BEVERLY HILLS (MI) — A few years ago, the Detroit Pistons had a great promotional concept for their upcoming season. It was built around the theme of “Goin’ to Work” which resonated perfectly with the hoops fans in this pre-recession, workingman and workingwoman town. The TV commercials featured Pistons players with hard hats on, working in plants, punching time clocks, that kinda stuff. It carried thru to the pre-game intro, where the big-screen on the scoreboard would show Big Ben or Rasheed or Rip swinging a sledge hammer at their opponent’s team logo which would then explode, timed with a large detonation and flames shooting from, well, I guess you would call them flame-shooting machines near each basket. Your ears would ring for several minutes afterwards and you could actually feel the heat from the fire several sections away. Pretty cool, er, hot stuff.

The theme for this year’s UD squad is “We’re All Flyers” and I think it fits even better than “Goin’ to Work” did for the Detroiters. In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s is the video that Doug Hauschild and company commissioned right after the Red and Blue game to launch the most anticipated Flyer season in decades:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ickp41Vol4

I love how the vid closes with a self-assured CW stating, matter-of-factly, “We’re all Flyers, baby.” That we are Chris. The beauty of this theme is that it is truly all-inclusive: players, coaches, cheerleaders, fans from babies to seniors, Dr. Willie and the band, alums, Dayton area residents, the Red Scare and students…heck, even the guys from the Blackburn Review — we’re all on this bandwagon together.

Let’s face it, this year’s video should age a little bit better than this one produced by Channel 7 from the late 80s:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c5auuBxXIU

We as fans tend to forget that the Flyers won’t really be “goin’ to work” on our behalf this season, as this is not their job, but rather their secondary function as student/athletes. Most of them will not be playing at the next level, although one of them surely will and I continue to selfishly hope that it will not be until after the conclusion of the 2010-2011 season.

In the video BG refers to the Flyers’ “non-stop energy.” The system that Coach Gregory brought with him from Izzo U featuring relentless defense and fast break offense is finally fully functional. BG has a roster of 17 guys and he is gonna need every single one of ‘em to perform. Yeah, even the walk-ons have a very important role, as does redshirt transfer/scout squad player Josh Parker. BTW, I love how when referring to the senior class BG and the team call them the “seven seniors” meaning not only Marcus, London, Mickey, Kurt and Rob, but walk-ons Luke Hendrick and Dan Fox, as well.

That’s a team talking.

Speaking of this energy, where does it come from? When asked, BG basically said that the coaches worry about the small stuff; it’s up to the seniors to provide motivation and leadership. If that’s the case, the team is in good hands.

Everybody works hard (especially in practice, more about that in a minute); everybody plays hard. When you get tired, which is inevitable, your teammate comes in to give you a blow. You are not competing with your fellow Flyer for playing time; you are sharing it. Having a two-headed PG in London and a soon-to-be-healthy Rob means the energy never lets up, the pressure is always gonna be there for our opponents, much to their dismay and to the delight of Flyer Fans. The same holds true for the other 4 positions on the floor. It really doesn’t matter who starts.

There has been some discussion on the various MBs and blogs about the intensity of BG’s practices and the resultant bumps and bruises that tend to occur. Keep in mind, those nagging injuries are gonna happen, even if one of the players is just walking down the street. Heck, Glen “Big Baby” Davis of the Celtics recently broke his thumb while fighting with a friend from back home in Louisiana! I am a firm believer that you play as you practice. If you go all-out, all the time in drills and scrimmages, you will do the same when it matters. And of course, the reverse is also true.

Go back and take a look at Huggy Bear’s press conference after UD beat WVU in the NCAAs last year. He has that “I have no idea WTF just hit us” look on his face. He and his team were obviously not prepared for the Flyers’ collective energy. I love that look. I want to see that look again this year from opposing coaches…a lot!

The first exhibition game is Tuesday evening vs. Ferris State. You have to go back to the 1967-68 season to find a Flyer campaign that debuted with higher expectations. That Don May-led squad was coming off a trip to the National Championship game vs. the UCLAlcindors. History buffs will recall that Donoher and Company started off 7-9 that season, then righted the ship and finished strong, winning the NIT Championship over Jo Jo White and Kansas.

Where will this squad take all of us? We are about to find out.

Okay, Flyers: it’s time to “Go to Work.”

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
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