The Slow Death of Gameday Atmosphere at CKA

[ShockerFever]

All the stuff about game day production and crowd quality have some truth. But the bigger problem is really the lack of ability for this team really being capable of playing lockdown defense.

This year team doesn't have the ability to actually steal the ball, so you are not seeing the "atomic bomb" turnover which beside great offensive play like hitting a 3pt or a slam is what get the crowd going. If you do have the crowd going, then WSU inability to guard one-on-one means somebody on the opposing team makes a play and the crowd momentum is shut down before it ever get started.

WSU is ranked 326 in steal % in Kenpom.

I have looked at this relative to opponent quality compared to last year - it is not opponent quality issue, WSU is down this year against all types of quality of opponent. This team lacks the ability to turn teams over.


MM coming back has helped some with increasing turnover, but with his limited playing minutes and the fact he has been a turnover machine.....

I think you might’ve posted in the wrong thread.

[SHOCKvalue]

SHOCKvalue that may be the post of the New Year. Is there a detailed accounting somewhere of how much these promos actually make the athletic department?

The nature of the WSU AD being a state-supported non-profit would seem to indicate that information would be public, albeit via a FOIA filing that wouldn’t be free, nor help with any of our relationships with an entity that seems to take an adversarial, punitive tact towards those that won’t just fall in line, pay up and shut up.

My own speculation on all accounts, obviously.

[BOBB]

Seems like something an intrepid Taylor Eldridge could inquire about. Being out of town, I am not privy to the game experience, only what I see on TV. It seems like they filter out more of the crowd noise in the sound mix than they used to, but most of the timeouts are covered by commercials.

[ShauXTyme]

I completely agree with the initial post. Been a season ticket holder since the early 80's and haven't seen it this boring since sometime in the 90's/early 00's. New sound system a few years back started out quiet, and after enough complaints/suggestions, it got better. This year, quiet as a mouse. Seriously, can't hear the player's names over the quiet background music. The Hats for Heros piece is really cool, but someone forgot the basic, appropriate style of introductions, tell about the person before you mention their name. Once you mention their name, people clap (appropriately) and you can't hear anything else about the person's contributions. Intro video is very weak this year - I used to get goose-bumps during those, this year - I don't really even watch. I texted my brother last night about 3-4 minutes into the game saying it was a weird atmosphere in there, really quiet - just weird. It stayed that way throughout the game. Hopefully, it gets better.

[Stickboy46]

How about going after the advertisers? Is it Emprise Bank that does the kiss cam? Anyone that has an Emprise Bank account write to them saying you will be cancelling your account due to the fact that they did not request that their promotion not be played during a momentum time out? Cancel accounts, go to competitors but make it be known that its because their stupid promotions aren't wanted. Donate .. but do just that ...donate, not purchase a momentum killing segment.

[WheatShock]

How about going after the advertisers? Is it Emprise Bank that does the kiss cam? Anyone that has an Emprise Bank account write to them saying you will be cancelling your account due to the fact that they did not request that their promotion not be played during a momentum time out? Cancel accounts, go to competitors but make it be known that its because their stupid promotions aren't wanted. Donate .. but do just that ...donate, not purchase a momentum killing segment.

That's dumb. Emprise Bank doesn't control when the kiss cam is used, the athletic dept does. In exchange for money (probably a lot), Emprise gets their name out there, i'm sure the agreement specifies a certain number of times the promotion will be run but not when.

[Stickboy46]

That's dumb. Emprise Bank doesn't control when the kiss cam is used, the athletic dept does. In exchange for money (probably a lot), Emprise gets their name out there, i'm sure the agreement specifies a certain number of times the promotion will be run but not when.

I guarantee they have enough power to say when they would be OK with their advertisement not being played

[ShockerFever]

How about going after the advertisers? Is it Emprise Bank that does the kiss cam? Anyone that has an Emprise Bank account write to them saying you will be cancelling your account due to the fact that they did not request that their promotion not be played during a momentum time out? Cancel accounts, go to competitors but make it be known that its because their stupid promotions aren't wanted. Donate .. but do just that ...donate, not purchase a momentum killing segment.

Do you have Play Angry on ignore or did you not see his post in response to yours in the other thread that perfectly illustrates how BAD of an idea this is?

[Stickboy46]

Do you have Play Angry on ignore or did you not see his post in response to yours in the other thread that perfectly illustrates how BAD of an idea this is?

No if he responded with a comment rather than I quote I probably haven't visited that thread again yet

[WheatShock]

I guarantee they have enough power to say when they would be OK with their advertisement not being played

But why should they do that, they paid for the advertisement and they should get their money's worth.

I guarantee that if they really wanted to the athletic dept could find a way to not kill the atmosphere and still give their sponsors the exposure they paid for.

[proshox]

The reality is that we can do more passive sponsorships- other schools do it. I really don’t think sponsors demand another free throw contest.

[Stickboy46]

But why should they do that, they paid for the advertisement and they should get their money's worth.

I guarantee that if they really wanted to the athletic dept could find a way to not kill the atmosphere and still give their sponsors the exposure they paid for.

I read his response. It's a valid one. My point is, the athletic department listens to money. They won't change anything if they think it will negatively affect their sponsors donations. So you have to go to the source. I'm not saying to call out Sponsors for donating .. but call them out and point out that their name is tied to a promotion that is killing the atmosphere in CKA. This is NEGATIVE marketing for them at this point. Ask them to work with the Athletic department to provide a better experience. If they don't, you will take your business elsewhere.

I guarantee you that they would get more out of their marketing dollars if they just requested to use their promotion during momentum timeouts and just put a big sign on the board that said "This timeout and Shocker Sound is brought to you by ....." and just have the band keep the crowd fired up. That would leave a MUCH better taste in people's mouths than supporting something plays slow jams during critical times of the game.

[12eagle]

The athletic department should take a trip to OKC to see how the Thunder balance making money and getting the crowd hyped. As stated earlier the solutions are so easy and obvious.1.) The band need to automatically play beat the hell out of you when the other team calls a timeout to stop a run. This should be so automatic that even the team calling the timeout knows its coming. 2.) Kiss cam is fine if we are up by 30 if we are on a run forget the kiss cam and go with the "Get Hype Cam". 3.) If you want to put birthday wishes on the video bored fine but don't need to announce them. Finally the crowd was ready to get loud for most of the 2nd half all they needed was the opportunity. I remember during big games where they used to encourage everyone to stand up and make noise as the teams were breaking the huddle.

[AndShock]

The athletic department should take a trip to OKC to see how the Thunder balance making money and getting the crowd hyped. As stated earlier the solutions are so easy and obvious.1.) The band need to automatically play beat the hell out of you when the other team calls a timeout to stop a run. This should be so automatic that even the team calling the timeout knows its coming. 2.) Kiss cam is fine if we are up by 30 if we are on a run forget the kiss cam and go with the "Get Hype Cam". 3.) If you want to put birthday wishes on the video bored fine but don't need to announce them. Finally the crowd was ready to get loud for most of the 2nd half all they needed was the opportunity. I remember during big games where they used to encourage everyone to stand up and make noise as the teams were breaking the huddle.

The athletic department can take a trip to 95% of other D1 universities to see how they balance making money and getting the crowd hyped. And before someone says we require more money than 95% of other D1 universities I understand that viewpoint but I just simply refuse to believe that the promotions bring in that much money.

[Stickboy46]

The athletic department should take a trip to OKC to see how the Thunder balance making money and getting the crowd hyped. As stated earlier the solutions are so easy and obvious.1.) The band need to automatically play beat the hell out of you when the other team calls a timeout to stop a run. This should be so automatic that even the team calling the timeout knows its coming. 2.) Kiss cam is fine if we are up by 30 if we are on a run forget the kiss cam and go with the "Get Hype Cam". 3.) If you want to put birthday wishes on the video bored fine but don't need to announce them. Finally the crowd was ready to get loud for most of the 2nd half all they needed was the opportunity. I remember during big games where they used to encourage everyone to stand up and make noise as the teams were breaking the huddle.

I guess one other question i have is ... How are they accounting for the "extra" timeouts ... There were a lot of timeouts yesterday .. .more than normal. Every one had a promotion played. Do they just have extra promotions that are ok to not be played if there is no timeout? Get rid of those completely. If a timeout is called that isn't a media timeout ... it's probably a momentum timeout.