The person in charge of hiring coaches for both teams did not do so. Consequently, they had to finally hire someone at the beginning of the season, and at this point, tryouts will not happen until nearly the of the season for the teams. Since the retirement of the last advisor to Cal Spirit groups, this person is also the person who is responsible for telling the Mic Men, the Rally Committee, and the Band when they are allowed to do anything in the insipid Gameday Experience script written by the Athletic Department.
Name: Craig Peden
Title: Director of Marketing and Game Presentation
Of course, one could also complain to his boss (who is newly hired, because they did not exist until less than a month ago), because Peden has been doing this job for most of the past decade and is the reason the experience at games for fans only gets worse.
Holy cow how ridiculous. I wrote Knowlton a long email in 2019 about the fan experience particularly the lack of organized cheers and the drowning out of the fans on defense with canned hip hop or worse back in black by ac DC. He said that this was what younger audiences wanted. Since I am over 50 at this point who wants to hear that crap from when we were 11 years old? What a load of S---!
IтАЩm sure they would never have me because of my period of regrettable political antagonism with the university. That being said, running the game day experience would be an absolute dream job.
Whoever does this should bring back the best of alumni mic men with some sort of stipend to train the new crew. Retool the sound system to mic the band. Incorporate commercials and sales opportunities into what would basically be run as a live production. Embrace the unique aspects of college sports, rather than hoping to fill a nonexistent professional void.
Honestly it would be fun to write out a detailed plan just as a passion project. There is so much potential for great Cal gameday experiences, but it all involves risk.
Anyway, definitely not saying it is easy. But it can be sooooooo much better.
Some old timers here will remember a long post I did a few years ago on game day experience. It even led to my having lunch with Sandy to hear me out...I won't repeat it here other than to violently agree that yes, it needs to be someone's focus and accountability. No excuse for anything other than an excellent experience top to bottom. The good news is my rant started with the need to retire Starkey...took a while but we got there. Always hopeful, Go Bears!
Is there any official word as to what is going on with the cheer and dance teams' absence?
The person in charge of hiring coaches for both teams did not do so. Consequently, they had to finally hire someone at the beginning of the season, and at this point, tryouts will not happen until nearly the of the season for the teams. Since the retirement of the last advisor to Cal Spirit groups, this person is also the person who is responsible for telling the Mic Men, the Rally Committee, and the Band when they are allowed to do anything in the insipid Gameday Experience script written by the Athletic Department.
Name: Craig Peden
Title: Director of Marketing and Game Presentation
Email: cpeden@berkeley.edu
Of course, one could also complain to his boss (who is newly hired, because they did not exist until less than a month ago), because Peden has been doing this job for most of the past decade and is the reason the experience at games for fans only gets worse.
Name: George Brisbon
Title: Assistant Athletic Director, Marketing
Email: gbrisbon@berkeley.edu
Holy cow how ridiculous. I wrote Knowlton a long email in 2019 about the fan experience particularly the lack of organized cheers and the drowning out of the fans on defense with canned hip hop or worse back in black by ac DC. He said that this was what younger audiences wanted. Since I am over 50 at this point who wants to hear that crap from when we were 11 years old? What a load of S---!
IтАЩm sure they would never have me because of my period of regrettable political antagonism with the university. That being said, running the game day experience would be an absolute dream job.
Whoever does this should bring back the best of alumni mic men with some sort of stipend to train the new crew. Retool the sound system to mic the band. Incorporate commercials and sales opportunities into what would basically be run as a live production. Embrace the unique aspects of college sports, rather than hoping to fill a nonexistent professional void.
Honestly it would be fun to write out a detailed plan just as a passion project. There is so much potential for great Cal gameday experiences, but it all involves risk.
Anyway, definitely not saying it is easy. But it can be sooooooo much better.
Some old timers here will remember a long post I did a few years ago on game day experience. It even led to my having lunch with Sandy to hear me out...I won't repeat it here other than to violently agree that yes, it needs to be someone's focus and accountability. No excuse for anything other than an excellent experience top to bottom. The good news is my rant started with the need to retire Starkey...took a while but we got there. Always hopeful, Go Bears!
Hey hey, there's no need to besmirch Back in Black.