Mike Mutnansky of New Hampshire's sports talk radio show, The Hometeam, called out UNH student fans today. During his 3-6pm show on WGAM 900 & 1250 Mutnansky was discussing the huge win for the men's basketball team over heavily the favored Vermont last night. After praising the team's effort and the large crowd (over 2,300) he went on to rip the student section for leaving the game early. I was unable to attend the game due to a meeting, but he described how most of the student section left with several minutes remaining on the game clock. I follow the show on twitter and I always try and listen when they are going to discuss UNH sports. As a UNH blogger and sports fan I felt the need to send them this tweet "Glad to hear you get on the student section! Hope we don't turn into BC superfrauds... Attitude on campus: not hockey..." In a tweet back to me he wrote "Was there any talk about in on campus? I could not believe people were streaming out of there up big late... crazy." They then discussed my tweet on air and even said "UNHblog" so I'm pretty much famous.
Anyways, I think the Hometeam nailed it on the head while saying that students disrespected the team by walking out on what may have been the biggest regular season win under coach Bill Herrion. When it comes to UNH basketball I think that students think the team has something to prove. I think the team made that statement in last year's America East tournament and again last night with a big win. The game was on NESN, they gave out free shirts and the crowd was big. But leaving early is completely disrespectful. Most UNH athletic fans really only attend hockey games, and maybe some football. That's it. I wouldn't call that a true fan. That is because the hockey team is not only a national contender (although maybe not with Umile), but they also play national contenders throughout the season. Usually, UNH hockey doesn't need to win the Hockey East tournament to play in the national tournament. That isn't the case with the basketball team. They are never going to get an at large bid to march madness. That is why every America East game is huge, because the higher seed they get for the tournament, the better chance they have to go dancing. So students, show some respect and support to the basketball team. They may be under .500 but last year they got hot down the stretch. Last night they proved that when they are shooting well there aren't any teams in America East who can beat them.
Sidenote: UNH and UMass will play two football games in the next two years at the Patriots' Gillette Stadium. Hopefully we can get a decent UNH crowd to travel for that game. Although, if the state or school is funding this, I think it could be a mistake. I would much rather see Cowell Stadium get renovated, than UNH have to pay to play at Gillette. UNH's largest crowd last year was 14,000 when we hosted Villanova, but Cowell only holds around 8,000. They count tailgaters in attendance, as well as those walking around and such. I would like to know what the amount is, and who is paying it, for UNH to play at Gillette and if the school gets any of the revenue. Depending on the crowd size, UNH could easily loose money on these games, hopefully that isn't the case.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
I'd walk out on a basketball team that's winning a game if they are inferior to Umaine... which UNH is... so good call by those in attendance, don't pretend to be fans just because you beat UVM...
ReplyDeleteI went yesterday, mainly for the free t-shirt, but it was an amazing game with great dunks by Tyrone Conley. It was packed for the first part, but at halftime tons of people left and there was plenty of space for us. I'll admit, my friends and I left before the final buzzer, but there was 1:30 left in the game and it had just become a game of fouls with the score well-decided. I can see what Mutnansky's saying, however. It's fucked up to just see a wave of people leaving while the game is still being played. After seeing yesterday's game, however, I'll definitely try to catch a couple more home games when I don't have class.
ReplyDeleteThe win was a big step for UNH basketball. Here's what I think needs to happen before UNH Basketball reaches the stardom of UNH Hockey. UNH needs to consistently field great talent year after year. With strong wins like UVM and other AE teams, UNH will get some attention. Once we get talent going, fans will start showing up.
ReplyDeleteThe next step is to move the games of the fieldhouse and into the Whit. With more fans and a bigger area for big market and media, UNH will get more coverage on its games and attract other big schools, possibly a team in the Big East if we ever get to that point. Having games in the Whit makes it more marketable.
With all these, we should have the making of a UNH basketball team with a strong shot of grabbing the AE tourny bid. Alot has to happen, I just don't see it happening during our time here at UNH
D.R. I agree with you completely. I remember they used to have the high school basketball championships at the Whit and it was really cool. That alone would attract a bigger crowd, and even better players. Who wants to play in front on 500 a game when it could be 2,500 a night? (Whit holds 6,000 I think but they would be lucky to get half that). I doubt it will ever reach the level of our hockey team, but UNH basketball has the potential turn into a decent small conference school. Herrion has done a good job, before him the program was very weak. It's going to take another 3-5 years for UNH to become a premier AE team, but all you need to do is get hot in the tourny.
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