No band and three cheerleaders

Pierow 2 · January 9, 2004

Saturday night starts conference at home. WE NEED THE BAND!!!

The student section gets crazier with them there.

MeanGreenNation · January 9, 2004

scrappy was MIA too!

EagleChick03 · January 10, 2004

What was the deal with all the MIAs? Where was the band?! Where were the rest of the cheerleaders?! Where was Scrappy?! And most importantly where were the fans....I'm glad all 500 of us showed up, great turn out!

hope24 · January 10, 2004

For all you Talons bashers, we can say that at there were more Talons and Talon Alum than there were cheerleaders, band members, and mascot(s).

JayDub · January 10, 2004

Let's start our own band!

January 10, 2004

For all you Talons bashers, we can say that at there were more Talons and Talon Alum than there were cheerleaders, band members, and mascot(s).

Well that isn't saying a whole lot... but I did notice that there were a few more Talons there than usual. I hope more of you will make it to more games and I hope you drag along a couple of other Talons that normally don't go to basketball games.

January 10, 2004

Let's start our own band!

Only if I can play the cowbell.

Gakusei · January 10, 2004

Where were the Talons sitting? We took over their normal seats.

Edited January 10, 2004 by Gakusei

bandgeek · January 10, 2004

the pep band starts again on thursday the 15th... blame athletics for not paying us for this saturdays game.. sorry!

January 10, 2004

the pep band starts again on thursday the 15th... blame athletics for not paying us for this saturdays game.. sorry!

The athletic department is at fault on many issues.

foma17 · January 10, 2004

Talons...we don't need no stinking talons...the Trucker Hat Bandits took over! Fine, that was a little harsh...but I didn't see any of them at the Pan Am game. Ok...on a serious note what was up with the assistant coach from Pan Am telling us to "shut up?" Oh well, tailgating is starting with a small fan base...but without eaglechick03, it's not a party...thank God for chili's. See ya on saturday...tailgating...be there...bring a friend and a six pack of Coke (they sponsor UNT basketball)!!!

UNT_92_Fan · January 10, 2004

No Band for our first conference game...that is CLUTCH lemme tell ya! It wasn't the same without them the other nite but the HIGH QUALITY CD that was played the whole game was an amazing addition to the whack songs we still use as if they were hot on the charts....Space Jam made another appearance.....we need to do SOMETHING....its ridiculous...and yes it was a joke about the CD....it was quite annoying! Anyone know who the heck to talk to to get something done about the entertainment factor....

I think Movie Clips, CURRENT songs, sound effects....ANYTHING would top what we have going on right now....its killing me....i hate to do it but i find myself making fun of our wonderful entertaining atmosphere at the games....now dont get me wrong i live for some NT basketball...i will yell louder and longer than anyone else...but the atmosphere is killin me! Anyone agree??? or have i just been to too many mavs game this season?

Gakusei · January 10, 2004

I sent quite a few ideas to RV which I haven't heard anything about. I'd like:

Let the players pick out the warmup songs. No one's in the pit anyway, and I know that most people do better at whatever they're doing when they hear music they like.
I've been told we can't turn down the house lights in the pit for introductions, but do something to make it a huge deal. It'd be nice if the cheerleaders got the crowd to clap in sync with the players when they're being introduced.
Balance out the band playing with, as UNT_92 said, new songs, and classic 'sports' songs (that means Thunderstruck, not Space Jam).
Cheerleaders...move closer to the band and student section and do some cheer leading! I realize that the dancers sit at one end and the cheerleaders at another, but that doesn't work...there's no one where you're at.
Scrappy, get active during the timeouts. We'd get far more parents bringing their kids if the mascot was active as much as possible, imo.
More and better use of the jumbo tron. The football team has an incredibly awesome video at the beginning of every game showing Joe Greene, Abner, Booger, etc...Where's the basketball one showing the team from 89, and Shojo tearing up the court?
Free up 2-3 of the sections to the right of the band that are designated for students, and sell those to visitors/whoever. Give us 2-3 more sections to the left of the band so we can see the game more easily, and make more noise when things are happening at both ends of the court, instead of just the one end we're relegated to right now.
Better yet, reserve the first five rows dead center court for us tailgaters, I guarantee we'll make some noise.
Let's have some new contests that involve students more. Right now there's really only the layup/ft/3pt contest. The sizzlin seat never goes to students anyway, and it's extremely boring. Give out free pizzas to the pizza place in the union, or chick-fil-a in the union, or whatever. There's a ton of people who will humiliate themselves for free food.
Get some signs up at all entrances to the union and ESSC! With how small the attendance has been, we could easily double it just by letting people know when the basketball games are.
Coordinate with the RHA and rec center to get standees at the front desks on the nights of basketball games.

I'm sure I could think of some more if I weren't so tired. These are just off the top of my head, and I know I sent even more than this to RV.

Beat the NewMags!

PS. No band is pitiful, no matter whose fault it is.

Edited January 10, 2004 by Gakusei

EagleMBA · January 10, 2004

OH $hit!! I'm bringing someone who has never seen a game in the Pit. I have been talking about how much fun it is with the band, Scrappy, etc. Sounds like tonight will be a bad first experience for her. How can we build a gate when the folks don't get the full treatment?

I'll be there but I will have to backtrack on my sales job and make excuses on the whole drive up.

Have had the pleasure of seeing us beat the Aggies the last two years and hope I get to see it again!

January 10, 2004

OH $hit!! I'm bringing someone who has never seen a game in the Pit. I have been talking about how much fun it is with the band, Scrappy, etc. Sounds like tonight will be a bad first experience for her. How can we build a gate when the folks don't get the full treatment?

Yep, it's almost as if the athletic department doesn't want people to go to games. They don't try to promote or advertise, then they do their best to ruin the atmosphere.

EagleChick03 · January 10, 2004

the pep band starts again on thursday the 15th... blame athletics for not paying us for this saturdays game.. sorry!

What?! I had no idea the band was paid to play at the game.......you aren't paid for football games are you?? I think its crazy that we won't have a band tonight and I agree with EagleMBA that it is slightly embarrassing to bring someone out for their first NT basketball experience and not even have the full affect. I've been trying to get my Dad to a game but I don't think I'll try for tonight......

Gakeusi, I think you have fantastic suggestions and should keep on e-mailing Rick V.

bandgeek · January 10, 2004

What?! I had no idea the band was paid to play at the game.......you aren't paid for football games are you?? I think its crazy that we won't have a band tonight and I agree with EagleMBA that it is slightly embarrassing to bring someone out for their first NT basketball experience and not even have the full affect. I've been trying to get my Dad to a game but I don't think I'll try for tonight......
Gakeusi, I think you have fantastic suggestions and should keep on e-mailing Rick V.

Yup, we are under contract for 19 games this season and the Sun Belt tournament in Kentucky... most (not all) D-1 schools pay their pep bands (some pay VERY well).... The green brigade doesn't get paid, but I have heard of some schools (like NMSU) that give scholarships out to people that are in the marching band

CaraBear · January 11, 2004

I agree with most of the stuff on this thread. I also have something to add.

When the band is not there, why do we play a CD recording of the National Anthem? Why dont we have a student or alumni soloist singing it? Live versions are so much better, someone out there center court singing it or the band playing it.

I sang at several games last bball season, and offered to do it this season, but i guess the athletic department doesnt want any actual student participation in the games.

January 11, 2004

I agree with most of the stuff on this thread. I also have something to add.
When the band is not there, why do we play a CD recording of the National Anthem? Why dont we have a student or alumni soloist singing it? Live versions are so much better, someone out there center court singing it or the band playing it.
I sang at several games last bball season, and offered to do it this season, but i guess the athletic department doesnt want any actual student participation in the games.

Not only do they not want student participation, I don't think they want students going to games at all.

EagleMBA · January 12, 2004

Nobody does the National Anthem better than CaraBear!! Truth! And I told my lady that the band wouldn't be there but with all the talent on campus there would surely be someone good to do the National Anthem; another "aw$hit". Hard to understand why they would turn down CaraBear's offer.

January 12, 2004

Nobody does the National Anthem better than CaraBear!! Truth! And I told my lady that the band wouldn't be there but with all the talent on campus there would surely be someone good to do the National Anthem; another "aw$hit". Hard to understand why they would turn down CaraBear's offer.

I agree. Like I said, I think the athletic department is doing their best to actually get kids to not go to games and to make it as bad an experiance as possible when they do go to games.

MeanGreenQueen · January 12, 2004

I sang at several games last bball season, and offered to do it this season, but i guess the athletic department doesnt want any actual student participation in the games.

I would much rather hear Carabear sing the anthem than have the band play it or sing along to a recording. She's very talented and we should show off our students'/alumni talents.

So I agree with ya!

bigrobdsp · January 13, 2004

you shouldnt have to pay the band to go to the games. arent there some freshmen or band pledges or somthing that you can make go to the game and play?

bandgeek · January 13, 2004

you shouldnt have to pay the band to go to the games. arent there some freshmen or band pledges or somthing that you can make go to the game and play?

You might be able to fill out a band with people who will do it for free (not likely, but I'll give you the benifit) but the 2 main problems would be:

1. Your sacrificing the quality of the guys in there... the reason athletics pays is because we use some of the best brass players at the university, and if you've ever heard some of the other pep bands at the tournament that don't get paid, you'd appriciate what we bring.

2. With pay comes the "professionalism"... the guys in the band know they have a job to do when we're at the games. We are there to entertain first and goof offs second. It may not make much sense, but the band and athletics know the diffence.