It looks like the Wizards are off to a decent start – the Civic Center was hopping pretty good Saturday night with good attendance. They didn’t look to be in the best of form, but they were able to perform a buzzer-beater win over the Skyforce. With the talent pool they’ve got and Coach Joerger at the helm, I’m sure they’re going to gel quickly.
One secret to the Wizards’s success as a franchise is the way they get local businesses and fans involved in the games. There are plenty of little promos they run during time-outs and quarter breaks to keep the fans entertained. In an area the size of ours, with fans as fickle as ours, that sort of thing is necessary. The Wizards have done very well at it. I’ve got a short memory, but I’d credit Jane Link and Kim Mueller with developing really fun game-day attractions for the fans. The new crew looks to be continuing in the same fashion, so fans shouldn’t be disappointed.
It’s interesting to see how the minor league sports are received here in Bismarck-Mandan. Does anyone remember the Dakota Rattlers? Or the Bismarck Blaze / Roughriders? For some reason they never quite took off. Travel 200 miles east and baseball flourishes, while the basketball flops. But it’s obvious that indoor football doesn’t, and never has, belonged up here in a state where people would much rather enjoy the shorter summers outside.
People really seemed to be enjoying themselves as always at last night’s game, and the numbers usually hang right in there if the team’s season is going well. I spent a lot of time showing cute kids and that kind of thing on the big screen. We don’t have a Kissing Cam promotion this year, so you’re safe! I had made a 30-second animated whizbang to kick off the season, but we actually didn’t have time to run it. That was kind of frustrating since I spent a while animating and remixing music for it, so I’m going to see if we can’t get it going before the starting lineups at the next game. Otherwise I got to be part of the most fun in the place, as our video crew is a group of professionals from around the area that get together and do the Civic Center gigs as a way to hang out and have fun doing what we love.
Actually, the night could have been a real bummer for me: I left the dome lights on in my truck! Fortunately, Lee Timmerman spotted it when he got to the Civic Center. He came and told me and, since I was busy running camera, went out and shut ’em off for me. For some reason my truck’s dome lights (there are many) drain my battery in almost no time.
Don’t forget to check out the Wizards games this year – they’re quite fun. The next home game is Tuesday, December 5th. You can check out their schedule and stats at DakotaWizards.com, which will redirect to their NBA Development League site.