ForgotPassword?
Sign Up
Search this Topic:
Forum Jump
Posts: 1031
Jan 24 12 10:23 AM
Hoops- you make some good points. But I also think you may have been reading into my posts as more “ranty” than they were meant to be. I have been guilty of that on many occasions here. I’ve particularly been trigger-happy when I read any asinine “fire Bennett” posts. (You people know who you are, don’t make me dig up the old posts) or when posters feel the need to goat out players. (I remember people calling McConnell “garbage” here- those posts still live) So I think I understand your trigger mechanism. I certainly was not saying the administration “sucks.” Far from it. (I was also not saying the Student section “sucked” in the other thread but I think you may have taken it that way.) The point I was making in both threads is the approach could be better. And I think somebody needs to step up and take the wheel. (MJ and others are doing that and I whole-heartedly support them.)
I recall a time when the approach was better when the teams were not nearly as good. The basketball team obviously, as you pointed out and I have also said in past threads, is superior in ways we could not (and probably should not) have dreamed! Coach Bennett has taken the team to heights that boggle the senses. The San Jose Mercury News runs more articles on St. Mary’s now than they do on Santa Clara or San Jose State. I’m not sure if the SF Chronicle realizes USF is in San Francisco. But they have a guy covering the Gaels now. The Gaels are on TV more than they ever have been, both locally and nationally. The basketball team is now ranked over the likes of Kansas State and UConn. Who would’a thought?! This is insanely cool. So I guess my background says it’s high time the school capitalizes on this. Or capitalizes on it better. Yes, what has been proposed, if done poorly, could come across as hokey. So could any of the things that schools do. But it could also be done well and develop a unique and fun brand that comes across well on TV and gets people excited about and talking about St. Mary's College. Again, look at all the stuff Notre Dame does. If a group comes up with funding, what’s the harm in trying or experimenting? If it comes across bad, scrap it and try something else until you find something that people respond well to. But this is a chance for people to see St. Mary’s again in ways that haven’t been available since the 1930s. That’s why I look to Slip Madigan’s model and ask, what is it we want them to see?
But one thing here that I don’t think could ever be bad, is MJ’s (and others) proposal of an organized alumni group like “The Fear Dearg.” Belonging is a huge part of the college and fan experience. And a group like that offers an “in.” "I'm not just a fan, I'm in The Fear Dearg!" Now… no amount of pipers playing or big guys in Braveheart costumes yelling or even hot cheerleaders shakin’ it is going to change the fact that it’s just too difficult for me and many others to get out to Moraga regularly to watch basketball games. And I’m a BIG fan. But I have life responsibilities that unfortunately trump all that. SO being able to officially support the team by being part of a group like “The Fear Dearg” is particularly attractive to me. I doubt I’d be alone. And that serves as a gateway to all sorts of other extended things that would help connect, or in some cases help re-connect, alumni back to The College. Again, this is about community. It’s also about dollars. And I think there is a huge opportunity here.
On that note, I’d say much of what is being bandied about here is more for the alumni and fans than it is for the students. Although, again, if done right, I’m sure they’d respond to it too. Tradition is something each and every college and university strives to build. Traditions are a large part of who we are. Traditions also can die on the vine, as we have seen. Those can be sad to lose. It seems like your college experience was much different than mine. As mine was also much different than some of our alumni from the 60’s and 70’s. Heck… my college experience was different than some of my classmates. Regardless, we could help revive some great old traditions or develop some new ones that could carry over for a long time. But nothing is going to happen if we do nothing.
As for the pipers, Webfoot, I had no doubts you guys did your research. Sorry if I came across that way. Everything was very well thought out. I would not be surprised if you already pin-pointed the group you wanted to have play or even brought them along piping you guys into the meeting. I was just pointing out to everyone else that there are indeed groups out there who play and they might be interested in becoming part of the great extended St. Mary’s College community.
Go Gaels! On to Victory!
I yield the soapbox.
Share This