Game Presentation

[SMU21TCU10]

Well right now we are on the county fair grounds hot dog eating contest route.

[RunPeruna]

Some fans might not like having music come through the speakers, or commercials, or whatever but I don't think that is what everyone (including myself) are so upset about. Each of the things done Saturday night was screwed up in some way. I personally would like more tradition. But whatever is done, please do it well.

[EastStang]

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.

[SMU21TCU10]

getting the speakers right should be a top priority no matter what.

[SMU21TCU10]

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.

seconded

[Vitale]

I was talking with Orsini at the ECU game several years ago, and he was talking about what a great game presentation atmosphere they had there and I thought, "oh, no". Pirate noises, "Enter the Sandman" before the game, kind of like Walt Disney meets Metallica.

Here's a thought, "tradition". College bands, minimalist announcing (first and ten on the four), replays without comment, dance teams, cheerleaders, you know the things that separate college football from pro football. And of course silly ads from our sponsors. (After the game enjoy a great pizza at....) If I recall the sound system at our empty Cotton Bowl games was putrid, but do try and calibrate it once in awhile. Don't try to be like the Cowboys or the Mavericks. They have millions to throw at game production, we don't. Remember the Navy game and the pyrotechnic disaster. Just keep it simple. College is rah, rah and that's what makes it college football. Try to not get so wrapped up in "game presentation" that you forget what separates College Football from pro football. And by the way, students are a part of that equation (so try and stay for the second half).

Outstanding post. My thoughts:

* The PA announcer is much better than the guy they had last year, who sounded like an ArenaBall (which he was) guy, or maybe a strip club DJ. Your use of the word "minimalist" is absolutely perfect. The new guy is better, but still needs to eliminate the extra stuff. Tell the play, the catch, the substitution, the penalty, etc., and then BE QUIET (for the love of all things sacred and holy, do not go to a Mavs/Cowboys/Stars yardbarker — those guys actually make me watch games from home). There's not a fan alive who goes to a game because of the PA announcer. We go to cheer for our son/friend/whoever and see the Ponies play, and hopefully win.
* Commercials are fine — annoying, but we all know that revenue is vital. However, make them more game-friendly. Sure, the company buying the ad space can make whatever commercial it wants, but there were a couple late in the fourth quarter that were so mellow that it was more likely to induce sleep than raucous cheering.
* Regardless of the promotion, do not show fans on the Jumbotron who are wearing the colors/logo of the opponent. EVER.

Beyond that, see EastStang's ideas. Dead-on.

[Dooby]

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.

[FriscoPMG]

While EastStang is correct that college football should be all about tradition and not sensory overload like the pro games, Dooby is dead on about SMU no longer having tradition to feature during football games.
I fall into the under 30 fan base, so I have only witnessed losing SMU football for my entire life. I still go to games week in and week out, but if I want to go to a "true" college football game then I have to make the trip down to Austin or College Station even if my alma mater isn't playing.
Ideally SMU starts winning and some old traditions can be resurrected while new ones are created; but until that happens there has to be other reasons for people attending SMU football games. The Blvd tailgating now gets people on campus, but it doesn't actually get people into the stadium. And whether it's a nice traditional presentation or a sensory overload presentation, it has to be well presented.
You obviously won't please everyone, but in terms of attracting new fans I think you have to appeal to a younger generation.

[Eye In the Sky]

One thing about attracting the younger crowd is that there's a great chance that they've been to a Mavs/Stars/Cowboys more recently than an SMU game (if at all). They've witnessed sensory overload with loud music, t-shirts being thrown everywhere, etc. I'm not saying we need to copy that model but there's no denying that they're being entertained at all times. With the amount of media timeouts that are a part of college football these days, there's time to insert some of that stuff. I know the band die-hards will say that's the only thing we need. While I agree that they are a big part of the presentation, we need some music that the younger crowd and , more importantly, the players can relate to. Ford is the only place I've been to where they don't incorporate some form of modern music in addition to the band. Since the product on the field has been so bad for so long, the fair weather fan (which includes about 70% of the student population) needs something else to entertain them. There's no reason why we can't mix in some modern stadium songs from time to time, like everyone else does. If it works for others, why can't we copy it?...at least until the winning starts and that's truly the only entertainment we need.

[EastStang]

http://bestofcollegefootball.blogspot.com/2007/06/top-10-best-college-football-stadium.html

Or perhaps some of these?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page3/story?page=neel/040727

Oh boy, "Sweet Caroline", "Cotton Eyed Joe", Blitzkreig" - I can hardly wait.

[Bergermeister]

We won. I have no complaints. On to the next one.

[Statler]

The person in charge of game day presentation is not an SMU employee (Kobb); therefore, he does not have an email address to send one's gripes, suggestions, etc.

The AD Dept. basically laid off the marketing department. So it seems that if one has a suggestion and/or gripe...email Orsini.

[Peruna88]

According to the staff directory: http://smu.edu/athletics/staff_directory.asp

[email protected]

Fire away.

[abezontar]

to all those blaming the problems on the recent layoffs in the marketing department, was it really any better last year when we had a marketing department?

[SMU21TCU10]

I was talking with Orsini at the ECU game several years ago, and he was talking about what a great game presentation atmosphere they had there and I thought, "oh, no". Pirate noises, "Enter the Sandman" before the game, kind of like Walt Disney meets Metallica.

Here's a thought, "tradition". College bands, minimalist announcing (first and ten on the four), replays without comment, dance teams, cheerleaders, you know the things that separate college football from pro football. And of course silly ads from our sponsors. (After the game enjoy a great pizza at....) If I recall the sound system at our empty Cotton Bowl games was putrid, but do try and calibrate it once in awhile. Don't try to be like the Cowboys or the Mavericks. They have millions to throw at game production, we don't. Remember the Navy game and the pyrotechnic disaster. Just keep it simple. College is rah, rah and that's what makes it college football. Try to not get so wrapped up in "game presentation" that you forget what separates College Football from pro football. And by the way, students are a part of that equation (so try and stay for the second half).

Outstanding post. My thoughts:

* The PA announcer is much better than the guy they had last year, who sounded like an ArenaBall (which he was) guy, or maybe a strip club DJ. Your use of the word "minimalist" is absolutely perfect. The new guy is better, but still needs to eliminate the extra stuff. Tell the play, the catch, the substitution, the penalty, etc., and then BE QUIET (for the love of all things sacred and holy, do not go to a Mavs/Cowboys/Stars yardbarker — those guys actually make me watch games from home). There's not a fan alive who goes to a game because of the PA announcer. We go to cheer for our son/friend/whoever and see the Ponies play, and hopefully win.
* Commercials are fine — annoying, but we all know that revenue is vital. However, make them more game-friendly. Sure, the company buying the ad space can make whatever commercial it wants, but there were a couple late in the fourth quarter that were so mellow that it was more likely to induce sleep than raucous cheering.
* Regardless of the promotion, do not show fans on the Jumbotron who are wearing the colors/logo of the opponent. EVER.

Beyond that, see EastStang's ideas. Dead-on.

The announcer is terrible this year. "FIRST AND TEN!" at the 2 yard line. Or "FIELD GOAL IS GOOD!" on the extra point. There was about 50 other mistakes like this but I drank to much on the vard and can't remember. And of course the whole Emelio Sanders thing.