The 17-5 Aggies, coming on strong after a very dificult early Big 12 schedule, seem to be improving every game.
Beautiful Saturday afternoon in Aggieland and almost 2,000 short of capacity.
Great job by the students again. Loud, there in large numbers, but where are the former students and locals?
We can get 85,000 to see the Sherminator barely make 4-8 and we can't sell out Reed?
Great young talent. Super "D". Let the excuses begin. Don't give me "it takes time" excuse." This is a team that has been to the Dance 3 years running.
I'm puzzled.
Since it is a Saturday game Austin and Houston former students should have been there to sell the place out. What am I missing?

We play Texas at home every year. That'll get us a sellout.





But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. – Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)

I hope Turge gets this team to the Final Four and bolts due to lack of support. ala BCG.
Love watching them play.

Luke- I forgot that the best fans in the country will show up for at least one game hopefully.
Can't believe that tech, OU and OSU did not sell out. Of course in a 12,900 seat arena with 45,000+ students, hundreds of thousands of former students, and a local population over 150,000 it can be difficult. There is SO much to do in Aggieland the end of January.

I live in College Station..have had baseball and football season tickets since 1989
have never had basketball season tickets but have been going to games since the GRW Days..yes I even went to games during the Melvin era.
like I said I have never had season tickets but during the Barone/Watkins years I made approx 5-10 games a year.BCG first year I made 12 games and the next year went to every home conference game. The next year I bought both of the 6pack mini season ticket packages...went to San Antonio for the sweet 16 also. the last 2 years I have bought one of the 6 pack mini season ticket packages but made plenty of other games not included in the package...
so as you can see even without season tickets I have attended a good amount of games over the last 10 years and especially over the last 5.
this year I passed on buying a mini season ticket package..and I have not attended a single game.
why??
as I said I have season tickets in football and baseball..those get more expensive every year and basketball ticket prices have gone up so much in the last 5 years..I had to cut something...if i didnt absolutly love my football seats, I would of dropped football season tickets 5 years ago and never looked back.
it is not cheap to support A&M athletics..and now you throw in the fact that you are nickled and dimed to death for every little including paying for parking(I know i know not the AD's fault..dont care though) and all of a sudden you find yourself not as willing to spend all this money to keep supporting A&M athletics.
I will keep my baseball and football tickets for at least a few more years and will cut going to basketball games.
I also used to attend alot of road games in football and baseball...quit going to those about 5 years ago

[This message has been edited by Aggie (edited 2/1/2009 8:44a).]

I live in Houston and it is tough to make it up to College Station in the spring cuz I have so much going on here every weekend. They should just make the whole arena students.

FWIW, the #12 sips were about 3,500 short of a sellout yesterday against Kansas St.

And I saw loads of empty seats in the upper deck at Gallagher-Iba for the Okie Lite/OU game on ESPN. They can't even sellout their Bedlam rivalry game?

BTW, I was at the game (drove up from Houston).

[This message has been edited by 83BizAg (edited 2/1/2009 9:05a).]

Before the season started I said that the economy would have a noticeable effect on the crowds. It's showing up that way at Reed and a lot of other places too, even the ones with bigger urban markets. When times are tough, $150+ for a family of four for a basketball game that you can watch on TV gets to be an expense that you can do without.

No excuse for students, however.

I love how everyone complains.

I see that you post that it is expensive for a family of 4 to go to games, how about a student working minimum wage ($1200 a month) and married to afford going to two games a week.

Fat chance that I have the money for that. Some expenses are worth it, but to go see sporting events that I can see from a friends house for free is fine by me.

Just because we are students doesnt mean that we can afford sports. You dont remember what it is like to have 80k in loans from just school and to justify spending a ton of money on tickets year in year out on what has been a huge lull in aggie athletics the last 6 years.

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There is SO much to do in Aggieland the end of January.

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Actually, the students and the former students/locals had about the same proportions. The upper deck wasn't completely full on any side, although it was pretty darn full.

[This message has been edited by Rex Racer (edited 2/1/2009 9:42a).]

The wife and I love our six pack! We also have at least one couple joining in on it with us next year.

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see that you post that it is expensive for a family of 4 to go to games, how about a student working minimum wage ($1200 a month) and married to afford going to two games a week.

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That's not a comparable scenario. Students get the luxury of purchasing a CHEAP All-Sports Pass.

i was at the game and wondered why there were so many empty seats as well. i think the thought about the crappy economy may have more weight than any other theories, actually. ordinarily a game like that WOULD be near capacity.

A few of us had this conversation a few weeks ago. My answer is no, we will not have a sellout this year. The only chance we have is Texas, but since it is on a Monday night, we will hear TONS of excuses from Houston/Dallas Ags and students that involve anything from "its too far," exams, and dying grandmas.

When tu whorns come to Reed.

gopitt,

I wouldn't pat the students on the back too hard. The part of the second level that the students are given was fairly empty.

Also their attendance at the women's games was terrible.

When did we have 85K at Kyle to see a Sherman coached team?

Against Miami, OU, and Tech?

Other than old retirees, the community in the Brazos Valley is fairly poor and probably can't afford $30 tickets during a recession. In addition, Byrne has now decided to charge for all children, no matter their age. So he has made it harder for families to attend.

I'm a grad student and had to pay $25 for my 6 week old to go to the game. Six ****ing weeks old! This pissed me off to no ends. Needless to say, I can't afford to go back.

Dollar Bill Byrne is living up to his name. If he takes seats away from the students who actually show up to games just to make a few more bucks he is a fool.

soulgrass-I don't think the Brazos Valley is "poor." I have had the opportunity to play Miramont, The Traditions and Pebble Creek and each of those golf course communities is obviously well to do as are many other subdivisions in B/CS. In fact, I would rate average household income in CS higher than most cities in Texas.
Nice try though. This is an ORIGINAl excuse.
Again, 85,000 show up at inflated prices to see that pathetic product across the street. Where do they get their money from? The cost of a football ticket is certainly greater than the cost of a basketball ticket. Just curious.

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In addition, Byrne has now decided to charge for all children, no matter their age. So he has made it harder for families to attend.

I'm a grad student and had to pay $25 for my 6 week old to go to the game. Six ****ing weeks old! This pissed me off to no ends.

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You may not want to admit it, but between the baby and everything you bring to support the baby, the people sitting around you appreciate that you are required to have a second seat.

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You dont remember what it is like to have 80k in loans from just school

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yeah..b/c those loans just go away over night...Im sure the majority on here still have student loans. I know I do.

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Nice try though. This is an ORIGINAl excuse.

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About as ORIGINAL as this thread.

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And I saw loads of empty seats in the upper deck at Gallagher-Iba for the Okie Lite/OU game on ESPN. They can't even sellout their Bedlam rivalry game

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to be fair here...there were a few inches of ice on the roads that night in stillwater...in fact OSU officials opened the game free of charge for anybody wanting to attend just so the attendance would be respectable

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FWIW, the #12 sips were about 3,500 short of a sellout yesterday against Kansas St.

And I saw loads of empty seats in the upper deck at Gallagher-Iba for the Okie Lite/OU game on ESPN. They can't even sellout their Bedlam rivalry game?

BTW, I was at the game (drove up from Houston).

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did you see mizzou sell out their 15000 seat arena for baylor? i mean it is a 2 hour drive from stl or kc to get there for most people

If he takes seats away from the students who actually show up to games just to make a few more bucks he is a fool.
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if dollar bill really thinks that he'll actually improve attendance/money by taking away student seats, he really is dumb. By doing that he basically guarantees poor attendance, bryan residents are poor and alumni do not support the bball team very well, of course going anywhere in Texas with this economy is expensive, so you really can't blame them for not making weekday games, or even weekend games.

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Also their attendance at the women's games was terrible.

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Student attendance is lacking at swimming and diving, tennis matches, and volleyball games too. There is a reason. They aren't that fun to watch.

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You dont remember what it is like to have 80k in loans from just school

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I am a student right now and work during the summers on construction and electrical crews (easy stuff to pick up on to be honest) to pay for my school. You don't have to work a minimum wage job if you don't want to. And i bought the $300 all sports pass... gets me into games for really cheap, My next event will be my 30th this year, which means only $10 bucks an event!... not too bad actually...

We've driven up from west-Houston for almost every game for the last two or three years, but I've got to say that the mid-week games that are on at 8:00pm instead of 7:00pm because of tv this year are painful with our school-aged daughter. That extra hour really hurts trying to get her going the next morning.

That, and the fact that I've recently been laid-off in this beautiful economy, have us re-thinking the weekday trips to save money and our sanity. Life is finally getting in the way...ouch!

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This is a team that has been to the Dance 3 years running.

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Florida has been to the Dance 9 out of the last 10 years, won national championships 2 out of the last 3 years, and has sold out only one game this year. And their arena seats about 1,000 LESS than ours.

Get off your high horse.

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Student attendance is lacking at swimming and diving, tennis matches, and volleyball games too. There is a reason. They aren't that fun to watch.

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Actually, our volleyball attendance is consistently in the top 20 nationally, and lately for a less than stellar team. And I would venture to guess there are quite a few more students there than locals/alumni. I think one reason is because the volleyball matches are so close for dorm residents in comparison to Reed Arena or the Tennis Courts. We'll have to see what happens to volleyball attendance next year when they start playing in Reed.

And to be honest, I bet our student turnout for swimming/diving and tennis aren't really that low compared to other universities, although I'm entirely too lazy to look it up.

Ticket prices range from 20 to $37. There were more students there for the Tech game than there were for the OSU game. It is doubtful if we will have a sellout this year. High ticket prices and a poor economy have held attendance down. Also the product on the court is not what it used to be under Gillespie either.

Who's this GillEspie guy people keep talking about?