[SuperJon]

Like the title says, what can we do to improve the atmosphere at games. By we I'm talking about us as fans, as students, etc. The administration is just getting off of football and the transition on their end takes time, and I fully expect them to be in full swing after Christmas. My question is what can we as fans do to make it better? It bugs me that the loudest the Vines gets is when they're giving away a free t-shirt. There are probably 15 or so of us in the front trying to get things going, but no one behind us ever does anything. We've got some stuff that is very easy, very catchy, and not hard to do. I just can't figure out how to a) get more kids to games and b) get them off of their butts. No offense to the alum, but I really don't expect the Baptist side to be rowdy and stuff like that. What can we do to promote the games better? What can we do to get more people involved?

[ATrain]

I remember back in my freshman and sophomore years that standing was just what we were expected to do. For starters, I think we need to encourage the students behind us to stand up. Doing the hands-up thing when we shoot free throws would also be good to bring back.

[JDUB]

jon, an idea for getting more attendence would be maybe through your facebook group to send out an email alerting everyone to the game the day before? I think that would work, as long as its just a short message and only the day before the game. you don't want to be annoying, but i mean they joined a students fans group so they shouldn't be annoyed about trying to get fans in the seats

i like hands up during ft's

the whiteboard is awesome and should be used to start chants through the stands if we ever get people behind us that will do something

bottom line, we need to try to make the atmosphere as exciting as football. i know were trying, but i think attendence has a lot to do with that. the atmosphere at fball was electric and contagious, and thats why so many students were at all the games. if we can carry that over, we'll get butts in the seats

[SuperJon]

I think the atmosphere has to change before more kids will come out. We have to show them it's just as fun as football before they'll take the time to come out.

The white board is fun for just making random signs but I don't like it for doing chants. It'd take too much time to write it, hold it up, let people read it and have word spread, and then do the chant. By that time, three more plays will have happened. The stuff we do is pretty basic and anyone with a brain could catch on in the first two words.

[SuperJon]

One thing I will say is that the pep band sounded better than I'd ever heard them tonight. They actually had songs to play and people there to play them. That's the type of stuff they should be playing in the stands at the Bill. They just need to play more so that we can cut the canned music over the PA.

[JDUB]

they played more in the 2 hour bball game tonight than in the entire fball game. i agree, if they played that stuff at fball games they'd be much better and looked upon in a more positive light by students

[SuperJon]

In terms of "atmosphere vs attendance," I'm taking an "if you build it, they will come" stance.


If we build an atmosphere with what we have, with the kids that do show up, then we will get more and more kids out each game.


I don't know why but I feel responsible for getting things going the right way. The SFC is supposed to do this kind of stuff but they're not. The marketing staff should not be fully responsible for promoting every game to the students. A successful athletic department has some type of student group that does their own promoting to their fellow students.

[ToTheLeft]

The SFC is supposed to do this kind of stuff but they're not.

Which is something that we need to find a way to fix.

[SuperJon]

Literally just sent this to FFG:

The First Car: the thing I wanted to do when I first got here was set up some type of student group. I was told the SFC would be that. It's the one thing I haven't been successful at since I got here

[JDUB]

fire up the LUnatics.. which i guess is basically everyone that was at the game tonight with us, and i still say send some mass emails.

i think part of the problem is the games are after a day off classes (which obviously isn't possible to change) and everyone just feels tired, where the football games are an all day activity so people are energetic when they get there. i know at least for me its a fight to stand the whole bball game, where i stand all 3-4 hours for the fball game no problem. i even yawned several times at the game tonight. i may start taking energy drinks to the games.

anyway, i agree jon that we need to do better with what we have and try to get everyone fired up
the problem is people just want to sit down and will get mad if you tell them to stand. thats why there was an empty row or 2 behind the people standing, cause everyone is just there to hang out, not to really watch the game.

i'm rambling, i don't know why. we got people to stand at fball games, now its time to make it happen for bball

[PAmedic]

I don't know why but I feel responsible for getting things going the right way. The SFC is supposed to do this kind of stuff but they're not. The marketing staff should not be fully responsible for promoting every game to the students. A successful athletic department has some type of student group that does their own promoting to their fellow students.

GO YOUNG CHAMPION, GO

[SuperJon]

People are in class what, 3 maybe 4 hours in a day? That's a horrible excuse for not coming. I was in class for nearly four hours today, starting at 7:40 in the morning, and I was still there. Kids at Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, etc all go to class all day and still camp out for tickets and are energetic the entire time.

I think it stems from lack of connection between the students and the former coach and the lack of connection between the team and the players. The guys are much more fun to watch this year but kids just don't care. It's an attitude and mindset that has to be changed.

[SuperJon]

I don't know why but I feel responsible for getting things going the right way. The SFC is supposed to do this kind of stuff but they're not. The marketing staff should not be fully responsible for promoting every game to the students. A successful athletic department has some type of student group that does their own promoting to their fellow students.

GO YOUNG CHAMPION, GO

You can't have a successful student group without the backing of the administration, and any group rivaling the SFC won't have that backing.

[BJWilliams]

I know I don't usually post things that most people would read or agree with (Im the guy who's posts often get made fun of or ignored...course I look back at many of them and understand why that happens...) but I do have some thoughts on this.


Really as I was thinking about this discussion and reading it, I thought of the fact that we have two radio stations on campus, as well as Liberty Channel AND WSET, also Spirit FM. You can reach a prety broad area with all that. What would be great would be if we put together commercials showing some in game action and promoting the games on WSET, and also put together a number of radio promos and played then on WRVL and WWMC-FM, and sent them out to Spirit FM, WJJS, and the other radio stations around the area. I know that we promoted the heck out of the Coastal game and the VMI game and we had promos on the radio and it showed in the stadium.

Now as for the students, I think that the year we won the Big South...THAT kind of energy is something we need. Coach Dunton, for all the heat he took for his coaching, knew to come to the lectern in convo and he got the students to buy into how much he wanted this to be the loudest place in the conference. I think that is something that could be done with RMK as well.

[ToTheLeft]

How do we start a group, and fix this problem?

I will do whatever I can to help, but I just don't know how to get the ball rolling.

[SuperJon]

Really as I was thinking about this discussion and reading it, I thought of the fact that we have two radio stations on campus, as well as Liberty Channel AND WSET, also Spirit FM. You can reach a prety broad area with all that. What would be great would be if we put together commercials showing some in game action and promoting the games on WSET, and also put together a number of radio promos and played then on WRVL and WWMC-FM, and sent them out to Spirit FM, WJJS, and the other radio stations around the area. I know that we promoted the heck out of the Coastal game and the VMI game and we had promos on the radio and it showed in the stadium.

That's great and all, but you missed the point of the thread. It's about things we can do, not the marketing staff.



Lefty, there's nothing really we can do in terms of starting a club. That's the part that frustrates me the most. Even if we had the people to run it, which I'm 100% confident we do, we wouldn't be able to get the access we would need. We could probably get approved to hang some stuff up around campus, but there's no way we would get approved to set up a booth at convo, at orientation in the summer, and things like that, simply because we would be a rival to the "official" club.

[SuperJon]

Let me clarify something too:

I do not want something to rival the SFC. I want the SFC to succeed and get things changed at games. The thing is, the SFC is a student booster club masqueraded as a student pep club. If they came out and said they were a student booster club and allowed a student pep club in association with it then things would be great, but I don't see that happening.

[ToTheLeft]

Let me clarify something to:

I do not want something to rival the SFC. I want the SFC to succeed and get things changed at games. The thing is, the SFC is a student booster club masqueraded as a student pep club. If they came out and said they were a student booster club and allowed a student pep club in association with it then things would be great, but I don't see that happening.

that's what I'm saying, how do we get that to happen? how do we find a way to make "The LUnatics, the Student Pep Club of the Student Flames Club"

Emails? Letters? Phone Calls? Meetings?

[BJWilliams]

Really as I was thinking about this discussion and reading it, I thought of the fact that we have two radio stations on campus, as well as Liberty Channel AND WSET, also Spirit FM. You can reach a prety broad area with all that. What would be great would be if we put together commercials showing some in game action and promoting the games on WSET, and also put together a number of radio promos and played then on WRVL and WWMC-FM, and sent them out to Spirit FM, WJJS, and the other radio stations around the area. I know that we promoted the heck out of the Coastal game and the VMI game and we had promos on the radio and it showed in the stadium.

That's great and all, but you missed the point of the thread. It's about things we can do, not the marketing staff.



Lefty, there's nothing really we can do in terms of starting a club. That's the part that frustrates me the most. Even if we had the people to run it, which I'm 100% confident we do, we wouldn't be able to get the access we would need. We could probably get approved to hang some stuff up around campus, but there's no way we would get approved to set up a booth at convo, at orientation in the summer, and things like that, simply because we would be a rival to the "official" club.

Really getting to what WE can do...I think that things like Facebook would be invaluable. I know that when I created the Coastal Carolina game event, and you helped, we got a huge response. I think that word of mouth really is the biggest thing. Make flyers, put them on the hall, talk to your RAs, make games a brother/sister dorm activity. As for AT the games, really the first video from football season touched on something that really does not help the school spirit. SJ, you know what Im referring to.

[SuperJon]

Um, no, I don't. The first video from football season was tailgating.

[BJWilliams]

Um, no, I don't. The first video from football season was tailgating.

Cosmic killjoy hyper anal legalistic RAs

[SuperJon]

That was the 3rd video.

[BJWilliams]

That was the 3rd video.

Thanks for the correction on that. You get my point in bringing that up though?

[TDDance234]

Move the visitor section.

[SuperJon]

That was the 3rd video.

Thanks for the correction on that. You get my point in bringing that up though?

That hasn't been a problem all season so no. It was a one-time deal in football.