zippy
Mail Room
Posts: 15
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Post by zippy on Mar 6, 2019 12:41:09 GMT -5
I can forgive students for not going to every sporting event but, it makes a difference when student-athletes see their fellow students at games. Back in the day, I decided to go to a school I could support in sports. Figured I was paying for the ticket and I couldn't ignore that, either. As long as the spirit unit is treated as a 2nd class citizen club sport, I'm thankful they ever show up. I think they miss out on the college experience of not doing something they like but, don't expect the school can dictate a game over some other appearance. The whole thing makes a huge difference and helps the teams more than you'll ever know. The pep band does a great job in cheering along with the music but, wish they'd fill up their section with a few more members ( understand that is a budget thing, too ). I think the cheerleaders and dance team were both taken out from under the athletic department umbrella and put under Student Affairs. I am going to guess that means less funding. I don't recall if that happened this year or last. |
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Post by wsutommygun on Mar 6, 2019 14:43:52 GMT -5
I do want to give everyone a little credit for drawing 20% or so above the regular season average.
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Post by paulkris on Mar 6, 2019 16:04:40 GMT -5
I think there are also different rules for tournament games. The home team can't run the same scenario that they run during the regular season.
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Post by raider85 on Mar 6, 2019 17:52:34 GMT -5
I don't know if the cheerleaders and dance team were ever sports, but I remember the Emerald Jazz being nationally ranked and the cheerleaders were great. The are practically non existent now.
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Post by wsuraider09 on Mar 6, 2019 18:00:10 GMT -5
I don't know if the cheerleaders and dance team were ever sports, but I remember the Emerald Jazz being nationally ranked and the cheerleaders were great. The are practically non existent now. EJ was legit when I was in school, but I believe they are called the "Dance Team", and are certainly not the refined dance troupe they used to be. Also, the "Get Roudy" routine is literally over a decade old....can we not afford someone to make a new mix for our squad and let someone come up with some new choreography for it? Maybe we'll see some improvements next season as our on-court performance is certainly meriting a better atmosphere all around. |
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Post by CincyDrummer on Mar 6, 2019 20:13:57 GMT -5
I don't know if the cheerleaders and dance team were ever sports, but I remember the Emerald Jazz being nationally ranked and the cheerleaders were great. The are practically non existent now. EJ was legit when I was in school, but I believe they are called the "Dance Team", and are certainly not the refined dance troupe they used to be. Also, the "Get Roudy" routine is literally over a decade old....can we not afford someone to make a new mix for our squad and let someone come up with some new choreography for it? Maybe we'll see some improvements next season as our on-court performance is certainly meriting a better atmosphere all around. Yeah, people seriously need to think outside of the box for these things. We have a nationally ranked arts programs literally right next door to Nutter Center, filled with dance and theatre and art and music majors, a few who I'm sure would be interested in choreographing dance that tens of thousands (or perhaps more) of people would see over a long period of time, perhaps with their name on the screen as well for credit. Maybe even give them a stipend? I know exposure and experience doesn't pay the bills, but I'm sure there would be a few students interested in filling some of the holes in the game day experience at the Nutter. |
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Post by wsuraider09 on Mar 6, 2019 22:07:25 GMT -5
Quarterfinal Attendance: IUPUI @ WSU : 4,936 UIC @ UW-GB : 1,727 DET @ NKU : 3,394 YSU @ OAK : 3,386 |
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Post by fortwayneraider on Mar 6, 2019 22:33:39 GMT -5
The at game experience has gone downhill over the last several years. The cheerleaders and dance teams are not near as good as the used to be. Remember the Raider Jam? Some of the women who go with are involved in this type of thing and the always ask why they are not as good. What happened to the green flood lights that lit up the big empty spaces in the corners of the arena? They used to have lighted paw prints go across the floor during introductions, which I though was cool, but they quit doing that. They cheerleaders used to bring out the huge flags about halfway through the second half and they quit doing that. Now none of these things will make me quit coming to games, but it did make for a better atmosphere, and like I said the people I bring notice this stuff The guy sitting in front of me tonight has season tickets to both UD and WSU. We asked him if both schools were playing at the same time, which game would he attend. His answer was that he would chose UD because of the atmosphere at the games. Ouch. I've been going to WSU games since I was 7 in 1990 and I can say without question the biggest thing they need to fix that would make the entire presentation of the game better is the SOUND! I went to the home game against YSU and the PA announcer was impossible to understand. It was just echos. I've noticed this has gotten worse over the years. Also, and yes this is probably minor, the lower level concourse and front row'ish area could use a touch up, More green and gold and less grey cheapness. I know it's probably not going to happen but I always feel like on tv it just looks-cheap. I love that they added the giant WSU murals above the luxury suites over the years-little things like that, more team colors and such really make the entire presentation better. And lastly, I think they should remove the tarps. Empty seats look better than tarps. Especially tarps that are wrinkled. It looks like the seats are under construction or something. Why hide them? It doesn't make it look less empty for a game against Ohio Northern, it just makes it look cruddy. Other than that, bring back the Emerald Jazz, bring back some fun halftime stuff like the paper airplane free airfare contest and I agree about the green flood lights and the great intros. I am still bitter about switching from the Orange Bearded guy to a wolf-hybrid so I am happy they did away with the paw prints, but overall I agree that all the little things help bring back casual fans that maybe are new to the area and looking for a team to start taking his kids to go see. They gave away lots of free t-shirts at the YSU game I attended, which was good. |
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Post by raider85 on Mar 6, 2019 22:43:25 GMT -5
Totally agree with the sound problem I never understand a word they are saying
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Post by jerrygball on Mar 6, 2019 23:18:14 GMT -5
Not many rivalries in the league hurts too...we have a new rivalry with NKU which is good, but outside of that not much else. Losing Butler, then Valpo probably didn't help the league over the long run.
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Post by GetRowdyGetR... on Mar 8, 2019 21:38:20 GMT -5
Totally agree with the sound problem I never understand a word they are saying I'll second that about the sound - the music that is played is just too loud. You can't even carry on a conversation with the person next to you. I think they have the sound turned up for when there is 10,000 people in there. This isn't a concert we are watching. Music doesn't have to be loud to sound good. |
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Post by oldfan on Mar 9, 2019 11:17:58 GMT -5
The sound volume is dangerous to the ears! Please turn it down.
I agree the halftime "entertainment" is pathetic. If WSU groups don't want to participate get other local school groups to come and put on their shows. They would probably jump at the chance to get to perform in front of 4000+ fans.
The lack of WSU students attending is sad. Thank heavens for the 50-75 who do.
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Post by gerb on Mar 9, 2019 14:26:10 GMT -5
I know the athletic department has had to cut staff and consolidate duties in recent years out of budgetary necessity. Just from a workload perspective, that makes it difficult to coordinate in-game entertainment. It takes WAY more than just picking up a phone and calling an entertainer/group to say "hey, how would you like to come and do x at this game?" It's a full-time ++ job, which requires a sub staff of interns and/or student workers. After locking down the entertainment, which requires specific paperwork and sometimes riders, game scripts need to be drafted, approved, and distributed. The promotional items need to be not just vetted and ordered, but prepped. It may seem like a simple thing, but as one example: those T-shirts don't roll themselves.
The cheer and dance teams are two independent gears in a machine which have their own operations to coordinate with proper preparation and timing at showtime. They can run the flags (if they still exist.), but creating a dance routine is creating art and that takes more than just coming up with something.
There are literal scripts for each event with specific timing that require a director and staff to pull off anything beyond what you would see at a high school game. Even doing a free throw competition during a timeout needs an absolute minimum of two staffers to run it, and that's stretching it. If there's a winner, a prize needs to be secured from a sponsor ahead of time, which isn't always as easy as calling up one company and asking them to give you something in exchange for a shoutout to a half aware crowd. You've gotta move down the list and negotiate. This is the same reason we have Mike's freaking Carwash on our court. For a giveaway, that's just another thing on the list of time-consuming responsibilities with the rest of it.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Looking at the staff directory on wsuraiders.com, we have one person listed as Marketing Assistant/Assistant SID. The Marketing Program Director position is listed as TBA. That means one person has to split duties between an SID role and coordinating everything above. There is no one to direct the rest of it, so as much as it sucks - and it does - that's why things are as they are.
Having said all of that, it looks like we're doing pretty well for attendance. We've got an exciting product on the floor, which will get better and draw more as Nagy's team forms (I predict Potter will be a sight to see as his game develops). Hopefully we can snag some bigger names on the home schedule. The league is slowly improving. Having someone there to keep everything in gear next year will put that desired product (or some semblance of it) in the arena, which all adds up to a jump in attendance.
-xoxo,
Gerb
Former Promotions Assistant/Interim Director
Wright State and Univ. of Tulsa
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Post by mre on Mar 12, 2019 9:04:53 GMT -5
Okay why can’t we have a light like this. That’s awesome!
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Post by gerb on Mar 12, 2019 10:14:06 GMT -5
Okay why can’t we have a light like this. That’s awesome! Money and a brand new, world class, pro sports arena. But... yeah, that's pretty dope! |
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