Keith Whitmire is dead on

[LA_Mustang]

From the DMN Blog:

Steve, you're exactly right. If Matt Doherty can't coach a lick, none of the splash of this hire matters. Except for his meltdown season at UNC, I feel safe in saying that Doherty's record shows that X's and O's and talent evaluation are not going to be issues with him.

The problem is, SMU has lived by the "it's all about the W's" motto for decades and it's gotten them nowhere. I can't tell you how many times I've heard SMU people say, "Yeah, but if we were winning it wouldn't matter." So they let everything twist in the wind until some miracle happens and the winning returns.

Winning isn't everything, but it's in everything you do. Whether it's facilities, uniforms or food at the concession stand, it all reflects a commitment. I read Calvin's suggestion to have cheerleaders and modern music as code words for upgrading the game presentation. As someone who has sat through his share of games at Moody, there's a distinct difference in overall presentation between a game at SMU and one at any Big 12 school. If I can pick up on it, recruits certainly can, too.

SMU simply hasn't had the facility or resources to make going to a basketball game seem like an event. At least football has The Boulevard. They don't need to outdo the Stars and Mavericks (a battle they could never win) but the SMU game experience needs to reflect the market. This is a pro sports town and people expect to be constantly entertained with lots of energy and eye candy. Much of that energy could be supplied by SMU students but, other than the ever-loyal Mustang Band, they neither show up to games as fans nor are they showcased much as spirit groups, which might be an oversight.


Posted by Keith Whitmire at 3:20 PM (E-mail this entry)

[RE Tycoon]

From the DMN Blog:

As someone who has sat through his share of games at Moody, there's a distinct difference in overall presentation between a game at SMU and one at any Big 12 school. If I can pick up on it, recruits certainly can, too.

I've been singing this tune for years. Our game presentation is amateur hour. We might not always be the best on the field/court, but we should be the best at things we do have control over.

[ClassOf81]

Mr Whitmire is a pretty sharp man -- dude knows of what he speaks.

[Pony_Fan]

yes, he is right on. That is/was Cuban's approach to the Mavs. They sucked forever until he took over and changed everything - the game experience, uni's, customer relations, marketing,etc. Granted, he had a LOT of money to play with.

The Moody "experience" has been non-existent for a long time from the awful PA, lighting, scoreboard, cheerleading, halftime show, and concessions. This is 2006, not 1955. It is ironic that the pom squad won in nationals isn't it?

He is right, the only consistent thing has been the loyal SMU band.

[DiamondM]

I totally agree and have been saying it forever. We should act like we're top 25 even when we're not. Although I am not in favor of cheap imitation, every person involved in game time atmosphere, from the guy pushing the button to the pre-recorded sound effects, to the band director, to the band members, to the cheerleaders, to the person deciding where the press tables go (in front or behind the cheerleaders, hmmm), to the person who prints up the roster "cards," to the person who comes up with time-out promotional spots, to the person who picks the intro music, to the person who tells the security people who goes where and when, to every single aspect of the game time experience, needs to attend several games in real college basketball atmosphere to see how and when things get done.

No need to copy exactly, just a need to develop an understanding of how to facilitate, not kill, game flow, excitement, etc. When to choose which songs during timeouts, for example, depends on the flow of the game, not some predetermined list, and everyone needs to be prepared to go with that flow.

Sometimes when you just need to act like you belong to actually start belonging.

[ClassOf81]

I agree with the bandfolks on here who don't want to completely abandon their traditional music, but the playlist does need a jolt of something written in the last 40 years mixed in. The poms and cheerleaders are pretty good, when they're there, but we do need to modernize the game day experience in both basketball and football.

[Danny Noonan]

This is a pro sports town and people expect to be constantly entertained with lots of energy and eye candy.

Posted by Keith Whitmire at 3:20 PM (E-mail this entry)

I agree with all of it except that part. Energy is one thing. But I don't think a college basketball/football game should ever be confused for a pro one. We don't need a bunch of piped in music, microphones on the rims, stupid PA announcers.......

There's a reason the majority of the people living in the south like college sports 10x better than pro sports.

[Pony_Fan]

Noonan, I am with you there. The guy at Mavs game is a cheerleader - totally annoying and I don't think we need that much crap flying at us every 5 min. but some changes def. need to take place.

[SMUPhil]

Completely agree with everything Whitmire said.

DiamondM, I have noticed the same things as you and agree on all points.

Anyone ever read "A Payroll to Meet"? Early in the book, it is talking about Ron Meyer in his first year coaching at SMU. It went into extreme detail about how nitpicky he was about presentation. He chewed out an assistant for wearing a watch in the team picture when everyone was told not to, in order to look uniform. He chose the triple stripe uniform/helmet look to stand out. He had the gameday schedule dictated to the minute, starting at dawn. He made the team practice this routine where they'd run out of the tunnel and break off into neat rows and immediately break into jumping jacks, although they never seemed to get it right in practice. The assistants and players thought he was nuts to worry about so many little things, but he kept on them. At the first game, the team came out of the tunnel, broke into lines and started their jumping jacks, in perfect unison just as Meyer had laid out. It was all an image and intimidation thing. If you LOOK like you've got your s#it together, then people may respect you and think that way about you.

Football seems to be a little better for us: fewer games, the scoreboard, less downtime. But basketball games always felt like I was at some minor league game, just they way the whole thing was presented. Not hard to fix, just need someone to get on the ball and oversee it.

[OR-See-Nee]

Agreed. To be big time, you've got to act and look big time.

[mavsrage311]

fellas, it would be great to have that in-game experience like the mavs or a top 25 team, but the fact remains we don't have any $$$. We can not afford a street team, funslingers, or anything like that. Now you might be able to get some fat male dancing students, but I dont know who wants that

[Lotus]

The guy at Mavs game is a cheerleader - totally annoying ....

Agreed -- I can't stand P.A. guys who think they're part of the entertainment. They are there to distribute information and nothing else. I like the SMU guy (except his nicknames at basketball games) a lot. The Mavs guy is horrible (of course I only go to one or two games a year, but he stands out - negatively - each time).

[couch 'em]

Now you might be able to get some fat male dancing students, but I dont know who wants that

Forget students, we could have the ponyfans.com pork dancers! I'm sure we have PLENTY.

[ThadFilms]

ponyfans.com pork

YUMMMY!!!

(You know it's the other OTHER white meat.)

[mr. pony]

Oh, yeah. Hammer us again for not being a Big 12 school.

We're workin' on it, Keith. We don't get millions every stinkin' season like Baylor. How DID those t*rds get in the Big 12 anyway?