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My wife - an SMU graduate of 1978 - came up with this idea. She has given me permission to post it here for discussion.

She and I are always talking up SMU football & basketball whenever we can to our friends and colleagues. Lately, we've been meeting a lot of folks who have moved to Dallas from other parts of the country who are fans of other colleges. And, of course, we meet a LOT of folks who are alumni or fans of U.T., aTm or Texas Tech. We tell them they should attend an SMU game since it IS the only Div. 1-A college team in Dallas.

The idea: offer a FREE general admission ticket to an SMU football (or basketball) game if you trade in a t-shirt from another school. And then give them a t-shirt that the SMU marketing folks have designed that says something like: Mustang Fan for Life! with a running Mustang on it. (Surely some corporate sponsor will spring the $$$ to print these up!)

Yes, winning will bring more fans into Ford Stadium and Moody Coliseum. But you've got to get them into the stadium/coliseum to support the teams first. I guess it's the ol' "chicken or the egg" discussion.

I like it - sort of like the guns-for-tickets program that a couple of NBA teams have done. Kudos to Mrs.Mustangs1965 for this one!

I like it. Another variation would be to give free tickets to any SMU season ticket holder who brings someone to an SMU game. The Caps do this every now and then and it really helps build a crowd and gets fans to be your marketing arm. Also, if you are a business owner, you look like you are doing a favor to a customer if you give the ticket to them. I did that with the Caps by giving a ticket to a Russian client of mine, he just about cried with joy.

Introduce him to Danius Zubrus and Alex Ovechkin, and he'll send you a case of vodka - the good stuff.
Keep him away from Alexander Semin, or he'll poison the booze before he ships it over to you.

Dark Horse wrote:Introduce him to Danius Zubrus and Alex Ovechkin, and he'll send you a case of vodka - the good stuff.
Keep him away from Alexander Semin, or he'll poison the booze before he ships it over to you.

Dark Horse: I don't understand this post. Please explain. Thanks!

PonyPride wrote:I like it - sort of like the guns-for-tickets program that a couple of NBA teams have done. Kudos to Mrs.Mustangs1965 for this one!

Her ponyfans.com name is BornRed&Blue but she very seldom posts.

I know that at least one of the last couple of years the marketing people have been doing something like this during orientation for the students -- trade in your gear from other schools for a free SMU t-shirt.

Why not just give them free tickets?

Actually he met Ovechkin. He was house hunting and on a lark went to visit a house and Ovechkin attended the same open house. And he did bring me back some Russian vodka, the good stuff, as well as some sort of "health tonic", it wasn't called Peruna but it had about the same proof.

MrMustang1965 wrote:

Dark Horse wrote:Introduce him to Danius Zubrus and Alex Ovechkin, and he'll send you a case of vodka - the good stuff.
Keep him away from Alexander Semin, or he'll poison the booze before he ships it over to you.

Dark Horse: I don't understand this post. Please explain. Thanks!

Are they the guys that solved the "chicken or the egg" theory?..............

good idea on the ,marketing.............................

McClown27 wrote:Why not just give them free tickets?

The idea is to get them to 'trade' their loyalty (via the t-shirts) from another school to SMU. They get the free ticket but they give up their shirt for it.

MrMustang1965 wrote:Dark Horse: I don't understand this post. Please explain. Thanks!

Sorry - I saw East Stang's reference to the Caps (Capitals - hockey). Alex Ovechkin is the best young player since Mario Lemieux, in my opinion, and I've read a lot of reports that some "experts" think he could finish his career in the same stratosphere as Lemieux, Gretzky, etc (OK, maybe not Gretzky).

I've been to D.C. on business a lot, and gone to a bunch of Caps games. Danius Zubrus is a big, strong, fast forward who has terrific talent and gets no pub (or at least not as much as he should). Semin is a very talented kid, but a complete punk who has had run-ins with teammates and coaches. He pouted all the way back to Russia for a year (or was it two years?), and they just brought him back. It would be like a football team adding Deion Sanders -- loads of talent, zero class. You might root for him to do well, but many wouldn't do it publicly.

Sorry for the vague hockey reference!

MrMustang1965 wrote:The idea is to get them to 'trade' their loyalty (via the t-shirts) from another school to SMU. They get the free ticket but they give up their shirt for it.

Maybe have a shirt-burning ceremony at the end of the season?
Just don't light them with fireworks.

Semin decided to come back next year. He's a right wing. AO is a left wing and Zubrus is a center. AO was a joy to watch this year. The kid really seems to have a ball on the ice and gives as good as he gets. (Something Mario - the crybaby never did). Sorry, but my view was that the idea of giving out tickets to our fans to spread the gospel was based upon the Caps trying it and it seemed to be very positive for them. You can't make fans without getting them into the stadium first. I was at a Nationals/Orioles games last week and there were tons of Orioles fans there at RFK. Now that would have been the game to get them to turn in their jerseys!!!!

Good idea. But if you don't have another school's t-shirt or cap, could you turn in a gun?