For a majority of the summer, I have worked with Major League Lacrosse's Los Angeles Riptide. The Riptide play out of the Home Depot Center and have experienced a lot of success this year. The team recently completed its third season by playing their final game at OCC in Orange County.
The game before that last game I was sitting outside of the locker room with head coach John Tucker. When asked if I was ready for the move of the game, I told him I was excited since it was moving to my home town. He said that it would be great if we could get a good crowd for the last game, since the team has worked so hard to get to this point and the guys on the team were 'great guys who deserved the support.' From there I got the idea to try to recruit people to come.
Since the game was an hour closer to San Diego than normal, I thought this would be a great opportunity to try to introduce lacrosse to my classmates (on top of my normal babble about lacrosse during class discussions). The ticket managers for the team felt the same way. They put together a special package for my classmates to come -- not only could SDSU Sports MBA students purchase discounted tickets, but they would also receive a Riptide hat (it was more exciting apparently than we could imagine).
I felt like this was a big challenge for me. The organization now knew that I was trying to get people to come to the game, so it was important that I exceed expectations with the opportunity. Lucky for me, my classmates were supportive and 9 people made the trip to OCC!
The game could not have been any more perfect for a first time spectator. It was the last game of the regular season, we had already secured a spot in the playoffs, and we were playing the San Francisco Dragons -- our coastal rivals. There seems to be some historic rivalry between the two teams that has built over the past three seasons. The game was rough. The penalty flags were flying and men were being checked hard.
Taking a break from my operational duties, I ran to the stands to see how my classmates were doing. It was hard to get in a word because they were terribly busy starting the 'Lets Go Riptide' chants that were being picked up on by the rest of the stands (Although the Nor Cal natives were starting trouble cheering for the Dragons, but hey, whatever gets you into it, right?). 
The Riptide ended up losing that game. It was the first game they had lost to the Dragons ever. However, it might have been a great gain for the Riptide. Not only did they have a successful turnout at OCC (way better than HDC in my opinion), but might have even converted some sports lovers to lacrosse fans!
Since the game was an hour closer to San Diego than normal, I thought this would be a great opportunity to try to introduce lacrosse to my classmates (on top of my normal babble about lacrosse during class discussions). The ticket managers for the team felt the same way. They put together a special package for my classmates to come -- not only could SDSU Sports MBA students purchase discounted tickets, but they would also receive a Riptide hat (it was more exciting apparently than we could imagine).
I felt like this was a big challenge for me. The organization now knew that I was trying to get people to come to the game, so it was important that I exceed expectations with the opportunity. Lucky for me, my classmates were supportive and 9 people made the trip to OCC!
The game could not have been any more perfect for a first time spectator. It was the last game of the regular season, we had already secured a spot in the playoffs, and we were playing the San Francisco Dragons -- our coastal rivals. There seems to be some historic rivalry between the two teams that has built over the past three seasons. The game was rough. The penalty flags were flying and men were being checked hard.
The Riptide ended up losing that game. It was the first game they had lost to the Dragons ever. However, it might have been a great gain for the Riptide. Not only did they have a successful turnout at OCC (way better than HDC in my opinion), but might have even converted some sports lovers to lacrosse fans!
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