Agree. There are no structural issues with crowd engagement. It just needs to happen. Keeping the positive momentum of student attendance is a great first step. They just need to get rowdy now and the rest of the crowd will follow.
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As mentioned, the two years off campus killed the student section the same way the Turf being closed for 2 years killed students flocking their like in the past. Student attendance and attendance in general with limited capacity has been pretty good actually. They need to have yell leaders like football, or some students to just step up and get the student section standing up, making noise, and rocking the whole game. You know why at football games people put their hands up and yell “ohhhh” during kickoffs, or why people hold up 4 fingers and yell “4th down” on 4th downs, and why people yell “first down....ahhhh move those chains” Its because the students did that first starting years ago. As the student section goes, the rest if the crowd goes.
I have stumped for moving the band to behind the basket as they are the rowdiest and would be yelling and jumping when the other team is shooting freethrows
The band is usually plenty loud, the problem is thanks to COVID they had to get moved further up and more spread out. Typically the drummer is on the floor of the arena and the band in the first row and up from there. Cheerleaders also being stuck halfway up the bleachers versus on the floor doesn't help. I honestly think Grant Nelson and Boden Skunberg being ND kids is what's helped the student section fill back up, they seem to get louder cheers than the rest of the team so if that's what it took to bring them back so be it. Now just need to show them what a student section is supposed to look like.
Honestly, my idea, a student section hype video. After starting lineups, before the tip of, run a 30 second clip of the old days of standing the whole game and being loud, opposing coaches yelling back at the students, our former coaches hyping up the student section, even my crew with signs and dressed up at the summit league tournament and storming the court. Just a little reminder every game that they matter and they affect the game.
I can't remember which game it was but I remember a game in the ol BSA where like single page newspapers were handed out to the entire student section to hold up during opposing teams starting lineups....little things like that just boost engagement from the get go.
My memory of the chant was “Jayhawk rejects”.
I also remember gene taylor running across the court after the game yelling “STOP RIGHT NOW” towards the students who were throwing garbage on the court...in protest to the KSU players who were taunting the crowd in celebration of the blown missed foul on woodside at the end. It was an amazing game even though we lost!
I think I literally got to the BSA for the K-State game before the players, the few people in front of me were running to sit at halfcourt leaving me with row one behind the K-State bench and of course Huggy Bear. It was an experience to say the least.