Right On, Crainer.
These guys are really fun to watch; it's amazing how the energy is way up over the past 2 years, however, I'm very disappointed in the attendance so far. I just hope that the attendance amps up after this weekend when the football team secures a spot in a MAJOR bowl and the Big 6 schedule starts. Squeaky-shoe-ball has been solid for years and will always get their 17,000. It would be so cool to get at least 10,000 actual butts-in-the-seats at upcoming hockey games (I know it will be tough this time of year), and then a steady increase through the season end. I think the athletic dept is trying, but should try to do even more. It's pretty sad seeing a half full (I'm a glass half full guy) Kohl Center.
From a fan's perspective, we are 10+ years out from a consistent, winning program except for a couple good years. That means a 16 year old and under kid cannot remember success from Badger hockey. Some of us have grown up kids knowing nothing but a winning program, some of us have young kids who see (saw) nothing but a stagnant program. I have "made" hockey fans simply by taking them to games. I know it's not cheap these days, but take a "newby" to a game. Explain the game. I've used, "Other than walking into Lambeau Field on a sunny day, smelling and seeing that dark green turf, is there anything more stunning than The Bob Johnson rink just after resurfacing?"
Yep I'm a hockey nerd, geek, whatever you want to call it. We "old timers" talk about the good ol' days of Badger hockey. Let's ****ing try to get it back.
EDIT: Today I'm going to the luncheon put on by the Wisconsin Hockey Backers. I'm very curious to see how many will be in attendance.
I was hopeful for some better crowds earlier this year, but I was never expecting much. Even 5-10 years ago, attendance got better as the year went on.
As I've written many times before, a whole cycle of students went through UW without much - if any - exposure to what you (i.e. everyone reading this) think of as "college hockey" and "Wisconsin Badgers hockey." Remember, it's not like if the football or basketball team is garbage for a long time. College hockey doesn't have the same place in American sports, which is how a legitimately elite team (2013-14) went unnoticed by most sports fans - including a decent amount of hockey fans - on and around campus.
This really is like building a new program, because if they just said, "hey, we're back," the response would be "who are you?"
It was good to see local media make an immediate increase in coverage of UW hockey. Even the State Journal bringing on Milewski and FS-Wisconsin scheduling non-simulcast games again were shocking, in a good way.
What you said about taking a newbie to a game is obviously critical. It's how you get a program started (which is how we have to treat it). It turns UW Hockey from something someone is vaguely aware of into something they've seen in person. It becomes a "thing" (that's the technical term in both psychology and marketing) in their view of sports. Obviously, the more people there, the better the game's atmosphere. Even in the student section, where it fills row-by-row, seeing a full arena makes UW hockey present itself as a much bigger and more significant "thing."
I often stand near fans who are obviously new, and seeing their reactions to everything - particularly the silly things - is fantastic. It reminds me of getting my first impressions as a freshman. (Obviously, the loud/passionate things make an impact, but they don't yield funny reactions.
) That spirit is still there, but we need to slowly get more people into it. Realistically, if a big jump in enthusiasm was going to happen this year, it would be next semester. It's tough to remember that sports fans, in general, have no clue how great UW hockey can be. Heck, even at games with the worst attendance, it makes an impression.
Now, would the "old people" please stand UP when we ask for it? And at a bare minimum, yell "let's go red" and help Phil with "we want more!"
