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Post by raiders93 on Jan 21, 2020 0:28:57 GMT -5
They have done this contest or a very similar one at halftime of every home game this season. (except the prize isn't a billards table) They did have this contest at the Youngstown game, the kid made his layup and then missed 6 or 7 foul shots...yawn. Can't remember the last time they had an athletic looking kid compete in this contest. Back in the 1990's the contestants seemed to have a little more skill, seemed like every other game someone had a chance from half court to win the prize...most likely the average college student today could not come even close to even making a three pointer. So that event ate up 30 seconds of the half-time, the remaining time was boring. Luckily, the Nutter Center is so quiet these days, it is easy to carry on a relaxed conversation with the folks you attend the game with. Glad you came to one game so you could bitch about the physical fitness of the average college student when the team is 17-4 |
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Post by gerb on Jan 21, 2020 1:18:42 GMT -5
They did have this contest at the Youngstown game, the kid made his layup and then missed 6 or 7 foul shots...yawn. Can't remember the last time they had an athletic looking kid compete in this contest. Back in the 1990's the contestants seemed to have a little more skill, seemed like every other game someone had a chance from half court to win the prize...most likely the average college student today could not come even close to even making a three pointer. So that event ate up 30 seconds of the half-time, the remaining time was boring. Luckily, the Nutter Center is so quiet these days, it is easy to carry on a relaxed conversation with the folks you attend the game with. Glad you came to one game so you could bitch about the physical fitness of the average college student when the team is 17-4 They used to be 18-1 and the three point line was uphill both ways. |
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Post by hhgreen on Jan 21, 2020 8:02:50 GMT -5
Would someone step up and pay for some good half time entertainment. Maybe we could even bring Lady Gaga to sing the national anthem.
Really just sit back and enjoy the ride. This team is special compared to past years. We have seniors that are being guarded and pushed all over the place while the freshman are stepping up for the cause.
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Post by gerb on Jan 21, 2020 8:32:18 GMT -5
We've covered this in a topic about a year ago, but here it is in the simplest, modern reality for you:
The university cut budgets in every single department. This included eliminating, condensing, or combining programs and positions, among other moves to maintain operations as an academic institution.
The athletic department, which is a part of the university, also had to make cuts. Part of what they chose to do in order to maintain, y'know, sports, was to consolidate and eventually eliminate the Promotions Director position (which, I believe, had even been combined with other roles out of budgetary concerns a few years prior). You can make a couple of clicks to see the online staff directory and the notable absence.
As the saying goes, you can't have your cake if the cake's funds were misappropriated so the ingredients are all cut and some of them disappear completely out of absolute necessity.
...or something like that.
As for student turnout, it certainly is a shame that more than a handful of this tubby, malnourished generation doesn't have the gumption to make the walk from the dorms, across campus, around the woods, down a hopefully de-iced path in below freezing temperatures to see the undernarketed basketball team play opponents with below .500 records. I bet they'd rather just stay at home on a cold, January night and enjoy the game on ESPN+. Ugh!
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Post by raider85 on Jan 21, 2020 8:57:53 GMT -5
It doesnt cost any money to have the spirit squads entertain the crowd during time outs Also i remember the green flood lights that lit up the empty corners of the arena It cant cost much to turn those on
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Post by gerb on Jan 21, 2020 9:17:25 GMT -5
It doesnt cost any money to have the spirit squads entertain the crowd during time outs Also i remember the green flood lights that lit up the empty corners of the arena It cant cost much to turn those on Who is the coach? Who choreographs the routines? How do they get paid? When and how often does the team rehearse? How are the uniforms paid for? At their core, these all break down to budget issues. |
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Post by mre on Jan 21, 2020 9:29:24 GMT -5
Glad you came to one game so you could bitch about the physical fitness of the average college student when the team is 17-4 The average college student must not be in very good shape or else more than a handful of them could walk over to the Nutter Center to catch a game. Yes one game for me so far this year, but a few hundred over the last 45 or so years. A navy seal isn’t walking from campus housing to the nutter center on a winter night in Dayton, let alone a college kid. Why? It isn’t worth it. At all. Tell me what people get out of going to the games that they don’t get out of watching them on TV. Why do people go to concerts when they can just listen to the music at home? For the show...the lights and the atmosphere and the environment. The excitement! Going to a sporting event is supposed to be an experience too and it just isn’t that at the nutter center. And I go to plenty of games, but that’s because I’m a die hard fan. It’s pretty disappointing every time though. Don’t get me wrong, the basketball product is wonderful (most nights), but I can get that on my 60 inch flat screen and I don’t have to sit on a piece of green plastic. |
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Post by Dr J on Jan 21, 2020 10:44:14 GMT -5
We have a team that is performing better than in past few years. They are playing more exciting basketball and winning. Now, we have people complaining about halftime activities. I will chose exciting and winning basketball over any halftime entertainment. I can kill my time in line at restroom and concession stands or talking to the fans around my seat. Love the winning basketball, but would like a better half-time show. What is wrong with wanting just a wee bit more? Dr. J you are a die-hard basketball fan, but most of the folks I know that WERE WSU season ticket holders in the 1990's want entertainment , great food, and glitz. They have stopped coming to the games because they are all in their 50's and 60's and the WSU experience is not fun for them anymore...they are what you would call casual fans, but in the past they spent a lot of money at WSU games. You can hang out in the bathroom entertaining yourself, but I would rather stay home on a cold January night and enjoy the game on ESPN+. That said, a group of 10 of us, mostly casual WSU fans for the last 40 years, most former season ticket holders, are going to the NKU game ,because that game should have a great atmosphere, because a lot is riding on the outcome. I am not against having halftime entertainment. I fondly remember the halftime entertainment of the past. I enjoyed the Happy Hopper jump rope team. Maybe getting the restaurants around there to offer a gift card. The students would sign up when entering the arena. Then draw three to participate in halftime contest and winner gets the gift card. Maybe need the marketing department to have a project for students to get businesses involved. As far as an announcer, Gordy is difficult act to follow. May need to have audition for the position. |
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Post by vandaliaraider on Jan 21, 2020 12:54:54 GMT -5
Looking at the Promo Schedule for the games coming up, it looks like the AD department is doing more for the game experience. For the NKU game, they are bringing out one of the top halftime acts out there (Tyler's Amazing Balancing Act). Here is link to the promo schedule on university website if interested: wsuraiders.com/sports/2017/7/31/fall-promotions.aspxI think the department is doing a good job for our school. I don't expect to have something every game. I have noticed they are doing more Social Media marketing in the past few months than before. They are trying to get the Raider Up message out to others from what I have seen. |
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Post by SportsFan on Jan 22, 2020 8:42:18 GMT -5
I am less focused on the halftime show specifically, but the game atmosphere has to improve. I understand the budget limitation, but there are still some areas we can try to fix.
- Rowdy is pretty much non existent at this point. Our past mascots used to be much more involved.
- We should play some more modern music in the arena. It feels like we have been listening to the same songs for the last 10 years.
- It has been said already, but the sound system is really, really bad.
- The green lights that use to light up the corners of the arena looked much better than the arena does now.
Our basketball product has been great, and exciting. Hopefully we can make it more appealing for younger fans and students to come out. Families with young kids also have very little reason to attend a game in person.
I have also seen an increase in Social Media activity, but it is kind of sad that it took them this long to start really utilizing Social Media...
All that being said, I will continue to attend all home games, and hope that a consistently impressive basketball product will bring a better gameday environment.
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Post by ohiopirate on Jan 22, 2020 10:16:41 GMT -5
- Rowdy is pretty much non existent at this point. Our past mascots used to be much more involved. This is an good observation that I didn't realize until you mentioned it. I've been to every home game this year and I don't even remember seeing Rowdy half the time. I guess he was there somewhere and just not out and about as much? Or maybe not. I guess I'll start actively looking to see if he's even at the games. |
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Post by Raider Country on Jan 22, 2020 11:46:30 GMT -5
A navy seal isn’t walking from campus housing to the nutter center on a winter night in Dayton, let alone a college kid. Why? It isn’t worth it. At all. Tell me what people get out of going to the games that they don’t get out of watching them on TV. Why do people go to concerts when they can just listen to the music at home? For the show...the lights and the atmosphere and the environment. The excitement! Going to a sporting event is supposed to be an experience too and it just isn’t that at the nutter center. And I go to plenty of games, but that’s because I’m a die hard fan. It’s pretty disappointing every time though. Don’t get me wrong, the basketball product is wonderful (most nights), but I can get that on my 60 inch flat screen and I don’t have to sit on a piece of green plastic. Doesn't the shuttle system take students from their dorms to the Nutter Center anymore? |
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Post by Raider Rowdies on Jan 22, 2020 11:55:57 GMT -5
You either want to see a game live or you don't. I have been attending games for over 15 years now. I cannot think of one half time show or timeout entertainment in that time span that would entice me to go to the Nutter Center if I was making the decision to go to games or watch it online. I go to games to see my Raiders play and I do it with a group of friends. I wish the PA system was better and the guy working it was more professional. I wish we had a band the played during every timeout and at halftime like the team across town. I wish we had our dance team back from the 1990s. Hell, I wish the rest of the HL was playing like they were in the 1990s so the games would be more entertaining. Bottom line is you are either going to attend games or not based on if you think it's worth your entertainment budget. I don't think any off the court improvements is going to tip the scale in favor of getting more fans in the stands. I think that is why the AD has shifted money away from that and is spending it in other areas.
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Post by wsuraider09 on Jan 22, 2020 12:52:22 GMT -5
You either want to see a game live or you don't. I have been attending games for over 15 years now. I cannot think of one half time show or timeout entertainment in that time span that would entice me to go to the Nutter Center if I was making the decision to go to games or watch it online. I go to games to see my Raiders play and I do it with a group of friends. I wish the PA system was better and the guy working it was more professional. I wish we had a band the played during every timeout and at halftime like the team across town. I wish we had our dance team back from the 1990s. Hell, I wish the rest of the HL was playing like they were in the 1990s so the games would be more entertaining. Bottom line is you are either going to attend games or not based on if you think it's worth your entertainment budget. I don't think any off the court improvements is going to tip the scale in favor of getting more fans in the stands. I think that is why the AD has shifted money away from that and is spending it in other areas. Now I seem to remember about 12 years ago, a really entertaining senior citizen who was a 3 point sharp shooter extradordinare. I'd pay to see him again. |
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Post by SportsFan on Jan 22, 2020 13:15:47 GMT -5
You either want to see a game live or you don't. I have been attending games for over 15 years now. I cannot think of one half time show or timeout entertainment in that time span that would entice me to go to the Nutter Center if I was making the decision to go to games or watch it online. I go to games to see my Raiders play and I do it with a group of friends. I wish the PA system was better and the guy working it was more professional. I wish we had a band the played during every timeout and at halftime like the team across town. I wish we had our dance team back from the 1990s. Hell, I wish the rest of the HL was playing like they were in the 1990s so the games would be more entertaining. Bottom line is you are either going to attend games or not based on if you think it's worth your entertainment budget. I don't think any off the court improvements is going to tip the scale in favor of getting more fans in the stands. I think that is why the AD has shifted money away from that and is spending it in other areas. This is true for those of us who follow the team closely, and participate in boards like this. This isnt the case for casual fans (which we need to boost attendance), the majority of students, and families with younger kids. WSU basketball is a priority for the majority of us on this board, but we need more than the diehard fans to show up if we want to create more diehard fans. Creating a more entertaining atmosphere for everyone can only benefit WSU. No one is saying that we should start boycotting games until things get better. I will still be at every home game. I just dont understand those who are against improving the game day atmosphere. I am hoping Friday will be packed, and loud! |
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