National Outlook on Bama Basketball

[CrimsonEyeshade]

Side walk alums? That just baffles me...

Anyway, Bama is a football school like Kentucky, Carolina is basketball school. Let's make that clear. However we are in a bad spell right now. I think Grant is changing that. It is our culture though that we are football first and rightfully so, it drives the whole machine. I do wish we were in the days of Horry, Sprewell, Caffey and others. Maybe a lil bit of Hollywood Robinson even, but we have to win AND go dancing. It's gonna take time and we need CAG to stick around for that. National perception doesn't bother me much but Brando himself knows NOTHING about basketball. He just needs to stick to his two minute halftime show. Bama is gonna be ok though. Recruiting has gone well and basketball has great model to follow in its football program of how things are.


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Ohio State is a football school. Texas is a football school. But one sport doesn't have to block out the sun.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I think the fans supported the team very well through the years except for the latter parts of both the Hobbs and Gottfried regimes. Perhaps that's when being a football school first swings into play. It's true that UK fans will pack the house in their rare back periods, but that is indeed because they're a BB school first...

 

[CrimsonProf]

Side walk alums? That just baffles me...

Anyway, Bama is a football school like Kentucky, Carolina is basketball school. Let's make that clear. However we are in a bad spell right now. I think Grant is changing that. It is our culture though that we are football first and rightfully so, it drives the whole machine. I do wish we were in the days of Horry, Sprewell, Caffey and others. Maybe a lil bit of Hollywood Robinson even, but we have to win AND go dancing. It's gonna take time and we need CAG to stick around for that. National perception doesn't bother me much but Brando himself knows NOTHING about basketball. He just needs to stick to his two minute halftime show. Bama is gonna be ok though. Recruiting has gone well and basketball has great model to follow in its football program of how things are.


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Yep; sidewalk alums. Tuscaloosa is full of them. It's also full of UA graduates, mostly locals, who don't give a damn for the University so long as the football is winning.

We can come up with a thousand different excuses, but there's no reason that UA basketball can't receive as much supports as basketball gets from Texas, Ohio State, West Virginia, etc. Truth is that support is going to have to consistently come from the students and Tuscaloosans. I'm not holding my breath.

 

[CrimsonProf]

We've had winners before and often, and the problem always crops up. I'm no fan of Brando, but he's been to Coleman. He knows the deal.

If I recall, after the Elite 8 run, it took until January for Coleman to be 3/4 full.

 

[BamaMTA06]

Side walk alums? That just baffles me...

Anyway, Bama is a football school like Kentucky, Carolina is basketball school. Let's make that clear. However we are in a bad spell right now. I think Grant is changing that. It is our culture though that we are football first and rightfully so, it drives the whole machine. I do wish we were in the days of Horry, Sprewell, Caffey and others. Maybe a lil bit of Hollywood Robinson even, but we have to win AND go dancing. It's gonna take time and we need CAG to stick around for that. National perception doesn't bother me much but Brando himself knows NOTHING about basketball. He just needs to stick to his two minute halftime show. Bama is gonna be ok though. Recruiting has gone well and basketball has great model to follow in its football program of how things are.


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We are a football school first, fine. Please don't complain about Coach Grant not being able to recruit when the top talent decides to go to a basketball school and play in front of a packed house instead of coming to Bama. It's kind of embarassing to host recruits in empty gyms. Recruits never mention the atmosphere in recruiting articles when talking Alabama basketball. That is a problem.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Yep; sidewalk alums. Tuscaloosa is full of them. It's also full of UA graduates, mostly locals, who don't give a damn for the University so long as the football is winning.

We can come up with a thousand different excuses, but there's no reason that UA basketball can't receive as much supports as basketball gets from Texas, Ohio State, West Virginia, etc. Truth is that support is going to have to consistently come from the students and Tuscaloosans. I'm not holding my breath.

In the case of Texas and OSU, you're talking about a student body much, much bigger than Bama, and I'll bet that the proportion of basketball seats to students is skewed considerably in favor of bigger crowds. Also, there's a lot more population within an easy driving radius of each of those schools. You can try to dismiss those factors, but they are there. As for WVU, I've always thought of them as a basketball school which has managed to develop a decent football program. I heard of Jerry West a long time before I heard of WVU football...

 

[CrimsonNagus]

Most Bama fans who show up for the games know basketball and care about the team.

We're not talking about the Bama fans that show up for the games, we're talking about the ones who do not. I'm sorry but I think Brando has a point as well. Look, I know there are plenty of Bama basketball fans but, I'd bet that the majority of Bama fans don't care much for basketball. Let me put it this way, I know plenty of Bama fans here in Montgomery but I don't know any that watch the Bama/Barn game Tuesday night. I know because I tried to talk about the game and most responded with something like "it's basketball, who cares."

I love basketball and I know plenty on this board love basketball but, don't sit hear and try and convince me that the majority of Bama fans love basketball because it's not true. Of course, if Bama ever wins a national title in basketball, even the fans who don't love basketball would buy the t-shirt. It doesn't mean they now love basketball. I lived in Orlando win the Bucs won the Super Bowl, didn't watch a single Bucs game until the SB, but I bought a championship t-shirt. I still wear it to this day but, it doesn't mean I'm a Bucs fan.

More Bama fans will sit in front of the TV and watch a high school teenager sign a letter of intent to play football then will watch a basketball game but, you guys are trying to convince me that the majority also love basketball. Some of you hate Brando so much that you refuse to admitt it when he occasionally has a valid argument.

Hey, it could be worse, it could be as bad as Auburn basketball support. There basketball TV commercials advertise the new arena more then the team.

 

[CrimsonProf]

In the case of Texas and OSU, you're talking about a student body much, much bigger than Bama, and I'll bet that the proportion of basketball seats to students is skewed considerably in favor of bigger crowds. Also, there's a lot more population within an easy driving radius of each of those schools. You can try to dismiss those factors, but they are there. As for WVU, I've always thought of them as a basketball school which has managed to develop a decent football program. I heard of Jerry West a long time before I heard of WVU football...

Solid points about Austin and Columbus. I hope with expanded enrollment, things will change. It is interesting how the community, with all of its fans and alums, feels sort of blah about the whole thing.

 

[Crimson1967]

Let me put it this way, I know plenty of Bama fans here in Montgomery but I don't know any that watch the Bama/Barn game Tuesday night. I know because I tried to talk about the game and most responded with something like "it's basketball, who cares."

I was in Barnville for work this week but did not go to the game. I actually was not aware the game was being played Tuesday night until I was driving back to the hotel after work. I decided not to go because I was tired and didn't feel like showering, getting dressed and going over there. I also assumed the game would be a sellout or close to it and didn't want to drive over there and not get a ticket. If I'd known about the game ahead of time, I might have mentally prepared myself for it and gone.

I think the big problem drawing crowds is that people don't want to have to drive a long way on a week night and get home late and be ready for work the next day.

I love basketball and I know plenty on this board love basketball but, don't sit hear and try and convince me that the majority of Bama fans love basketball because it's not true. Of course, if Bama ever wins a national title in basketball, even the fans who don't love basketball would buy the t-shirt. It doesn't mean they now love basketball. I lived in Orlando win the Bucs won the Super Bowl, didn't watch a single Bucs game until the SB, but I bought a championship t-shirt. I still wear it to this day but, it doesn't mean I'm a Bucs fan.

Not really much of a basketball fan myself. This is a football state and that's the way it is. Yes, support goes up if the team does well, but that's true in anything, even football.

Hey, it could be worse, it could be as bad as Auburn basketball support. There basketball TV commercials advertise the new arena more then the team.

Or how about support at the Extension Center? Basketball is supposed to be their main sport, but they can't fill up an arena 2/3 the size of ours. They did not sell out the game after Gene Bartow died when they were playing Memphis, their biggest rival, in a game that had been preplanned as a fundraiser for cancer research. And they claim an on campus football stadium will boost their attendance?