Bruce said that the problem is the Hoop Troop and many of our fans and alumni won't be in Shreveport-Bossier until Sunday. He said he didn't think the hotel was the best place to hold the pep rally either, but it's against NCAA rules to hold a pep rally at the arena on gameday.
And here is why things never change - Shreveport / Bossier has the largest number of alumni living there and aren't we trying to cultivate new fans for Tech? Who cares that the Ruston area fan base won't be in Bossier on Saturday if I am putting on an event for the local community and to promote game atmosphere for an NCAA tournament? What an opportunity to make an impression on Shreveport / Bossier that Tech is worth supporting!!!
Bottom line - no one wants to do anything different, once again. But hey, we expect different results.
I think they'd be surprised about how many fans and alumni will be in Shreveport on Saturday night. I'm sure we have over 10,000 alumni who live in Shreveport-Bossier. How hard is it to put the Hoop Troop on the Tech bus and drive them over for the evening? It's like we just look for excuses. I think the real reason we aren't having the pep rally on Saturday is because the admin doesn't want to drive down and back from Ruston to Bossier on Saturday and Sunday...
So true. However, I find it odd that it hasn't been in a newspaper anywhere yet, or did I miss it? I see someone posted it was on facebook, and that's well and good, but I would think there might be some people who aren't on facebook (ahem, me.....) or are the casual fan in Shreveport who wouldn't see or look at the alumni facebook page???
This is not your typical pep rally. This is where the fans gather to acknowledge / cheer the team as they come through the hotel lobby to board the bus. I have been to these at tournament sites and they tend to be no more than a few minutes in length. I was at Vegas for the WAC tournament and had heard through the grapevine to be at the hotel exit leading to the arena at 10:45 AM for a pep rally. Walked up at about 10:42 and was told they had already passed through - again not much to this type rally and is why you won't see much, if any public promotion.
We really need a pep rally at the Boardwalk where the public is made aware that Tech is in town for this "big event"!
Some of the best pep rallies I've attended at tournaments are where the participating school's bands, spirit groups, and fans in a prominent public place. Gets news coverage and shows the locals that a noteable event is happening in their community. Creates a friendly "battle of the bands" event in addition to the eventual game. After all, this is not just another game!
Texas A&M's alumni association is hosting a tailgate outside the CenturyTel Center on Sunday afternoon...
LA Tech's alumni association is hosting a crawfish boil on Saturday afternoon.... in HOUSTON, TEXAS!!!
We have known about this for an entire YEAR!!
I don't know if we are dumb or just lazy... or both!
Spoon and the Lady Techsters deserve better than this!
This is my plan I would have done...
I would give the Regal Blues, Cheerleaders, Hoop Troop some meal money and let them have a little fun at the Boardwalk before the pep rally. Then 30 min prior the rally, I would have them march down the trolly road at the Boardwalk and end at the lawn by the Cheesecake factory. There they'll perform a couple cheers/songs/alma mater. Also, prior to the event we could sell spirit gear (shirts, hats, flags, etc). Hell, we could have admission set up a booth to sign some kids up for school.