
I think you guys should be blogging about this issue and get the word out. Then target whoever is in charge of making these decisions. The initiative has to come from you.
Probably wouldn't hurt if a few influential alumni pitched in their two cents either.
Students are low on the totem pole and often are infamously ignored.
I think we can assure the students
that is a particular idea will help attendance and crowd support at the basketball games, then the alumni will be supportive of that idea.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
I can't remember when they changed that policy
But the switch definitely happened when I was there because I remember picking up paper tickets in my first couple years. This new system where you can’t give your ticket to someone else is stupid.
It's the same as the SC football game last year
Finals week looks a lot more important when the team has a losing record and the game looks like a certain loss. It’s typical bandwagon stuff.
For what it’s worth, I think they could do a lot better job advertising on campus. Aside from a few sandwich boards outside Pauley, there isn’t much encouraging students to go to games.
I was there
I am a Mechanical Engineering major, and my finals for an elective is tomorrow at 3PM. Luckily half of the final will be open book, but even if it’s not, I would still be there. I tried to get 2 of my season ticket holder friends to go, but apparently they just didn’t have enough time to study (2 hours of basketball where we were gonna lose? please). These are the same guys who complain “UCLA sucks this year…WTH is happening. Why aren’t we contending for titles year in and year out?”
I came in around 2PM expecting to sit at the upper section because this IS a big game and I thought students would have filled the courtside section. But no, I still got the courtside seats. The Den was a little shocked to hear the KU chants which was louder than the Pauley crowd. It was so loud that the band had to drown out the “Let’s go Jayhawks” chant.
This is my last quarter (week) at UCLA. I came in as a transfer, and didn’t win the lottery the 2 previous years. This year I finally get it, and I remember having to scour ebay/stubhub for tickets the past years only to see that empty seats are all around Pauley. So I’ll still have tickets for January games even after I graduate, but I will definitely make the drive (I live in the valley) for more home games.
What can we do
I would really love to hear from students in the coming days about that they can to fire up the student body even more. We didn’t have BN or other social networking sites to get the word out. You guys do. So what can we do to raise awareness?
does anyone on BN have connections with the athletic dept?
maybe we can try to solve the ticket transfer problem?
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Dec 6, 2009 6:34 PM PST up reply actions
I'd like to see the students lay out the argument first
In a separate fanpost. Point out the problems and then solutions here on BN. We will push it (promote it on hompage) and then lobby in the background. However, the students here need to lay out the details first and build a case around it.
All right students:
you heard the man: Lay out the problems and solutions and BN will get behind it and push it…
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Dec 6, 2009 6:48 PM PST up reply actions
We will support it
Here on BN and for those of us who donate as alumni.
Let’s face it – money talks.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
CTO
We’ve discussed the problems many times with marketing, the athletic department, and CTO. The problem is all they care about is making money. The first 2 years i received the full den package. My junior year i got only the blue package. They now give out way more half packages so that more people have tickets and half packages cost slightly more than half the price of a full package.
As of last year they are now able to track attendance at games. If you went to a certain number of games on your package last year, you received a full package this year. I want to say the number was 60% but it might have been even less than that.
The problem occurs with splitting up the games. Many people have one package while their friends have another. They are less likely to go on their own.
by lil eg not cs on Dec 6, 2009 6:48 PM PST up reply actions
Reminds me of parking at the RB
They try to make you park in a linear position. Not realizing we tailgate with other Bruins already there. I just Ignor them. :)
That mindset made sense a few years ago
When UCLA was at its prime a few years ago, splitting up packages made sense, more or less. UCLA always oversells the student section by A LOT (I don’t know the exact numbers, but we at least sell twice as many tickets as there are seats). During my five years at UCLA (04-08 and this current year), the student section was sold out ONCE: when we played Stanford in ’08 for the Pac 10 title. And even then, it only sold out minutes before tip-off.
What I’m getting at is that the system that Marketing has in place used to make sense. The problem is that they did not anticipate us doing as poorly as we are this year. Had they known, they hopefully would have changed their policy and offered full season tickets to anyone who was interested.
As it stands now, it is all about money with them. They don’t let students transfer tickets because they would rather those students buy tickets at the door so Marketing can get $10 more. From an economic standpoint, it doesn’t make sense for Marketing to allow tickets to be transferrable. From a practical stand point, hell yeah it does.
As an FYI, I worked for Marketing here for two years so I do know what I’m talking about (more or less).
slow down, look up
by Point Guard 08 on Dec 6, 2009 9:39 PM PST up reply actions
There's an awful lot of competition for the sports $ in LA....not to mention for young people's free time.
Much of this thread presupposes that sports are as important today as they were when 66 and I (67) were attending school. Truth be told they are not. And especially in so far as attending sporting events when you can follow teams more closely on the various media. During the baseball season (on the MLB site for the Dodgers) there was constant complaining about the LA fans who came late and left early. I like to think its not a question of supporting the team or loving the team but moreso not wanting to sit in a parking lot jam for an hour prior to and post games. Same sort of thing re filling up PP with students. Its a Q of priorities. I too never missed a game from ‘64 – ’67 and even drove to Portland to watch us win the NCAA championship in ’65. Yes, these are my fondest memories of my time at UCLA. But even then, many many of my fellow students couldn’t care less about sports. There was the arts, the beach, lectures, and other things. Thats why people live in LA and attend UCLA. Not necessarily for sports. So lets be realistic and not impose our values on others. That said, it also behooves the administration (if they care as strongly as posters here) to make it easier, less time consuming and less expensive (to an alumnus $70 a year is nothing; to a student facing multi thousand dollar tuitions, its something of a luxury).
Yeah, to add to the season ticket thing, if you do get through the season ticket lottery but one or two of your buddies don’t, I believe you still MUST purchase the tickets because you won the lottery. Why? I really dont know. And again, if they didnt get tickets and you did, you could never really go to the games with them because they could never really get in to the game.
Also, according to this site (http://www.uclabruins.com/genrel/071505aaf.html) now the standby tickets are only sold AFTER tipoff, not 30 minutes before like it used to be.
You can drop your tickets if none of your friends won the lottery
I had a friend who did that last year.
by gradstudentbruin on Dec 7, 2009 10:41 AM PST up reply actions
the problem at Dodger stadium is the lack of public transportation
thats why I think the whole “arrive late leave early” trend started, because all 45K are for the most part getting in there by car. Students can walk to Pauley, I think thats why people are dumbfounded that the upper student section wasnt full tonight.
And I’m not sure that sports are less important today than they were in the past. Just to use the Dodgers again, we are setting new attendance records every year. The Dodgers have drawn over 3.5 million 5 years in a row. In ’67 they drew 1.6 mil. Just a thought.
William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.
I made the mistake of driving to the game Sunday (I figured why not, my Weyburn permit is valid on campus and I don’t want to trudge up and down Strathmore with my horn on my back).
…Bad idea. I sat in traffic getting out of Lot 8 for 2-3x longer than it would have taken me to just walk.
by b d on Dec 7, 2009 4:13 PM PST up reply actions
um...
the student section is full. the other sections are just regular tickets.
The student section
is the ENTIRE upper 300 level on the North side. It was not close to being full this game. Check your facts.
slow down, look up
by Point Guard 08 on Dec 6, 2009 9:40 PM PST up reply actions
The seating map lists the entire north side as being student seats
The ticket office had a big sign that said the game was sold out when I was walking in the arena. That means there are one of two options. 1) UCLA is engaging in a massive plan to keep entire sections empty by designating them as student seats but selling them to nobody. 2) Students didn’t show.
Formerly ryebreadraz
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Dec 6, 2009 9:58 PM PST up reply actions
um...
Half the entire upper student section remained EMPTY for the ENTIRE GAME.
Oh UCLA you sweet bitch, you've BRUINed me for anything else.
not to go to far off topic
but I will tell you why I don’t go to many basketball games: Pauley is not a great place to watch a game. Lots of the seats have terrible sight lines and are super far away from the action. Also, the media and graphics are not very good, so being far away from the action with no video, you can’t really see much of the action. I do get good tix on stubhub and ebay and go to 5 or so games a year, but for me, the seats available for purchases are so bad, I just can’t follow the game from many of them.
This isn’t a problem in football, because even though the rose bowl is really big, it is built for football. Pauley is not a basketball arena. When it was built, there wasn’t HDTV and most games weren’t televised, so you had to go to the game if you wanted to watch the game. Now you don’t, and that makes those seats a tougher sell.
I know I will get a lot of flak for this, but that is the reason. I’ve sat in the worst seats at the Galen Center, and they are better than at least half the seats at Pauley.
The depressing thing is the New Pauley adds some additional good seats, but it does nothing to correct the existing poor seats.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
I’ll never understand why they don’t knock it down and rebuild it. I just graduated this past June and missed around 5 total football or basketball games over my 5 years there and continued to attend every football and basketball game this year since graduating. That said I’m obviously way too young to hold any sentimental value for the place. Do older alumni?! Cause I certainly don’t see why for however many hundred million dollars they are spending renovating they can’t just rebuild it.
by NoOceanJustLakers on Dec 6, 2009 8:13 PM PST up reply actions
Respectfully, silverlake
there is one reason that trumps your absolutely valid issues with Pauley…
UCLA plays there.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
There was a special preview on the Daily Bruin
However, a quick read through the piece wasn’t encouraging. Again we see quotes of Howland’s team “falling apart” with the losses and Gordon transferring. I wonder if it was the same guy who wrote about CRN’s team “falling apart.” They also did a matchup preview, in which KU had the edge in every single category. Hard to get encouraged by that.
I think for the non-dedicated sports fans in campus, the DB is their only source of news. It doesn’t help when DB spreads negative vibe around the team. This is a reminder for myself (and also others) to give feedback on DB’s articles when we see negativity being spread around.
Haven't read the DB in many years...
but as much as I love the Bruins, I can’t see where a preview would say that we had the edge in any matchup with KU. I’d have less respect for the DB if they said we did. And yes, I live in Kansas now, and I may well become a KU fan in most of their games, but I will NEVER root for KU against UCLA. I just see both teams, and the talent level is nowhere near equal right now.
formerly AZBruin
I’m going to go with finals coming this week that many students didn’t go. Some finals were on Sat and today. Spoke with a few of my friends still in school this morning at a community lacrosse event and I asked them about the hoops game. They said they would have gone if they had tix…they didn’t get the lottery. Ex of students that would go, but no tix to go. Is there an exchange available online for student tix?
I went to many many games while as a student and just hatted sitting up in those rafters…weird temperature swings and sooooo far from the action. I would rather watch on tv than sit up there again.
Student support/obstacles
N you and I were at UCLA at the same time and I, like you, went to over 90% of the football and basketball games. I remember the same obstacles existing back then as the ones being mentioned in this thread right now. I remember feeling that, despite finals, despite ticket issues, despite cost, etc, these were events that WERE NOT TO BE MISSED. When there was a football or basketball game, YOU HAD TO BE THERE. It didn’t matter what you had to do, it was something you wanted to do and had to do.
I’m not sure if that same feeling exists with students on campus right now. Perhaps a lot of that has to do with the product that is on the field/court nowadays. Maybe there are other factors at play that just didn’t exist 15-20 years ago. I don’t know.
The point I’m trying to make is this: you can make things easier, cheaper, closer, and more convenient, but if there is apathy, things wont be much different. If people have a true desire to be there, they will be there. If they don’t, they wont bother. There will always be some excuse.
"I don't forget very much" Rick Neuheisel, 11/28/09
Yeah
I am just not understanding it. I feel bad for calling out the students and I realize it is also on the alums/fans in LA area for not showing up. However, I always assumed students have to be the base, the heart and soul of home court advantage. For not showing up for this game? I don’t get it.
Agreed. Students are what make college athletics what they are. Without the student sections its just wannabe NBA, NFL, etc.
by NoOceanJustLakers on Dec 6, 2009 8:23 PM PST up reply actions
When I was a student in the mid 90s
I had a microbio 102 midterm moved to a Thursday evening, on the day of a game. I finished that test in less than half an hour and hauled a$$ to the game. I made it but had to sit in the upper section. BTW, still got an A on the midterm. I planned ahead and study hard before the midterm. I think students who are sports fans can definitely study ahead and still have time to go support the team. You can’t study 24/7. Everyone needs a break and relax before the finals. What better way to release stress than to go to a UCLA game and cheer for the Bruins!!!
I Finished an upper-level PoliSci midterm in 15 minutes
Still earned an A on the exam.
formerly bruinhoo
the answer is simple
make tickets transferable. Thats it, argument over. It is not an issue if you can transfer tickets. My roommate had tickets for today but wasnt able to go because of work.
I didnt have tickets to all the games last year and actually scanned my bruincard to the computer, printed it out and taped my face to his bruincard to get to the game. (a little excessive i know but it worked) Another friend of mine tried doing the same got caught and had the bruin card confiscated and had to meet with the dean where he explained his story and got off with a warning not to do it again.
As far as the reason why students didnt go today, i will give you two reasons. 1) Finals and 2) coming up to this week everywhere you read, people were talking about just doing damage control and keeping the game close. Not exactly motivating factors to come out to the game. I know some of you will say that it is only 2 hours of a day, no busing, no excuses, but no matter what you believe, the prospect of a week of finals will keep the majority of students away from most events, regardless of whether it is on campus or 30 miles away.
Im not making excuses but i feel like regardless of when you went to UCLA, for the majority of people the aforementioned reasons prove enough to not attend.
Two problems with Pauley: Student lottery system and old uninterested alums
The biggest problem with the student seating and why I don’t blame students for upper sections not being full (the bottom section always brings it) is that the lottery system in place is incredibly stupid. Very few students get tickets through the lottery, and the ones that do usually only get either a blue or gold package. The different packages give tickets to all of the crappy preseason games and then split the Pac 10 and top non-conference games (like Kansas). This makes some sense in that if you do get a ticket, you can be assured a seat. However, the system falls apart when someone cant go to a game because the ticket is keyed to your bruincard and cannot be transferred to anyone. Thus, if you werent one of the few who won the lottery, you have to wait outside until tipoff and hope that they release ticket for sale. I don’t blame anyone for choosing to watch the game on tv rather than hope that there are free tickets and still miss the start of the game.
The bigger issue to me is the alumni / general seating. The student seating I believe is only 25% (3000 of 12,000) of Pauley. What makes matters worse is that the camera position is behind the den, meaning that all anyone watching on tv sees is all of the season ticket holders’ empty seats. When these lazy alums are gracious enough to actually show up at, they sit with there arms folded all game. Every once in awhile they will give a nice golf clap when we go on an 8-0 run or make a big play, but there performance is pretty pathetic if you ask me.
the fact that 75% of the arena cant be bothered to cheer for UCLA seems to me a bigger problem than students not showing up because of a system that keeps tickets from getting to those who value them the most. I have friends that went to UNC and its just a first come first serve seating for tickets. If you want to go to the game, all you have to do is show up. If you want good seats, show up earlier. I wish our administration would adopt a similar model than the archaic one they currently use.
student section is only 1500 seats.....
400-450 courtside (depending on how many recruits show up) and the rest up top
GO BRUINS!!! CHEER LIKE CHAMPIONS!!!
and while were on the prospect of tickets
I HATE that i have bought den tickets sicne my freshman year, attended the overwhelming majority of games, and yet now in my senior year I did not receive both blue and gold package while there are underclassmen that have both. It should be based on seniority or how many times you’ve renewed your den tickets IMO
As of last year
they started tracking attendance. If you attended a certain number of games on your package you would get the full package for the next year
by lil eg not cs on Dec 6, 2009 8:02 PM PST up reply actions
Does that include
games during winter break?
by SuperBruinMan on Dec 6, 2009 8:06 PM PST up reply actions
no
They left the winter break games out. This was the first year doing it, so they probalby messed up a lot. I know of a few people that went to most of the games and still didn’t get a full package
by lil eg not cs on Dec 6, 2009 8:17 PM PST up reply actions
i really dont think that system worked
because my roommate who attended far fewer games than I was given both blue and gold, and I received only one package (i think blue, the package without todays game)
actually now that i think about it
ive been to more games over the last 3 years than all my friends with blue and gold.
For what it's worth...
I thought the Den members sitting courtside looked and sounded great. Their cheers were usually together (at least for the first 15 seconds or so) and they were generating a lot of noise. Plus they’re the only part of the Den that gets shown on TV, so most viewers probably didn’t notice how empty the upper levels were.
The game wasn’t really close to a sell-out. Lots of random empty seat around the entire arena. And it seemed like a solid 1/4 of the crowd was rooting for Kansas.
I ABSOLUTELY
hate when an opponent has a strong presence in our places of sport. We got this with all the loser ND fans last year, and seeing the number of KU fans really irked me BAD
I have to respectfully disagree Daynuh
I was in the lower section by chance. By that I mean, I showed up 45 minutes before tipoff, planning on sitting up top, but they escorted us down low because there were still seats available.
Now, I graduated in ‘08 and sat down low every single game for four years. I never once sat up top until this season (I’m a grad student and have no time to camp out anymore, sadly). I camped out for almost every game and sat in the middle of the court for every game. This game, I sat on the far right. And let me just say that the students there were HORRIBLE.
The mark of a true fan, IMHO, is how they react when the going gets tough. When we made our comeback, sure, the students there were hooting and hollering and making all sorts of noise. When Kansas pushed its lead up, bit by bit? Silence. I was screaming my ass off, chanting and screaming, and I would all of a sudden realize… wait a second… I was the ONLY person screaming in the entire section.
I’m not trying to glorify myself here at all. What I’m trying to say is that the problem is twofold: attendance and spirit. Attendance obviously is a huge issue, but even the fans that are there are not cheering the way they should be. If you are at a game, you cheer until the last whistle blows. If your team is struggling, they need you to cheer more than ever!
I’m glad that the Den looked good on TV. From my POV, in the middle of the Den, I was incredibly disappointed and frustrated with the students’ performance this game.
slow down, look up
by Point Guard 08 on Dec 6, 2009 9:46 PM PST up reply actions
Valid
Maybe my expectations were too low. I’ve only been to one other men’s game this year and I thought this one had a better showing by the students. The far right side is often out of the loop at games so I would think the students in the middle of the section were a bit more hyped, like they were when you used to sit there.
You sat on the far right?
Those fans are consistently the least spirited and least passionate. No wonder you were frustrated. It feels like some of them don’t do anything other than the 8 claps. Are they simply sitting there? Do they not know the other traditions? (People lose interest during the Frisbee cheer. Laziness or confusion?) Either way, it makes the better fans in the Den look bad.
Right side as in next to the band, or the other side?
I noticed that the side next to the band is pretty dead most of the time, and don’t even bring that shit about not hearing the Frisbee cheer. We figure it out, and we’re way further away. It’s definitely laziness on their part.
I guess that bothers me more than anything else: why are these “bored” people getting courtside seats while others are getting stuck in the rafters? (of course, because there’s no way to tell who’s going to be out of it when you seat them, but it still bothers me)
by b d on Dec 7, 2009 4:29 PM PST up reply actions
Next to the band
I’m not making any excuses at all. I had to strain to hear the Frisbee Chant or role call a bit, But it’s doable. The problem is that there will be 200 or so really good students down low (or in the whole stadium), then everyone else sucks. Including half of the lower section.
slow down, look up
by Point Guard 08 on Dec 7, 2009 8:34 PM PST up reply actions
For the record
KU and Notre Dame fans travel INSANELY well. Kansas basketball fans are rabid, they usually fill up 50+% of any venue they play at if the tickets are there for the taking.
And Wow as a Bruin Parent and Die-Hard Fan I've Been Treated to Nose Bleed Seats
Sorry folks. The whole lottery trip w/tickets is a bust, but one does have to question why The Bruin “faithful” don’t fill Pauley whenever they have the chance. I paid “through the nose” for the nosebleed seats and saw literally 1/3 of season ticket section empty in 2005-06. The student section was always not “at capacity” either, and this when the Bruins were ranked and doing well. I am perplexed, and know I would have always filled my lottery seat given the opportunity. I have 3 kids in college—all Pac-10 schools, and would gladly take my kid’s seats whenever. My daughter never even got the chance w/ BB seats at UCLA. So……something’s wrong w/system. I continue to cheer loudly and (sometimes to the chagrin of my 16 year old) profanely for the Bruins. I will say that watching tonight on FSN the TV coverage gave the “impression” the Den and fans were there in force. Hope the guys on the court felt the same.
Some questions and some comments
Would the place fill up if any student who wanted in could get in? I know all students in every generation believed that they had certain “rights” which absolutely Could Not Be Taken Away. Obviously there are disagreements about those rights are actually “rights,” and whether they can be taken away, but that argument can be deferred. I think that every student should be allowed to attend any intramural game he or she wants to attend, and also any intercollegiate game. UCLABruin34 says the answer is to make tickets transferrable. I disagree. There should be no ticket required, just a reg card, or whatever the current equivalent is. If you’re a student and you want to get in, then you get in. That goes for basketball or football or anything.
Next question – if tickets were free, would there be more students than there are student seats? If not, then the solution is obvious. If there would be more rear-ends than seats, then I would say you mark off 10,000 or so spaces (or however many student seats there are, and let people line up on those spots before the game. If all those spots are covered up, then the student section is sold out, and that’s that. No lottery. Nothing that can be sold to a Wisconsin person at the Rose Bowl.
But those questions I think have to be addressed. What is the situation on the campus? Why can’t people walk from the dorms or fraternity row or sorority row over to Pauley? Is it apathy? Are the tickets too expensive? (Again, I advocate free tickets. If there’s a gripe about revenue, then every student who gets in free has to promise to buy a hot dog and a coke.) If the tickets are free, what would happen?
This worked in the past. I think my tickets for football and basketball were somehow attached to my reg card and torn off or punched or something as I used them.
Also, how much does it cost for a student to get into the Rose Bowl? From what I’ve heard, the school is pricing itself out of the market. I know that as a young alum, I went to all the football and basketball games. I would not be able to do so now. It’s just too expensive. A young alum making a decent living couldn’t possibly afford to buy a house and have enough money left over to buy the super-expensive Pauley or Rose Bowl seats.
It seems to me that the brain trust in the Athletic Department doesn’t understand fundamental economic concepts such as price elasticity. If they’re looking to increase revenue, why not charge a billion dollars a seat. All you would have to do is sell one seat and you’re home free. But there is a certain elasticity of demand at that price level. The Athletic Department needs to drop the price of tickets (stiudent tickets at zero price, because every student has a “right” to participate in intercollegiate activities) and see what happens to total revenue. If total revenue increases as price decreases, then the price was too high. My guess is that total revenue would increase as price decreased, and then when revenue started to go down again, then that’s the proper price. If that price is low enough, the place would fill with young alums and old alums who couldn’t afford that absurd prices which have been discussed.
Why doesn’t someone approach the Athletic Department with the students get in free concept? It sounds like there is a deliberate policy that is keeping students away from one of the most enjoyable parts of the university experience.
by Fox 71 on Dec 6, 2009 9:59 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
And after reading more comments
I also think the student section should be increased. The court should be ringed with students. Mom and dad and alums, just accept that fact. It’s not that we hate you, but the University is first and foremost for the students, and they are going to get free tickets and choice tickets and that’s just the way it is. How many courtside seats are there? 5,000? OK, then those 5,000 seats go to students.
I know that idea will be adopted about the same time the ncaa issues the death penalty to just$c*, but I guess I’m an idealist.
I respectfully have to disagree
As I said earlier, during the past 6 years, the student section has sold out ONCE (against Stanford in ’08 when it was a Top 5 matchup with the Pac-10 on the line). Increasing the student section is not a practical idea, nor does it make economic sense. Especially considering the amount of money that the Athletic Department needs right now for the renovation, they can not take away more seats and give them to students, thereby losing a LOT of potential revenue.
As for free tickets… I think you have a point. Absolutely, if tickets were free, more students would go. As it stands right now, student tickets at the door are $10 for football and basketball. Compared to the regular prices of tickets, that is an inredible bargain. For students who might not have a lot of money, it could be expensive.
From an economic standpoint, it wouldn’t make much sense of the Athletic Department to offer free tickets. Considering that they drastically oversell the student section, they can make a little money off of student tickets. I do not think that the free concept would be a viable alternative, i.e. there is no way the Athletic Department would go for that idea.
I think more realistic options could be selling more student ticket packages or full student ticket packages. Frankly, if they sell student ticket packages to anyone interested but make it VERY CLEAR that their seat is not guaranteed, and they must show up early to guarantee a seat, we could see a higher attendance.
slow down, look up
by Point Guard 08 on Dec 6, 2009 10:24 PM PST up reply actions
thoughts from a student:
As some of you know, I am one of the Den E-board members, and have posted several times about our events. I also have attended every basketball game in the last 3 years (I had the checkered face paint at the Kansas game). Here are some of my thoughts about the “Failure” of the students:
-Sadly, the students can be bandwagon fans. When we are successful, they attend, and vice versa. I’m am not taking about the regular diehards, but mainly those that casually show up to the game “if they have time.” More often then not, they have “time” when we are winning.
-This game, and for the rest of the Pac-10 season, the tickets are split packages. It has been this way for a while now, and most likely will not change any time soon. It was already a stretch to convince marketing that student tickets should be based on attendance. For a game like this, instead of splitting up “a big game” to different student packages, they should have given it to everyone. That way, only the students that show up early get in, and the late ones get turned away (back up their 5 min walk). This method or making tickets transferable again (which won’t ever happen again) will solve some of the attendance issues.
-Its finals week. Enough said. For many people, school does come first. I get crap all the time from my family about being on TV at the game when I have a midterm that next day, but that’s my dedication to UCLA sports and I won’t change that.
BUT, the real issue in my opinion, is the rest of the stadium. The students actually only make up 1500 seats in Pauley, and less if more recruits decide to show up. Yes, compared to the total student population, EVERY seat should be filled EVERY game….I’m not going to argue that point any further. However, my disappointment today was what I witnessed with the rest of Pauley Pavilion. NEVER in my UCLA career have I seen so many fans of the opposing team. Kansas fans EASILY made up for 25% of the stadium (and none were in the student section of course). They were scattered around the pavilion, some areas in big lumps. HOW DID THEY GET THESE SEATS? For Texas 2 years ago, I can only remember a handful of Texas fans. Maybe Kansas travels better than Texas, but I doubt that is the real issue. It was very obvious that the Kansas squad gained more confidence, especially at close points in the game, when their fans took over the stadium in chants. We tried to flush them out with chants of our own, but they were EVERYWHERE.
I went to the upper area before the game, and the teams came out for the first time. While that was very early before the game, the Kansas fans were louder than all of the Bruin fans. At that point, I realized how many sell outs there were in the stadium. I never imagined the day when we would get “rock chalked” in our own house. Yes we lost, and I was disappointed, but I was DISGUSTED but the lack of enthusiasm for the rest of the crowd, the number of empty seats, and the number of Jayhawk fans. I left the game with a very sick feeling that I haven’t felt in a very long time (maybe sinceI witnessed our performance live at the Final Four in San Antonio)
I am confident that the ones to blame are not the ones blogging here, but give the students a break. We make up only a little over 10% of the stadium and most of the noise. Yeah, I hate that people have tickets and choose not to show up. I hate that some students that truly want to go don’t have tickets. But I especially hate when we can’t get support during a game. No one wants to stand and make noise once in a while. I remember 2 years ago when we had amazing comebacks vs Cal and Stanford. The whole stadium was into it. The players don’t just feed off of the electricity from the 1500 students but rather from the 12000 fans. There can always be criticism of the students, but the other ticket holders can be blamed just as easily, especially when for our biggest opponent of the year, there were empty seats and sell outs to Kansas fans. Unacceptable.
GO BRUINS!!! CHEER LIKE CHAMPIONS!!!
I agree with you as an extent
As someone that has been there at every game for the past 6 years (minus last year, when I wasn’t a student), I’ve probably been right next to you, camping out and cheering my ass off. And of course I agree that the rest of the crowd needs to get into the game. LA fans are, in general, fair-weather fans. And I don’t mean to start some massive discussion about LA sports fans, because that is another issue in and of itself, but it’s true. When things are going well, the fans are there and cheering hard. When things go tough? Don’t expect their support.
Here’s what I’m trying to get at: the student section dictates the rest of the crowd’s involvement. If the student section is totally into it, the rest of the crowd will get into it. If the student section is not into it, the rest of the crowd will continue to sit on their hands.
We need to change the fan culture at UCLA, and I think that HAS to start with the students. If the students create an atmosphere that is electric and dynamic and exciting, the rest of the crowd will (eventually) follow. If not? Well, I guess we’ll have more of the same.
slow down, look up
by Point Guard 08 on Dec 6, 2009 10:18 PM PST up reply actions
I respectfully disagree
The majority of the student section did their job today. There was a point where it was 7-2 KU, then Nelson fought for a basket, and Aldrich turned the ball over and picked up a foul. A TV timeout followed, and the Den (and some of the fans) were going nuts. This was four minutes in, and we were losing! The students aren’t always on top of their game, but today the students that were present were doing well. Until about three minutes left, there was a great atmosphere.
But every time we went on a run and the students urged the rest of the crowd to stand up and make noise? No response. Maybe the students are the starting point to make Pauley rock, but the rest of the fans need to do their part.
Here is what I was referring to specifically
I was sitting in the far right of the student section, and when Kansas started to pull away at the end, and push their lead to 10 points and then some, the student section gave up. With 5 or 6 minutes left and us down 10 or 12 (I don’t remember the exact score or time), I was the only, or one of the only, students cheering in my section. WIth what little voice that I had left, I yelled at them to make noise. And they turned at me like I was crazy (which was probably true, but beside the point).
But yes, I agree, the fault does not lie completely with the students. UCLA fans in general are often too apathetic and too quiet. But I think the students have the potential to change that, if they really create an insane atmosphere. That’s all I’m saying.
slow down, look up
by Point Guard 08 on Dec 6, 2009 10:42 PM PST up reply actions
the right side of the Den
it has a history of being really quiet. The first two sections (ones that straddle center court) are generally the only ones who stay active throughout the game. The mainly has to do with the fact that we showed up early (and wanted to be there) and many cases spent the previous night out in the cold to get those seats. It would have been a wasted evening had we not gone crazy the whole game.
And for that side, if there are any thoughts to get that part of the students going continuously, the DEN is highly interested in hearing how. Its been a repeated problem and one we have been trying to change for at least the last few years.
GO BRUINS!!! CHEER LIKE CHAMPIONS!!!
For any students who want to put something together
to try and get the word out about the obstacles the students are facing, shoot me an email. While any major push needs to come from you guys, I’m willing to provide feedback and any information you need, whether I know it or need to get the information from some people. While I don’t think some of the obstacles are a worthy excuse from the pathetic showings recently, I do think they are issues that can and should be brought up so they can be solved. I’m willing to do whatever you guys need to help you all make it work and if we can get a good product put together, N has already said that he will do his best to push it and get it in front of the right people.
Formerly ryebreadraz
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Dec 6, 2009 10:06 PM PST reply actions
The problem
is that we’ve had many meetings with the powers of the athletic department. They won’t make the tickets transferable and they won’t stop splitting packages. I feel like those are the two biggest obstacles that we are facing.
by lil eg not cs on Dec 6, 2009 10:18 PM PST up reply actions
agreed
it was already a huge stretch to get them to record attendance (which that hadn’t done even though they had the capability to). Ben Howland even personally took a couple of students (me included) last year to yell at marketing.
GO BRUINS!!! CHEER LIKE CHAMPIONS!!!
What's CBH's viewpoint on this?
That is shocking for me to hear that CBH went to (had to) yell at marketing.
Marketing ought to be asking CBH what it can do to help him – or losing their jobs when they fail with their current system.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
CBH took us
in response to the Arizona schools last year. Those games were among the most pathetic attendances in recent memory, especially for a pac-10 game. As yo may recall, we were edged by a slim margin, a margin that a full student section could have changed.
When talking to him while we were camping out for the next BB game, he wanted to know why there was no interest in our team. He mentioned his years at Pitt and how students would flood the arena regardless of record, but couldn’t understand how a team, one that had gone to 3 straight final fours, drew no interest. We explained to him the new ticket situation (one where marketing literally cut almost all packages in half, including seniors) and how people go home on weekends rather than come to games (there are plenty of other reasons to explain this, many inexcusable).
CBH ended up marching into marketing with a few of us. We talking to the head of recruitment (forget the name) and the head of marketing, Scott Mitchell. The first reaction from Scott was: get the students out because it is above us. CBH insisted that we stayed because it affects us. Coach argued on our behalf all of the points we shared with him earlier. Had this not happened, the Den would likely not have been allowed to meet with marketing and convince them to change some of the ticketing policies (attendance based for one). However, from my understanding and information, CBH isn’t the favorite coach in marketing….
Coach is one of our biggest supporters. He pushed to get a student section next to the court. We owe a lot to him. If only students recognized this they might have more urge to support him back.
GO BRUINS!!! CHEER LIKE CHAMPIONS!!!
by bk bruin on Dec 7, 2009 12:33 PM PST up reply actions 4 recs
Wow. Just wow.
First, the students shouldn’t need to know this to have more urge to support him. His body of work speaks for itself, not to mention what it was like when his predecessor was on the bench. But that’s the minor point here.
Why doesn’t Marketing get it? It’s bad enough that UCLA is always second fiddle to the tools on Figueroa, but they absolutely know how to market an image (even against facts), both in the media and in merchandising. Stores here in Colorado are flooded with UNC gear and Duke gear and Michigan gear and I have never seen the 4 best letters ever around here, ever, even during the final 4 years. Marketing should LOVE Howland because nothing in the entire world is easier to sell than a WINNER. When you add in tradition and location and recent success, there is no reason that UCLA BB shouldn’t be an impossible ticket. But still they fail.
Finally, I shudder at the thought that CBH is wondering why the students don’t care about basketball in Westwood, not to mention the alumni who aren’t showing up, or who are sitting on their hands when they do. I’d like CBH to want to stay at UCLA. This is NOT the way to ensure that.
I’m not an editorialist here, but I think this has to be big news. Maybe N can help, or will ask you to write this up. The dedication of CBH to the Den’s cause, the battle he has to fight against guys in cubicles, and his questions about the students’ lack of interest are each incredibly important issues.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
And the prior initiative is fantastic
but who was arguing on your behalf? Students? While I put a great deal of weight in what the students think, the athletic department doesn’t always. Look at this community. We had over 500,000 page views last month. It’s huge. We can reel in other online UCLA communities. You can bet there are boosters on here and people the athletic department would listen to a bit more. Put something convincing together. Use all of your resources, what you already have and the resources of those of us here.
I know that I want to see the students in a better situation and I think the rest of the frontpagers and readers here do too. Even if it doesn’t help for this year or even next year, you can build support for what will surely be a revamped system when a renovated Pauley opens (if it does). You have resources here and can reach out to people whose opinions carry more weight in the athletic department. Make it work.
Formerly ryebreadraz
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Dec 6, 2009 10:25 PM PST up reply actions
Just out of curiosity
What is the rationale of the Athletic Dept for the split packages? I certainly understand the rationale for not having tickets transferable (I think it is a horrible idea, but I understand why they do it). I can’t say I completely get why packages must be split, especially considering the student section never actually fills up.
slow down, look up
by Point Guard 08 on Dec 6, 2009 10:31 PM PST up reply actions
Money
I’m pretty sure they sell the half-packages for slightly more than the cost of half a full package. This way by selling 2 half packages they make more money than selling one full package.
Also, this makes more people happy in the sense that people that didn’t have tickets now have half the games
by lil eg not cs on Dec 6, 2009 10:34 PM PST up reply actions
Two things
Split packages and non-transferable tickets.
by lil eg not cs on Dec 6, 2009 10:35 PM PST up reply actions
i really feel it's ametter of winning, as much as i hate to say that...way back when, yes here come another story of days gone by, our student section at PAULEY was ALWAYS FILLED...
and so was the rest of the court…yes we had winning teams but we also had the same quarter system and the same finals schedule, but yet we all made it to the home games…i guess winning is everything in los angeles…even for those so-called true blue bruins…
by bruincheerleader on Dec 7, 2009 9:05 AM PST reply actions
I think you're right, bruincheerleader - It looks like what is perceived nationwide as Los Angeles apathy.
I ushered at Pauley when Walton was a freshman, and the varsity had Wicks, Rowe and Patterson. The doors would open at 5:00 for the 6:00 freshman game (free tix for all students, as I recall – in any event, price was not an issue.) At 5:00:01 I would hear a rumble, and at 5:00:10 I would see the students flying in from every entrance and literally diving into the student section. At 5:05, the entire student section was filled. Not almost filled, but filled.
And the place was LOUD. We had no “Den,” just cheerleaders. But the place was nuts the entire freshman game (I remember one game that ended 152-49 – Walton’s team won by over 100 points), and the varsity won the NCAA’s that year (as usual.)
No one complained about bad sight lines or bad graphics or any of that. It was part of campus life – you studied, you drank beer, and you went to every basketball game. Then you would hurry home so you could watch the replay on KTLA with Dick Enberg. (Or maybe that was earlier – Geezer memory issues.)
Obviously things have changed. Obviously students have other priorities, which I’m sure they enjoy just as much. I suggest to you students who do not have attending Bruin basketball games on your high-priority list to think about what your college memories are going to be. These are what you’ll be talking about as the good old days when you’re my age. Will you be telling your grandkids how you remember fondly texting your friends or reading facebook on Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons, and how you couldn’t wait to do [enter pop culture thing that kids do now which I’ve never heard of.] To those kids I can only say that you’re missing a great part of your growing up process. And you don’t get a second chance to experience it. It is NOT the same if you catch the bug and return as a student.
Maybe current Den members need to do some personal evangelism. Find someone who doesn’t go to games and invite them. Often, that was called a “date” back in the olden days. Yep – we would pick up our date, go into Pauley, sit snugly side by side (or cheek to cheek, as it was called in the days of bench seats) and text each other. (JUST KIDDING.) Female den denizens – I doubt if hormones have changed in the decades since I left. If you invite a guy, his brain may say no, but his hormones will surely say “Hey – this might end well.”
Simple solution
Why not just sell more student tickets for the Pac-10 season now? It’s obvious at this point that the number of student tickets given out this year (without the ability to transfer) was too low. So doesn’t everyone win if they just sell more student tickets? If you kept any statistics on student attendance at this point, it wouldn’t be too difficult to figure out how many more student tickets you could sell to ensure the student section is filled.
by gradstudentbruin on Dec 7, 2009 11:00 AM PST reply actions
its not that not enough tickets were sold
not enough tickets were sold…its that now that people have the tickets, they should go to the game, or if they dont want to go to the game/ cant to the game, have some sort of way to give it to someone that does
wow after i re-read that first part
i realized i messed up
its not that not enough tickets were sold. its that now that people have the tickets, they should go to the game, or if they dont want to go to the game/ cant to the game, have some sort of way to give it to someone that does
Thats how it should read. Sorry.
Transfer is not an option this year
What I am saying is that only a certain percentage of all the student tickets allocated are being used by students going to the games. Marketing needs to solve the formula:
(#tickets allocated for game x)*(% tickets used for game x) >= (# student seats available)
In the initial ticket allocation, that percentage was OVERestimated, for whatever reason. As a result, the # of tickets allocated was too low for the formula to hold. The only reasonable mid-season solution is to sell more tickets.
Agreed that a ticket transfer system is another way to alleviate the problem, but there is no chance of one being implemented mid-season. Also, judging from others’ posts, it doesn’t sound like Marketing wants to allow it anyway for monetary reasons. This gets past both of those problems.
by gradstudentbruin on Dec 7, 2009 1:18 PM PST up reply actions
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