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 Posted: Wed 19:14, 21 Aug 2013 Post subject: Dukes success not matched-spun3 |
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Dukes success not matched
I wrote this column for today's Duquesne Duke,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], but it's pretty relevant to what I write here so I decided to re-post it. You can get to the original article here.
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One of the cardinal rules for athletes is pretty straightforward: never insult the fans. Without the fans, organized sports as we know them do not exist. In the pros, the fans buy your jersey, get tickets for your games and support you through nearly anything. Rarely will you hear an athlete say anything negative about his or her fan base.
I am no such athlete. But what I lack in discernible physical skills I make up for in knowledge of the game. Palumbo Center sufficiently at home games for the men's team. My friends and I, who had attended all but a handful of those home games up to that point in our college lives relayed the message of that blog to anyone who would listen.
We hoped that Dunlap's post would be circulated amongst Dukes fans,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and it started to; the Crew,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Duquesne's official athletics fan club, sent a message to its constituents with a link to the article and a cry to prove Dunlap wrong. Duquesne fans responded to a degree - attendance at the Palumbo center after Dunlap's blog postcreased by nearly 1,000 per game.
Nevertheless, that was still lower than the average attendance of Saint Bonaventure, a team not nearly as good as the Dukes last year,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and a team that actually found it acceptable to storm the court after beating the men this weekend, even though the Dukes are unranked,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and the teams play each other twice every season.
But "unranked" doesn't mean "untalented," and even after the loss, the men's team still received a vote in the AP Top 25 poll,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a sign that a berth in this year's national tournament may not be as implausible as some think. Yet even with a spike in attendance following the team's win over No. 19 Temple, the numbers still rank behind the Bonnies, who haven't been particularly competitive since the tail end of the Clinton administration.
Furthermore - and I don't have proof for this outside of my own two eyes - I would venture a guess that too many of those in attendance are alumni. Not to discount the importance of alumni presence at these games, but too much of the wooden bleachers,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], which act as the student section, is visible come tip-off. And no amount of gigantic cutouts of Ron Everhart or Troy Polamalu's head, as cool as they are,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], can cover that up.
We haven't even mentioned the women's team, who has only seen a crowd of more than 1,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych],000 at home three times this year,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], despite being a near lock for the national tournament. And we haven't discussed how the crowds at the Consol Energy Center games have been just about even, if not more in favor of the opponent,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], excluding a very nice turnout for the Pitt game.
Not to sound like the official mouthpiece of Duquesne athletics,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], but the games are free and the Palumbo Center is literally right on campus. With no disrespect to other campus activities,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], very little can compete with going to see a Division I basketball team for free at a building less than a two-minute walk from the dorms.
Simply because the program isn't of Pitt's caliber doesn't mean the Dukes aren't good. But that's the standard all college teams in Pittsburgh continue to be held to, and quite frankly,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], it's unfair. Sports fans rip bandwagoners all the time; why is it any different for college sports?
So I challenge you, Duquesne,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], to a test. This Sunday, the men's team takes on Xavier, a perennial power in the Atlantic 10, at the Consol, Pittsburgh's palace of an arena. Only this year, the showdown will break a tie between the two teams for first place in the conference.
There's no football and no hockey this coming Sunday. Come to the game. Watch the team. See for yourself that this team is for real. If they don't live up to your expectations, you don't have to go again. But keep an open mind, because I believe they will live up to expectations on Sunday.
And it won't cost you a dime. Just two hours of your time - and, if you want to fit in, bring a red and blue spandex suit. It'll make more sense when you get there.
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