Gameday Operations Question

[BonafideJacket]

I live out-of-state and due to life changes and then TFG, last Saturday was my first game back at BDS@HGF since CPJ's last year. A lot has changed, some of it for the better, but I noticed that much of the gameday operations seemed out-of-sync (for lack of a better term).

There is a lot that is subject to individual taste and I don't really have a comment on that, but there is some stuff that a P5 program should be able to easily avoid. Things like the video board playing over the band (or maybe vice versa), the scoreboard or PA announcer being completely wrong on down/distance/field position at least once a possession, and the clock operator fat-fingering referee requests.

I will say that every single staff member I interacted with was amazingly kind and helpful and the operations outside the stadium and entering the stadium were top-notch. It's just the in-game experience that was head-scratching. Was this a one-time thing where the operations crew was in the same funk as the team or is this a consistent issue?

 

[MWBATL]

I live out-of-state and due to life changes and then TFG, last Saturday was my first game back at BDS@HGF since CPJ's last year. A lot has changed, some of it for the better, but I noticed that much of the gameday operations seemed out-of-sync (for lack of a better term).

There is a lot that is subject to individual taste and I don't really have a comment on that, but there is some stuff that a P5 program should be able to easily avoid. Things like the video board playing over the band (or maybe vice versa), the scoreboard or PA announcer being completely wrong on down/distance/field position at least once a possession, and the clock operator fat-fingering referee requests.

I will say that every single staff member I interacted with was amazingly kind and helpful and the operations outside the stadium and entering the stadium were top-notch. It's just the in-game experience that was head-scratching. Was this a one-time thing where the operations crew was in the same funk as the team or is this a consistent issue?

Must have been an off week all the way around at GT last weekend (but I noticed many of the same issues).

 

[RonJohn]

I have been saying this for a while. The gameday experience at UCF was similar. Ole Miss was better. Notre Dame was like a Broadway production. GT should be able to do much better.

At least the PA announcer was calling out the correct names in that game.

 

[FlatsLander]

I wasn't at the game, and I only watched our last 2 possessions, but whoever chose to play Spice Girls while we were getting blasted at home by Bowling Green should be fired.

 

[Randy Carson]

It was a trap game.

The operations crew was looking ahead to Boston College.

 

[Sarrick]

As a band alumni, I have a bit of info. So when Collins showed up, there was a big push to make a change and add more stadium music among other new traditions (cough "money down"). Previously they relied a lot more on the band. It seems like they still haven't found that balance yet between the two.

 

[kittysniper101]

As a band alumni, I have a bit of info. So when Collins showed up, there was a big push to make a change and add more stadium music among other new traditions (cough "money down"). Previously they relied a lot more on the band. It seems like they still haven't found that balance yet between the two.

They didn’t even play good stadium music. I was enrolled 2010-2016 and they managed to play music that had energy like “all the way turnt up” and “put on”
I don’t recall a single “energy” song last Saturday. Seemed like the whole experience was geared towards the least offensive songs that the whole family could enjoy

 

[bucknellbison31]

I have been saying this for a while. The gameday experience at UCF was similar. Ole Miss was better. Notre Dame was like a Broadway production. GT should be able to do much better.

At least the PA announcer was calling out the correct names in that game.

The Ole Miss PA guy misstated the down and distance damn near every time lol

 

[bobongo]

I liked the old days when it wasn't a production, it was a football game. There were two bands, two sets of cheerleaders, a scoreboard, and one PA announcer who stayed mostly silent.
Less is more.

 

[MWBATL]

I liked the old days when it wasn't a production, it was a football game. There were two bands, two sets of cheerleaders, a scoreboard, and one PA announcer who stayed mostly silent.
Less is more.

You forgot “and get off my lawn”.

 

[bobongo]

You forgot “and get off my lawn”.

I guess, but I really miss hearing live bands play without having to suffer the indignity of having to compete with amplified, canned music that we can hear anywhere.

 

[RonJohn]

I guess, but I really miss hearing live bands play without having to suffer the indignity of having to compete with amplified, canned music that we can hear anywhere.

I posted this last year about gameday at ND in 2021.

I have posted several times about being impressed with the gameday production at the ND game last year. For every false start that GT committed, (and there were several in that game) they played a history of false starts by opposing teams in that stadium. The video board and sound attributed the false starts to the fans in the stands. On GT third downs, they played a video to get the fans making noise. Then when GT failed to make a first down (and there were multiple times in that game) they played a celebratory video thanking the fans for making noise and helping out. I don't think I would change the band playing chords, nor the announcer saying it's third down. However, we could have a video of fans screaming in addition to the "get loud" being posted on the side screens. I wouldn't play the celebratory song that they played at ND, (the old Six Flags theme song) but get something up there that makes the fans feel as if they are part of the game.

Another thing at ND was the quality of the video replays. However, I can understand that difference, because ND was using the NBC feed for the replays instead of making them in house.

I think the largest issue is the coordination. At ND, the video board showed the false start video immediately after a false start was called. There wasn't a delay. The band didn't jump in front of it. The PA guy didn't talk over it. No music played over it. It was like everybody knew beforehand exactly what would happen in that situation, and then everybody acted in a coordinated fashion.

The gameday at GT seems very disorganized. Sound system music plays on top of the band. The PA guy gets GT players' names wrong. They did TWO pick your song votes during the last game. It seems very random when the DJ guy on the field, or the band, or the video board are going to do things. The on the field recognitions seem to take forever. This is probably just a feeling on my part, but it seems like there are dead time, then there are times when they are trying to do a lot of stuff at the same time.

If done well, the video board, the PA guy, the band, the on field recognitions, the dancers, etc. can all add to the experience instead of being an annoyance. GT does not do those things well. (Not saying the band is bad nor the dancers, just saying the overall experience isn't put together well.)

 

[Lil G]

Have to say the guy who gets on the video board and starts trying to hype people up is so cringe.

Maybe I’m just getting old but I just want the history of GT football video to play, the lineups, and then just fan cams.

 

[AUFC]

The Ole Miss PA guy misstated the down and distance damn near every time lol

They did a great job of classically conditioning you with that subwoofer bass drop that would happen a millisecond after the 2nd down pass was incomplete. Dreaded that for multiple reasons.