Gork,
I'm in deep. In an effort to meet some new people in the town I recently moved to, I joined a lodge. To my astonishment, I was immediately appointed treasurer and head of fund-raising. As a mechanic, I have precious little experience in either arena but the Grand Master Goat (Lodge Chairman, aka "GMG") says until we rustle up some more members, we all have to step outside of our comfort zone and pull our weight. I've decided to host a charity basketball tournament, which plays to my love of basketball and incorporates my interest in proverbs, idioms, and euphemisms. I drew up this ad to put in the paper, but I don't know if I'm on the right track. I have to get a final draft to the paper by Tuesdee to make the deadline. Can you take a look and give me some honest feedback to help maximize participation and profits? GMG says I need to raise at least 1,000 bucks by the Summer Solstice or else "there may be blood". Help!
Lester Liddle, Dunkinburg, VA
Less Liddle,
You're in quite a predicament and something tells me you aren't seeing the forest for the trees as it were. Your "Lodge" is possibly a demonic cult, in which case, a whimsical day of fun in the sun to benefit it feels a bit daft. Ruminate on that before you go ahead with this.
That said, I like what you've done with incorporating a nice proverb in the name of the tournament. Just for consideration though, you might want to try fitting a different wise old saying that doesn't have overtly religious or biblical connotations. To maximize registration, you wouldn't want to give the impression that this event is only for church-goers. Interesting side note though, the proverb that you're citing as "Pride Go'eth Before a Fall" is actually a misquote of the bible's Proverbs 16:18 which translates as "Pride goes before destruction", making your choice that much more inapt. Here are some possibilities that spring to mind (number 7 being particularly genius):
- "Don't Count Your Swishes Before They Hatch"
- "All Your Dunks in One Basket"
- "Birds of a Feather Shooting 3's Together"
- "C'est La Three"
- "Ball's in Your Half-Court"
- "Takes Three to Tango"
- "Something Smells Swishy"
- "Saved by the Dunk"
- "Three-on-Three Skidoo"
- "Drastic Times Call For Drastic Ally-Oops"
I could do that all day, but you get the idea. You might also consider changing your divisions up a bit. Did you realize you could have college kids playing against senior citizens? You might get more interest if players feel like they're up against their contemporaries. Other than that, it seems like you're on the right track. Have fun out there.
-gvd