I know there is only so much money to go around, but it would sure be great to get the Band-uh traveling with the team. In my non-scholarship playing days when there was far less money to go around, the Band-uh traveled everywhere and they were crazy - taking the bus for 30+ hours. One of my fondest memories was standing in the end-zone in Missoula feeling a little intimidated until he Band-uh unexpectedly came marching down the tunnel to join us on the field. I know the Band-uh is under new management now with mixed results, but it sure was a nice boost to the team and we felt a real bond with the Band-uh back then. Would be nice if we could figure out how to get there again.
It's never the kids fault - just a shame that they were previously able to do so much (evidently on a shoe-string and directed mostly by themselves) compared to now. Also, I hope it was related to school not being in session, but my wife and I noticed that the Band-uh was really small at the USD game.
we have lost the last 4 games vs. PSU. we last beat the Vikings in 2009, for the third time in a row (2007-2009). anyone remember who the Viking head coach was during that stretch?
I would love to go pack to Portland to watch a game. We were there before the renovation...I bet I bet it is a fun place to watch a game..,just as long as you don't pay attention to all the empty seats.
In my fantasy world, I'm imagining that the players are picking up more and more of the playbook, and we didn't unleash our full assortment as we had USD handled... and this weekend we're gonna unleash it all... successfully. That's my fantasy... guess I'm an old Aggie!
I was on the tail end of when the Band-uh went to every single game. We used to drive ourselves everywhere in rented Ford Econoline vans or even personal cars and everyone pitched in to a gas fund. We would play impromptu rallies in exchange for sleeping on high school gym floors along the way. We'd periodically tick off fleet management by abandoning a broken down van in the middle of the Nevada desert, but made for great stories. All that changed around 2011 when the university decided all trips outside of Davis were to be by "professional transportation" only for liability reasons and that sleeping arrangements were to be in hotels with the proper number of people per room. Costs went through the roof. Many members were still willing to pay their own way but the lawyers were concerned this was discriminatory against students without personally deep pockets. Campus Rec was difficult to deal with and the relationship with Athletics was lukewarm during the late Greg W years - some of the big shots with delusions of grandeur didn't think the Band-uh was "TV suitable" and objected to the block CA logo. Maybe Blue will see it differently.
Even the cheap seats are good. It was a fun experience for me, even though I didn't care who won (Davis was not the opponent).
I don't believe they even bother to sell tickets for the sections nearest the endzones for football games. I say the GA seats are the best. You can sit under the roof and be shielded from the rain. Bonus is a nice downtown view.
I still believe having their games off- campus hurts attendance. Of course there's nowhere to put a football stadium (or a soccer field)on campus either. Since it's kind of a commuter school anything they do to make it less convenient for students to attend discourages it.
Seems silly, but students can really be that lazy. The only students I saw were cheerleaders (who only perform in front of the more expensive seats). The rest were either old fogeys like me or children
Portland is definitely a soccer city. I'm sure PortlandAggie would agree when I say the capacity of the Portland Pilots soccer stadium easily dwarves the Aggies', while Davis has a much bigger capacity for baseball. They probably draw about the same two dozen fansfor baseball.
It's been a few years since I've been to Portland State, but I remember there being a few old guys seriously into it with Viking hats and a bunch of ambivalent locals who came just because it was someplace to be, but almost no students. I remember it being a pleasant crowd. Not like going to Montana.
I don't know when CR was founded but the Band-uh was moved under it 2007-ish when Student Programs & Activites department was axed without warning. I think Stanford more tolerates than embraces their band. There's a fine line between colorful and poor taste.
When I was in the band in the 70's, it was a student run organization funded entirely by ASUCD. When available, we took university buses to games, driven by university staff. If they were not available, we chartered buses from Solano, or occasionally Greyhound. We didn't have to come up with any money ourselves, but rather were given $1 per person per meal (which was enough for a complete meal at McDonald's back then). If the associated students could come up with that money, why can't the major university that Davis has become find the money? I guess the requirement to stay in hotels explains part of it. We always slept on gym floors. Also we had few games outside California.
I don't know if Montana or UND would ever be practical but it would seem reasonable to me that in addition to the rivalry games, any OoC game in CA, Nevada, or Oregon (in addition to PSU) should have Band-Uh there.
It seems like ICA isn't as strapped for cash now (that's not to say they aren't still in reality) so hopefully something can eventually happen.
This is absolutely true. I'm another Band-uh alumni and at games it's up to each member to pay if they want food and drinks. We would often speak to band members of other bands at the few away trips that we made and they were often horrified that this kind of stuff wasn't provided. The Band-uh still wants to be that crazy band that is at every game no matter what, unfortunately the university has made it impossible to do so.
Yes, let's be Generic U ...ugh ... coaches have told me the lift the band gave them at away games. I was at an away basketball game, got there early, and the first thing out of peoples mouths? ... "Is your band here?"...
That was pretty much my experience as well. I had some very passive Idaho State fans near me.
SAC State is pretty much the same for basketball. 15 years ago or so they moved the games away from Memorial Auditorium to get more students to attend (read: save money). The crowds are still mostly old fogeys like me. There are students, but the random community members are the most passionate fans. It's the whole commuter school thing. With all the "ancient" Caucasians in attendance you'd think they'd play something other than super- angry gangster rap over the PA sometimes. Of course the crowd gets bigger and younger for Golden 1 games, but those are anomalies.
There are quite a few sports at UCD I would never have seen were it not for the Aggie Pack incentives. Maybe PSU needs something similar.
Looks like there's a pre-game (folks who registered) at the Goose Hollow Inn downtown. I'll be there with Papa Finn at about 11:45.
1927 SW Jefferson Street
Portland
They open up at 11 am but they say the get together starts at 12 pm, game is at 2 pm, Providence Park is about 4 blocks away. Feels more like 7 or 8 after you wade through the protesters.