Game Presentation

[SmooBoy]

So it's good that I could not hear him 95% of the time. Emelio?! Really?

[PonyKai]

You all just need to drink more, I think. Three sheets to the wind and none of this stuff will seem bothersome.

[CalallenStang]

Dooby, I hate to disagree, but if people want to go the sensory deprivation mode they can go to a Mavericks, Stars, Cowboys game. If they want a college football experience, tradition is something that they expect. If you go to an A&M game, you expect the yell leaders and the swaying rows making you seasick. If you go to a Florida State game, you expect the tomahawk chop. If you go to an Arkansas game you expect foolish people screaming like a bunch of piggies. If you go to a UVA game, you expect them to sing the Good ole song followed by I think I need another drink. If you go to an SMU game, you expect Peruna 300 times, great looking cheerleaders, Big Naomi, the band changing outfits, the Boulevard pregame tailgate and some football. Unless we're willing to pay through the nose for a game presentation which is slick and super professional, then let's stick with traditional that we do well. Otherwise be prepared for more playing field fires.

I am sorry. Let me clarify. That is awesome. Now go pull it off.

What % of the student body know the words to "pony battle cry?" What % of the student body know the words to "varsity?" How many people in our band? How many season ticket holders do we have that actually show up? The tomahawk chop would not be very cool with 6,000 people doing it.

This school is tradition-less. Old folks can lament the good old days but facts are facts. Everything you mentioned does not happen at Ford Stadium. Everytime someone tries to get something started, it fails miserably. "First down....Mustangs!" "Pony Up" That new fight song they tried a few years ago. They don't work because nobody is buying into it.

I like Peruna. I defend Peruna. But there is a group of folks that want to replace Peruna with a full-sized horse. The reason for that is because 20 years of losing has sucked this fanbase of any life. This is why people think of crap ideas like the Mustang Maniac.

BTW, I got a close up of the cheerleaders this year. Ehhhhhh....

And I could care less about band uniform changes. The only people that care about that are the alumni band who get the chance to play.

Don't talk about SMU's great traditions without recognizing where they stand today.

-Most incoming freshmen (it's something like 90%) go to Mustang Corral, where they are indoctrinated into SMU tradition. They learn "Varsity." They learn "Pony Battle Cry." I heard they were taught Pony Battle with a few wrong words this year...the school needs to do a better job on this. It's drilled into the students. I guarantee that every band member knows the words to those two songs and more. Did you know that SMU has another fight song known as "SMU Loyalty Song?"

-Season ticket holders show up for opening night every year. They will return if the experience is good. We have to be a winner and we have to make the game experience exciting.

-All you mentioned as failed traditions were new things that people tried to start. Did you happen to notice the entire student section (the ones who had stayed) dancing to a drum cadence in the fourth quarter? Did you notice all of the students clapping to "Peruna?" Did you hear the crowd roar as Peruna ran down the field after our first touchdown? The old traditions are still healthy; it's the new ones that don't make it.

-The band changes uniforms because Irving "Coach" Dreibrodt believed in this maxim: "Catch their eyes and their ears will follow." It's not called the "Best Dressed Band in the Land" for nothing.

Sounds to me like it is you who does not care about tradition, and not the fan base as a whole.

[SmooBoy]

Yes, the Hub of SMU Spirit has been doing it right all along. It's too bad that all incoming freshman and any others interested don't attend band "orientation." That is where the traditions are passed on.

[KnuckleStang]

The sad part is,if we had been in the habit of winning more football games the last couple decades, nobody would even be talking about trading a 77-year tradition (Peruna) for a "full-sized horse." Wouldn't even have occured to anybody. That's the sad and sickening part to me. There is nothing wrong with the mascot! Change the TEAM not the mascot

[Buckethead]

I was told that there was a meeting for either yesterday or today, to go over a long list of issues with the game day presentation.That meeting may never end.........

[Statler]

I was told that there was a meeting for either yesterday or today, to go over a long list of issues with the game day presentation.That meeting may never end.........

"Isssues" is a PC word designed to make people with problems "feel better."

I guess the Titanic had "issues" with an iceberg.

Let's call last Saturday's game presentation for what it was.....unmitigated disaster!

[FriscoPMG]

I was told that there was a meeting for either yesterday or today, to go over a long list of issues with the game day presentation.That meeting may never end.........

Hopefully this crazy month in between home games allows them to straighten some things out.
And if the team shows improved play and can steal a win or two before that game, then suddenly the game presentation won't matter as much when they get home...

[Pony in SA]

I hope they really but some time/resources/focus into this because this is important from a marketing and selling of tickets point of view. Fans pay attention to these details.

I went and visited some friends up at their seats Saturday and the noise from the speakers up in 205 was horrible. Also, fellow season ticket holder and mustang club member who was there and owns his very own Media company in town pointed out how grade school like our graphics looked. Said one rule of thumb is never to have background color same as your text and we had blue background with games scores also listed in blue. He said he could correct the graphics and fix the sound/speaker problem in less then an hour.

Don't know if/how much we pay the game presentation crew, but maybe athletic dept. could call on some alumni or mustang club members in the media business who do this for a living for their input before the next game. I bet some of them would donate their time to try and fix these continuing problems.

[Pipes]

They have problems with the game day presentations because of a small and frail number of fans who have never been involved with what it takes to pull something off. Someone called the announcer of last year a carney barker, he must have went back to the carney where all the people are. Why don't you putzes shut up and offer a solution instead of being over critical fans who can only find things they don't like instead of things they do.
Stop whining and support the support people who bust their [deleted] to put this thing together for ungrateful mongrels such as yourselves who have spent their whole lives being critical of others due to the entitlement you feel because you're SMU alum. To hell with all of you and may you spend the rest of your days offering solutions instead of problems and apologizing to all the people you have berated and belittled your entire life. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

[couch 'em]

They have problems with the game day presentations because of a small and frail number of fans who have never been involved with what it takes to pull something off. Someone called the announcer of last year a carney barker, he must have went back to the carney where all the people are. Why don't you putzes shut up and offer a solution instead of being over critical fans who can only find things they don't like instead of things they do.
Stop whining and support the support people who bust their [deleted] to put this thing together for ungrateful mongrels such as yourselves who have spent their whole lives being critical of others due to the entitlement you feel because you're SMU alum. To hell with all of you and may you spend the rest of your days offering solutions instead of problems and apologizing to all the people you have berated and belittled your entire life. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Drive over to TCU Saturday and sit through their game. Nothing spectacular. But no screwups. When we don't have screwups, nobody will complain.

I'm sorry you've failed to do your job properly. When I'm sitting in the game, and I'm listening to classical music and fuzz come through the speakers, or someone is trying to present something on the field and you can't hear them speak, and the video they are supposed to play is "lost", there is a major problem.

For the record, I'm OK with a carnival barker type announcer. Most people at the games don't even know when they are supposed to cheer.

[RGV Pony]

Pipes is pissed.

Thanks for your effort last year, though. Sorry some folks mad you mad. I guess both football and basketball folks raised your ire.

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

"put this thing together for ungrateful mongrels such as yourselves who have spent their whole lives being critical of others due to the entitlement you feel....To hell with all of you and may you spend the rest of your days offering solutions instead of problems and apologizing to all the people you have berated and belittled your entire life. You should be ashamed of yourselves"


LOL....now thats funny as hell....and yes partly true!

I appreciate what you're trying to do Pipes, but hopefully we will see some
improvements in the gameday presentation. The best way to really make
the gameday better is to send a small committee of people to different
games every season and just KopyKat things you see that work and would
fit here. Of course winning will make everything including this much easier
The Blvd has been a great gameday addition we basically copied from
Ole Miss....lets go copy more stuff from all over the country.

[EastStang]

Unfortunately we didn't learn from Ole Miss mistakes like this disaster when they wanted to get rid of Johnny Reb for something more PC.