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The Cost of Away Games

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  • #1

    The Cost of Away Games

    Hey guys, I was gonna comment on a couple other posts, but I thought this may serve better as its own:

    When I was younger, I always thought it was the "fans" that made away games so hard - the fans are annoying and loud and booing you and so on. Now I know better.
    What really makes the away game hard is the fact that you have to take a DAY out of your life to travel. You don't get to sleep in your own bed, practice on your own court AND you have to play in a gym you're not used to playing. Sometimes (like in Washington) you gotta take a bus for 2 hours to the middle of nowhere before you play.

    All of those difficulties have been maintained this year AND amplified with Covid protocols.

    Take this last week in particular:

    Sunday we spent recoperating from AZ + preparing for Oregon. Monday we played Oregon. Tuesday we recovered from Oregon, Wednesday we spent traveling to Boulder. Thursday we Played Colorado. Friday we recovered from Colorado and Traveled to SLC, and Saturday we played Utah.

    This wasn't the exact schedule I'm sure, but all of those things had to happen in the last week at some point.

    Gents, in that time span there is NOT a lot of time to prepare for Colorado and Utah. I mean, the players need a break at some point after living, breathing basketball for the past 6 months.

    In this particular week, the mountain teams benefitted significantly from our packed schedule.

    A couple of comments about the above:

    1. I'm not here to make excuses about this weekend, especially the Utah game which we had every facet to win. But this is a huge factor in our beating in boulder, I assume.

    2. This goes both ways. I fully believe Oregon - who had to play last Saturday - had next to no time to prepare for us on Monday (while we got the home game advantage) and owes their trouncing in part to travel as well.

    3. This is no excuse for the low effort we saw on Saturday, still.

    EDIT: 4. I bring this up because I feel like there is an illusion of control in college basketball, that the coaches and the players are 100% in control of the outcome of any game.

    And of course, how they play and how hard they play and how well our coaches coach DOES have a lot to do with the outcome of any game. But there are aspects completely out of our control too; and it's important to remember that those are a significant factor of a college basketball game.

    ​​​​​​​Fight on.
    Last edited by Trojan2021; 02-28-2021, 12:48 PM.
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  • #2
    A number of factors contribute to making it hard to win on the road, but I’d say a hostile environment created by fans is the biggest one.
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    • #3
      Originally posted by Globe View Post
      A number of factors contribute to making it hard to win on the road, but I’d say a hostile environment created by fans is the biggest one.
      Wow, I would really disagree. I mean, perhaps it would be best to interview players about this because I've never played college sports but you HAVE to think if players had the opportunity to:

      1. Play on their own court; no travel, but with opposing teams fans.

      2. Play on away court, forced to travel; but with their fans.

      That they would chose to avoid the travel.

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      • #4
        Add to all this, college basketball is unpredictable.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Trojan2021 View Post
          Hey guys, I was gonna comment on a couple other posts, but I thought this may serve better as its own:

          When I was younger, I always thought it was the "fans" that made away games so hard - the fans are annoying and loud and booing you and so on. Now I know better.
          What really makes the away game hard is the fact that you have to take a DAY out of your life to travel. You don't get to sleep in your own bed, practice on your own court AND you have to play in a gym you're not used to playing. Sometimes (like in Washington) you gotta take a bus for 2 hours to the middle of nowhere before you play.

          All of those difficulties have been maintained this year AND amplified with Covid protocols.

          Take this last week in particular:

          Sunday we spent recoperating from AZ + preparing for Oregon. Monday we played Oregon. Tuesday we recovered from Oregon, Wednesday we spent traveling to Boulder. Thursday we Played Colorado. Friday we recovered from Colorado and Traveled to SLC, and Saturday we played Utah.

          This wasn't the exact schedule I'm sure, but all of those things had to happen in the last week at some point.

          Gents, in that time span there is NOT a lot of time to prepare for Colorado and Utah. I mean, the players need a break at some point after living, breathing basketball for the past 6 months.

          In this particular week, the mountain teams benefitted significantly from our packed schedule.

          A couple of comments about the above:

          1. I'm not here to make excuses about this weekend, especially the Utah game which we had every facet to win. But this is a huge factor in our beating in boulder, I assume.

          2. This goes both ways. I fully believe Oregon - who had to play last Saturday - had next to no time to prepare for us on Monday (while we got the home game advantage) and owes their trouncing in part to travel as well.

          3. This is no excuse for the low effort we saw on Saturday, still.

          EDIT: 4. I bring this up because I feel like there is an illusion of control in college basketball, that the coaches and the players are 100% in control of the outcome of any game.

          And of course, how they play and how hard they play and how well our coaches coach DOES have a lot to do with the outcome of any game. But there are aspects completely out of our control too; and it's important to remember that those are a significant factor of a college basketball game.

          Fight on.
          Good post. I agree that travel and change of scenery is just as hard as dealing with the crowd. Add that to the fact that this is a COVID year and the schedule is packed in the latter part of the season.....yea we're prone to losing to inferior teams.

          Let me add one more point - these guys aren't professional players. They are college students who have to juggle social life, school work, and basketball. There's a lot that could be going on behind the scenes outside of basketball.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by NYtrojan View Post

            Good post. I agree that travel and change of scenery is just as hard as dealing with the crowd. Add that to the fact that this is a COVID year and the schedule is packed in the latter part of the season.....yea we're prone to losing to inferior teams.

            Let me add one more point - these guys aren't professional players. They are college students who have to juggle social life, school work, and basketball. There's a lot that could be going on behind the scenes outside of basketball.
            8 of the top 9 teams lost this weekend. That’s because their seasons are mostly set and successful and the teams they play are gunning for them.
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