My apologies, folks, but I don’t have any pictures or specific commentary from Wednesday night’s game. If you’re looking for a review of the game, then I would suggest heading over to the Monmouth University Athletics website and getting a recap there. Again, my gut feeling is that while Wednesday night’s victory was good (and one that the players really needed in front of the home crowd), this is still a season that needs to be forgotten as soon as possible.

Now, the reason why I don’t have any commentary from last night’s game is because I, along with some of my fellow Sigma Pi alumni, was invited to watch the game from President Paul Gaffney’s Box on the third floor of the MAC. Joining me in the box was one of our recent alumni (who occasionally guest blogs on JerseySmarts.com), one of our alumni from the mid 1990’s, and the national president of our Fraternity. We were also accompanied in the box by a member of the university’s advancement office and a whole host of folks that I met, but didn’t really know. It was nice to see President Gaffney again, though I doubt he remembers the previous times that we’ve met (I was actually one of the student members that interviewed him for the President’s position back in Spring 2003). Also, it was nice to meet the Athletic Director and some of the other university administration. We had a lot of fun conversations and covered a variety of topics (too many to go over on the blog). The whole experience up in the President’s Box was really fun and one that I hope I have an opportunity to repeat.

And while I don’t have much commentary on the game, I do have a few notes about being up in the President’s Box in comparison to my typical experience at the Monmouth basketball games…

First, the food in the President’s Box is really good. I think I’ve run the gamut of the various qualities of Aramark food that is served on Monmouth University’s campus. When I was an undergraduate, I was stuck with the portion of Aramark’s food where the quality was almost inedible. Seriously, when I was an undergraduate some of the food that was available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was just revolting. In fact, I distinctly remember a few different occasions when I went into the dining hall and opted to not eat anything instead of forcing myself to have a meal of their gruel. Then – right before I graduated – I was invited to dinner at former President Rebecca Stafford’s house and I realized that Aramark actually could make a meal of phenomenal quality.

As a member of the Blue/White Club, I have access to the Varsity Club before the home football and basketball games. This season, the food up in the Varsity Club has been so much better than what it was last year. However, Wednesday night in the President’s Box reminded me that there is an even higher quality food at Monmouth – even if it was just boneless buffalo wings and pigs in a blanket.

Second, the view from the President’s Box is great. I still like my quasi-courtside seats because I’m a basketball fan and from my seats you can hear all of the nitty gritty stuff going on during the game, but I certainly have a new appreciation for the MAC after watching some of the game in the President’s Box. That MAC is pretty well put together.

Third and finally, the folks at Monmouth are really nice. Just like my experience with Aramark, I think I’ve also run the gamut in terms of dealing with the individuals who work on Monmouth’s campus. And, like the food services, the higher up you go the better it gets. I really thought that the university officials up in the President’s Box Wednesday night were really wonderful and very friendly – good people with engaging conversations.

And that’s the story of this past Wednesday night in the President’s Box. Hopefully, I’ll be invited up there to watch another game and I’ll be able to bring the fine readers of this blog a similarly positive report from the game. Until then, let’s hope the Hawks keep their winning ways going!

The Blue/While Club is like the booster association for the Athletics department. There are a few different levels of membership in this club and after you surpass a certain level you are permitted to access something called The Varsity Club during men’s and women’s basketball games as well as during football games. The Varsity Club provides a free buffet-style meal prior to the game as well as some type of dessert during half-time and the opportunity to meet and greet the coaches at some point after the game is over. Not a bad little package for those who are interested.

There are fourteen home games for the men’s basketball team this season and my schedule looks like I can attend at least twelve of them. And since I have two tickets I’ll be looking to take along some other folks to some of these games. I’m looking forward to it, which is sort of fun!