Mon 14 May 2007
Last week’s blog included a note about Roger Neilson, the former coach of the Vancouver Canucks who is credited with ushering in the Rally Towel.
This week while adding more videos to our YouTube page, I found this great tribute video
Roger Neilson Tribute - After the legendary coached passed away, we used this video for Opening night of the 2003-2004 season. (Producer/ Director) Ottawa Senators, Derek Dawley
See the video below.
Thu 10 May 2007
Rally towels’ history traced
By Helene Elliott and Eric Stephens, Times Staff Writers
April 30, 2007VANCOUVER, CANADA — Fans entering General Motors Place on Sunday found rally towels on each seat, suitable for waving and creating a blizzard-like effect to support the home team.
That’s not unusual in itself. What’s noteworthy is that Sunday marked the 25th anniversary of the day that spurred Canucks fans to make the towels so popular.
While playing the Blackhawks on April 29, 1982, in the second game of the conference finals, Canucks Coach Roger Neilson became convinced referee Bob Myers was biased against his team. After yet another call went against the Canucks, Neilson grabbed a white towel, stuck it on the blade of a spare stick and began waving it in mock surrender behind his team’s bench at Chicago Stadium.
Several Canucks players joined him, making their point very clear. Although Neilson was fined $1,000 by the NHL, the towels were a hit back in Vancouver. A local businessman printed up and sold several thousand towels — with the proceeds going to a charity — and fans snapped them up for the next home game. And the next, and the next.
Towel power got the Canucks through that round, but they lost to the Islanders in the Stanley Cup finals. Neilson died in 2003.
This history (of course) assume you think Rally Towels are different than Terrible Towels in Pittsburgh (and any Steeler fan will tell you they are).
Whatever the history, Rally Towels are as popular as ever. It’s hard to find an NBA team in this year’s playoffs who are not using them.
–Cudo
Mon 7 May 2007
The Ice Dogs “Golden Sombrero” giveaway is now up to $9,000! If one Ice Dog player scores 4 goals before the end of overtime, a name will be drawn and one lucky fan will win $9,000!
In the event that one Ice Dog player scores a hat trick (3 goals), one lucky fan will win $100! If no one wins the jackpot, we will keep adding $100 for a hat trick and $1000 for a Golden Sombrero to the jackpot after every game until someone wins either jackpot.
A fun promotion from Long Beach. We think the term is extended from “hat trick”, the rationale was that a four-goal performance should be referred to by a bigger hat, such as a sombrero.
No word on if anyone has one yet, but this is a great promotion to start a buzz and it’s connected directly to team success.
–Cudo
Fri 4 May 2007
After I wrote last week that two special NBA crowds remain — Madison Square Garden and Oakland’s Oracle Arena — the predictable slew of e-mails arrived from Sacramento, Chicago, Toronto and many other cities, all of them asking, “What about us?” I don’t blame them for being deluded because they don’t know any better. When the Celtics climbed to the Eastern finals five years ago, I convinced myself that we’d turned the FleetCenter into the old Garden all over again … but looking back, that wasn’t really the case. Maybe it was loud, maybe it was raucous, maybe we willed the boys to come back in Game 3, but since New Jersey captured Games 4 and 6 in Boston, were we really that great?
Once upon a time, the Celtics had the most significant home-court advantage thanks to 15,000 savvy hoop lunatics crammed into an overheated lunchbox. Since I was blessed with the chance to attend most of their pivotal games during the Bird Era, you have to believe me on this one — we swung the outcome of six series (’81 Sixers, ‘84 Lakers, ‘87 Bucks, ‘87 Pistons, ‘88 Hawks and ‘91 Pacers) in which superior opponents failed to handle the mythical combination of Bird and the Garden. Off the top of my head, I can remember 20-25 games in which we carried the team to a higher place.
Now, you’re saying to yourself, “Doesn’t every crowd do that?”
Actually, no. More than in any other sport, the fate of a basketball game hinges on the connection between players and fans. Last year, you could have dressed in white, headed to a big Miami game, stood and cheered at all the predictable spots and convinced yourself that you impacted the game … but you really didn’t. You did exactly what you were expected to do, nothing more. You obeyed the giant video screen, followed the musical cues and served your purpose. In other words, you were just like every other NBA crowd. (ESPN Bill Simmons Blog May 4)
A great blog from Bill Simmons. Something special is indeed happening in Oakland, and it’s great to watch (even on TV). It does however suggest that the game presentation role is a little bit of smoke and mirrors, unable to generate real passion. (which I disagree with, but that’s another blog entry).
It’s easy to assume the strongest or the weakest case (related to Game Presentation) here, but there is a lesson in the middle.
The Weak Case for Game Presentation: The Warrior fans are clearly in the drivers seat not being a part of the game presenation, they are the game presentation. No amount of pyro, pumped in music, mascot dunks or dancing girls would be needed to squeeze anything more out of this crowd. I mean they stood for the entire second half last night.
The Strong Case for Game Presentation: As noted by Simmons above the crowd influenced this series…it’s hard to say they didn’t. GS’s game presentation staff did an amazing job of prompting their fans, filling the arena with a sea of gold and chants of “We Believe”, which the crowd ran with. They “primed the pump”.
The reality is probably somewhere in the middle. Magic is happening on the court and in the stands, so the absence of a great game presentation wouldn’t stop it. However Golden State has been cultivating and training their fans for years to react with passion, volume and verve. Now with something to be passionate about, the roof is coming off.
That crowd is amazing and the Warrior’s staff is providing them with direction and the tools (shirts, bam bams, placards) ….and getting out of the way. Their job doesn’t start with on game night, it started years ago when they were dedicated to providing a great show and training their fans how to act.
This is just the payoff. Believe it.
–Cudo
Fri 4 May 2007
Happy 33rd Birthday to the Women’s Sports Foundation. Founded by Billie Jean King, the mission at the Women’s Sports Foundation is simple: to advance the lives of girls and women through sport and physical activity.
Mark Out Productions is a proud member of the WSF, and we support their goals to empower girls and women through sports and phyical activity.
For more information you can visit their webiste: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org
Thanks.
-Cudo
Thu 3 May 2007
The May update went up last weekend, including a Pulse feature that turned out to be tragically timely.
Early last month I asked several game operations professionals how they produce Moments of Slience when needed. We received a number of responses that are included on this month’s feature.
As the nation paused for a moment of silence after the violence at Virginia Tech this story became even more relevant.
Thanks to all of those who contributed. You can read the Pulse article here.
The Celtics were also in the news recently for their tribute to Dennis Johnson.
Celtics pay tribute to Johnson, honor him with win (Espn)
In Boston’s first home game since Johnson died of an apparent heart attack last Thursday, the Boston Celtics honored the five-time All-Star during their game against the New York Knicks.
A pregame tribute showed video of Johnson’s highlights with the Celtics. The video was accompanied by Green Day’s “Good Riddance,” but a standing ovation toward the song’s end drowned out the music.
The Celtics also passed out pins with Johnson’s No. 3 to the first 5,000 fans through the turnstile, had a moment of silence and continued to show clips of his career throughout the game.
Celtics employees all wore the pins, and former Boston center Robert Parish and coach K.C. Jones each attended the game.
–Cudo
