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Posts: 7085
Jan 23 12 12:08 PM
Bleeding Red and Blue
You know your the last in the SMC athletic department staff when you are assigned to oversee the Band and Cheer http://www.smcgaels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=21400&ATCLID=1506642 [scroll to very bottom - even club sports get higher on the list]Cheer Page... no photos of those current cuties... https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=21400&ATCLID=1483268Band..."The first rule for Sports Band is to have fun." [Are we having fun?]https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=21400&ATCLID=1483267And the don't even identify AD leadership for the Mascot [the old Mascot, BTW] https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=21400&ATCLID=1483270and Gael Force http://www.smcgaels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=21400&ATCLID=1483263 . We have talked ourselves blue and red in the face over the series of mis-steps, faulters, lack of creativity, failure to get a strong visual identity to a strong Gael lad. We offered bag pippers (chime in Webfoot, Mount Joy, et al), we've offered to commission a SMC tartan [or borrow a good match to our colors], we've offered to pay for and properly assemble a young strapping lad to be in a paid position. We've offered to meet and train Male Yell Leaders.... It just goes on and on and AD Mark Orr won't touch it, identify it, and just f'n ignore until we all die... it's how they have handle the football alumni, too...Perhaps a series of emails to morr@stmarys-ca.edu will at least fill his in box for a day.... [delete, delete, delete is the sound, with an email sent to the lowest staffer to see what can be done.... followed by nothing, yet again.] It's a whole area they are just not even comfortable discussing let alone acting upon. Tragedegy met with indifference. Ironically, even more sad is that a Gael Mascot, SMC tartan should figure prominently as we approach next year's Sesquicentennial - 150th anniversary of the College.Thanks, Freak for freaking me out about such a dismissal and disenchanting topic, yet again... it's been about 6 years now....
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Jan 23 12 1:25 PM
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Jan 23 12 1:50 PM
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Jan 23 12 1:59 PM
Jan 23 12 2:03 PM
Jan 23 12 2:09 PM
GAEL62 wrote:In my day - Long Ago, the cheer at a USF game was "MIC.......KEY......MOUSF" given in the Disney cadence.Can we get away with reviving this one?
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Jan 23 12 2:25 PM
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Jan 23 12 2:58 PM
I’ll chime in while I’m waiting for my 3:00 meeting- not that it will do any good.
But if we learned anything from ol’ Slip Madigan it’s a little bit of PT Barnum can go a long ways. Sports and entertainment are intertwined. It’s good to provide a whole experience for the audience. It’s good to be unique and exciting and fun. It’s good to have an identity.
Mascot: Now… I’m no fan of the “fuzzy mascot.” (Accept, of course, the Crazy Crab… but that was sorta the anti-fuzzy mascot) If it’s not Disneyland or the 6th inning at Milwaukee Stadium, I cringe if see people wearing a stupid enormous foam head. Maybe some kids like them. But some kids also like clowns and I hate clowns. I’ll admit some fuzzy mascots are better than others. SJ Sharky is not bad. But most are awful unbalanced teetering monstrosities. Both the SMC Caveman and “GaelForce One” blow-up knight thing fall into the bad category. They’re embarrassing. But no other fuzzy mascot in the league is any better. Better for me would be not to have it. So ask, what’s your target audience with those things? The college kids and the alumni and “Joe Fan” are not going to respond well to the fuzzy mascot. They’re annoying. (Not the fans, the mascots) But kids might like ‘em. It’s cartoonish, non-threatening, you can take your picture with it and get a hug, etc. If you need/want to appeal to that younger demographic, keep it, otherwise, come up with something different.
If we have to have a mascot, I’d rather see something more menacing. And something more real. And I’d like to see something that helps answer the moronic question, “What is a Gael?” (Or, at least our interpretation.) Now… You don’t have to go “all things Irish” (For the record, I myself am not all things Irish.) It’s not a heritage thing it’s an identity. Notre Dame has done this well for 100 years. So… The idea of a group of “Braveheart” type warriors is good. Just have ‘em come out pre-game, with kilts, war-paint and swords, banging on their shields in a threatening rhythm and shouting the Gaelic equivalent of “rock chalk Jayhawk”- whatever the f that means. A Gaelic-type haka dance maybe? Whatever- Get people fired up for battle. Another thing that’s already set for us is the song “The Gael.” We should have commandeered that one a long time ago. I think drums and war-pipers playing the “The Gael” outside as fans file in or to pipe in the team would be pretty damn cool and, again, unique. (For instance, I would have enjoyed these kids from Texas piping in our boys during the Sweet 16 run. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipoygLKbZ_s ) Or just play “The Gael” over the PA system. Whatever. It kicks ass. (Or have her do it-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg1xqAjQ5e4&feature=related )
Now… It doesn’t need to look like we stepped out of a lame Renaissance Faire or the Highland Games. But there are plenty of active people in the community who could be enlisted to help provide a certain unique atmosphere. I know there are bagpipe clubs in the Bay Area, there are Irish and Scottish heritage groups that dance and play music and chuck axes and throw swords and stuff. Get ‘em on board! Most would do it for free. Just make it a regular gig. When I was a kid I was in a band and we played all over at events and things just like this. It was fun.
Which brings me to THE BAND. You need a band. Again, ol’ Slip figured this out. Do the math. How does a small all-boys college with 300 students have a football team with 50+ players, a 100 strong marching band (with Majorette!!) and a 500-member student section at every game? Slip got professional musicians to play for St. Mary’s in the marching band and gave free tickets to high-school kids to fill up the student section. Perception is reality my friends. I don’t give a rat’s ass who makes up the band- students, alumni, people who just like to rock- it shouldn’t matter. In fact, I think having a mix is fantastic. (Especially bridging both alumni and students. We’re a community damn it!) Anyway, just get them playing again.
BTW: MJ’s idea of a school tartan is good. You could weave the pattern into a lot of different things. I’d buy the school tie. Maybe we should scrap talking to the athletic department about all this and go to the SMC marketing department? This is as much about dollars as entertainment. Another thing Slip taught us.
Jan 23 12 3:10 PM
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Jan 23 12 4:02 PM
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Jan 23 12 4:20 PM
Jan 23 12 4:26 PM
worldwidewebfoot wrote:Listen, MJ, Mountjoy, and self presented a carefully worked out proposal to form a non-student spirit club that would work with GaelForce (bacl and forth cheers), complete with business plan, which would fund bagpipers to play when the team came onto the court. This was even several years ago when sellouts weren't taken for granted. Met several times to explain and promote the idea. Their most encouraging reaction: "We're not saying we hate this idea."
Jan 23 12 5:01 PM
Jan 23 12 5:06 PM
A PROPOSAL TO RAISE OUR SPIRIT
We, a group of loyal alumni and fanatic followers of Gael basketball, season ticket holders all, propose an idea that we feel will:
Those of us who traveled to the University of Nevada game in Reno last year were very impressed with the sound effects played when their team ran onto the court—the intimidating sound of a pack of howling wolves. The Irish theme of the Gaels, newly reinforced by the new athletic logo and lettering, presents a unique opportunity for us to do them one better. Bagpipes accompanied ancient Celtic warriors into battle for the very purpose of instilling fear in their enemies. Imagine the lights being lowered in the gym, followed by wail of bagpipes throughout McKeon rising to a crescendo as the Gaels charge out in spotlight accompanied by a pipers and a drummer. Our opponents would be unnerved. Our fans, especially the Gael Force and faithful alumni, would be worked into a frenzy that would continue to inspire the team throughout every game.
Our proposal is this: To form a booster club, in cooperation with and under the oversight of the SMC Athletic Department, to cover the expense of having bagpipers perform at the opening of home men’s basketball games.
STEEPED IN TRADITION
We have come up with the perfect name and slogan for our club. We would call our club Fear Dearg (pronounced FOR-DARE-IG), after a character from Gaelic folklore. Our slogan would be “We pay the Pipers.”) Anna’s Irish Folklore Page describes the character in this way:
The far darrig (or fear dearg) is a near relation to the leprechaun, with similar features and a short stocky body. . . . He dresses in red from his hat to his tail-trailing cape to the woolen stockings which cling to his calves. . . . This is the reason he is called the far darrig or red man. . . . He is known not only for his color but for his delight in mischief and mockery. He can be a gruesome practical joker. Mortal terror amuses the far darrig. With all his pranks, the far darrig desires not to do harm but to show favor. He actually is good natured and will bring luck to those whom he approves; but he cannot resist a preliminary teasing.
Both the Gaelic origins and the red costume of Far Dearg are perfect for Saint Mary’s as is the spirited and mischievous nature of the character, especially his delight in inspiring fear—the principal objective of the bagpipes. We see the Fear Dearg becoming, for alumni, a companion booster organization to the Gael Force, filling the opposite side with another sea of red-shirted rooters, as the Red Zone has begun to do at women’s games. We would love to work on chants and cheers in which we answer one another across the floor. While the majority of dues would go to pay the pipers, we would expect to have enough to host a social event to reinforce boosterism of Gael basketball, plus any number of pay-as-you-go get-togethers throughout the season.
Our tee-shirts would be red with the inscription “Fear Dearg: We Pay the Pipers” using the Gaelic script of the new logo. There would be a cartoon depiction of the namesake character.
A SOUND BUSINESS PLAN
We are confident that Fear Dearg could easily fund the creation of a bagpipe tradition and more at Saint Mary’s. We propose the formation of the club, led primarily by a volunteer corps, the undersigned as charter officers, but operated with the support and under the oversight of the Athletic Department. The volunteer leaders would be responsible for promoting and enrolling members, while the College would handle facility and other arrangements (lighting, dressing room if needed, etc.), mailings, and the receipt of dues/donations as a 501C3 organization. The amount of dues would far exceed the value of material deliverables to members (a tee-shirt, partial subsidy of one social event), hence the surplus would cover all of the fees and expenses associated with the pipers. As a club, the group could stage other spirit-reinforcing social events on a pay as you go basis.
We are researching availability and fees of musicians and are informally polling our constituency to determine interest, with already positive results. In the meantime, however, the following seems like a very conservative projection:
150 members @ $50, minus $10 cost of tee-shirt, net $40 per member
$6,000 revenue, divided by 12 home games, or $500 per game
3 musicians at $150 per game, or $450, leaving $150 for contingency/expansion
Given the strong response to booster club movements evidenced by Gael Force, The Red Zone, the VolleyGaels, and stronger-than-ever season ticket sales, the feasibility of this scenario seems more than reasonable, and the prospects are probably much better. For example, we already are in contact with one piper who is so taken by the idea that he has offered to perform for free. By comparison, the Red Zone enrolled more members at a higher cost from a smaller constituency than assumed in this model. We envision an extremely popular organization and want to use every advantage it provides for the benefit of the College and its basketball program, for example, offering discounted memberships to fans who graduate directly from the Gael Force into Fear Dearg or for first-time purchasers of season tickets. Another positive aspect is that this project could start small and grow. If we have to start with one piper at select games, we can incrementally increase the number of appearances and the number of performers. Fear Dearg’s mission will be to make Gael basketball games an unforgettable experience for friend and foe alike and establish, once and for all, that McKeon Pavilion is the toughest road venue in the WCC.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss our idea in more detail.
Respectfully submitted:
______________________________ __________________________
Tom Bruce Michael Johnson
Class of 1967 Class of 1987
Ken Dothee John Neudecker
Class of 1967 Class of 1972
Jan 23 12 5:09 PM
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The Gaelic word for the tartan, breacan (bree-can), means spotted like a trout, banded like a zebra, or striped crosswise”.
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Jan 23 12 5:34 PM
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