ORU Eli Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I was at the SDSU game and was very disappointed in the crowd involvement. I do admit...it was finals week and it was fairly cold...students and Tulsans use both as an excuse to be hermits on a Thursday night. But all of us are fans here and ideally would like to see more people make an effort just because its not 70 degrees or Saturday night with nothing to do. I even sat behind the Maniacs for one half and the back row of MANIACS were more interested in goofing around, flirting, and making fun of other Maniacs that were into the game than actually cheering their team. They obviously did not ever ask themselves "WWJOD?". One thing I would suggest for the Maniacs... My best friend's sister is a freshman at ORU this year. She had to be out of town the weekend of Maniac initiation and she felt like afterwards she had no chance to be included in the Maniacs b/c she missed initiation. I'm not sure if that's because Maniac communication or just her assumption but that's a red flag for you guys. I think Maniac initiation is awesome and should be a continual tradition...however when I was in Maniacs I had a very exlusive attitude towards the rest of the students where not in the Maniacs. If they didn't show up to initiation and they didn't choose to support ORU basketball the way I chose to, then I felt like they were pretty lame. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. You can't have this attitude. Do initiation. Dress up and act crazy and do your thing but if you guys want the club to survive and grow you have to find some way to overcome the school's perception that the Maniacs is an exclusive clique and that you have to be at initiation to stand and cheer with you guys. You have to find a way to either include or have a tangent group or people who wear whatever the heck they want to wear (cause there are always people who are either too shy or think they're above dressing up...and that's fine) and if they dont want to do "I'm blind, I'm deaf, I wish I were a ref" or the other chants then that's fine too as long as they will cheer and stand at least part of the time. The Maniacs continue to fill a need for crazy, loud fans at every game...but they're on the far, far end of the spectrum with blue hairs and newlywed parents who need a night away from the house on the other end. You gotta work on marketing fanhood of ORU basketball to students who want to fill up the middle, and the far biggest, portion of the spectrum. Do that and I think the Mabee gets a lot louder, involved, and more fun on a consistent basis, but trust me, I understand - it's no easy task. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceManSpiff Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Contact the President of the Cameron Crazies and ask him/her for some advice...they start somewhere (and yes obviously they are in an entire different situation) They're not as great as Dick Vitale leads you to believe... Duke does a good job by putting them all the way around on the first couple rows. It makes their student section look bigger than it actually is. Compare them to the Gonzaga student section: ALL of the people wearing red/jumping on that side of the court are students. Gonzaga: Undergraduates: 4,150 Postgraduates: 2,225 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Speaking of the Maniacs... I know they have plans to go to one of the Dakota games this year, but they really need to make plans to go to the IUPUI games on Feb. 16 (Saturday). IUPUI Beats UMass: IUPUI Commercial: ORU-IUPUI Highlights: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vball_sofdof Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I think i know how the students feel. When i'm at the tournament, i am standing, yelling, jeering. But at home, i am much more relaxed unless the bench clears and a slow white shooter puts up a shot. Maybe that is just how it is as a fan. ORU is a quality place and well never go LSU fan on people. You can still be a fan and be sitting. I know from my point of view it depends on how you are feeling. If you have had the most tiring weekend ever just showing (to me) shows ALOT of loyalty. yeah it helps to get loud but as long as you are cheering your guts out in your mind you are OK with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orumom Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Speaking of the Maniacs... I know they have plans to go to one of the Dakota games this year, but they really need to make plans to go to the IUPUI games on Feb. 16 (Saturday). I agree that the Maniacs need to make the trip to IUPUI. Been there, done that & it is unforgettable. We need to do something to offset the home court advantage they will have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOLO_Gold Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 haha For once you may actually be on to something... Also the point is to build tradition the entire fan base can grow into. For instance UCF goes crazy when they play the Zombie Nation song (which we also play in a pregame video) before their football games Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 I hate to see this turn into a "rag on the Maniacs" thread. I love the Maniacs, even after going on record as having really disliked them before. Hey, I think it's great the Maniacs have an initiation and secret hand shakes and all, but there needs to be enough flexibility in their organization that any student or even walk-up fan should feel comfortable enough to just join in the fun, if they feel so motivated at any particular game. I would compare it to a parade: it's great to have the "band" and such out front leading the procession, but there should always be plenty of room right behind them for Joe Blow to join in the march. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cornelius Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 While I think that VP and the Maniacs in attendance did a GREAT job, ManiacAlum and Eli are right. The number of Maniacs showing up may be down to Odom year one levels. That may not be a fault of effort at all so how do we reach more students? It's important not to see something like this die out. There are a lot people on this board who could help to retool or gather resources for next season (and I'm pretty sure a couple past leaders are still around). This is a GREAT home court advantage and something we need to keep going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManiacVP Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 To tell you guys the truth, getting on here and seeing everyone saying what a bad job im doing is discouraging. I have tried every little thing I can think of. Ive taken heat from alot of old maniacs for getting rid of the majority of theme nights and just using blue out and white outs... Ive also encouraged maniacs to bring a friend thats not in the club and wrote on the sidewalks in chalk "come to the game, wear white, free pizza! Everyone is invited!"... did people come? no. Ive passed out flyers, using time I didnt have to get them put up. And did people come? No. Ive come to a realization that no matter what I do, it will always be a thankless job. Shoot, ive even taken time to put out stuff to help with recruiting. But none the less I get ragged on for not doing enough. I can't physically make people come to games or stand up and yell. Countless times ive said "Well hey, just wear a white shirt and come make ome noise with us. We need all the voices we can get." I also told people that if you come to a game you're a maniac. The only reason we have the club side of it is so we can figure out what people we can take on a trip. I can garuntee you that you will have a hard time finding a student at ORU who is a bigger fan or more involved with the basketball programs than I am. And to have people rag on the bad job im doing really makes me wish I didn't take the position this year. The ORU student body doesnt have the mentality that a Duke, Georgetown, or UNC has. Those schools have students that go there because they are a die hard fan of the basketball team. How many times do you have students at ORU say, "Yeah I came here because I bleed blue and gold."? Believe me, I have tried everything I can. I took a job with SA as the sports marketing coordinator because I thought having more resources would help... I was wrong. So please, dont rag on me for something that I can't control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzo711 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 To tell you guys the truth, getting on here and seeing everyone saying what a bad job im doing is discouraging. I have tried every little thing I can think of. Ive taken heat from alot of old maniacs for getting rid of the majority of theme nights and just using blue out and white outs... Ive also encouraged maniacs to bring a friend thats not in the club and wrote on the sidewalks in chalk "come to the game, wear white, free pizza! Everyone is invited!"... did people come? no. Ive passed out flyers, using time I didnt have to get them put up. And did people come? No. Ive come to a realization that no matter what I do, it will always be a thankless job. Shoot, ive even taken time to put out stuff to help with recruiting. But none the less I get ragged on for not doing enough. I can't physically make people come to games or stand up and yell. Countless times ive said "Well hey, just wear a white shirt and come make ome noise with us. We need all the voices we can get." I also told people that if you come to a game you're a maniac. The only reason we have the club side of it is so we can figure out what people we can take on a trip. I can garuntee you that you will have a hard time finding a student at ORU who is a bigger fan or more involved with the basketball programs than I am. And to have people rag on the bad job im doing really makes me wish I didn't take the position this year. The ORU student body doesnt have the mentality that a Duke, Georgetown, or UNC has. Those schools have students that go there because they are a die hard fan of the basketball team. How many times do you have students at ORU say, "Yeah I came here because I bleed blue and gold."? Believe me, I have tried everything I can. I took a job with SA as the sports marketing coordinator because I thought having more resources would help... I was wrong. So please, dont rag on me for something that I can't control. MVP......i dunno why things havent gone the way hoped for this year....but this is my fourth year being a maniac and i can honestly say u have tried harder and put more effort than any other president or leader of maniacs since i have been here. I want you to know i really appreciate all you have done this year, you have poured your life into maniacs......keep ya head up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 I went back over this thread, and I truly couldn't find anywhere that someone was being overly critical, just a lot of concern and some suggestions made with good intentions. Personally, my own observations were based on "ManiacAlum" implying that the Maniacs have a hstory of being somewhat exclusionary of the other students, and "bballmangc" saying there were no students cheering further back than four rows behind the Maniacs this past Saturday night. I thnk we can all agree that the Maniacs are a vital cog in the ORU game experience, and it's a shame to see them at less than full strength. At the same time, it's great to hear all that is being done trying in involve more students - all you can do is ask them to come, and hopefully they will. Props to all those who are working their tails off keeping the Maniac spirit alive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceManSpiff Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 To tell you guys the truth, getting on here and seeing everyone saying what a bad job im doing is discouraging. I have tried every little thing I can think of. Ive taken heat from alot of old maniacs for getting rid of the majority of theme nights and just using blue out and white outs... Ive also encouraged maniacs to bring a friend thats not in the club and wrote on the sidewalks in chalk "come to the game, wear white, free pizza! Everyone is invited!"... did people come? no. Ive passed out flyers, using time I didnt have to get them put up. And did people come? No. Ive come to a realization that no matter what I do, it will always be a thankless job. Shoot, ive even taken time to put out stuff to help with recruiting. But none the less I get ragged on for not doing enough. I can't physically make people come to games or stand up and yell. Countless times ive said "Well hey, just wear a white shirt and come make ome noise with us. We need all the voices we can get." I also told people that if you come to a game you're a maniac. The only reason we have the club side of it is so we can figure out what people we can take on a trip. I can garuntee you that you will have a hard time finding a student at ORU who is a bigger fan or more involved with the basketball programs than I am. And to have people rag on the bad job im doing really makes me wish I didn't take the position this year. The ORU student body doesnt have the mentality that a Duke, Georgetown, or UNC has. Those schools have students that go there because they are a die hard fan of the basketball team. How many times do you have students at ORU say, "Yeah I came here because I bleed blue and gold."? Believe me, I have tried everything I can. I took a job with SA as the sports marketing coordinator because I thought having more resources would help... I was wrong. So please, dont rag on me for something that I can't control. If I have read everyone's posts correctly - I'm not saying I have - these are the things people were suggesting, in the bold, to make the Maniacs more inclusive. It looks like you are already trying to do that. If you ask me, none the decisions you described in your post are bad ones. ORU seems to have more students coming than ever during the Sutton era. Probably due to your dedication. The maniacs just seem to be shrinking... The students outnumbering the Maniacs isn't a bad thing, not everyone is so passionate. We just need to figure out how to get the other students excited and into the game. (The 1st and hardest step is already taken care of - getting them there.) We also need to keep the Maniacs strong because of their enthusiasm. 'Maniac' - 'Student'. Who cares? Just cheer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Well I'm up a little later than I should be on a Monday, but I had to stay up in support of Eddie. I can't help but dream that we will have a student section like Gonzaga someday. What stood out to me during the game is the location of the student section. I have worked hard on putting together a proposal to change the setup of our seating for next year. It can't be done easily, but I think it would help re-energize the atmosphere of the Mabee Center. I believe the Maniacs have peaked. Tyler has done an outstanding job! He really has done his part to keep the Maniacs alive. The Maniacs did something for ORU Basketball that just wasn't happening at the time, and that was getting some type of support from the student body. We now draw the normal student to our games, and that is what is considered "cool" now apparently. Well now we have to start catering to those students in my opinion. It's time to change the Mabee Maniac marketing strategy, but I think it can only be done with a dramatic change. We need the entire student body to buy into the concept that everyone is a Mabee Maniac. Change is never easy, but I think we can pull this off if done the correct way. We have some of our best fans (donors) in the sections that would change, but I hope we can find a way to make the transition as painless as possible. There will be some new seating available with the changes. There is a way to get this done the right way without running people off. I'm very lucky that my mom and dad actually relocated from their seats in section K. They wouldn't have been happy so I understand how sensitive this will be with some people. The seating chart below is in no way approved by the athletic department. This is my own personal vision that I hope to get passed this summer or at least considered at some level. My idea is to help benefit ORU basketball long term, and to make it one of the toughest places to play. I want to have an excited looking crowd when we play on TV that will help draw others to our games. I want people to thank that the Mabee Center is the place to be. Let's face it... Tyler can vouch for me... that students want to be in the spot light. He knows that we get students if the game is on TV. So the student section will be pretty much packed for TV games. I just think we have to give our students better seats and make them a priority. Please ask questions and make suggestions. I am going to continue to work on proposal, and I hope that it is something that will change the way we enjoy ORU basketball. Here is what I have so far... (Click the seating chart at the bottom of this post for a larger version) PRICING STRUCTURE Individual Game Prices Adults: $5 to $20 Youth/Seniors: $3 to $17 Season Ticket Prices (Based on 13 RS and 2 EX games – 15 total games) Adults: $49 to $199 Youth/Seniors: $39 to $179 GREEN: FREE Student, Faculty and Staff These seats are the first five rows of the south side section (excluding the first two rows behind the visitor bench and the pep band). RED: $20/$15 Per Game ($199/$179) – GEC Required (Orange Outline) YELLOW: $15/$12 Per Game ($149/$139) – GEC Required (Orange Outline) LIGHT BLUE: $12/$8 Per Game ($119/$109) • Purple Outline Qualifies for Fun Zone Seating o Buy 4+ Tickets at $99 each • Recent ORU Graduates o $25 (1 year), $50 (2 year), $100 (3 year) • Faculty/Staff Season Tickets TEAL: $8/$5 Per Game ($79/$59) The premium seats of the upper level. Currently these seats are $15. DARK BLUE: $5/$3 Per Game ($49/$39) These seats are also available behind the student section since those seats may not be in high demand since students will be standing the majority of the game. The $5 price should encourage people to buy these "bad" seats. I want the dark blue seats in sections H through N to be perceived as the "cheap seats", and they would not be available for season tickets. They would only be available on the morning of the game so that demand might be high that morning. It would also allow for student section growth if the university plan for 10,000 enrollment does come true down the road. The goal with this proposal is to make sure that the first 10 rows of the arena are full every night. I also want to include a t-shirt with every season ticket that fans would be encouraged to wear at games or at least the same color as the free shirt. It's hard to get people to wear exactly what you want, but maybe they will wear the right color that day at work. I just want our crowd to be more interactive. I don't see this getting passed at all, but I'm going to push for some type of change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bballmangc Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 VP I think your doing a great job, maybe the numbers are down but without the leaders encouraging people to cheer there would probably only be about 10-20 students standing up who actually care about the games. And comparing to last year I think the maniacs are just as strong as last year. To get all the students involved there will have to be a school wide movement to get all the students to wear the same color shirt at the games and to stand up (and to start with at least during some parts of the game) maybe we could make the games with FREE student admission ONLY if they wear a blue or white colored shirt to the game too (crazy idea--mainly a joke--but something big would have to change on campus to see response from the student body as a whole) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 MVP - cheer up, buddy! No one has worked harder at that job than you have. I never set foot in the Mabee Center that I don't see you working, either up front or behind the scenes. During the ice storm and over the holidays, when you could count the students attending the games on your fingers, you were there at the north entrance selling programs, then down with the Golden Eagle Club making sure you didn't miss anybody at the front door ! You are setting up and organizing one thing or another every time I'm at Mabee. You were there working with other Maniacs at the GEC barbecue before the season started, working, working, working, so that you can fund traveling expenses for some of the Maniacs to attend key road games. You're working harder than ANYONE! You have been totally dedicated to your job. Believe me, your efforts are not going unnoticed. I've been very impressed by your undying dedication. You have the same workload with school and related things that all the other students do, but also give huge quantities of time to the Maniac cause. So don't feel bad about the things being said on this thread. I don't think any of them are directed AT you, although I understand why you might feel that way. They are more that others see the struggles that you're having and are trying to brainstorm about what could be done to energize more students to join in the fun. I don't think that the problems you're struggling with regarding shrinking numbers of Maniacs has anything to do with your effort - it's more a testament of the times we live in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU_Ed Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Mike, I'm all for some sort of change like that. Of course I would have to give up seats for that plan to work. It is the Right thing to do (look at that Gonzaga Video) but that kind of change would be like pulling teeth (no offense Tim). People get made if you sit in "their" seat at church, let alone one they've paid for and have sat in for years. Can you imagine the backlash that the marketing/sports Dept. got at Gonz. when they made the decision to seat how they have it now? If anything like that could ever fly, it may take removing those three rows behind the new student section so that those that get those seats behind them can sit if they want. If you sell them as cheap seats, those people will have to stand to see then again those that have the seats further up will still "have" to stand. Like you put in your post, cost changes/concessions will be have to be made for the time being, especially to those that you are moving, but IF you can get people to catch a vision you could have success. Make sure you have those video examples of other Student sections when you pitch to Mike C./Mart G. this spring. I'd sit anywhere just to be in a great atmosphere like your plan would create. BTW - The maniacs Rock!!! Keep up all your hard work. You are not taken for granted!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 If anything like that could ever fly, it may take removing those three rows behind the new student section so that those that get those seats behind them can sit if they want. If you sell them as cheap seats, those people will have to stand to see then again those that have the seats further up will still "have" to stand. Well the point of having the student section on that side is to make normal fans stand up. There is a reason why those seats behind the student section would be $5. The ticket office would tell people ahead of time. The whole point of making the change is to show people that it is OK to stand at a basketball game. I've had season tickets to OU football games with my dad, and we know that it's a part of the game to have to stand and make noise. That's one reason why OU rarely loses at home. When was the last time you thought the crowd won the game at the Mabee Center? I honestly believe that the crowd at the UMAC for the conference championship game helped win the game in the second half. It was the first time I ever thought our fans did their job by supporting the guys on the floor. Now I know many of you yell and do your best every game, but it's a whole new ball game when the entire arena cheers together. A setup like this would allow fans two options. Get seats on the north side if you like to sit (our version of the chairbacks), or get seats on the south side (the rowdy side). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 . . . but that kind of change would be like pulling teeth (no offense Tim). Believe me, I FULLY UNDERSTAND the challenge . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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