Gameday Experience

[BandWagon18]

It's just so frustrating to have this inertia in the Patriot Center. Nothing seems to change no matter what seems to happen. I blame Hewitt. If we were able to actually win games, then there would be more tickets sold and sponsors would be paying attention to us. But as it stands, it's stale basketball with a stale atmosphere at a stale arena. The band can only do so much. Fire Hewitt, get a fresh coach that's ravenous for wins, and get that money rolling in. None of that will happen if the Fluffer sits around doing nothing while swimming in taxpayer dollars.

 

[gmujim92]

The Fluffer of Fairfax has done his job well.

He has literally sucked the life out of our program.

 

[bravesfan]

If we paid for some real fluffers, that would really liven up the "experience".

 

[gmujim92]

If we paid for some real fluffers, that would really liven up the "experience".

Mason basketball: We play hard. Literally.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

If we paid for some real fluffers, that would really liven up the "experience".

I miss seeing you in your Braves hat. Good to hear from you.

And yes - if we did have assigned fluffers for season ticket holders - that would make the game day experience - However, I would have to explain why my cardboard platter of unsalted chicken fingers were on top of some chicks head.

 

[gmujim92]

I miss seeing you in your Braves hat. Good to hear from you.

And yes - if we did have assigned fluffers for season ticket holders - that would make the game day experience - However, I would have to explain why my cardboard platter of unsalted chicken fingers were on top of some chicks head.

Half-fluffer, half-table. Loving the concept.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

Half-fluffer, half-table. Loving the concept.

More important - getting the knob polished by a 20 something while eating chicken strips........................................

and wife reading over my shoulder asking what fluffer is and what it has to do with a 20 year old chick. This will be interesting.

 

[gmujim92]

More important - getting the knob polished by a 20 something while eating chicken strips........................................

Hickory dickory dock
A fluffer was sucking my c*ck
As I ate chicken in a bucket
I said, "Aw, f*ck it."
And dropped some goo on her smock

 

[bravesfan]

I miss seeing you in your Braves hat. Good to hear from you.

Ha, thanks. You as well. I'm down in North Carolina where real basketball has been played over the last 4 years...

... hope to head back up for another Homecoming once the monsters are old enough to last more than 30 minutes in public before losing their shit.

 

[Vurbel]

OK, nitpick on this one. I'm as big of a fan of the Green Machine as anybody. We have the best band in the country, it's not even close. We're driving a Ferrari while the rest of the country is in a Pinto. With that said, does it bother anybody else that we don't have much crowd involvement? I know at other schools fans sing song. Even vcu has that annoying "War Song" and the "it's Havoc you fear" song. We just have our fight song that nobody knows the lyrics to, and one side of the arena yelling "George" and the other side yelling "Mason", which is only done once every few games. We used to sing "Living on a Prayer" but that wore out any "coolness" to it 5 years ago. It seems like during timeouts we just look to the Green Machine for entertainment, not participation. Again, this is in no way a shot at the Green Machine. They are wonderful, no question about that.

Anybody else feel this way?

 

[MasonGrad01]

OK, nitpick on this one. I'm as big of a fan of the Green Machine as anybody. We have the best band in the country, it's not even close. We're driving a Ferrari while the rest of the country is in a Pinto. With that said, does it bother anybody else that we don't have much crowd involvement? I know at other schools fans sing song. Even vcu has that annoying "War Song" and the "it's Havoc you fear" song. We just have our fight song that nobody knows the lyrics to, and one side of the arena yelling "George" and the other side yelling "Mason", which is only done once every few games. We used to sing "Living on a Prayer" but that wore out any "coolness" to it 5 years ago. It seems like during timeouts we just look to the Green Machine for entertainment, not participation. Again, this is in no way a shot at the Green Machine. They are wonderful, no question about that.

Anybody else feel this way?

The average age of our home crowd seems to be about 65. You think they are gonna sing along to Kanye covers?

 

[Dawgs99]

Hate to beat a dead horse, but a new video scoreboard would go along way to improving the game day experience. I know the roof is an issue but what exactly are we waiting for? Isn't the roof at its life expectancy and in need of an upgrade. Those pregame hype videos and such would make a much bigger impact if they were on a video scoreboard for everyone to see...I think most people don't even notice the videos on the smaller corner boards. I know we're investing in new locker rooms, a practice facility, and other amenities for the players but I think its passed time to hook up EBA with 2017's era scoreboard. If they can hang one in the Reily Center (St. Bonnnies) surely they can find a way at Mason.

 

[KAOriginal]

Hate to beat a dead horse, but a new video scoreboard would go along way to improving the game day experience. I know the roof is an issue but what exactly are we waiting for? Isn't the roof at its life expectancy and in need of an upgrade. Those pregame hype videos and such would make a much bigger impact if they were on a video scoreboard for everyone to see...I think most people don't even notice the videos on the smaller corner boards. I know we're investing in new locker rooms, a practice facility, and other amenities for the players but I think its passed time to hook up EBA with 2017's era scoreboard. If they can hang one in the Reily Center (St. Bonnnies) surely they can find a way at Mason.

I say go all in and provide all attendees IPADs that are linked so when you sit down and hold it up it looks like a massive scoreboard across the EBA. Then each end and side can take turns holding them up to be one massive video screen.

 

[G M U]

Hate to beat a dead horse, but a new video scoreboard would go along way to improving the game day experience. I know the roof is an issue but what exactly are we waiting for? Isn't the roof at its life expectancy and in need of an upgrade. Those pregame hype videos and such would make a much bigger impact if they were on a video scoreboard for everyone to see...I think most people don't even notice the videos on the smaller corner boards. I know we're investing in new locker rooms, a practice facility, and other amenities for the players but I think its passed time to hook up EBA with 2017's era scoreboard. If they can hang one in the Reily Center (St. Bonnnies) surely they can find a way at Mason.

Right and one reason we wouldn't fix the roof was due to all the events that EBA would possibly miss out on. Ringling Brothers used to eat up a few weeks, perhaps with the circus going under, maybe we fill that void with construction?

The sad part about the game day experience is that it sticks to the same script every year. Cheerleader marches out, cranks siren, same music plays, everybody's sitting down, fight song. Time out, green machine plays awesome hype song to unenthusiastic crowd, soft applause after song (as if our fans just saw the first act of a play at the Kennedy Center). Next up "T-shirt giveaway!" fans go nuts for 30 seconds, next up Apple Credit union timeout bit (free throws, tic tac toe, etc) Next up, "look up, chic fil a cows are falling.." yay. Next timeout, cheerleaders do the M-A-S-O-N bump bump MASON, or no sleep till Pittsburgh. Halftime, kids jumping rope, playing basketball or dancing shirtless. Pepper in a few more gems from Green Machine another t-shirt giveaway, maybe a ball under the cup game, fans leave early, players wave at half court, band plays as everything raps up.

 

[Vurbel]

Right and one reason we wouldn't fix the roof was due to all the events that EBA would possibly miss out on. Ringling Brothers used to eat up a few weeks, perhaps with the circus going under, maybe we fill that void with construction?

The sad part about the game day experience is that it sticks to the same script every year. Cheerleader marches out, cranks siren, same music plays, everybody's sitting down, fight song. Time out, green machine plays awesome hype song to unenthusiastic crowd, soft applause after song (as if our fans just saw the first act of a play at the Kennedy Center). Next up "T-shirt giveaway!" fans go nuts for 30 seconds, next up Apple Credit union timeout bit (free throws, tic tac toe, etc) Next up, "look up, chic fil a cows are falling.." yay. Next timeout, cheerleaders do the M-A-S-O-N bump bump MASON, or no sleep till Pittsburgh. Halftime, kids jumping rope, playing basketball or dancing shirtless. Pepper in a few more gems from Green Machine another t-shirt giveaway, maybe a ball under the cup game, fans leave early, players wave at half court, band plays as everything raps up.

Rinse, wash, repeat. We're better than that. I'm not saying we start singing "Rock Chalk Jayhawk", but I'm not above playing Enter Sandman like VT. And playing the first few bars before the Green Machine plays the excitement-killer Mason Fight Song doesn't count. Maybe a compromise and have the Green Machine play it as the team comes out for warm-ups.

At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, why do we even have cheerleaders? Other than some find them attractive (which they're not) and "we've always had them"? What do they add to the gameday experience? I can see the Masonettes, but would 90% of those at EBA even miss them?

 

[BandWagon18]

I think it would really help if the cheerleaders and the Green Machine could coordinate the Seven Nation Army cheer in the first few minutes of the game. Having one side of the arena doing one thing and the other yelling another further fragments an already disjointed gameday atmosphere.

 

[MasonSAE4]

Right and one reason we wouldn't fix the roof was due to all the events that EBA would possibly miss out on. Ringling Brothers used to eat up a few weeks, perhaps with the circus going under, maybe we fill that void with construction?

I'm not a construction expert but I doubt the 10 days the circus was there is adequate time to fix that thing. They'd more than likely have to rope off at least two months, although with how slow the place can get in the summer I doubt they'd lose all that much revenue. They'd certainly make it back in improving the place and allowing for more elaborate acts to come.

I'm surprised the roof never got fixed though. It was in the capital request a few years back then randomly vanished. Not to mention at a certain point I'm fairly certain it legally has to be updated. I'm wondering if BE/Cabrerra are having second thoughts about putting that much money into an aging place. I know they toured the Robbins Center to see how a full renovation could work.

 

[Falco]

I was at a concert at EBA and the artist had big projector screens hanging from the ceiling. Why cant we do the same?

 

[EXpatriot13]

I wish there was a way to re-work our entire fight song. It's so dry, and frankly childish. It doesn't give out the feeling of a fight song at all, which is probably why most students don't even bother to learn it.

 

[psyclone]

I wish there was a way to re-work our entire fight song. It's so dry, and frankly childish. It doesn't give out the feeling of a fight song at all, which is probably why most students don't even bother to learn it.

I disagree. I find it well within the fight song "genre". Can you give me examples of better fight songs?