I would be interested in a new poll.....

In constructing your poll it should sort responses by age

'67
Unchanged, though I do not attend as many games as I did during the RW years, for a variety of reasons.
But attending last year's PLC was a major high point

I got an email yesterday from a friend in Florida, she was at HC about the same time as Nht, pretty much lost interest in HC sports when we did not join the BE. She was very surprised that we were on national TV last night, and was going to watch (I haven't heard from her yet regarding our performance.). I watched of course, and will watch again as soon as I rewind the tape in my DVR

Actually, I would be interested because, although most dismiss 87/ihoop, he does touch a nerve. My amazement last night that I was switching to a hockey game when MY HC BBALL TEAM WAS ON TV was real!

Almost everyone on this Board has impressive HC fan bona fides. If among us interest is waning then perhaps our straights are more dire than we previously thought.

I admit that I do practice a lot more colorful language this season than in some past seasons and that is because my expectations have risen after last season's PL championship run. Coupled that with the Pats amazing comeback demonstrates that "our" team always has a chance. 

I am not one of those who ever said that Carmody (or Nate Pine) was a "savior" but firmly believe they are vast improvements over their predecessors. I am also not one to downplay the quality or character of this year's seniors because they were Milan Brown recruits. Malachi is a better than solid level PL player and so is Robert when he is not injured and I am very happy that he seems to be playing much better. Matt has come along and while he will not be a banging inside center, we haven't seen one of those wearing purple since RW days. And, last I looked, he was by far our best shooter beyond the arc, something we need. Ant disappoints because he has not come back to his freshman year level and I personally would like to see Benzan at the pg position and Ant spell him and not play the theoretical 2 position. He is no doubt more frustrated with his own play than we are. 

The announcers last night repeatedly said that when HC is hitting its shot, our defense and takeaways make us a team that can beat any other PL team. We were not hitting yesterday and had an unusually high number of TOs ourselves. We had 18 to Buck's 19. While PB had 4 turnovers in 31 minutes, one of them clearly was "unforced" when he slipped right in front of the Bucknell bench. Ant had 3 in 19 minutes of play. Interesting last night that we actually had more baskets (27) than Bucknell (25) but unfortunately 13 of theirs were 3s and only 5 of ours were and they got 10 more points from the line than we did and made more than we attempted. 

Here's the reason for optimism going forward, Carmody makes no secret that he eschews rebounds with the implicit theory that if the ball goes in the hoop, you don't need to rebound. While I disagree with that, since no one shoots 100% game in and game out, he has recruited in the next class "scorers." I am especially looking forward to a kid whose range is close to midcourt and scores over 30 a game in Austin Butler. 

But here's the thing, most of us continue to follow and watch the team because they represent Holy Cross and we know that they are smart and generally have integrity and work hard and don't give up on their teammates, coaching staff, the school and Holy Cross local fans. So we shouldn't give up on them.
 

Waning.

Some reasons: the on-court product is really bad and it looks like it's about a lot more than just "growing pains" learning Carmody's system, we are going to be worse next year, the Hart Center upgrade is underwhelming, the league is as bad and boring as it's been since before scholarships, there is no "carrot at the end of the stick" thinking about the opportunity to get a win in the NCAA Tournament as it is clear that the coach would not put together a gameplan capable of a big upset, the PL schedule is awful,

KY, I think you are missing his point. He saw all those wins but because we should have been better than all the other teams, being Holy Cross and our illustrious basketball history, that none of those games really qualify as upsets. 

In other words:

"He saw all those wins but because we should have been better than all the other teams, being Holy Cross and our illustrious basketball history, that none of those games really qualify as upsets."

Since the First Four games are part of the tournament, why - in your opinion, don't they count?

Have to say, that my enthusiasm for HC hoop and football is waning....and if my enthusiasm is waning, I can't imagine where that leaves casual HC fans these days.

It's simply not the same school (in terms of athletic enthusiasm for football and basketball) that it was through the 1980s/early 1990s. No more BC football game at the end of the year, a largely boring regular season for basketball etc.....where are today's students supposed to experience that enthusiasm in those sports? No Army football game to go to, no basketball games against PC or BC etc .....both programs largely mired in mediocrity for much of the last 30 years...it's understandable that anyone undah 45 couldn't care less about HC football and basketball.

Although I still follow, my interest and spending on HC athletics is at an all time low. I wish it weren't.

No. As discussed repeatedly here, it has more to do with the composition of the student body which is more female (obviously) and, more importantly, their interests are much more varied with so many more options than to just go to a basketball/football game or go to the library and study. The wired campus makes for an assortment of other amusements and the extensive number of sports teams makes so many more "participants" than "observers." And when they are not participating themselves in games or practices and just observing, they can spend time watching LAX, field hockey, soccer, ice hockey, etc., etc., etc. of their roommates or classmates. 

And, yes, some of these students have little interest in athletics and instead focus on helping the Worcester community or practice the fine arts. In the 60's, many did the former but few did the latter. 

While "losing" doesn't help the situation, I don't think that is the main reason, just one of many factors.