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| (above) The DU Pep Band will march around Magness Arena pregame on Saturday night |
Thanks to input from alumni and hockey fans, the DU Pep Band will parade around Magness Arena before the game on Saturday night. DU fans who have traveled to away games have seen the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Boston College bands march around their arenas in pregame performances playing their fight song.
Thanks to equipment and harness purchases funded in the offseason by the Athletic Department, the DU Pep Band will now begin a similar tradition every Saturday night this season.
The Pep Band will perform at the DUGS BBQ pregame event at 6:10 PM and march around Magness Arena at 6:45 PM. So get to the game early, grab some free grub at the BBQ, take photos with our UnOfficial Mascot, buy a Boone T-shirt or sweatshirt, have a drink at the outdoor Beer Garden and support out student band. GO DU.
26 comments:
Great Idea!
Boone has to be the Band's drum major! Give him a hockey stick for a mace/baton and he's good to go!
Great tradition to start!
Terrific. Outstanding. One baby step at a time, DU is becoming more like every other university in terms of school spirit. Let's just hope when the kids get around the "veteran" season ticket holders they lower the volumne. Sort of like being in a hospital zone. Wouldn't want to disturb anyone getting dialysis or a transfusion.
nice job coming up with your own ideas
Maybe the students will show up for this. The student section was half empty last night. Really sad.
The pre-game parade went very well for a first effort. Fans seemed to really enjoy it, too, cheering the band on and bringing some added pre-game excitement and school spirit deep into the concourses.
I think if Boone and the cheerleaders are added in front of the band it could be even better next weekend for the CC game.
Each week, it seems like new spirit efforts are paying off. Let's hope the hockey team starts doing it's part...
Great to hear that the Parade went well. Congrats & thanks to all the people in the band that made this happen.
Band sounded great on the radio / PioneerVision tonight.
Big Saturday night coming up against Colorado College.
That was pathetic. The pep band consists of ten kids and the stands were empty when they made the trip around. What idiot came up this idea?
You are pathetic (and also inaccurate), 4:35.
1) There were 36 kids in the band last night, not 10.
2) The concourses (where the parade happened) were full of incoming fans at that time and the encouragement and spirit level there was great for a first effort.
3) Your negative tone sucks. If you are a DU fan, how about getting behind the kids' efforts instead of trying to tear them down? And if you aren't a DU fan, how about taking your snarkfest somewhere else. We don't need you here...
Code Red! Code Red!
Many of these ideas are well intended but fail because of the implementation. It’s hard for the alumni to energize and organize the students from out of state. It’s easy to come up with an idea. It takes a lot of work to see it through. And let’s face it, most of us don’t have the time. It’s by far easier to bitch about the University not having traditions. With that being said, I want to give credit where credit is due - to the former players and alumni that came up with the idea of a 50/50 raffle and attend every game to sell raffle tickets.
The outcry for a pep band has always mystified me. Sure the big bands from schools like Wisconsin are really fun when you experience them. They get the crowd going and it a wonderful tradition. For them. That’s never been a DU tradition. If anything it’s been a tradition of failure. Remember DU bringing in high school bands. It’s always been mediocre at best. Okay, the 4 piece jazz combo above the ice was great at the old barn. The sax player from the Lamont School of Music playing the Star Spangled Banner reminded me of days gone by on Friday night.
Why have a mascot, cheerleaders, pep band and rousing student section?
Because its what sets college athletics apart from slick professional sporting events.
In a competitive market like Denver with five major professional teams [MLB, NFL, NBA, MLS & MLS] and another six "smaller" professional teams, DU needs to stand out.
Sure there are fans who don't like the mascot, band, cheerleaders and/or student section. To each his/her own.
I’ve seen the cheerleaders at basketball games. They are terrific.
36 kids in the band makes the student section look a bit less empty.
What the band really lacks compared to the big schools is funding.
Keep plugging away, keep building the program and hopefully a major donor will step forward.
I think the band has been a terrific asset at the hockey games. They are only playing on Saturday nights this season. Friday night season ticket holders will be missing out
DU has had bands at hockey games on (and off) since the 1960s, when they played on a small ledge at the North end of the old DU Arena, so while it may not have been a consistent tradition, there is ample precedent for it at DU.
Bands are one of the things that make college hockey collegiate. If we don't have one, we're basically indistinishable from the Colorado Eagles or other minor league hockey products with canned music and promotions.
Finally, the DU band now is much better than it was 10 years ago. The students enjoy it, and it makes for a better game atmosphere on Saturdays. We'll never have a Big 10 style band like they do at Wisconsin, but we're getting better.
In a larger sense, look at DU spirit 10 years ago compared to where it is today:
10 years ago, students sat. Today they stand the whole game.
10 years ago, we had a unpopular chioken for a mascot, today we have far more popular Boone, who was built by active and spirited fans.
10 years ago, the nearly 100 year old DU fight song had vanished. Today, it's been revived and its pretty well known, and the students today sing the same song alumni from the 50s and 60s sung when they were at DU, completing the circle.
10 years ago, there were no DU themed bars, no grilling society, rare pre-game activities, and no DU blog. Today, there are several DU bars (C and G, The Pioneer, Boone's Tavern), a popular grilling society, regular pre-gaming and an active, top notch DU blog.
The point here is that we're suceeding with spirit upgrades far more than we fail. And while we'll never have a big 10 fan experierience at DU, it's way better than it was, and the future is bright.
I encourage all DU fans who want to work to extending spirit at DU to drop a line to DG here and he'll find the right place for you. We need all the help we can get.
There wasn’t a blog in the 50s or 60s? I’m shocked, shocked I tell you!
Say what you will but the current student section doesn’t measure up to the Bleacher Creatures from yesteryear.
DU’s history with pep bands, is a tradition of failure. Sure it’s better than it was 10 years ago but that only means it’s mediocre rather than just plain embarrassing. I’m thinking the pep band isn’t a big draw for college kids. Okay, maybe in Wisconsin but they still wear cheese hats so what does that tell you.
In a larger sense, look at DU spirit 10 years ago compared to where it is today:
30 years ago, students sat. Today they stand the whole game.
- We were to drunk to stand.
Today we have far more popular Boone, who was built by active and spirited fans.
- Back in the day, our Boone didn’t wear a styrofoam head.
10 years ago, the nearly 100 year old DU fight song had vanished. Today, it's been revived and its pretty well known, and the students today sing the same song alumni from the 50s and 60s sung when they were at DU, completing the circle.
- Okay, you’ve got a point.
10 years ago, there were no DU themed bars, no grilling society, rare pre-game activities, and no DU blog. Today, there are several DU bars (C and G, The Pioneer, Boone's Tavern), a popular grilling society, regular pre-gaming and an active, top notch DU blog.
- We got drunk in the dorm and went to the game. We didn’t stay at home to watch the game on our computer.
The point here is that we're suceeding with spirit upgrades far more than we fail. And while we'll never have a big 10 fan experierience at DU, it's way better than it was, and the future is bright.
- Who wants a big ten experience? We had a great time just being us. Why do we need to copy other schools traditions? What’s next, jumping up and down throughout the game like Wisconsin does? Are we Wisconsin light? No. Let their pep band march around the arena and let us be DU fans. Fans that show up sometime between the first and second period with a buzz on. Fans that aren’t afraid to chant CC Sucks! even if we aren’t playing CC that night.
I encourage all DU fans who want to work to extending spirit at DU to drop a line to DG here and he'll find the right place for you. We need all the help we can get.
- I would encourage the DU students not to listen to a bunch of us geezers talk about the good old days. Buy a 50/50 raffle ticket from the hockey alumni, buy a CC Sucks! t-shirt from the mascot, grab a beer and relax. It’s okay to think it’s creepy that 50 year olds are taking pictures of your college girlfriend or trying to relive their college experience by organizing yours. Do what they would have done at your age, tell them to ___ off. Get out there and have fun on your own. This is your time. Have a blast!
In the WCHA, DU has often carried a stigma as a laid-back, less-than-spirited school. How many more hockey games could DU have won over the years had crowds been more active in support of the players? A lot. Home ice advantage is real, and DU's has only had one sporadically since the 1970s. With the quality of teams this university fields, the vocal support should be much higher than it is.
And those 50 year old geezers trying to relive their college days? Doubtful. Most of the 30s-40s -50s alums I know are not at all interested in the old days or talking about them. For most of them, their college experiences at DU weren't very good. Spirit was low then, and the campus was struggling for much of their time there. DU had a lot of lean hockey years from the late 70s until Gwozdecky's arrival, too. Most of the alums I know who are trying to build spirit now are trying create a home ice advantage for our current and future teams and to try and get a mostly stagnant Magness crowd to support the team so the team will win more games. Creating a home ice advantage is every serious DU fan's responsibility. Run them down if you want, but I'd rather see our alumni active and involved in this effort, rather than relaxing and letting others do the work. Relaxing should be something serious fans should do away from the rink.
"Every serious fans responsibility"
No wonder the students don't go to the game. You make it sound like work rather than entertaiment. You've got a responsibility dammit.
I can see why your college experience wasn't very good. You've got such a negative attitude toward hockey and toward life. Because hockey is life after all.
I don't have a negative attitude at all. I love cheering on my team. DU hockey is way more than just passive entertainment to me and to many of us that want to influence the outcome of the game in DU's favor, which is the purpose of having a home-ice advantage...
I work hard at the games to cheer on my team. That's what a real fan is supposed to do, aren't they? It's work sometimes, but it's fun work.
If I wanted to be passively entertained, I can stay home and watch it in Pioneer Vision. Why go to the rink and sit on my hands?
My cheering, and the cheering of those around me, can influence the outcome of the game, and if my team is working hard on the ice, I owe them my best efforts from the stands. That's what being a fan is about, at least in my book. More spirit=More cheering=home ice advantage=more wins.
In my mind, students and serious DU fans have an obligation to cheer on their team. We should all do what we can to help our team win.
"Getting drunk in the dorms" is expressly forbidden by the DU Student Conduct Policy. Getting caught "drinking in the dorms" involves Student Conduct Hearings and punishments.
http://www.du.edu/studentlife/ccs/policies.html
This explains why there are so many new bars and restaurants around campus. DU has driven student drinking off-campus due to liability, quality-of-life and safety concerns.
Lol, when did become such a stick in the mud DG? You don’t sound like the guy that smuggled a flask, under his toga, into the alcohol free Boston NCAA Frozen Four.
Boston was different. I was a lot younger then and wasn't the pillar of the community that I am today.
It was an emergency situation and desperate times called for desperate measures.
The real trick in Boston wasn't sneaking the flasks into the Garden. It was refilling them at the bar across the street during the game and getting back in a second time.
All without missing a minute of game time or leaving the arena. I'd tell you how we did it, but then we'd have to kill you. :-)
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