Monday, January 24, 2011
Last weekend, I spent 12 hours in a production truck at the UMKC men and women’s basketball doubleheader. While it was a very valuable experience — learning the magic buttons that make sporting events go on air — spending my Saturday with a bunch of middle-aged men was not exactly what I wanted to do, especially with the KU game on.
The UMKC atmosphere was very interesting. It had a wide range of fans: from students to scraggly-looking cowboys with snakeskin boots to Sports Illustrated writer Joe Posnanski. Swinney Recreation Center is a nice place to catch a game, and UMKC has some players who are very fun to watch,like Jay Couisnard and Spencer Johnson. However, something was missing. As I sat there in the freezing production truck watching the game, I didn’t feel like I was watching a college basketball game. When the scoreboard went out, I asked the guy next to me why it wasn’t working. He replied, “Well, this isn’t Allen Fieldhouse.”
He was right.
I think KU students sometimes forget just how special our home for basketball is. Swinney doesn’t seat more than 1,500 people and is rarely full, whereas the fieldhouse officially seats 16,300, and is almost always filled to the brim with students and alumni. KU students wait outside for hours for their chance to get a good seat, while UMKC students can mosey in halfway through the game and still find front row seats. For about $100 a year, UMKC students get to watch their team play while KU students would pay $100 to watch one game. KU’s games air on national TV on a weekly basis while UMKC’s next TV game isn’t until Feb. 10.
KU basketball may be feeling downbeat after losing to the Longhorns at our beloved fieldhouse, but I can guarantee that the next home game will be packed and the students will still be as exuberant as ever. I still get chills before our players’ names are called and when the KU video is shown before tipoff. I think every KU student knows Allen Fieldhouse is a special place, but I think that if they sat through a game at another school, they would be reminded just how unique it really is.
— Edited by Erin Wilbert
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Comments
Brew: Phog experience is one of a kind
K.U.'s students are among the most passionate basketball fans in the world. So, why are they shoe-horned into the end zones of Allen Field House?
"Camping for tickets" might be a time-honored tradition, but why is that necessary? Other schools honor their students with prime seats based on seniority (seniors get better seats than juniors, etc.)
While the Allen Field House crowd might be the most knowledgable in college basketball, it's not as loud as several other Big-12 spots, but, why should it be? It's certainly the OLDEST crowd in the Big-12, and college-aged kids simply make more noise than folks in their 60's and 70's to watch a game,
And, speaking of age, what's wrong with hanging out with middle-aged men?
Brew: Phog experience is one of a kind
Nice story!
Brew: Phog experience is one of a kind
Well...isn't this comparing apples and oranges? UMKC vs. KU?
If you compare Phog Allen's atmosphere to a place like Gallagher-Iba at Oklahoma State, they are comparable. Some might even argue for Gallagher-Iba.
Comparing the atmospheres at UMKC and KU in basketball is like comparing Memorial Stadium in Nebraska and Coughlin-Alumni Stadium at South Dakota State on game day.
Brew: Phog experience is one of a kind
TJ, no one camps for tickets, they camp for seats. If you have a ticket, you are almost certainly guaranteed (there have been exceptions in the past) entry to the game. Camping for seats is merely waiting in line to get in, but it's spread out over several days.
Brew: Phog experience is one of a kind
TJ...http://www.kuathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/110510aaa.html
Not only is Allen Fieldhouse the loudest in the Big 12, it is the loudest in the country. You couldn't have been more wrong! KU students, having to pay only $10 a game, get a chance at excellent seats behind the goals, and going up near the KU bench. Comparable seating would cost one hundreds or thousands of dollars if not a student.
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