At some point in time, things will change for the better. At that point in time, the next president and athletic director will have a lot of damage control to do. The first step has to be reconnecting with the BU past. This doesn't happen with a handshake and a request for financial support. It starts with getting those people involved to help create interest in the athletic programs. You do that by bringing former athletes back, to speak to the current players about their positive experiences at BU and their responsibility to the community. In addition to this, fences must be mended with coaches and administrators at the local level. And last but certainly not least, fences need mended with the fans. Events need to be planned and scheduled for ALL fans to get involved. The large financial donors are important. But so is the working class guy, that takes a shower after work. They are the foot soldiers of the Bradley army of fans. They will do anything to help the program and expect nothing in return. It will take a long time to repair the damage that has been done to this program. It needs to be corrected by people with Midwest values and familiarity to BU. We don't have that now and that has created this debacle. To understand and see where you are going, you must understand where you have been. This administration kicked the legs out from under that chair when they came here. It's time for a change.
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When Things Change For the Better
- Thread starter Vent
- Start date
Buesch N Chips
New member
I think some of that needs to be done, but the old guard also needs to understand that they do not run things.
The old guard are the lifeline of the program and they better like the way things are run, or else you don't have much of an old guard. All you have to do is look at the attendance now.
That is the whole problem. It's not an issue of which guard is running the program. It's of having credible people running the university and athletic department that realize not all people can contribute the same amount and being appreciative of whatever amount each person gives. It is also the administration's responsibility to be sure the program is not run by the boosters, old guard, new guard or big financial donors. That's how most teams get in trouble with the NCAA. I have given a lot of money to the Chiefs/Braves Club for over 40 years. I could care less about, getting a parking pass or special invites to practices or other material things. All I want is a winning and successful athletic program that people are happy to support. It is also important that the next administration, shows appreciation for the efforts of former coaches and players. This administration has failed blatantly at that and has done everything it can to erase the tradition of BU athletics. It's time to try something new...you can see how this has turned out. Better times are ahead, we just don't know when.
Big Mike
Active member
Good post.....agree with this very much
Buesch N Chips
New member
tornado
New member
you're preaching to the choir...we've been saying this for 3-4 years and seeing all the 30, 40, and 50 year fans disappearing and giving up (like the guy in the newspaper this morning) has been painful...
In fact just this morning I was looking at the old pictorial history of Bradley basketball (Victory, Honor, and Glory)
It sure makes ya think - oh, what it used to be like and what it might have been even now had we not thought small and made the horrible administrative moves & choices over the past 5 years or so...
(one trivia fact from the book - the greatest coach Bradley ever had - AJ Robertson - we hired him away from a job as a coach in a Brazilian amateur league!!)
BUT -- we have been making suggestions endlessly...... but nobody listens...
Reinstate the ITOO supper, post-season banquets, and stop raising ticket prices and running the 30-year season ticket holders out of their seats that they have faithfully paid maintenence for (and were ASSURED that as long as they paid their maintenence they'd be able to freely renew and keep their same season seats) - plus bring back the past starts and honor them --
we did it for Chet Walker & Anthony Parker - but both were honored at early-season games at tiny Ren-Col in front of paltry crowds against no-name opponents, Parker at the Texas Pan-American game and Walker - our best player EVER was honored at the stinking Red-White scrimmage!..
If we're gonna honor them - bring them back and honor them in front of a SELLOUT for the ISU game!!!
And here are just a handful of ideas and suggestions fans have come up with that WOULD work but are completely ignored...
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=22573
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23749
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showpost.php?p=284953&postcount=41
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23848
Most BU fans would want to see a halftime show honoring specific teams or players from bygone eras, with a highlight film featured on the scoreboard and an interview at half-court, as opposed to a dog catching a Frisbee. These people would be tremendous ambassadors not only to the athletic department but the entire university. Look at what the Blackhawks have done since Rocky Wirtz has taken over. He's brought back Hull, Makita, Espisito and others, televised home games and brought pride back to the Blackhawks. It's the toughest game to get a ticket to in Chicago. It's all because of common sense. I remember the 70's when BU basketball was not at it's greatest level, but still pretty good. It was packed at the fieldhouse every game and the program was advertised as "The Best Show In Town", and it was. A ticket was so much in demand, the city built a Ciivic Center so more people could see the Braves. Now we have a gargoyle as a public relation ploy and a desire by three idividuals to move games back to campus because they can't produce a product that people want to see. It's that simple. Good things still come to those that wait.
Rick LeHew
New member
great post
Dub
New member
How about the manner in which they unceremoniously rode a Bradley Hall-of-Famer out of town on a rail without so much as a basic general courtesy?? By now, I'm ok with the decision but it could have been enacted with so much more class.
Walker/Parker/Les/etc, I wish we had these as do-overs. It's embarrassing, really.
What I've come to realize clearly over the past 3-5 years is that we as fans actually place higher honor, importance, and respect upon this program (and especially its history) than does the actual paid administration.
It's not so much that their levels are lower than what's "normal," it's that ours are so much higher than what you commonly find. And that's the very definition of special.
