I hate 3:30pm starts
We always seem to do so much better with the noon starts. When it is a home game, don't we have the final say in the start time?
I submit that the average temperature for a noon start is significantly higher than a 3:30 start, therefore we should ALWAYS prefer the noon start.
I don't have access to the database that the mathlete has, but at least from my memory I'd be willing to bet an arm and a leg that we have a much higher winning percentage with noon starts (at Michigan Stadium). Maybe the Mathlete or Misopogon can put this theory to the test. This data (and my memory) could be biased by the fact that we schedule most patsies for noon starts though.
If you were wondering IOWA is a 3:30 pm start tomorrow :(
October 15th, 2010 at 10:25 AM ^
I like the 3:30 starts because by the end of the game it is the closest we get to a night game around here. That is until next year :)
October 15th, 2010 at 10:25 AM ^
What does the temperature have to do with anything?
It's not like Michigan has to play in the cold but Iowa gets to stay warm. Being on 3:30 gets us more exposure (less games in that slot). It's better for recruiting.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:35 AM ^
I know nothing about you, but it appears as though you may not have sat through many 3:30 games in September that begin as short-sleeve weather and end up as 4-layers-of-clothing weather. This is a little off the topic but I sat through many of those and the 4th quarter of those kinds of games are tough to deal with physically, especially for us Southerners (unless you're a shirtless-in-November kind of guy, in which case you could probably care less).
October 15th, 2010 at 11:00 AM ^
unless you're a shirtless-in-November kind of guy, in which case you could probably care less
Michigan, yo. I don't even wear a hoodie until January.
October 15th, 2010 at 4:35 PM ^
grow a pair
October 15th, 2010 at 4:41 PM ^
I know nothing about you, but it appears as though you may not have sat through many 3:30 games in September that begin as short-sleeve weather and end up as 4-layers-of-clothing weather.
In September? Never. The only game I can think of that was like that was 2004 MSU, but that game was around Halloween.
October 15th, 2010 at 5:17 PM ^
I attended several games in the 90s where exactly what I described happened - started out as short-sleeve weather and ended up cold as hell once the sun went down. Late September, early October, late October, whatever. It got cold. The point has been made - maybe not taken, but made nonetheless.
October 15th, 2010 at 5:33 PM ^
I've been going to games since the early '90s. I cannot remember a single game in September where the weather fit that description. Care to name one that did?
October 15th, 2010 at 10:37 AM ^
that grew up living in sub-zero farms waking up at 4am to milk cows. We have.....dreads from warm beaches.
October 15th, 2010 at 11:09 AM ^
Yeah, that poor Anthony Carter (of Riviera Beach, FL) never amounted to anything once he encountered cold weather.
Keep in mind that it's a short leap from that conclusion to "RICHROD GIMMICK OFFENSE NOT WORK COLD WEATHER SMASHMOUTH ARRRGGHHHHH!!!"
- - -
As for your original post, I'd prefer noon starts, too (but not for the same reason).
October 15th, 2010 at 12:05 PM ^
I think its a huge leap to from making a pretty truthful statement that Southern players would prefer to play in warm weather to saying that Rodriguez's offense not working in the cold. First, recruits from Florida, etc. often cite the cold weather as a negative when discussing playing for Michigan. Second, if anything, the run-focused offense that Rodriguez runs is more suited for cold weather than many other offensive schemes (e.g. a pass-happy offense). Its much harder to catch a pass in the cold than it is to take a handoff. . .
October 15th, 2010 at 1:45 PM ^
Iowa has 5 guys from Florida, 1 from Georgia and 1 from Texas on this team. I remember in the past they always had a good bit of southern guys, especially Florida.
October 15th, 2010 at 4:40 PM ^
When Hayden Fry was there, Iowa had a huge number of players from Texas.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:25 AM ^
Or, in my case, more time to worry.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:27 AM ^
I prefer noon as well, get up and go and not wait around until 3:30.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:43 AM ^
I prefer noon for that reason too. I get up at around 10 or 10:30 so the wait isn't that agonizing. Waiting for 3:30 to roll around makes me one anxious son of a bitch.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:51 AM ^
And with 3.30 pm starts I am useless most of the day. I am anxious about the game all morning and by the time the game's done it is sundown already. I prefer noon because the games are done at around 3, 3.30 and I still have time to recover and be productive.
October 15th, 2010 at 1:13 PM ^
and by the time the game's done it is sundown already.
That is by far and away the biggest reason I could never live back up north ever again.
October 15th, 2010 at 4:43 PM ^
But the flipside is that we get longer days in the summer (and not nearly the brutal humidity).
October 15th, 2010 at 12:51 PM ^
than waking up at 7 or 8 am to get drunk for a noon kickoff.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:27 AM ^
I HAPPEN TO LIKE IT.
Sorry I got a little excited there, because see I go to another school and their home game is at noon, thereby meaning I have enough time to go to that game and come home and watch my favorite team play.
It's called having your cake, and eating it too =)
October 15th, 2010 at 10:27 AM ^
The higher winning percentage for noon games could be related to the fact that we usually play lower quality opponents at noon. 3:30 starts are usually reserved for big games.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:48 AM ^
that makes way too much sense.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:27 AM ^
I'm good with any starting time that doesn't include Pam Ward.
October 15th, 2010 at 11:04 AM ^
I don't hate Pam Ward nearly as much as everyone else around here does, but man, that woman can suck the excitement out of anything.
October 15th, 2010 at 12:07 PM ^
I thought you were going somewhere else with that. Somewhere terribly wrong.
October 16th, 2010 at 2:34 AM ^
[Highbrow blowjob joke]
October 16th, 2010 at 11:52 AM ^
The Michigan Difference at work.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:29 AM ^
As some one in the mountain timezone I prefer the 330 start times if only because it means I dont need to be up by 930am to catch the noon (10am my time) games
October 15th, 2010 at 11:24 AM ^
mountain time zone rules for sports. Noon games are at 10. thats a simple wake up and tv turn on away. 330=130 can't argue there as well.
The superbowl starts at 430, monday night football at like 630, 7.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:29 AM ^
You should want more 3:30 and night games, right? "Wanting" more noon games sounds like Northwestern or Indiana trying to "take the crowd out of it" or "sneak up on em".
JMHO
October 15th, 2010 at 10:29 AM ^
I concur - I hate 3:30 starts. However, my reasoning is different . . . As a watcher of the games on my television with a toddler at home, I am unable to watch the 3:30 games until after the little dude goes to sleep. Because of that, I miss being able to watch the 7:30 night game entirely (this week its Ohio State-Wisconsin, I think). With 12 noon starts, I can watch a large portion of the game during the little dude's afternoon nap and have time left over to watch some of the late games. As you can see (and likely do not care), the logistics get much more complicated with 3:30 starts.
(Also, your avatar still unnerves me. That kick is wicked!)
October 15th, 2010 at 10:35 AM ^
See my post immediately below yours. You need to try my "media blackout." It will change your entire Michigan football life.
Also, make sure to keep the games on the DVR and re-watch them the next morning (or at least part of them) with your son, so that he gets into Michigan. Brainwashing is best accomplished if started early.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:39 AM ^
Sounds like we are kindred hearts!
There is a media blackout in our household on Saturdays as well. And I have the constant problem of deciding whether or not to wear Michigan shirts out in public during the media blackout because, inevitably, some a--hole always gives me a score update but I am superstitious about wearing Michigan stuff and putting out my Michigan flag. These are the things I worry about on Saturdays. Unlike you, I am positive that I need therapy.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:42 AM ^
I understand the nap thing. I used to keep them up later on Friday, so they would sleep in longer and delay the nap time on Sat. 3:30 starts. The sleep routine would be screwed up for days, but hey-- the game was on, and my wife was right there with me.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:56 AM ^
That is hilarious! I'm not brave enough to mess with the nap routine. Like you said, that is the opposite of a gift that keeps on giving.
(For you young-bloods in college right now, these are the things you can look forward to worrying about in 10-15 years).
October 15th, 2010 at 12:07 PM ^
I'm confused about why naps have any bearing on game watching. After all, taking care of the kids is women's work.
Actually, my lil man hangs out while the game is on, wether he's napping or not. Doesn't really matter to him. But I do like the 3:30 starts cuz I usually work on saturday mornings and most times I miss the 1st Q of the nooners. I'm actually excited to watch the boy tomorrow cuz my wife's gonna be gone and its a good enough excuse to watch footbaw all day and not feel guilty about not working on the eternal prolect that is the new addition on our house. You people that can just roll out of bed at 11:30 and flip the game on make me sick. Bastards.
October 15th, 2010 at 12:12 PM ^
How old is your son? Mine is 2 and he's not a fan of watching his father yell like an idiot. He'll be fully-baptized in the religion of Michigan football soon enough. Just not yet.
Does he nap in the afternoon? If so, and if you're putting him to sleep, I assume you'll pause the game.
What do you do about all the commercials? I don't have 4 hours on Saturday to watch the game. I have to at least wait 30-60 minutes to start the game in order to fast-forward through the commercials.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:31 AM ^
For me personally, I like the 3:30 times, but not for any reason that would matter to the team or the larger fanbase.
Because it is hard to watch the games in real time with me 3 year old son, my wife and I DVR all games, and then go on COMPLETE media blackout and watch them at 8:30 when he goes to bed. It is a very difficult thing to do - we turn off all cell phones / blackberries, no TVs or radios go on, and we completely avoid all places that have TVs. We also make sure not to wear any Michigan gear so that nobody comes up and talks about the game (I live in NY). Despite all of these stealth measures that I have developed over the past 3 years, I still find the times between kickoff and 8:30 stressful, as I fear finding out the score. So, for me, the 3:30 start means 3.5 hours less of stress and the chance of finding out the score. I probably need some form of psychological therapy.
October 15th, 2010 at 11:08 AM ^
I've been doing this for years. I sometimes tune in near the end of the game just in case there's an exciting finish.
Watching by DVR is much more pleasant, too.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:31 AM ^
Actually, I'd agree with that.
Traffic leaving town after the MSU game was the worst in my memory. Not that I am complaining about noon or 3:30 starts. Noon games mean a good party after the game. 3:30 games mean a good party before the game. (My preference, as far as that goes.)
8:00 games mean getting home at about 2 am, and God only knows how much after-dark mayhem. If Dave Brandon schedules more than one night game every year or two, I'll be pissed.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:42 AM ^
I live less than 2 miles from the stadium, and I park/tailgate at a house on Pauline. It was just just after 8:00 pm when I got home last Saturday. Worst post-game traffic I've seen in the 20+ years I've been here.
I personally like the noon start. Even though I have to get up at the crack of dawn to go tailgating, it means I get home in time to catch both the 3:30 games and the night games. A 3:30 start means I miss the noon games altogether.
October 15th, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^
Last weekend was the worst traffic I've ever seen in AA. Part of the problem was that both teams were undefeated and everyone expected the game to be phenomenal. It also didn't help that there was major construction on Main Street coming off of 14. I would probably say there was between 500k 750k people in AA. Bar lines worst I've ever seen. Tailgates on corner of Hoover and State were ridiculous.. 10 cop cars in the middle of the street just arresting and handing out tickets to people walking down the street with beers. Probably saw 100 tickets written if not more. Even had that game be at noon... I don't think it would have affected the traffic at all (would have still been horrible).
October 15th, 2010 at 5:12 PM ^
I live close enough to the Stadium to walk, and am in the middle of a curvy block. People park at the very end of my street, near the Stadium. But last Saturday they were well past my house. And traffic was a zoo at 9 am, no more 3:30. I'm not sure I've ever seen more people coming to town for a game. Way more than could fit in the Stadium. All those Juggalos, I guess.
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<br>As for night games, the wait will be torture, but the event should make up for it some. But it shouldn't be that often, I agree, because it will take the uniqueness out of it and make it less special.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:32 AM ^
3:30 start = plenty of time to get intoxicated before the game.
Quit yer bitchin'.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:39 AM ^
The 3:30 start does seem to pace the day better and I don't feel like I have to rush my tailgating in order to get into the stadium in time for all the opening ceremonies. Sometimes with the noon starts it's hard to make it into the stadium on time for everything.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:49 AM ^
Unfortunately I graduated a few years back, but I'd say my four years were summed up as such:
Noon Games: Likely to make it there halfway through the first quarter because the right amount of pre-game was a necessity, and the previous night's binge-drinking inhibited my start time.
Two-Thirty Games: Much more likely to not make it there at all due to blackout vomiting and selling my ticket to some poor Asian kid after the game already started (hello ND game in 2003).
October 15th, 2010 at 12:07 PM ^
I manage to get plenty drunk before a noon game, thank you very much.
October 15th, 2010 at 10:33 AM ^
But the 3:30 games are more "Prime Time" and typically feature better opponents. There's a reason why the MACcakes are always noon games. The better competition might be partially to blame for a worse record in 3:30 games.
I dislike the 3:30 games because they make going out after more difficult. During the noon games there was time for a nap and dinner between the game and the bar. at 7pm all the restaurants are full, and it's just more difficult