RAC atmosphere thoughts

[bac2therac]

again I am from 88-93 so while not a true old timer that can talk about how it was in the late 70s and early 80s, my era had RU had a plethora of charged loud atmospheres. I mean some of them truly insane..PSU, UNLV, SHU, Missouri, Temple. The RAC then revived itself under Bannon and Waters and many of those crowds approached just under the level of energy and excitement of the games I mentioned.

Certainly tonights game was packed, albeit I saw some empties, student section full and energized, playing a top 15 team toe to toe for much of the game, yet something just isnt right. Some will say the RAC was back tonight but I was disappointed. Not sure it will ever be back given how things are done today. Maybe its the way the scoreboard music now just takes over everything in leading the excitement. In the olds days it was the crowd that organically created the buzz and excitement so you couldnt think or hear your friend next to you. Now we inundated with all kinds of so called music to pump the student section up and it certainly does its job. the student seem like trained lap dogs for certain songs to go crazy but call me crazy...where are the cheers..where is the RU chant, where is the Lets Go Rutgers, where is the bells must ring...seemed like they are being stifled for an artificial atmosphere. I know that some younger people will disagree with me but tonight there was only ONE RU chant,...are you kidding me. The band gets less and less time and in the college game they should be leading the charge. I will take criticism for this but how about less shitty dance music and more RU cheers and band playing. Do the students even know how to cheer or have they decided they will do it their way now. Actually its not their choice, its the DJ and scoreboard operators predictably playing all the song is similar sequence. You almost know what song will come when...bahhhh get off my lawn kids.

I just think the RAC can be so much more so while its better than the Jordan years, its nowhere near what it used to be in terms of trying to get loud during a big game

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

I agree BAC, wasnt raucous. Totally agree. Fans never really got into it for a sustained period

 

[shields]

Missed too many shots.

 

[Unionst]

I thought the student section had a great first half but there does seem to be a disconnect to everyone else. Maybe it’s the lack of traditional stuff like the RU chant. And has the “”Defense” chant entirely disappeared?

 

[Degaz-RU]

Used to love when Cheesehead would stand up near the end of a timeout and yell toward the student section “Are you readeeeeeeee?!”

Gimme an R! (RRRRRRRR!)

Gimme a U! (UUUUUUU!!!!)

Gimme a T! (TEEEEEEEEE!)

Gimme an G! (GEEEEEEEEE!)

Gimme an E! (EEEEEEEEE!)

Gimme an R! (RRRRRRRRRR!)

Gimme an S! (SSSSSSSSSSS!)

What’s that spell?! (RUTGERS!)

Louder! (RUTGERS!!!!!!)

Let’s go Rutgers! (Clap clap clap clap clap)

Let’s go Rutgers! (Clap clap clap clap cap)

 

[CollegeAve]

Besides the first 4 minutes and the 6 point play series, there was little to spark the crowd. Otherwise there would have been pleanty of RU chants.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Besides the first 4 minutes and the 6 point play series, there was little to spark the crowd. Otherwise there would have been pleanty of RU chants.

The shaq put back dunk had the place jumpin. The BS issa foul 30 feet from the play, the players couldnt even hear the whistle

 

[bac2therac]

Used to love when Cheesehead would stand up near the end of a timeout and yell toward the student section “Are you readeeeeeeee?!”

Gimme an R! (RRRRRRRR!)

Gimme a U! (UUUUUUU!!!!)

Gimme a T! (TEEEEEEEEE!)

Gimme an G! (GEEEEEEEEE!)

Gimme an E! (EEEEEEEEE!)

Gimme an R! (RRRRRRRRRR!)

Gimme an S! (SSSSSSSSSSS!)

What’s that spell?! (RUTGERS!)

Louder! (RUTGERS!!!!!!)

Let’s go Rutgers! (Clap clap clap clap clap)

Let’s go Rutgers! (Clap clap clap clap cap)

that was a cheer

also the unga bunga guy

just different times now

and a big issue tonight like in every game is that every first timeout the atmosphere is destroyed because they have to bring someone out to honor and Hobbs is out there..its the absolute worst time to do something like that, you want to use that first timeout to keep the excitement going not to end it

 

[bac2therac]

The shaq put back dunk had the place jumpin. The BS issa foul 30 feet from the play, the players couldnt even hear the whistle

that was the only real redeemable moments tonight...it was loud...and if RU stopped them and the game became one possession it would have been better but I think early on I dont think it as good as it could and should be

 

[King of S]

that was the only real redeemable moments tonight...it was loud...and if RU stopped them and the game became one possession it would have been better but I think early on I dont think it as good as it could and should be

Different crowd from 30 years ago. Now we have the "I -phone generation" where everyone under 40 goes to phone instead of chanting during time outs.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Different crowd from 30 years ago. Now we have the "I -phone generation" where everyone under 40 goes to phone instead of chanting during time outs.

Great point. My phone goes away during games that im at. Hence me never posting during games im at

 

[Tango Two]

again I am from 88-93 so while not a true old timer that can talk about how it was in the late 70s and early 80s, my era had RU had a plethora of charged loud atmospheres. I mean some of them truly insane..PSU, UNLV, SHU, Missouri, Temple. The RAC then revived itself under Bannon and Waters and many of those crowds approached just under the level of energy and excitement of the games I mentioned.

Certainly tonights game was packed, albeit I saw some empties, student section full and energized, playing a top 15 team toe to toe for much of the game, yet something just isnt right. Some will say the RAC was back tonight but I was disappointed. Not sure it will ever be back given how things are done today. Maybe its the way the scoreboard music now just takes over everything in leading the excitement. In the olds days it was the crowd that organically created the buzz and excitement so you couldnt think or hear your friend next to you. Now we inundated with all kinds of so called music to pump the student section up and it certainly does its job. the student seem like trained lap dogs for certain songs to go crazy but call me crazy...where are the cheers..where is the RU chant, where is the Lets Go Rutgers, where is the bells must ring...seemed like they are being stifled for an artificial atmosphere. I know that some younger people will disagree with me but tonight there was only ONE RU chant,...are you kidding me. The band gets less and less time and in the college game they should be leading the charge. I will take criticism for this but how about less shitty dance music and more RU cheers and band playing. Do the students even know how to cheer or have they decided they will do it their way now. Actually its not their choice, its the DJ and scoreboard operators predictably playing all the song is similar sequence. You almost know what song will come when...bahhhh get off my lawn kids.

I just think the RAC can be so much more so while its better than the Jordan years, its nowhere near what it used to be in terms of trying to get loud during a big game

The RAC as it was and we knew it is dead...

 

[FrankZ]

Used to love when Cheesehead would stand up near the end of a timeout and yell toward the student section “Are you readeeeeeeee?!”

Gimme an R! (RRRRRRRR!)

Gimme a U! (UUUUUUU!!!!)

Gimme a T! (TEEEEEEEEE!)

Gimme an G! (GEEEEEEEEE!)

Gimme an E! (EEEEEEEEE!)

Gimme an R! (RRRRRRRRRR!)

Gimme an S! (SSSSSSSSSSS!)

What’s that spell?! (RUTGERS!)

Louder! (RUTGERS!!!!!!)

Let’s go Rutgers! (Clap clap clap clap clap)

Let’s go Rutgers! (Clap clap clap clap cap)

Can’t believe I forgot about the Cheese. Good times

 

[Degaz-RU]

Can’t believe I forgot about the Cheese. Good times

I swear I’m tempted to bring a little mini megaphone and get the old Cheesehead chant going again.

 

[FrankZ]

I swear I’m tempted to bring a little mini megaphone and get the old Cheesehead chant going again.

No one would complain if you substituted the cheesehead for a Cowboys cap. :sunglasses:

 

[RUDave_01]

The RAC has evolved... I was in school in the Bannon era, so I was lucky in that I caught a renaissance of sorts.

The excitement tonight was present, but it didn't have that edge. It got kind of loud, but not nearly the volume where you can't hear the person next to you. Maybe it was the flow of the game with so many fouls breaking things up.

I love the evolution of a sweet scoreboard and improved sound system. I do wish that they would turn over more of the timeouts to the band and cheer/dance teams. They should keep some of the piped in music, but the balance needs to be tweaked.

Hopefully the old RAC will come back in the next couple of years.

 

[Sir ScarletKnight]

What was the last time the cheerleaders led a cheetah instead of just doing acrobatics and following whatever is being said?

 

[bethlehemfan]

Wasn’t there tonight but totally get it. How about getting a defense chant going like the old knicks. Defense should be the identity. But more than that and to bacs point may be at the stage now where crowd needs to carry the energy versus artificial crap.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Imo, all it takes is to get TWO fans in the first couple rows of the 100’s and 200’s who are bonkers and stand up and get crazy and naturally everyone will follow. Guarantee it would work

 

[MSRU71]

As someone who has had season tickets since the RAC opened I would like to share my observations of the atmosphere. Great turnout today and plenty of electricity. Students were great and even us elderly were standing. The refs sucked and the missed walking call that resulted in 3 pointd for them sucke dthe wind out of the place. As far as the RAC goes, back in the day we had a bigger atmosphere. My first seats were bleacher type seats two rows behind the visiting bench. They decided to replace them with the cushioned seats and reduced the capacity by 300 or so seats. Then they redid all the lower seats and reduced the number agin. Their most recent change was to chnge the baseline seats from bleachers to premium seats, reducing the capacity even more. I would guess all in all the RAC lost 500 seats in the remodeling.

The loss of 500 crazies is significant. We lost the feet stomping and the noise on defense doesn't seem as loud. As Bac said, during the Penn State game, UNLV, Seton Hall, Temple and I must add Syracuse games, you could feel the sound!

But to be fair, my hearing back then was a lot better.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I think you're going from insanity of 89 to 93 to still impressive....i think there's an article from Jerry Carino on the lack of ticket sales for Louisville's visit to Seton Hall tomorrow and it being somewhat disappointing on their part. Whether real or imagined, this is still a special building IMO and if you didn't have that bogus Issa foul call where Mathis outfought thier guys for the loose ball rebound, the roof was about to come off.

Lots of places would kill for what we have as a snake pit....give it time, you can't artificially get there overnight.

 

[bethlehemfan]

You are right. The changed configuration makes a big difference. Move the students clos r at any cost.

 

[tfio]

First game ever for me tonight. Great time. Crowd was awesome in the beginning but from 18-10 on there was no real run to get the crowd going again. When we started chipping away late the foul calls killed the crowd/momentum and brought the lead right back to 10. The crowd was ready to explode but never got the chance. Anyway, fun first game to go to

 

[RU-ROCS]

You are right. The changed configuration makes a big difference. Move the students clos r at any cost.

Agreed. This is the biggest reason for the difference of the old RAC and the new. Also, tonight was a “sellout” but there were definitely a couple hundred empty seats in the wings of the 300 section on both sides of the RAC. I don’t know what the explanation is for that, but it doesn’t help the atmosphere.

 

[LC-88]

Absolutely hate the scoreboard "music". Go old school with the band and chants.

 

[Plum Street]

100 level fans stink

 

[bac2therac]

Wasn’t there tonight but totally get it. How about getting a defense chant going like the old knicks. Defense should be the identity. But more than that and to bacs point may be at the stage now where crowd needs to carry the energy versus artificial crap.

not sure the fans or students have that choice anymore...its force fed by the scoreboard music

 

[bac2therac]

Agreed. This is the biggest reason for the difference of the old RAC and the new. Also, tonight was a “sellout” but there were definitely a couple hundred empty seats in the wings of the 300 section on both sides of the RAC. I don’t know what the explanation is for that, but it doesn’t help the atmosphere.

true...I am not sure when the last REAL RAC sellout was...maybe the Florida game under Rice. There were enough empties tonight where you can say no that was not a real sellout

 

[RU-ROCS]

true...I am not sure when the last REAL RAC sellout was...maybe the Florida game under Rice. There were enough empties tonight where you can say no that was not a real sellout

I remember the same thing about last year’s “sellout” v. SHU. Same amount of empties then even with SHU fans in the house. I wonder if the RAC pass is the cause?

 

[bethlehemfan]

not sure the fans or students have that choice anymore...its force fed by the scoreboard music

Maybe they can get those chants going with the scoreboard and chear team. Maybe they can adjust to big crowds versus Somerset patriots approach.

 

[ru66]

guess what, I may be older than some of you, but you guys are old bastards at heart/mind--you are the same guys who always say stuff was better in the past --get a grip, you're not better than current students--you're living in the past and what you think were the "glory days"--don't chase those kids off your lawns

 

[wheezer]

the loudness of the crowd is ultimately determined by the ebb and flow of the game....
it seemed loud enough in the first half, but in the second half the team sputtered and
took the crowd out of it..... our star player blew two layups, our other scorer missed two
crucial threes in a matter of seconds....the other team paraded to the foul line, and made shot after shot....that takes the crowd out of it, a bit, no matter if it was today, or 25 years ago.

I remember some fans complaining about exactly this, back then also

and lastly, I would stop talking about moving the students closer, because the next game there might be 50 of them in total, against a team of less stature.

 

[CHR2022]

guess what, I may be older than some of you, but you guys are old bastards at heart/mind--you are the same guys who always say stuff was better in the past --get a grip, you're not better than current students--you're living in the past and what you think were the "glory days"--don't chase those kids off your lawns

Everyone complaining about how it was louder when you were in school...its cause you were in the student section where the noise comes from...

You all need to get over the glory days and recognize the fans were in it for most of the game until Mich State put it to double digits and kept hitting free throw after free throw.

 

[Scangg]

The RAC was rocking in 02 when I was a freshman and I loved all the band songs and chants during time outs. When we were on a run and the time out hits the RRRRRRRRRRRRR UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU chants were relentless

 

[KevH]

Besides the first 4 minutes and the 6 point play series, there was little to spark the crowd. Otherwise there would have been pleanty of RU chants.

The crowd is not only there to react. There are times when the team needs a lift, and the crowd can provide that. Anytime the coach or a player has to wave his arms to prompt the fans to get loud, I feel a little weird.

Gotta agree with Bac. Today's sold out RAC is not quite what yesteryear's sold out RAC once was. Still pretty good, but not the same at this point.

 

[KevH]

Different crowd from 30 years ago. Now we have the "I -phone generation" where everyone under 40 goes to phone instead of chanting during time outs.

Wow. Excellent point. Talk about social engineering!

As a Gen Xer, I had someone texting me for updates during a game and I had to apologize because I put my phone in my pocket and totally forgot about it til halftime.

 

[Newbrunfus]

The RAC was rocking in 02 when I was a freshman and I loved all the band songs and chants during time outs. When we were on a run and the time out hits the RRRRRRRRRRRRR UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU chants were relentless

Agree Scangg. I was really glad to see the place packed yet very disappointed that there was only 1 R U chant that I could hear. Good point made earlier about I Phone usage and I’m guilty of that too so need to keep it in my pocket more for sure. On a good note crowds and excitement is a thousand times better then just a few years ago when steady Eddie was our coach. The excitement and Rutgers Basketball is definitely back for sure but just may be a bit different then in the past and that’s just today’s reality.

 

[Knightmoves]

The RAC as it was and we knew it is dead...

Why in the world is a DJ needed at a BB game when there is a pep band in the student section?

 

[Scarlet Shack]

It will come bac

Need a core “RAC pack” in the student section of 200-300 that understand what you need to do ....and teach and lead the student section

 

[Rhuarc]

the loudness of the crowd is ultimately determined by the ebb and flow of the game....
it seemed loud enough in the first half, but in the second half the team sputtered and
took the crowd out of it..... our star player blew two layups, our other scorer missed two
crucial threes in a matter of seconds....the other team paraded to the foul line, and made shot after shot....that takes the crowd out of it, a bit, no matter if it was today, or 25 years ago.

I remember some fans complaining about exactly this, back then also

and lastly, I would stop talking about moving the students closer, because the next game there might be 50 of them in total, against a team of less stature.

I agree with this. The 2 most talked about home games on this board over the years have been the A-10 final and the UNLV game. It's not coincidence that these 2 games are the loudest but also the biggest home wins during that time.