Win and they will come. No idea is repeated more regarding San Diego sports fans. They'll support a winner, but that's all.
Well, then, will someone please explain to me how Cox Arena last Saturday night was half-empty in the final regular-season home men's basketball game of the year? When the Aztecs are about to finish their most successful three-year stretch in their Division 1 history? When the team is close to completing its third straight 20-win season? When it's becoming apparent that the sky could be the limit for a young nucleus returning next year?
Now the opponent, Colorado State, winless so far in conference play, was no attraction and the home team made short work of the Rams. In a rout with many big plays by the locals, the loudest cheers of the evening were reserved for departing seniors Matt Thomas and Chris Lamb (a junior athletically by graduating in May). Through most of the game, there was no energy in the stands of Cox Arena. You could practically hear a pin drop.
In short, this winner is not being supported. The supposed front-running San Diego sports fans have not appeared in Cox Arena wearing red and black.
So what's wrong? There are a couple reasons within the program why this team has not caught on with fans at-large (as opposed to those few hardcore Aztec supporters). First, coach Steve Fisher's bunch blew three chances to beat non-conference opponents that would have given them credibility. All three games were winnable. The loss of Kyle Spain to suspension took away a solid team leader, and his absence was notable in three subsequent conference losses. The 8 pm starts forced on them by television prevent fans with jobs or children from attending during the week and whetting appetites for future contests. And the television coverage with the mtn and CSTV does more to hide the program than expose it.
Still and all, SDSU is 19-10 and 9-6 in the strong Mountain West Conference and, with a win at Air Force this upcoming weekend, will finish at or above its predicted fourth-place finish in the league, and all but clinch a berth in the NIT. Of course, a bigger dance card awaits if they can manage to win three straight games in the week that follows.
So there's your winner. San Diego sports fans have not responded and those who have aren't terribly excited.
I have always contended that San Diego sports fans have demanded a quality product, a team that is entertaining and competitive, not just a winner. Consider:
-- the Aztecs football team went just 19-15-2 with one winning season in Marshall Faulk's three years, yet fans turned out in droves and were into the game because the games were fun to watch.
-- the Padres drew some of their largest-ever crowds in the post-1998 World Series years even though the teams weren't terribly competitive.
-- the Padres moved into Petco Park and drew large crowds in its first season as people were curious about the new digs. In subsequent years, attendance declined as the team got better. The Padres won two National League West championships but didn't draw like a division-winner here normally would. The Friars were boring and the division stunk. We fans knew it.
Ultimately, I think area fans are tiring of Fisher's building process and are ready for the final product. They're not too happy that too many of the guys he's recruited haven't cut it academically or socially, often leaving the Aztecs a player short of major success. Think of where this squad would be with Jerome Habel manning the middle. But that's a "what might have been and will never be."
The Aztecs are winning, but they're falling short of having a quality product that will entertain fans. That's why Cox Arena is not as full as it should be.
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