RE: Memphis game and thoughts
MB, I agree with the sentiment that you have to use timeouts, halftimes, etc. to exhibit school spirit and get the crowd ramped up. However, the t shirt promotions, cannons, bobblehead giveaways, posters (still have my mike anderson, oliver robinson, and ronnell/donnell bobble heads and squeaky height calendar) that excite the casual, on the border UAB fans. These things do get people's interest up for the games. And while I like our I65 "Haase fast" billboard, our advertising has really slacked off during the last 2 coaching regimes (I'm including Haase in this as well).
Just to be frank, if you put a mediocre product on the court, offer no exciting advertising, or no promotions to interest people, who would want to come to the games? It's ultimately the product on the court that puts butts in the seats, but the extraneous stuff was fun, exciting, and creates memories (the t shirts, giveaways, posters, items caught from the blimps/cannons that people keep).
The boredom, stagnation, and doldrums-like atmosphere permeated this program for the last 5-6 years. I think Haase's hiring and some of the new advertising are getting us back in the right direction. But the extra stuff that everyone seems to demonize here would definitely help, also.
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