MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[SKOT]

As a sports official myself I can tell you that unknowledgabe nagging, annoying fans only make you want to make calls that favor the other team just to spite the annoying fan.

If you let someone get to you like that, you shouldnt be officiating.  An athletic official's job is to promote a fair and safe playing environment.  If you let a single obnoxious fan get into your head, you need to find a better way to fill your time. 

[ChicagoHopeNut]

WMBALLA

No idea who you are or where your bitterness comes from but seriously sit back and relax. I barely know where to begin.

1) I agree with SKOT if you as an official let a fan get to you and react then you are all that is wrong with the officials that people complain about.
2) The 3 point guy is just adding energy and is at almost every game if not all. If he isn't, remember he is a student. Maybe he has his priorities straight and is studying for a test he has the next morning or in a night class.
3) Is it possible you wanted to be the 3point guy at your college and didn't get the job and have pent up hostilities? There are people you can talk to about that.

Ok, this board has never gotten personal but I think you went over the line. Hopefully, my response didn't but as a recent alum who never missed a game I do sympathize that it stinks when the student section is not full against a team like Olivet but overall the Dew Crew does a great job.

[ChicagoHopeNut]

WMBALLA
Also, now that I figured out who you are. I don't ever remember seeing you standing or cheering with the Dew Crew. If you think you can do better stand with the Dew Crew instead of sitting on the other side of the court.

[bulldogalum]

gotta love the critics who don't bother to sit in the student section.

[sac]

We have this wonderful thing called e-mail, .....think about using it.  

[dcrew]

C'mon guys take it easy on the Dew Crew and 3 point kid, its a highly sought after position, I heard Scott Sommavilla was found crying when not chosen for the position this year.

[RastaRob]

I would like to say that Hope Basketball is more than a student section or any fans at all. I was a member of the Dew Crew, but lets be serious. I am currently a football coach and we consistently tell the kids we will come out and play to win regardless of who shows up. Hope has a great team this far from what I've seen. I woudl argue better than the 96 team and that really excites me a lot. Personally, I cannot wait until this Saturday. I will be there and I know Hope will come to play regardless of how many students or fans are there. Honestly, I dont want to jump the gun, but Hope seems to have the total package. The only thing that worries me is their lack of a center. Voisen is good, but he seems to have a temper and can get himself out of games when he gets an early foul called against him. When that happens Hope loses a lot. Holt is too young and weak, Hare is hurt and not taht good when healthy. Scott is my man because he is so fundamentally sound, but not as big a presence as Voisen. Just a thought.

On a sidenote. Leave the Three-Point man alone. Everyone loves him and alwasy has since the first three point man, Brian. The Tye-dye shirt is tradition. Instead of bad-mouthing teh kids that actually show up, lets try to be supportative and encourage the studenst who are not attending. There must be a way to get them there.

[Civic Minded]

gotta love the critics who don't bother to sit in the student section.

Excellent point.     Must be a reason he's not sitting there...like he was thrown out?  The Dew Crew (in my humble opinion) is a pretty classy group, compared to many.  I'm guessing this winner just didn't fit in, and now he's sad...

[bulldogalum]

The Dew Crew (in my humble opinion) is a pretty classy group, compared to many. 

I'll concur with that.  They've thrown a few negative cheers in my direction over the years, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle .

[NW Hope Fan]

As I am 1800 miles away and have not seen the student section myself, Ill have to go on what people here have to say.

What I find interesting is that regardless of many other factors, Hope has a brand new facility that is now walking distance for most students. I would think that alone would bolster the student section. Maybe the "faithful" need to stir up more interest.

Like Sac mentioned earlier, most schools would pay to have the kind of student support Hope has. (I still think the name is dumb though  )

[AndersDY]

Was Brian B. the first of the 3 point guys? I was off at school when that practice started, so didn't know he was the original. That's quite a family affair in that case as I think the current guy is the 3rd from that same family (though the youngest, so the tradition will have to be passed). I am certainly not bothered by the use of the 3 point signs, but it certainly has lost it's effectiveness in the more spread-out building where the signs aren't posted right by the basket. Perhaps it's time for an overhaul of the practice, hopefully they could come up with something else creative.

As for wmballa, you are 1/2 way to being a real message board poster. Your discovery of the paragraph break will get you the rest of the way there.

Why point fingers at the students as if they're the only ones who more often come out for the important games anyway? Unless I'm mistaken, the stands for the games against Olivet or Alma aren't packed to the gills in every other section while the diminished Dew Crew sits in their empty space. The entire Hope crowd in all sections shows up in greater numbers for the real big games. Generally a better game means more people want to watch, I'm sure the MNF folks could confirm that fact for you.  The students are limited to their student section anyway. They aren't suddenly give 2000 tickets for the Calvin game so they can over take the whole arena while all non-students are shut out.  Back to Econ 101 for a supply/demand refresher for you...

[kresgekrazy]

Sorry about the silence the last couple of days, but after two days of drowning my pillow with tears, I feel the need to get back out into the World (wide web) and post some meaningless slime.

Did anyone actually see that game the Brits played?  I rarely visit Angola, Indiana and only when I do it's to pick up a strawberry filled pastry and a coke for the long haul to Bloomington, IN.  I can only h_ _ _ that the Brits get their house in order before they get a nice hiney-whuppin.  I'm sure that the H _ _ _ players haven't forgotten that less than stellar performance at Kresge.  
I am going to the D tonight for some Soooper Doooper Bowl Madness.  Tell the admissions lady I'll keep an eye out and a seat open for her. Carl, I h _ _ _ I don't kill myself.  

Good luck to the Brits and H_ _ _  this weekend.  But mostly  the Brits.

I'm Ron Burgundy?

[Civic Minded]

Why point fingers at the students as if they're the only ones who more often come out for the important games anyway? Unless I'm mistaken, the stands for the games against Olivet or Alma aren't packed to the gills in every other section while the diminished Dew Crew sits in their empty space. The entire Hope crowd in all sections shows up in greater numbers for the real big games.

Oh, man.  Don't get me started on THAT one!  Who's hair-brained idea was it to sell season tickets to 3/4 of the Holland population?  Now you've got grandmaw and grandpaw with a 20-seat block while the families of players have trouble finding a seat.  Grandmaw and Grandpaw invite the family/friends du jour to the game, who don't give a rip about Hope basketball.  So they sit and talk about grocery shopping and the latest book they've read and which grandchild learned to use the toilet at the top of their unintelligent lungs while *some* of us are trying to follow the game.  Sheesh!       (You'd think they could at least discuss the ketchup and mustard!)   

Season ticketholders may guarantee revenue, but 1/2 of the time the seats sit there empty or are occupied by people with no interest in the game at all, while others who really care can't get in.  (Okay, its an exaggeration, but you get the point.)  If only they had asked me...   

[MIdoubleA]

Who's hair-brained idea was it to sell season tickets to 3/4 of the Holland population?  Now you've got grandmaw and grandpaw with a 20-seat block while the families of players have trouble finding a seat.  Grandmaw and Grandpaw invite the family/friends du jour to the game, who don't give a rip about Hope basketball.  So they sit and talk about grocery shopping and the latest book they've read and which grandchild learned to use the toilet at the top of their unintelligent lungs while *some* of us are trying to follow the game.  Sheesh!       (You'd think they could at least discuss the ketchup and mustard!)   

Welcome to Hope College politics.

(I still think the name is dumb though )

Find a different sponser and suggest a few names  Do that many other teams have sponsers as nice as Mountain Dew has been? Or do they have sponsers at all?

[flash96]

If I recall correctly in both '96 and '98 the Hope Dew Crew was featured and given sportsmanship awards.  They generally don't give those to fans who constantly berate the officials, use profanity, or some other inappropriate fan behavior.

I will admit while there I didn't always agree with the officials and I let them know my opinion.  But in the same light if an official made a good call which may be against Hope then I wouldn't disagree with him.  An official can figure out which fans know the game and which fans are there to complain and have little knowledge of basketball.