(12-30-2022 09:56 PM)chess Wrote:  

(12-29-2022 01:10 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I missed watching DePaul play on Christmas. Given the Blue Demons lost 80-65 ... I didn't miss much.

The days of my watching DePaul win far more than it lost — long gone.

On a positive note (and thanks to GW11 for posting), the TV viewership for the game was outstanding.

When the team played at the Allstate Arena, I would pop in after work. DePaul is awful. It is only going to get worse with the NIL. I don't see the athletic department having the expertise or resources of, say, Marquette or Villanova or Georgetown or... That's too bad.

I also saw a few dozen DePaul games in an 80-90% empty Rosemont Horizon.

It is hard to imagine that DePaul used to sellout that same building when the Rosemont Horizon opened.

(12-30-2022 09:56 PM)chess Wrote:  

(12-29-2022 01:10 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I missed watching DePaul play on Christmas. Given the Blue Demons lost 80-65 ... I didn't miss much.

The days of my watching DePaul win far more than it lost — long gone.

On a positive note (and thanks to GW11 for posting), the TV viewership for the game was outstanding.

When the team played at the Allstate Arena, I would pop in after work. DePaul is awful. It is only going to get worse with the NIL. I don't see the athletic department having the expertise or resources of, say, Marquette or Villanova or Georgetown or... That's too bad.

Allstate Arena was called Rosemont Horizon when I lived in Chicago. Terrible idea to have DePaul play there. I still fondly recall the since-razed and venerable Alumni Hall — located on the campus and having seated 5,308 Blue Demon fans. It oozed character. If I could snap my fingers and see DePaul play even 10 minutes in that old gem of a gym.

But to your greater point, it pains me to agree. The DePaul athletic department (and university in general) commitment, resources, vision, etc. ... I struggle to see the men's hoops program ever again being national relevant (as it was when my fascination with the Blue Demons began in the late 1970s).

I watched a good bit of the second half of the DePaul vs. Georgetown game last night. The Blue Demons are solid ... but nothing more. More losses than wins await during the Big East league play schedule.

(12-30-2022 10:04 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(12-30-2022 09:56 PM)chess Wrote:  

(12-29-2022 01:10 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I missed watching DePaul play on Christmas. Given the Blue Demons lost 80-65 ... I didn't miss much.

The days of my watching DePaul win far more than it lost — long gone.

On a positive note (and thanks to GW11 for posting), the TV viewership for the game was outstanding.

When the team played at the Allstate Arena, I would pop in after work. DePaul is awful. It is only going to get worse with the NIL. I don't see the athletic department having the expertise or resources of, say, Marquette or Villanova or Georgetown or... That's too bad.

I also saw a few dozen DePaul games in an 80-90% empty Rosemont Horizon.

It is hard to imagine that DePaul used to sellout that same building when the Rosemont Horizon opened.

As you might know, IWULT, DePaul began playing in the Rosemont Horizon in 1980. At that point, the Blue Demon program was still strong and relevant — and coming off the 1979 Final Four season. But by the early to mid-1990s, the cracks in the seam were visible.

DePaul last made the NCAA Tournament in 2004.

I still enjoy following the Blue Demons (I always check the box scores and watch parts of many games on TV). The program will always be symbolic of my memorable 3.5 years as a Chicago resident. I simply hope the program can somehow get to the point of being a consistent NIT participant with the occasional NCAA tourney appearance.