Game 20: HOMECOMING. GMU (14-5 / 3-3) vs Rhode Island (9-10 / 3-3) on Saturday, January 27, at 4:00PM.

[bravesfan]

Tbf, the mason hates fun mantra goes back to my day under the Merten admin. Probably even before that.

Was the Merten era for me as well. I remember one of the Mason police higher ups made it his mission to bust kids for underage drinking.

Happy if true that they let kids live a little now. After all, a vibrant campus increases many things during and after (enrollment, active alumni, etc).

 

[GMUgemini]

How many of their shots were threes - they were hot in the first half and cold in the second. Their reliance on outside shooting hurt them in the end. We kept pounding inside and it paid out - we got them into some fouls and we tired them out.

They went 5-11 on 3s in the second half. That’s not a bad percentage at all.

But hard to win when you give up 52 points going the other way.

It was their FT shots and turnovers that were the difference in this one. They were 13-24 on FTs and we were 25-33.

Fast break points: URI 0; Mason: 13

Points off turnovers: URI: 3; Mason: 15

 

[gmubrian]

I don't have a picture of everything, obviously, but, here are comments from talking to people at the Men's and Women's games and during the tailgate this past weekend. I was specifically fishing for indications that the few negative incidents would be the focus or not (it was not). Here is paraphrasing of what I heard:

Zack: I want the fans to have fun. In regards to tailgating, just do it. If you need some spots reserved, let me know.
Tony: I want to see more tailgates like that.
Marvin: It was great experience. We need more of that. Showed me video of a great tailgate at Brown and wants to see that at Mason.
President Washington (second hand): He loves the atmosphere of the tailgate. He even threw a couple bags at our corn hole setup.

I am not putting names to this, so if you do something illegal and get caught, that is on you, but everyone I have talked to says the police are not actively looking things to write people up for. They are just getting involved when it is absolutely necessary to maintain the peace and safety. I have spoken to many of the police at the tailgates and they have been very friendly. There were probably visible violations by the letter of the law at the time and they didn't throw the book at me or the people with me.

We need to stop spreading the Mason admin and police are anti fun legend from earlier times. It isn't helping. If someone experiences something counter to this, let's share, but, let's not spread old stories as if they represent the current situation.

Bottom line. The administration wants more spirit like at the tailgates. There comes a time, though, for us to do this organically from the bottom up. If you want to tailgate, just do it. Don't wait for Mason to plan one. I'll be glad to join in and/or facilitate as people desire.

 

[bravesfan]

We need to stop spreading the Mason admin and police are anti fun legend from earlier times. It isn't helping. If someone experiences something counter to this, let's share, but, let's not spread old stories as if they represent the current situation.

That's why I qualified that mine was from a previous era. I think it's great that they've loosened up!

As long as people aren't being malicious, let 'em have some fun!

 

[Old Man]

Bottom line. The administration wants more spirit like at the tailgates. There comes a time, though, for us to do this organically from the bottom up. If you want to tailgate, just do it. Don't wait for Mason to plan one. I'll be glad to join in and/or facilitate as people desire.

Think about the best party you've ever attended. I'm willing to bet it happened organically and without some organization planning it. That's what we need.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

Think about the best party you've ever attended. I'm willing to bet it happened organically and without some organization planning it. That's what we need.

Oh I do and it started organically, grew into one of the best times of my life and then ended "administratively"

 

[GMUgemini]

Think about the best party you've ever attended. I'm willing to bet it happened organically and without some organization planning it. That's what we need.

A lot of planning goes into a good party, let’s not pretend otherwise. So even something at the grassroots needs to have people willing to plan their own tailgate and be consistent so that it’s allowed to grow organically.

Even the student section. I can guarantee you that every student section this board is jealous of has leaders who help coordinate what you see on gameday and that leadership is passed down from upperclassman to upperclassman year after year and there are expectations.

There is no reason Mason AD needs to plan every home game like homecoming but there are for sure things they can and should be doing to juice up the gameday atmosphere and make sure the students are excited to go to the games. And they need to be consistent with it.

The Seattle Sounders supporters groups have a tradition of marching to the stadium for every home game. This is what La Barra Brava used to do for DC United too when they were in RFK and before those owners scuttled the club’s relationship with the supporters groups. They would get together 4 hours before the game, tailgate and party, move to the stadium 49 minutes before kickoff, get juiced up by chanting and singling and jumping and going crazy and then march into their section of the stadium all as one and then jump and sing and chant all 90 straight minutes. Would love to see something like that here. Get a drum line going, March through all the dorms and pick up a parade and end it at EBA.

 

[EXpatriot13]

Think about the best party you've ever attended. I'm willing to bet it happened organically and without some organization planning it. That's what we need.

Agreed. Mason doesn't need to actually plan other tailgates or pre-game gatherings, but what they do need to do is let it be known to students and alumni that it's an okay thing to do on gameday if so desired.

I'm sure the majority of people assume it's not allowed or discouraged outside of Homecoming.

 

[dr. gunnie]

A lot of planning goes into a good party, let’s not pretend otherwise. So even something at the grassroots needs to have people willing to plan their own tailgate and be consistent so that it’s allowed to grow organically.

Even the student section. I can guarantee you that every student section this board is jealous of has leaders who help coordinate what you see on gameday and that leadership is passed down from upperclassman to upperclassman year after year and there are expectations.

There is no reason Mason AD needs to plan every home game like homecoming but there are for sure things they can and should be doing to juice up the gameday atmosphere and make sure the students are excited to go to the games. And they need to be consistent with it.

The Seattle Sounders supporters groups have a tradition of marching to the stadium for every home game. This is what La Barra Brava used to do for DC United too when they were in RFK and before those owners scuttled the club’s relationship with the supporters groups. They would get together 4 hours before the game, tailgate and party, move to the stadium 49 minutes before kickoff, get juiced up by chanting and singling and jumping and going crazy and then march into their section of the stadium all as one and then jump and sing and chant all 90 straight minutes. Would love to see something like that here. Get a drum line going, March through all the dorms and pick up a parade and end it at EBA.

I go back and forth a lot on things like this - basically chicken and the egg. Nobody is stopping anyone on here from doing the things mentioned. If people want to tailgate before every game, you could. If people want a big marching group from the dorms to the arena, nobody is stopping anyone from doing it. If we wanted to have the biggest, rowdiest crowd full of loud people on their feet, we could have that. I think the ownership also belongs on us as fans to create it, not just the athletic department.

 

[psyclone]

What a strange headline. They shot 51% from the field and 48% from 3 and the lead is that poor shooting did them in?

no byline, no AP/UPI. I'm guessing a not-so AI generated "article/headline"

 

[GMUgemini]

I go back and forth a lot on things like this - basically chicken and the egg. Nobody is stopping anyone on here from doing the things mentioned. If people want to tailgate before every game, you could. If people want a big marching group from the dorms to the arena, nobody is stopping anyone from doing it. If we wanted to have the biggest, rowdiest crowd full of loud people on their feet, we could have that. I think the ownership also belongs on us as fans to create it, not just the athletic department.

That’s what I was trying to say, I think.

The drum line through the dorms, I’d think would have to be either a pep band thing or a Maniak’s thing or an admin thing.

Now granted the league is doing us no favors, because Brian tells us the admin supposedly doesn’t care and wants the fans to tailgate more and we don’t have another weekend home game until March freaking 2nd! Even if I were in the area I wouldn’t be able to tailgate before a Tuesday or Wednesday game (although anyone with flex schedules who can leave early from work, I’d say give it a shot if you can).

 

[gmubrian]

... they do need to do is let it be known to students and alumni that it's an okay thing to do on gameday if so desired.

That is exactly what I am doing in this thread.

On a tangent, Imagine if you were an administrator of a school. Let's call the place you work for GUM. You want to grow spirit at the school. One idea is tailgates for basketball games. You have tried to sponsor them, but they are really expensive to officially sponsor because you have to get certain permits and then staff them, etc and they really haven't show a return on investment except for homecoming.

You would like it to grow organically so that, eventually, it could be big enough to officially sponsor for the effort and cost. You can't send out flyers telling people to just do it anyways as it would create liability. You can't tell people that the police are going to let you do X,Y and Z. What should you do in this situation. Maybe you get the word out via unofficial channels.

 

[GMUgemini]

Well, only two weekend home games left to the season, which includes the last game of the regular season against Richmond on 3/9, which has a decent 2:30 start time.

Maybe By George and the local crew of MasonHoops can unofficially plan something for that game and get a little momentum going into next season?

 

[EXpatriot13]

That is exactly what I am doing in this thread.

On a tangent, Imagine if you were an administrator of a school. Let's call the place you work for GUM. You want to grow spirit at the school. One idea is tailgates for basketball games. You have tried to sponsor them, but they are really expensive to officially sponsor because you have to get certain permits and then staff them, etc and they really haven't show a return on investment except for homecoming.

You would like it to grow organically so that, eventually, it could be big enough to officially sponsor for the effort and cost. You can't send out flyers telling people to just do it anyways as it would create liability. You can't tell people that the police are going to let you do X,Y and Z. What should you do in this situation. Maybe you get the word out via unofficial channels.

My point was that the school themselves should make it known that tailgating is allowed on gameday beyond Homecoming, and point people to a dedicated landing page where all tailgating rules/policies are housed. They aren’t directly telling people to do anything, but opening the door for it to be done within a framework of rules.

That’s when unofficial channels like here, ByGeorge, students, etc. come into play to drive awareness and encourage people to partake. Whether or not it ever grows organically beyond that is solely up to the fanbase.

 

[ProfessorCFK]

My point was that the school themselves should make it known that tailgating is allowed on gameday beyond Homecoming, and point people to a dedicated landing page where all tailgating rules/policies are housed. They aren’t directly telling people to do anything, but opening the door for it to be done within a framework of rules.

That’s when unofficial channels like here, ByGeorge, students, etc. come into play to drive awareness and encourage people to partake. Whether or not it ever grows organically beyond that is solely up to the fanbase.

The university won't be able to do that for the simple fact that, to my knowledge, public consumption of alcohol without an ABC permit is verboten. The "framework of rules" would have to say "no alcohol" which kind of kills the whole thing.

If students/fans want to tailgate on their own without asking for permission, they should go ahead and do that. But asking the administration to "bless" it and provide rules contrary to state law won't be happening. It's a catch-22.

That being said, I'm not a lawyer and had a great time tailgating as an undergrad without asking permission during the Merten era.

 

[GSII]

The university won't be able to do that for the simple fact that, to my knowledge, public consumption of alcohol without an ABC permit is verboten. The "framework of rules" would have to say "no alcohol" which kind of kills the whole thing.

If students/fans want to tailgate on their own without asking for permission, they should go ahead and do that. But asking the administration to "bless" it and provide rules contrary to state law won't be happening. It's a catch-22.

That being said, I'm not a lawyer and had a great time tailgating as an undergrad without asking permission during the Merten era.

Maybe we should be become a Nike school. Then we could Just Do IT.

I'll see myself out.

 

[MasonFanatic]

Even the student section. I can guarantee you that every student section this board is jealous of has leaders who help coordinate what you see on gameday and that leadership is passed down from upperclassman to upperclassman year after year and there are expectations.

I agree. It was great when we had organic leadership of the Platoon, but that died out, and it's largely been missing for a while now.

I believe that is the intent behind the newly established student officers for the Mason Maniaks, which were just hired for the spring semester and will undoubtedly be expected to do exactly this going forward.

I'm thrilled to see the athletic department actively working to establish specific student leadership.

 

[EXpatriot13]

The university won't be able to do that for the simple fact that, to my knowledge, public consumption of alcohol without an ABC permit is verboten. The "framework of rules" would have to say "no alcohol" which kind of kills the whole thing.

If students/fans want to tailgate on their own without asking for permission, they should go ahead and do that. But asking the administration to "bless" it and provide rules contrary to state law won't be happening. It's a catch-22.

That being said, I'm not a lawyer and had a great time tailgating as an undergrad without asking permission during the Merten era.

Lol, so is this the part where we say Mason can’t afford the necessary permit for the season and only on Homecoming?

Their rules for the Homecoming tailgate explicitly state alcohol for 21+ and only within the tailgate area, which is standard language for every other school that allows tailgating. I can’t imagine they’d go without the security blanket of a permit at other times, and turn a blind eye to people drinking on campus property god forbid something were to happen.

There’s no reason Mason can’t implement similar rules/guidelines that cover the season. Provide the canvas and framework, and let the fanbase determine whether or not it grows organically.

Let’s stop acting like Mason always has to be some unique, complicated situation from everyone else.

 

[MasonFanatic]

Lol, so is this the part where we say Mason can’t afford the necessary permit for the season and only on Homecoming?

Their rules for the Homecoming tailgate explicitly state alcohol for 21+ and only within the tailgate area, which is standard language for every other school that allows tailgating. I can’t imagine they’d go without the security blanket of a permit at other times, and turn a blind eye to people drinking on campus property god forbid something were to happen.

There’s no reason Mason can’t implement similar rules/guidelines that cover the season. Provide the canvas and framework, and let the fanbase determine whether or not it grows organically.

Let’s stop acting like Mason always has to be some unique, complicated situation from everyone else.

It's not just the permit cost itself. It's the costs of complying with all the state regulations to operate under the permit. You have to set up a controlled perimeter. Which means paying people to post signs and set up and take down barriers or other control mechanisms, paying people to monitor the perimeter during the event, in GMU's case, paying for extra police to be on standby if something gets out of hand, etc. This is pretty widely encountered among anyone who organizes outdoor events in Virginia that include alcohol, athletics or otherwise. It probably was costing student activities at least a grand for each game they did it (for a tiny turnout), and I'm sure it's well into 5 figures for Homecoming.

Just do an unofficial tailgate, folks. Seriously.

 

[Verdad]

Why is everyone talking about tailgatint - because we just had a large/fun tailgate, and now with recency bias we want to do it more! Which means....

MOVE HOMECOMING TO THE FALL!!!!!

PS - Would love to see an unofficial organic grassfed free range non-gmo tailgate for the Richmond game, only possible downside is the women's A10 semifinals are that day and hopefully we are playing (11am and 1:30pm in Henrico).

We could legitimately be playing Richmond with a top 4 seed on the line and Richmond for a spot in the finals on the same day