Post by Fan Of The Game on Jun 13, 2005 20:08:12 GMT -5
flhoya said:
SoCalHoya said:
Even though I do not live near enough to DC to get the benefits of tix, etc., being a member allows me to:a) feel connected to the program through e-mails and letters;
b) bitch about the program since I contribute;
c) contribute to Georgetown in a way that I feel contributes directly to alumni spirit; and
d) get some Hoya schwag to put on my walls and annoy my non-Hoya friends who visit.
Hope this helps!
I like the idea behind these two threads. And even though I fit in the "Not HHC Donor" thread, I want to play a little devil's advocate here. Think of it as "Convince FLHoya to join the Hoya Hoop Club this summer". Now, I want to say I'm not putting down anybody's arguments here--or really arguing against them actually. I think those are all good reasons for joining the HHC. But I want to get at what the real benefits are for someone in a similar situation/thought process as me. Because I think a lot of people in similar situations to me are going through the same thought process I am below. So here goes:
First my background:
I graduated from GU in 2004. I still live in Washington DC and I just finished my first of two years of grad school at another DC university. I have a relatively low-paying job during this summer, but I don't work during the school year. I'm on financial aid/scholarship, and I try very hard to watch the money (not a lot) in my bank account.
I attended every game I was in DC for during my four years at GU. I also attended every game I was in DC for this year--in fact, I came back to town a week early after X-mas break to see the UConn and Rutgers games. Even though I graduated last year, I had somebody I know on campus buy student season tickets for me for the normal $85 charge, because that is cheaper than the Young Alumni section, Ticketmaster, etc. I also consider the seats to be better. I intend to do the same next season.
I think a lot of young alumni from the years around me are in similar situation.
Okay, now onto the benefits:
1. FEEL CONNECTED TO THE PROGRAM: I feel "connected" enough for my taste by virtue of going to all the home games, reading this website/message board, reading the papers, and GUHoyas.com, etc. I read that free newsletter the HHC sent out for the students this season--it was okay I guess, but it didn't knock my socks off and make me think: "wow, I gotta sign up and get this!"
2. BITCH ABOUT THE PROGRAM: The key qualifier is "since I contribute". I think it's a valid point that you shouldn't "criticize" something like the basketball program/office before you also offer to contribute to a solution. I certainly tried to follow that principle when I wrote about Hoya Blue or criticized them to other people. Maybe the HHC does give one an opportunity to "contribute". But I'm interested in how much "bitching" one can do at the low, low FLHoya price of a $25 donation.
On one hand, clearly I'm not a bigwig donor with the ear of such-and-such person. On the other, I have no interest in being that kind of person in a backroom or whatever. Besides, there's other ways to get ideas heard/stuff done. But I WOULD like to know that if little old FLHoya DID have a constructive idea/complaint, there'd be someone I could talk to or some meeting I could go to where I'd be heard/taken seriously.
3. CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROGRAM: There's a ton of ways you can contribute to the program without paying money to do so. After all, one of the two main ideas of Generation Burton was that "EVERY student is significant" in school spirit--and I didn't mean because of their wallets.
I consider myself to have "contributed" to school spirit (and the program) by purchasing what now amounts to I think $350 or so worth of student season tickets. Also by going to every football and lacrosse game I can. And helping the new guys in Hoya Blue with some ideas. So what's my value added in terms of spirit when I pay $25 bucks to join the Hoop Club?
Now, for SoCalHoya, who I'm guessing does not live near DC, I can see his HHC membership as a way to "contribute" when he clearly can't come to games. Same for anyone else who lives too far from MCI/campus.
But here's where it's kind of personal to me. Okay, but maybe the $25 is just a nominal fee and a symbolic gesture of my support for the program. I've certainly heard that from other students/young alums who joined. And that's a cool way to think about it and I admire them.
But I'm being totally honest here. $25 bucks sounds like not a lot. And yet--that's three dinners at Chipotle. That's 10-12 boxes of Kraft something-I-can-eat-for-dinner in a box. I'm a grad student on financial aid here. $85 for season tickets is a decent sized purchase to make for me. $25 is a long way to go to make a purely symbolic gesture on my part at this point. It's sounds really frugal, I know--but when I think about what I'm gonna do with the $25 bucks in my wallet RIGHT NOW and I need to put some cash on my laundry card and buy milk, writing that HHC check gets pushed back a lot.
And heck, if I want to be symbolic, I'll wear my Hoyabands ($5 for a pair) to class here, or at my job, or around Foggy Bottom. That's a pretty good value as far as symbolic gestures go.
4. HOYA SCHWAG: Well...what kind of schwag? I'm a small-time collector of GU promotional posters for basketball, lacrosse, football, etc. so I like that kind of stuff. Anything cool? I mean, I get my WE ARE GEORGETOWN shirt for free with my student tickets. They give out bumper stickers and buttons and stuff like it's candy on campus. But I DO love any kind of free stuff.
OKAY, so where does that leave me on this whole issue? Well, let me use an analogy I've also talked about with someone. I don't subscribe to the premium parts of HoyaReport where you've got to pay money to join/read. Somebody asked me why one time--I basically gave him the Chipotle/Kraft talk first (which prompted much joking cursing in my direction). HR costs X dollars a month, which is Y dollars a year--and I just can't justify that in addition to season tix and stuff. Plus, I don't really follow recruiting, so access to that info isn't a big selling point for me. And to be honest, I'm more than happy with what Hoyatalk provides me for free and I feel I can "follow" stuff well enough here.
Likewise, joining the HHC is $25. But I have other immediate things to do with my $25 that I consider important--and I budget my money tightly so that paying for student tickets is as far as I THINK I should go. Plus, I don't really follow the ins and outs of alumni giving-type deals or need that newsletter too much. And to be honest, Hoyatalk/games/my Hoyabands provide enough "symbolic" support for me.
It's a little dramatic in some places--but it's kind of close I bet in some ways to the arguments many young alums like me make against ponying up.
Now, one of the responses I'd get from the HoyaReport fan would be: "Yeah, but it's waaaaay more than just recruiting...there's all this other great stuff..." And so on. And I'm open to hearing about it and maybe doing the free trial. But ONLY joining if it's really worth it.
Likewise, while I intend to join the HHC eventually, at the minimum right after I get out of grad school next May, right now I need some convincing that it's worth it.
So: what kind of "influence" can I reeeeeealllly have for $25? What kind of benefits are there (and those $200 YA section seats DON'T COUNT right now for me)? Is the symbolic gesture more important than I'm making it out to be?
And finally--is there more to the Hoop Club than I know about? To be honest, I'd love to hear from people about it and I'm completely open-minded about joining and contributing if it's worth it. Post back here, email me, PM me, whatever. Glad to hear from you.
(EDIT: Oh yeah, one other thing. I would have joined the HHC in a second if my class had been given that free membership offer like the C/O 2005. I would have still bought regular $85 student tickets and not $200 YA ones.)
FlHoya -
1. You can easily eat $25 worth of chicken tenders at the pre-game happy hours
2. Think of it from the philisophical point of view...you are right in that you would probably miss your $25 much more than the hoop club would. But if everyone acted on that attitude then there would be no donations at all. And you want there to be a Hoya Hoop Club, right? So what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Or something like that.
3. Even if it's only $25, it's good to get in the habit of sacrificing a little $$ for the HHC. And it is a sacrifice for everyone, regardless of our relative incomes. If you can't sacrifice the $25 when it seems like a lot then you might get used to that attitude. Start with the sacrifice now. Get it in your head as something you're going to do every year.
4. Maybe you could do a pledge...I mean $25, that's what, about $1 a paragraph in one of your posts...? ;D
5. Regardless of what you decide, we're glad to have you as a fan. But we need fans and contributing hoop club members to make this program a success.