Another post touched on this and got me thinking. When you go to a hs basketball game, what is the general attendance like? The few games I get to go to when not coaching (not including holiday tournaments) I would say many games are sparsely or evenly poorly attended, that includes games at Anderson Co where I live which I really find somewhat surprising. Now, of course a gym might be full or almost full for a big rivalry game (Collins game last year comes to mind for Anderson), but I have been to some games at different schools, both big and small schools and many times find the crowds severely lacking.

 

Someone noted in another thread, I think it was PP, that the Lexington schools in general have no school/team spirit. What do you see where you are?

 

I have said for a long time now that, on the hs level anyway, KY is a football state and surpassed basketball a while ago. There are pockets of places where that statement is not true of course, but I believe overall it is.

In my experience, it just depends on the game. But generally speaking I think attendance is average at best.

Another post touched on this and got me thinking. When you go to a hs basketball game, what is the general attendance like? The few games I get to go to when not coaching (not including holiday tournaments) I would say many games are sparsely or evenly poorly attended, that includes games at Anderson Co where I live which I really find somewhat surprising. Now, of course a gym might be full or almost full for a big rivalry game (Collins game last year comes to mind for Anderson), but I have been to some games at different schools, both big and small schools and many times find the crowds severely lacking.

 

Someone noted in another thread, I think it was PP, that the Lexington schools in general have no school/team spirit. What do you see where you are?

 

I have said for a long time now that, on the hs level anyway, KY is a football state and surpassed basketball a while ago. There are pockets of places where that statement is not true of course, but I believe overall it is.

 

 

I didn't make it to many Boyle games last year as my oldest son graduated in 2012. When he was there if the team was playing good then we normally would have a pretty decent crowd for Boyle County standards. The Danville and Lincoln County games would be packed to capacity and Garrard County was always an above average crowd as well. Friday night games always had the biggest crowds. Saturday night games and Tuesday night games..not so much. My youngest is now making his way onto the Boyle County scene so I'll have to revisit this when the season gets underway. When Boyle has played good or has a winning team people come to see them play and interest in the team is up. When they struggled it was just family and friends at the games. Rivalry games not included.

 

The few HS games I went to last year were normally packed with the exception of the showcase at LexCath and while the gym was at about 80% capacity for the Bryan Station/Henry Clay game it was still a pretty good atmosphere and lively crowd. The best non Sweet 16 crowd was the Ballard/Trinity game. By far. Being at a HS game in Louisville was awesome.

The few HS games I went to last year were normally packed and while the gym was at about 80% capacity for the Bryan Station/Henry Clay game it was still a pretty good atmosphere and lively crowd. The best non Sweet 16 crowd was the Ballard/Trinity game. By far. Being at a HS game in Louisville was awesome.

 

It's the exception, not the rule. Big-time rivalry games in Louisville are definitely great. I can't stress enough how great the crowds and students are for Trinity/St. Xavier, Trinity/Ballard, Ballard/Eastern and those types of games. Most regular season games are fairly disappointing from an attendance standpoint. I went to fair amount of games in the Seventh Region last year and a great many of them were fairly sparse.

It's the exception, not the rule. Big-time rivalry games in Louisville are definitely great. I can't stress enough how great the crowds and students are for Trinity/St. Xavier, Trinity/Ballard, Ballard/Eastern and those types of games. Most regular season games are fairly disappointing from an attendance standpoint. I went to fair amount of games in the Seventh Region last year and a great many of them were fairly sparse.

 

Well that sucks. My wife would divorce me if I lived in Louisville. I'd be at a different gym every night. She'd think I was cheating on her. :lol:

Well that sucks. My wife would divorce me if I lived in Louisville. I'd be at a different gym every night. She'd think I was cheating on her. :lol:

 

Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of fun gyms around Louisville, you just have to catch them on the right night.

 

If you can find them playing a big game against a rival or a top team, then Trinity, St. X, Ballard, Eastern, Male, Manual and Central all have great atmospheres in the Seventh. I wish I knew more about the best places to see games on the South and West Ends, but I can imagine that Butler, Fairdale and PRP are probably all good places to catch games.

From the games I've seen, outside of true rivalry games (when both teams are competitive), attendance is pretty sparse. And I don't think it has anything to do with football. I think we've moved into a different era than when many of us were growing up, when going to the football or basketball game was THE thing to do. Between jobs, boyfriends/girlfriends, driving around, the internet, gaming, and the coverage of sports on ESPN, etc....I think HS sports in general have taken a back, back, back seat for spectators.

From the games I've seen, outside of true rivalry games (when both teams are competitive), attendance is pretty sparse. And I don't think it has anything to do with football. I think we've moved into a different era than when many of us were growing up, when going to the football or basketball game was THE thing to do. Between jobs, boyfriends/girlfriends, driving around, the internet, gaming, and the coverage of sports on ESPN, etc....I think HS sports in general have taken a back, back, back seat for spectators.

 

I think you nailed it here. More options for entertainment and more places for high-school kids to go than ever before. Lots of other things for them to do.

The last two years I have taken my varsity team to a holiday tournament over in Cannalton, IN to play against some small public schools and private Christian schools. Have played the host school both years. When I asked the coach why they wait so late Saturday night to hold the consolation and championship games instead of doing it at noon or 1:00 and letting the teams get back home, he told me if he started that early no one from Cannalton would be there to watch. Well...almost no one is there to watch them anyway even with a later start time, very nice gym and almost no attendance. You could multiply their crowd by 10 and it would still be small. It just amazes me the apathy of high school "fans" and the community at large in some places. If I wasn't involved in coaching like PP said I would be in a different gym every night when not watching the local team.

If Warren Central is not playing Bowling Green, good luck getting Dragon "fans" to the game. I think some would be appalled at the support they get for a program that has been to the state tournament 9 of the last 12 years.

Another post touched on this and got me thinking. When you go to a hs basketball game, what is the general attendance like? The few games I get to go to when not coaching (not including holiday tournaments) I would say many games are sparsely or evenly poorly attended, that includes games at Anderson Co where I live which I really find somewhat surprising. Now, of course a gym might be full or almost full for a big rivalry game (Collins game last year comes to mind for Anderson), but I have been to some games at different schools, both big and small schools and many times find the crowds severely lacking.

 

Someone noted in another thread, I think it was PP, that the Lexington schools in general have no school/team spirit. What do you see where you are?

 

I have said for a long time now that, on the hs level anyway, KY is a football state and surpassed basketball a while ago. There are pockets of places where that statement is not true of course, but I believe overall it is.

 

 

One thing I will defend about the Lexington scene after witnessing it for a few years: the games that are intense are few and far between, but when you see one, you know it.

 

Some games I've witnessed in the area:

 

- Mason Co. v. Bryan Station @ Tates Creek: (Mr. Basketball classic with Darius Miller and Shelvin Mack going head-to-head in the season opener. It was an electric game. (Hopson played before it too).

 

- Scott Co. v. Bryan Station (district finals @ Bryan Station): Phares, Guyn, & co. (a fr. Manning?) against Mack, Terrell Combs (D1 football player who signed with Minnesota and is now a Wildcat... was just a road grater in the paint), and Station had some tenacious full-court pressure.

 

- Lexington Catholic v. Lafayette (1st Round of District Play @ Tates Creek): D'Angelo Yarbourgh, Jackson Davis, the Walkers, and Hagans win one of the most exciting high school games I've seen. One of the Lex Cath players broke the rim in warm-ups and the game was delayed, and the atmosphere during the game, after the crowd waited over an hour in a packed, stuffy gym just to see the game tip. Lafayette's students rushed the floor after the game came down to the wire.

 

- Bryan Station v. Henry Clay (2004-2005): Henry Clay was in the era of Boyd, Dunaway, Turnage, Moses, etc. and Station kept coming up short. I saw them play in the regular season @ Henry Clay, and the place was packed.

 

 

Moral of the story:

 

You can see some really good games in Lexington. I've sat in some gyms with maybe 30 or so others on a week night, when there isn't a huge crowd. There isn't a group in Lexington that just has the students support them unconditionally, I think this is because there are lots of things to do in Lexington that compete with the students' who don't participate's interest. But when the brightest lights are on, you can count on seeing an intense competition or else someone else may be getting embarrassed.

 

Could the turnout be better? Certainly. But being in the area means you get the opportunity to see one or two "showdowns" each year, and when the turnout is really there for a huge game, the atmosphere is as good or better than any other I've witnessed.

From the games I've seen, outside of true rivalry games (when both teams are competitive), attendance is pretty sparse. And I don't think it has anything to do with football. I think we've moved into a different era than when many of us were growing up, when going to the football or basketball game was THE thing to do. Between jobs, boyfriends/girlfriends, driving around, the internet, gaming, and the coverage of sports on ESPN, etc....I think HS sports in general have taken a back, back, back seat for spectators.

 

I think that the economy and the fact that people might have less to spend on tickets, concessions, etc. also plays a role; especially with games being moved to larger arenas with higher ticket prices.

I think Title IX has had some effect on attendance. First, games are now just about every day of the week somewhere. So instead of Tuesday and Friday and occasional Saturday the games can be any day. And maybe I don't go to A vs B game on Tuesday because I want to see X vs Y on Thursday. Second, maybe I take in a Girls game this week. Third, maybe both Boys and Girls are playing on the same day splitting the audience somewhat.

Add in TV or Internet broadcast of games and maybe I stay home to watch a game instead of going out in the weather and paying $5-$6 a game.

I think Title IX has had some effect on attendance. First, games are now just about every day of the week somewhere. So instead of Tuesday and Friday and occasional Saturday the games can be any day. And maybe I don't go to A vs B game on Tuesday because I want to see X vs Y on Thursday. Second, maybe I take in a Girls game this week. Third, maybe both Boys and Girls are playing on the same day splitting the audience somewhat.

Add in TV or Internet broadcast of games and maybe I stay home to watch a game instead of going out in the weather and paying $5-$6 a game.

 

Very good point. More crowds at the girls games are just inelastic when compared to boy's games, so financially, it ends up cutting into the budgets of both programs.

 

Not trying to be a hater, but you can't force people to watch girl's basketball. I appreciate good basketball, and I'll watch a good girl's game (and I've seen good girl's games), but I can't shake the intuition that new T-9 scheduling hurts both programs.

Pendleton County has a great fan base, and when they are putting a quality team on the court, they are there, home and away games. Campbell County is hot and cold. Me, I go to most all the Camels games. Go Camels!!!!