Can't Stand it Either!
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 6:44 pmMy beef isn't the halftime show -- I usually don't sit for it anyway.
It's the entertainment DURING the game that reflects a lack of interest by the SMU administration.
We hide our cheerleaders behind that scorer's table along the east baseline. Why can't we be like EVERY other major school in the country and have our cheerleaders ON the baseline where the crowd can see them?
I don't understand the purpose of the table behind the baseline. It seems that's a place for scouts and non-working media. Where do other schools put them? Where did we put them before we had that table? Where ever that was, please move them back there so the cheerleaders can be seen. It's not like there aren't empty seats available. The back row of the VIP chairback seats offers plenty of legroom and clear sightlines -- and it's usually sparsely occupied.
Make the cheerleaders visible and heck, they might even get the crowd going. (And when the band plays the "Hey!" song - Rock and Roll No. 2- instead of prompting the crowd to yell "Hey!" three times-- how about the letters S - M- U ?)
And why do we have a dance team at all if all they are going to do is perform during one timeout -- and then leave????
People are begging for better halftime entertainment. Hello? How about having, oh, say The SMU Dance Team perform at halftime? Do they not know any longer routines?
Every other major university has a cheer squad and dance team in uniform at courtside. We hide ours.
Say what you want about the relative importance of either group, but it's about the image we are trying to present. Are we a major university athletic program or a community college?
Go to a game at any Big 12 school - or TCU, even - and you will see a coordinated presentation by the spirit groups. And that's not the only difference between a Big 12 game presentation and SMU's -- it's just the most visible one.
We can't afford a glitzy scoreboard, but at least we can get our dang cheer and dance squads to be visible! It might even feel like you're at a college game - a four-year college at that.
Thank heaven the Mustang Band still carries the torch for SMU spirit. Now, how about giving those guys and gals a decent bandstand like they used to have? It looks disorganized to just have them spread across the bleachers like that. Maybe install some railings or something to create a "band box" and paint that section of the bleachers red and blue.
I've heard other people rave about the performance the twirler gave -- by the way, she's on scholarship and one of the best twirlers in the country. She SHOULD be performing at more games and function.
The twirler is an example, like the dance team, that SMU has the resources to pump up enthusiasm. It just doesn't use them effectively.
It's the entertainment DURING the game that reflects a lack of interest by the SMU administration.
We hide our cheerleaders behind that scorer's table along the east baseline. Why can't we be like EVERY other major school in the country and have our cheerleaders ON the baseline where the crowd can see them?
I don't understand the purpose of the table behind the baseline. It seems that's a place for scouts and non-working media. Where do other schools put them? Where did we put them before we had that table? Where ever that was, please move them back there so the cheerleaders can be seen. It's not like there aren't empty seats available. The back row of the VIP chairback seats offers plenty of legroom and clear sightlines -- and it's usually sparsely occupied.
Make the cheerleaders visible and heck, they might even get the crowd going. (And when the band plays the "Hey!" song - Rock and Roll No. 2- instead of prompting the crowd to yell "Hey!" three times-- how about the letters S - M- U ?)
And why do we have a dance team at all if all they are going to do is perform during one timeout -- and then leave????
People are begging for better halftime entertainment. Hello? How about having, oh, say The SMU Dance Team perform at halftime? Do they not know any longer routines?
Every other major university has a cheer squad and dance team in uniform at courtside. We hide ours.
Say what you want about the relative importance of either group, but it's about the image we are trying to present. Are we a major university athletic program or a community college?
Go to a game at any Big 12 school - or TCU, even - and you will see a coordinated presentation by the spirit groups. And that's not the only difference between a Big 12 game presentation and SMU's -- it's just the most visible one.
We can't afford a glitzy scoreboard, but at least we can get our dang cheer and dance squads to be visible! It might even feel like you're at a college game - a four-year college at that.
Thank heaven the Mustang Band still carries the torch for SMU spirit. Now, how about giving those guys and gals a decent bandstand like they used to have? It looks disorganized to just have them spread across the bleachers like that. Maybe install some railings or something to create a "band box" and paint that section of the bleachers red and blue.
I've heard other people rave about the performance the twirler gave -- by the way, she's on scholarship and one of the best twirlers in the country. She SHOULD be performing at more games and function.
The twirler is an example, like the dance team, that SMU has the resources to pump up enthusiasm. It just doesn't use them effectively.