bearchamp said:
What makes a good product in your estimation? Cal was bad, agreed. Was the entire conference bad? Oregon, Utah and Colorado were pretty decent. ASU was very good sometimes. UCLA had some very good games. What is the criteria? Competitiveness? Dunks per game? What?
Everyone has their own criteria, but for me a good product includes:
- Quality Basketball (well played. Doesn't need to be 5 stars, but can't be walk ons, either)
- Good Competition (P12, but also OOC which includes local rivals and bigger names)
- Game experience. Everything that is going on in and around Haas, OTHER than on the court. For me, MBB is a major social activity for friends. The commercial stoppages and circus atmosphere are big detractors. Concessions and facilities are fine, but not great - but that is not important to me.
I think the P12 overall has declined both in competition and product (which generally, but not always go hand in hand). Nathan's numbers support it (although I'm not sure Final Fours is the best indicator). The quality of coaches in the P12 has deteriorated over the last decade. The most successful are under a cloud of suspicion.
I think there are some general social and regional forces that are supporting the apathy. Prices, better alternatives, weather, every game is on tv, etc. More than half the P12 teams are located near metro areas that have a lot to offer. Durham/Chapel Hill/Raleigh is very nice, but it is not comparable to Bay Area, LA, Seattle or even Phoenix.
I think the fan experience at Haas has deteriorated enough to exacerbate the problem. Probably happening in other P12 programs (at least the ones I've seen). Haven't been to ACC or Big10 games in years, so don't know if their fan experience has deteriorated as well.
Obviously, Cal is at an all time low.
Sort of a perfect storm.
