Ask the Edmonton Rush players what they think of “Guaranteed Win Night” and the responses are varied. They range from “Oh, wow!” to “Oh, no.” But after some consideration even the doubters became excited at the prospect of playing in such a contest.
And the consensus is that the promotion - which allows fans to get the cost of tickets taken off the purchase of equivalently priced 2007 season tickets if the Rush don’t win tomorrow night’s contest with the Portland LumberJax - hardly came as a shock. (You’ve Gotta Win)
I thought this was a fun take on the Guaranteed Win promotion: A story on what the players think of it, along with some history about famous player guarantees.
The bad news: Edmonton lost 15-12, but it was a nice reward to the loyal fan base. As one Edmonton player noted “Hey, we’re 1-12 and we’re getting 10,000 a game.”
–Cudo
Northern Illinois loses first on-campus athletic event since shooting
DEKALB, Ill. (AP) — The message was impossible to miss: “Forward, Together Forward” read the banner hanging outside the arena.
A line in Northern Illinois’ fight song, it’s now a mantra for a school and community still recovering.
NIU took another small step Tuesday night, when it hosted Western Michigan in the first athletic event on campus since a gunman killed five students in a lecture hall before taking his own life on Feb. 14.
“It should serve as some therapy for all of us,” NIU coach Ricardo Patton said.
The teams gathered arm-in-arm in a circle at midcourt while observing a moment of silence before the game. Then they shook hands and stood at opposite foul lines as the NIU alma mater and “The Star-Spangled Banner” played.
Western Michigan (17-10, 10-3) is trying to capture the Mid-America Conference championship. NIU (6-18, 3-9) is simply seeking some semblance of normalcy.
Banners hanging from the arena’s rafters commemorate various championships and postseason appearances, but on some level, a more meaningful game has never been played by an NIU team — even if only 2,032 fans witnessed it.
Northern Illinois players and coaches wore ribbons, as did many in the crowd, while Western Michigan paid tribute with NIU patches.
“If we can use basketball as a medium to get back to normal and get things the way they were going before a terrible tragedy like this happened, then I think that’s really the only issue here,” said Western Michigan’s Joe Reitz. (ESPN)
This is a tremendous reminder that sports promotions are not always about jokes, playful fun, or team spirit. Sports play a role in building and enhancing a community, which NIU’s athletic department clearly understands.
This game presentation centered on healing, community and recovery and NIU deserves credit for carefully presenting their event as a tool to achieve those goals.
–Cudo
This idea from the University of Maryland Field Hockey Program:
Poster Day
Fans will receive a FREE Maryland Field Hockey poster. Be sure to get your poster signed by the players after the game.
Now of course Poster Day didn’t come from University of Maryland (at least I don’t think it did) but the Terps have added a clever add-on to their poster night. They have uploaded their poster artwork as a .pdf file to their site. This way fans can download the file and print it off for themselves.
This is great for poster, trading cards, and prints of all kinds….and it also applies to screen savers. Why not take all the time your graphics department has invested in your giveaway and broadcast it to all your fans?
The cost of this promotion: $0. (my rough estimate)
Download yours now: Field Hockey Poster from U of Maryland
–Cudo
Gameops.com friend Benjamin Hill has a great off-season Minor League Baseball blog going over at mlblogs.com.
So great in fact that he has interview the biggest names in touring acts…including the King of Sports.
You don’t want to miss that, now do you?
Ben also has a lot of off-season promotions from across Minor League Baseball and logo updates.
Ben is a very talented writer and his blog is certainly worth a look.
–Cudo
Virginia Tech Athletic Department to show support of Northern Illinois University
All fans encouraged to wear Red and Black
BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team will host Georgia Tech Saturday, February 23 at 2 p.m. All fans attending the game are encouraged to wear red and black to show their support for the Northern Illinois University community.
Many universities, schools, groups and individuals reached out to the Hokie Nation after the tragedy of April 16th. Our university was comforted by the outpouring of support from the nation and the world. This is a chance for all members of the Virginia Tech family to show solidarity and concern for all of those members in the NIU family.
A nice story of mutual support and empathy. Hopefully its not something that happens repeatedly, since while it shows unity…it also runs the risk of constantly reminding fans of the tragedy.
The nearby Chicago Bulls also paid tribute (see Bulls.com news link). The Bulls wore the NIU t-shirts including the Huskies logo when they played the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday and will wear them again on Friday against the Nuggets.
–Cudo
The Portland Trailblazers celebrated the 10 millionth fan in the history of their Rose Garden Arena this week.
The Portland Trail Blazers welcomed the 10th Million fan into the Rose Garden Tuesday night. Greg Button of Portland was showered with confetti and given courtside seats. Mr. Button also received prizes from sponsors and a signed Blazer Jersey. Greg Oden, the first pick in last years draft was on hand to meet and greet Mr. Button. (from Sports Business Radio).
The Blazers have a long history of celebrating their fan count, which is a great way to both bring attention to the fan base and honor a fan in a memorable way. Gameops.com interviewed a couple members of the Blazers Game Presentation Team back in June of 2001.
The Gameops.com Promotion Database had 3 other examples of team honoring fans like this:
-Cudo