Did you know?

Did you know that each semester, you pay $35 in printing fees as part of your tuition?

Did you know that regardless of how much you print on campus, you get none of this money back?

Did you know that this amounts to thousands of unused pages that you paid for but never get?

Did you know that each black and white page you print at Mizzou costs a nickel?  That with that $35 each semester, you have already bought 700 pages?  And in January, you’ll get 700 more?

Did you know that if I added up all the paper I’ve used in five years at Mizzou, I wouldn’t even use one semester’s worth?  And I print A LOT.

 

I point this out for a reason.  Perhaps it’s a bit of a selfish one, but it has the potential to benefit many of us.  I grew up in Columbia, raised as a huge fan of the Tigers.  I watched Norm coach our perfect conference season.  I saw Quin take us to the Elite Eight, then piss it all away with free flip flops and a crashed ATV.  And now I’m seeing Mike Anderson and his players bust their asses, trying to get us back to where we once were.  

What I don’t see are fans in the seats.

Most of us don’t even remember the good days of Mizzou basketball.  Our memories start with Quin’s failures.  I can’t really blame anyone who just isn’t a fan.  What’s the program really done to get people interested?  Quite honestly, there have been more embarrassments than successes.

 

But I hope for more.

 

I hope for a student section that gets there early and stays late.  I hope for ESPN specials about the Antlers and the Zou Crew (as pathetic as they sometimes are).  I hope we get quotes every week from opposing players about how goddamn LOUD it was in Mizzou Arena.  I hope we can help make this program into something great again.

 

And we can.  It will take work, but we can.

 

There are 4,000 student tickets to every Mizzou home game.  Anyone who’s been to Faurot Field this year can tell you there are well over 4,000 students who bought an all sports pass.  These tickets are going unused.  Whatever the reason, students just aren’t going.

 

Let’s make that end.

 

Like I said, you’ve got 700 pages every semester of free paper and ink.  They make you buy it, so you might as well use it.  We have five more home games for the fall semester, then eight home conference games starting in January.  That’s thirteen more games, and 1,400 pages.  Kill some trees and put that paper to work.

Open a word file.  Pick your favorite font and bump that baby up to 72 and bold.  

 

MU BASKETBALL

11/30/08

3:00

BE THERE

 

Or be more creative.  Whatever you think will catch attention and make students think.  Put our basketball team on their mind.  

Put this web address at the bottom and print off 25.  Post them on the doors outside the dorms, the dining halls and the major classroom buildings on campus.  Five people posting 25 fliers will cover much of campus.  Five more people seeing the flier, finding this site and making their own covers campus even more.  One hundred students printing 25 fliers for every home game covers all the glass on every door in Columbia.

 

Don’t let “oh, well, I didn’t know” be an excuse.  The tickets are there, and they’re damn near free.  This team is young, energetic, and EXCITING!  I know, it’s hard to believe. . .  a Mizzou basketball team that you actually want to watch.  But this ain’t fiction, people.  This is reality, if you want it to be.

And remember, it’s free.

~ by jdbtx5 on November 18, 2008.