BEN has 388 chronicles

1. Morning Before GoG March Madness Tournament
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Mar 22 2008

   This Saturday morning, as I prepare the final brackets and gather all the tournament things together, I'm excited to head to Boston's and have a fun March Madness Tournament! FYI - Not to mention pushing the overall GoG membership to 900!
   
   Like I did before the GoG IMAX tourney, I thought I'd just take a moment to reflect on this event.
   
   Even with 16-20 participants, we didn't have the sign up I thought we'd have, especially with a FREE Xbox giveaway for 1st place, the EA Sports basketball game for 2nd place, and of course some GoG Gear to fill in the holes. I'm not sure of another event that you can win such cool prizes with free registration, but I think I would blame a few factors for this mediocre turn out.
   
   1. Weak Game Choice - Obviously we had to choose a college basketball game, but I've been playing the game this week and I can see why it's not popular. It'll still be alot of fun to play the game and watch the tournament, so this was nothing I could control, but I think it's a major factor.
   
   2. Easter Weekend - A few people actually registered, but when we went to confirm their participation, they had forgotten they would be out of town for the holiday. I know Easter is on Sunday, but the holiday weekend could have a slight influence on the turnout. Picking dates when you planning an event is so tricky because you just can't avoid everything
   
   3. Weak Marketing - Although we spread the word alot on The GoG, there wasn't much support to really spread the word. I think it came down to not having enough time and maybe a little lack of preparation. We spread the fliers out at KidsFest and around town, but there wasn't tournament information EVERYWHERE, which I always like to see.
   
   In conclusion, I know I've highlighted the slightly negative side of today's event, but truthfully I know we're going to have fun and it's still going to be great! We've got 4-5 GoG Staffers joining us(not Andy though), as well as all the participants, friends, and families. This being said, I don't doubt we'll have a great crowd, enjoy some awesome food/drinks, watch some exciting NCAA tournament action, and get some new GoG members while we rock out with The GoG March Madness Tournament at Boston's Sports Bar & Restaurant in W. Des Moines, Iowa...
   
   Here we go!
   
   3.22.08

   
   

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BEN has 2 comment s on this chronicle.

1. Boobacca
   Posted On Mar 28 2008

   Don't get too down on yourself for the turnout. I told as many people as I could, but a lot of them were coming back from being out of town for Spring Break, not just Easter.
   
   Neither of those things were probably at the front of your mind when this was booked, especially if you don't have kids. If it's any consolation, we basically had tumbleweeds rolling through Cyber Ops on Easter Sunday, and I think I heard crickets chirping too. Very slow for us.
   
   It's impossible to plan around everything. I heard somebody complain about one of our tournaments falling on NFL draft day. Play in the tournament, watch the highlights on ESPN! Now there's an idea...

2. Sn1pe Warman
   Posted On Mar 22 2008

   Very fun time today