Michael Buffer Intros - Love them or hate them?

[wsdevil]

The Buffer intros and any other loud artificial noise undermines what makes Cameron special to begin with, and that is the "natural" enthusiasm of our crowd in our perfectly sized arena. I noticed that the Buffer intros actually managed to kill the crowd involvement by overwhelming it. Not good.

The Wake Forest comments made in a previous post are interesting. Wake has gone to great lengths to artificially produce enthusiasm at LJVMC. It is loud and it is quite a production. The important thing to remember, however, is that LJVMC was a morgue previously. There was no risk of screwing up the atmosphere because there was none to begin with.

As for the effect on recruiting, I'm not sold. If a new recruit witnesses for himself the real, organic Cameron and compares it to any of the generic electronic experiences now available everywhere else, he should be ours!

Drop Buffer, Drop the videos, Turn off the loudspeakers. Let Cameron rock itself!

[aimo]

The Wake Forest comments made in a previous post are interesting. Wake has gone to great lengths to artificially produce enthusiasm at LJVMC. It is loud and it is quite a production. The important thing to remember, however, is that LJVMC was a morgue previously. There was no risk of screwing up the atmosphere because there was none to begin with.

Those were my comments. And I totally agree. When I was at Wake, they stunk in basketball, and the Screamin' Demon crowd was a very small section of students. That being said, the crowd involvement there has greatly improved (they've grown a bit to fit the size of Joel. I was there when Joel first opened). I would hope that the theatrics would no longer be necessary to get the crowd into it, but there is no place like Cameron. Which is why I hate the fact that the deafening loudspeakers take the crowd out of it. And I hate the videos. They totally distract the crowd from cheering. I remember the good ol' days in the 70's and 80's when almost every timeout was filled with constant band music and cheering. Now you see the fans staring at the screen, open-mouthed, mugging for the camera so they can see their faces on the screen. LAME! Bring back the creativity!

[Son of Mojo]

For those who say his announcing is pro-wrestling like, well...he did do ring introductions for WCW for years. I didn't like it when I watched him do the intros in wrestling, and I definitely don't care for it when it involves my basketball team. It would be nice to see it just disappear in lieu of more conventional intros. And as it pertains to the "you suck" addendums--I do not feel above using it but do feel it should be held as a special message of love reserved for the holes and particularly contemptible opposing players from other schools that come in. It definitely should never be a regular cheer to be used all the time.

[DukeCO2009]

E-mail I sent to Mike Cragg (he seemed like the most appropriate person to contact):

Mike,

I'm sure you and the rest of the athletic department have already heard from plenty of fans, alums, etc. re: the Michael Buffer player introductions for men's basketball games, but I would nonetheless like to add my name to the list of the disgruntled. They were exciting and novel for Countdown to Craziness, but they really zap the energy from the building during games. Not only are they cheesy, but the PA system is entirely too loud and completely drowns out the crowd. They represent an artificiality that I thought Cameron was above and really detract from the building's tradition and authenticity. Perhaps most important, though, is the fact that they have encroached upon the duties of Art Chandler. Dr. Chandler has been a legendary fixture in Cameron for four decades, and to have him cede the player intros to a washed up boxing announcer during his final year at Duke is an insult to everything he has done for the program.

I thought you might be interested in this poll and the accompanying conversation (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/...ad.php?t=18404) from the Duke Basketball Report message boards. A large number of those who post on the DBR are season ticket holders and donors, so perhaps their opinions and unified stance against the Buffer debacle will resonate more loudly than a single recent graduate's gripes. The canned intros simply don't belong in Cameron, particularly when the alternative is Dr. Chandler.

Regards,
xxxxxx

The Buffer crap has got to go.

[Cameron]

As I've said before, if Duke doesn't "allow" Dr. Chandler (it's amazing, really, that this is even an issue) to officially end his career as the Voice of Cameron with the UNC game in early March, then the university should be utterly ashamed of itself.

This current Buffer situation is a mockery of the Duke tradition of excellence. I am embarrassed for you, Kevin White. And for anyone else who has had a hand in these decisions.

[Crisker]

Buffer intros are the worst kind of cheese; I expect it at a pro game and that's why I don't go to them. Also because they don't play defense or pass until the playoffs...

[DukeDevilDeb]

Has anyone who voted that they annoyed the crap out of him/her written to the people who have the authority to do something about it? These would be Kevin White, Coach K. and the Iron Dukes. I wrote to all three; K didn't answer, but the other two did. They were sympathetic, but they also implied that the players liked them and that few people had voiced their disapproval.

So write, please, or we will be stuck with them forever!

[RainingThrees]

Buffer just sounds manufactured. There is no real energy, just some guy that is supposed to make the place energized, but after awhile the act just doesn't produce any more.