USF fan's perspective on UTLII (Spoiler: It's Glowing)
Pretty great to hear from indifferent fans about the incredible atmosphere we have here.
"I've been to a lot of college towns and watched a lot of college football, but I have never seen or felt anything like I did in Ann Arbor last night."
Link: http://www.voodoofive.com/2013/9/6/4702024/live-from-michigan-state-we-are-there
September 9th, 2013 at 11:42 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 2:51 PM ^
Miley won when you cared.
September 10th, 2013 at 3:32 PM ^
September 9th, 2013 at 11:48 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 1:04 AM ^
What are you talking about?
COOL
a : very good : excellent
STORY
a : an account of incidents or events
BRO
2: soul brother —often used informally as a term of address
It looks like he nailed it.
September 10th, 2013 at 10:34 AM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 9:49 AM ^
Yeah, this doesn't feel like the right meme...
September 9th, 2013 at 11:23 PM ^
On a simiar note, I've watched a lot of offenses, and I have never seen or felt anything like I did in East Lansing last Saturday.
September 9th, 2013 at 11:29 PM ^
Why were you even there?
September 9th, 2013 at 11:36 PM ^
Court order. The judge determined that watching an MSU game was punishment enough.
September 9th, 2013 at 11:39 PM ^
September 9th, 2013 at 11:25 PM ^
Dunno what's up Marley's butt, that was a nice little article on an outsider's experience.
September 9th, 2013 at 11:44 PM ^
Considering the amount of vitriol spewed at us by other fanbases it is nice to see an outsider with a positive view of Michigan fans.
September 9th, 2013 at 11:26 PM ^
That makes me feel special inside.
September 9th, 2013 at 11:43 PM ^
Ahh, a post from an outside source praising Michigan and bashing Sparty. I love it.
September 9th, 2013 at 11:50 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 12:09 AM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 12:18 AM ^
They were different because the games were different. In 2011, the crowd was taken almost entirely out of the game for almost 2 quarters. In 2013, the crowd was in the game the entire time, and I would guage that even the alumni were standing for at least 50% of the plays. However, 2011 had a crazier finish so the stadium was more electric at the end - so it depends what would you rather have, consistently electric or dead then KA-BOOM.
September 10th, 2013 at 7:47 AM ^
That's really what it comes down to in 2011. The electricity at the end of the game. UTL II was exciting at the end but it was just a victory formation. Denard went 80 yards in 28 seconds.
Other than that the place looked very similar. Oh, and it was definitely nice not getting taken out of the game in the first couple of drives.
September 10th, 2013 at 4:16 PM ^
2011 just had a different vibe in general. We'd never had a night game before and no one really knew what to expect from a Hoke-coached team, so people had guarded expectations. It felt more like an event than a real game. In the 3rd quarter, a lot of people felt, "Well, this game is crappy, but it's still cool being here." There was still sort of a festive atmosphere, which you don't normally see when Michigan is losing. But then when we came back in the 4th, then it felt like a big game and everyone remembered the importance of winning.
In 2013, we expected to win and felt the urgency from the get-go. It was still really cool to have the game at night and have all the attendent festivity, but if we had lost, the evening would have felt ruined, whereas in 2011 we may not have felt that way.
September 10th, 2013 at 12:22 AM ^
UTL 1 was definitely more electric. It got pretty loud on Saturday but nothing will compare to two years ago.
Halftime show this year was much better, and the pregame flyovers were better as well.
I was extremely disappointed in the post game celebration, the chicken dance song was played which was funny for 15 seconds, then it kept being played for 3 minutes which pretty much killed the buzz.
UTL 1 will never be topped IMO.
September 10th, 2013 at 9:59 AM ^
The chicken dance was hilarious for the first 30 seconds or so, but then it went on too long. They should've cut after a verse or two and just went to popular songs like they did after UTL1
September 10th, 2013 at 11:30 AM ^
But I figured that there was no way that II could possibly be better as a football game. It wasn't - there's no way to match 2011 in terms of energy and excitement, or volume for that matter. Where we were yelling plenty this time, in 2011 we were yelling and had the car keys out a la SEC. I do think that the overall production - and I've worked a lot as an arts presenter - was better this past Saturday, though. Everything was tighter this year, like the USF guy says - they had something going on that was substantive during every media timeout. That part was noticeable.
I missed a great video-doc piece like they did with Kanye West's "All of the Lights" in 2011 - that was very, very classy and well-done and they didn't have it this time. I also liked the video intro in 2011 better than this year, if only because it was a lot more fresh then.
No comparison on the half-time show.
but Mark Harmon didn't cry like Desmond did - will never forget that either.
September 9th, 2013 at 11:57 PM ^
They were different. The first game kind of sucked, outside of the night aspect, till we came back and had a magical fourth quarter. Lots of hype and a decent 'show'. The game this saturday, as one recruit aptly described, was like being at the Super Bowl. Lots of stuff going on, and we led throughout most of the game. I turned to my ND friend at the end and told himthat atleast UM thought the game was a big deal and put on the show.
September 10th, 2013 at 12:07 AM ^
For UTL I there was a better atmosphere in the stands towards the end of the game and afterwards. The end of that game was just pure chaos, though. After the game a lot of people stayed in the stadium to dance and enjoy the experience. I'm pretty sure some people rushed the field.
UTL II was clearly the better overall experience, though. Much better game throughout, and Michigan went all out to put together a great gameday experience. I'll never forget the ending of UTL I, but I'd say I had more fun at UTL II.
September 10th, 2013 at 8:17 AM ^
...no sarcasm whatsoever, I enjoyed reading both opinions on UTL I and UTL II. Keep rooting hard my friends.
September 10th, 2013 at 12:04 AM ^
Ya, sorry South Florida, but I'm pretty sure you will never be anywhere near that level. Nice write-up otherwise, tough.
September 10th, 2013 at 12:09 AM ^
...but that's what people said about the Miami Hurricaines when they hired Howard Schnellenberger. It's also what people used to say about Boise State, etc.
September 10th, 2013 at 12:12 AM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 1:07 AM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 1:41 AM ^
By that theory only about 10 teams can ever "be like Michigan". Those that started football in the 1920s or earlier. THat is a point. What the respondants were saying was teams like Miami can have a 20 year run of dominance... they were the team of the early 80s through mid 90s; the bad boys/rock stars of college football. They accomplished a lot - are they Michigan or Notre Dame or USC or Texas or whomever? No. But winning multiple national championships, being known nationwide for a brand (ala Bad Boys of the Pistons) - any team can aspire to that even if they dont have 100+ years of football history.
September 10th, 2013 at 9:13 AM ^
They were mega-hot in the '80s/early '90s. They were the national "it" program. Not just becasue of the wins, but bacause of the style and swagger they did it with.
Give a team like Oregon a few NC's and they can do it too.
September 10th, 2013 at 8:18 AM ^
used to give tickets away by the thousands, just to make it look like people were watching Michigan Football.
September 10th, 2013 at 12:08 AM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 12:09 AM ^
That was an awesome article. Gave me warm fuzzies knowing how great Michigan football is...and made me sad that I only have four games left as a student (I have to miss the game this weekend).
Also, the contrast between the writer's experience in EL vs. AA is...I don't know...somewhat surprising? I love my school, but I always assumed that Sparty was somewhat comparable in terms of its game experience. Was it just the difference in importance of games, or are we really that much better?
September 10th, 2013 at 1:45 AM ^
Michigan has only had 2 night games in history and Brandon made this one a "Super Bowl lite" sort of affair. I am sure when MSU played ND at night it was an electric atmosphere and fun as heck to be there. Yes a smaller stadium and less of a traditional program but still I am sure all who went to that type of game had a hell of a time. This USF writer had just come back from experiencing MSU vs USF after a 1 hour delay due to weather, and watching a day time game, between perhaps 2 of the bottom 5 offenses in college football. It was dreadful for anyone to watch, much less be there. I am sure 20K fans either did not come back from the weather delay or after watching that offensive (pun intended) display by both teams for more than 20 minutes. There are plenty of fantasitic atmospheres found in Madison, Happy Valley, Columbus, et al. But this guy was comparing apples and oranges on that particular night.
September 10th, 2013 at 7:06 AM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 9:19 AM ^
I agree with all that you said.
But what is noteworthy is that there has been a meme going around that Michigan has a dead atmosphere that is somehow inate to the program . . . that it is just who we are. We don't have it in us to have the killer environments they have at LSU, Oregon, etc.
WRONG. When we glam up and put on our little black dress, we're as hot as anyone out there.
September 10th, 2013 at 4:04 PM ^
All true, but if you read the comments, there are posters who attended Michigan games during the RR years and still were blown away.
September 10th, 2013 at 10:19 AM ^
I always assumed that Sparty was somewhat comparable in terms of its game experience
Back in my day (early 1980's and again in the early 1990's) I experienced both.
In this case it's a comparison of a noon game and a night game. And that's apples vs. oranges. Night games have a different feel about them because of the night surrounding the lit-up stadium.
In terms of stadium settings -- Spartan Stadium is in the middle of MSU's campus, which itself is quite separate from the town of East Lansing. It's very much a "on-campus" experience. Michigan Stadium's surroundings are more "college town" like. Both are preferable to a professional stadium set in the middle of an ocean of parking lots.
In terms of the stadiums themselves -- well, Michigan is bigger, of course. Spartan stadium has the sideline upper decks with relatively smaller endzone seating. One of the things that makes Michigan Stadium feel so big is the fact its a big bowl that goes on an on all the way around. I've never been to Ohio State's stadium, but it holds 100K+ and my guess is it doesn't feel as big as Michigan Stadium. Ditto Penn State and Alabama.
But again, the biggest thing is the noon vs. night factor. Switch the roles and have MSU play a big game against a big rival at night up in East Lansing and compare it to Michigan playing noon against a non-conference cupcake and the MSU night game would come away feeling "more electric."
Now, all that said ... Michigan made certain the UTL II night was extra special. So it's not just that it's a night game ... it's that it was a night game amped up.
September 10th, 2013 at 12:18 AM ^
Thanks for finding and posting. Awesome to hear other's experience and perspective. Easy for us to take for granted what we have, and even though we feel it, forget we have something special at UM. GoBlue!
September 10th, 2013 at 6:05 AM ^
"As a program and a fan base, they get it on every single level. It was an athletic department that knows what it's doing, right down to the ushers being gentlemanly and polite when I got too close to the walkway railing to take pictures from midfield. " - from the article
Much like the article a few days ago about ND players giving props to Michigan Stadium as a venue and a difficult place to play away, it is nice to hear football fans with no rooting interest give excellent reviews of the atmosphere. It definitely means that we're doing it right on most every meaningful level and that we serve as an example to others potentially.
September 10th, 2013 at 6:49 AM ^
Kinda-proof that 7NA is not loud. At the snap of this play it was downright quiet.
September 10th, 2013 at 8:52 AM ^
While it's definitely not not proof, you're a billion rows up on the opposite end of the field. I'd look for a better position in the stands before calling it "downright" quiet for that play.
September 11th, 2013 at 7:09 AM ^
Obviously it was in jest. No phone video is going to record the sound of a crowd with relative accuracy, let alone one in the 95th row.
However, if you think 7NA is loud, don't go to an SEC game. MSU (NTMSU) has cowbells ringing for every play from the end of the previous game through the snap. Our student section used to create noise makers and encourage screaming the entire time. Now we have 7NA that looks cool and sounds much quieter.
September 10th, 2013 at 9:01 AM ^
is to bother the pre-snap signals that the QB is calling to the line and receivers. After the snap - NO crowd is loud ....
Go Blue!
September 10th, 2013 at 9:03 AM ^
Trust me, it's loud. Maybe not in row 90 or wherever this video was taken from, but I have first row seats and it's plenty loud. There's a big difference between two rows of people behind you yelling towards you and 90+ rows of people behind you yelling towards you. So down on/by the field, it's plenty loud. Just like the last UTL game, I had to yell to the person next to me the entire time for them to hear me. I am so proud of how the fans brought it the entire game on Saturday, including during 7NA.