Attendance at NCAA

[binnyrus]

Re: Attendance at NCAA

So we know a number of reasons why most don't watch the women's games. Why do we? That might make a good off-season topic, because for all of its supposed flaws, the game managed to hook most of the people on this forum.

I think this as an idea for an off-season topic is great. I won't list my reasons now . . . but I did come to the game as an "outsider". I never played hockey, I don't have any female relatives of any kind that played. I went to one game and was hooked . . .

 

[xwildfan]

Re: Attendance at NCAA

Re: attendance. Seems like people who attend hockey games in US fall into the following categories: relatives of players, friends of players, fans of team (college or pro), fans of hockey in general, casual fan who attends because the game seems to be an "event not to be missed." These are not totally inclusive; but generally include most fans at hockey games. Each potential group has a larger pool.

The women's game draws fewer fans from the larger pools...casual fan and fans of hockey in general. Many reason; already mentioned on this forum. To the casual fan, women's hockey is no more exciting than watching women's swimming, soccer, golf, etc.

I personally do not have a problem with that. I think hockey (men's or women's) will always be a niche sport in the US. Just the way it is. Football is king; and I think watching 11 minutes of actual action in a game that takes 3 hours to complete is really boring.

Canada is really the only place where you find the true passion about hockey that many on this forum would like to see in the US. Again, that is just the way it is. I haven't seen the attendance figures for the U 18 Championship in Chicago; but I doubt that it was very well attended. Contrast that with the attendance when it was held in Calgary in 2008; packed house to watch US and Canada play.

I have had three girls play sports in college; two in hockey and one in gymnastics. None of sports were very well attended on their respective campuses; but did not really bother me personally. Just happy that they had a place to experience the fun of playing a sport at that level.

Kind of rambling at this point; but just don't think it is that big of a deal that the sports that our kids play and really enjoy are pretty much ignored by the general public.

 

[Sean Pickett]

Re: Attendance at NCAA

Here are the updated Froze Four attendance figures for every year it has been held. Where there were different semifinal attendance figures I only used the higher one:

By Year
Year Location     Semifinals    Final           Total
2001 Minneapolis  2,099         3,079           5,178
2002 Durham       2,051         3,102           5,153
2003 Duluth       4,801 (host)  5,167 (host)    9,968 (host x2)
2004 Providence   2,526         3,522           6,048
2005 Durham       2,204         2,056           4,260
2006 Minneapolis  2,876 (host)  4,701 (host)    7,577 (host x2)
2007 Lake Placid* 3,423 (host)  3,355           3,355 (host x1)
2008 Duluth**     3,023 (host)  4,031 (host)    7,054 (host x2)
2009 Boston       2,706         2,437           5,143
2010 Minneapolis  2,070 (host)  1,473           3,543 (host x1)
2011 Erie         3,531         3,965           7,496
2012 Duluth       2,050         2,439           4,489
2013 Minneapolis  3,400 (host)  3,400 (host)    6,800 (host x2)
* first year FF held a week earlier
** Thursday-Saturday

By Attendance
Year    Total           Semifinals      Final
2003    9,968 (host x2) 4,801 (host)    5,167 (host)
2006    7,577 (host x2) 2,876 (host)    4,701 (host)
2011    7,496           3,531           3,965
2008    7,054 (host x2) 3,023 (host)    4,031 (host)	
2013    6,800 (host x2) 3,400 (host)    3,400 (host)
2007    6,778 (host x1) 3,423 (host)    3,355
2004    6,048           2,526           3,522
2001    5,178           2,099           3,079
2002    5,153           2,051           3,102
2009    5,143           2,706           2,437
2012    4,489           2,050           2,439
2005    4,260           2,204           2,056
2010    3,543 (host x1) 2,070 (host)    1,473

Having the host in the tournament has boosted attendance every time, except for 2010, which comes in dead last for total attendance. Five of the top six semifinals and total attendances involved the host team, as did four of the top six finals. The attendance in Erie two years ago stands out, showing what can happen when a FF committee goes all out in supporting and promoting the FF. Yes, I’m sure that many of those who attended bought tickets expecting and/or hoping Mercyhurst would be there, but they still showed up even though the Lakers weren’t there.

Sean

 

[dontblink]

Re: Attendance at NCAA

I live near Ridder and was planning on going to the games with friends. The game sold out in advance and I was not able to get tickets. To
my surprise when I watched the games on-line I saw a lot of good seats we could have been sitting in. I wonder how many people were in
the same situation as us?

 

[CrazyDave]

Re: Attendance at NCAA

I live near Ridder and was planning on going to the games with friends. The game sold out in advance and I was not able to get tickets. To
my surprise when I watched the games on-line I saw a lot of good seats we could have been sitting in. I wonder how many people were in
the same situation as us?

Very few seats were available for the first semifinal, and they don't do separate ticketing for the two games.

 

[OldDave]

Re: Attendance at NCAA

Very few seats were available for the first semifinal, and they don't do separate ticketing for the two games.

Does anyone know if they sold standing room? As I was walking in, I overheard a scalper say that he sold a standing room ticket for $30. If there was standing room sold, attendance would have been higher than 3,400 (the purported capacity).

 

[whoop87]

Re: Attendance at NCAA

Sean Pickett - Thanks for posting the attendance figures. You might want to fix the typo for the 2011 tournament in Erie. For a second I thought the tournament was held in Ireland…just kidding. If it was held in Ireland, I might have gone.

I looked up the attendance stats for the semi between UNH and UMD in Duluth in 2008 and that game is listed with 3161 in attendance. The 3023 figure was the attendance listed for the Wisconsin-Harvard game. I only did so because I was out there for the tournament and my recollection was a pretty full crowd at the old DECC.

It would make me happier though if you could change the result of the UNH-UMD semi, rather the attendance figure.

 

[ARM]

Re: Attendance at NCAA

Does anyone know if they sold standing room? As I was walking in, I overheard a scalper say that he sold a standing room ticket for $30. If there was standing room sold, attendance would have been higher than 3,400 (the purported capacity).

They did sell standing room. Part of the problem is that because of added infrastructure for the event, there is much less seating available upstairs, and even some of the standing room around the rail is used by cameramen. But there were fans sitting in the club level, where it is usually just season ticket holders for regular season plus VIP for WCHA Tourneys.

 

[Blackbeard]

Re: Attendance at NCAA

It would make me happier though if you could change the result of the UNH-UMD semi, rather the attendance figure.

Now that was one exciting game. Wish it was available on dvd but it never was. Was there as well and seem to recall the DECC being close to full.

 

[Watson Rink]

The attractions of women's hockey

The attractions of women's hockey

My chief reason for continuing to follow the sport is that from a spectator's viewpoint it's much more interesting than the men's game: fast, but not out of control; physical, but not brutal; full of skating, passing, shooting and slick, not violent, fore- and backchecking. Much more fun than watching the Bruins, courageous muckers that they are.

Also 3 more reasons: the men's team at my college has been in a 19-year slump.

The women's '98 Olympic squad made a splash for the sport.

Just when our two Ds were finishing their college careers in squash and we weren't going to be on the road any more,
my goddaughter, also a squash player, arrived at my college and was freshman roommates with a kid named Ruggiero. National championship season. Hooked!

And you have no idea how boring watching a squash match is compared to watching a women's hockey game!

 

[ARM]

Re: Attendance at NCAA

Watson, you have good reasons. May I add one more? For anyone who gets to know them, the athletes that play this sport are good people. That's not to say that other sports' athletes aren't, but many of those already have thousands of people who come close to worshiping them; I'm not saying take it that far. But they deserve to have people care about them, follow their exploits, cheer them when they succeed, and encourage them when they don't. I mean besides Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa. Whether that means saying, "Good job," when you see them or just cheering from your seat, the players do appreciate it.

 

[robertearle]

Re: The attractions of women's hockey

Re: The attractions of women's hockey

My chief reason for continuing to follow the sport is that from a spectator's viewpoint it's much more interesting than the men's game: fast, but not out of control; physical, but not brutal; full of skating, passing, shooting and slick, not violent, fore- and backchecking. Much more fun than watching the Bruins, courageous muckers that they are.

A couple weeks ago, former Wisconsin and CC men's coach Jeff Sauer was doing TV commentary for the Wisconsin High School tournaments, and he said something along the lines of "I tell people all the time, if you want to learn proper body positioning, watch a good womens hockey team. Because they don't have body checking, because they can't make the 'big hit', they have to learn to get that same job done with only the positioning of their body. It teaches you better fundamentals."

 

[Hux]

I live near Ridder and was planning on going to the games with friends. The game sold out in advance and I was not able to get tickets. To
my surprise when I watched the games on-line I saw a lot of good seats we could have been sitting in. I wonder how many people were in
the same situation as us?

Unfortunately, many seats appeared "empty" because people prefer to stand along the concourse rail to sitting in their seats.

 

[ARM]

Re: Attendance at NCAA

Unfortunately, many seats appeared "empty" because people prefer to stand along the concourse rail to sitting in their seats.

Also, people had a tough time figuring out where their seat would be, if they even had one. General admission seats didn't have an assigned location, and there were entire sections reserved for visiting fan bases. Hockey fans aren't like theater goers where they will wander around the aisles looking for four seats. They'll just find a place to stand and try to see the game.

But, yeah, I agree with you, I prefer to stand along the rail.