Tuesday, July 31, 2012

www.brentreser.com

I would like to say thank you so much for coming to this site and reading my posts. While I continue to author Don’t Blink, I have concluded this particular version and have moved onto a much better site. Please visit www.brentreser.com for the newest incarnation of my blog. I promise, you will see a much improved product. Don’t Blink.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

NACMA Board Retreat 2012


Earlier this week I had the opportunity to venture over to Whitefish, Montana, to help out my boss, Christie Anderson, with quite a big deal she had arranged. Starting July 15 and running through July 18, Grizzly Athletics hosted the 2012 National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) Board of Directors Retreat. Wow, what a mouthful. Referred to in the condensed version as the 2012 NACMA Retreat, it served as a great way for me to see the top people in my industry while at the same time getting to visit one of the most gorgeous spots in Montana.

The NACMA Board is made up of individuals from all across the country who serve as marketing directors, or in other equivalent roles, in their respective athletic departments. When I say all across the country, I am not kidding. We had representatives from the west of us (University of Oregon, Boise State, University of California – Riverside), south of us (Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Arizona State, University of New Mexico), and a whole host of schools from back east (Xavier, Kansas State, Northern Illinois, several Florida schools, etc.). Not only were our guests from diverse geographic locations, they were also from diverse institutions as well. While the board contains reps from powerhouse schools such as the University of Oregon and the University of South Carolina, several colleges in smaller conferences such as Embry-Riddle University and the University of New Hampshire also enjoy representation on the board. While geographic location/conference affiliation might differ, the goals for most of these people are shared.

I joined Christie in Whitefish to help her with transportation. Joining in the effort to haul the NACMA board around the area was our assistant athletic director for business operations, Jimmy, and one of our interns in the department, Tim. As we did not attend any of the meetings or do any of the “official” board stuff during the conference, the three of us got to hang out with each other quite a bit.

Tim and I drove to Whitefish at 8am on Sunday (7-15) morning. With me behind the wheel, we made the two and a half hour drive in a University of Montana 2010 Dodge Caravan. We arrived in the Whitefish area and started shuttling people from the very small Glacier Park Airport to the retreat headquarters at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Big Mountain. As the members of the board all came in at different times, the three of us drivers made several trips back and forth between the airport and resort. As most of the board members had never been to Montana before, many of them asked interesting questions as we took them on the thirty minute drive that took them down an old Montana highway, through downtown Whitefish, and then up a big mountain: “Are there really Grizzly bears here? What kind of place is the Blue Moon tavern? General stores really do exist? How hard is it to work for Christie? Do you actually know where you are going?”
Up on the mountain, our guests could not resist taking pictures.
The first day centered mostly around getting the whole board to the retreat spot. As people arrived, we took them to the lodge at the resort where they hung out and chatted. For the first night, a progressive dinner was held. To buy supplies, we transported the 20+ person group to the Whitefish Safeway where they pretty much took over the store. The board members made sure to buy all the necessary items that would make the dinner a smashing success, so you can probably understand why this resulted in the blocking of several aisles, the forming of long lines, and the irritation of locals who probably just wanted to pick up their milk and bread. I don’t think anyone could really complain though…the Safeway had to have made a killing during that half hour of chaos. Tim, Jimmy, and myself all got to participate in the progressive dinner and the food was delicious. I had never had better pigs in a blanket in my life.
The NACMA Board took a picture together on the roof of the resort.

The next day the board strapped down and went to work. The three of us drivers transported everyone from the resort rooms to the lodge where the meeting room was. After getting everyone there, Jimmy, Tim, and myself moved from our previous living headquarters at the Hibernation House to the Morning Eagle, the place where the board was staying. Because the three of us were missing three days of work, we did as much away from the office that we could in the early morning. We then went back into town where we made a trip back to Safeway and then ate lunch at the local Taco Del Sol. Soon enough, it was time to pick up the board after the long day of meetings and take them back to their rooms so they could get ready for the night’s activity. What was the activity you might ask? A beautiful boat ride on Whitefish Lake. With the weather absolutely perfect, we took three boats out onto the lake for a two hour cruise. We had amazing tour guides who told our guests every single detail about the lake itself, the residents who lived in the giant lake houses, the exact value of each property, and anything else they could possibly ask. After the boats docked, we all got to enjoy the breathtaking Montana sunset on a warm summer evening. The whole night was probably the shining moment of the retreat.
Several members of the NACMA Board on one of the boats.
Christie and I after the boat cruise.
The next day started with the same thing. Jimmy, Tim, and I transported the marketers from Morning Eagle to the lodge. We then went to town where we ate breakfast at the Buffalo. We returned to our room and I did work for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. The time quickly came for us to pick up everyone from the long day of meetings. After bringing them back to freshen up and change for the evening, Christie and Nick came up to the room to hang out with the three of us drivers. Now, I have neglected to talk much about Nick in this post. Nick was one of our interns who recently received a prestigious internship with NACMA. In addition, he also earned the opportunity to attend the retreat as well. It was very nice for the five of us to take a little bit of time and hang out. We sat out on our room patio and chatted and joked around for about an hour. That night we took the board to downtown Whitefish where they got to eat at a nice restaurant and then explore the town for the rest of the night. Just like at the lake, you could tell that the attendees were genuinely enjoying themselves and really taking in a way of life that was dramatically different from their own.

After the meetings on Tuesday the business part of the conference was officially over so that meant Wednesday was departure day. We returned from town late on Tuesday night and because I had to transport two of the members to the airport at 4:30am I just stayed up. That initial venture out to the airport signaled the start of a very long day for me. It seemed like I was driving back and forth between the resort and the airport (and many places in between) nonstop. After dropping off some luggage to a couple of the attendees at Whitefish Lake, I made the trip back to Missoula. I dropped off the van at motor pool a little after 5pm and went home. After not sleeping for thirty plus hours I fell down on my bed and slept.
The three vehicles we utilized during the trip.
Although I did not participate in the content portion of the NACMA Retreat, I did get to meet some of the top marketers in the nation who are doing some really cool things at their universities.  Most of them were down-to-earth, nice, fun people to be around. I even met a few who I looked at and told myself that I want to be like that guy (girl) as I advance in my career. Although all of the people at the retreat come from different backgrounds and situations, they all battle with the same issues in their respective positions. Because of this, there is a tremendous level of respect shared between every single member of that board. This was something that I envied and really made me want to be on a board of a similar nature in the future. Aside from observing people who I didn’t know, I also got to have a great time with the people who I do know. Jimmy, Tim, and myself worked together to do the best we could to serve our guests and help Christie out. The instances that the three of us got to spend time with Christie and Nick were very worthwhile, especially since I will probably not see Nick for a very long time. The NACMA Retreat was an exciting adventure that I will look back on fondly. Don’t Blink.

Monday, July 16, 2012

"I Don't Have Time"

We all know those driven people who always get things done, never waste a minute, and live very productive and efficient lives. Many of us are lucky to know these types of people by way of our parents. Others of us know them because they are our teachers. Some of us know them as a parish priest or pastor. Yet, some of us just need to look at our own peers as examples of motivated people.

However, some don’t have these positive examples around them so they understandably don’t develop these strong traits. Others do have plenty of good examples around them but choose to look the other way because if they followed that type of lifestyle it would make each day too hard and “inconvenient.”

I think the number one excuse of people today is the tired, cliché response of “I just don’t have time.” No other excuse serves as a greater cop out from doing anything worthwhile or productive than this one. Yes, people use this excuse because they are lazy but they also use it because they have no idea what busy means. They don’t realize that there are actually twenty-four hours in the day nor do they understand the value of will-power.

I believe you can pretty much do anything you want. If you have the desire to get something done, you will find the time to do it. A perfect example of this is working out.  I can’t stand it when people say they can’t make it to the gym because they “don’t have time.” Baloney. If you can’t find an hour early in the morning, during your lunch break, or after work to improve your fitness than you can always look at the 24-hour gyms that are available in every area and find an odd hour to get your workout in. If you are still not working out, please don’t say it is because you can’t fit it into your schedule, just be honest and say it is not a priority for you.

People also use the “busy” excuse to explain why they don’t take up personal projects/hobbies that they always say they would like to do but simply can’t get around to it because of time constraints. Reading a book series, applying for a job, taking a class, starting a blog, or volunteering are all examples of productive endeavors that we all could do on a regular basis but so often  these good intentions succumb to the “don’t have time” trap.

Perhaps the greatest sin with the “I don’t have time” excuse comes with relationships. Whether it is a friend, relative, or significant other, if you are willing to truly work it out, you will find a time to hang out with that person. Telling someone else that “you don’t have time” to meet with them is a slap in the face. One of the reasons why I hate the excuse so much is because it makes the person using it sound like they are much more important than others. No, you are not the pope, the President of the United States, or Santa Claus…you are not in that high of demand so please don’t act like it. Make yourself available. If indeed your schedule is as stretched as you claim then make a sacrifice and honor a relationship before yourself.

Okay, that last sentence just revealed my remedy to everyone who feels they are “busy”: Sacrifice. Honestly, many of the things you can do to become more efficient and make time for more important missions really are not even sacrifices, they are just life’s annoyances that we let get in the way. But for lack of a better (or weaker) word I will say sacrifice. Cut out the crap that is keeping you from achieving loftier goals, better health, and stronger relationships. If you can’t get everything done to make you a better person with all of the time-wasting activities incorporated into your life than you have to let it go. Start with the time wasted on Facebook. Move on next to the countless television shows and movies watched. Put down the iPhone. Quit texting. Stop taking naps. Cut back on partying. If you do all of these things and say you don’t have time to work out, see an old friend, or start a blog then I am going to call you a lazy bum.

Behind all of this is one additional factor that I really feel cuts into the productivity of people and that would be sleep. I am amazed at the time and productivity wasted by people who go to bed before midnight and then sleep in right to the point of when they have to be to work or, when they don’t have work, right up into the early afternoon. As a society we put way too much emphasis and value on sleep. Some of the best hours for productivity take place during the late night and early morning. To spend these hours unconscious is a waste. Sorry, I just don’t buy into the notion that a healthy adult needs 7-8 hours of sleep a night. If we slept 8 hours every single night, we would spend 33% of our lives in slumber. Don’t say you don’t have time to do something when over 30% of your day is devoted to an activity that isolates yourself from the whole world.

Think long and hard before you make the excuse of “not having the time.” Think about how ridiculous, untrue, and conceded such a statement sounds. Instead, just respond with honesty. Whatever it might be….laziness, non-priority, fear, indifference, etc., just tell it how it is. Remember, you can always make the time to do what is important. Don’t Blink.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Time to Take The Fall: Spokane Law Enforcement Exposes Asian Spas

Media Account #1 - KREM TV
Media Account #2 - Spokesman Review

Today in Spokane, several law enforcement agencies participated in a raid of eight Asian spa/massage parlors that were suspected of running a prostitution ring. Officials also raided private residences as well. Several arrests were made.

All of this happened around noon today when the raids were carried out simultaneously so details are still coming out but I couldn’t help but feel intrigued by such a bust. Asian spa/massage parlors are notorious across the country for not really offering their publically advertised services but rather sex. I have watched a couple of great investigations conducted by Dateline in other cities where these places are exposed but to see it occur in my hometown really grabbed my attention.

With the Airway Heights Police Department leading the investigation, officials worked on this case for fourteen months. The investigation included several officers going undercover as johns at Northern Quest Casino (a meeting place for prostitutes in the Spokane area), arresting the prostitutes, and then striking a deal with them to become informants in the investigation. The arrested individuals were able to give law enforcement an inside look into what was going on inside the walls of these Asian spas. I love this stuff. I have always had an interest and appreciation for police/detectives, especially the ones who devote most of their time to the vice unit. The fact that this investigation was so planned out and coordinated with precision makes this a pretty cool story.

Some interesting (and by interesting I mean mostly sad) information did come out immediately after the raids. Every single establishment that operated as an “Asian spa/massage parlor” in the Spokane area (8 total) was implicated in the sting. For all the legitimate Asian spas out there in the country, this has to serve as a slap in the face. A very unsavory stereotype of these businesses is picking up steam each day. In many of the establishments raided today, not even one massage table could be found. Incredibly, the owners didn’t even bother to make the smallest effort in trying to give off the appearance that they were practicing what their storefronts claimed. Officials estimate that 200-250 women have been involved in this operation. Wow. This was not some small scale crackdown. This ring was established and seemingly very profitable.

I wonder if the area agencies brought in some outside source (such as a Dateline type outfit) to help document this investigation. Personally, I will be following this story as the gritty details start to really unfold. I would watch with interest any in-depth report or coverage that a national media outlet might produce. I want to see deals made, I want to see the layouts of these parlors, I want to see what the owners look like, I want to see what the girls look like, I want to see what the johns look like, I want to hear monetary figures, I want to know about the culture, I want to know everything I possibly can. I know this can sound creepy or weird to some but under all of the disgust I have for these dirty brothels and the people who run them, I just can’t look away.

What a victory for law enforcement agencies in Spokane today. Yes, everyone is innocent until proven guilty but judging by the length of this investigation, the informants, and the early numbers on people impacted, it seems like the city got a whole lot better off this afternoon. Time to watch the aftermath. Don’t Blink.  

Monday, July 9, 2012

Overeating at Texas Roadhouse

I like to think I am a strong-willed person. I try not to fall into temptation and I try to practice discipline at all times, especially when it comes to my body. But I am all too human and sometimes I fall off the wagon. One of my more frequent lack of will-power offenses is the tendency to overeat.

There is absolutely no shred of victory when one overeats (unless you win a competitive eating contest). The sick, painful feeling you experience in your stomach when you chow down too much is awful; the feeling in your conscience that you betrayed your body and took a step back from the hard work you have completed in the gym is even worse. It is so easy to become victimized by this. You work up a large appetite or find yourself in a situation where eating large amounts of food is acceptable and encouraged and you are pretty much doomed. You can go into a meal with the best intentions but come out feeling like a big ol’ fat pig.

I usually eat myself to death in three situations. The first occurs at holiday dinners. The holidays are fun, joyous times where people cook giant meals that have a whole bunch of love and calories poured into them. I look forward to my mom’s Thanksgiving dinner all year long so naturally when that day in November comes along, I go all in. A year of build up turns into a half hour of absolute bliss and then it transforms into a night of stomach pains and self-guilt. I also feel like the most unhealthy person in the world after I visit a buffet. When you go to a buffet, there is just no way not to go overboard. The whole premise of these places is to challenge your “all-you-can-eat” threshold and do all you can to come out ahead of the restaurant by eating more than what you paid for. I plan to do a post someday on the buffets I have conquered/been conquered by and the culture that predominates at these places. Whether it was a traditional buffet, Chinese buffet, pizza buffet, brunch buffet, etc., I have gone in hungry and come out sick.

The final situation where I always find myself overeating in comes by way of the special occasion family night out dinner. This dining experience provides the “perfect storm” for overindulgence because it combines portions of the first two examples I provided above: You have the happy, feel-good component of a special event that makes you more susceptible to eating more than necessary and you have the eating out aspect that also tells your brain that it is acceptable to go a little harder than usual. This situation is where I fall victim to most.

Last night we celebrated my dad’s 55th birthday by traveling to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. We arrived to the resort town on a scorching sun-drenched day and walked up and down their main downtown strip. We checked out the many shops that dotted the area and then cooled off at one of the popular nearby bars. The walking, the weather, and the couple drinks consumed at the bar had me ready for my dad’s birthday dinner.

At my dad’s choosing, we ate at Texas Roadhouse. If you have never eaten at this well-known chain, just notice the first word in the restaurant’s name (“Texas”) and you probably have a decent idea about their portion sizes. Specializing in burgers, chicken, and steak, you better be hungry when you arrive. With all the extras you get at Texas Roadhouse combined with the relative inexpensive menu prices, the chance of overeating is quite high.

My dad, mom, and myself got to the restaurant but my sister and her husband had yet to arrive so we went straight to the bar where my consumption crusade began. We ordered beers and immediately started eating peanuts from the giant tin tubs they have lining the bar. If you know anything about me, you know I can eat more peanuts than an elephant. At baseball games I buy a whole bag and finish every nut in usually less than two innings. Feeling rejuvenated in the awesomely air conditioned restaurant while watching the Yankees-Red Sox baseball game with a cold, tall beer right in front of me, I started cracking shell after shell after shell. About fifteen minutes later my sister arrived and we were seated at a table.

Waiting for us at our dinner table? Two more tin buckets of peanuts! Shortly thereafter, we were brought the famous Texas Roadhouse rolls. Doused in butter, sweetly seasoned, and served with a spread that has to be 100% fat, they tasted like a little piece of heaven. We all devoured several rolls. Because it was a special occasion we had to get an appetizer as well. We settled on their cactus blossom, a deep fried onion snack that is analogous to Outback’s blooming onion.  By the time we got our appetizer, all of us were already starting to get a little full by way of the beer, peanuts, and rolls. When our cute little waitress brought out the cactus blossom she took our entrée order. I ordered the pulled pork dinner. It came with bread AND two sides. I got steak fries and seasoned rice.
My pulled pork entree at Texas Roadhouse

When our entrees arrived, I had already had enough. But you can’t just give up on the main course. I forked through the giant mound of pulled pork, making a modest dent in it. I ate a few of the steak fries. I ate almost the entire cup of rice. By the time I could see the bottom of the cup of rice, I threw in the towel, but it was already too late…I felt like garbage. Everyone else at the table looked defeated too. We messed with Texas and Texas won.

Driving the fifty minutes back to Spokane sucked. I felt like the fattest person on the planet. I pretty much swore I would never eat again (that oath was broken at 5am this morning). I groaned. I scolded myself. Once again I lacked the necessary self-control that would have enabled me to look at myself in the mirror with my shirt off that night. I felt like a loser.

Just like drinking or gambling, when it comes to eating we all need to put limits on ourselves. For me with eating, I sometimes struggle. No matter how bad the feeling is after I overeat I seem to have way too short of a memory because I always let it happen again down the road. Well, today I pledge I will never overeat again…until at least my mom’s birthday on August 2. Don’t Blink.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

The Overuse of Quotes on Social Media

Social media has brought so much good to society. But as is typically the trade off with any good thing, it has also brought some bad as well. Maybe I should take a step back and rephrase this. Social media has not created as many bad things as it has annoying things. Spam, countless parody accounts, stupid applications, shameless promoting/solicitation, and scams all test the patience of anyone just trying to update themselves on the latest news via their favorite social media account. While I could do without all the previously listed things, there is one common social media annoyance that seems to bother me even a little more.

In my opinion, the posting, retweeting, and highlighting of quotes over social media has gotten a little out of control. I remember back in time you shared a quote if it had a deep personal impact on you, if it truly meant something that you felt someone else could get a little something out of. Today, it seems as if people don’t even think twice about sharing with their audience any sappy or witty remark they come across.

Now I fully understand that a reason for this oversharing of “words of wisdom” is because quotes are just so much more readily available than ever before. The internet contains millions and millions of quotes that you can read for hours with just a click of the mouse. There are tons upon tons of Twitter accounts set up that solely spit out quotes on any topic you can think of.  E-mail chains with “inspirational” quotes are forwarded and forwarded until pretty much everyone on the planet has received it. But just because something is so attainable on the internet does not mean we have to re-share it with our respective social media audiences. Look at it this way: The amount of porn sites has significantly skyrocketed over the past ten years. Because of this explosion, does it mean we need to share the links on our Facebook walls and Twitter feeds? Absolutely not! And we don’t need to share quotes either.

There are a few reasons why quotes bother me so much on social media. First off, they serve as nothing more than clutter. I cringe when I am on Facebook and I check out my newsfeed and I see a big colored box with text inside it. What an eye sore. I want to see original content, I want to see pictures from someone’s weekend or a thoughtful status update that fills me in on an important development in someone’s life. I don’t want to see a crude box with some ugly font smashed into it that someone decided to share with the world. Same goes for Twitter. I follow you because I enjoy your content and am interested in what you have to say. I don’t need you to be the 56,798th person to retweet Wiz Khalifia’s relationship quote. If I wanted that advice I would subscribe to his tweets myself.

Yet another reason why I detest quotes so much is that people simply abuse them. There are people I follow on Twitter and friends who I have on Facebook who will retweet and share quote after quote after quote. It is bad enough when you clutter up your content by dropping in some generic quote but when you tweet out a string of five quotes in a row or 80% of your Facebook content is surrounded by quotation marks, you really need to reevaluate your social media goals. You devalue your social media accounts by doing this and you also chase away people from your pages who would otherwise actually look at your accounts if you didn’t post so much crap.

Finally, quotes turn me off simply because many of them are so stupid. The overly emotional, cliché, and relationship driven passages make me want to vomit. All of us have issues and concerns. Find some way to intelligently articulate them to the people who are close to you and who can be of help (or just keep them to yourself) but don’t try to express them by using some cheesy quote for all to see. Some of the quotes out there are just so corny I have no idea why people would associate themselves with them. Drawing attention to one’s problems through social media is sad, doing it with a quote is pathetic.

I know what you are thinking: “But Brent, you start each day on Twitter with a quote. You hypocrite, you.” Yes, first thing each morning I do send out a quote but it is more of a personal trademark thing for me than anything. Ever since I have had Twitter, I tweet out a short passage from my “Life’s Little Instruction” calendar for that particular day. I do it because a few people have requested that I do it because they enjoy them so much (they will text me and ask if I am dead if I don’t do it) and because it serves as a little knock on the people who do tweet out quotes as if their life depends on it. The quotes from this calendar are light-hearted and for the most part silly…they don’t speak for me in anyway and are intended to keep people happy and hopefully make others laugh. There you have it!

I urge people to value their own social media space a little more and to save the annoyance of others by toning down on the quotes just a little bit. Challenge yourself to be more original, don’t fall into the trap of enabling sap to proliferate through social media. (Enter whatever quote you have that speaks to resisting temptation right here). Don’t Blink.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Hoopfest 2012: Basketbrawl

This past weekend I completed my fifth consecutive year as a court monitor for the world’s largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament, Hoopfest. This particular year the tournament was the largest ever as over 7,000 teams took to the streets of Spokane to play some ball. Far and away, Hoopfest 2012 will go down as my most challenging year.

One thing I love about court monitoring is that you get a different experience each year. Different brackets, different ages, different street locations, different weather, and different situations factor in to making sure that one tournament will be completely different from another tournament. My first four years I definitely got a unique taste each time. However, while each year presented me with a new experience and new stories, one thing stayed constant: I had zero problems. I was able to maintain control, avoid any ugly incidents, and keep all teams eligible. Well, my unblemished record took a bit of a hit this year.
Hoopfest 2012: This was my fifth consecutive year as a court monitor for Hoopfest.
On Friday night I learned that I got assigned an adult male court….well, sort of.  My bracket consisted of 17-18 year old boys, some still in high school, others just graduated. I welcomed this assignment. For many people, this age is the pinnacle of athletic careers. I knew competition would be intense and the desire to win would be high. This appealed to me. I love monitoring games when teams go at each other tooth and nail, doing whatever they can to advance in the bracket. However, I think I got a little more than what I bargained for.
Hoopfest 2012: My brother and I at Hoopfest.
My home for the weekend was the KXLY4 HD #1 court on Washington and Spokane Falls Boulevard. This particular court was an end court so instead of another court directly in back of my court, I had empty space, thus allowing for fans to crowd around that area. Anyway, the early morning games went well except for one weird oddity. Maybe as a sign to me that this would be no regular Hoopfest, during one of the first games a drunk transient wandered onto my court and stood inside the two-point arc. Incensed, I told the guy to get off the court. He said no. Again, I told him to get off the court. He said no again. After telling him that I was going to get the cops he stepped behind the two point line (still on the court) and slurred “I’m behind the line now.” Just as he said that I saw my court marshal out of the corner of my eye and noticed that he had just realized the situation. As I went to go meet him, the transient left the court. Several other court marshals and rapid response members followed him in hot pursuit.

The actual play that morning went exactly how I thought it would go. Games for the most part were hotly contested and the competitive level was high, but nothing got out of hand. By the time the 12:30pm game came around, things started to escalate a little. In the first winners bracket game of the tournament, two teams were going at it the whole twenty-five minutes. Trash talk, hard fouls, and some pushing and shoving entered the picture. Towards the end of the game, I was forced to call an intentional foul. After that, everyone seemed to calm down a little bit and the game finally came to an end. I ventured over to the scorer’s table to do the necessary paperwork for the completed game. As  my head was turned from the players I received an urgent alert from my cousin to turn around. As I threw my head back I saw a terrible sight. No less than six or seven people were engaged in a fight. Haymakers were being thrown, people were screaming, and randos were starting to rush over. The number of people started to snowball and the situation got ugly. Remember how I said there was open space behind my court? The brawl had spilled out into the open area. At least twenty people were involved. My court marshal arrived quickly on the scene and radioed for all the help possible. We had multiple court marshals, several rapid response members, and quite a few Spokane police officers doing what they could to break the mess up. By the time order was restored there were bloody faces, ripped shirts, and numerous upset people. What happened was after the game finished, a fan said something to a player on the losing team and that player went after the fan. The team that instigated the brawl was disqualified from the tournament on the spot.
Hoopfest 2012: This picture was taken literally seconds before the first brawl broke out behind me.

I had never presided over such a melee before at Hoopfest. After giving my statement to a high ranking Hoopfest official, I got the next game going. The following game went well and I decided that the earlier fight was just a fluke, something everyone goes through if you volunteer at Hoopfest long enough. Unfortunately, it was not a fluke. At the 1:30pm game, another winner's bracket matchup, another fiery situation had developed. Two teams from local area high schools were facing off. The teams had history with each other in other sports and they both wanted to win the game. One of the teams brought a very large cheering section with them. The empty space behind my court was no longer empty…it was packed with seventeen and eighteen year old supporters of one of the teams. While they were supporters of the one team, they were more like haters of the other team. The fans kept heckling and baiting the other team, one player in particular. As a court monitor you can try to control a situation as intently as possible but when the crowd is so large and when they are in back of you, it is hard to regulate completely. Anyway, a member of the crowd finally said something that really got to the targeted player and it was game over from there. The player walked over to the fan, pushing me aside as I tried to step between the two (this was a huge athlete), and cold clocked the heckler. Chaos ensued.

Once again blows were exchanged by multiple people. The player who instigated the fight was completely out of control. Someone from the crowd took the player down to the ground and then, I kid you not, some kid who was well over 300 pounds fell on the player, securing the peace. Court marshals and rapid response members separated everyone and I was given the decision on whether to let the game continue or to just call it right then and there. I decided to let the game continue. The player who crossed the player/fan boundary and punched the fan was ejected for the rest of the tournament.

The rest of Saturday went by without a hitch. Many of the players on the other teams saw the previous brawls and did not want to repeat any of that behavior. The late afternoon games went without incident but I still drove home that night feeling a little down about what all had happened that day on my court. An awesome BBQ with my brother and his team, some cold beer, and great conversation that night helped to remove some of that earlier feeling and left me rejuvenated for Sunday.
A delicious Saturday night BBQ was just what I needed.

While Saturday was characterized by brawls, Sunday was defined by disqualifications. Here is the thing: When you fill out your Hoopfest registration packet, you must be honest. When you arrive at Hoopfest, your team must reflect all of the info from when you signed up back in March. If there is even the smallest inaccuracy, opposing players will pounce on it and push for consequences. This happened on Sunday. The DQs started early. One of the teams that still remained in the winner’s bracket had a couple players that looked like they were comfortably over six feet (the bracket was 5’10” and under). The success of the team drew a complaint from a player. So, after the team had won its opening game on Sunday to come just one win away from the championship game, we measured one of the kids and sure enough he did not meet the height limit. The team was immediately disqualified.

A couple games later, another team was disqualified because they had a player sign in who was not on the registered roster. Then, a couple more games later, the fourth team of my bracket was disqualified because they had a player who was signing in as a registered player on the team but the only problem was that he was not that registered player. With all of these disqualifications the aftermath sucked as all DQ’d teams were very upset and voiced their displeasure on the court for everyone to see/hear. I hate disqualifying any team. I hate seeing their weekend ruined, their entry money wasted, and their fans/family disappointed. But when an opposing player brings up a complaint, you have to investigate it and follow the Hoopfest rules. Please, register your team honestly and then uphold that same team for the whole tournament.
Hoopfest 2012: Court marshalls (red shirts) and rapid response members (blue shirts) gave me great support.

So besides all of the disqualifications that resulted in multiple forfeits, some basketball was still played on Sunday. In what couldn’t be any more fitting, the team that won my bracket, the Royal Knights, was one of the few teams that never found themselves in any controversy the whole weekend. They never fought, never had a question raised about their eligibility, never complained/petitioned against another team, never had any player pushing the height limit, and never gave me one reason to dislike them.  In a weekend that saw a quarter of my bracket get disqualified and multiple unsportsmanlike infractions occur, it served as a little bit of justice that a hard playing team like the Royal Knights took home the champion t-shirts.
Hoopfest 2012: Myself with my bracket champions, the Royal Knights.
Players and spectators asked me all weekend long if I enjoyed being in the middle of the action on such a crazy court. My simple answer was no. When I am responsible for running the show I find no joy in watching fights break out and ejecting teams from the tournament. So while I was disappointed in the antics that occurred on my court during Hoopfest 2012 I will just learn from the experience. Some things I could have controlled better and some things were completely out of my hands. I developed a whole new sense of respect for my court marshal, Kevin, and the rest of the Hoopfest court marshals and rapid response members. They had my back every single step of the way and supported me throughout the whole tournament.  Through this experience I feel like I became a better court monitor and my passion and love for Hoopfest never waivered. Let’s get the next 360+ days over with fast, I am ready for Hoopfest 2013! Don’t Blink.