They're not stupid at all, actually, BUT their "narrative" keeps changing. Now it's "well this won't last, and Rutgers is still Rutgers, so odds are we blow you guys out of the gym." THIS is the crap I had to deal with all last night...WHILE they're watching the RU-PU game with me!!! UGH!
Sat MSG Home Court
- Thread starter richthedentist
- Start date
They're not stupid at all, actually, BUT their "narrative" keeps changing. Now it's "well this won't last, and Rutgers is still Rutgers, so odds are we blow you guys out of the gym." THIS is the crap I had to deal with all last night...WHILE they're watching the RU-PU game with me!!! UGH!
A bud of mine sold his Devils tickets Saturday night so he could attend this game
He could have done both games, get to The Rock late, but, he chose the RU game
He could have done both games, get to The Rock late, but, he chose the RU game
Last edited:
I think it is a pretty common perception from Michigan fans (and others in the Big Ten) that they disagree with inviting Rutgers to join the conference. A lot of this stems from football, and that those fans would rather see Michigan play other teams in the league than Rutgers. I think in time, that perception will change, and Rutgers winning some things will only help. Most of the teams in the Big Ten need to personally lose to Rutgers a few times in football and basketball before they will be more accepting and/or see Rutgers do some things where they help the Big Ten (like win a significant bowl game or out of conference game in football; or make an NCAA tourney run in bball).
Do they watch Michigan basketball games? The things you mention them saying screams like the type of fans who are die-hard about football, but don't actually watch the basketball games until they're relevant lol.
The portion of that alumni base not located in the City but somewhere in the surrounding burbs may be less motivated to bother heading into Manhattan to show up in big numbers given their disappointing season. Some portion of secondary market ticket sales may be UM-AA fans selling off tickets purchased way in advance after deciding to bail. We'll see Saturday but I'm surprised you think it'll barely be 50-50 (per your later post in this thread).
The Westchester/Scarsdale Mich fan is selling, not buying. They have had a disappointing season, RU the polar opposite. Just wait until you hear the response when we score first on Saturday. Home game.
But RU returned their unused allotment of tickets weeks ago, according to what I was told when I had to resort to buying my lower bowl tix from MSG 2 weeks ago. So, I'm not sure what to read into that.
I certainly hope RU has a majority. But, remember we only get 8,000 total at the RAC, with only a third of that as core season ticket holders. The lower bowl was selling for $120 with fees direct from MSG, which is pretty steep. I don't know if Michigan got a better deal because it is there "home" game. I think the current $46 price tag for MSG upper tier tickets is still high enough to prevent a lot of student from making the trip.
As a RU guy on LI, $120 to have a great seat to watch my top 25 team is a bargain. RAC could sell 16,000 tics at this point given the demand. The Mich people paid the same price as us. No discount. And they are not interested in seeing their team lose.
That would be a major fail if we are outnumbered.
I expect MUCH MUCH more red than blue.
guess it depends on how much was returned. Also, Those seats appear to be sold out now on Ticketmaster and I would assume more RU fans are buying tix at this juncture than UM fans
---
the explanation could be that RU returned tickets early because a lot of fans did not think we would be doing as well as we are, and now want seats...
I actually had no intentions of going....I have season tickets but figured I would just watch this one on tv and be happy with that.... I could not resist and just bought tickets a couple of days ago....
oh.. when that happens they will say it is really the Big Ten that is responsible for them losing to the likes of "Rutgers". Rutgers would be nothing without them... and while they would have a point, there is a reason Rutgers was invited.. despite that negative attitude toward it.
I know a group of 8 who just purchased tickets. 7 of the 8 have never attended a RU sporting event in the past. They’re excited.
hmmm... not sure Rutgers ticket office marketed this game to the Rutgers community properly if that was the case. Maybe that was not true at all.. or the returned tickets were very few in number.
Since this is a Michigan home game.. perhaps Michigan was pricing things oddly... or withholding tickets to sell to Michigan fans but their season is not going as well as they had hoped? They must know from that NIT game at the garden years and years ago that Rutgers fans would show up if there were any hope of a good game.
You’re 100 percent correct, of course. But let’s remember this is the Rutgers administration we’re taking about. Obviously there are a few excellent people there who really care but in general there are still plenty of things that are a **** show from basketball parking to “homeland security” nonsense at football games to issues with the ticket office not answering the phone. It wasn’t that long ago that they couldn’t clear ice out from the RAC walkways.
We just picked up 5 tickets directly from the MSG box office which eliminated the service fees. I’m expecting a big Rutgers crowd on Saturday and bigger than the 2004 NIT Championship game.
@AreYouNUTS makes a valid point regarding Michigan or other casual sports fans.
Perception is a trailing indicator of success. Having one good year or game doesn't permanently earn respect from these deep rooted fan bases. We haven't won anything yet and still are the symbol of longest NCAA drought in P5 by a long shot. Plus football drives the perception of your athletic dept and in some cases your school. Maryland for example is outstanding in nearly all sports except football, but they don't get the national perception they should because football has been sub-par.
If RU mens bball can sustain 3 years of NCAAs and the football team can make some bowl games and beat some "brand name" teams, then the perception changes.
For now, most fan bases will still point at RU and say we stink at everything. And unfortunately, its mostly true until we win something.
Perception is a trailing indicator of success. Having one good year or game doesn't permanently earn respect from these deep rooted fan bases. We haven't won anything yet and still are the symbol of longest NCAA drought in P5 by a long shot. Plus football drives the perception of your athletic dept and in some cases your school. Maryland for example is outstanding in nearly all sports except football, but they don't get the national perception they should because football has been sub-par.
If RU mens bball can sustain 3 years of NCAAs and the football team can make some bowl games and beat some "brand name" teams, then the perception changes.
For now, most fan bases will still point at RU and say we stink at everything. And unfortunately, its mostly true until we win something.
Completely agree with the above. That said, when addressing the Michigan perspective and their attendance, as it relates to their hoops team shouldn't they be the draw for their own locally-based fans who don't make it back to AA often to watch them play at Crisler? They shouldn't necessarily care that this Sat's matchup is against lowly Rutgers if they are fans that want to see their team play. If it was vs. MSU or OSU the draw would be greater, naturally, due to playing one of its rivals. Especially now, with the Wolverines disappointing, fewer of their fans will be juiced and their attendance numbers and crowd noise is likely to reflect that.
Rutgers and its perception plays somewhat into that UM fan apathy, no question. This despite the sizable alumni base in the NY metro area that has had the benefit of successful sports teams pretty much forever. Why forego the oppty to see your team play nearby if you're a supposedly diehard Wolverine fan? Partly because they're not all diehards (esp when not playing well) and they really have many casual, bandwagon fans too, it's just human nature.
Rutgers' fanbase, like the hoops team, is still hungry and fighting for relevancy, and more folks are jumping on their bandwagon every day in 2020. I have a feeling it will be evident on Saturday afternoon and the B1G won't realize the scarlet wave that hits the Garden.
Dude, calm down. Rutgers has done absolutely nothing in the Big Ten so of course we're going to be disrespected until proven otherwise. This amazing basketball season and Schiano's impending football turnaround will start to change things, but until then, there's no use getting all wound up about other B1G fanbases not bowing down to RU. LOL
I’m perfectly calm just speaking the truth as my Interactions with most of the fan bases in this conference thus far have been great, aside from a few. and Michigan is as bad as they come in my humble opinion. I am allowed to have that, by the way, lol...
My buddy (Lasalle grad) went to the final 4 down in Austin in 2018 came back and said Michigan is one of the worst fan bases he’s ever been around. They’re mostly a bunch of cocky douches.
Rutgers has quite a history at MSG. RU was the opponent the first time Michael Jordan stepped on the court at The World's Most Famous Arena.
Last edited by a moderator:
Specifically midtown? You think like dude's living in Hoboken or Brooklyn or Harlem can't be bothered to take a short train ride?
If people living in those areas aren't already engaged or semi-interested in RU sports, then yeah .. I think they would say "can't be bothered" by a basketball game in Manhattan on their Saturday afternoon.
If it were advertised more as a big event and RU had all these ancillary things going on around the day to engage people, especially become some sort of annual tradition, then I think you start to get more "casual" people to come to this.
But as it is now, you only get the regular RU athletics fan + whomever those people can convince to come with them. (not a rule, but thats the target audience the way this thing is organized at the moment. And again its organized by the conference, not Rutgers)
I'm going with 5 other guys, we all live in Hoboken. I'm the only one who has been to the RAC this year to see a game. For the other five, this will be their first game of the year.
We all work in the city, so weekday games at the RAC are almost impossible to get to on time and the weekend games become a trip and a half because of NJ Transit.
@kyk1827
I think what we have on our hands here is a flat out EVENT in the Rutgers community.
I bought 18 tickets last week. I venture that every Rutgers Alumnus between the age of 23-35 has reached out to their college friends group about this game.
The reason I think it’s gonna be a big Rutgers crowd is all those alumns, including the women, who live in NYC, Queens, Brooklyn who are full of excuses to take the train to NB for a football tailgate have an EASY Rutgers game to attend Saturday.
That’s my take anyway.
I think what we have on our hands here is a flat out EVENT in the Rutgers community.
I bought 18 tickets last week. I venture that every Rutgers Alumnus between the age of 23-35 has reached out to their college friends group about this game.
The reason I think it’s gonna be a big Rutgers crowd is all those alumns, including the women, who live in NYC, Queens, Brooklyn who are full of excuses to take the train to NB for a football tailgate have an EASY Rutgers game to attend Saturday.
That’s my take anyway.
Don’t take this offensively - I’m an Illini living in Chicago and don’t totally understand the college fan base dynamics in your area - but wouldn’t it be pretty shocking/disappointing if RU didn’t have a LOT more fans than Michigan there?? I’d think there are more RU fans living in NYC than UM fans, and obviously your campus is geographically closer. My ignorant prediction would have been like 80/20 Rutgers, haha.
Any response is appreciated, as the fan breakdown for NCAA sports in big metro areas is like my favorite sports topic! Lol
Any response is appreciated, as the fan breakdown for NCAA sports in big metro areas is like my favorite sports topic! Lol
I didn't go through Rutgers for tickets as I wanted to be able to specifically choose my seating. Not a big fan of spending a decent amount on tickets to anything without knowing where exactly my seats are. I'm sure there are quite a few that feel the same.
A
anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
Guest
Simple, michigan has a lot of nyc alums. This is their only opportunity to see a game in NYC for an entire year, hence nearly every single one of them + the walmart wolverines go
The good news is that this game at the Garden should diminish the “Go Blue!” presence at the RAC in a few weeks.
all the late push at the ticket office, opening up the upper deck, is for RU fans....fans like myself who were not going to go, but now can't help themselves
we will have more fans than Michigan, my prediction previously posted was 70/30
every day going by, every sale being made now, is putting us closer to that ratio
Given the fact that RU is playing really, really well and Michigan is struggling lately (to say the least), it would be pretty surprising if it's not at least 65% RU but if you had this game in 2019 instead of 2020, Michigan would out-draw RU fans. There are likely more RU fans in the NYC area then UM fans, but the RU fans get 20 chances to watch their team play each season while UM fans typically get one chance a year.
It's not a spot on comparison but think of it like when a team like Notre Dame plays Syracuse in NYC. Syracuse has more alumni in NY but ND outdraws them because it's their one chance to watch their team play close to where they live.
if RU was doing horribly, it might be an even split with a fairly decent Michigan team
if RU is at least fairly good, we would be close to
your prediction....
.the only drawback this year is that many did not buy tickets when the university had them, now that we are on somewhat of a roll, they have to buy them elsewhere.
As others have replied above, a lot has to do with how well the respective teams are doing and with RU trending up and UM trending down the circumstances are definitely favorable for Rutgers to well outdraw Michigan attendance-wise. Regardless of Michigan's sizable alumni/fan base in the region, esp. in Rutgers' case it's not necessarily how many fans live in the city but rather how many live in the greater metro area. I'm sure it's the same in the Chicago area where you are, or any metro region in the country.
Interesting, thanks for the replies! That’s a good point about it being their one chance to see their team. Like I said, this is kind of my pet project, haha, as Chicago itself is quite interesting. Clear plurality support Illinois, very large Notre Dame fan base mostly concentrated on the south side and in the SW suburbs, a small Northwestern following isolated to Evanston and maybe a few surrounding suburbs, very large B1G alumni bases spread out (especially Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, MSU) and then a lot of random transplants. Overall, I’d guess:
(Our “local” teams covered in the media)
25% Illinois
15% Notre Dame
5% Northwestern
35% Other Big Ten
20% Other
I’d be curious to hear an NYC area estimate!! That guess of mine was for football, too. For basketball, bump Notre Dame down to 5% or so and give that other 10% equally to Illinois, smaller local schools like DePaul/Loyola and maybe some to random bandwagon teams like Duke, lol (“I’m a Notre Dame football fan and Duke basketball fan” is a punch worthy statement).
(Our “local” teams covered in the media)
25% Illinois
15% Notre Dame
5% Northwestern
35% Other Big Ten
20% Other
I’d be curious to hear an NYC area estimate!! That guess of mine was for football, too. For basketball, bump Notre Dame down to 5% or so and give that other 10% equally to Illinois, smaller local schools like DePaul/Loyola and maybe some to random bandwagon teams like Duke, lol (“I’m a Notre Dame football fan and Duke basketball fan” is a punch worthy statement).