Monday, July 7, 2008

Headlines: Gold Rush

Brian: We are back from the dog-off that was Fourth of July weekend.

Jeff: Since the season tickets are in my name, I received the "Gold Rush" pamphlet last week. For those of you who have not seen it, a pamphlet went out to all non-student season ticket holders with pictures of various student-athletes sporting new gold BC gear that is available for purchase for really cheap prices. Coach Jags also has a letter in there pleading that everyone wears gold to all the home games.

Brian: I overheard one of our friends talking about this promotion this past weekend but wasn’t really sure what it was all about. Jeff, your thoughts?

Jeff: First, let me say that this is a great idea. Sometimes coaches are forced to put their names next to things that might not have been their idea at all but I wouldn't be at all surprised if Jags was the driving force in this initiative. He seems to be all about having fun and creating a great atmosphere at Alumni. To give you an idea of the prices, a basic gold t-shirt with a BC logo on the left chest is only $7.50. Meanwhile you can get a full zip fleece jacket for just $18.00 and there are several other bargains. The Superfan section has looked great for years and it would be awesome if the whole stadium looked like that.


Brian: Not sure how I feel about this idea. I mean, this is a great idea for basketball or hockey. The Conte crowd looked pretty awesome a few years back when we played North Carolina in basketball and ESPN’s College Gameday came to town. Problem with football is that unless a large percentage of the crowd is wearing the same color, it doesn’t look that impressive. Plus if it rains the effect is lost as everyone will put on their jackets and ponchos. It’s all a little too gimmicky for me, too similar to the Notre Dame green jerseys and the FSU blackout a few years ago. We are 22-3 at home over the past four seasons with fans wearing whatever color they want in the stands. Does this give us any more of a home field advantage or make Alumni anymore intimidating? Probably not.

Jeff: There are some other problems I have with this initiative. First is the fact that these shirts are a different shade of gold than the Superfan shirts. Well, maybe the Superfan shirts are more mustard yellow anyway, but why not use that color since it has stuck for a while now? Also, included in the sale is a basic maroon baseball cap, a maroon knit cap, and a maroon scarf - I thought this was a GOLD rush!?

Brian: I always thought it would be cool if the Superfan section was Superfan yellow and the rest of the stadium was clad in maroon. However, with this Gold Rush campaign it sounds like the crowd will just look like it doesn’t know exactly what our school colors.

Simulated Alumni Stadium Gold Rush: you be the judge

5 comments:

Jeff said...

FYI - it is not exactly easy to order through the gold rush because you can not place orders online, but you can view and download the brochure by going to

http://ptsteam.com

clicking client login

Username: Boston College
Password: Gold Rush

Erik said...

I agree that the alumni/fans should wear maroon and the students gold. I've even been sure to wear maroon every single game, except rain where I wear a yellow raincoat. Never see me in a white or great t-shirt, sweatshirt. Anyway, now we've got this dillemma. I'm probably skipping it and sticking with maroon. There's no way it can be done across the board. I know the 40 year old ladies will wear some navy blue Ralph Lauren sweater or some green & brown combo blouse, etc. And I know my Dad will wear whatever jacket he has for whatever the weather is. I love that Clemson pulls it off w/orange, but I don't think BC can come close so it would have been easier for everyone if they just hadn't tried in the first place.

Brian said...

reason clemson can pull it off is because you can wear a t-shirt to games practically all season.

this is just too gimmicky in my opinion. can't we spend our money on more important things like promoting greater attendance at home football games and/or getting more fans and alumni to the acc championship and our bowl game? seems like money more well spent than trying to get everyone to wear the same color.

Jeff said...

See I never liked the fan that alumni superfan shirts were maroon. I think if those had just been superfan shirts with a different design ultimately the sea of gold would've happened on its own.

But this venture is not something BC is sinking money into so you can't say the money is better spent somewhere else. I'm sure Prime Time Sports paid for the mailing and BC is getting royalties from them. Additionally, part of the procedes are going to the Campus School and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for their charitable efforts.

Clemson does not pull it off because they wear t-shirts all year. No Clemson fan wore just a t-shirt at the BC game last year. It was cold. Clemson fans wear a lot of not Clemson merchandise that happens to be orange. On TV you can't tell whether the people in the stands are wearing logoed merchandise or not and there is no confusion as to who you are pulling for when you show up to a game in an orange sweater or overalls. Gold however is the color of BC, Georgia Tech, Wake, and FSU but it will work against most opponents.

Brian said...

it's not just money but also time that goes into these promos (that being said, i'm willing to bet this wasn't a free ride for BC). all i'm suggesting is that we could be focused on more important issues than trying to get everyone to wear to the same color to games.