Tennis

brewer2125
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vatusay wrote:Have heard players that received scholarship before program was cut will still receive it.

No one cares about tennis, swimming, volleyball, crops country, any of those sports. Sorry it's the truth. Coaches, players, and parents that's it.


Well that is good that they don't leave the athlete hanging.

As to your second comment that no one cares, here is a comment in Niche by a current sophomore posted 5 days ago:

"Athletics: The football team is alright. They win some games they've done pretty good this year. But you never hear of the other sports, the games in baseball, basketball, volleyball, etc. are rarely promoted so you don't even know when a game is going on."

So maybe some people do care, but don't get sufficient information.
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WIU0812
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brewer2125 wrote:
vatusay wrote:Have heard players that received scholarship before program was cut will still receive it.

No one cares about tennis, swimming, volleyball, crops country, any of those sports. Sorry it's the truth. Coaches, players, and parents that's it.


Well that is good that they don't leave the athlete hanging.

As to your second comment that no one cares, here is a comment in Niche by a current sophomore posted 5 days ago:

"Athletics: The football team is alright. They win some games they've done pretty good this year. But you never hear of the other sports, the games in baseball, basketball, volleyball, etc. are rarely promoted so you don't even know when a game is going on."

So maybe some people do care, but don't get sufficient information.
I am pretty sure he is not just referring to WIU that in general most people in United States do not care about those sports excluding perhaps baseball and softball which still have a strong following in the US. That is not to knock the talent that it requires to do the other sports they just interest fans less than others.

Even if the football and basketball team lose money it is more of a social thing for the students and gives the school at least something different to do on a few nights a year. If you ever look at the ratemyprofessor.com site kids can rate the school and their comments basically are do not come here if you do not like to party because all there is to do is drink. I mean the town basically has a Walmart, JC Penny & a Movie Theater for kids to get out to. So even if it costs money to keep operating I would think just the aspect of having one more event that kids actually like at the school would be a plus. Maybe I am wrong and maybe the way I view it is wrong, but I just think the town and school see to much value in keeping football alive.

This is really no different in high school either. I mean you really think any of those programs bring any profit and yet most Friday nights you see stands packed with students or on basketball nights lot of high school kids went to basketball games and I doubt many of the schools think of dropping those programs first to save a sport that does not entertain a fraction of the students. I just think in the US we pride Football, Basketball & Baseball as elite sports and the rest are lower tier. That is not meant to offend it is merely my observation.
vatusay
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^yep.

Golf is picking up popularity, but that is due to daily fantasy sports. I enjoy "playing" golf, but outside of the clubhouse or pro shop you would be hard pressed to find anyone that would want to watch the final round unless it's one of the majors.

Same goes for other less popular sports.
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sealhall74
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How can a fan even watch and enjoy a tennis match at facilities like ours? Probably have to pull up a lawn chair and stare thru the windscreen. It could be much better with just a little bit of thought going in to the court layout design.

http://www.hope.edu/pr/movedtoou-pr/cam ... mplex.html
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ST_Lawson
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Here's a better shot of that facility you linked to:
Image

Obviously with the cutting of men's tennis, I don't see them having much focus on improving tennis facilities at this point, but they could, theoretically, build a raised platform just to the East of the tennis courts and over the walkway to the softball stadium. It could connect to the existing West entrance to Brophy Hall, where the existing ramp up is. Put in a few seats, or even just a small temporary set of bleachers for events, and it would give people a much nicer way to watch tennis matches.

Again though, I don't see them doing much to emphasize tennis at this point in time.
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sealhall74
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That is a dandy tennis observation deck. I wonder if you construct something like that by stringing together several old cargo shipping containers. Seems they are about the right height. A deck like that would also be ideal down the foul lines on softball and baseball fields. You could have some nice tailgating parties on a deck like that and enjoy the game at the same time.
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brewer2125
Posts: 52
Joined: Mon May 18, 2015 9:33 am

WIU0812 wrote:
brewer2125 wrote:
vatusay wrote:Have heard players that received scholarship before program was cut will still receive it.

No one cares about tennis, swimming, volleyball, crops country, any of those sports. Sorry it's the truth. Coaches, players, and parents that's it.


Well that is good that they don't leave the athlete hanging.

As to your second comment that no one cares, here is a comment in Niche by a current sophomore posted 5 days ago:

"Athletics: The football team is alright. They win some games they've done pretty good this year. But you never hear of the other sports, the games in baseball, basketball, volleyball, etc. are rarely promoted so you don't even know when a game is going on."

So maybe some people do care, but don't get sufficient information.
I am pretty sure he is not just referring to WIU that in general most people in United States do not care about those sports excluding perhaps baseball and softball which still have a strong following in the US. That is not to knock the talent that it requires to do the other sports they just interest fans less than others.

Even if the football and basketball team lose money it is more of a social thing for the students and gives the school at least something different to do on a few nights a year. If you ever look at the ratemyprofessor.com site kids can rate the school and their comments basically are do not come here if you do not like to party because all there is to do is drink. I mean the town basically has a Walmart, JC Penny & a Movie Theater for kids to get out to. So even if it costs money to keep operating I would think just the aspect of having one more event that kids actually like at the school would be a plus. Maybe I am wrong and maybe the way I view it is wrong, but I just think the town and school see to much value in keeping football alive.

This is really no different in high school either. I mean you really think any of those programs bring any profit and yet most Friday nights you see stands packed with students or on basketball nights lot of high school kids went to basketball games and I doubt many of the schools think of dropping those programs first to save a sport that does not entertain a fraction of the students. I just think in the US we pride Football, Basketball & Baseball as elite sports and the rest are lower tier. That is not meant to offend it is merely my observation.

Yes, actually that quote was by a WIU sophomore commenting about WIU.

Anyway, I think your generalization that no one cares about tennis is actually incorrect. I found some interesting facts being reported about the sport of tennis and cut and pasted it here ----- "In the recently released US Sports, Fitness, and Recreation Participation Report from the Physical Activity Council (PAC) — a consortium of six sports, recreation, and outdoor trade associations — despite fluctuating participation trends among traditional sports, tennis continues to lead the pack in long-term participation growth, which is up 31% from 2000-2012.

The study, which is the nation's largest physical activity study covering a sample of more than 40,000 individuals in the U.S., shows tennis as one of only two sports with positive participation growth during the previous 12 years. Gymnastics, a distant second in terms of participation growth, up 5%, is the only other traditional sport with positive growth over this period. Other "traditional" sports include: badminton, baseball, basketball, fishing, football, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, racquet, soccer, and softball."

So maybe it's just Macomb...

I've been at several high school matches in the Chicagoland area and in Bloomington where there are 200-plus people in attendance. At the IHSA state tournament, the place is crawling with people - many more than just parents and coaches. Go to a Northwestern or Illinois tennis match on a nice day. They draw.

At WIU, the facility was recently resurfaced and in that regard pretty much brings up the facility to minimum basic standard. Since there are no bleachers, the place pretty must looks like the courts are there for the general public and not for an NCAA D! level competition. Imagine if you are a recruit - you see a facility at a D1 school that is less impressive than their high school courts, it's not going to end well for WIU on the recruiting end. I'm not saying build a stadium for tennis. Maybe they should move the courts down closer to the third base line of the softball courts, and build a platform then between the third base line of the softball field and the tennis courts which would be a dual purpose platform - have bleachers facing the softball field for their games, and then turn them around for tennis matches. At least it would give it more of a permanent, stadium "feel" than what it is now. I know it likely would never happen, but there are some things they can do like that.
wiu712
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brewer2125 wrote:Since there are no bleachers, the place pretty must looks like the courts are there for the general public and not for an NCAA D1 level competition.
There are two sets of bleachers on the west side of the tennis courts. They are portable bleachers similar to what is used at the soccer field.
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WIU0812
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Yes, actually that quote was by a WIU sophomore commenting about WIU.

Anyway, I think your generalization that no one cares about tennis is actually incorrect. I found some interesting facts being reported about the sport of tennis and cut and pasted it here ----- "In the recently released US Sports, Fitness, and Recreation Participation Report from the Physical Activity Council (PAC) — a consortium of six sports, recreation, and outdoor trade associations — despite fluctuating participation trends among traditional sports, tennis continues to lead the pack in long-term participation growth, which is up 31% from 2000-2012.

The study, which is the nation's largest physical activity study covering a sample of more than 40,000 individuals in the U.S., shows tennis as one of only two sports with positive participation growth during the previous 12 years. Gymnastics, a distant second in terms of participation growth, up 5%, is the only other traditional sport with positive growth over this period. Other "traditional" sports include: badminton, baseball, basketball, fishing, football, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, racquet, soccer, and softball."

So maybe it's just Macomb...

I've been at several high school matches in the Chicagoland area and in Bloomington where there are 200-plus people in attendance. At the IHSA state tournament, the place is crawling with people - many more than just parents and coaches. Go to a Northwestern or Illinois tennis match on a nice day. They draw.

At WIU, the facility was recently resurfaced and in that regard pretty much brings up the facility to minimum basic standard. Since there are no bleachers, the place pretty must looks like the courts are there for the general public and not for an NCAA D! level competition. Imagine if you are a recruit - you see a facility at a D1 school that is less impressive than their high school courts, it's not going to end well for WIU on the recruiting end. I'm not saying build a stadium for tennis. Maybe they should move the courts down closer to the third base line of the softball courts, and build a platform then between the third base line of the softball field and the tennis courts which would be a dual purpose platform - have bleachers facing the softball field for their games, and then turn them around for tennis matches. At least it would give it more of a permanent, stadium "feel" than what it is now. I know it likely would never happen, but there are some things they can do like that.
I guess saying no one cares about it is wrong, I realize that some percent of the population like tennis, but it is a minority for sure. I did find this business insider article about US sport interest and it shows kind of a breakdown of sports interest (See link below). Interestingly enough the College Football interest is only 4% below the MLB. As for the report you mentioned I wonder if that accounts more for hobby play than sport play. I mean I play golf a few times a year, but I do not watch it and do not consider myself playing a sport when golfing more of a hobby for me since I am no Tiger Woods. Like I said I meant no insult just a view that it is less popular.

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-nf ... ns-2011-10
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sealhall74
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In my old age, I have become pretty picky about the sports I watch and participate in. I refuse to throw much money into really big time over-exposed-by-media events. You could give me an all expenses paid trip to the SuperBowl and I would not go. My preference is to attend college events in which few if any players will be playing at the next level (FCS football is a good example). When it comes to professional events, I really like those in which the participants are not making millions of dollars but instead having to scrape by just to continue to play a game they love. My favorite is probably the WPBA (Women's Professional Billiards Association) tournaments but unfortunately there are not as many of them as there used to be several years ago (my prize souvenir is a 9-Ball signed by the "Strking Viking" Ewa Laurance). I also love the ISC (International Softball Congress) World Tournament in which only a few of the top players are compensated for their services. There is something special about watching people compete just for the love of the game. As for sports I participate(d) in since my college days, it is a short list: fast-pitch softball, bowling, billiards, and tennis, and some pick-up games of basketball. After I retired 5 years ago, first thing I did was go out and get personal trainer and corrective exercise certifications and now I do take fitness in general very seriously. Well, enough useless blog fodder for today. Off to the gym.

Let me add one other thing. Where I sit when I attend an event, college or pro, is very important. I am the kind of person who would show up two hours early to get a really good seat and I always prefer open seating events (e.g. SEC baseball tournament in Birmingham).
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