oskirules said:
Student section is going to be brutal when Ruins visit.
The student section as currently configured on the length of the court on one side, about 800 seats, only a few rows deep, makes for rather impotent support. It is so thin top to bottom that not much volume of sound is generated, as opposed to the pre-Haas rooting section which was the entire west side of the gym, centered at the half court line and extending up to the roof. That was loud.
Today, the students are divided into two sections, the aforementioned one, and the section behind one basket. Very hard to organize and coordinate the rooting.
As near as I can tell from watching games on TV, most arenas are configured in a similar way. The game is being played for people who will pay more money for their seats, with a ticket structure and seat comfort that favors the well-heeled elite alumni and fans. The game is no longer played primarily for the students, and their role now seems to be a token participation, including various TV spots showing the more enthusiastic colorful rooters in team colors performing for the camera, reminding the TV audience that the game being played was actually a school event, not a pro game. Other than that, the game is being played for older adults, not the college kids.
I suppose it had to happen, as more and more people graduated college, and became more affluent and looking for different kinds of entertainment. There was more demand for tickets, and larger arenas were built, but as time went by, students became relegated to fewer and fewer seats, and lost much of their premium seating.
In the '50s and '60s, the Cal rooting section completely filled the western side of the Harmon Gym, from the floor to the roof, with the straw hat band down front at court side up to a point about 15-20 rows up. That gave them great focus, and loud volume. Sitting in that rooting section was a privilege, and I don't remember why, but I seldom was able to sit in that section, and usually sat behind the baskets or on the corners. Maybe I was too late to get a rooting section seat. I wish all students could have had the experience games played with a big, energetic, focused, loud rooting section. Today, that section is a shadow of its former self, and I find that to be one change in basketball that is sad to me.