Card Clicks: Ryan Whalen Enjoys Solid Shrine Bowl
by Scott Allen on Jan 24, 2011 9:55 AM PST
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Ryan Whalen had a pretty good performance at the East-West Shrine Bowl. | SB Nation Bay Area
The announcers apparently praised Whalen repeatedly. (See observation No. 8.) | Stampede Blue
Sione Fua and Owen Marecic will get their chance to impress NFL scouts at Saturday's Senior Bowl. | SB Nation Bay Area
Here's Hank's proposal to address the attendance issue and fill the football stadium in eight easy steps. Bronze statues honoring past Stanford greats? A Shayne Skov Mohawk Night? Yes and yes. Worth a read. | Go Mighty Card
After getting swept in three sets on Friday, the defending national champion Stanford men's volleyball team outlasted Hawaii in a "knock-down, drag-out" rematch last night. | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
The Stanford women's gymnastics team continued its strong start to the season with a come-from-behind win against UCLA. | GoStanford.com
The top-ranked Stanford women's water polo team opened the season with four wins. | Palo Alto Online
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Maybe I'm a traditionalist
But some of those suggestions by Hank are downright preposterous, not to mention slightly targeted toward the wrong audience. It’s the community at-large that needs to step up in attendance, not the students.
- Stanford doesn’t retire numbers and treats its football players the same way it does athletes of all its other sports when they excel (via the Hall of Fame). If someone wants to see a bronze depiction of a Stanford great, they already exist in Arrillaga on huge plaques.
- The Farm Report was given the heave-ho in part because there was so little interest in it in the Bay Area. Unlike the Cal Report, the Farm Report couldn’t be sustained when football wasn’t doing well. Plus a lot of the details in it have migrated over to GoStanford, a far cheaper alternative than producing a weekly show.
- If Andrew Luck doesn’t want cameras following him, why should he? He’s still a student, first and foremost.
That’s not to say all of his ideas are a little out there. The Kezar game last year was actually very fun for a no-tackle game (I don’t think anyone even knows the final score because it ended in regulation in a tie and went to triple or quadruple FG kicks between the brothers Whitaker). Bringing the trophies out of Arrillaga to Maples occasionally is a great way to connect with the community. The Alabama schools took their crystal championship trophies to Wal-Marts across the state, so what’s Stanford’s problem? And introducing local youth to Stanford football via camps is a great way to build a fanbase, as many an independent observer in the Chronicle and Merc suggested.
Fans to target
As I commented over at Hank’s site, I agree that the football marketing efforts need to focus on the community at-large. The keys to filling seats are in his seventh and eighth steps, one of which the marketing department can control (reaching out to the community) and another which it cannot (winning games). Like you said, the students are showing up.
I don’t think installing bronze statues throughout the concourse of the football stadium is a preposterous idea. Doesn’t Maples Pavilion have a bronze statue of Hank Luisetti? I think it would add a little charm to an already good-looking stadium. A rotating exhibit featuring football-related artwork from K-12 students in the local community might be a nice touch, too.
by Scott Allen on Jan 24, 2011 12:23 PM PST up reply actions
You mean the Hank Luisetti that used to be featured prominently in front of Maples and now is relegated to the backside near the student entrance on woodchips and dirt pulling a layup on the roof of the concourse between a tree and a glass window? I don’t think people even pay attention to it any more, and I’m not sure you can even see the name at the bottom of the statue.
Good for Ryan
I hope some team takes a chance on him……..they could do a lot worse with a 4th or 5th WR IMO.
The score dictated they pass
by norcaliangelsfan on Jan 25, 2011 4:36 PM PST reply actions
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