Gotnext Women's Basketball Boards

gillomfan · Joined: 16 Jun 2002 Posts: 262

I attended the Meet the coach q & a event tonight. It was a lot of fun. John is pumped up and ready to go. The biggest applause came when he said," I want to be the coach who brings the first basketball championship to Phoenix." The crowd errputed in cheers. That was great. It felt like a pep ralley at times. Even the ticket managers are fired up. Coach has a defensive plan he wants to inforce. He has a lot planned for this team. I for one am very excited. The most excited I have been since before Cooper quit. It took me a long time to get over the heart ache of that. At any rate this is the dawn of a new era. Our girls will rock! Go Mercury! Any other fans who were there have thoughts?

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

Glad you had a good time Hannah. How many people attended?

mb · Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2003 11:26 am Post subject:

Due to work commitments, I was only able to catch the tail end of the session. Yes, it does seem that Coach Shumate's enthusiasm and passion have carried over to the sales and marketing staffs. They intend to focus on individual games sales while upholding the integrity of the season ticket.

What excites me is the possible assistant coaching staff that will help administer his defensive schemes! :!:

A wonderful comment Shu made related how our support of the team goes beyond basketball, and makes a statement endorsing women and athletics.
He supports title IX emphatically.

Lisa Harrison and Jen Gillom look great and are upbeat.

We as fans should have fun again this year and must use the power of word-of-mouth to fill the arena.

The Suns game following the meet the coach event was very enjoyable as well.

Mat H · Joined: 24 Jun 2002 Posts: 168 Location: Glendale AZ

I'm also wondering how many people attended.? Any idea how season ticket sales are doing?

mb · Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2003 9:41 am Post subject:

About 50 people in attendance. Assume season ticket sales are down, as they are for the Suns, Coyotes, D-backs, and Rattlers. If I learn more on numbers, I will edit this post or make a new entry.

The Mercury should be winning at home this season, yet it is up to us loyal fans to facilitate the efforts of the sales and marketing staff. Again, as I do every year, I challenge loyal season ticket holders to introduce five new faces to the Mercury and convince them to purchase tickets, be it a single game or bunch of games.

A customer of mine, who had just relocated to PHX from San Francisco asked about what to do in town. After talking about a number of things, she will be calling Mark in the sales office tomorrow to purchase her season tickets.

mb · Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2003 10:01 am Post subject:

Girls Have Hoop Dreams:

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-hoops4jan11,0,3459648.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines

gillomfan · Joined: 16 Jun 2002 Posts: 262

I heard season tickets are up. The response to the free parking was much higher then expected. They had to extend the deadline a couple times. So that is a good sign. I will do everything in my power to get the arena sold out. Many of my coworkers are interested. When I was at a League a couple days ago I talked to a couple who had season tickets the first two years. I encouraged them to get them again. They said they would probably do just that. Every chance I get I talk to people about the Mercury and buying tickets. Games are a blast and our girls will rise again.

The road is not a kind place for the Mercury. I am hoping to go to a lot of road games this season. It would be great to get big groups and go. Our girls need us. GO MERCURY!

Special thanks to Seth for the platinum club tickets for the game Friday night. That was awesome. He treats the fans like gold. The game was also great.

mb · Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2003 11:47 am Post subject:

Keep up the great efforts gillomfan! Hope you are right about the season ticket numbers being up. The parking thing did have a good response.

Hopefully, I will be able to stop by A League soon.

There is some work being done by the Mercury and a small group of fans to enable some group road trips. One must remember the organization needs to fill the home arena before sponsoring trips to away arenas. That said, some plans are in the works by some fans to make it happen. Expect these efforts to enable a trip.

Many thanks to Seth Sulka and Chris Montgomery for their hospitality. The Platinum Club seats were awesome as was the Suns game. Amare rocked!

gillomfan · Joined: 16 Jun 2002 Posts: 262

I was there for the whole q and a. Coach sounds like he will work the girls hard. Thats what they need. He has several offensive/defensive plans in mind but is waiting until the assistants are hired to make the final decision. Nobody asked him what we are going to do with Brandy Reed. She is still on the roster. I hope and pray we don't give her another chance. Coach spoke very highly of both Jen and Lisa. Saying he wants them to conitnue to be the leaders of the team. He also took a little jab at both. Telling Lisa to not get into a confrontation with the coach. He teased Jen for her defense. But its obvious he loves the whole team. And I am thrilled to know Jen will still be a key player.

John Shumate is very serious about his new job. He wants to turn this team around. Last season was rough. I know I didn't handle some of it well. So I look forward to this season as a chance for redemption. I firmly believe our girls will be a force to be reckoned with in the west. Go Mercury!

mb · Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2003 2:23 pm Post subject:

Training camp should be very interesting. Coach will try to get more out of it than ever in Mercury history. Maria should be here for the duration. Jen and Lisa should and likely will emerge as leaders.

Rest assured, Brandy Reed will most likely not be part of the plan. There was discussion of returning both a fun and winning atmosphere to AWA. Seth mentioned how some fans commented that they watched the bench, Brandy and Cooper, more than the game.

You supported Coop, which is admirable; yet, both Reed and Coop's riddance will benefit the team and bring back larger crowds.

With the Rattlers starting soon, Rod Graves heading the Cards, Michael Bidwell and Bryan Colangelo making waves, and a new coaching staff for the Mercury; we have much to look forward to on the sports scene the next few months!

Go Rattlers, Go Mercury!

Mat H · Joined: 24 Jun 2002 Posts: 168 Location: Glendale AZ

MB,
Don't the Rattlers usually begin during the summer or is the Winter a new thing? When will the season end?