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Beyond the game itself, it seems we have greatly improved the overall game day production in the last couple of years - less cheesy promotions, no half-time show rather than one that sucks, etc. I like to watch visiting fans behind their bench to see how the interact with our environment - do they respect our alma mater?, do they interact with things like Kiss Cam, Kids Dunk, in-game promotions?, etc. The ISU fans looked they had a great time, despite the outcome.
For some perspective, this is from the ISU board from a fan who was here:
"It's the WHOLE damn experience. NOT JUST THE GAME. From the lines before the gates open. The intensity and excitement and volume of the pep band. The fantastic in game promotions. The lack of lag time in those promotions. Nothing cheesy. The engagement of the crowd. The knowledge of the crowd. Every time they hit a 3, the PA guy exclaims the player name and then unloads..."and that's a Shocker..." and the WHOLE DAMN CROWD shouts THREEEEEEEEEEE, with both arms, 3 fingers in the air. The right blend of professionalism and excitement from the PA guy. Constant playing from the pep band. A full crowd for ten plus years. And hell, I haven't even mentioned the students! This paragraph is only the tip of the iceberg.
You can just sense that the whole damn department is ALL-IN, and oddly, it's so incredibly professional. Yet is ecstatically EXCITING. You should walk away from a college basketball game day event just absolutely CLAMORING to go back. Not even so much from the game...but from the whole damn experience.
They are freaking head and shoulders, in the game-day experience, above everyone in The Valley. Actually, our guys on the radio even said tonight...it's one of the best in the country. And THAT SHOULD FLIPPING BOTHER US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not because what they have is good...but because we can be every every EVERY bit as good, if not better. Not just what happens on the court...but what happens in the damn arena. Everything surrounding the game. I cannot BELIEVE that it doesn't bother you more!!!! We have so much damn more to offer with the experience at Redbird, and we are missing it!!
I worked with some of those people in admin, and they're good people!!! But we are getting SMOKED in the game day experience, and if that doesn't bother our AD, our asst AD's, our president, our coach, our players, our students, and our message board fans (among others)...then we should find another team to root for.
I love The Redbirds, man. No way you can sit in that environment tonight, as a visiting school, and not be INSPIRED to put a MUCH BETTER product out for the, well, for EVERYBODY associated with ISU. They all should have been there tonight, with notebooks in hand. I'm not kidding. Literally. The AD and all his assistants. That's NOT a bravado statement. That's just wanting to get better.
This post doesn't give justice to the fact of how much we are lacking in the game-day experience and just how good theirs is, from a perspective of the whole event. I'm not a Shocker fan, ok?? But I am WOW'd by that incredible environment. And I respect it tremendously."
For some perspective, this is from the ISU board from a fan who was here:
"It's the WHOLE damn experience. NOT JUST THE GAME. From the lines before the gates open. The intensity and excitement and volume of the pep band. The fantastic in game promotions. The lack of lag time in those promotions. Nothing cheesy. The engagement of the crowd. The knowledge of the crowd. Every time they hit a 3, the PA guy exclaims the player name and then unloads..."and that's a Shocker..." and the WHOLE DAMN CROWD shouts THREEEEEEEEEEE, with both arms, 3 fingers in the air. The right blend of professionalism and excitement from the PA guy. Constant playing from the pep band. A full crowd for ten plus years. And hell, I haven't even mentioned the students! This paragraph is only the tip of the iceberg.
You can just sense that the whole damn department is ALL-IN, and oddly, it's so incredibly professional. Yet is ecstatically EXCITING. You should walk away from a college basketball game day event just absolutely CLAMORING to go back. Not even so much from the game...but from the whole damn experience.
They are freaking head and shoulders, in the game-day experience, above everyone in The Valley. Actually, our guys on the radio even said tonight...it's one of the best in the country. And THAT SHOULD FLIPPING BOTHER US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not because what they have is good...but because we can be every every EVERY bit as good, if not better. Not just what happens on the court...but what happens in the damn arena. Everything surrounding the game. I cannot BELIEVE that it doesn't bother you more!!!! We have so much damn more to offer with the experience at Redbird, and we are missing it!!
I worked with some of those people in admin, and they're good people!!! But we are getting SMOKED in the game day experience, and if that doesn't bother our AD, our asst AD's, our president, our coach, our players, our students, and our message board fans (among others)...then we should find another team to root for.
I love The Redbirds, man. No way you can sit in that environment tonight, as a visiting school, and not be INSPIRED to put a MUCH BETTER product out for the, well, for EVERYBODY associated with ISU. They all should have been there tonight, with notebooks in hand. I'm not kidding. Literally. The AD and all his assistants. That's NOT a bravado statement. That's just wanting to get better.
This post doesn't give justice to the fact of how much we are lacking in the game-day experience and just how good theirs is, from a perspective of the whole event. I'm not a Shocker fan, ok?? But I am WOW'd by that incredible environment. And I respect it tremendously."
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