Day 3 Marching Band not going to Dallas RAGE Thread
In case anyone missed the thread, there's a petition circulating that you can use to show support for the band and suggest to Dave Brandon that he's making a big mistake, which, like, duh. 400,000 signatures is a lofty goal, though reaching it would mean something since that'd require 4 filled Michigan Stadiums worth of real (or fake) e-mail addresses to reach.
This meme would be better if I could photoshop Bo's face onto his.
April 22nd, 2012 at 12:00 PM ^
It's already been posted. Listen, I really want the band there as well; and I think that it is a big mistake not only for the fan base, but for branding, not to have them there. But this whole outrage over it is a little extreme in my opinion. I think that a lot of people on this board just want a reason to hate Dave Brandon, and go over the top to vilify him. Do I think this is a mistake, absolutely. Do I think this is a "war" against the loyal fanbase, not at all.
April 22nd, 2012 at 12:22 PM ^
I think that a lot of people on this board just want a reason to hate Dave Brandon, and go over the top to vilify him.
Any reasoning behind why you think this is the case? Or is this just some hunch because the AD has already shown a trend of changing traditions at Michigan for the sake of making more money*?
*Yes I know it's not a Michigan tradition for the AD to front the bill for the band's travel costs, but it's also not a Michigan tradition to sell out a home game for the sake of making a money-grab. It's also not a tradition to lie about how money is the reason why we can't send the band when the public can see and read the AD budget for this year.
I won't take the time to look up every thread discussing different topics/problems with Dave Brandon, nor will I take the time to look up all the Brian posts about Dave Brandon, but if you follow along religiously as I do there is absolutely no question that there is a segment of the MgoBlog (and I would suppose Michigan) community that takes it upon themselves to attack our AD at every turn. I happen to think that overall he's doing a pretty good job, however that isn't the issue. The issue is the "boy who cried wolf" syndrome some people have where they complain about every thing the AD does as a masterful afront to everything Michigan in the name of the almighty dollar. The result is that when there is a legitimate complaint, which I think this is, people go overboard with their reactions....which I think this is. While I would love to see our band at the game, I'm not going to get worked up like some people have been and make outrageous claims that Dave Brandon is selling out the University.
April 22nd, 2012 at 10:41 PM ^
April 23rd, 2012 at 12:51 AM ^
"typical corporate tool"....oh boy. Son you need to come back down to earth. Like I said twice above, I disagree with the decision and if I were in his shoes I would allow them to go. However, this is not a criminal act, nor that big of a deal really.
The petition is for "The Cotton Bowl Classic", not the Cowboys Classic. The Cotton Bowl Classic is played on New Year's Day.
How much credibility does this petition have when it isn't even worded correctly for the U-M vs 'Bama game?
...because the petition definitely says "Cowboy Classic" all over it. Unless it used to say "Cotton Bowl Classic" before getting edited, but the petition is fine now. However, the other thread thought the petition wasn't very credible either, given that
1) the creator's credibility is suspect,
2) the wording seems to suggest some form of social injustice when the issue is simpler than that (contract has seats for them, AD sold out game for money grab, etc), and
3) 400,000 signatures is incredibly unlikely without bot spamming.
I'd be completely in favor of signing a revised version of the petition, but exam review is preventing me from taking the initiative.
The fact that the petition has been reworded since people originally signed it, definitely makes it questionable.
It shows that people who signed the petition before the revision did not pay attention to what they were signing and that the revised petition no longer has the same meaning as the one that they signed.
The mistake was blatantly obvious. However, so were the intentions.
Nevertheless, the original petition was altered after people signed it, invalidating all signatures prior to the revisions.
Do you mean to tell me that an online petition has no credibility or pull whatsoever? Color me shocked
April 22nd, 2012 at 12:01 PM ^
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BpgDtoj73DQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
April 22nd, 2012 at 12:13 PM ^
Not to mention many people admitted to signing multiple times. More people contributed to the HTTV Kickstarter and that actually costs money.
Compromise: Give the band members the tickets that were designated for them and a voucher for a box of crackerjack.
April 22nd, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^
...the band will somehow be there? Hmmm...
April 22nd, 2012 at 12:39 PM ^
but I am trying to get my head around the fact that as it stands now, when Denard rushes into the end zone and kneels, in lieu of the Victors, we will hear silence?
April 22nd, 2012 at 12:46 PM ^
I would guess that at the minimum you would hear cheering from the fans.
Pretty similar to a road game. Its not like the band was at every game before. While it was written in the contract, ultimately $400,000 is a lot of money for not that much exposure. I mean Alabama and LSU both brought their bands to the the national championsip, I don't remember them.
April 22nd, 2012 at 12:55 PM ^
As others have said, you'll hear the exact same thing as you do at 75% of the games played outside of Michigan Stadium.
Michigan normally has 9 away games in a 2-year span, with the band attending 3 of them. That is, 1/3 of all away games that Michigan plays in has the band in attendance, which is more than the 1/4 that you cite.
When you assume one bowl game each year (reasonable given that we're not making a major transition), and that fraction increases to 5 out of 11 (nearly half).
When you take into consideration that this game will give about as much exposure for Michigan as the UTL game, there is a lot of incentive to have the band at the game.
The dude is acting like this is the first time in the history of Michigan football that the band won't be playing The Victors after a touchdown.
time that the band won't be playing The Victors after a TD scored against Bama. Comparing this game to a midseason away game against Indiana or Minnesota is absurd at best.
I did not make that comparison here.
As others have said, you'll hear the exact same thing as you do at 75% of the games played outside of Michigan Stadium.This game is not equivalent to all games played outside of Michigan Stadium. Also, of those games that one might consider close to equivalent, the band is there and is playing The Victors after every TD. People are upset but no one's burning couches or flipping police cars. They are signing petitions and venting on blogs. I fail to see how this has any negative impact on your person. Go take a nap and then try waking up on the other side of the bed.
His question was essentially, What will you hear after Denard scores a touchdown? As if we have never played a game without the band in attendance.
I admit that this is not a regular "road game." However, it's not breaking some long standing tradition of the band attending every game.
Let it go OMG Shirtless. Sometimes someone's opinions will trump everything else. I agree 100 percent with you, but debating it over and over and over all summer isn't going to help anyone.
I was responding to the guy who must not have been aware that the band doesn't travel to every game.
April 22nd, 2012 at 11:38 PM ^
April 22nd, 2012 at 12:45 PM ^
Why can't they just use piped-in band music? Problem solved. Money saved. Everyone's happy.
I'm pretty sure that everyone would not be happy.
That was actually hilarious. +1 to you sir
It would be sufficient if that were Dave Brandon holding up the stereo.
You know what? I'd actually be okay with a mascot, IF the current AD was always the one in the suit.
Judging by the rate at which comments are coming in on this thread and the composition of them, there's considerably less RAGE today.
Though it's finals weekend at Michigan and the weather is nice outside. Either Dave Brandon is an evil genius bent on keeping Michigan fans distracted from his master plan to screw the band over or there are plenty of outside forces to keep Michigan fans from feeling outraged. Tomorrow is another day, however.
Edit: Did I seriously need a /s tag for that?
My high school sent our band to the Rose Bowl (marched behind Michigan in 2004) and Fiesta Bowl during a four-year period while I was there, and we didn't have any bowl committee pay for it. This is embarrassing.
The marching band is going to at least two other road games this year and I'm guessing your high school band did not. By the way, did you go to strawman high school?
April 23rd, 2012 at 12:26 AM ^
Money has to come from somewhere.
It's ridiculous. This game will be played on a national stage. The Victors is unlike any other fight song and is incredibly recognizable. It's absence during a game of this magnitude would be certainly conspicuous in my mind.
If not the entire band, how about a smaller contingent ensemble??? Seniors only??
Argh. There should be a cost effective solution to this.
This shit would not fly if William D. Revelli was still around.
Speaking of, I wish The Victors was still played with this kind of energy.
I still find the "it's just like any other away game" mantra that some are taking a bit silly. We don't get to name our price for other games like we did for this one.
WTF, no it doesn't. We don't bring the band to Purdue road games yet we normally beat Purdue on the road.