Mornin Mates...
Today's Topic = There's Something Happening Here
Talk about culture change...what the heck is happening over at ASU these days..??
One day, not long ago, we are a "sleeping giant" and the next thing you know, it almost looks like the 60s and 70s again, when almost anything seemed possible in Sun Devil athletics...
There is no longer any talk about attaining "competitive traction" but, rather, talk about conference and national championships and being elite in everything...
This week Bobby Hurley got Shannon Evans and Obi Oleka to be Sun Devils and fans are flocking to the ticket office seeking season basketball tickets to support the new coach and the team...
The Sun Devils also hired well regarded swim coach, Bob Bowman, to join the Maroon and Gold parade, so it looks like swimming will be upgraded significantly...
Then you have Jaxon Hood telling everyone that he is back and ready to play football again for Coach Graham and the Sun Devils, which makes all of us feel good because we know he can be a very solid addition to an already pretty deep defensive line...
ASU also hired Garner Smith to oversee women's athletics which seems to make sense since we have more women than men's sports on campus...
It's enough to make your head spin especially when you throw in the addition of hockey and what that will also mean for the athletic department and school...
I'm not sure how all this is going to be financed especially since the athletic funding district is not really generating much of anything yet and since we are also in the process of paying for the ongoing stadium renovation but I'm sure that a plan is in place or at least I sure hope so...
Maybe president Crow and RA have read "Building An Empire For Idiots" which says to take the first $100 million that you inherited from your family and invest it wisely to make more millions...
The problem is that I don't think we inherited a $100 million bucks from anyone but like all successful entrepreneurs, you don't let small, petty things like that stand in your way of building an empire, if you can help it, and I'm betting on this troika of president Crow, who thinks and acts big and bold, RA who comes from an organization, the NFL, that does the same, and now with coaches in the two money sports (football and basketball) that also think and act big and boldly, that ASU may actually pull this athletic empire thing off...
On a different note, I was reading this week about ballpark design and what new touches we may all see in the coming days related to watching sports in person...
One thing mentioned is the use of holographic images to promote the team's brand by flashing these images within the ballpark and outside it onto other nearby buildings so you might see Sparky or the Fork or game generated images on the State Farm buildings across from the renovated SDS for instance...
You could also have virtual reality clubs where you could see the games as if you were actually there which would be great for out-of-towners that couldn't watch the games in person...
I have no idea where all this ends but do know that younger fans really like these sorts of things...being in an electronic envelope has its advantages, I guess, but I don't think it will make much difference to me, as I just go to the ballpark to eat me some peanuts and cracker jacks and root, root for the home team...
Now if they get the technology in place to electronically teleport me to Tempe from my home in southern Arizona, so I don't have to drive it anymore, that would be great...
Anyway, there's something happening here and I like it even if I don't pretend to understand it all...
Have a great week and good luck to our football players in the upcoming NFL draft...
G'day Mates...Championships or Bust...Go Devils!!!
Today's Topic = There's Something Happening Here
Talk about culture change...what the heck is happening over at ASU these days..??
One day, not long ago, we are a "sleeping giant" and the next thing you know, it almost looks like the 60s and 70s again, when almost anything seemed possible in Sun Devil athletics...
There is no longer any talk about attaining "competitive traction" but, rather, talk about conference and national championships and being elite in everything...
This week Bobby Hurley got Shannon Evans and Obi Oleka to be Sun Devils and fans are flocking to the ticket office seeking season basketball tickets to support the new coach and the team...
The Sun Devils also hired well regarded swim coach, Bob Bowman, to join the Maroon and Gold parade, so it looks like swimming will be upgraded significantly...
Then you have Jaxon Hood telling everyone that he is back and ready to play football again for Coach Graham and the Sun Devils, which makes all of us feel good because we know he can be a very solid addition to an already pretty deep defensive line...
ASU also hired Garner Smith to oversee women's athletics which seems to make sense since we have more women than men's sports on campus...
It's enough to make your head spin especially when you throw in the addition of hockey and what that will also mean for the athletic department and school...
I'm not sure how all this is going to be financed especially since the athletic funding district is not really generating much of anything yet and since we are also in the process of paying for the ongoing stadium renovation but I'm sure that a plan is in place or at least I sure hope so...
Maybe president Crow and RA have read "Building An Empire For Idiots" which says to take the first $100 million that you inherited from your family and invest it wisely to make more millions...
The problem is that I don't think we inherited a $100 million bucks from anyone but like all successful entrepreneurs, you don't let small, petty things like that stand in your way of building an empire, if you can help it, and I'm betting on this troika of president Crow, who thinks and acts big and bold, RA who comes from an organization, the NFL, that does the same, and now with coaches in the two money sports (football and basketball) that also think and act big and boldly, that ASU may actually pull this athletic empire thing off...
On a different note, I was reading this week about ballpark design and what new touches we may all see in the coming days related to watching sports in person...
One thing mentioned is the use of holographic images to promote the team's brand by flashing these images within the ballpark and outside it onto other nearby buildings so you might see Sparky or the Fork or game generated images on the State Farm buildings across from the renovated SDS for instance...
You could also have virtual reality clubs where you could see the games as if you were actually there which would be great for out-of-towners that couldn't watch the games in person...
I have no idea where all this ends but do know that younger fans really like these sorts of things...being in an electronic envelope has its advantages, I guess, but I don't think it will make much difference to me, as I just go to the ballpark to eat me some peanuts and cracker jacks and root, root for the home team...
Now if they get the technology in place to electronically teleport me to Tempe from my home in southern Arizona, so I don't have to drive it anymore, that would be great...
Anyway, there's something happening here and I like it even if I don't pretend to understand it all...
Have a great week and good luck to our football players in the upcoming NFL draft...
G'day Mates...Championships or Bust...Go Devils!!!
