Game Time Atmosphere

[VikThunder]

I hope the athletic department does a better job on game day atmosphere this season. This is college football. Please do not try to turn it into an NBA circus by blasting the recorded music, shooting t-shirts into the crowd and other forgettable moments. Most of all, please lose the piped in recorded music and return to the guest bands. The music seriously detracts from the game experience for me.

Here's who I propose we use every home game....

http://www.omtaamb.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[PDXMACMAN]

That's a great idea. love that band. i can imagine them accompanying the team on "the walk"
from stott to jeldwen before each game. i hope that psu also continues to use the all drum band as before.
IMHO they create a great atmosphere

 

[pjstano]

I agree. We should go with bands. The music is too loud and too monochromatic. If we go with a mix of band and music, then turn down the volume and let's hear a more mixed playlist.

 

[TheTruth1]

I agree: cut out the arena-league piped-in music and keep the PSU band full-force. It's college football, for the sake of Pete! The band is a MUST.

 

[martymoose]

Hell yes with the band.

Regardless if it's a rented band, or homegrown, we need something at the football games.

I still think that the Athletic Department should get with the Music Department to get a school band, or even a pep band going. Offer credits to play.

 

[DustRunner]

I still wish that PSU had a pep band. I'd dust off my old instrument if I got a chance to play at the football games.

 

[BroadwayVik]

......The band, Elwood! The band!.....................The Viking Marching Band

The Drumline?

.......The music?

One time, at band camp .............................................................Why wait?

 

[CaseyOrourke]

......The band, Elwood! The band!.....................The Viking Marching Band

The Drumline?

.......The music?

One time, at band camp .............................................................Why wait?

We need a reminder of the great show the Grambling marching band put on back in 2001
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rmeBaYfLQU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[CaseyOrourke]

......The band, Elwood! The band!.....................The Viking Marching Band

The Drumline?

.......The music?

One time, at band camp .............................................................Why wait?

We need a reminder of the great show the Grambling marching band put on back in 2001
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rmeBaYfLQU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
If this isn't proof positive how much a marching band can fire up a student body, NOTHING IS!

And lets not forget when the OSU band player Pioneer Square in 2011...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=d6oqyG-1P_4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Kenny Dow]

Good Morning. My name is Kenny Dow and I am the Director of Marketing for Portland State Athletics.- The reason the athletic department chose to go with a DJ last year was due to the fact that Portland State does not have a band as you all know. During the previous two years we used the Power Pep Band. They declined to preform at games last year. Therefore, to create a different urban game-day atmosphere we brought in DJ O.G. One. OG Is the same DJ as the Portland Trailblazers. OG will be back again this year. We have addressed some concerns you have and he will mainly play when the Viks are on Defense. We have received a ton of positive feedback from the Portland State student-athletes, coaching staff, recruits, students and fans of all ages about the music at games. At the same time we would love to have nothing more than a traditional marching band at our home football games. In fact, with the help of the student fee committee, the alumni association and PSU athletics, PSU will be starting a student run pep band this year. However, with school starting later in Sept. we probably won't see the pep band until OCt.6. The power pep band with be playing at the game Sept. 22. OG however is not going anywhere and will continue to part of our GAME-DAY atmosphere but with the addition of a pep band there will be less piped in music. If you have any questions feel free to email me at [email protected].

 

[scooter1]

Thanks Kenny for the update. I hope you don't mind if I post your contact info on the "Helpful Links" thread ! :nod:

P.S. If you haven't done so yet could you also check out the Tailgating to relevance thread here in this forum - thanks

 

[Kenny Dow]

Thanks Scooter. Another good link you might want to provide is our Facebook Fanpage. http://www.facebook.com/PSUVIKINGS" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and our twitter handle is @PSU_VIKINGS. We encourage fans to use the hashtag #GoViks when talking about the VIks on Twitter. As for the other thread, there are some good ideas in there, many of which we have tried especially when it comes to getting students to games. Upon move-in we give every new freshman a Free T-shirt, game ticket to that weeks games (of course they get in FREE anyway). Each year for the past three years and again this year we host an event called "Freshman Frenzy" for the new students. This week the event comes at the end of Viking Days (Sept. 22 vs. S. Utah) which is a week of events for the new freshman on campus. It has been our best student attended game the past couple years. The event includes leading the team in the Vik Walk, a student tailgate (FREE FOOD), free Viking Horns, Go Viks wristbands, and T-Shirt. We have worked a lot with residence life to help drive students to the games. This includes new signage that went up last week outside of the Ondine and Broadway residence halls. You will see a lot of in-game promotions this year driving fans to our Facebook and Twitter platforms. As budgets become tighter social media is becoming our most effective way to communicate with our fans and students.

 

[martymoose]

Thanks for the information Kenny.

That's great news about the student pep band.

Will they be a fixture at the home basketball games as well?

 

[Kenny Dow]

Yes! The pep band will play at men's and women's basketball as well!

 

[forestgreen]

Yes! The pep band will play at men's and women's basketball as well!

That's great news! It would absolutely be on the top of my list for Portland State to have a school band for a number of reasons. The Grambling game (I think it was 2001) stands out as one the best game day atmospheres ever at a Portland State football game. I don't expect PSU's band to be even close to that level, but what a diffence a band makes for college sports. Wished the Music Dept. at PSU would embrace it and jump on board. Go Viks!

 

[Kenny Dow]

I think this pep band is a good start and it is being directed by the Music Department. I think it will only grow from here. Hopefully it won't be too long till we have a full fledged marching band!

 

[CaseyOrourke]

I think this pep band is a good start and it is being directed by the Music Department. I think it will only grow from here. Hopefully it won't be too long till we have a full fledged marching band!

Mr Dow,

It is a great start. I'm an alum from the class of 2000. Now I'm working in China with a company that runs the international programs in some of China's elite high schools for students who are going to forgo the traditional Chinese college placement test (Gaokao) and instead take AP classes, TOEFL and the SAT and apply for colleges in the US. When asked for suggestions for colleges in the US, I do mention PSU as an option. In the past, as a help for students, I downloaded videos from the schools they were interested in off You Tube (free downloading is no longer allowed). Among their favorites were videos of the marching bands doing warmups and their pregame shows, because their is nothing in Chinese schools even remotely similar. Ohio State's and Missouri's marching bands pregame shows have been real favorites and were what helped two of my students decide to go there over other colleges.

I have some PSU videos of housing and some student and faculty perspectives, but a video of a marching band is a great recruiting tool, especially for foreign students who might be leaning our way, but need that extra nudge the fun a marching band can provide.

So keep up the good work and lets make PSU an institution that becomes truly world class.

 

[GreenGiant]

I appreciate the efforts the school is taking in trying balance the more traditional Pep Band atmosphere with the modern approach of having a DJ. Having been to the first scrimmage, I had to laugh when the coaches turned on the music and the players actually booed when a song they liked got cut short.

There is always going to be a fine line, trying to give the students a game time experience that they appreciate, and one that won't drive off the older patrons and presumably donors to the program. There are plenty of game time experiences that feature live bands at games to give it a more traditional football field, and that may not work at an urban school like PSU. I suspect trial and error is the key. Patience will be required to find the balance.

Once the band gets rolling, maybe the DJ could be featured during longer down times, pre game (players would like this) and half time, while during the game the band could be featured especially after PSU touchdowns. It will definitely take some coordination, but it's great to see efforts to embrace all fans.

 

[Kenny Dow]

Great thoughts everyone!!! 5 days till Game-Day!!!

 

[VikThunder]

Good Morning. My name is Kenny Dow and I am the Director of Marketing for Portland State Athletics.- The reason the athletic department chose to go with a DJ last year was due to the fact that Portland State does not have a band as you all know. During the previous two years we used the Power Pep Band. They declined to preform at games last year. Therefore, to create a different urban game-day atmosphere we brought in DJ O.G. One. OG Is the same DJ as the Portland Trailblazers. OG will be back again this year. We have addressed some concerns you have and he will mainly play when the Viks are on Defense. We have received a ton of positive feedback from the Portland State student-athletes, coaching staff, recruits, students and fans of all ages about the music at games. At the same time we would love to have nothing more than a traditional marching band at our home football games. In fact, with the help of the student fee committee, the alumni association and PSU athletics, PSU will be starting a student run pep band this year. However, with school starting later in Sept. we probably won't see the pep band until OCt.6. The power pep band with be playing at the game Sept. 22. OG however is not going anywhere and will continue to part of our GAME-DAY atmosphere but with the addition of a pep band there will be less piped in music. If you have any questions feel free to email me at [email protected].

Kenny,
I appreciate your thoughts here but I think the marketing department is misaligned with its customer base and the atmosphere objective. Why create an NBA atmosphere at a college football game? You claim to have positive feedback about the DJ. You may have but that is hardly is an objective analysis. Has any survey bee done? I sit in the stands and have listened to a completely different set of feedback and I can report that fans are not returning to PSU games specifically because of the canned Muzak. You list in order student athletes, coaching staff, recruits and then lastly fans of all ages. The order of that listing is very telling. It is clear the marketing department doesn't understand the customer base. Especially the paying customer base and that is why PSU struggles to sell tickets.

If you want to incorporate anything from tha professional leagues, why aren't you looking at the Timbers? They are much more organice and don't try to force atmosphere with canned Muzak. They've banned it. And they are able to appeal to all demographics.

I am glad to hear that an effort is being made with a pep band. I hope it is successful. However, it sounds like very little effort has been made to attract other area bands to cover games when no pep band is available. Have you ever considered that guest bands actually attract new fans to PSU games? High School bands would bring along parents, siblings, friends and grandparents. Imagine a game for a festival of 10 high school bands. Why does a DJ trump an idea like this?

Finally, The DJ doesn't understand the game itself. He blasts Muzak during signal calls, during the course of the games itself, when refs are making calls over the PA, and when the announcer is trying to Make game announcements. I think it was last year when an official actually had to stop the games and tell the DJ to shut up. That was embarrassing.