Spoon's nodding noggin

UB has just hired Gene Corrigan to serve as a consultant to the University on intercollegiate athletic excellence. Boasting a very impressive resume, including former Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Athletic Director at Washington and Lee University, the University of Virginia and Notre Dame University, Corrigan also served a two-year term as President of the NCAA. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame. Wow.

That said, I thought I would help the new guy out and offer him some advice in the area of increasing attendance through promotional sports marketing, i.e. FREE GIVEAWAYS. More specifically, my vision of a free Reggie Witherspoon bobblehead giveaway night.

There are sports star bobbleheads, sports mascot bobbleheads, political figure bobbleheads, even photo bobbleheads, where you insert a photo of yourself and BAM! Just like that, even I could transform into my favorite Detroit Piston, number 22 himself, Tayshaun Prince. We got Victor E. Bull and Vicky Bull for free (what a steal!) but can you even imagine a free Reggie Witherspoon bobblehead giveaway night?

In general most recognizable professional athletic figures from Derek Jeter to Peyton Manning have concurrent bobblehead figurines modeled after them. Even Rebecca Lobo has one, and let me tell you, I bet the designers of that nodding noggin had a field day with its creation.

The smartest man I know, my very own father, turns into a kid in a candy store every summer when the Saratoga Race Track hosts bobblehead giveaway days. Despite spending every day (except Tuesdays, only because its closed) at one of our nation's finest thoroughbred racetracks, my dad and his pals trade in their media passes and press box views for the day off from the daily grind, the average Joe ticket accompanied by the prized giveaway: Edgar Prado, Jose Santos, even Jerry Bailey for you horse racing aficionados. He swiped two of those beauties. Guess who got the other one. Yessssssss!! (I'm willing to bet, for the record, that there's even a Marv Albert bobble-head floating around on E-bay somewhere).

The crowds at UB basketball games have been lackluster this season in terms of attendance by the general community, despite the fact that the Bulls were projected to finish first in the pre-season MAC East division and boast two All-MAC preseason first team candidates in Turner Battle and Yassin Idbihi. Although the Bulls have not completely lived up to the hype surrounding them, owners of a decent 10-5 overall record and a 3-4 MAC record, I remain puzzled as to why there is such little community presence at home games in Alumni Arena.

Why is Tom in Tonawanda still at home, calling into WGR to complain about the state of the NHL? I'm willing to bet that Tom from Tonawanda, maybe even Lois from Lockport or Bill from Buffalo might be willing to reallocate the funds they set aside to purchase an "I need my hockey fix(ed)" magnetic ribbon and invest in a $12 ticket to a UB men's basketball game and a FREE REGGIE WITHERSPOON BOBBLEHEAD.

I can only imagine the marketing ploy ... it would read something like this ...

While listening to local sports talk radio WGR, about to pick up the phone to call to whine about the NHL lockout, Tom in Tonawanda would hear news of the free Reggie Witherspoon bobblehead giveaway. Rather than calling the station, he redirects his outgoing call to his buddies Lois in Lockport and Bill from Buffalo to tell them to save the funds his respective comrades have set aside to purchase an "I need my hockey fix(ed)" magnetic ribbon. In turn, the three invest in $12 tickets to a UB men's basketball game and receive a bonus free Reggie Witherspoon bobblehead.

Maybe three sports fans are hooked on the Bulls, maybe not, but I have learned that generally anything free will attract attention, and in turn, if UB were to offer something as conspicuous as a free Witherspoon bobblehead, it can be assumed that the response would be monstrous. Regardless, every time Tom, Lois or Bob were to subsequently hit the coffee table or knock the armoire, Witherspoon's wide-eyed, grinning caricature would remind them of something that provided a distraction from a hockey season lost.

It took me a while to accept the fact that Buffalo isn't a basketball city and it's really a shame too. With four decent Division I college programs in its own backyard, Western New York could potentially be marketed as a premier college basketball area. I also understand that with two professional teams in the Bills and the Sabres, the sports schedule of the majority of Western New Yorkers is more or less booked from late fall through the spring, more or less demolishing the chance of college basketball getting any attention.

That said, however, I encourage the NHL faithful to be proactive with regards to the essentially lost season. Attend a UB basketball game whether a free Reggie Witherspoon bobblehead giveaway is ever actually implemented or not. Sometimes you have to put everything in perspective. A night with the UB dazzlers, at least, is better than listening to sports talk radio and staring at the wall.