The STU feels like Poo

[WillWeaverRVA]

One quick thought on the atmosphere: You've got two new hires really since 2019, Rebecca Piner and Kevin Dwan, who might not be as familiar with our preferred vibe and what made the atmosphere so special back during the Shaka era and through Wade even, what made the Siegel Center as Rothstein says, "More life altering than a 10-day trip to Europe". Rebecca was hired in 2019 and is a South Carolina grad. Dwan is actually an '06 VCU Center for Sport Leadership grad (and a great dude...I worked with him over at UofR when I was doing my externship finishing that same grad program), but has been everywhere but VCU since then. Needless to say, neither was here during the glory days, although Dwan is likely a bit more familiar with it (although when you work in sports administration, it's not like you are chilling at other teams' games in you free time). It's kinda like we've been going to the same barber for 10 years, then all of a sudden that barber is no longer available and you get some new guy and he jacks up your sh** because he doesn't really understand what you like. Maybe those folks just need some help understanding what Ram fans like and what you can't mess with.

Related note: If you go to the game on Saturday, please take videos of the atmosphere and your beefs with it (film promotions, film timeouts, the band, the intros, the dance team, etc) and email them to me at [email protected] or tweet the videos and Tag VCURamNation. I think I'm gonna try and put together a little article on the subject, trying to document how things have fallen off and hopefully we can work toward getting this car out of the ditch and back on the highway.

This is an excellent idea! Hopefully by bringing some attention to it there can be some real changes made.

 

[Ramaholic]

It seems like VCU Athletic Dept has gone out of its way to remove what was VCU and replace it with what they think VCU should be. They removed a ton of existing staff and replaced them with transplants from states away that have no connection to our heritage. Heck, the fact that @Natty and some others here went thru the same program as Dwan but don't work in the Dept is indicative of the root problem. There have been so many people and authentic grass root movements removed or over-managed to the point they are no longer recognizable -Ryan, Rams Club, Rowdies, Travel buses to away games, gatherings for all (not just $10k donors)... that the atomic level interaction that grew organically between the fans and the program is no longer there. They have removed what we had -brick by brick, and replaced it with we have. I don't even think you can make the argument that it is for the $$ because even that is waning now. I like your intentions @Natty, but I am not sure how effective it will be. I guess it can't hurt.

 

[Mercury]

Hopefully the athletic department is open to understanding the root issue of the issues and does not attempt to pass atmosphere problems off as due to COVID.

The disconnect started before the pandemic.

 

[rambunctiousrowdyram]

We do that every year, though. Virginia 529 is a long-time sponsor, and it's actually a popular promotion.

I know but doesn’t that seem a bit tone deaf? I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks that’s weird. Got a half empty arena due to covid, other schools nearby not having fans, demanding masks, telling students to get vaccinated, etc but have a bunch of unprotected babies crawl across our court. I feel like you could have just done that virtual and put it up on the screen or something.

 

[WillWeaverRVA]

I know but doesn’t that seem a bit tone deaf? I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks that’s weird. Got a half empty arena due to covid, other schools nearby not having fans, demanding masks, telling students to get vaccinated, etc but have a bunch of unprotected babies crawl across our court. I feel like you could have just done that virtual and put it up on the screen or something.

Good point.

 

[SpiderRAM]

One quick thought on the atmosphere: You've got two new hires really since 2019, Rebecca Piner and Kevin Dwan, who might not be as familiar with our preferred vibe and what made the atmosphere so special back during the Shaka era and through Wade even, what made the Siegel Center as Rothstein says, "More life altering than a 10-day trip to Europe". Rebecca was hired in 2019 and is a South Carolina grad. Dwan is actually an '06 VCU Center for Sport Leadership grad (and a great dude...I worked with him over at UofR when I was doing my externship finishing that same grad program), but has been everywhere but VCU since then. Needless to say, neither was here during the glory days, although Dwan is likely a bit more familiar with it (although when you work in sports administration, it's not like you are chilling at other teams' games in you free time). It's kinda like we've been going to the same barber for 10 years, then all of a sudden that barber is no longer available and you get some new guy and he jacks up your sh** because he doesn't really understand what you like. Maybe those folks just need some help understanding what Ram fans like and what you can't mess with.

Related note: If you go to the game on Saturday, please take videos of the atmosphere and your beefs with it (film promotions, film timeouts, the band, the intros, the dance team, etc) and email them to me at [email protected] or tweet the videos and Tag VCURamNation. I think I'm gonna try and put together a little article on the subject, trying to document how things have fallen off and hopefully we can work toward getting this car out of the ditch and back on the highway.

Great plan!

 

[VCU85]

It's amateur hour with the girl doing the promos, and feels like a U of R game.

 

[theyaintwantit]

So I just saw it on Facebook we’re doing a diaper derby. I’m not sure about the optics when we got VUU down the street not letting anyone in. We’re half empty because people don’t feel comfortable coming. But we’re gonna have babies race across our court.

Watching babies race on the hardwood is more exciting than most of our promotions. Bring it on!

 

[Natty]

It seems like VCU Athletic Dept has gone out of its way to remove what was VCU and replace it with what they think VCU should be. They removed a ton of existing staff and replaced them with transplants from states away that have no connection to our heritage. Heck, the fact that @Natty and some others here went thru the same program as Dwan but don't work in the Dept is indicative of the root problem. There have been so many people and authentic grass root movements removed or over-managed to the point they are no longer recognizable -Ryan, Rams Club, Rowdies, Travel buses to away games, gatherings for all (not just $10k donors)... that the atomic level interaction that grew organically between the fans and the program is no longer there. They have removed what we had -brick by brick, and replaced it with we have. I don't even think you can make the argument that it is for the $$ because even that is waning now. I like your intentions @Natty, but I am not sure how effective it will be. I guess it can't hurt.

I gotta say I met up with Danny O'Brian recently and loved talking with him. He's a great guy with a TON of connections in hoops and all of our former players love him. I think they had some unique problems to solve when they got here ("hey, how do we actually pay for all this growth and make this sustainable?") and are dealing with some challenges now, but I think they are 100% open to improving. I think my ultimate goal as a fan with a nice resource in VCURamNation.com is to hopefully be a part of the solution. Maybe I'm naive, but I think we all here as diehard fans can make some positive changes happen. All those dudes I've chatted with I believe are actual legit nice human beings and open to making this place great.

 

[theyaintwantit]

One quick thought on the atmosphere: You've got two new hires really since 2019, Rebecca Piner and Kevin Dwan, who might not be as familiar with our preferred vibe and what made the atmosphere so special back during the Shaka era and through Wade even, what made the Siegel Center as Rothstein says, "More life altering than a 10-day trip to Europe". Rebecca was hired in 2019 and is a South Carolina grad. Dwan is actually an '06 VCU Center for Sport Leadership grad (and a great dude...I worked with him over at UofR when I was doing my externship finishing that same grad program), but has been everywhere but VCU since then. Needless to say, neither was here during the glory days, although Dwan is likely a bit more familiar with it (although when you work in sports administration, it's not like you are chilling at other teams' games in you free time). It's kinda like we've been going to the same barber for 10 years, then all of a sudden that barber is no longer available and you get some new guy and he jacks up your sh** because he doesn't really understand what you like. Maybe those folks just need some help understanding what Ram fans like and what you can't mess with.

Related note: If you go to the game on Saturday, please take videos of the atmosphere and your beefs with it (film promotions, film timeouts, the band, the intros, the dance team, etc) and email them to me at [email protected] or tweet the videos and Tag VCURamNation. I think I'm gonna try and put together a little article on the subject, trying to document how things have fallen off and hopefully we can work toward getting this car out of the ditch and back on the highway.

Natty - this is a great idea. Bringing issues to potential decision makers in a constructive way is probably our best option to bring back the atmosphere of The Stu that we *used* love.

There are a few VCU fans on twitter who just love to dunk on the fact that Ed & the Athletic Dept only talk to higher donors and rich folks. B1tching like that does NOTHING so I think taking pictures and videos and sending it to a long time media member - Natty - is an awesome way to try to solve a problem.

 

[theyaintwantit]

It seems like VCU Athletic Dept has gone out of its way to remove what was VCU and replace it with what they think VCU should be. They removed a ton of existing staff and replaced them with transplants from states away that have no connection to our heritage. Heck, the fact that @Natty and some others here went thru the same program as Dwan but don't work in the Dept is indicative of the root problem. There have been so many people and authentic grass root movements removed or over-managed to the point they are no longer recognizable -Ryan, Rams Club, Rowdies, Travel buses to away games, gatherings for all (not just $10k donors)... that the atomic level interaction that grew organically between the fans and the program is no longer there. They have removed what we had -brick by brick, and replaced it with we have. I don't even think you can make the argument that it is for the $$ because even that is waning now. I like your intentions @Natty, but I am not sure how effective it will be. I guess it can't hurt.

Whether it's healthy or not, college athletics has long been a field that typically has a ton of turnover. Certain jobs have contracts and individuals are always on the lookout for potential growth (within the current Athletic Dept or another school's Athletic Dept).

Unless I am completely naïve, I don't recall the current VCU Athletic Dept *removing* staff members.

 

[SpiderRAM]

Watching babies race on the hardwood is more exciting than most of our promotions. Bring it on!

The baby races are always adorable but why are we encouraging bringing babies with their immature immune systems out in this poorly masked crowd during this surge in the global pandemic?! HDH is closing their inpatient pediatric units. All the hospitals urgent care centers are maxed out. SMH.

 

[VCU Heel]

The baby races are always adorable but why are we encouraging bringing babies with their immature immune systems out in this poorly masked crowd during this surge in the global pandemic?! HDH is closing their inpatient pediatric units. All the hospitals urgent care centers are maxed out. SMH.

I agree with all of that, but HCA is only closing its pediatric units at the Forest location and consolidating that care to the Chippenham location. It’s a financial decision and probably has a lot to do with VCU getting close to opening their new pediatric hospital. Forest will continue to have a NICU.

 

[RowdyPkunk]

Hopefully the athletic department is open to understanding the root issue of the issues and does not attempt to pass atmosphere problems off as due to COVID.

The disconnect started before the pandemic.

Highly doubt it... because lets be honest... the root of the issues (pre-covid) started with the AD changing everything around about how things were done.... thinking we're Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, UNC or some other Blue Blood.... when we are no where even close to that. And while I get their job is to bring money into the program.... you've heard the old expression... if it ain't broke don't fix it? Well we had a GREAT thing going.... and they changed stuff... and what do you know... it's gone down hill fast ever since.... and Covid only made it worse.

 

[VCU Heel]

Highly doubt it... because lets be honest... the root of the issues (pre-covid) started with the AD changing everything around about how things were done.... thinking we're Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, UNC or some other Blue Blood.... when we are no where even close to that. And while I get their job is to bring money into the program.... you've heard the old expression... if it ain't broke don't fix it? Well we had a GREAT thing going.... and they changed stuff... and what do you know... it's gone down hill fast ever since.... and Covid only made it worse.

They do have to find ways to get additional revenue though. I’d love to see a chart of the basketball program’s budget pre-Final Four through today, as well as one for the athletic department in general.