In two months A&M will officially be in a new sports conference, an athletically elite and highly spirited conference at that. It's a change that breaks from the past, in more ways than can be readily counted (the most obvious is the indefinite hold put on the tu rivalry), and I think is a harbinger of a tectonic shift in the way A&M approaches and is received by the rest of the world.
So with all the changes happening in the culture against which Bonfire is set, I'm left worrying if explaining/continuing the activity will become harder and harder as older Ags - those that knew Bonfire on campus - become fewer in number or change to an SEC frame of mind. I've walked the MSC probably two dozen times since it opened a week ago (incredible, btw) but the only proof you can find that Bonfire was even a thing in A&M's culture is the carved wood panel that it dominates. That's a telling sign.
Although the organization has been improving and the event gaining momentum in recent years, as a disinterested observer it's apparent that Bonfire has been in a confusing, pseudo-purgatory, existence with the University since the collapse. And while this has kept it from being watered down in the modern (read politically correct) world we live in, it's done the organization no favors in terms of visibility.
Now, to me, one of the biggest distinguishing things about Bonfire is that it is spectacularly pointless. It's something that only gets done so that we, as Aggies, can have the experience of doing it - it makes better Aggies. To slap a label on it like the University has with athletics ("Texas A&M: Building Champions") would be to undermine and devalue the real value of the experience, akin to saying that "Bonfire is about hating texas."
But with a long term perspective in mind, do y'all think Bonfire could adopt some PR blurbs to help sell itself (and maybe garner more donations in the process) but not be sold short? Soundbites like "developing the nation's most committed leaders" or "a living link to a better time" could go a long way to winning over those who want to give to a cause with an easily articulated focus - and those types of folks usually have deeper pockets than the ones that tithe because of their fond memories. It *hint hint* may also get the University admins to a common ground where they don't have to condemn Student Bonfire. Although they probably can never condone it, that would still be a big step forward.
I'll trash on the organization only because those of you that know me know it's targeted as constructive criticism: Bonfire does not do a good job of courting Ags with bookoos of money. I'd bet a c-note that the same guys writing checks to renovate Kyle Field or have their names in the MSC would write a check to Student Bonfire because they effing bleed Texas A&M, but they don't currently because they don't know sh*t about SB or that it even exists. And I think that could be done without stepping on the University's toes in terms of association.
Then again, maybe all of this could be solved with a good ole grassroots marketing campaign. SEC culture is littered with examples of overly spirited, largely irrational, school-centric undertakings. And the A&M base is full of folks able and willing to give back to "the off-campus Bonfire" if they heard about it more than once a year in the fall (if at all).
Might as well make the most of the current state of disorder, don't you think?
So with all the changes happening in the culture against which Bonfire is set, I'm left worrying if explaining/continuing the activity will become harder and harder as older Ags - those that knew Bonfire on campus - become fewer in number or change to an SEC frame of mind. I've walked the MSC probably two dozen times since it opened a week ago (incredible, btw) but the only proof you can find that Bonfire was even a thing in A&M's culture is the carved wood panel that it dominates. That's a telling sign.
Although the organization has been improving and the event gaining momentum in recent years, as a disinterested observer it's apparent that Bonfire has been in a confusing, pseudo-purgatory, existence with the University since the collapse. And while this has kept it from being watered down in the modern (read politically correct) world we live in, it's done the organization no favors in terms of visibility.
Now, to me, one of the biggest distinguishing things about Bonfire is that it is spectacularly pointless. It's something that only gets done so that we, as Aggies, can have the experience of doing it - it makes better Aggies. To slap a label on it like the University has with athletics ("Texas A&M: Building Champions") would be to undermine and devalue the real value of the experience, akin to saying that "Bonfire is about hating texas."
But with a long term perspective in mind, do y'all think Bonfire could adopt some PR blurbs to help sell itself (and maybe garner more donations in the process) but not be sold short? Soundbites like "developing the nation's most committed leaders" or "a living link to a better time" could go a long way to winning over those who want to give to a cause with an easily articulated focus - and those types of folks usually have deeper pockets than the ones that tithe because of their fond memories. It *hint hint* may also get the University admins to a common ground where they don't have to condemn Student Bonfire. Although they probably can never condone it, that would still be a big step forward.
I'll trash on the organization only because those of you that know me know it's targeted as constructive criticism: Bonfire does not do a good job of courting Ags with bookoos of money. I'd bet a c-note that the same guys writing checks to renovate Kyle Field or have their names in the MSC would write a check to Student Bonfire because they effing bleed Texas A&M, but they don't currently because they don't know sh*t about SB or that it even exists. And I think that could be done without stepping on the University's toes in terms of association.
Then again, maybe all of this could be solved with a good ole grassroots marketing campaign. SEC culture is littered with examples of overly spirited, largely irrational, school-centric undertakings. And the A&M base is full of folks able and willing to give back to "the off-campus Bonfire" if they heard about it more than once a year in the fall (if at all).
Might as well make the most of the current state of disorder, don't you think?
