Post by FLHoya on Nov 19, 2004 15:48:39 GMT -5
I understand both of your views here, 007 and showcase.
On one hand, nobody expects our basketball team to perfectly execute the so-called "Princeton offense" in their first game of the season on Monday. Or in their 20th game, for that matter. In the long run, however, most of us fans can see that once the team learns the offense, positive things will happen on the court. In the same vein, GU students won't "execute" the cheer sheet idea immediately, or maybe not for some time. But 007's point is well-taken that trying a number of new things to increase our home court advantage is a good idea.
That being said, showcase has an equally valid point here. We have to be mindful of the strengths and weaknesses of our "team" here. Teams without mobile quarterbacks shouldn't run the option offense (by the way, see you all at Kehoe tomorrow). As our esteemed coach has noted in several interviews, the "Princeton offense" is in part about adapting to the strengths of your team.
Likewise, our fan strategy should be about this as well. Currently, coordination is not one of our strengths.
Give you an example: at MCI games, 007 usually sits in the front row (right side) of the student section, next to the opponent's bench. I usually sit in about the 4th row (left side), next to the trumpet section of the GU Band. On several occasions during the game, people in 007's part of the student section and my part of the student section are chanting different things at the same time. And we're like 25 feet apart. To say nothing of the people further back.
The current method of "coordination" for student cheers is anything goes. I can tell you there are certain people at every game who frequently start cheers, but there's no coordination between them. So the students have no idea what to do.
Thus, traditionally, two problems have arisen with the cheer sheets:
1. Even if we have stuff written down, and even if the flyers get out to the students (neither a guarantee), absent any person coordinating this stuff, nobody knows when to chant the things on our little sheet. And you really need to coordinate it and get info our for it to work--I mean, it took this message board a little while to remember Blackshear was the one who went after Matt Causey, and we're the experts. How many average fans do you think would even recognize Blackshear, even with his uniform on?
2. Objectively speaking here, the stuff on previous "cheer sheets" has been absolutely terrible. As in "I would be embarrassed in myself chanting this because this is so bad" kind of terrible. The best thing anyone came up with last year was "J.J. has bac-ne". And that's pretty darn terrible.
I'm not saying it's not a good idea to TRY to develop cheer sheets, but it's going to be a work in progress.
The esteemed, incredibly articulate, and devoted Hoya Blue member who wrote today's HB email epistle (read: 007) had the right idea openly asking for people interested in helping out with at-game spirit type stuff. With any luck, you might get someone who's good at organizing cheers, or coming up with and writing stuff. I'd suggest consulting the kid who stood a few people away from you at the Lehigh game and came up with "Did someone die in New Orleans?" among other things.
But for the time being, let's take stock of what kind of "team" we have when the student section fills up on Monday night, hopefully with kids wearing the "WE ARE GEORGETOWN" grays (or as I will refer to them in recaps this year, the "Kurt Shirts"). Let's, as showcase says, concentrate first on getting the excitement level up on campus and among the kids who do show up.
Start slow--before we worry about which Temple player is failing this-or-that class, let's try to get the whole student section to chant the easy stuff together first. You know, like the FIGHT SONG, LET'S GO HOYAS, WE ARE GEORGETOWN.
In short, let's develop this team slowly but surely.
On one hand, nobody expects our basketball team to perfectly execute the so-called "Princeton offense" in their first game of the season on Monday. Or in their 20th game, for that matter. In the long run, however, most of us fans can see that once the team learns the offense, positive things will happen on the court. In the same vein, GU students won't "execute" the cheer sheet idea immediately, or maybe not for some time. But 007's point is well-taken that trying a number of new things to increase our home court advantage is a good idea.
That being said, showcase has an equally valid point here. We have to be mindful of the strengths and weaknesses of our "team" here. Teams without mobile quarterbacks shouldn't run the option offense (by the way, see you all at Kehoe tomorrow). As our esteemed coach has noted in several interviews, the "Princeton offense" is in part about adapting to the strengths of your team.
Likewise, our fan strategy should be about this as well. Currently, coordination is not one of our strengths.
Give you an example: at MCI games, 007 usually sits in the front row (right side) of the student section, next to the opponent's bench. I usually sit in about the 4th row (left side), next to the trumpet section of the GU Band. On several occasions during the game, people in 007's part of the student section and my part of the student section are chanting different things at the same time. And we're like 25 feet apart. To say nothing of the people further back.
The current method of "coordination" for student cheers is anything goes. I can tell you there are certain people at every game who frequently start cheers, but there's no coordination between them. So the students have no idea what to do.
Thus, traditionally, two problems have arisen with the cheer sheets:
1. Even if we have stuff written down, and even if the flyers get out to the students (neither a guarantee), absent any person coordinating this stuff, nobody knows when to chant the things on our little sheet. And you really need to coordinate it and get info our for it to work--I mean, it took this message board a little while to remember Blackshear was the one who went after Matt Causey, and we're the experts. How many average fans do you think would even recognize Blackshear, even with his uniform on?
2. Objectively speaking here, the stuff on previous "cheer sheets" has been absolutely terrible. As in "I would be embarrassed in myself chanting this because this is so bad" kind of terrible. The best thing anyone came up with last year was "J.J. has bac-ne". And that's pretty darn terrible.
I'm not saying it's not a good idea to TRY to develop cheer sheets, but it's going to be a work in progress.
The esteemed, incredibly articulate, and devoted Hoya Blue member who wrote today's HB email epistle (read: 007) had the right idea openly asking for people interested in helping out with at-game spirit type stuff. With any luck, you might get someone who's good at organizing cheers, or coming up with and writing stuff. I'd suggest consulting the kid who stood a few people away from you at the Lehigh game and came up with "Did someone die in New Orleans?" among other things.
But for the time being, let's take stock of what kind of "team" we have when the student section fills up on Monday night, hopefully with kids wearing the "WE ARE GEORGETOWN" grays (or as I will refer to them in recaps this year, the "Kurt Shirts"). Let's, as showcase says, concentrate first on getting the excitement level up on campus and among the kids who do show up.
Start slow--before we worry about which Temple player is failing this-or-that class, let's try to get the whole student section to chant the easy stuff together first. You know, like the FIGHT SONG, LET'S GO HOYAS, WE ARE GEORGETOWN.
In short, let's develop this team slowly but surely.