Izzo joins KISS for Midnight Madness

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coolhandgopher

coolhandgopher

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Honestly, without snarkiness, would this be something college students really think is cool? It's been a long time since KISS reunited and went out on tour in full makeup, so the novelty seemingly would have worn off by now. I watched both videos with Izzo and found them to be rather. . .low energy. And settling in for a night of dinosaur rock wouldn't seem too appealing to a bunch of 18-21 year olds. The videos struck me as a bit sad and certainly off the pulse of what college kids would want to see at Midnight Madness.
http://deadspin.com/tom-izzo-in-makeup-plays-accordion-with-kiss-at-msu-m-1650639543
 

I just hope Pitino is blowing up Prince's cell phone. I'd be all in on that.

The KISS thing is still sort of cool, despite their lack of new material and age. I imagine a lot of adults/donors in the crowd were impressed.
 

It's no gangnam style with Tubby and Borton.

I prefer Kill walking around campus talking to students and handing out tickets and Pitino having an open scrimmage.
 


The ever more elaborate stunts for midnight madness are just getting old and tired in my opinion. I think it would be funny if someone just went back to the original midnight madness - making the players run a timed mile at midnight.
 



coolhandgopher said:
Honestly, without snarkiness, would this be something college students really think is cool? It's been a long time since KISS reunited and went out on tour in full makeup, so the novelty seemingly would have worn off by now. I watched both videos with Izzo and found them to be rather. . .low energy. And settling in for a night of dinosaur rock wouldn't seem too appealing to a bunch of 18-21 year olds. The videos struck me as a bit sad and certainly off the pulse of what college kids would want to see at Midnight Madness.
http://deadspin.com/tom-izzo-in-makeup-plays-accordion-with-kiss-at-msu-m-1650639543
Click to expand...

A few things

1) That was not KISS in the Izzo video. That was a KISS tribute band. KISS is still selling out arenas all over the world. You really think they're going to perform in front of a few thousand fans at a basketball scrimmage in East Lansing, Michigan? Nope.

2) I didn't think it was that bad. Izzo has always done this kind of stuff and their fans always look forward to what he might do each year. I think he got shot out of a cannon one year, dressed up like Iron Man one year, Top Gun pilot, and astronaut, a hippie, and others. It is part of the expectation. MSU fans absolutely love it.

3) As for whether KISS appeals to 18-21 year olds...probably not. But, remember, the fans attending are most likely 35 years old or older and many (certainly not all) are likely familiar with the KISS songs and the act. And, many probably even enjoyed it and sang along with the imposters.

4) Lastly, I have to be honest. I thought our scrimmage yesterday was rather lame. There has to be a happy medium between the coach dressing up like Gene Simmons in front of a tribute arena rock band and our situation where there were four quarters of okay basketball, but no slam dunk contest, no music, no fanfare. The loudest the place got all day was when the cheerleaders threw out free t-shirts. I'm not saying we need a coach riding a motorcycle or a mascot dropping in from the ceiling or anything like that, but I don't think a few add-ons besides free popcorn is asking too much. I know one year they gave away prizes (including some really good ones like a free trip to one of the road games), etc. I also know some like a no-frills, just basketball deal, but I actually prefer a few extras for my opening day/night. The Gopher's day yesterday seemed like a, 'let's throw the guys out there, hope a couple thousand people show up, and not have to worry about it again until next year.' And, that's exactly how it came off. I enjoyed the hoops, no doubt. But, how about a little creativity and just a touch of sizzle? Pitino is a young, energetic, fun, out-the-box, quick-thinking coach. The potential for him on a day like that is enormous, in my opinion.
 

tjgopher said:
A few things
4) Lastly, I have to be honest. I thought our scrimmage yesterday was rather lame. There has to be a happy medium between the coach dressing up like Gene Simmons in front of a tribute arena rock band and our situation where there were four quarters of okay basketball, but no slam dunk contest, no music, no fanfare. The loudest the place got all day was when the cheerleaders threw out free t-shirts. I'm not saying we need a coach riding a motorcycle or a mascot dropping in from the ceiling or anything like that, but I don't think a few add-ons besides free popcorn is asking too much. I know one year they gave away prizes (including some really good ones like a free trip to one of the road games), etc. I also know some like a no-frills, just basketball deal, but I actually prefer a few extras for my opening day/night. The Gopher's day yesterday seemed like a, 'let's throw the guys out there, hope a couple thousand people show up, and not have to worry about it again until next year.' And, that's exactly how it came off. I enjoyed the hoops, no doubt. But, how about a little creativity and just a touch of sizzle? Pitino is a young, energetic, fun, out-the-box, quick-thinking coach. The potential for him on a day like that is enormous, in my opinion.
Click to expand...
This was all Pitino's idea. He doesn't want to be "fun". He wants to control the team and win games. He doesn't want to celebrate yet.
 

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