Lack of attendance at home matches.

[ElectricGuy]

I have said this before.  If you want attendance to increase, you have to attend.  The Badgers are competitive and becoming more so.  We blame low interest in the high scools on forfeits and having too many weight classes.  Well, here you have fewer weight classes and rarely any forfeits and no one goes to watch.

Great point!   Go to some competitive HS duals and you will see a full gym.

[Oldtimer]

for the fans in western wisconsin, here is your chance to see the Badgers wrestle minnesota in the twin cities.

while many of you know that I live very close to the gophers home meets, please check out the sports pavalion and see the crowd and what they do. Maybe Wisconsin should take some hints and tips.

I'll be there!!!!

[Handles II]

The badgers need to promote better AND get help with promotion.  I was lucky enough to help recruit a 9th grader into wrestling this year. He had never seen a wrestling match prior to joining the team. Now both his younger brothers have watched him and are joining our youth club. Exposure is a key.

When we have (many) 9th graders that have never seen a wrestling match, we simply can't complain that many people don't go to watch the badgers. It's a huge cultural thing. I'm betting that many of our wrestlers have gone to Badger B-ball or hockey events, but how many hockey or B-ball players would go watch wrestling?

Our local papers and sports stations won't ever mention that the badgers have a home event. All in all it's pretty frustrating. Nobody knows who Isaac Jordan is, yet we all know who Ethan Happ is. J Robinson was/is very well known in the cities. His teams have been the focus of the Star Tribune multiple times, front sports-page stuff (excluding the drug issue) big color picture stuff. When is the last time anyone saw Barry in the WSJ?

Going into Carver Arena, totally different culture. Wrestling is in all the newspapers, they discuss match-ups on sports-talk radio, Interviews of the Hawk wrestlers are on Iowa City, Des Moines, and Cedar Rapids tv news channels. High school wrestling and wrestlers are featured every week. They do have an advantage of having 3 Div 1 wrestling programs in their state. It creates some stories that we simply cant' match here.

Some of it is our fault, but there are bigger fish to fry. I just heard how the Women's Hockey is doing a $1 per ticket game to try to break the all-time attendance record (13,500 ish), they are teaming up with area non-profits to do a large food drive. We need hype, we need the meets to be more fun, and, yeah, we need to be able to beat the top teams at least sometimes. That's the difference in rankings in our sport vs. others.  A #17 can beat a #2 in basketball, in wrestling...unless there are major injuries or illness, that really can't happen.

[OneEyedFatMan]

I agree with the "downtown" and "short time" stuff.

Tiring.

Hire Ben and Max...give the people the fresh start and coaching staff we've been begging for years...and quit saying downtown on the loud speaker

This is the only way it gets fixed.

[Wisconsin Wrestling Fan]

I agree with the "downtown" and "short time" stuff.

Tiring.

Hire Ben and Max...give the people the fresh start and coaching staff we've been begging for years...and quit saying downtown on the loud speaker

This is the only way it gets fixed.

And don't keep saying 10 seconds - 5 seconds... The announcer does not need to be the center of attention at the meet... Let the wrestlers wrestle.

How many times did we here "What time is it?"    My thoughts after about the 20th time was not short time - it was tiring to hear it over and over...

[MNbadger]

No, the point was that people complain about forfeits.  The Badgers fill all the weight classes, are competitive and very few people show up.

I have said this before.  If you want attendance to increase, you have to attend.  The Badgers are competitive and becoming more so.  We blame low interest in the high scools on forfeits and having too many weight classes.  Well, here you have fewer weight classes and rarely any forfeits and no one goes to watch.

Great point!   Go to some competitive HS duals and you will see a full gym.

[littleguy301]

I have said this before.  If you want attendance to increase, you have to attend.  The Badgers are competitive and becoming more so.  We blame low interest in the high scools on forfeits and having too many weight classes.  Well, here you have fewer weight classes and rarely any forfeits and no one goes to watch.

true to that to some degree.

I would love to be a more regular at Badger duals but spending up to 8 hours on the road probably isnt in the cards for me and probably others.

I do wish that the Badgers would hype it more. Though I would say that I dont have facebook, twitter or any other social media. Hey if the Badger would promote or give daily up dates on the team that would meet my expectations I would look into getting twitter!!!!

[wrastle63]

The Badgers have a great twitter account. They post a lot of information on there and updates during tournaments and duals. Even Barry posts every once and awhile. They have posted 3 things today.

[Preparewrestlingcoach]

I agree with the "downtown" and "short time" stuff.

Tiring.

Hire Ben and Max...give the people the fresh start and coaching staff we've been begging for years...and quit saying downtown on the loud speaker

This is the only way it gets fixed.

And don't keep saying 10 seconds - 5 seconds... The announcer does not need to be the center of attention at the meet... Let the wrestlers wrestle.

How many times did we here "What time is it?"    My thoughts after about the 20th time was not short time - it was tiring to hear it over and over...

Completely agree...although I understand they are doing everything they can to get young fans excited and participating in the dual. I for one can handle the short time, but the downtown thing just does not even make sense. Never once in my life before going to a badger dual have I heard bottom refered to as "downtown". I am wondering why they haven't stolen things that work for the crowd at football/basketball such as jump around ect??

[Jimmy]

Building inspector won't allow jump around in the field house.

[Preparewrestlingcoach]

That building inspector must not realize how few people are at the duals . Thanks for the info though.

[aarons23]

Building inspector won't allow jump around in the field house.

I would love to see the code that inforces this?

[wrastle63]

Hire Ben and Max...give the people the fresh start and coaching staff we've been begging for years...and quit saying downtown on the loud speaker

This is the only way it gets fixed.

Would love to see this! But I feel like Brandvold is doing a really good job. If you get Ben and Brandvold together that would be awesome.

[woody53]

Building inspector won't allow jump around in the field house.

I would love to see the code that inforces this?

It's Madison. Trust me, it is correct.

[Micah]

No, the point was that people complain about forfeits.  The Badgers fill all the weight classes, are competitive and very few people show up.

I have said this before.  If you want attendance to increase, you have to attend.  The Badgers are competitive and becoming more so.  We blame low interest in the high scools on forfeits and having too many weight classes.  Well, here you have fewer weight classes and rarely any forfeits and no one goes to watch.

Great point!   Go to some competitive HS duals and you will see a full gym.

They fill them unless there is a big match-up.  Then, someone is sick or hurt.  Other teams do this as well and it is awful for our sport.  The big matches need to happen!