Today, we had the opportunity to meet Scott McNeal (aka "Gus Macker") and Patty Donovan. We were greeted with more gifts at our desk when we arrived. The front of the room was decorated with all kind of Gus Macker marketing gear. The first part of class was spent exchanging gifts between T.O. and Gus. They both agreed not to do gifts this year... and what do they do? Get each other multiple gifts! T.O. received a variety of Gus Macker apparel and an original Gus Macker flag that Gus pulled out of the archives. Gus received a hilarious shirt with glitter sequins in the shape of a heart with his face in the center. The class had a good laugh when T.O. did the big reveal. Gus also got a miniature Charlie Brown Christmas Tree wrapped in official Gus Macker wrapping paper. Check out the sequin shirt reveal and the Christmas Tree in the bottom right corner in the video below!
We then discussed the history of Gus Macker Basketball tournaments and how it all got started. Gus talked about how he made the transition from teaching to turning Gus Macker into a business. It was a challenge, but ultimately he feels he made the right decision in pursuing his passion and making Macker into a brand of its own. We also discussed the history of Gus Macker tournaments and its relationship with CMU. It wasn't for a few years until T.O. made it his goal to turn this tournament into a learning opportunity for students to help orchestrate and plan a large scale event right here on campus. That is when RPL 333 - Production of Festivals and Events came about.
Patty Donovan showed us the "Magic Manual" that has the ultimate guide the creating a Gus Macker Basketball Tournament. It has been newly organized to help make the event planning process easier. We also received some exciting news! Gus Macker will be handing out NEW trophies at this year's tournaments! First, second, and third-place teams will be presented with trophies instead of medals like previous years.
We ended the class with the Macker tunnel and a Gus Macker quiz based on everything we learned in class. The winners received a Macker Basketball!! Our class would like to thank Scott (aka Gus) and Patty for coming to meet our class. Their fun and positive attitudes showed us why Gus Macker Tournaments has been, and continues to be, so popular and well-known today. You're a Good Guy Gus!
