Wake Forest fans have an opportunity to join the Screamin' Demons, a student-led organization that's affiliated with the athletic department. Students can sign up at the beginning of the year to get passes for all athletic events, including football and basketball. There are stipulations involved -- you have to get to the games early, and you are only allowed to miss a certain number of them or else your ticket is revoked. The result? Students are attending all the games, even the ones against weak teams, for a chance to make it to the good ones. So again, the loyal, die-hard students are the ones rewarded.
If Tech changes to some kind of loyalty-based system for tickets, Greenberg would be a happy coach. I remember a particular game against Maryland that was held during a snowstorm, and since many alumni couldn't make it, extra tickets were opened to students. They were enthusiastically received, and the usual empty seats left by alumni that can't make it during the week were filled. We were loud, we were passionate and I believe we helped the Hokies win the game. Just like when we played Western Kentucky in football this weekend, the fans can make a difference.
What it comes down to is the system needs to be changed. Perhaps we could adopt a fan-loyalty group such as Wake Forest. Or try a point system, where the more games students attend (even against bad teams) the more points they get and tickets are more likely to go to the loyal students who hold the most points.
Another potential source of tickets are alumni. Unlike football, many basketball games are held during the week. Alumni who live far away can't always take off work to travel to Blacksburg. Maybe a group could be established to sell these tickets to students, so then not only are empty alumni seats filled but more students can attend.
There are countless other ideas floating out among the student body. The athletic department needs to realize that just because the lottery system is random doesn't mean it's fair. It works fine for students who don't want to attend every game. But for season tickets, the most loyal fans should always come out on top. This way, we can truly "Rock the Cassell."
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Randomness is not fair in a situation where merit can be used to determine who rightfully deserves something. This ticket situation falls into this category. You miss the main point though, and that is that Jim Weaver is a crummy athletic director and has continuously done dumb things to appease alumni without taking the time to think about the future alumni he irritates. He takes our future support for granted. Should I be fortunate enough to be able to donate money to the athletic department in the future, I will not donate a penny to them because of the things that Weaver has done.
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