Promo Problem

[molly jabali]

If we could get the whole crowd SINGING Hail Wichita, it...

WOULD. BE. GLORIOUS.

I would agree ...if that IU song didn't sound so putrid!

[DUShock]

Tip of the beret @ripemupshocks:

That is how you do a timeout. Not HCGM as sideshow Bob and his chotchkey crap that we now have.

[WSUwatcher]

The timeout in the UNI game after WSU's run to tie it would have been a good moment for a bunch of people in the crowd -- maybe the Maniacs -- to initiate an a cappella rendition of the Low Brass "We're gonna beat the hell out of you" chant.

Voices (or smuggled kazoos) maybe wouldn't be not as loud or impressive as the standard version with drums and horns, but with a little advance coordination it could be done, and it would sure have a far more positive effect on the CKA atmosphere than silly promotions.

[The 'hut]

This is how you spend a media timout!!

I'm glad you posted this. My daughter graduated from K-State (long story, but it was great for her) and has attended Shocker games several times this season with me. She has frequently said stuff like, "They need Sandstorm here". We can't get enough students to fill two sections, and they need to lead in keeping the energy. I applaud many of the students who attend regularly, but am just baffled how there are ever empty seats in a season like this. I haven't seen the quote, but she heard an interview with Jacobsen where he said you just have to get it quiet in Koch sometimes. Thank you to all of the cleaners, casinos, furniture stores and auto dealerships who give money so, 1. I won't ever use your services and 2. for giving aid to the enemy.

[ShockBand]

The timeout in the UNI game after WSU's run to tie it would have been a good moment for a bunch of people in the crowd -- maybe the Maniacs -- to initiate an a cappella rendition of the Low Brass "We're gonna beat the hell out of you" chant.

Voices (or smuggled kazoos) maybe wouldn't be not as loud or impressive as the standard version with drums and horns, but with a little advance coordination it could be done, and it would sure have a far more positive effect on the CKA atmosphere than silly promotions.

10,000 kazoos? THAT would get us on Sportscenter!

[ShockBand]

How about we all do this for UNI during timeouts next season?

[proshox]

Just boo during the promos, vote with our voice.

I do

[Eric]

10,000 kazoos? THAT would get us on Sportscenter!

Could security be convinced to "look the other way", and everyone bring one of those mini aerosol horns in, and cut 'em loose at a pre-determined time, 10,000 all at once.

[Stickboy46]

Could security be convinced to "look the other way", and everyone bring one of those mini aerosol horns in, and cut 'em loose at a pre-determined time, 10,000 all at once.

How about 10,000 Shocker Vuvuzela things .. the super loud noisemakers they have at large Soccer events!

[OregonShocker]

yeah, but I bet they didn't make a DIME off that! ;-)

[OregonShocker]

How about 10,000 Shocker Vuvuzela things .. the super loud noisemakers they have at large Soccer events!

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

[WSUwatcher]

How about 10,000 Shocker Vuvuzela things .. the super loud noisemakers they have at large Soccer events!

No, thanks -- kazoos would be fine with me. Even a couple hundred to get things started would be plenty. Kazoos can be surprisingly loud themselves.

Didn't we go through this once before, when Warren Armstrong (the president, not the great player) wanted us to stop taunting teams with the Low Brass words? The band wasn't allowed to play it, so some guerrillas got it restarted without musical accompaniment. Someone who was around back then should know how to do the same to the promos -- although maybe even the loud chorus of boos others have suggested would be enough if word got back to the sponsor. What business wants to be booed?

Speaking of presidents, this is something that ought to go to Bardo if the athletic department can't be persuaded to find other ways to raise money than by killing the crowd's energy just when it's needed most.

[ShockerDropOut]

I agree these promotions are a real problem with keeping the energy up at Koch during timeouts. Here is an idea. Call those companies sponsoring the timeout and let them know that you appreciate their sponsorship, but will not be using their services because of the way their "commercial" kills the energy in the arena. You can be polite, thankful, but also letting them know that you are there for basketball and not them. The focus should be on the product on the floor. I agree that having the sponsorship during the media timeouts is reasonable, but when the opposing team is seeking to stop a Shocker run, anything possible should be done to keep the crowd loud and engaged.

[WSUwatcher]

Interesting thought, Dropout, but then someone else may just come along and step up as a sponsor.

The real problem isn't with the sponsors; it's with the athletic department for being so tone-deaf or desperate for money or both -- and you can fill in your own additional reasons, all uncomplimentary -- that they feel the need to be running sponsored promotions during game time. No one can know in advance whether a given timeout in a given game will be routine or called to stem a Shocker run, so the answer is just to dispense with the promotions altogether except at a time known to be harmless, like halftime. (I suppose if they absolutely have to have one somewhere else along the line, they could do it at the first or second stoppage, when it's too early in the game for it to be consequential. But not beyond then.)

This isn't like baseball, where there's a regular break scheduled every half inning and crowd-supported momentum isn't a factor. In basketball, one of the most important aspects of presenting the game is simply to stay the hell out of the way of what's happening, and if that means having to look to a different source for revenue, so be it. Find a few more sponsors who are willing to accept space on the scoreboard during timeouts, or whatever -- presumably someone at WSU has studied marketing, and they certainly have people who teach it, so figure it out. But leave the timeouts alone, and turn them over to the band and the cheerleaders to do whatever they can either to whip up the crowd, to keep the frenzy going, or to just be entertaining and spirited.

Bottom line is that it simply shouldn't be that hard, assuming the athletic department has the proper goal in mind, which is to do everything possible to help the team win -- not to squeeze out the most revenue possible from every break in the action.

[ShockTalk]

Perhaps better time management during the timeouts could work. Be sure that at least 10-15 seconds are left to get the crowd back into the game at each TO. Allow for one timeout where there are no promos for each half. If not needed in the first half, two would be available for the second. Have a couple of sponsors who pay less to allow that they may not get their spot in a particular game here and there, but they would get the announcement during those times as sponsoring a "cheer on the Shockers".