Sat MSG Home Court

Sep 29, 2006
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627
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NYC is a different dynamic than that. Chicago is a very large midwestern city. New York is an international city. College sports are different out here. On any sports Saturday in the fall you have mini fiefdoms of every single major college fan base going all out. For example I went into a random bar on 2nd Avenue a few years ago. I didn’t know it was a Georgia bar. I literally though I walked through a time warp and everyone was blonde, beautiful and very southern.

I will say this. When we were good at football I heard a waitress tell me who was a transplant that she learned that in New York you cheer for Rutgers in football and St. John’s in baskentall. Blew my mind and I said that is correct.


With that being said when we are good we get great NY coverage. If we are even a little bad or just average we get ignored. Too many transplants. Too much competition for entertainment beyond college sports. You need to be a winner to get coverage here.
 
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GoodOl'Rutgers

Heisman
Sep 11, 2006
123,974
19,586
0


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.


iirc, that was the game that "little" John Battle had a tied up ball with BIG Sam Perkins and they had a jump ball and the crowd gasped when Battle was half a hand from winning that jump ball. INSANE leaper.
 

GoodOl'Rutgers

Heisman
Sep 11, 2006
123,974
19,586
0
NYC is a different dynamic than that. Chicago is a very large midwestern city. New York is an international city. College sports are different out here. On any sports Saturday in the fall you have mini fiefdoms of every single major college fan base going all out. For example I went into a random bar on 2nd Avenue a few years ago. I didn’t know it was a Georgia bar. I literally though I walked through a time warp and everyone was blonde, beautiful and very southern.

I will say this. When we were good at football I heard a waitress tell me who was a transplant that she learned that in New York you cheer for Rutgers in football and St. John’s in baskentall. Blew my mind and I said that is correct.


With that being said when we are good we get great NY coverage. If we are even a little bad or just average we get ignored. Too many transplants. Too much competition for entertainment beyond college sports. You need to be a winner to get coverage here.
We, Rutgers and the Big Ten, has a few problems re: NYC

1) St. Johns plays home games at MSG.
2) History of St. Johns in the Big East and the bIg East tourney being at MSG. UCONN has won a few titles and plays in that tourney and brings big crowds.. Villanova has won a few titles (but doesn't bring huge crowds). But All Big East teams (old and new) recruit NYC metro area hard.
3) Syracuse is in NY State and was a Big East founder AND they have a "journalism" school putting people into sports broadcasting.. that creeps up in the worst ways. Our state's "paper of record" is part of a Syracuse alums network of papers.. the SI Newhouse school at Syracuse is named for him.
4) The ACC has long recruited the premier NYC schools and area schools HARD. Elite programs like Duke and Kentucky will recruit the metro area kids and schedule games in NYC and nearby for recruiting purposes and reap all the media coverage they could hope for.
5) NYC is the biggest TV market. SO the networks actually OWN those stations. (Same for Chicago).. they do what's best for the ratings and advertising revenue.. they'd rather show and talk about NATIONAL brands than local brands.
6) Rutgers is in range of becoming the type of story who could get a lot of attention in NYC. Papers at least.. TV will get some attention.. but imagine if this coincided with the Big Ten tourney being at MSG or Barclays this year? They this weekends Rutgers "@" Michigan matchup at MSG would be HUGE for local media.

We'll let you know how the "local" TV network sports segments treat us as the game nears.
 

RU85inFla

Heisman
Aug 4, 2003
15,564
10,546
73
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).
Having lived in Chicago and NY I will say that Chicago newspapers always cover college football more than NY papers but that when Rutgers is good they get a much larger percentage of the college football coverage in NY than Illinois does in Chicago.

When it comes to basketball, the hot team gets the press in both markets.
 
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PiscatawayMike

Heisman
Jul 27, 2001
17,406
15,364
113
iirc, that was the game that "little" John Battle had a tied up ball with BIG Sam Perkins and they had a jump ball and the crowd gasped when Battle was half a hand from winning that jump ball. INSANE leaper.
Battle was a helluva player and unquestionably the second-best Rutgers NBA player. Roy Hinson was the best. (There were several players who were better while playing on the banks.)

Battle was so good, Joe Bryant used video of him while teaching his son, Kobe.

https://www.inquisitr.com/5856960/kobe-bryant-parents-mother-father/

Kobe grew up immersed in basketball. ESPN reported in 2010 that as a child, his dad would share videos of famous NBA players and helped Kobe learn all their moves.

“My father told me, ‘Watch this. See this guy? This is how you can make use of your left hand,’ ” Kobe said. “It was John Battle, dribbling left and laying it in.”
 

S_Janowski

Heisman
May 24, 2009
14,014
26,670
113
Everyone needs to relax. It'll be 70/30 Rutgers. This was originally a lower bowl only event. They now have half the upper bowl for sale with sections up there selling out. This is because of Rutgers not Michigan.

Agree they’ve sold a ton of tickets the past week and it’s gotta be mostly to Rutgers fans. Looks like they just opened up the other side of the 200 level. Some good seats for $35.

https://www1.ticketmaster.com/big-t...ing-college-basketball/event/3B005755DCFA2421
 

PiscatawayMike

Heisman
Jul 27, 2001
17,406
15,364
113

AreYouNUTS

Heisman
Aug 1, 2001
124,190
58,198
113
We, Rutgers and the Big Ten, has a few problems re: NYC

1) St. Johns plays home games at MSG.
2) History of St. Johns in the Big East and the bIg East tourney being at MSG. UCONN has won a few titles and plays in that tourney and brings big crowds.. Villanova has won a few titles (but doesn't bring huge crowds). But All Big East teams (old and new) recruit NYC metro area hard.
3) Syracuse is in NY State and was a Big East founder AND they have a "journalism" school putting people into sports broadcasting.. that creeps up in the worst ways. Our state's "paper of record" is part of a Syracuse alums network of papers.. the SI Newhouse school at Syracuse is named for him.
4) The ACC has long recruited the premier NYC schools and area schools HARD. Elite programs like Duke and Kentucky will recruit the metro area kids and schedule games in NYC and nearby for recruiting purposes and reap all the media coverage they could hope for.
5) NYC is the biggest TV market. SO the networks actually OWN those stations. (Same for Chicago).. they do what's best for the ratings and advertising revenue.. they'd rather show and talk about NATIONAL brands than local brands.
6) Rutgers is in range of becoming the type of story who could get a lot of attention in NYC. Papers at least.. TV will get some attention.. but imagine if this coincided with the Big Ten tourney being at MSG or Barclays this year? They this weekends Rutgers "@" Michigan matchup at MSG would be HUGE for local media.

We'll let you know how the "local" TV network sports segments treat us as the game nears.

Not arguing with any of this but if we’re good, playing regularly in the NCAA tournament and winning B1G titles, We can pack MSG anytime we want.
 

RutgersNYCB1G

Freshman
Jan 8, 2020
122
86
0
Not arguing with any of this but if we’re good, playing regularly in the NCAA tournament and winning B1G titles, We can pack MSG anytime we want.
Nobody really knows what would happen since nothing even close to this scenario has ever played out for Rutgers in a major conference. If that's indeed the case, however, finally replacing the RAC should be (pardon the pun) a slam dunk.
 

ruman

All-American
Nov 30, 2001
12,466
9,123
98
Nobody really knows what would happen since nothing even close to this scenario has ever played out for Rutgers in a major conference. If that's indeed the case, however, finally replacing the RAC should be (pardon the pun) a slam dunk.

The Big East was a major basketball conference -- the problem is we sucked in that major conference for almost the entire time during our membership (with brief glimpses of mediocre)
 

GoodOl'Rutgers

Heisman
Sep 11, 2006
123,974
19,586
0
Before we play Saturday.. maybe we can get Michigan to make a deal to waste home games for MSG in the future too.. sign a deal.. and try to convince Ohio State and Penn State or anyone else to make the same mist.. I mean, make the same wise decision. We'll play all our league road games at MSG and home games at the RAC. Deal?
 

soundcrib

All-Conference
Oct 7, 2002
6,753
3,915
113

S_Janowski

Heisman
May 24, 2009
14,014
26,670
113

AreYouNUTS

Heisman
Aug 1, 2001
124,190
58,198
113
NYC is a different dynamic than that. Chicago is a very large midwestern city. New York is an international city. College sports are different out here. On any sports Saturday in the fall you have mini fiefdoms of every single major college fan base going all out. For example I went into a random bar on 2nd Avenue a few years ago. I didn’t know it was a Georgia bar. .

Believe it or not most SEC, ACC, and Big 10 schools have a bar for their alumni bases to watch football games in Manhattan. **** there’s even a Clemson bar in Hoboken.
 

AshCatchEm

Heisman
Jan 8, 2016
13,892
19,965
113
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
Some of our south/Central Jersey fans have a history of treating a treck into NYC as some massive undertaking/inconvenience. They need to grow a pair and become men for this game and not watch at home.
 

Terry_2426

All-Conference
Aug 20, 2014
1,941
1,576
113
Some of our south/Central Jersey fans have a history of treating a treck into NYC as some massive undertaking/inconvenience. They need to grow a pair and become men for this game and not watch at home.

I'm coming to the game from south Jersey but it's not exactly the most enjoyable trip. Depending on where you're located it's a 30-60 minute drive to a train station, followed up a $40 round trip train that is 80 minutes each way.
 

Scoutnmayo

Sophomore
Oct 6, 2012
238
137
0
Agree they’ve sold a ton of tickets the past week and it’s gotta be mostly to Rutgers fans. Looks like they just opened up the other side of the 200 level. Some good seats for $35.

https://www1.ticketmaster.com/big-t...ing-college-basketball/event/3B005755DCFA2421
All sections open on the home side behind benches. Will look great on TV to show full sections. Three 200 sections open on other side too. Section 208 has the last five rows available, Section 209 has the last five rows available, Section 210 has 19 left, Section 211 is SO, Section 212 has 16, Section 213 has the last five rows available. On other side, Section 223 has 58, Section 224 has 24, Section 225 has 41.

Wish we could go, but my son has had the flu all week. But we will be watching!!
 

bethlehemfan

Heisman
Sep 6, 2003
15,139
16,471
113
Not true. Heck I could barely get the giants game on in Dallas. There aren’t team specific bars in every major city. I guess define major. You aren’t finding a Rutgers bar in Nashville or Pittsburgh. But there is def a Vanderbilt bar if not multiple in New York.
True should have said other like wash dc & Chicago
 

AshCatchEm

Heisman
Jan 8, 2016
13,892
19,965
113
I'm coming to the game from south Jersey but it's not exactly the most enjoyable trip. Depending on where you're located it's a 30-60 minute drive to a train station, followed up a $40 round trip train that is 80 minutes each way.
Not bad for an away game.

At the end of the day you get to watch basketball in msg. As another example, a day trip to UConn to watch us play football. Now THATS a miserable trip.
 
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patk89

All-Conference
Jul 25, 2001
6,345
2,469
78
I still remember being a student taking a jam packed train to the garden for the NIT Final, was so packed with red they didn't even check Tickets. Not bad for a broke college kid!

Saw a fight break out between 2 students behind us at that game. RU fans were so amped up they were fighting themselves. Mich fans were uncomfortable.
 
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knightfan7

Heisman
Jul 30, 2003
96,366
70,126
113
I don't know the split (how many at MSG) but the Johnnies aren't experiencing great overall attendance. They average 4,875 per game. The only 10k crowds were vs SHU and Nova. I saw some of the SHU game. It sure sounded like there was a large group of Pirate fans there.
 

RutgHoops

Heisman
Aug 14, 2008
9,239
12,410
102
Before we play Saturday.. maybe we can get Michigan to make a deal to waste home games for MSG in the future too.. sign a deal.. and try to convince Ohio State and Penn State or anyone else to make the same mist.. I mean, make the same wise decision. We'll play all our league road games at MSG and home games at the RAC. Deal?

I know we had to "give up" a home game to play Wisconsin at MSG a few years back. Was that the only time or have we done that twice? I can't recall.

Between this game, our "home game" v Wisc at MSG and having the B1G tournament at MSG a few years back I think exposure to MSG appears high on the list of priorities for B1G leadership. I do fear/believe it will be RU giving up the home game more often than not. But I will take this years' arrangement when we can get it for certain.
 

kcg88

Heisman
Aug 11, 2017
10,862
17,230
0
I know we had to "give up" a home game to play Wisconsin at MSG a few years back. Was that the only time or have we done that twice? I can't recall.

Between this game, our "home game" v Wisc at MSG and having the B1G tournament at MSG a few years back I think exposure to MSG appears high on the list of priorities for B1G leadership. I do fear/believe it will be RU giving up the home game more often than not. But I will take this years' arrangement when we can get it for certain.

We're giving one up next year against Michigan State (wrestling vs. Penn State)
 
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soundcrib

All-Conference
Oct 7, 2002
6,753
3,915
113
Believe it or not most SEC, ACC, and Big 10 schools have a bar for their alumni bases to watch football games in Manhattan. **** there’s even a Clemson bar in Hoboken.
I still can't believe we don't have an official Rutgers bar in the city. And im not talking about a traveling circus every year or a pit stop in some really bougie cocktail bar.
 
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GoodOl'Rutgers

Heisman
Sep 11, 2006
123,974
19,586
0
I still can't believe we don't have an official Rutgers bar in the city. And im not talking about a traveling circus every year or a pit stop in some really bougie cocktail bar.
How about because there is no money in it? This is a capitalistic system we have here.. if the market "demanded" it, there'd be one.. plus maybe some competition for it. And if not that, maybe its because Rutgers alums don't go into the NYC bar business.