Cameron Indoor Stadium is a great place to watch a ball game, right? And Dukies are the best fans in the country, no? Well, that’s what all the experts say:
“It is a completely fun, hot, loud and wonderful place to watch a game, or, most likely, a Duke victory.” – Dan Wetzel, SportsLine.com
“The student crowd, known as the ‘Cameron Crazies’, are mind blowing with their well-embedded actions and chants for all 40 minutes of the game.” – Bob Johnson, EzineArticles
Then explain why the university has set up a new reservation system to encourage fans to come to games. It sure isn’t because they don’t have a winner in Raleigh-Durham – the Blue Devils make a run deep into the NCAA Tournament almost every year.
Last year’s 22-11 finish was a marked disappointment for spoiled Blue Devils fans. The “poor” performance resulted in playing more than half of their home games in front of empty seats in student sections.
While the “Crazies” set up tents to guarantee front row seats for critical ACC showdowns, several games each season are sparsely attended by the home faithful – a fact that Duke senior line monitor Roberto Bazzani considers “pathetic.”
“I get letters from people saying, ‘How can I get in?’ I said, ‘Well, just come,’” legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski told ESPN.
1,200 out of the university’s 6,200 undergraduates can attend games for free. I would think students would be rearing to go after watching their atrocious football squad in the fall (1-10 so far this season).
The system allows students to reserve seats online three days before most games. As long as they show up an hour before game time, the students’ seats are reserved.
I can’t imagine the Duke Administration thought it would come to this. When you think about a college basketball national powerhouse and a historical arena, it doesn’t take long for the “Cameron Experience” to come to mind.
Somebody in the school’s PR department has worked overtime to ensure that people only hear about the good times at Duke – and this storied program has had plenty of them.
Of course, writers and TV audiences only see games like the North Carolina-Duke blockbusters that define this classic venue, anyway.
1 comment:
Interesting. I hadn't heard of Duke needing to do this. I wonder what's worse PR wise: Having to campaign to increase student attendance or having to turn down faithful student fans because of too much popularity.
At the University of Kansas, students form 35 person "teams" to spend frigid nights outside Allen Field House waiting to get into games. Only one representative from the 35 person team must be in line at a time.
With students footing the bill for tickets, whether it's included in incidental fees or through a ticket package program, I think it is essential for universities to rank students high on the priority list. Sure, an athletic department doesn't gain as much revenue this way, but the loyalty found in students is uncanny.
I wonder how the Ducks will transform their ticketing system this summer and how the students will respond.
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