"My rule was I wouldn't recruit a kid if he had grass in front of his house.
That's not my world. My world was a cracked sidewalk." —Al McGuire

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Update: You are to blame

Ok, Tuesday I wrote that I thought MU made a bad decision on adding UW to the 5-pack slate because in the end, Badger fans will buy the package, profit from selling the other 4 games and essentially go to the biggest game of the year for free.

That got Marquette's attention, and I've swapped many emails with the Athletic Department about the issue. The MU/UW game never went on sale to groups, nor individually to the public.

While it is still true a number of Badger fans get their tickets through 5-Packs, MU believes most of the trouble is the Season Ticket Holders themselves.

See, in 2006 each Season Ticket Holder got to buy 10 extra tickets, all in the upper bowl. With where the red invaders were sitting, Marquette contends that the majority of the problem rests with the Season Ticket Holders selling their tickets to our hated rivals.

Additionally, about a fourth of the lower bowl was red, which means Season Ticket Holders are giving their own seats up.

I am dumbfounded. Flabbergasted. Astonished. Horrified.

So I am writing to you, my fellow Season Ticket Holders. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?

For a couple seats, you drop around $1,500 each year, schlep to the Bradley Center in the cold and snow 20 some times. You wait two years for this day, the biggest game of the year in the whole state, and give up your seat to our most hated rival? HAVE YOU NO SOUL?

As for the uppers you are apparently selling .. again. Have you no loyalty? Have you no Marquette friends? I know it's a down economy, but come on. You need money that bad? That you'd sell out your own team?

YOU were the reason we lost in 2006. It wasn't Tim Higgins or Ed Hightower who screwed us. IT WAS YOU. It was the 6k-7k Badger fans YOU let in that screwed up our home court ju-ju. You're like the guy who buzzes the burglar in to the apartment complex.

In 2006, I bought my 10 tickets for Warrior friends, and told them days before: No gold, no ticket on game day.

So this year, take the Cracked Sidewalks Pledge: I WILL FIND 10 MARQUETTE FANS TO GO TO THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR. I WILL NOT SELL OUT MY TEAM.

Oh, and I promise you this. Ever go to FandAFanPhotos.com? We'll be sure to compare some before/after shots and publicly shame lower bowl offenders. (Especially guys named Larry.)

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Sounds to me like the athletic department put as much effort into defending itself on the ticket packages as it did looking for a qualified head coach.

Unknown said...

I had pizza tonight, but I made as big an effort to eat something else as our athletic department did to find a new coach. Richard you are to original. Cracked Sidewalk should just get used to any subject being tied to the coaching hiring process.

Oliver said...

It sounds like the Marquette brass did a nice job of passing the blame and mu_hilltopper followed them like a sad puppy.

Grow some stones mu_hilltopper. Your opinion has changed 180 degrees in one day because Marquette scolded you?

The idea that the loyal season ticket holders who pay $30 a seat every year to watch games like Savannah St. and have paid for things like the Al Mcquire Center are to blame for any loss is hugely insulting.

Kevin Buckley said...

Oliver:

Oh, for the love of pete. As if.

Firstly, I STILL believe that UW should not be in a 5-pack. It's part of the problem, just smaller than I thought.

Second, hey. Facts are facts. All I had to go on was my recollection from 2 years ago, where the Red sat. MU actually did research on who sat where, and who had the ability to purchase those seats. They are on board with "keeping the red out."

The reason we exchanged numerous emails was because I *didn't* believe it (that STHs were mostly to blame), and asked a number of follow up questions to poke holes in that theory.

The end-zone (opposite the students) was nearly entirely Red. All of those tickets were purchased by STHs. The 5-pack locations weren't close to that density.

If you're insulted because you brought a UW fan to the game, and I'm blaming you for the loss, well, good. Don't do it again.

Rob Lowe said...

The point is that Season Ticket holders are to blame for the strong presence of UW fans that were at the BC two years ago.

That game never went on sale to the general public, and the only people that could have bought tickets were season ticket holders... so why exactly were there so many UW fans?

Oliver said...

Mu_hilltopper:

I didn't bring a UW fan to the game or buy them tickets, but I would if the price was right.

You may have a different price point than me (and it may actually be lower), but that is irrelevent. I object to you BLAMING season ticket holders for a Marquette loss. Without them the program would be another Loyola in the Midwest and the Badgers would kill us every year.

Kevin Buckley said...

Object away. In 2007 when we lost to UL, I didn't blame Jerry Smith. I told the guy in the row behind me that we were one gold shirt away from winning the game, and hung the loss on him.

Dirty Water Warrior said...

It is naive to believe that all the season ticket holders are Marquette alums and die hards. The last I remember having a degree was pretty negligible in comparison to donating money to marquette basketball point scale. How many lower level seats do companies own? How about the ticket agencies that own blocks of season tickets? Do you think they have any loyalty other than giving them to the highest ranking or highest bidder?

Unknown said...

This entire discussion is ridiculous as is the objection of anybody at Marquette to Wisconsin fans in the Bradley Center. A sold ticket is a sold ticket is a sold ticket. Who gives a hoot over who is sitting there and what they're wearing. Do Cub fans object when the Brewer fans invade Wrigley? Hell no!! Although Brewer fans are not crazy about Cub fans at Miller Park. Why is that? The reason is that many Marquette fans and Brewer fans have a HUGE inferiority complex. Get over it!!

NCWarrior said...

I agree completely!!! Well said....

Rob Lowe said...

In '98, I went to the UW game at the Bradley Center. This was the last year of the illustrious Deane era and it was during break when hardly any students showed up. The stadium was filled with >75% UW fans. I can still remember UW fans yelling before halftime, "Hey Marquette... you only have 10 points".

I also remember all the celebrations of the many, many UW fans during the game two years when Marquette lost.

There were plenty of sold tickets both days, but it was not good for Marquette. So I give a hoot that the place is filled with Marquette fans and not with UW fans. Although the revenue is the same, there is greater Utility with revenue from a Marquette fan than there is with revenue from a UW fan.

If you're a season ticket holder, don't sell your tickets to UW fans. There are more than enough Marquette fans that will buy them.

Rob Lowe said...

One more thing... If there is anything we've learned over the last few years, it's that Marquette fans are more than capable of filling the Bradley Center to capacity without help from other fan bases.

There is no need to sell tickets or buy tickets for Wisconsin fans. There's enough demand from Marquette fans.

Mike G said...

I hate Wisconsin