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What do you think attendance will look like next bball season?

The Joel is a fine place to watch games. Sure, I'd prefer a nice new 8k-10k facility that would be packed every night, but I don't think that would be a wise use of university resources and I think the atmosphere in such an arena would be just as bad if the team is bad. I say that as someone who went to a game or two a week at Cameron in grad school. The building has charm, but if the teams weren't good, the building wouldn't help.

Slightly different comparing my alma mater to Wake, but I will tell you that the small gym filled to the brim with screaming students and fans @ Campbell was FAR more intimidating (even when they weren't very good) to play in than most games I've ever seen in the Joel. Obviously there are some great games involving Duke and UNC where the Joel is full and rocking, but a smaller gym could be a madhouse every game. The students just have to make it that way.
 
Slightly different comparing my alma mater to Wake, but I will tell you that the small gym filled to the brim with screaming students and fans @ Campbell was FAR more intimidating to play in than most games I've ever seen in the Joel. Obviously there are some great games involving Duke and UNC where the Joel is full and rocking, but a smaller gym could be a madhouse every game. The students just have to make it that way.

And just like at CCotBC, games would be more fun at LJVM with alcohol.
 
If you saw the MEAC Tournament at the Joel this year, that's probably what it will look like for our games next year.
 
I won't be there, so the atmosphere will suck. I am a bad fan. I am buying Adirondack rocking chairs instead of season tickets for basketball.
 
Hopefully they keep the dumb setup for Screamin Demons. I might borrow an ID for a couple games and watch in the student section if they do.
 
Unfortunately my name refers to the host of Unsolved Mysteries, not you. You stunk!

Apologies then. I thought it was a slam dunk to assume that someone on a Wake internet board would be referring to me and not the other "Staak," Robert.

And you sir (it's sir, not ma'am?) stink. Did you ever coach in the NBA? Being a coach or an assistant coach in the NBA (the pinnacle of basketball) is a perfect touchstone of perfection in the business.

There is nobody who ever coached in the NBA who isn't one of the greatest college coaches ever. Ever.
 
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Think next year has the potential to be one of the worst attended seasons in the history of the Joel. At least this year, we came into the season with the benefit of the unknown; certainly, a certain percentage of fans showed up just to see the new players and to find out what this [Redacted] guy was all about. Moreover, we were coming off a fairly successful season the prior year.

Now, we'll literally have none of that. We're coming off the worst season in modern ACC history with the same coaching staff and essentially the same roster. For one, there's no question that many people who attended last year (or who bought season tickets) will not do so this year. On the other hand, can you honestly or realistically picture anyone who did NOT buy tickets last year now doing so for this upcoming season? I sure can't.

In other words, I can only see scenarios whereby we have fewer butts in the seats at the end of the day. Part of me thinks that next season might be a good time to unofficially "transition" from the Skip/Dino era to, well, whatever this era is with some of the changes that have been thrown around, such as closing off some of the upper deck seating, Wake-ifying the Joel concourse and plaza, moving or adjusting the student seating, and transitioning from tye-dyes to a new student T-shirt (all black?).

On the other hand, if we really do look like we'll be awful again, it might be worth waiting a year to remove [Redacted] and then couple the new coaching staff with all of this stuff to make a clean break of it and maximize our momentum shift.
 
I will be at every game I can possibly get to, however I think attendance next year may very well look like it did at Georgia Tech this year and unless we look markedly improved early on it will definitely be worse than this past year as apathy will set in for some and boredom for others...
 
they are going to have to ramp up multiple game specials and have some sweet deals to get people to go. throw in the fact that the economy isn't booming and it makes it tough for people from out of town to go, especially if the product you are paying to watch is so miserable
 
The Piano Juggler will be a regular.

Dad swears he's not actually playing, but the routine is programmed so the keyboard plays the next note when it's hit anywhere.

I want to believe.
 
they are going to have to ramp up multiple game specials and have some sweet deals to get people to go. throw in the fact that the economy isn't booming and it makes it tough for people from out of town to go, especially if the product you are paying to watch is so miserable

Right. With the price of gas those 4 hour commutes to see the Deacs get blown out just got a whole lot more expensive. And it's not like we have the largest fanbase to begin with.
 
Slightly different comparing my alma mater to Wake, but I will tell you that the small gym filled to the brim with screaming students and fans @ Campbell was FAR more intimidating (even when they weren't very good) to play in than most games I've ever seen in the Joel. Obviously there are some great games involving Duke and UNC where the Joel is full and rocking, but a smaller gym could be a madhouse every game. The students just have to make it that way.

I think a small arena would be awesome for us.

And thanks Deadbolt for pointing me in the right direction for the new board!
 
it'll be interesting to see the route Wake takes when the Joel serves it's life out and it's time for a new basketball arena. I think the type of atmosphere wanted will depend on how good we are at the time and who the coach is. By that I mean that Skip would've wanted a hardcore on-campus loud as fuck place made for students. Bzzz god knows what he wants out of crowds, or even if he cares much about atmosphere
 
I feel like attendance will be about 80% of this year's, but it totally depends on early season performance.

if they come out and beat the crappy D1 and D2 teams, it will go up pretty quickly. that little bump could linger well into ACC season.

The key is winning the games early before we're exposed.
 
I'm hoping that, next year, The Joel resembles RULZ's ball sack:

Full and bursting with energy!
 
I agree, but I wish the fans (especially the students) were a bit more faithful in terms of attendance. From the home opener til the end of the season the student section never got even close to full. I understand that people will go if the team wins, but at the same time if more people go we'll have a better home environment, make it harder for the opposition and maybe win a couple more at the Joel.

But I agree with the plummeting attendance for next year. Aside from decreasing our turnovers by a solid amount during the season, there was little improvement seen in the team. There was never any beneficial ball movement or good shot selection on offense and lord knows we didn't play any defense.
 
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