... just keep winning - and the Smitty will be the hottest ticket in the nation's capital!

If you build it (a winning program), they will come.  

 I always appreciated it when they brought in the marching bands from local high schools.

LSF has volunteered to strap on a Christopher suit and dance to Macho Man!

Just give out tickets or sell them at a nice discount, directly to youth basketball groups.  I work out at Thomas Jefferson Community Center in Arlington on weekends.  On Saturdays and Sundays in the winter, there are hordes of kids either learning how to play or playing actual games.  Get 'em in the seats.  I don't know the rules about  selling tickets at a public facility, but there are different events in Arlington community centers (health and fitness fairs, gymnastics fairs, whatever) where commercial vendors are seling stuff, so I don't know why GW couldn't do it.   I go to a lot of concerts at the Birchmere and places like that and a lot of musicians sell their CDs directly during intermissions or after shows.  There's nothing like a live connection to make a sale.  Even if you only get a few dozen tickets sold, if they like the event, the word spreads, and amped-up kids make a lot of noise. 

Winning cures everything. They win and students/alumni will show-up and pack the Smith Center.

However, the in-game entertainment/experience could some help. While it won't pack the place, it would probably help get folks to return more often and get local unconnected to GW in the door.

It feels like the band and stadium entertainment crew have been using the same script for the last decade. I haven't been to a game at the Smith Center since 2007, and I can almost bet you 100% that the program goes something like this:

1) Band will play Rocky multiple times. Even if GW is favored, and winning, we will play Rocky  strangely enough.

2) Band will play "Hey Baby" at least once.

3) They will do the "Best Dance Competition" on the video board to Peanut Butter Jelly Time

4) They will play OhOhOhOh song turning at least one timeout.

I could go on, but I think we all know the script.

I love tradition and I appreciate our band and the students who give their time to entertain the stadium . . . but man, what I would do for a GMU or VCU style band. I think an urban school like GWU should be at the front of in-game entertainment.

I agree that the "script" does feel a bit stale at this point but I do notice some improvements via the scoreboard graphics or vids GW has been using lately, or at least compared to last year. I have to say that points 1 through 4 are the case at almost every college basketball game though. Just my thoughts on some improvements or ideas.

- More scripted jumbotron chants and cheers so that the colonial army can pick up on them and be louder. Right now many of the people who start chants wait to go into unison with the cheerleaders, or else ignore them if they start chanting "Basket..Basket". GW uses the lets go G-dubb on the jumbotron now but they could add in the carwash, go colonials go, ect.  Even if there are 500 students in the lower section, if they are not loud or just standing around it's not adding anything.

- On that note, the cheeleader staff definitly needs to either come up with new chants, use the good ones more, or just get rid of some of them. No one is going to join in on "Basket Basket" or " we want 2" ect.

- Less of the fight song at times when it completely kills momentum, get some more pump up videos or something. 

- G-dubb may have a lack of traditions to show off at games but that doesn't mean we don't have some history. Don't usually see much in the way of highlight videos from our past ( besides some shots in the GW mashup). Would love for those "colonial moment" vids to be shown more, especially to the students. Most who come to the games may get a glimpse of the 93 sweet sixteen or Shanta's buzzer beater in that mashup videos but that doesn't mean they have any idea what actually happened. 

- I definitly think GW should continue the living social deals. Seems to draw more people. 

- My man Ed has been great with the " G-dubb" chant with the student section. Could we expand this maybe to the season ticket holders are also saying "G" while the student sya "dubb" or something along those lines. 

- Final thought... have George shoot off a replica cannon with blanks before home games.

The old folks in what used to be the blue seats will either be in the AD Club, reading a book, or chatting with friends, no way they could keep their half of the chant.

these precriptions just put lipstick on a pig. i wouldnt make a decision to come to the game dependent on cool video or better chants. Those things make the two+ hours of basketball more entertaining. but its the product that drives attendence. 

Some fans (not the ones that frequent team forums) are drawn to games by the entertainment, not by wins and losses. Minor league baseball has survived for years on that basis. 

 A dead-horse emoticon! A dead-horse emoticon! My kingdom for a dead-horse emoticon!

So I will help with the "G" chant on the season-ticket side!

 Soon we can review the schedule again....and again....and again....and again.

And some of us chat with friends in the Colonials Club while reading books...before the game and at halftime. Funny thing, though. Those are the same people who have been coming to GW games for years and supporting the team through thick and thin. Grow weary of the call for orthodoxy or European chants in how to support GW's teams. Come to the damn games because you're a student, an alum, or a fan who became drawn to the team by their quality on and off the court.  If you stand up and cheer - great. If you sit in your seat and play with your iPod, good for you, you're there. We've seen what happens when the Smith Center gets filled and the team plays well. There's energy in that building that engulfs everyone and intimidates the opposition. Don't expect the effort to initiate anywhere else but from the students -- they're younger, more jazzed, and they're cheering on their peers during THEIR college years. The team does its part by playing well; winning is great, being competitive is critical. That Butler game, likely sold-out by game time, will be a great indicator of where this fan base stands. Long history of fan/alum indifference at GW but many of us have been through periods of incredible fan support and a rockin' Smith Center. It's been done before. No reason it can't be seen again.

Not trying to say everyone doesn't come to the game for the on the court product Gonzo. Just posting some thoughts of things to try during the game. Some of the ideas for chants come from more of a student perspective, but that doesn't mean we can't always keep improving the atmosphere which makes it more enjoyable for everyone.

We now have a story to tell, but are we telling it?  Not sure what ML"s schedule is during this full week off, but he ought to be making appearances on Comcast Sports Net and on MASN and during the sports segment of the local newscasts and on the two all-sports radio stations in town.  Each appearance should find him mentioning that: a) GW is tied for second place in an incredibly competitive conference; b) GW has five international players on the roster; c) GW has 6 players who played for high schools in Maryland or Virginia; and d) GW is the ONLY school in the country who has started 4 freshmen, and we've been doing so for the past 6 games.  Each one of these angles is viable.  Then, you top it all off by suggesting that the team is very exciting to watch and is really coming together.  And guess what?  You can see them play in person this Saturday afternoon against La Salle (who is an NCAA contender after knocking off Butler and VCU) as well as the following Saturday afternoon against Butler.  And best of all, tickets start at $9 and there are no bad seats in the house.

We've got enough reasons to get  prospective "new fans" to come out and see this team.  The question is whether the school is doing anything to help make it happen.

For GWAA

They should hook up with Ft. Myer again. Bring in a fife and drum corps routine, and give two tickets each, to each performer.

Those routines last just about the length of half ttme. They entertain, and don't turn anybody off.

I do miss Christopher, and would gladly strap don the headress (or is he the fireman or construction worker), but I get confused  with the symbols for YMCA.

At this point, I think the most obvious missing crowd is the non-colonial army students.  That will only come when it becomes "in" to follow the team.  It's always been that way.

 Serve beer. In the general stands. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HEDLd4wfDM

yes winning helps, but come on it's only 5000 seats. the tailgates for undergrads seem to help with the student section. maybe there should be some tailgate events for alumni too.

oh, and that white stripes OhOhOhOH cheer is beyond lame. penn state and ohio state overdid that cheer back in 2008. Do we really want to join the bandwagon? also- its origins as a sports chant come from european football. ew. http://deadspin.com/5875933/how-the-song-seven-nation-army-conquered-the-sports-world

awww g-dub is one of my favorite cheers and it frustrates me that the students NEVER can get it right. I know we haven't had much practice in the past decade as we so rarely made both free throws, but Lonergan seems to have turned our FT shooting around so they better learn it.

I don't know exactly where this fits in with this conversation, but if you have raisehigh.tv you should tune in right now (11:30 AM EST) and see all these kids at the women's bball game.  It's kinda somethin'.

TMY - I'm pretty sure the GW Alumni House puts on tailgates before games from 5-7. They do cost money though depending on year of graduation.

 Complaining about the fans is played out in my opinion. If you win they come, that simple. We all chose to go to school in Washington DC, one of the world's great cities. Sure if we went to school in Olean or Dayton we'd hvae better support but our school experience would be generally shittier over all. I'm actually impressed at how many students have come this year considering the start to our season. 

You're dead on right, DEA.

I've sat through GW's worst and best years, and everything in between,  just because. Pals with the same background gave up long ago, or just came for the wins. For the casual fans, and for decent attendance, you can give them a free ticket and $10.00 for a wiener and a coke, leave them off at 22nd St and F Streets, and they'd still find a way to avoid the Smith Center if the team's not a winner/

Marketing without a product to market is a waste of time, 99% of the time. (I'd except the Pet Rock, and maybe the Chia Pet. I have a Chia Pet collection.)

I'm currently a Junior at GW, actually studying in London now so I haven't be able to make it out to the last few home games, but from my few years going to every game at the Smith Center, I think the main issue is just the landscape of the university. We are hardly a university that people come to for athletics (minus, obviously the athletes themselves). To be blunt, there isn't that huge of a fanbase for sports at GW in comparison to most other colleges around the country. Unlike the BCS schools ,GW doesn't have a big pedigree of success; sure we were pretty good 10 years ago, but kids my age truthfully don't care. Even the smaller schools around the country Butler, Creighton, Wichita St., etc. they have huge fanbases primarily because what else is there to do in those areas? (sorry to anyone from those towns...) In DC students simply would rather do a dozen other things around the city than be at a basketball game on saturday, or a weeknight. Something may also be said just by the fact we don't have a football team, something that usually would create a major fanbase. That, I think, is also a key part in why our school spirit may be lower than expected. 

I do think however that the casual sports fan who normally would go to a game but doesn't because "no one else goes" could definitely be swayed by more advertising and promotions for the games. It seems when games are really hyped up, a decent crowd shows up. The KState game this year was easily my favorite so far in my 3 years, but even last year's Xavier game was intense too. The fans show up for big games... now something that hurts us is that we typically lose the big games (last night). With better matketing to the casual fan the Smith Center could be rocking every single game, but I don't think there could be a change that makes a student who would never go to a game, want to go all of the sudden unless the team starts consistently winning. Now, I don't really know what the deal was 5-6 years ago but I just think within the last couple years and obviously with ML coming in last season we're in a rebuilding stage to a degree and that doesn't really inspire to many fans to watch a really inconsistent team play. If we can finish this season in the top half of the conference and make a decent run in the tourney then next season realy is shaping up to be successful (hell if we barely make the tourney and win 4 games in a row I'd be excited too)

Deep runs in the tournament. Just "winning" brings crowds for a year or so, but deep runs in March can change a program for years.

VCU was a commuter schools just 10 years ago that most people had never heard of outside of VA.

In 2002 VCU played in front of crowds of 2,000 if they were lucky. They made a two deep runs and now they sell our their 7,000 seat arena most games and are a national baskebtall darling.

VCU did a fantastic job of capitalizing on their success and marketing their two runs to transform itself from a commuter school in downtown Richmond to an elite mid-major basketball program that is discussed in the same class as Xavier, Butler, Creighton, etc.

The real truth is that we had our chance to be VCU in 2006 and it just didn't happen. Pops got hurt, we lot the A10 tournament, we got an terrible 8 seed and the rest is history.

Had things done differently and in 2006 and we made the run we all think was possible, we could still be living off that success. Deep runs bring big crowds, better recruits, national attention, more press, more TV that has a long term effect. Instead, we lose to Duke and the program sort of sizzles (yes, 2007 was very impressive too).

Hopefully ML can be our Shaka Smart and can put together a team that in 3 or 4 years can make deep runs in the tournament. Until then, we will mostly see crowds in the 3,000 range.

 based on Sosa's post I think GW should include a supp to the application which would be similar to the Baltimore Colt's quiz in the movie Diner.  If you cannot answer basic GW sports questions you don't get in.

As poor as we played yesterday, I was impressed by the student turnout. We came relatively close to filling up the student side, and stayed for most of the game.  For a 10-9 team in a big city(with a lot of other ways to spend your time) without a storied tradition, I think that's pretty good.  It's a shame we lost because if we didn't I think the Butler game next weekend would have a crazy atmosphere. 

I think Butler will still be a crazy atmosphere because they now have the name recognition of a storied BCS school due to the back-to-back runs to the NCAA title game. I'd expect their would be more people, noise and craziness at the Butler game then there was at the Kansas State game. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the local media outlets(106.7, 980, ComcastSportsNet) hyped the Butler game this week which should attract more casual fans to the game.

I agree with DEA and sosa, once the current group of players establishes a tradition of winning/being highly competitive at home(which they've done after the first couple of home games) every student and casual fans wlll show up to the games. Most students, alums and fans will turn their back on their school(it's happening to the school in College Park in football and basketball to a lesser extent) if they produce years of average to below average play.

RE: Notta's Diner quiz

Question 37. Who was Marvin Barnes, and what is his nexus to GWU Basketball?

Mavin Barnes was a standout player at Providence. Larry Ketvertis, a teammate, was the recipient of a tire iron to the head by Barnes. Ketvertis transferred to GW sat out a year then transferred again. never played a minute for GW. Barnes spent 6 months in prison.

 ziik, that was good.  Bad News Barnes and Ernie No D - what a team.