Gold Out vs. Wisconsin

Donate To GopherHole
G

GoGophers2005

Active member
Joined
Nov 25, 2008
Messages
2,001
Reaction score
0
Points
36
Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Wisconsin Badgers
Saturday, October 3, 2009
TCF Bank Stadium
Kick-off: TBA
TV/Radio: WCCO 830
Game Day Activities:
Solid Gold Saturday!!! All Fans are encouraged to WEAR GOLD to GOLD OUT TCF Bank Stadium while we shut out the Badgers!!!! WEAR GOLD!! TELL your friends!

Pre-Game Party on McNamara Plaza:
Begins 3 hours prior to kick off, includes food & beverages, interactive games, face painting, music, spirit squads Goldy and other guest appearances.

Gopher Victory Walk:
2 hours prior to kick off

Greet the players and coaches as they exit their team buses and walk to the stadium. Join the U of M Marching Band, Spirit Squads, Goldy and other Gopher Fans to form an exciting tunnel of maroon and gold for the team and gear them up for their big game!!!

Gopher Victory Walk to be led by former Gopher Players and Palermo’s Honorary Captain with Goldy and the Tailgate Patrol

In-Game Activities:
Don’t miss the pre-game ceremonies and be in the stadium 30 minutes prior to kick off to view the pre-game band show on the field

Game Sponsor: Land ‘O Lakes

Student Giveaway: Card Stunt
 

I hope this changes but I really don't like the gold outs. I do my part but there is something about the fan base that just doesn't get it. At last year's Michigan game I found myself distracted by the (at least) 40% that didn't appear to "get the memo". To make matters worse, at most retail outlets gold Gopher gear is hard to come by. We were taking some friends to the Michigan game last year and I knew they didn't have any gold Gopher gear. So, I stopped in at a few mall stores and Kohls hoping to find gold sweatshirts or tshirts for them. It was REALLY HARD to find non-maroon gear. I finally had to settle for gold youth tshirts (no gold adult gear) for the gals while I had additional existing gold gear to share with the the other guys.

Anyway, I would like nothing better than to see a sea of gold, and I'll do my part. I just won't be holding my breath. Perhaps to really make this work they are going to have to have some sort of promotion and put gold shirts on the chairs.
 

Bad idea. 1. It's copy cat and who cares. 2. As Schnauzer hinted, they tried this before and it was essentially no different than any other game. The lone ray of hope is that they are giving people 2 months to prepare for this instead of 2 weeks.
 

When will they announce the start time for the game? Isn't there some rule that it has to be announced in a certain time frame to allow teams and fans to prepare?
 

Remember guys...

New stadium, smaller capacity,and from what has been reported many of the old timers didn't renew because of the outside venue and priority seating. No, I think this time the "goldout" will
catch.
 


Sans the 7,000-10,000 B*dger fans, yeah, it should work OK this time. It would still work a lot better if the marketing dept put a shirt on every seat (obviously) but that won't happen.
 

GopherJack said:
When will they announce the start time for the game? Isn't there some rule that it has to be announced in a certain time frame to allow teams and fans to prepare?
Click to expand...

I don't believe its required until two weeks prior to the game, so it may very well not be announced until sometime in September.
 

Geeez I hate the term "Gold Out" Lame, lame, lame!

"Solid Gold Saturday" or even "Tremendously Gold", or "Pure Gold" are so much better.... But that's just me....
 

Schnauzer said:
To make matters worse, at most retail outlets gold Gopher gear is hard to come by. We were taking some friends to the Michigan game last year and I knew they didn't have any gold Gopher gear. So, I stopped in at a few mall stores and Kohls hoping to find gold sweatshirts or tshirts for them. It was REALLY HARD to find non-maroon gear. I finally had to settle for gold youth tshirts (no gold adult gear) for the gals while I had additional existing gold gear to share with the the other guys.
Click to expand...

I recommend shopping at one of the 3 Gold Country locations around the campus (next to Sally's in Stadium Village, 14th Ave & 4th St SE in Dinkytown, or on the SW corner of the stadium) for Gopher gear instead of trying Kohl's. The bookstore in Coffman is another good choice.
 



well I sure hope they put it on the tickets themselves. How hard would that be?
 

It's a copycat of who? Who invented the "wear only one color to a sporting event"? And if one team invented it, surely there are plenty others out there who have been copying it. Much like ANYTHING else at sporting events - cheers, festivities, etc are rarely incredibly unique to a single school.

I've said it before, but here are my main reasons why I think it's "cool" or worth it to do:
- It looks intimidating. Period. I didn't believe fans could actually look intimidating until I was on the ice during a hockey game at Mariucci. All the fans right there on top of you is an intimidating sight, and would have been even more so if they were wearing one color.
- It's good for recruiting. It shows the Gopher fans are coordinated/excited enough about football that they could all get together and wear one color. National media would pay that much more attention to us if our fans could pull this off - certainly works for Penn State and other schools that do it (remember Iowa had the yellow out against OSU 3 years back and it was all they could talk about).
- It's good for the atmosphere - how could having everyone in one color not get everyone pumped?

I'm aware that people only have so much Gopher gear and a lot of it is maroon. However, there are plenty of options, especially if you are willing to spend the money at Goldy's Locker Room (which there will be one at... the STADIUM). There is one at the Rosedale Mall and Burnsville mall, I believe. I also recognize that being outdoor, there are even less options for people when wanting to wear gold. HOWEVER, I know there are long sleeved tees, sweatshirts, replica jerseys, and other things that are sold in gold that work as an outter layer of gold. That's if it is even cold, but I am guessing the WI game won't be.

I don't know why people pout about the U putting an effort in to making games more marketable. We complain about the lack of that all the time.
 

I like the gold outs. Heck, fans in most stadiums are all in one color whether they do a special promotion or not. This is the what college football has become and I think it's great to try to get us headed in that direction, even if it hasn't been that successful. I thought there was more gold at the Michigan game last year than there has been at other similar efforts. Baby steps.

Our problem is that we have two primary colors. That's not a bad thing, either. Maroon and gold can look good together, and LSU usually looks good with purple and gold. But it does make a gold out harder. And it is true that they just don't sell a lot of good gold stuff. I don't know why they can't figure out that if they don't sell it people can't buy it.

I do hope it's warm that day. When you think about how few people will wear gold T-shirts to a game, consider how many have gold jackets.
 

grunkiejr said:
I recommend shopping at one of the 3 Gold Country locations around the campus (next to Sally's in Stadium Village, 14th Ave & 4th St SE in Dinkytown, or on the SW corner of the stadium) for Gopher gear instead of trying Kohl's. The bookstore in Coffman is another good choice.
Click to expand...

I hear you and I agree. In this case, I wasn't shopping for me (I had, and continue to have my own gold gear) - I was shopping for my guests over my lunch hour. The mall was my only option and it was pretty sparse in terms of gold Gopher gear. I was just trying to go the extra mile to ensure everyone in my party was participating in the gold out. I was committed... but not soooooo committed I was willing to take time off of work to buy proper gear for my guests. I just included this example because it illustrates how difficult it can be for some to participate in a gold out. Unless you are able to visit campus or perhaps order on line far in advance... it can be difficult for casual fans to participate... adding another ingredient to the recipe for a failed gold out.
 



Maverick said:
Geeez I hate the term "Gold Out" Lame, lame, lame!

"Solid Gold Saturday" or even "Tremendously Gold", or "Pure Gold" are so much better.... But that's just me....
Click to expand...

Even better still, how about not trying to force people to wear what you want them to wear?
 

RailBaronYarr said:
It's a copycat of who? Who invented the "wear only one color to a sporting event"? And if one team invented it, surely there are plenty others out there who have been copying it. Much like ANYTHING else at sporting events - cheers, festivities, etc are rarely incredibly unique to a single school.
Click to expand...
The copy-cat thing is when schools use the "_____ Out" terminology...Penn State pretty much has a copywrite on that term, plus only White Out and Black Out sound ok...Gold Out, Red Out, Blue Out, etc all sound odd. The idea itself to all wear one color isn't so original that it makes us copycats, but how it gets marketed could be. That's why I like that they refer to them as Solid Gold Saturdays...that's original.
RailBaronYarr said:
- It's good for recruiting. It shows the Gopher fans are coordinated/excited enough about football that they could all get together and wear one color. National media would pay that much more attention to us if our fans could pull this off - certainly works for Penn State and other schools that do it (remember Iowa had the yellow out against OSU 3 years back and it was all they could talk about).
Click to expand...
I'd rather the media not pay attention to it because even if we pull it off and get the whole stadium doing it it still won't compare to the media's "standard" which is Penn State. I love the idea, but I think its a good idea for the other reasons you mention versus media attention. On a side note, I'm pretty sure the Iowa game in '06 was a Black Out.
RailBaronYarr said:
I don't know why people pout about the U putting an effort in to making games more marketable. We complain about the lack of that all the time.
Click to expand...
Second this.
 


It doesn't have to be Gopher wear. Just Gold. I just purchased a new "old gold" fleece top that will look great on 10/3!
 



I think that night game was a gold out:

Check it out

I guess I see your point on the media comparison to PSU, but if we are all gold, we're all gold. Nothing they can say BAD about it. We would need to match the energy at PSU for it to be something truly noteworthy. Against WI, new stadium, Big 10 home opener, especially if we are sitting 3-1 or 4-1 at that point... gotta believe a hoppin atmosphere is probable.
 


Personally, I like the "Gold-Out" idea. I think it worked pretty well in 2007 versus Ohio State (on minimal notice). The athletic office just needs to make sure that they get the word out. To those who say it won't work well because it didn't in the past, I say 2009 is the new beginning. We should throw away our old conceptions about the Gophers fanbase and develop new ones going forward.

And I hereby give special permission for dpodoll68 to wear whatever he wants :cool:
 

GoAUpher said:
The copy-cat thing is when schools use the "_____ Out" terminology...Penn State pretty much has a copywrite on that term, plus only White Out and Black Out sound ok...Gold Out, Red Out, Blue Out, etc all sound odd. The idea itself to all wear one color isn't so original that it makes us copycats, but how it gets marketed could be. That's why I like that they refer to them as Solid Gold Saturdays...that's original.
Click to expand...

Exactly. First, we're just ripping off the same marketing ideas from other schools. I don't understand the need to try and be like everyone else? But if you're going to do it, at least put your own spin on it.

Second, we tried a "gold out" last year and it was a joke. Maybe I'm over analyzing, but when you try to be like everyone else and do a "gold out", and then the results are NOT like everyone else and half the people wear maroon as they normally do, it's a failure. The weak attempt last year was embarrassing to the U for having failed in our attempt to be like everyone else. For the U's sake, I hope they market the heck out of this so at least people get it this time.
 

gopher7 said:
Exactly. First, we're just ripping off the same marketing ideas from other schools. I don't understand the need to try and be like everyone else? But if you're going to do it, at least put your own spin on it.

Second, we tried a "gold out" last year and it was a joke. Maybe I'm over analyzing, but when you try to be like everyone else and do a "gold out", and then the results are NOT like everyone else and half the people wear maroon as they normally do, it's a failure. The weak attempt last year was embarrassing to the U for having failed in our attempt to be like everyone else. For the U's sake, I hope they market the heck out of this so at least people get it this time.
Click to expand...

The Gold Out was not embarrassing for the U, it was embarrassing for our fans, because we can't do something as simple as wearing the right color shirt to the game.
 


Awesome GG2005!

You deserve credit for advance planning and enthusiasm. Pay no attention to the duds who have nothing to offer but criticism. If you want to spread the news and get some help, contact the GLC, the Alumni association, student groups, and Football marketing. You really need everyone on board.
 

Couldn't our Marketing People be more original?

The University of Minnesota is a great University with creative minds and deep thinkers. I see more deep/creative thinking going on with this board than what I see coming out of the people responsible for marketing the Gopher Football program. Next thing you know, they'll be playing Enter Sandman as the team goes out on the field. /sarcasm off/

These are all great ideas, but they're someone elses ideas and we've seen it all before. Rule number one of Branding:

1) When you copy someone elses idea, if you actually pull it off as good or better, the best you can do is to have people say that you pulled off a copied idea. The worst they can say is it was lame and a poor reflection on who you are.

I think we need to let the marketing people know that there are other ideas - or, perhaps they're too arrogant to listen to the deep thinkers of the GopherHole.

I'll get it started - why not turn Cardinal Red into Pink? We should all get Pink Towels or pom-pons to wave when Wisconsin goes on the field. Perhaps this isn't the best idea, but I think we could at least brainstorm a few ideas to get something unique (or at least not over used)

Rant over.

GO GOPHERS!!
 

Omega015 said:
The Gold Out was not embarrassing for the U, it was embarrassing for our fans, because we can't do something as simple as wearing the right color shirt to the game.
Click to expand...

I was unaware there is a "right color shirt" to wear to Gophers games.

I have always been under the impression that we have two school colors.

Has this recently been changed to gold only?

Can you provide a link?
 

I like the gold out idea. If we get the gold out down, we might be able to handle people wearing the color of the seat they are in. That would be a very cool effect.

It's not that hard to find gold gopher gear. I found a Columbia gold fleece at Marshall's for $25. You just have to look.

With the gold out planned for the wisc game, I'm thinking we might see the all gold uniforms being broken out. Anyone else think so?
 

gopher7 said:
Exactly. First, we're just ripping off the same marketing ideas from other schools. I don't understand the need to try and be like everyone else? But if you're going to do it, at least put your own spin on it.
Click to expand...
I think you missed my point. We are putting our own spin on it. That's why its called a Solid Gold Saturday. The idea to wear one color is not so special or new that we're ripping anything off. I'd prefer that they didn't use the words Gold Out at all in the blurb, but the name of the "event" is still unique (i.e. Solid Gold Saturday).
Rescooter said:
The University of Minnesota is a great University with creative minds and deep thinkers. I see more deep/creative thinking going on with this board than what I see coming out of the people responsible for marketing the Gopher Football program. Next thing you know, they'll be playing Enter Sandman as the team goes out on the field. /sarcasm off/
Click to expand...
We're not ripping off Jump Around or Script Ohio here. The U is asking fans to wear one color. That's like saying other schools are "ripping off" cheerleading from the U. Its not a unique idea. Calling it a Gold Out would be ripping off the marketing but they aren't doing that.
Rescooter said:
1) When you copy someone elses idea, if you actually pull it off as good or better, the best you can do is to have people say that you pulled off a copied idea. The worst they can say is it was lame and a poor reflection on who you are.
Click to expand...
I agree and this is why I don't think you want to seek out media hype for a Solid Gold Saturday. But again, this is only more of an issue if they call it a Gold Out which they aren't.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom