Baker blackout
This article was originally published prior to June 2, 2013. Due to a change in the content management systems, the initial publication date in not available.
Baker University plans to make Liston Stadium pitch black for a day.
At 1 p.m. Saturday, fans will pile into the stadium to see the ‘Cats play Missouri Valley College
The stands may turn out to look more partly cloudy, though.
Baker is having a “blackout” game, which has taken place at NCAA Division I games where all the fans wear black shirts in the stands during the game. Shirts for the game have been made, but Baker students will have to purchase the shirts for $5.
With the economic situation the way it is and with budgets being tight for everyone, there may not be money to spend on the event. However if the shirts were free, Baker would get a better turnout. For the blackout to serve its purpose, everyone needs to participate.
There will be people who will not pay for the blackout shirt but would wear it at the game if it were free. If done right, the blackout concept could work well and provide a great atmosphere for both fans and athletes. If people do not decide to purchase the shirts and only half of the stand is wearing black and the other half wears an assortment of different colored shirts, then the blackout loses its effect.
There are worse things a student could spend his or her money on, but there will be those who draw their line of support at buying a shirt for a football game. If students are going to the game but would rather not purchase a shirt, one solution would be to wear a solid black shirt you already own to the game. This way, the students will still support the event but not have to buy the shirt.
The best result would be to have free shirts given to students as they arrive at the stadium. The next best possible outcome would be for students to embrace the idea and to either purchase the shirts or still arrive in black to make the blackout a success.