BC vs. UMASS..........Fan Interest

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RTL
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BC vs. UMASS..........Fan Interest

Post by RTL » Thu Mar 25, 2004 12:01 pm

Not sure if anyone caught the discussion on WEEI, Tuesday afternoon, but the topic centered around the fact that BC's NCAA Tournament television ratings were "LOWER" in "Boston" than they were "nationally". i.e. BC was less interesting to people Boston, than they were to the average watcher outside of Boston.

They took a beating from Glen Ordway and others on his show for not being a school or program that the average person can identify with. The theme was no one cares about BC!

Glen Ordway made an interesting point, that I hoped maybe Big East Commish Tranghese had heard............he said that "in his time in Boston, he can never remember a time when college basketball was as popular as when Calipari was here, and UMass was nationally ranked". He said "it was the only time that college basketball was a consistent topic of conversation on the radio and in the news".

Who says Boston isn't part of the UMass television market.
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Post by km109 » Thu Mar 25, 2004 12:09 pm

Interesting. My theory has always been that the Globe is heavily populated by overstuffed Eagles. They focus extensively on BC and as the leading media outlet in town it gives the appearance that everyone loves the boys on The Heights.

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Post by krkess » Thu Mar 25, 2004 12:56 pm

Good to hear Ordway say that, but I heard more talk about UMass on the FAN than on a consistent basis than I ever did on Ordway's show. Now the only college basketball talk is from Sarandis and it is confined pretty much to cheerleading for BC.

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Post by Kosty » Thu Mar 25, 2004 1:21 pm

Ordway is an ass. That whole show is nothing but guys screaming at each other. Thank god for The Zone. They have quiet, civilized conversations where people can actually get a word in edgewise and are not shouted down when they bring up an opposiing point. I flipped over to EEI last week during a commercial on 1510 and everyone in the studio was SCREAMING at Pete Sheppard because he dared to say that there are more people that care about the NCAA tourney than Ordway and somebody else said there were. After abotu 3 seconds of 3 grown men's voices coming out of my speakers at the same time, I had to change the channel. It's not enjoying to listen to that shit.

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Post by DS Bruce Robertson » Thu Mar 25, 2004 1:25 pm

WEEI is for idiots.
You know, say what you will about America, 13 bucks still gets you a hell of a lot of mice.

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Post by RTL » Thu Mar 25, 2004 1:42 pm

I couldn't agree any more with you guys. I usually refer to Ordway's show, not as "Sports Radio", but as "bad comedy radio". They seem to prefer insider humor to being serious about sports. They can spend up to an hour just being silly.

And as for interviews; you can go a month without hearing anyone interesting, because no one wants to go on such a silly show.

Providence actually has a pretty decent show on 790 The Score, Scott Cordishi (sp?). It aires the same time as the Big Show, and I usually listen to that. But if you are heading north on 95 (to Maine), you can get EEI almost all the way to Augusta.

Still, I think Ordway made a very vallid point. Fact is, college basketball was much more popular in this region when UMass was hot. Who can ever forget that BC vs. UMass game in the new Fleet Center.

I think UMass gets short-change too often on it's far reaching potential. When I heard Trangese say the Big East didn't need UMass, it hurt, but I thought he might be right. But in retrospect, I think UMass would be a serious step up from BC and Providence, two smaller, private, Catholic, schools, that most people can't relate to. The fact is, if you are a Mass Tax payer, you can stake a claim to UMass.
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Post by DS Bruce Robertson » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:17 pm

There are a number of reasons that college hoops were bigger on Sports radio in Boston then than now

#1. Boston pro sports SUCKED then. The Pats have won two of the last three Super Bowls and the Red Sox are as interesting as they have ever been in franchise history.
#2. UMass was much, much better than BC has ever been. If BC were #1 for 2 straight months, it's likely that interest in their season would increase.
#3. Sports talk radio was much, much better then with more intelligent and interesting callers. As jackasses like Pete Shephard and Fred Smerlas got more airtime, the average intellegence of the typical caller dropped and the tone of the shows became so much more argumentative. Since the rise of Jim Rome, sports talk in general has become sports yell and it has become about winning arguments rather than discussing issues and considering points. So stupider callers tend to focus on what they are good at: bitching about things they don't actually understand.
You know, say what you will about America, 13 bucks still gets you a hell of a lot of mice.

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Post by fbiman » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:25 pm

DS Bruce Robertson wrote:WEEI is for idiots.
Yeah, but you gotta admit the Whiner line is pretty friggin funny.
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Post by RTL » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:34 pm

I disagree, somewhat, The Red Sox will always be king, they are always popular, no matter what, and their season never conflicts with college hoops. The Pats were experiencing a re-birth or birth with Parcells, and although they hadn't won a Superbowl, they were very popular sports radio topic. The Celts did stink, and still stink. But the bottom line was; UMass was very good, and they were very popular. Besides golf, UMass basketball was the only thing that has ever drawn any of my Boston friends to Western Mass.

And look how big UMass was in Worcester. Those Centrum games were some for the best crowds I've ever seen.

The only question I have is; was it Calipari or was it UMass. Lets face it, he was/is a heck of a salesman. He sold the whole state on UMass basketball. If they ever again even sniff that type of success, would they be as popular?
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Post by Orange Julius » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:54 pm

If the program ever got to top 10 status again (never mind #1) and it was sustained over a couple years, fans would be back in droves. Western Mass fans are fickle, if nothing else. If the team is Top 40 and in the hunt for an NCAA the crowds would be much better but would not be sell outs but it'd depend on the opponent on that particular night. At least that's my opinion.

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Post by VoxPop » Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:06 pm

The big east was wrong to not to invite UMass. Many Big Easr fans I know and have talked about this with completely agree - close regional rivalries are what attracts attention and interest. Not to mention that a hot UMass team could really bring in boston metro ratings.

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Post by Orange Julius » Fri Mar 26, 2004 12:18 am

Yeah has really suffered over the years for not inviting Umass.

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Post by VoxPop » Fri Mar 26, 2004 12:43 am

Did you see the statement that the BE has "suffered" in my comment? Cuz I don't see that statement.

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Post by Orange Julius » Fri Mar 26, 2004 12:56 am

Read between the lines Vox - by saying the Big East was WRONG to not invite Umass implies that they made a mistake and by making a mistake they have suffered. I don;t think anyone in the Big East offices is thinking they made a mistake in not inviting Umass. They just haven;t Vox and your statement is pure BS.

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Post by Quinn » Fri Mar 26, 2004 8:33 am

DS Bruce Robertson wrote:WEEI is for idiots.
Agreed. Listening to the screatching crys of spider monkeys offers more entertainment.

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