Where were you on Friday night? The correct answer to that questions is Winter Classic. The men's hockey team got thrashed by the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns, 4-1. The hockey may not have been pretty, but the 3,500 fans in the crowd were a sight to see.
People were dressed up in UBC gear — although it wasn't matching, get your shit together already bookstore — drinking beer and cheering on the team. When the team was down 3-0 and Scott MacDonald finally put the ’Birds on the board, the stadium exploded. It was an unreal scene. People were proud to be a Thunderbird and were invested in the game. Even more importantly, people were having fun and felt part of a UBC community. It’s what campus has been dreaming up for decades.
Too bad it only happens twice a year.
I've only been at UBC for two years and, in that time, I can count the number of times I've felt that the university is one big family on one hand — Homecoming 2014 and 2015 as well as Winter Classic 2015 and 2016.
You can throw out all sorts of excuses about why people don't come out to sports games — the stadiums are too far from everything, UBC students don't care, blah blah blah — there are hundreds. They are all a pile of steaming Thunderbird guano. Students will come to games and students will have fun at those games, if they are promoted right.
Homecoming and Winter Classic have proven two years in a row that UBC will come out and cheer the ’Birds on.
So UBC — that means students, the Athletics department, student clubs, the Thunderbird Athletic Council and anyone else I'm forgetting — I have a challenge for you: bring out 1,500 fans to a game each month for the rest of the year.
Let's set the ground rules. To win, 1,500 fans must attend a Thunderbird's varsity game in February and March. I'll let April slide because most seasons are over and it's finals season. No cheating by busing fans in (looking at you Athletics). Just to be sure, let's say the fans have to come under their own volition — no chains, handcuffs or weird stuff like that.
I'll even give you some help, UBC. HERE'S HOW TO DO IT:
- Picking the game in March is easy. UBC has already started advertising the CIS Men's Basketball Final 8.
- Let's pick women's basketball game on February 20. Why? Well, it gives everyone enough time to advertise and because it's 2016, so let's show the women's team some love.
- Now how to bring people out? Here's my easy two-step solution.
1. Beer. Offer cheap beer at the game. That's at least 500 people right there.
2. Social media. Yup, brilliant I know. Have UBC, Athletics, The Calendar, the AMS and athletes post the crap out of a flashy graphic or two. Hell, I might even pick it up at The Ubyssey.
People go to sports games at UBC when their friends go. Games aren't about the games — they are about having a good time. Make an event out of it, make it the thing to do on Friday night and students will come.
So UBC, what are you waiting for?
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