bonwich Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Well, here it is, 12 hours to a new season. Marquette's basketball homepage: "Midnight Madness highlights two-day basketball festival." DePaul's web page, crawl across the top: "Midnight Mayhem, 10/15." SLU's most recent entry: "Billikens Begin Drills for 2004-05 Hoop Campaign: Saint Louis begins practice for the 2004-05 season when the Billikens go twice on Sat., Oct. 16, at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center. The Bills will go from 12-1:30 a.m. and again from 1-3:30 p.m. Practice times can vary day-to-day, so media should check with the Billiken Media Relations Office (314-977-3462) to confirm practice times." Well, at least they mentioned the midnight practice. Would it have been so hard to actually use the word "midnight" and tie into the whole "midnight madness" brand? Also, for anyone on campus -- has there been any effort to make a night out of this for the students? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 I believe someone stated earlier that SLU's mid-terms end today and Fall break is in play until Wednesday, October 20th. I believe it was the same scenario last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 "midnight madness" brand they would be implying that it was going to be like past midnight madnesses (students going crazy, scrimmages, slam dunk contests, etc.) Because fall break starts the decision was made to treat it as a workmanlike real practice that will likely be drills and defense. I'm sure Brad had a significant amount of influence on that decision. Personally, I am glad the athletic department chose not to mislead us on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwyjibo Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 . . ."Midnight Matter-of-Factness" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 as i said in a post earlier this week, i am waiting for a cheryl levick indication she is on the job. thus far it is business as usual from the casual fan standpoint. i am sure she is working on big stuff, but one would think that even still there would be a trickle down effect to us regular guys and we would see something to indicate that times are changing in the way the program is marketed etc. should we really be surprised or disappointed though. par. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted October 15, 2004 Author Share Posted October 15, 2004 Does this also imply that Brad actually wants to have a practice from midnight to 1:30 a.m.? Did such practices ever exist before the whole "midnight madness" concept came about? How many schools across the country are holding midnight practices tonight, and how many of those practices are tied into the "midnight madness" concept? How many students actually go home for this break? What percentage of Billiken fandom is represented by students? If a tree falls in Grand Forest, how is anyone ever going to know if it makes any noise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 i agree joe. if the whole premise of "midnight madness" isnt going to be promoted and a push to get people out isnt there, then what's the point. let the kids sleep and get at it first thing in the morning and then have an evening practice again. makes you wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted October 15, 2004 Author Share Posted October 15, 2004 We take that as a ringing endorsement, Roy. After all, if you shoot par tomorrow, you'll be yelling as loudly as when the Bills finally reach the Final Four. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 i'll be yelling that if i par one hole!! my goal is typically to try to stay under double par. that is a big success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewey33 Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 did you look at the composite schedule???? http://slubillikens.collegesports.com/calendar/events/ volleyball plays at home this weekend....both men and women start practice, gym availability is limited so, without an arena or practice facility, Brad has to do what he is comfortable with... obsessing over the midnight thing is just semantics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehms13 Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Well I say u pump up the first practice. Call it Midnight Madness, get the fans on and off campus excited. That's how we do it here. Coppin, Morgan, Unv of Md. etc......they all have a big bang. It tells the public we're here, we want and need your support. They have famous alumni, give aways etc......I was a marketing major, I say u show this team off. We have some good recruits, you want to introduce them to the fans. It seems so boring to me.........wish I could be there, I"d bring the noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Let the kids sleep,Roy you have to be kidding. You have a college kid,his night doesn't even begin untill 11pm. By having practice at midnight your telling your team you can't wait to get started. You also use your limited practice time on a real practice instead of midnight night maddness. That said I was told they would have done maddness had the students been in town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 willie, my b!tch is the wasted opportunity. who cares if the students are on campus or not. would it have killed the department to do more than put a short note on slubillikens.com? they could have gotten stu to write something. i havent heard from any slu people on kmox or kfns or 1380 for about a million years now it seems. how about a short stint with frank on the sunday nite sports show? how about a post card in the mail to season tix holders? it's time to play. yell it out dammit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iggy Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Why not re-schedule that volleyball game for 10:00 so fans could be entertained leading up to the 'madness'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewey33 Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 I'm not sure Charlotte would agree to that considering they have to play at Memphis Saturday night. Believe it or not.....having a midnight madness event on a busy weekend like this equates to a lost practice opportunity for a team that has to replace 2 4-year starters and they play on Nov 5. If you can't see how SLU marketing has been ramped up for all sports this year....you are not paying much attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Last year SLU put on "First Look," which was not unlike a midnight madness presentation. The women's and men's teams were introduced -- Coach Pizzotti and Coach Soderberg spoke, and the players were introduced, each was asked a question submitted by someone in the audience. Both teams had a scrimmage. The players hobnobbed with the audience, giving away t-shirts and media guides. I was told at the last Tip-Off Club meeting that another such event is in the plans. It's just not on the first day of practice. It's before the first exhibition, when the teams and department are a little closer to being presentable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahok Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 I have been in Memphis this week, they are televising their "Midnight Madness" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Just checking. As a pathetic married family guy I've got nothing better to do at midnight tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted October 15, 2004 Author Share Posted October 15, 2004 Clearly, Brehms, you live in another city. Here, we simply make excuses about need for most possible practice time (hey, we had to replace two four-year starters -- certainly none of the teams you mention had to face such an insurmountable obstacle), no students being around, we'll do it another time, blah blah blah. I think it's also a full moon, which would explain why they wouldn't want too many guys to come over from the Jesuit residences. Besides, didn't you hear? Our athletic department beat out IUPUFW for best advertising campaign last year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 that makes too much sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 dewey, we are focused on the cash cow. the big producer. the king of the campus. the payday. men's basketball supports the rest. i.e. men's basketball should be promoted the most. at this point, i am sorry, i dont see a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 i guess i am going. then i will have an excuse when willie kicks my a$$ tomorrow at forrest park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 I'll be thinking about you guys and waiting to see the first reports on how the Billikens look in practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickdraw Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Come on, people. There is no need to advertise this event widely. What with practice being held in the West Pine Gym, hoards of students and faculty will automatically appear, since this is already an "on campus" facility. Once you see the success of this unspoken season springboard, you'll see the wisdom of having an on-campus arena. Don't forget to place your donations in the box at the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBand Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 Soderberg was on 1380's afternoon show friday. Press releases were sent out to all media outlets. With post-season baseball going on, it doesn't surprise me that the opening of practice with the first real meaningful (in regards to competition) action still more than a month away, doesn't merit much attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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