Man I can't believe I'm 1.5 years into being a cal basketball fan and making these posts but I figured what I saw today at the USC game merited this.
Student section sat all game- what? Last year it was tradition to stand the entire game. This year, everyone sitting. Was last year (my first year) an anomaly? I thought initially us sitting during the Chico State game was because it was an exhibition. But now it seems to be the norm? And what happened to the micmen/lady who used to lead chants and get people up an excited? It really just speaks to a) the lack of enthusiasm and b) no AD staff getting the student section up and amped?
Additionally, as I posted on another thread: they moved 75%+ of the students up to the top of the side section above the band. This is out of shot of cameras, mics cant pick the noise up (and impacts the court less), and I feel like it has to negatively impact the environment at Haas right? What irked me a lot was that they moved so many of us from empty sections. Nobody was sitting in those sections closer to the court. There were maybe at most 6 or 7 non-students. I'd understand it if we were taking the seats of many paying customers but as the seating coordinator moved us he said "We're glad you all showed up but we have to get you in the right section".
Anyways, the point of this post was to ask anyone who's either been to a game or watched on TV if you feel that even the Haas environment has deteriorated- is the noise and enthusiasm on TV noticeably less? For those who've attended in person, was this stuff commonplace before I got here? Do you feel like the "game experience" has worsened (on-court results aside)? Sorry if I am coming off a bit whiny- I'm grateful to go to the games and I love cheering- it just was really striking to me today the way that everything was conducted.
Student section sat all game- what? Last year it was tradition to stand the entire game. This year, everyone sitting. Was last year (my first year) an anomaly? I thought initially us sitting during the Chico State game was because it was an exhibition. But now it seems to be the norm? And what happened to the micmen/lady who used to lead chants and get people up an excited? It really just speaks to a) the lack of enthusiasm and b) no AD staff getting the student section up and amped?
Additionally, as I posted on another thread: they moved 75%+ of the students up to the top of the side section above the band. This is out of shot of cameras, mics cant pick the noise up (and impacts the court less), and I feel like it has to negatively impact the environment at Haas right? What irked me a lot was that they moved so many of us from empty sections. Nobody was sitting in those sections closer to the court. There were maybe at most 6 or 7 non-students. I'd understand it if we were taking the seats of many paying customers but as the seating coordinator moved us he said "We're glad you all showed up but we have to get you in the right section".
Anyways, the point of this post was to ask anyone who's either been to a game or watched on TV if you feel that even the Haas environment has deteriorated- is the noise and enthusiasm on TV noticeably less? For those who've attended in person, was this stuff commonplace before I got here? Do you feel like the "game experience" has worsened (on-court results aside)? Sorry if I am coming off a bit whiny- I'm grateful to go to the games and I love cheering- it just was really striking to me today the way that everything was conducted.
