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Topic: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Topic: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

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Kevin Finnegan
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Member Since: 2/4/2005
Location: Rockton, IL
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Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/29/2022 2:39:03 PM

I've always considered myself a bigger football fan than basketball in terms of the sport itself. In terms of following for OHIO, though, it was always pretty even. I personally have noticed within myself a sort of apathy towards the happenings of OHIO football over the last year whereas I have never been more engaged in the basketball team since I left campus.

While I know this is something many of us have experienced about the program recently, the numbers on this site are pretty eye-opening. There have always been more posts, and thus, more interest in the football board than the basketball board. However, the tide is turning, and it's happening pretty quickly.

Currently, the football board has had 9,493 different topics on the site compared to 7783 topics on the basketball page. The basketball page has only about 80% of the activity that the football page does.

However, since September 1, 2021 (encompassing a full season of both programs), the numbers tell a different story. It would probably be even more if I went back another year, where the football team didn't play much and the basketball team went to the NCAA tourney and won a game. Since that date, the football board has had postings on 243 different topics. The basketball page has had 334. That means the basketball board is now closer to 140% of the output as the football page.

Just as interestingly, the recruiting pages are even showing this. Football has far more positions to fill annually in recruiting, so it should dwarf that of the basketball page. Traditionally, it has. Football has 1,176 different topics over the time of the (updated) site, while the basketball recruiting forum has only 649. Basketball is only historically 55% of what the football recruiting forum is. Yet, keeping that same date of 9/1/2021, the basketball recruiting page has had posting on 50 different topics while the football page has only seen 43. Basketball, with far fewer spots, has 116% the output of the football recruiting page.

Is this a blip or is it the new normal? Are we collectively losing interest in our football team?

Pataskala
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/29/2022 2:59:36 PM

You'll probably find that most of the football posts during the past year dealt with the coach and not the games or the players. Exact opposite for b-ball.

I expect that if the football team's fortunes change, and especially if they don't, the tide will swing back toward football.

We will get by.
We will get by.
We will get by.
We will survive.

colobobcat66
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Location: Watching the bobcats run outside my window., CO
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/29/2022 3:02:29 PM

Ugh, winning makes a difference

GoCats105
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/29/2022 4:53:55 PM

Kevin Finnegan wrote:

Is this a blip or is it the new normal? Are we collectively losing interest in our football team?

As colo said, winning matters. Having the right coach matters and having juice in the program matters too. I also wonder if fan interest is waning because of the seemingly zero sum game that FBS football is at these levels and also the weeknight MACtion making season ticket buying essentially useless for some. I also don't know if Ohio as a school is fully committed to being a more successful program than what it is.

Last Edited: 3/29/2022 4:54:47 PM by GoCats105

OU_Country
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/29/2022 5:10:19 PM

Kevin Finnegan wrote:

Is this a blip or is it the new normal? Are we collectively losing interest in our football team?

Speaking only for myself, my interest in hoops dwarfs my interest in football. That applies both to Ohio, and college football/basketball collectively.

I've always said, if college basketball in Ohio had that perfect fall weather for tailgating, it could blow football out of the water in terms of interest.

Now, I fully acknowledge that I'm in the minority as general sports fans go, and that far more people love college football more than basketball. I'm OK with all of those folks being wrong. ;-)

FearLeon
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Member Since: 3/12/2005
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/29/2022 7:34:24 PM

Ohio Basketball>Ohio Football and it's not even close. Honestly, if Ohio dropped football or moved down a level it would not bother me one bit. I don't schedule my Saturday's around Ohio football, but I do everything I can to move mountains to watch every single Ohio basketball game.

#BleedGreen #TrentIsGOAT

D.A.
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Location: Georgetown, ME
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/29/2022 9:49:09 PM

Kevin Finnegan wrote:

However, since September 1, 2021 (encompassing a full season of both programs), the numbers tell a different story. It would probably be even more if I went back another year, where the football team didn't play much and the basketball team went to the NCAA tourney and won a game. Since that date, the football board has had postings on 243 different topics. The basketball page has had 334. That means the basketball board is now closer to 140% of the output as the football page.

Is this a blip or is it the new normal? Are we collectively losing interest in our football team?

Much of that can simply be explained by the number of games, 12 for football and 30+ for hoops. The tangential threads coming from the games themselves, more tournaments with more potential tangential threads from those tournaments...and OHIO FB not making the postseason. Proportionally, basketball should always have significantly more threads than football. 3x more...no...but just due to the game disparity it seems to be an explainable enomaly.

The Few, The Proud, The Bobcats!

And for the record, I hate tOSU, and Ricordati and Torgerson are DB's.

"This isn't just another walkover from the MAC." Kirk Herbstreit, another DB, on College Football Gameday

GraffZ06
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Location: Dayton, OH
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 12:15:44 AM

We have a football team?

Like, with uniforms and everything?

I thought they just let dudes from Ping run around in between the Marching 110 performances?

Who knew...

When's the last time our football program played a national televised game that directly had national championship implications for us?

For basketball that answer is March 22, 2021.

This is easy.

Last Edited: 3/30/2022 12:19:34 AM by GraffZ06

Kinggeorge4
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 7:24:45 AM

FearLeon wrote:

I'm the exact opposite. If basketball were to cease operations it wouldn't bother me at all. I only follow and attend games because it is OHIO. Didn't even watch March Madness except when a game ran over and was bumping a show I wanted to watch.

GO BOBCATS
GEORGE

Andrew Ruck
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 8:05:25 AM

I am a season ticket holder of both. Football is mostly just enjoying some fall outings to Athens and casually following them while basketball I obsess over thru the week. But I'm just not really into college football, it frustrates me in a lot of ways. I also struggle to truly retain and connect with the football roster. And for the family, 2 hours indoor on nice chairs is a lot easier to swing than 4 hours outdoors on bleachers.

This reminds me of a discussion I was in once where people ranked their interest by sport/league, like for me:

MLB
NCAA Basketball
NFL
PGA
NCAA Baseball
NCAA Football
Tennis
NHL
MLS
NBA

Last Edited: 3/30/2022 8:06:21 AM by Andrew Ruck

Andrew Ruck
B.B.A. 2003

CatsUp
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Member Since: 4/15/2019
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 8:37:19 AM

At least the football team linemen maintain a relatively straight line when that is their intent.

giacomo
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 8:43:09 AM

GraffZ06 wrote:

Hate to tell to but we will never have national championship implication games in football. Not really in basketball, but as long as you�re in the dance you can dream.

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 8:55:36 AM

I've always struggled to care about Ohio Football. I lived with a football player and we were super close, and even then I could only muster the energy for like a game and a half a year.

The reality for me is just that the stakes just aren't big enough. It's entirely unclear to me why I should care about beating Nevada in the Idaho Potato Bowl at 3pm on a Thursday before the Christmas Break even starts for most people. It's a glorified exhibition game.

We haven't won a MAC Championship in forever, play what is generally a pretty boring schedule, and play in front of small crowds on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It's just not a great product.

Our basketball program, on the other hand, is eligible for and regularly competes in a democratic, national championship tournament that many people consider the single best month of sports every year. It's responsible for classic moments, and makes obscure schools and players legends. I don't think the Potato Bowl can say that.

We're also just better at basketball. By a whole lot. I've been affiliated with OU since 2001. We've been relevant and competitive for basically that entire stretch. Even when we were at our worst in that stretch, we had first-team all conference players and were a tough team to play. We've also won multiple first-round tournament games, lost another very closely, and went to the Sweet 16. Just infinitely better from a fan perspective than finishing 3rd in the MAC and winning a bowl game to finish 8-5 or whatever.

Recovering Journalist
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Location: Cleveland, OH
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 8:57:34 AM

As much as the Power conferences control the narrative and scheduling (and ultimately success) in basketball, the P5 in football operate in an entirely different stratosphere. The G5 is basically in purgatory, where they can't compete for a national championship on the FBS or FCS level. Add the fact that Ohio right now is a terrible G5 program that will likely win very few games this season and it's hard to be interested. Throw in some CTE, dwindling youth participation and a dollop of icy midweek games and you can see why I stopped my season tickets five years ago.

Basketball is still fun, competitive and brain-injury free. And the teams in the MAC or MAAC still have a shot at a St. Peter's style run. Or at winning in December at a P5 school. P5 college football today is just the pros without official salaries and the whole G5 is just the Washington Generals.

bobcatsquared
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 9:24:48 AM

Andrew Ruck wrote:

This reminds me of a discussion I was in once where people ranked their interest by sport/league, like for me:

MLB
NCAA Basketball
NFL
PGA
NCAA Baseball
NCAA Football
Tennis
NHL
MLS
NBA

Maybe in need of it's own thread, but here goes:

NCAA basketball - Ohio/mid majors
NCAA football - Ohio/G5
MLS - Columbus Crew (dead last for first 40 years of my life)
MLB - Cincy Reds (top of the list during my youth)
NBA
NFL
NCAA baseball - Ohio

BillyTheCat
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 9:39:17 AM

I would like to see us drop all sports but men's basketball. Could you imagine the resources we could then focus on that sport? We could literally then move up to maybe a real conference and have the resources we need to be nationally relevant.

Deciduous Forest Cat
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Location: Ohio
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 9:43:22 AM

BillyTheCat wrote:

I assume this is more of your famous sarcasm?

OU_Country
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 10:17:18 AM

Recovering Journalist wrote:

I really appreciate the analogy here.

For me, I've said for years "Football is for tailgating". That was really the only reason I enjoyed coming to games. I like to build some BBQ to share with friends, and then host the tailgate. After that, I could do without the game almost entirely. My number one wish is that Ohio would allow people to buy the football parking passes separate from tickets. I really only want two tickets, and two parking passes.

GoCats105
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Location: Seattle, WA
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 1:49:29 PM

Recovering Journalist wrote:

Agree here. And this argument was cemented when the chuckleheads like Herbstreit and others at ESPN said things like "well Cincinnati got in so why don't you stop crying about it?" or "what's the next conspiracy theory" on why G5 teams can't get in. He knows how ridiculous that statement is. They all do. The College Football Playoff isn't run by the NCAA. It's run by ESPN and The Power Five. This isn't rocket science.

I still fully believe Oklahoma State would have jumped Cincinnati had they won the Big XII title over Baylor. It took a legitimately perfect scenario for the Bearcats to get in:

-Go unbeaten the previous regular season and play really well in a NY6 bowl game even in a loss.
-Schedule tough, including one team that has to be in the Top Ten at year-end (ND did their job)
-Go unbeaten again, and win most of your games pretty convincingly (which UC didn't do)
-At least 2, possibly 3 Power conference champions have to have at least one loss, possibly two.

This won't ever happen again. If it does I'll eat crow, but by then there will probably be an expanded Playoff and a separation between current P5 and G5.

Mark Lembright '85
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Location: Highland Heights, OH
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 6:35:05 PM

Kinggeorge4 wrote:

FearLeon wrote:

I�ll be the outlier too, KG the 4th. I do love Ohio B-ball, have March Madness T-shirts, etc., but I�m more of a football fan. I know Ohio has no shot for a National championship in football but I�m okay with that; Ohio in its 200 year plus history has never had the intent to try and win a National championship at the highest level and that�s okay. Why anyone would expect Ohio to be able to compete for a National football championship is beyond me; I mean we really don�t any devote any meaningful and relevant assets to it. So what, I still love football, day in and day out. Hell, my bucket list wish is to watch Ohio beat the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl. Yes I know it will never happen.

I would love to see Ohio reach the Elite 8 some day though�..

GoCats105
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 7:10:14 PM

Mark Lembright '85 wrote:

Kinggeorge4 wrote:

FearLeon wrote:

Ohio in its 200 year plus history has never had the intent to try and win a National championship at the highest level and that�s okay. Why anyone would expect Ohio to be able to compete for a National football championship is beyond me; I mean we really don�t any devote any meaningful and relevant assets to it.

I think this is where my hangup with football is at this level. I love college football. It's my favorite sport to watch just for the insane story lines and swings. Plus going to a gameday atmosphere on a fall Saturday is unmatched; and that includes college basketball IMO. I mean if someone asks me as to why college football is so fun, I'll just pull up the 2007 season and let them peruse at their leisure.

But if we're not "devoting meaningful or relevant assets" or are simply being "okay" with not competiting for championships, then what's the point? The point of any game is to win and be the best, fair to say? If we're not doing that then why are we here? I guess you could make the argument that we're providing athletic and academic opportunities for kids who otherwise may not be afforded that luxury. That's all well and good, but I hope those kids can run fast, tackle harder and put more points on the board than Kent State's or Northern Illinois' kids.

I still think back to the "Solich's School for Boise" Sports Illustrated article that came out and thinking: yeah that could be fun! But Ohio was never going to be that and I don't know that it ever have intended to be that, as Mark alluded to above. Football at these levels can be a dream: WMU and NIU's NY6 Bowls have proven that. But are those really much more exciting than a couple NCAA Tournament wins? They're more lucrative for the conference, that's for sure. But in my untrained eye on social media indicates that any time Ohio has made noise in the NCAA Tournament it's been a bigger deal than most else. Other than Ohio and Penn State fans, does anyone really remember us beating them in football? I know people remember DJ Cooper's name though.

I just don't know anymore man. I feel like we're destined to be on this dance floor forever unless one of two things happens: (1) major donations made to the school/AD or (2) major athletic reform by the NCAA.

Last Edited: 3/30/2022 7:16:12 PM by GoCats105

Mark Lembright '85
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 7:51:40 PM

I think I love the sport for just as it is, be it football or basketball. For me, in football the end goal is a MACC, with a bowl win to follow the cherry on the top.

Sometimes I think we overthink things. Let�s be honest-has Ohio ever won a National championship at the highest level in any sport, men�s or womens? Ever? And every year we know the odds of winning a National championship in anything are pretty much not going to happen, and in most of the sports it�s probably out of reach. But does that stop us from loving that sport and following the team? No. Imagine, Ohio beats Bowling Green at Homecoming in football on a beautiful October day in Athens (now THAT�S a pipe dream haha); is anyone saying to themselves �damn the game was not fun because Ohio won�t win the National championship against Alabama?�� H*** no. We enjoy the sport for what it is.

I get it, the frustrations of knowing that in football Ohio won�t win the championship. And I feel that way sometimes too. But that doesn�t stop me from enjoying the game for what it is. But I�m more of a football guy than I am hoops anyway, so take it for what it�s worth.

Last Edited: 3/30/2022 7:54:27 PM by Mark Lembright '85

mid70sbobcat
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 3/30/2022 11:11:36 PM

GraffZ06 wrote:

Glad to see you didn't major in Statistics or anything Quantatative.

osf777
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 4/3/2022 7:54:11 AM

I�ve always been more invested in the basketball teams even though I�m a college football fan. The truth is, Ohio football is a nice excuse to come to Athens in the fall and to watch the band. For most us who grew up in the state of Ohio, we know the vacuum that is Ohio State, and it is incomparable to Ohio and MAC football. In football you need to get top tier talent at almost every position to win championships, and that�s not what Ohio gets. Now with basketball, you really only need 2-3 talented players and a just good enough cast surrounding them to make some noise. In basketball just 1-2 years can make a difference in a program. In football it often takes 3-5 years to maybe build up just 1 special team (think about Iowa or Northwestern and their cycles). So all this to say, yes I�m all in on Ohio basketball, but I�m not investing heavily into these other sports. If they do win and have success in them though, that�s just a cherry on top.

oubobcatjohn
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RE: Bobcat basketball vs. football popularity currently

Posted: 4/3/2022 12:25:10 PM

Basketball has more winning tradition at Ohio. Rarely has football Been preseason favorite. We have been at the bottom of the Mac except for the solich years. Basketball with tournaments is exciting. Ohio no chance in football unless mac gets bid to playoff. Basketball is always a good coach from the ncaa tournament. Boals, groce, oshea and hunter all reached ncaa tournament. Football has not won mac since 1968.

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