Week 12

Game Time

Macker Maniacs and Finch Fanatics alike, the moment we have all been waiting for has arrived. At 8 a.m tomorrow morning Opening Ceremonies will begin and the 2017 Gus Macker Basketball Festival at Central Michigan University will commence! But before we get into that, I need to fill you in on what we've been doing this week to make it all possible.

Our last class period together (sniffle) took place yesterday and we were once again reunited with the Macker National Staff members who we had met individually throughout the semester. We discussed everything from the animation plan for the weekend to the weather and we filled all 1,000 player bags. Seeing everything we worked on start to come together was super exciting even if it was just the player bags. Our class also owes T.O a big thank you for treating us to ice cream to celebrate our awesome semester!  

Friday was all about set up for RPL 333SL. We assembled the Macker Dream Court in front of Finch, emptied classrooms and created a hospitality room, taped courts, and put up baskets. All of the trophies, medals, and registration materials were brought in and put into their proper place. The bracket corner, concession stand, and Threads by Gus were all set up as well. We even moved bleachers because nothing stops our class from putting on a great tournament for you all! 

Setting everything up was hard work, but an extremely worthwhile experience. While we had a learning curve with set up, hearing the Macker National Staff talk about how things should look and run was like having a glimpse into the future. We are students now and have very scattered experiences with events, but someday we will work for places like Gus Macker and know an event forwards and backwards. We are a great team as a class, but someday we will be in smaller staff groups and create even stronger bonds in the work force which the National Staff clearly demonstrates. While this is exciting to see, it also reminds us to treasure the moments we have now as a class entering into tournament weekend. 

Speaking of tournament weekend, like I stated earlier Opening Ceremonies begins at 8 a.m! Be there or be a bad nut! The energy on the courts is going to be insane this year and you don't want to miss it. We've made all the accommodations for our record breaking attendance including extra bathrooms that are super nice. Support our class and all of the teams that signed up by coming out tomorrow!

You can still follow us on social media, we'll still be posting away, but you should also download the Gus Macker Mobile App. It is compatible with both Apple and Android products. This app will allow players and spectators to look up court details, have instant access to accurate bracket information, and will send out notifications regarding court changes and weather delays. The best part? The app is free! 

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See you all tomorrow for a sweet time!

Week 11

The Countdown Begins

Hello Macker fans! Can you believe our tournament is next week already? In ten days our class will begin setting up for one of the most lively weekends in our college career. We are excited and anxious, but mostly ready to open this tournament to the public and see the results of our hard work.

I know I have been busy this past week busting out the Gusette that each player will receive in their player bags. It will be a great resource for participants and their families because it will contain the tournament schedule, a map of the tournament layout, player policies, tournament procedures, and information about the new Gus Macker mobile app! It will also give you a glimpse into what our class has been up to much like the blog has been throughout this semester. 

This year's Gus Macker Basketball Festival is going to be really special because the RPL 333SL class has bonded so much and all of us work so well together. We have broken not one, not two, but five course records this semester! The latest record broken was the greatest number of registered teams. Last year 223 teams was the highest number, and this year we have over 250 teams signed up to participate!!! 

Speaking for the class here, I want to give a huge shout out to the professors, Tim Otteman and Brittany Milan for expressing to us the true impact of our efforts. I would also like to thank the Teaching Assistants this year for their incredible amounts of Gus Macker spirit and non-stop energy. Great leaders play a big role in achieving success and they should never go unappreciated. We thank you wholeheartedly.

Our tournament registration is now closed. While you can no longer sign up as a player we would all appreciate any Macker fans coming to cheer teams on, enjoy the energy of the festival, and seeing what Central Michigan University and the Mt. Pleasant community is all about. Opening Ceremonies begin at 8a.m on the 29th! As always, you can follow us on social media to learn more about what our class is up to on these final ten days!

💜 Facebook: CMU Gus Macker

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💛 Snapchat: CMUGusMacker

💙 Twitter: CMUGusMacker

Since I lack pictures this time, I found a video for you all: 

Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka Quotes to Live By

Week 10

Field Trip!

This week Central Michigan University didn't have class Thursday or Friday, so the Macker family didn't meet. Some of us couldn't handle the separation however, and headed down to Grand Rapids to volunteer for a one day Gus Macker Madness event! 

We arrived bright and early at 6:30a.m on Saturday to learn how to sign participants in and the doors opened at 7a.m to the masses of basketball fans. This event was so popular that the Macker National Staff had to set up fold out courts over the soccer turf to accommodate all of the teams. The energy at MSA Woodland was incredible. People were there for family, friends, wholesome fun, and basketball. It was eye-opening to see reasoning so simple and genuine form the basis of a major event. We are striving to keep those good vibes coming at our tournament!

Our event date, April 29th-30th, is quickly approaching and our deadline for registering is less than a week away! If you are interested in participating you have until April 10th to go to https://macker.com/ and sign up for the Mt. Pleasant tournament. That is also the same date as our Buffalo Wild Wings fundraiser, so if you are in the Mt. Pleasant area between 11a.m-2a.m stop by the restaurant for some wings and support our class. Show them the following image to count for the fundraiser! 

As always if you're interested in learning more about our class and what we're up to follow us on social media. We're doing sweet things throughout campus and the Mt. Pleasant community all the time. Also, hit up your favorite Macker student to be part of our 50/50 raffle through United Way. Tickets are being sold for $5 and will give you the chance to win over $1,000. You could buy a lot of Wonka bars with that kind of money!

💜 Facebook: CMU Gus Macker

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💛 Snapchat: CMUGusMacker

💙 Twitter: CMUGusMacker