I firmly believe it isn't any ONE thing but rather a number of factors contributing to what we're seeing with the O Zone.


I agree with Shabamon and D.A. regarding the style of play... I think it is a factor. Look at the platinum seats, look at the rest of the arena and look at threads on this board. Fans, not just students, are skeptical of the style of play.
Not only is it different from the style Ohio basketball has played for years (decades) but it is also different from the "NBA" style that most fans (particularly younger people like students) are used to when they think of basketball.
Here's the KEY... While people are "meh" about the style now that becomes a complete non-issue if we start winning. In fact, if we do make the tournament under Saul I think this style of play actually starts working in our favor. Yeah, we still wouldn't have mind-numbing athleticism and powerful dunks, but Saul's teams score. If we really start to gel and start knocking down 3's this style of play means we could average 80 a night. Fans like scoring. Fans also like guys diving all over the floor "working hard" for loose balls and rebounds. Scoring+Effort+Winning is a decent recipe for getting fans excited.
I also agree that marketing Saul more would be a huge catalyst. That guy is hilarious. Just have him walk down Court Street sometime and strike up a conversation with some students. Easy money.

...

More specific to the O Zone and the challenges they are facing, I'd again state it's a number of factors contributing rather than any one thing in particular.

I sympathize with the struggles R.P. mentioned in talking about trying to create student interest. I was in the O Zone in the years immediately prior and the exact issues he dealt with were something I constantly felt like I was fighting a one-man battle against.

A major problem that has been slowly eroding the O Zone is the shirt towards it being more organized and structured by Ohio Athletics. Too much "hands on" management and "structured fun" for the students rather than an organic fan club with a passion for the team. Too much of a "corporate feel" as opposed to a "fun" environment that students want to be a part of.
Cell phones are definitely a major distraction. Students can look down at their phone at any moment and miss the game and cheers. (I catch myself doing this and I'm not a student anymore) If I were a leader in the O Zone today, my biggest priority would be to try to figure out some sort of way to engage students on their cellphones during the game. Something like this absolutely cannot come from the Athletic Department. Students aren't going to use something because you tell them to. It has to be something they want to do.
There are other issues that have really detracted from the overall feel of the O Zone. Beyond the Bobcat Black seats layering the students and killing the atmosphere, it also moved the cheerleaders to the baseline which really makes coordinating cheers between different sections a challenge. The short-term revenue boost the Bobcat Black seats provide are not worth the long-term erosion in stadium atmosphere. Our basketball games primary focus should creating an elite atmosphere which makes people want to come to games. Drive top-line growth of the fanbase will lead to a better bottom-line in the long-run.
One reason the 2008, 2009 and 2010 regular seasons were so fun in the O Zone despite the team not being great was because we had some solid MAC rivals. Kent and Akron were easy to hate. Bunch of thugs.
Rivalries are key and MAC games are key. People complain about the O Zone EVERY YEAR before break then the students return in the winter and it gets better. I guarantee the O Zone shows some signs of life in January and February.

The best thing anyone can do would be to start building hype against Groce. Has anyone from Kent or Buffalo been arrested recently?
The athletic department may not be thrilled with this type of rhetoric, but the feelings of the administration shouldn't be of any concern to O Zone members.

My comment on this certainly won't help me land the recently posted bobcat club position but I agree 100%. Even though the intent may not be to impose something on the students, it's going to come across that way. It's gotten to the point much like a high school game, where the principal or an assigned teacher watches over the students at the game to make sure no one says or does anything "inappropriate." It's not quite as bad as the former principal at Joe's suburban Columbus school who stood on a ladder during a school dance to make sure there was no inappropriate dancing (true story and I have pictures). Kids will be kids and in my 38 years of going to games in the Convo, I can only remember one student ejection and that one was certainly no big deal.

The Golden State Warriors are arguably the most popular team in the NBA right now. I wouldn't really consider their style of play "flashy." They pass well, move the ball and hit a TON of threes from deep. Maybe we need a Steph Curry type guy to pull up from 35 and can them every once in a while?

Got it. My fault.

It's uncanny how you get inside my head sometimes. This is exactly what I've been thinking since Saul got here. I could see where he was going, but it's been frustrating that it's taken so long to get there. I think he inherited a mess that it's taking him longer to clean up than we might recognize from the outside. I think now he's close to having the kind of team he wants, but still may be a player or two away. That BigManz he has recruited for next year, I think will be a real key.

I wouldn't classify it as a mess ... just wasn't his kind of players that fit his system. There were messy components ... but it wasn't like he inherited what is going on over at Fiami

Go back a decade or two and those of us from Northeast Ohio had 3, 5 and 8 and maybe 43 - WUAB and of course Drew and I had channel 25 in Akron. That was it. There was a commonality to the teen experience. Way back in 1987 Springsteen said at Harry Chapin's Congressional Gold Medal concert, "today, I've got my music, the guy down the street has his . . ." That's the way it is today - individualization and a fractured (no value judgement) society. We're not going back to the days of 211 Pine Street.

Entertaining basketball has a chance with team continuity "sorely lacking" by devastating injury and player transfers. This can change with better player selection out of high school and careful junior college players making a good team better. The seats will once again fill the convo.

Lets not forget many game are now on ESPN 3. Smart phones compete for our undivided attention
in all venues of entertainment. From coffee houses to the NFL game..... humans seem easily distracted at the opportunity to multi task and lack discipline to do just one thing for 40 minutes.

Just saying ........

Did anyone see the highlights of the Baylor basketball game last night? Sparse crowd. Even with Baylor in the Top 25. I don't think this is just an Ohio or a Saul-ball issue.

I noticed a stark change in the student section at my son's high school football games this year, and I don't think it was just the difference between having a winning season and having a losing one. I think it was the athletics department's decision to relocate the band. Last year, the student section was much more into the game. The band sat next to them and they would often play off each other to create enthusiasm. This year the band sat at one end zone and half the time you didn't know either the band or the students were there. For most games, after halftime the band would interact with the other school's band -- battle of the drumline, etc. -- and ignore the student section and even what was going on with the game. The student section was pretty silent for most games. I guess most students need a catalyst to get involved in a game. It's often not a reflection on the team, but on the decisions of the athletics department. You do have to make the event the cool place to be and give students a way to be involved.

Is the downturn in student attendance permanent, or is interest cyclical ?

I bet that if we built a new downtown arena that is closer to the central hub of activity that we would see a revival in interest.

Sorry for the double post.