The Mudbugs had the game in hand and were ready to take it.....only to give away their chance. Have to give the Cats credit for taking advantage of the opportunity. It was nice to be able to watch parts of the game on the internet feed. The moderators in the chat area were very sensative though. Before a comment would be posted it needed to go through moderation. Some honest and very harmless questions and comments I submitted were not approved for whatever reason. So I just kicked back and watched the rest. The second half was primarily what I got to see as the picture kept freezing in the second half. None of this is knocks, just facts. No need to be sensative to factual statements. I appreciated the opportunity to watch and make a few comments.
On a side note, and this is critical, I find it very hard to believe there were 3864 in attendance. How many does that building hold for T-Cat games? There were many more empty seats than people (15-1 at least) on the screen.
Austin turfcats
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Caballo Diablo
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[quote=""Big Easy""]
On a side note, and this is critical, I find it very hard to believe there were 3864 in attendance. How many does that building hold for T-Cat games? There were many more empty seats than people (15-1 at least) on the screen.[/quote]
For football and hockey set-ups the arena holds right at 8,000.
One side of the arena easily had twice as many people as the other side for some reason.
The lower (floor seating) and middle sections are assigned seats while the larger upper sections are general admission. I'm not sure why most people went to one side.
For the first half I sat front row on the wall at the 20 yd line and even caught one of Bo Bartick's passes. The second half I sat on the other side of the arena about halfway up with some other friends.
On a side note, and this is critical, I find it very hard to believe there were 3864 in attendance. How many does that building hold for T-Cat games? There were many more empty seats than people (15-1 at least) on the screen.[/quote]
For football and hockey set-ups the arena holds right at 8,000.
One side of the arena easily had twice as many people as the other side for some reason.
The lower (floor seating) and middle sections are assigned seats while the larger upper sections are general admission. I'm not sure why most people went to one side.
For the first half I sat front row on the wall at the 20 yd line and even caught one of Bo Bartick's passes. The second half I sat on the other side of the arena about halfway up with some other friends.
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Caballo Diablo
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Turfcats Organizing Party Bus to the SIFL Championship
July 19, 2009
The Austin Turfcats are playing in the first-ever SIFL Championship Game. Assuming that the Houma Conquerors are unable to upset the Louisiana Swashbucklers in their semi-final matchup tonight, the Turfcats will face the Bucs for the championship on Monday, July 27th, in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Jack Dixon, Director of Operations for the Turfcats, is organizing a bus trip to the game and will be going along for the ride to act as your tour guide.
The bus will leave from the Travis County Exposition Center at 6:00 a.m. Monday, July 27th. Upon arriving in Louisiana (roughly 12:30 p.m.), we will go to the LAuberge du Lac Casino and Resort to have some fun.
The LAuberge du Lac Casino and Resort has multiple amenities in addition to the casino, so fans of all ages will be able to have some fun. The casino is located just a short distance from the Lake Charles Civic Center, so we will be able to stay at the casino until 5:00 p.m. before heading to the game. For more details on the resort, check out their website at http://www.ldlcasino.com/home.aspx
The bus will then leave shortly after the game (after some tailgating, of course) and should arrive back in Austin at the Expo Center around 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 28th.
Seats are $85 per person and this includes the bus trip, the casino visit and an upper level seat to the game. There are 40 seats available and they will be reserved on a first come first serve basis. Ticket upgrades will be available at the box office. For information on ticket prices, visit the Bucs' website at http://www.labucs.com/
To book your seat contact Jack Dixon at (866) 969-TCAT (8228.), or via email at jack@turfcats.com no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 23rd.
http://www.turfcats.com/news/2009-07-19 ... nship.html
July 19, 2009
The Austin Turfcats are playing in the first-ever SIFL Championship Game. Assuming that the Houma Conquerors are unable to upset the Louisiana Swashbucklers in their semi-final matchup tonight, the Turfcats will face the Bucs for the championship on Monday, July 27th, in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Jack Dixon, Director of Operations for the Turfcats, is organizing a bus trip to the game and will be going along for the ride to act as your tour guide.
The bus will leave from the Travis County Exposition Center at 6:00 a.m. Monday, July 27th. Upon arriving in Louisiana (roughly 12:30 p.m.), we will go to the LAuberge du Lac Casino and Resort to have some fun.
The LAuberge du Lac Casino and Resort has multiple amenities in addition to the casino, so fans of all ages will be able to have some fun. The casino is located just a short distance from the Lake Charles Civic Center, so we will be able to stay at the casino until 5:00 p.m. before heading to the game. For more details on the resort, check out their website at http://www.ldlcasino.com/home.aspx
The bus will then leave shortly after the game (after some tailgating, of course) and should arrive back in Austin at the Expo Center around 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 28th.
Seats are $85 per person and this includes the bus trip, the casino visit and an upper level seat to the game. There are 40 seats available and they will be reserved on a first come first serve basis. Ticket upgrades will be available at the box office. For information on ticket prices, visit the Bucs' website at http://www.labucs.com/
To book your seat contact Jack Dixon at (866) 969-TCAT (8228.), or via email at jack@turfcats.com no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 23rd.
http://www.turfcats.com/news/2009-07-19 ... nship.html
[quote=""Big Easy""]
On a side note, and this is critical, I find it very hard to believe there were 3864 in attendance. How many does that building hold for T-Cat games? There were many more empty seats than people (15-1 at least) on the screen.[/quote]
You must not have seen pictures from AF2 Texas Copperheads games where "4000" people were there.
From the eyewitness accounts here, the 3864 seems reasonable. Even if it's high by 1,000, that's common in this (and all) sports. 3864 when 3000 were there is OK; "4000" when 700 were there is not.
On a side note, and this is critical, I find it very hard to believe there were 3864 in attendance. How many does that building hold for T-Cat games? There were many more empty seats than people (15-1 at least) on the screen.[/quote]
You must not have seen pictures from AF2 Texas Copperheads games where "4000" people were there.
From the eyewitness accounts here, the 3864 seems reasonable. Even if it's high by 1,000, that's common in this (and all) sports. 3864 when 3000 were there is OK; "4000" when 700 were there is not.
What are you doing here?
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sparknetKasey
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- Location: San Marcos, TX
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[quote=""Big Easy""]It was nice to be able to watch parts of the game on the internet feed. The moderators in the chat area were very sensative though. Before a comment would be posted it needed to go through moderation. Some honest and very harmless questions and comments I submitted were not approved for whatever reason.[/quote]Seeing as how I was the one on the mic... and handling the live blog... and handling just about everything related to the webcast, the Twitter feed, and LiveScore... 
It wasn't a question of sensitivity, it was simply a question of manpower. I called in a friend of mine on Friday to help run the webcast and handle Twitter (which I normally do) so that I could focus on the play-by-play and a set of interviews we had lined up for second half. Long story short, due to staffing issues elsewhere in the arena, that was all the help I got. My plan was to have two more bodies helping out to where I could really focus on nothing but the game and they could handle the Liveblog and the other little toys, but that just didn't happen. So we blew out the interview plan... which, the way the game turned in the second half, and then into OT, ended up being a good idea anyways.
Ultimately, I'd like to find a different chat system entirely for the webcast (one that doesn't involve moderation), but we couldn't get that implemented in time so we merged the Liveblog in. Unfortunately, the Liveblog is a full-time job in itself (between keeping track of the action and then handling comments/questions) so it wasn't effective for this at all. (And to answer the easy question - there is no switch to turn the moderation off. CoverItLive - the liveblogging software - just isn't wired that way.)
Scott (in LA) uses Stickam for their webcasts, but the system we're using (Watershed powered by Ustream.tv) offers a few more features. The downside is that it doesn't come in a nice little easy-to-drop-in package like Stickam does. By next season, though, I'll have it all figured out. We've got the high school football season to play with it and get it nailed down for next March.
All of that being said... for a first time out, I think the system worked pretty well. We almost topped 100 viewers near the end of the game.
Thanks for the feedback, and thanks for watching. With all of us (likely) converging in Lake Charles next week, the Championship webcast and the associated coverage should be pretty enjoyable and in-depth for anyone not able to be there in person.
It wasn't a question of sensitivity, it was simply a question of manpower. I called in a friend of mine on Friday to help run the webcast and handle Twitter (which I normally do) so that I could focus on the play-by-play and a set of interviews we had lined up for second half. Long story short, due to staffing issues elsewhere in the arena, that was all the help I got. My plan was to have two more bodies helping out to where I could really focus on nothing but the game and they could handle the Liveblog and the other little toys, but that just didn't happen. So we blew out the interview plan... which, the way the game turned in the second half, and then into OT, ended up being a good idea anyways.
Ultimately, I'd like to find a different chat system entirely for the webcast (one that doesn't involve moderation), but we couldn't get that implemented in time so we merged the Liveblog in. Unfortunately, the Liveblog is a full-time job in itself (between keeping track of the action and then handling comments/questions) so it wasn't effective for this at all. (And to answer the easy question - there is no switch to turn the moderation off. CoverItLive - the liveblogging software - just isn't wired that way.)
Scott (in LA) uses Stickam for their webcasts, but the system we're using (Watershed powered by Ustream.tv) offers a few more features. The downside is that it doesn't come in a nice little easy-to-drop-in package like Stickam does. By next season, though, I'll have it all figured out.
We've got the high school football season to play with it and get it nailed down for next March.All of that being said... for a first time out, I think the system worked pretty well. We almost topped 100 viewers near the end of the game.
Thanks for the feedback, and thanks for watching. With all of us (likely) converging in Lake Charles next week, the Championship webcast and the associated coverage should be pretty enjoyable and in-depth for anyone not able to be there in person.
Kasey Johns
sparkNet Creative
Powering Indoor Football's Leading Sites: SIFL | Austin Turfcats | Acadiana Mudbugs
sparkNet Creative
Powering Indoor Football's Leading Sites: SIFL | Austin Turfcats | Acadiana Mudbugs
[quote=""exit322""]You must not have seen pictures from AF2 Texas Copperheads games where "4000" people were there.
From the eyewitness accounts here, the 3864 seems reasonable. Even if it's high by 1,000, that's common in this (and all) sports. 3864 when 3000 were there is OK; "4000" when 700 were there is not.[/quote]
I'm not going to get into a back and forth on this. While the team and organization may be disbanded, I'm going to maintain my integrity by sticking to a couple of facts. You can shoot back however you like, I have nothing to defend and no reason to go beyond these quick statements.
1. I do not recall ever claiming there were 4K people at a home Copperheads game. I think the highest "attendance" I ever reported was about 3300. The numbers I reported were provided to me by the organization. It wasn't my position to report anything other than the "official attendance" as provided by the organization's management. Again, if you want to debate my statements or what I reported, find someone else to do it with. I don't care if the organization is defunct or not, my integrity and trustworthiness is more important to me that a discussion over a defunct af2 teams reported attendance. AND..what does this have to do with Austin anyway?
2. I totally understand how it's done, thats why I asked about the reported "attendance". It doesn't matter what the Copperheads reported, I'm asking about Austin. After working in sports, working closely with an NBA team, etc., I totally "get" how the system works....THATS why I'm asking. Whether it's NFL, NBA, MLB, af2, SIFL, etc., no one reports turnstyle attendance. Many teams use the term attendance but actually quote tickets distributed. Every team measures it and embellishes it slightly different, but none or exactly forthcoming.
3. Contrary to what you may want to believe, I want indoor football to be successful in Texas (Austin included) and am not trying to embarass or put down Austin. My question was legitimate, and asked with no ill will. Some of you are overly sensative.
4. The reason the eyewitnesses spoke up is because someone asked. Sounds fair enough to me. I don't recall disagreeing with them or making negative comments to their first hand reports. I wasn't there and made that very clear. The view I had was very limited. Thats why I asked. Whats the big deal?
From the eyewitness accounts here, the 3864 seems reasonable. Even if it's high by 1,000, that's common in this (and all) sports. 3864 when 3000 were there is OK; "4000" when 700 were there is not.[/quote]
I'm not going to get into a back and forth on this. While the team and organization may be disbanded, I'm going to maintain my integrity by sticking to a couple of facts. You can shoot back however you like, I have nothing to defend and no reason to go beyond these quick statements.
1. I do not recall ever claiming there were 4K people at a home Copperheads game. I think the highest "attendance" I ever reported was about 3300. The numbers I reported were provided to me by the organization. It wasn't my position to report anything other than the "official attendance" as provided by the organization's management. Again, if you want to debate my statements or what I reported, find someone else to do it with. I don't care if the organization is defunct or not, my integrity and trustworthiness is more important to me that a discussion over a defunct af2 teams reported attendance. AND..what does this have to do with Austin anyway?
2. I totally understand how it's done, thats why I asked about the reported "attendance". It doesn't matter what the Copperheads reported, I'm asking about Austin. After working in sports, working closely with an NBA team, etc., I totally "get" how the system works....THATS why I'm asking. Whether it's NFL, NBA, MLB, af2, SIFL, etc., no one reports turnstyle attendance. Many teams use the term attendance but actually quote tickets distributed. Every team measures it and embellishes it slightly different, but none or exactly forthcoming.
3. Contrary to what you may want to believe, I want indoor football to be successful in Texas (Austin included) and am not trying to embarass or put down Austin. My question was legitimate, and asked with no ill will. Some of you are overly sensative.
4. The reason the eyewitnesses spoke up is because someone asked. Sounds fair enough to me. I don't recall disagreeing with them or making negative comments to their first hand reports. I wasn't there and made that very clear. The view I had was very limited. Thats why I asked. Whats the big deal?
Last edited by Big Easy on Tue Jul 21, 2009 3:03 am, edited 2 times in total.
If integrity is missing, so are you.
[quote=""sparknetKasey""]Seeing as how I was the one on the mic... and handling the live blog... and handling just about everything related to the webcast, the Twitter feed, and LiveScore...
It wasn't a question of sensitivity, it was simply a question of manpower. I called in a friend of mine on Friday to help run the webcast and handle Twitter (which I normally do) so that I could focus on the play-by-play and a set of interviews we had lined up for second half. Long story short, due to staffing issues elsewhere in the arena, that was all the help I got. My plan was to have two more bodies helping out to where I could really focus on nothing but the game and they could handle the Liveblog and the other little toys, but that just didn't happen. So we blew out the interview plan... which, the way the game turned in the second half, and then into OT, ended up being a good idea anyways.
Ultimately, I'd like to find a different chat system entirely for the webcast (one that doesn't involve moderation), but we couldn't get that implemented in time so we merged the Liveblog in. Unfortunately, the Liveblog is a full-time job in itself (between keeping track of the action and then handling comments/questions) so it wasn't effective for this at all. (And to answer the easy question - there is no switch to turn the moderation off. CoverItLive - the liveblogging software - just isn't wired that way.)
Scott (in LA) uses Stickam for their webcasts, but the system we're using (Watershed powered by Ustream.tv) offers a few more features. The downside is that it doesn't come in a nice little easy-to-drop-in package like Stickam does. By next season, though, I'll have it all figured out. We've got the high school football season to play with it and get it nailed down for next March.
All of that being said... for a first time out, I think the system worked pretty well. We almost topped 100 viewers near the end of the game.
Thanks for the feedback, and thanks for watching. With all of us (likely) converging in Lake Charles next week, the Championship webcast and the associated coverage should be pretty enjoyable and in-depth for anyone not able to be there in person.[/quote]
Good stuff Kasey. I'll be watching the championship game! Thanks for your efforts. You were juggling a lot of balls and did a good job.
Thanks for not taking this in a negative manner. I think it's fair to critique and ask questions as long as it's done without ill will. Thanks for recognizing that my comments were simply my experience and not posted to put you or the organization down.
It wasn't a question of sensitivity, it was simply a question of manpower. I called in a friend of mine on Friday to help run the webcast and handle Twitter (which I normally do) so that I could focus on the play-by-play and a set of interviews we had lined up for second half. Long story short, due to staffing issues elsewhere in the arena, that was all the help I got. My plan was to have two more bodies helping out to where I could really focus on nothing but the game and they could handle the Liveblog and the other little toys, but that just didn't happen. So we blew out the interview plan... which, the way the game turned in the second half, and then into OT, ended up being a good idea anyways.
Ultimately, I'd like to find a different chat system entirely for the webcast (one that doesn't involve moderation), but we couldn't get that implemented in time so we merged the Liveblog in. Unfortunately, the Liveblog is a full-time job in itself (between keeping track of the action and then handling comments/questions) so it wasn't effective for this at all. (And to answer the easy question - there is no switch to turn the moderation off. CoverItLive - the liveblogging software - just isn't wired that way.)
Scott (in LA) uses Stickam for their webcasts, but the system we're using (Watershed powered by Ustream.tv) offers a few more features. The downside is that it doesn't come in a nice little easy-to-drop-in package like Stickam does. By next season, though, I'll have it all figured out.
We've got the high school football season to play with it and get it nailed down for next March.All of that being said... for a first time out, I think the system worked pretty well. We almost topped 100 viewers near the end of the game.
Thanks for the feedback, and thanks for watching. With all of us (likely) converging in Lake Charles next week, the Championship webcast and the associated coverage should be pretty enjoyable and in-depth for anyone not able to be there in person.[/quote]
Good stuff Kasey. I'll be watching the championship game! Thanks for your efforts. You were juggling a lot of balls and did a good job.
Thanks for not taking this in a negative manner. I think it's fair to critique and ask questions as long as it's done without ill will. Thanks for recognizing that my comments were simply my experience and not posted to put you or the organization down.
If integrity is missing, so are you.
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Caballo Diablo
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- Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2008 10:43 pm
I was at the game and sat in front of his press box for the 2nd half, he did an outstanding job. It's always difficult to handle this position as the fans watching and listening would like, but he truly was a one man production.
Many would have been overwhelmed and just tried to handle one thing, he was juggling many tasks and did a great job.
We're acoustomed to watching sports on TV, most of the time flawless. great shots, great coverage, and plenty of information. Remember, they've got tons of people involved in the production and millions of dollars of equiptment at hand. I know the lady that does most of the graphics for ESPN, her family comes to many of the Turfcat games and she was amazed at what one person did.
Many would have been overwhelmed and just tried to handle one thing, he was juggling many tasks and did a great job.
We're acoustomed to watching sports on TV, most of the time flawless. great shots, great coverage, and plenty of information. Remember, they've got tons of people involved in the production and millions of dollars of equiptment at hand. I know the lady that does most of the graphics for ESPN, her family comes to many of the Turfcat games and she was amazed at what one person did.
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ronaldoswalt
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- Location: San Marcos, Texas
Fan Hotel For Championship
The Austin Turfcats have negotiated rates with the Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder, Louisiana, for fans that do not want to take the team party bus to Lake Charles. The rates for a double room are $115.00 for Sunday night and $95.00 for Monday night.
Bar services and much more are available 24/7 postgame. For more information, and to book your reservations, contact Karen Martin at (800) 584-7263 or by email at kmartin@coushattacasinoresort.com.
The 208 spacious, beautifully furnished rooms and suites of Coushatta Grand Hotel offer an unsurpassed level of comfort, style, and personal service. From the luxury of authentic marble floors, magnificent chandeliers and intriguing art, to the practicality of in-room coffeemakers, hair dryers and ironing provisions, you will treasure every moment of your stay at Coushatta Grand Hotel.
LOTS OF AMENITIES
Indulge yourself in one of their spacious studio or stunning two-room suites boasting elegant seating areas, large screen TVs and in-room refrigerators, plus pristine baths with spa tubs and marble accents. Challenge yourself with a workout in our well-appointed fitness room, relax with a swim in our beautiful indoor pool, or phone the front desk to schedule your soothing massage.
RESERVATIONS - check in at 4:00pm, check out at 12:00 noon.
Bar services and much more are available 24/7 postgame. For more information, and to book your reservations, contact Karen Martin at (800) 584-7263 or by email at kmartin@coushattacasinoresort.com.
The 208 spacious, beautifully furnished rooms and suites of Coushatta Grand Hotel offer an unsurpassed level of comfort, style, and personal service. From the luxury of authentic marble floors, magnificent chandeliers and intriguing art, to the practicality of in-room coffeemakers, hair dryers and ironing provisions, you will treasure every moment of your stay at Coushatta Grand Hotel.
LOTS OF AMENITIES
Indulge yourself in one of their spacious studio or stunning two-room suites boasting elegant seating areas, large screen TVs and in-room refrigerators, plus pristine baths with spa tubs and marble accents. Challenge yourself with a workout in our well-appointed fitness room, relax with a swim in our beautiful indoor pool, or phone the front desk to schedule your soothing massage.
RESERVATIONS - check in at 4:00pm, check out at 12:00 noon.
