Smells Like Stanford Spirit!

Sometimes I don't think we know how lucky we are to have the PAC 10 tournament in our own backyard. I know we all get tired with all of the games, but isn't it great to have the chance to see so much top flight basketball so close to home? And besides, we really can make the Arena a home court for our Team!

Not that I didn't have fun in Eugene when it was there--well, except for the end result. But you might remember the group above! We creatively crafted our outfits which included hand made Nicole Powell two color mouthguards which inadvertantly baked a little too long in the oven and became, well, I'm not sure what! The highlight of our time was when we threw a plastic inflatible basketball to the OSU Beaver who had just lost a basketball to one of the ushers--who wouldn't return it. The Beaver was subsequently kicked off the floor! Oh, and getting our picture taken with Nicole and her real mouthpiece--that was fun, too!

Then the event came to SJ and we had to top that so we went with the Helmet look--nothing like a bunch of old gals, a couple of glue guns and some craft materials for a night of fun! Oh, there might have been a few alcoholic beverages involved too.......

Unfortunately they were so heavy that we spent weeks recovering and getting physical therapy, but the helmets live on and have made subsequent appearances at our Auctions!

This year, we have no plans as of yet.....but you never know! We seem to always come up with something, even at the last minute.

Last year there were a couple of good signs going on including this effort which worked great as long as everyone stayed in the right formation.

So here’s the deal—WE MUST MAKE THIS OUR HOME COURT! It is up to all of us to be a little loud and crazy so that we help take advantage of this event being in the Bay Area. We may not always have it here! So wear your Cardinal, bring your signs, wave those pom poms, and SCREAM REAL LOUD! Remember--it's always fun to cut down the nets!

Hope to see all of your FBCers at our Reception—make sure that you have contacted Eileen for tickets!

Shootathon on the Way!

The last of our major fund raisers for the season is on tap for Saturday, March 10, 2007--the annual Shootathon! FBCers and Season Tix holders will be getting the information and pledge form in the mail this week--we apologize for being just a bit late, but we got goofed up by Tara being stuck in the bad weather this week!

For any of you that are unfamiliar with the format, this is a chance for you to pledge towards player shots taken that day. Each player will take 200 shots with a maximum total of 300 points available. Players receive 2 points for a made outside shot (200 points possible) and 1 point for a layup (100 points possible). As an example, if you pledge $1.00 per point and the player scores 245 points, your donation will be $1 x 245 = $245.00. Pretty simple! We encourage you to pledge to as many players as you like or make a flat donation to the program, if that works better for you! And you don't need to be at the Shootathon to pledge--we'll make it easy for you--you can mail in the form, we will send you a recap and let you know how much you owe, you mail it back--HOW EASY IS THAT??

Much of the FBC's recent fund raising success has contributed to the enhancement of the Locker Room. While the Maples renovation made for a terrific new area, there are a lot of the "little things" that are needed to make the environment first class. The staff is looking for as many ways as possible to make the Locker Room a place where players are comfortable--after all, they spend a lot of time there! So as a part of Shootathon Day (and an ever so slight encouragement to pledge just a little more money!), Locker Room tours will be offered! What a terrific chance for you to see behind the scenes of our Cardinal!

We also are planning to have a 3 point shooting contest which you can participate in--well, sort of! We will give you a chance to purchase raffle tickets and designate them towards who you think will win the 3 point shooting contest. From the tickets placed on the 3 point contest winner, 1 ticket will be drawn and the raffle winner will get their picture taken with the whole team! What a great thing--a chance at a once in a lifetime opportunity!

In past years, we have tapped into the Selection Day broadcast on ESPN, but since this has been moved to a Monday evening, we just can't fit it in. Also, we are tailing onto the back end of a team practice, so we are going to try to keep it to a short day--we ALL need our rest going into the tournament, you know! So I encourage you to join us for a little fun in Maples, Saturday, March 10 from noon until 1 pm. And if you can't be there, still make sure to pledge your support!

The pledge form is available on the website, too!

http://www.stanfordfbc.org/FBCFiles/ShootathonForm.htm

Bring Back the Banners Update--

We are making some good headway in our campaign to get the banners back up in Maples! We have collected over 500 signatures--including Jennifer Azzi, Kate Starbird and all of the other Alums that were at the Cal game (Imagine how they feel when they see those banners missing?). We were featured in Michelle Smith's Chronicle column last Thursday and our petition is going to the Women's Volleyball banquet for some more face time.

But I gotta be honest--while the response if pretty positive that something will be done, it isn't looking very favorable for it to happen in time for the NCAA sub regionals in March. But that doesn't mean we won't keep trying-so sign the petition! Send an email to Bob Bowlsby!

Bring back the Banners, Bring back the Pride!