| Subject: Columbia, Fan Attendance and The Inflection Point |
Author:
An Observer
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Date Posted: 10:09:28 11/13/24 Wed
In reply to:
TOD HOWARD HAWKS
's message, "Columbia *** Freshman QB Caleb Sanchez" on 02:33:43 11/13/24 Wed
Tod, I'm gratified to hear the excitement and enthusiasm in your voice, given everything else that's going on. Live the best life you can, my man.
What's the policy for student admission to athletic events? I operate under the assumption that all undergraduates are admitted for free to all varsity sports events at all Ivies. Is that a good assumption?
My guess is that the Columbia women's basketball team benefits from having passed the inflection point where students go because other students go.
There are a small number of events which have achieved this network effect. People go because other people go. It's a party.
The most obvious example is The Game. I'll bet that half the people in the stands don't know what the current records of either Harvard or Yale are and, at most points during the contest, don't even know what the score is. Most of them don't arrive at their seats until the second quarter. They're there just because it's the social thing to do that weekend. Most of them couldn't care less who wins, present company on this board excepted, of course.
Contrast that to the local high school The Game here in my town. Everybody knows what the team's record is and whether we need to beat our archrival to get the #1 seed in the state tournament. The pre-game tailgate is just as convivial but, at kick-off, every single seat in the stands is full. And that's 10,000 people for a high school football game between two towns which only have 20,000 population each.
As at the other Game, the same BMW's are in the parking lot, but nobody is there to drink. People are there to see a football team win.
Last spring, Columbia had two events which passed their respective inflection points. The first was the Lionesses under the direction of my girlfriend. The women's games were the thing to do. Be there or be square. I'll bet that the atmosphere was somewhere between The Game involving HY and my hometown high school The Game. Columbia was on the verge of doing something that it had never done before. I imagine that everybody knew that. The other event which passed the inflection point was the protests. Just the thing to do on campus.
It's very hard to build the critical mass to pass the inflection point. I'd be very curious how the attendance at Harvard men's basketball performed last season and this upcoming 2024-25 season. For awhile, the Amaker show was The Show on campus and in town. It was like Columbia women's basketball. On the verge of unprecedented success. But once the wins stopped, I'll bet attendance dropped off.
Only The Game endures because, literally, nobody cares who wins.
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