UD Arena home to the classiest fans

[aurorix2]

The Dayton Flyers began the New Year with a thrilling double-overtime victory over a very good New Mexico team, and almost as gratifying was the performance of the Flyer Faithful.

Last year, the Flyers played the Lobos at The Pit in Albuquerque. The Pit was the model that Tom Frericks used for the UD Arena, and it is truly one of the great basketball venues in the country.

As visiting teams walk up a ramp to the playing floor, they are greeted by a mural stating: “Welcome to the Pit, where it’s a mile high and louder than ___ !” It was loud that New Year’s Day this year, and I was impressed with how the Lobos fans were at their best when their team was struggling.

Flyer fans are passionate, but at times they can be accused of being more reactive than proactive. That was not the case this New Year’s Day as their energy helped lift the Flyers through crunch time.

There is no doubt that an enthusiastic crowd can be an effective sixth man for the home team (although George Washington eschews that and just brings in an extra player), but I think that the effect of a so-called hostile crowd on the visiting team is highly overrated.

I’ve seen more than one mediocre team from a lower-tier conference come to the UD Arena and elevate their game to unprecedented levels as they are buoyed by the chance to play on a big stage. In the last issue of Flyer Connection, Doug Harris wrote about how UD players get excited to play on the road before vocal and often haranguing fans.

So while I don’t think home fans have a negative impact on visiting teams, I do think hostile environments have a negative impact on visiting fans. I have several friends who vow never to go to the Cintas Center again because of the way they were treated by Xavier fans. I am sure it was a small minority that behaved badly; just as I am sure that not all UD fans are gracious hosts.

However, I will share one story that I do think best describes the Flyer Faithful.

In 1998, Dayton lost to Penn State in the second round of the NIT. After the game, some Penn State fans sought me out to talk about their impressions of the arena and the Flyer fans.

“We’ve been all over the Big Ten and some places in the South, and fans seem to focus their energy on making fun of the opponents and their fans. Your fans are just positive and focus on cheering for Dayton.”

So Flyer Faithful, I salute you for your loyalty, your spirit, your ability to be a Sixth Man, but perhaps most of all, for your class.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/university-of-dayton-flyers/ud-arena-home-to-the-classiest-fans-1054362.html

[coasterville95]

Like clockwork - they trot out the "class" argument yet AGAIN to compensate for their lack of success when it comes to Cintas Center.

[XULucho27]

So Flyer Faithful, I salute you for your loyalty, your spirit, your ability to be a Sixth Man, but perhaps most of all, for your class.

http://health.indiamart.com/gifs2/vomiting.jpg

I thought you were a Butler fan...

[Juice]

The Dayton Flyers began the New Year with a thrilling double-overtime victory over a very good New Mexico team, and almost as gratifying was the performance of the Flyer Faithful.

Last year, the Flyers played the Lobos at The Pit in Albuquerque. The Pit was the model that Tom Frericks used for the UD Arena, and it is truly one of the great basketball venues in the country.

As visiting teams walk up a ramp to the playing floor, they are greeted by a mural stating: “Welcome to the Pit, where it’s a mile high and louder than ___ !” It was loud that New Year’s Day this year, and I was impressed with how the Lobos fans were at their best when their team was struggling.

Flyer fans are passionate, but at times they can be accused of being more reactive than proactive. That was not the case this New Year’s Day as their energy helped lift the Flyers through crunch time.

There is no doubt that an enthusiastic crowd can be an effective sixth man for the home team (although George Washington eschews that and just brings in an extra player), but I think that the effect of a so-called hostile crowd on the visiting team is highly overrated.

I’ve seen more than one mediocre team from a lower-tier conference come to the UD Arena and elevate their game to unprecedented levels as they are buoyed by the chance to play on a big stage. In the last issue of Flyer Connection, Doug Harris wrote about how UD players get excited to play on the road before vocal and often haranguing fans.

So while I don’t think home fans have a negative impact on visiting teams, I do think hostile environments have a negative impact on visiting fans. I have several friends who vow never to go to the Cintas Center again because of the way they were treated by Xavier fans. I am sure it was a small minority that behaved badly; just as I am sure that not all UD fans are gracious hosts.

However, I will share one story that I do think best describes the Flyer Faithful.

In 1998, Dayton lost to Penn State in the second round of the NIT. After the game, some Penn State fans sought me out to talk about their impressions of the arena and the Flyer fans.

“We’ve been all over the Big Ten and some places in the South, and fans seem to focus their energy on making fun of the opponents and their fans. Your fans are just positive and focus on cheering for Dayton.”

So Flyer Faithful, I salute you for your loyalty, your spirit, your ability to be a Sixth Man, but perhaps most of all, for your class.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/university-of-dayton-flyers/ud-arena-home-to-the-classiest-fans-1054362.html

Haha, you're a douche bag

[paulxu]

Where in your arena does this guy sit? If I ever come up I want to go talk to him about how much class he has.

C-time
Lieutenant Colonel Join Date: Feb 2009
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Put Ralph Hill in the game for the very hard and illegal foul. Make sure that Ralph understands that his job is to make sure Tu either stays down or starts throwing punches to get kicked out. If Ralph can accomplish his task he will have provided his largest contribution of the season.

[KingCole]

UD fans are so classy that they'd write all over my girlfriend's car that had a Xavier sticker in the back window, "Xavier sucks, Go Dayton Flyers." Mind you this was in a parking garage in Cleveland while we were at an Indians game in the middle of July. Stay classy Dayton fans.

[xeus]

However, I will share one story that I do think best describes the Flyer Faithful.

In 1998, Dayton lost to Penn State in the second round of the NIT. After the game, some Penn State fans sought me out to talk about their impressions of the arena and the Flyer fans.



Typical of the Dayton fans - having to go back to the previous century to find something noteworthy about the program. And it's an NIT story. Awesome.

[Emp]

Yeah, those "F*ck Xavier" T shirts on students yelling the same thing in my face on the concourses are classy. So are the rednecks who throw stuff at Xavier fans who stand and clap until the first basket. So is the mudpuddle behind "Welcome" stadium that charges money for parking.

[Jumpy]

I’ve seen more than one mediocre team from a lower-tier conference come to the UD Arena and elevate their game to unprecedented levels as they are buoyed by the chance to play on a big stage. In the last issue of Flyer Connection, Doug Harris wrote about how UD players get excited to play on the road before vocal and often haranguing fans.

Dayton arena is a big stage? To whom? High school teams, maybe. Certainly not any college team.

Dayton fans are a joke, especially at basketball games. If spitting on someone simply because they're a Muskie fan is your idea of "classy", then you guys are tops.

[bleedXblue]

I've been to UD arena for the Xavier game 3 times over the last 5 years...courtesy of a friend who gets tickets through work.

We won 2 of the 3 games, so maybe I need to get back up there. I do like the arena (watching the game that is), although I think Cintas is layed out better. Some of the concourse areas are really tight and hard to navigate through. Bottlenecks are easy and the concessions aren't in ideal locations everywhere.

I really can't recall being treated with a lot of respect and at the same time we weren't abused either. One year an old lady behind us wanted us to sit down during the game and gave us a hard time, but we just ignored her and it pissed her off even more. Oh yeah, we won that year too !

I guess when you can't win your only recourse is to fabricate something else to be proud of....pretty damn lame !

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

I’ve seen more than one mediocre team from a lower-tier conference come to the UD Arena and elevate their game to unprecedented levels as they are buoyed by the chance to play on a big stage.

So Flyer Faithful, I salute you for your loyalty, your spirit, your ability to be a Sixth Man, but perhaps most of all, for your class.



http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/2/G.smh1.gif

[xuwin]

I've been to UD arena for the Xavier game 3 times over the last 5 years...courtesy of a friend who gets tickets through work.

We won 2 of the 3 games, so maybe I need to get back up there. I do like the arena (watching the game that is), although I think Cintas is layed out better. Some of the concourse areas are really tight and hard to navigate through. Bottlenecks are easy and the concessions aren't in ideal locations everywhere.

I really can't recall being treated with a lot of respect and at the same time we weren't abused either. One year an old lady behind us wanted us to sit down during the game and gave us a hard time, but we just ignored her and it pissed her off even more. Oh yeah, we won that year too !

I guess when you can't win your only recourse is to fabricate something else to be proud of....pretty damn lame !

I think if an old lady behind me requested that I sit down so she could see the game I would sit down. In fact it has happened to me. I told her that if the people in front of me stand I have no choice, but, otherwise I respected her right to see the game.

[CinciX12]

I had an old man tell me he hoped I wrecked and died on the way home from UD last year. That screams class lol.

[Lamont Sanford]

I love this time of year. It reinforces how batshit delusional Cryer fans truly are.

Stay classy Cryer fans! Stay classy!!

[Juice]

UD Arena had some renovations done:

http://rookery9.aviary.com.s3.amazonaws.com/3546500/3546777_5a92_625x1000.jpg

[coasterville95]

National stage? The only time UD arena is of national relevance is that one exhibition game a year when two bad NCAA tournament teams lock horns into battle for the right to get massacred by the top team in D1 hoops!

Oh wait, now they have 4 play ins? Think about it, if Dayton fails to make the dance, highly likely, that means the only time that place will be nationally relevant is when 8 horrid teams the selection committee said were better than Dayton play there! Most likely all for the right to be slaughtered lambs a couple days later.

Oh that's right, that arena also hosts The Show once a year, which usually coincides with the Criers best effort all season, usually followed by their annual plane crash.

[MuskiePimp23]

ud arena and your fans are a bunch of complete a$$holes...I have been to quite a few visiting arenas in college basketball and no place have I been treated worse than your $hitty arena...Last time I was up there (3 years ago the last time we won), in the bathroom at halftime a bunch of punk students that were drunk started talking crap and saying they wanted to fight and how we sucked, etc...after we won the game, I had multiple people challenge me and my buddy to fights as we were exiting and leaving the arena...We said nothing bad about dayton and simply had our Xavier gear on...I thought uc was bad, but ud was by far the most classless idiotic fan base of a school that I have ever been to...and there is a reason you are called the Cryers...You whine and cry about EVERY freaking call that goes against dayton...You and your fan base are a bunch of losers and I HATE dayton.

[SlimKibbles]

Yeah they are so classy I was continually hit in the head with a Crier Towel, had beer spilled on my seat, and had stuff thrown at me at a game several years ago by two "classy" drunken 20-something douchebags sitting behind me. All I was trying to do was watch the game. I wasn't inviting any attention from anyone. My cheering consisted of clapping some, which didn't happen often because Derrick Brown would NOT go out and guard Chris Wright on the perimeter. Anyway, after attending many games (XU-UD, or A-10 Tourney) in that building without having any issues whatsoever, and enjoyed talking with most of the UD fans I sat near, I haven't stepped foot in that place since.

For the record, I thought of many things to do in that situation: grab the towel and shove it down the guy's throat or punch those two a-holes. But I didn't want to miss the game or spend the evening in the county jail. I should've just gotten an usher. I thought they might just give up trying to annoy the piss out of me since I never let on I was bothered by any of it until they tried to high-five me saying, "Good game," as I was walking out of the row with a minute or two to go in the game. That's when the expletives started to fly and my friends kept shoving me out of the row.

[Nigel Tufnel]

The trip to UD I remember most was when X lost in the semi's to Temple during West's senior season. The A10 tourney was in Dayton that year. The Dayton fans were louder during the X/Temple game than they were during Dayton's own semi game. I had 5th row tickets, so I decided to go to the finals. UD/Temple. After UD won the game, the PA guy announced the all A10 tourney first team. The UD fans in attendance booed David West louder when he was announced first team for the A10 tourney than they cheered their own team.

The envy of UD fan really hit me at that point. I was annoyed yet gratified by their insecurities all at the same time.

Edit: Was that the year UD had that awesome NCAA showing against DePaul in the first round?

[Juice]

Edit: Was that the year UD had that awesome NCAA showing against DePaul in the first round?

Their ineptitude in the tournament kind of all blends together for me.

[SlimKibbles]

Edit: Was that the year UD had that awesome NCAA showing against DePaul in the first round?

I don't think so. I thought that was the season they were upset by Tulsa in the 1st round. I say upset because I think they actually had a pretty good seed.

By the way, I was at that X/Temple A-10 semi too. The UD students were pretty loud during that game. The large group of X fans I was sitting with upstairs directed a response cheer to the UD student section of "You can't beat us," when Temple had put the game out of reach towards the end. The student section responded with, "We don't have to." Good comeback. A-holes. *shakes tiny fist*

[X-band '01]

Yep, 2003 was the year that UD rode Xavier's coattails to a 4 seed and were promptly kicked out of the 1st round by Tulsa. 2004 was when Dayton and DePaul posed a health hazard to anyone operating heavy machinery at night.

[Masterofreality]

urine dump.

That's all you need to know.

[boozehound]

The only thing Dayton arena is home to is mediocrity and people with a burning sexual attraction toward Watermelon.

[Blueblob4life]

classy fans? hahaha, where do I start?

I graduate May 2010 and in my four years at X I took 3 trips up to the Dump for the annual game. Here's a brief recap:

Freshman year there was a treat because we won the back and forth contest but the asshats in front of us were trying so hard to talk shit about the sea of X people around them who were clearly louder. They did nothing but talk shit to and about us while ignoring the game. Awesome. Great immersion experience.

Sophomore year I was sick and couldn't go, but several reports stated that as we beat those fruit lovers for the A-10 title, the X-treme Fans who rode the bus up chanted "A-10 Champs" as they left and had beer, popcorn, and candy thrown at them by some "classy" crier fans. I don't have all the facts, but the sources were trustworthy.

Junior year was extra fun because the same d-bags from my freshman year were there again, same seats, same assholes, just fatter and uglier. We lost that one and it was ugly leaving the Dump, especially when old people were telling us that we sucked. It was even more fun when the X-treme Fans boarded our bus right outside the arena and those mouth breathing students decided it would be cool to jump on the back of our bus. Idiots.

Senior year. Same idiots from the year before were present and, surprise surprise, fatter and uglier than the year before. This time the fattest one was trying to mock our "Tradition of Excellence" slogan on the back of our X-Shirts. He kept saying "what tradition?" and when we would reply with "Jimmy Carter kicking your ass" he would still ask the question. After we got obliterated, we had plenty of asshats offering their classiest of comments, including telling us Xavier students to transfer to the Dump.

So yes, you're right, they reek of class, and ass, and failure. Failure is the one they want to work on. Please try talking to me about class again, UDump fans, because as Bob Kelso put it, "your lips. my ass, they should meet". Classy? No, but one good turn deserves another. And in the case of your futility in Cincinnati, it deserves 20-something plus turns and more to come.

Eat it.