McNEESE MOMENTS

admin Thursday, October 3, 2024 Comments Off on McNEESE MOMENTS
McNEESE MOMENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really leaned on my McNeese alumni status for this issue’s column, and it all started at a quarterback club meeting. The McNeese quarterback club was formed in 2000 and has about 50 members. The club’s sole mission is to support the football team, and they meet every Monday during the season to have lunch, hear from Coach Goff and watch film.

At the meeting, Goff introduced several of his players and shared his vision for the season. “Last year we had, on average, three less possessions than our opposition. That needs to change this year,” he said. “The guys we have are good players, but honestly I’m prouder of the men they are. I can’t say enough about these young men.” Hearing from Goff and being up close with several of the players made me excited for the start of the season.

Alumni Champagne Bingo

I was lucky enough to be invited to Champagne Bingo by a friend I met while studying at McNeese, Ashley Rudd. Ashley emailed over the invitation and immediately there was a big problem. “Something that sparkles” was the attire. I’ve written a lot here about how little joy I take in fashion (why don’t humans just wear uniforms?) so it won’t surprise you to hear I had nary a single sparkle in my closet.

I went shopping all around Southwest Louisiana looking for something I would never wear again and landed on a hot pink sparkly dress. I’m not really a color person, and I’m definitely not a hot pink gal but I learned a few months ago during a color analysis that the color complements me. So, I threw on the pink dress and made my way to the Pioneer Club for bingo and champagne.

What blew me away about this event was how well executed it was.

First of all, The Pioneer Club is so beautiful, and the view is one of the best in town, so already the event was set up for success. When I arrived, I sat in the bar with three strangers, and we became fast friends. One of my tablemates is the head of the Northwestern Alumni Association, and she was also invited to the event by Ashley. She’s considering starting a champagne bingo in Natchitoches and wanted to get a firsthand view of the way the McNeese Alumni Association handles the event.

Every table (there were maybe 30 of them) had their own cake with varying flavors, and we were all gifted great swag: a gold fanny pack stuffed with a McNeese wine tumbler, a McNeese (sparkly, of course) koozie, face glitter and two complimentary drink tickets. The door prizes were insane things like Botox, a gift card for several massages and a full-to-the-brim swag bag from Accessory Zone. 

I dropped my door prize tickets in the boxes that caught my eye and stopped by the photo booth to take a picture. ‘A’ picture turned out to actually be three photos of me standing alone awkwardly in the aforementioned pink sparkly dress.

Right before the game began, I paid for one extra card and got another flute of champagne and settled in to win bingo. The event was so well executed that I immediately joined the alumni association. I now am the proud owner of a rowdy card which gets me access to special alumni association events, including home football game tailgates at the alumni grove. The cost is $125 per year. You can find more information at mcneesealumni.com. 

PokeCast At Mr. Billís

A few days later, I crashed Poke Cast at Mr. Bill’s Seafood. I’d never been inside Mr. Bill’s before, and the place was so fun. Sports writer Jim Gazzolo hosts Poke Cast. Gazzolo is a great writer with a ton more experience than me. He spent time covering the Lakers. Immediately after learning that fact I bribed him with a beer and peppered him with questions about his writing methods and habits and what he’s learned over the years. I could’ve spoken to him for hours. 

One thing I find really impressive about Gazzolo is the sheer volume of writing he does and how quickly and expertly he does it. I’m currently on a mission to force him into friendship and will keep you posted on how my efforts are received. I snapped a photo of Gazzolo (which he hated) that you can see above.

A few of my friends in McNeese’s athletic marketing department (PJ Mitchell and Zach Kunar) were there, so I bought them each a beer. I don’t know if you follow McNeese Athletics on social media or not, but the content they are posting is grade A. Those guys have been working incredibly hard, and they deserved to be treated.

For the first football game at Tarleton, the Cowboys wore all white uniforms and white helmets for the first time ever, and the content they made to promote the occasion was really impressive.

I asked PJ if he was worried fans would reject the all-white look since SWLA can sometimes be resistant to change. “A little bit,” he said. “But, I learned a while back that in sports marketing if you’re going to present a change to the public and you’re not sure how it’ll be received, it’s a good idea to show the players excited about the change, because the public will be much more likely to jump on board if the players are on board.” I thought that was brilliant. 

I made friends with a few older gentlemen. One of them called me pretty and made me a rose out of a paper napkin, so if you ever need a confidence boost, might I suggest stopping by Mr. Bill’s on Wednesday afternoons. 

Block Party 

A few days later, it was time for the McNeese block party. These free concerts happen every Friday before home games. Because of weather, the concert was moved inside the Legacy Center. There was live music by the band Three Thirty Seven, food trucks and a kid zone. I had no idea these events even happened, and it was a truly great time. 

At the block party, there’s a McNeese Athletic Foundation area with complimentary drinks. 

MAF membership fees are $150 per year for us regular folk (former athletes, spirit team members and band members pay $100).

Being a MAF member comes with a ton of perks: you get access to the block party MAF tent (which has complimentary finger food, snacks, drinks and adult beverages), MAF VIP area inside Cowboy Stadium (an air conditioned room with complimentary game day food, snacks, drinks and adult beverages), access to south end zone bleacher seating and south end zone field access for the game and much more. 

The Game

The next day it was finally time for the main event: the game. I showed up a couple hours early to tailgate. I parked near Frosty Factory and went inside to get a drink. I hadn’t been there since my college days circa 2008, and the nostalgia was palpable. I could almost hear my terrible singing voice karaoking Shania Twain after one too many jello shots. 

I crossed the street to the alumni tailgate and met up with my friends Meghan and Erin Beth at the Alumni Pavilion. (I knew that Rowdy card would come in handy!) 

The marching band came down and played, and it reminded me so much of the way gamedays feel in Baton Rouge. I loved that the alumni tailgating area was enclosed because it allows kids to run around without parents worrying too much that they’ll lose them. There’s complimentary food and drinks, and each game has a different specialty drink, which was a really nice touch, I thought. I can’t wait to bring my kids. 

At game time, the three of us walked over to the Champions Club (which is where the people who are not in my tax bracket watch the game). I’m not sure how I’m ever supposed to go back to watching the game in the ‘regular’ seats after spending time in the Champion’s Club. There was food prepared by chef Jason Lebouef with Sodexo catering, and I could not get enough of the prime rib. The bar was serving complimentary drinks, and I was surprised that they had Prisoner which is a great (more on the expensive side) red wine I’m not used to finding at open bars.

It was important to me to float around so I could experience the game from a few different perspectives. So, after a glass of wine I made my way down to the field where I ran into my friend Liz Kingham doing her thing. Liz is the director of performance nutrition, and she was smiling from ear to ear and smelled like pickles and salt. I’m not saying her properly fueling the players was the reason we won, but I’m not-not saying that.

Luckily, I had just beaten the rain, but almost everyone else on field was soaked, including Morgan Guidroz, the graduate assistant of marketing, and so was the paper she was holding with the game schedule. I didn’t realize how much planning and scheduling goes into a football game. The minutes, songs, presentations and scripts are scheduled out very precisely. After a few on field presentations, I made my way back up to the Champions Club to watch the first half of the game.

At half time, I remembered my quest to force Jim Gazzolo into friendship and made my way to the press box. Apparently, it’s a long and confusing walk from the Champions Club to the press box, so I was escorted by graduate assistant Bryce Girard. I asked him roughly 20 questions about his life while we walked through the field and up the stands. 

The press box isn’t finished yet, but there are rooms that are finished enough to hold guests. There were about four different rooms with a single line of folding chairs in each room. Luckily (for me, not him) there was a seat right next to Gazzolo, so I got to watch him in action and ask a few more questions about how his writing process works.

He made a few technical comments about the game and the coaching decisions, and I nodded along and pretended to understand. I snapped a photo of him working and added it to my Instagram story before making my way back to the Champions Club for more prime rib. 

It was a really busy and incredibly fun few days hitting all of the McNeese events. In my experience, if you say there’s nothing to do in Lake Charles you’re just not looking hard enough. Go Pokes! 

Have an idea for Diana’s next experience? Let her know by emailing her at diana.vallette@gmail.com 

Comments are closed.