The Jumbotron question

A couple years ago, Bradley and the Peoria Civic Center moved into the 21st Century with a new scoreboard complete with Jumbotron monitor. The results have been mixed. The positives are that they no longer need to bring in the large projection screen that obstructed some seats for the IHSA State Tournament, and everybody loves to see themselves on a screen of any sort.

However, my concern is that the negative results far outweigh the positives. And it may not even be the fault of the product as it is the result of it's management. And I am not talking about the buzzer getting stuck for 8-plus minutes in just it's second or third game. I'm talking about the commercials. I certainly understand that the bills need to be paid, and sponsors are the ones who pay them. But I have serious qualms about situations where the breaks in a college basketball game are dominated with televion commercials.

It was bad enough that a couple years ago the team abandoned the band in favor of Fitty-cent in an effort to increase fan participation (ironic how 'In the Club' kept the Chiefs Club members in the clubhouse even longer). An effort which proved embarrassing as fans became less involved. Don't get me wrong, either. . .I want the players to be pumped up. But there could've been other music out there that both the team and the demographic of it's fan base could've fed off of. But, obviously, rap isn't the answer. So at least they corrected those faults and gave the time back to the band. Unfortunately, when you have an older fan base, when people get out of the habit of doing something, they forget. The damage has been done, as the crowd scarcely responds to the efforts of the band.

But now we have to deal with Dennis Franz and a heartwarming video tour of Methodist Hospital, which I can sum up in one word "Trust". Give me a break. Take the band out of the player intros/starting lineups/etc, take them out of the timeouts. It's no wonder even the band has shrunk to about one-third the size it was 6-7 years ago. And kids can even take it for credit now. But it's an awful lot of commitment for something the kids scarcely get to participate in. And I think it's safe to say the band has been the leader in terms of student groups the last half-dozen years. The cheers originate from the band. The clapping and chanting originates from the band. What a slap to the face, especially when the admin is harping at the band to be more involved.

But, I didn't intend for this to be about the band. It's about putting the college back in college basketball. I had the opportunity to attend a game between Bradley and DePaul at AllState Arena last year. They also had a similar jumbotron monitor. And though they had some commercials, they certainly weren't oppressive or controlling in the way they are exposed in Peoria.

I believe winning heals a lot of wounds, and will solve most of the problems of student attendance, interest, etc. However, it is clear that taking opportunities to participate away from the students, you are only making it that much more difficult to bring them back. And to me, that all changed when the Jumbotron was raised in Carver Arena.