Re: WISCONSIN Hockey Vol. XXIV - Craziest Season Of All Time
Thanks for the update......
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While eating dinner, I was watching the February BB game that UW won in OT over Michigan. I rarely watch BB live; never was a BB guy (I don't know a "point guard" from "Inspiration Point"). I was so ****ing jealous of the Kohl Center atmosphere. It sounded rockin' loud.
Something has to give. What's it going to take to get back to those deafening days at the Coliseum and the Kohl Center? Better recruits? Change of system? The boys are playing better since Penn St., but one bad game can end it all.
How does Rico continue to do it?
Don't be too jealous. As a basketball season ticket holder, I can assure you that Badger hockey atmosphere in the past 2 season greatly outdoes Badger basketball atmosphere in that same time. The athletic department has come up with rewards systems for student season ticket holders to attend games. They've tried splitting and unifying ticket packages (last year they split it into 2 packages, this year just one). This year, we've been lucky to have such close games at home. Several home basketball games this year out-did every single one last year. The reputation (among national college basketball commentators) of the Grateful Red and the basketball fan base as a whole is fulfilled at the very best games. Last year, the only 2 games when the student section went up into the 200 level (keep in mind one of the half-season packages sold out, so that goes up to the back of the 300s) were the Ohio State game and senior day against Illinois. The only time it was full was against OSU, and it's because it was an event that even the most fair-weathered fans would show up for. This is very important. The student section is quite tame for most games. Last year's game against the Gophers was comparable to a random out-of-conference game. This year's was insane. So it fluctuates. Even in the game against Virginia early in the year, the only big home matchup before winter break, the crowd energy wasn't that great despite a close game. That Michigan game was the most intense atmosphere I've experienced in the Kohl Center, but after that there are plenty of hockey games that beat it. And this is only in the past 2 seasons! (We all know what that means with regards to the hockey crowds...) A large part of that evaluation was Brust's game-tying shot. That was special. Even in pretty good games, fans can seem afraid to speak up. I've been at volleyball games with a more intense and fun atmosphere than plenty of men's basketball games.
I've read plenty of non-Badgers-fans online greatly praise the atmosphere at Badgers games from a few years ago. Even games over the last 2 years have had incredible atmosphere. In order to get it back, it really just comes down to winning and attendance. Take 20 hypothetical fans and spread them out in a section. They probably won't be that energetic. If you take those same 20 fans and put them in a packed section, they will bring more energy into the building, even if they are the exact same people. It's just natural. Also, you need something to cheer about. Saturday night at the Coliseum, one of my favorite moments of the game was when the Badgers kept pushing and pushing in the offensive zone, not letting up, and not letting the Huskies get down the ice. The fans,
including all the non-student fans, started making all kinds of noise in encouragement. There's no law that says you can't cheer until a goal is scored.
I can't speak for the areas outside the student section. It's hard to tell when I'm surrounded by the students, at the Kohl Center at least. But I can say this - If I yell "let's go red!" people will join in in full force at the hockey games. At the basketball games, it will take more effort to get half the students around you to join. It just doesn't feel the same. The home men's hockey opener had incredible energy, despite terrible attendance.
I really didn't mean to write that much, but I'm just trying to accurately describe this. I certainly don't mean to bash our basketball fans. I'm one of them. The reason I said all that was to show that there isn't something more in the basketball crowd than the hockey crowd other than numbers.
Neither the hockey nor basketball student ticket packages sold out this year, to the best of my knowledge. But that just means there aren't people far away that I can't see anyway. For most of you, that means the crowd is noticeably thin.
That makes a big difference. It appears that our cries for a better team has been at least partly answered already. All it takes for the hockey crowds to get back to where they were and should be is more people there. I really believe it. Even from just last year, I have some great memories of incredible atmospheres at games. All these fans didn't just vanish for good. As I've said before, I believe a lot of this has to do with how much enthusiasm is drummed up by the athletic department itself.
I would love nothing more than to return to our insufferable gloating. 
