http://www.etsubucs.com/info/blue.asp

I have the No Football BLUEs

So the fan is the focus huh? You want to know what the fan wants huh? THEN FREAKING BRING BACK FOOTBALL.

The Bucs have been making me blue for quite some time now.

I would like to point you to page 22 of the fan book Pitt. Hockey?

This caught my eye as well...

HOISTING THE COLORS
In keeping with the oldest
traditions of the Buccaneer code,
the colors of ETSU and the Bucs are
hoisted to the top of the arena
prior to the team entering the
court for each home game.


If done right, this could be neat.

What does being a Buccaneer Fan mean to you?

Frustration and despair

To ETSU, having vision is publishing a picture of a make-believe basketball arena with the caption "artist rendering of a generic mid-sized arena." That's something the people can get excited about.

What about hockey, Fan1?

In the generic arena, you can see that there are removable seats at the ends that could be removed to let you play hockey.

Also, are any of the 3 "traditions" mentioned actually real? I don't recall hearing Sandos talk about how rowdy "the brig" was, or how awesome the turnout was for the "buctails" tailgate. Can't remember standing to watch the colors go to the top of the dome while waiting for the team to emerge.

Traditions are not manufactured. They stand the test of time, people know about them, and they actually exist.

ETSUfan1 Wrote:In the generic arena, you can see that there are removable seats at the ends that could be removed to let you play hockey.

While that would be cool, I really doubt there is anything actual about that picture. It really looks similar to a generic arena that you would get if you created a team on a video game. The only thing real about that is that it's a real ETSU logo on the floor.

Well I know when they do get around to building arena, they do want boxes/suites above the seating arena, just like in the rendering. That is a reason I think ETSU might have had some input on this one, but I could be wrong.

It's an arena rendition like the football stadium was a rendition.

They hadn't even decided where the arena or the football stadium was going to go- but they had an artist's rendition.

This makes me think it's putting the apple in front of the horse for the idea to get the softball and tennis facilities built before anything else.

First of all I have a question.....where did you find that picture. I am holding out hope that it's a fake.

Bucky's still a smurf, no matter how fierce folks claim he is.

All traditions start somewhere. Someone came up with the idea of the T at Tennessee. It didn't just happen. Sadly, ETSU has never developed these traditions over the years. If this fan book starts some of that or attempts to put things in place for the future, then so be it.

I think being critical because they are trying to make the game day atmosphere better is ridiculous. Especially considreing all the issues people have had on here with the dreary Dome in the past.

Has anyone seen the new billboard on I-26 South as you approach downtown. Truth is it looks good and finally has the athletic department out on a major highway.

Click on the fan book after you click the link gold.

2002....we had a glorious tradition you absent minded goat. It was a blue tunnel, smoke, a couple of pistol packing pirates, and the heart pounding theme from 2001 A Space Odyssey.


Actually there are some good ideas here...Hoisting the Colors, buctails (although a ridiculous name), The Brig (much superior to the buc wild)

However what do you bet that these things are done in such a manner that they ultimately go unnoticed? Why? Presentation. Showmanship! It will only work if they make a big deal out of it. This is not the time for lackluster action. It must be done with a proper pomp and circumstance. One of extreme confidence. I doubt this happens.

As for the stadium design...I see that in the caption below it states that it is an artist rendering of a "generic" stadium. That is exactly what it is. Hell it looks like the curb center with just a few more seats behind the basket. THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF THING YOU WANT TO REPLACE THE DOME WITH.

If you must replace the dome (which I'm against) you'd better design a stadium that is unique. Something that is special. We don't want another Appalachian State, Western Carolina, Belmont, Lipscomb type facility. It's gotta be something new. Something imaginative. I know that's a stretch for ETSU these days. But if the intent is to build something in the vein of that rendering then we are better off with the dome.

I remember when ETSU was a major advertiser on TV with coaches shows.

Now you're bragging on a billboard.

Perhaps it is semantics, but let's face it- if you are introducing something, it's not a tradition.

It also is a slap to the face of longtime ETSU fans who have seen so many "Buccaneer Traditions" die under the current administration.

Want traditions? Where is a field named after Jim Mooney- a magical name in the history of ETSU sports?

Where is the exclusivity for Tom Chilton's number? We retired it, but we didn't mean it. WHAT?

It's easy to talk about football as a tradition- but it is- and it has been traded for soccer.

Playing in the So Con is out. Playing in the A-Sun is in. Even a return to the OVC was turned down. Where is the tradition there?

What about Pepper- to be replaced with a gay pirate mascot? What about the "Bucky" logo, drawn up by Dr. Jerry Robertson, and replaced with something that resembles the Chicago Bulls more than ETSU?

Ten years ago I wrote a story about the Fight Song at ETSU. Nobody knew the words to it. When I discussed this in print, the then-SID said "nobody cares" and started coming down on me.

Where is that tradition- one I was merely trying to revive?

What traditions are left? I'm thinking Norm Davis behind the PA, I'm thinking empty seats at Memorial Center, I'm thinking Fred Warren fleecing the athletic department.

We're sick of seeing our beloved traditions literally spat on for a new way that simply doesn't cut it.

Come on, 02, if after the victory against No. 1 Georgia Southern in 2001 were told that in seven years the football team would be traded for a billboard on the interstate in downtown you'd be rather displeased- don't you think?

Pitt,

All good and valid points. Bringing Chilton's number, even temporarily, out of retirement was in extreme poor taste. And here is a question for everyone to consider...Was Kevin Tiggs worth it?

Well said Pitt. An artful write up in a fancy publication does not ake something a tradition. If they are doing this in 10 years we can call it that.

The thing is, I came to ETSU as a VT fan. Grew up near there and still follow them, but I had every intention of being a buc. I tried painfully hard to be a diehard ETSU fan but that is a hard thing to be. They cancel football my freshman year, drop to the A-Sun, and nose dived more and more throughout my 4 years there. The administration does NOTHING to engage the students. I went to nearly every home game during my 4 years and I cannot think of anything that would stand out as a tradition. Well...maybe 3 or 4 people shaking a giant brick during free throws. If you think attendance is bad now, wait 10 years when many of the aging fan base die off. If ETSU is counting on current students to be fans in the future, then we may see attendance average 800 people a game. I'm sorry '02, but it's going to take more than a fan book, coke trucks, and pretty billboards to fix the problems. ETSU has earned nothing other than criticism from fans, and that's how it will continue to be until something i done.