Let me start this entry by stating that I am really not trying to be difficult and look for things to criticize. To prove this, I am going to try to be open- minded and construct this in a matter that asks a lot of questions without a lot of criticism. I honestly am seeking responses that offer some insight and rationale into this topic.
If you didn’t know, Coach Sidney Lowe’s first Red vs White game is scheduled for this Wednesday night in Reynolds Coliseum.
What a wonderful opportunity to watch a little of Coach Lowe’s first version of the Wolfpack!! But, I am unfortunately not going to be able to make the event. Please don’t misconstrue my absence, or the absence of hundreds/thoughts of others, for a lack of interest in Wolfpack Basketball. You see, those of us interested in the event but who are unable to attend are just stricken with a prevalent and common affliction called “we-don’t-live-in-Raleigh-itis”.
As much as many of us would LOVE to show up to support Coach Lowe and the Pack, the folks at NC State have geniusly scheduled Sidney’s first Red/White game for a mid-week timeslot that makes it all but impossible for people who may live in Charlotte, or Eastern North Carolina or Southern Virginia to make the trip. Since the women’s game will preceed the men’s game, I expect that the men’s event will probably START around 8:15-8:30pm on a Wednesday night.
Can anyone name the last time that the NC State Basketball intra-squad scrimmage was NOT held on a weekend?
I’m legitimately curious about this^ because I can’t remember the last time a Red/White game was not played on a weekend. For 30+ years, hundreds of people around the NC State Basketball program – spanning at least four different coaching regimes – have scheduled the Red/White game on a weekend. What did all of these previous people NOT know that our Athletics Administration has suddenly figured out?
What suddenly changed that merits any alteration from the game’s traditional weekend scheduling?
And, what do we know that other schools don’t know? Think about the ‘losers’ at poor old Duke. Those idiots have scheduled their intra-squad scrimmage for a Saturday! LOL! When are they going to learn anything about basketball and fans? And Carolina. They have almost always scheduled their intra-squad scrimmages for weekends. If only these idiots at these second rate schools knews what the folks at NC State knew!
My father took me to Red-White games almost annually when I was between the ages of ten and eighteen. Sometimes the games were scheduled on weekends that included football games and we got to enjoy a double dose of Wolfpack fun. Those weekend trips to Raleigh were fantastic bonding events for us; and my connection to the Wolfpack escalated during those trips to be able to be so close to the basketball players that I got to see on television during the week. I guess like so many things, ‘those were the days’ – the days when you didn’t have to live in Raleigh to be be able to conveniently go watch your Wolfpack practice.
I know that it doesn’t mean anything anymore…but, wouldn’t it be kind of cool for the kids who love the Wolfpack from all over the region – not just the ones who live in Raleigh – to have the chance to experience a day with the basketball team program? How many parents in Charlotte or Hickory or New Bern or Wilmington can justify the negative impact on their child’s schedule and school work to get home after midnight on a Wednesday night?
Look…I get the point and understand most of the pending retorts – ‘if I REALLY wanted to come see the Red/White event then I would leave work early on Wednesday to drive 3 hours to watch the game and then drive back to get home close to 1am like I do during the basketball season. What is one more expensive night sacrificed to the road for the Wolfpack?’
But, it is not about “me”. These events used to always be much more about the experience and the bond that they create with young fans. Not those like me that are already hopelessly committed to the Pack.
Regardless, there is a BIG difference between the schedules that are put together by the ACC that require balance/equity and the exercising of free-will to CHOOSE to schedule this event on a Wednesday night as opposed to a weekend. ESPECIALLY when the Wednesday night time conflicts with Chuck Amato’s radio show!!
What next? How about scheduling Coach Lowe’s FIRST REGULAR SEASON GAME on a weekend when the football team is out of town and the most rabid fans have already booked their travel to the football game! (I’ll save that one for another time).
I’m just looking for some insight into the “thinking” behind the “strategy” of this scheduling decision. Thanks.
SFN encourages you to click here for a very relevant and related entry to this topic.
