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Unverified Voracity Requires Kerosene

By Brian — August 22nd, 2011 at 12:26 PM — 62 comments
Filed under:
  • 1989
  • bo
  • carl grapentine
  • dave brandon creates the future
  • i post we are nd again
  • mike hart
  • notre dame
  • ron english
  • special k make michigan stadium wicked sweet dawg
  • stadium experience
  • unverified voracity

Kill it with fire.Last year some horrible, horrible hip-hop artist whose songs should be titled "Making You Want To Die Part VII," "Making You Want To Die Part VIII," and so forth and so on, released some fake pump up video that momentarily panicked the fanbase into thinking we'd Freekbassed ourselves.

[By MGoLaw every mention of We Are ND must be accompanied by We Are ND:

We remain in full compliance.]

We had not. Nor have we this year when some horrible, horrible hard rock outfit attempted to pull the same trick with their song "Making You Want To Die Part IX". Should I even link this monstrosity? I will but only if everyone signs a blood oath to never support the people responsible for this.

/blood oath signing music

All right. It's here. The worst part about all of this is that someday the Assistant Vice Associate Athletic Director For Making Michigan Stadium Wicked Sweet is going to hear one of these things and think it is a good idea instead of a malformed baby we should leave on the mountain to die.

That last part is not a joke. Multiple people have sent Lucy Ann Lance's interview with the new chief marketing officer along because of an ominous passage towards the end of it.

The middle of the article has an extensive discussion of ads in Michigan Stadium and how they will never happen. While I'm grateful for that I wonder if the guys in charge of this stuff have any idea why that's important to the fanbase. I don't think they do:

Lucy Ann: Any other changes that you have coming out regarding branding of the University of Michigan?

Lochmann: Event presentation and how people experience the brand at our events is a big part of building the brand, and we are in the midst of hiring some event presentation folks to really focus on making it a wow experience for our fans who go to basketball, hockey, football, soccer. It’s not just a PA announcement.

Lucy Ann: More entertainment?

Lochmann: Exactly. We really want to make all Michigan Athletics a destination for sports fans.

"It's not just a PA announcement?" Do I have to refer a guy who actually works in the athletic department to the ten-year-old kid who blew his mind at last year's Illinois game? Shouldn't the person in charge of branding Michigan understand it? Michigan does not have "just PA announcements." It has one of the grand old men of the PA business, Carl Grapentine.

The primary reason Michigan fans don't want ads in the stadium is because they distract from the game. The chief marketing officer says he won't put ads in the stadium but looks to "really focus on making it a wow experience."

It already is a wow experience. There are a 110,000 people in a stadium watching Desmond Howard or Charles Woodson or Denard Robinson. Wow has been accomplished. Wow is also accomplished at Yost. Wow is not at Crisler, which is by far the chintziest Michigan sports venue. Make the connection. The chief marketing officer's primary duty should be to recognize and preserve the parts of the Michigan tradition that are unique, not turn everything into a February Knicks game.

I envy Notre Dame fans in this department. They have an iron grip on what they want their stadium experience to be like. It's a little weird that it does not include massive HD replays, but there is no threat someone will promise FREEEEEEE PIZZZZZAAA or play Let The Bodies Hit The Floor at Notre Dame Stadium. There would be a gentle, friendly riot.

Bo finishes. Via Wolverine Historian, a one-hour Michigan Replay special on Bo's last season:

Grimly grim under a steel-grim sky. So you're just skipping along in this article about Mike Hart's initial foray into coaching at Eastern Michigan when Ron English pops up and slaps you with this baby:

“Mike’s strengths were never his physical abilities, they were always his mental abilities, his emotional abilities, his character. That’s what I’ve always loved about him. He’s a no-brainer in this profession as long as he can deal with the hours, the commitment, the movement and the disappointment. There’s a lot of disappointment in this profession.”

English's perspective is informed by being head coach of a school where going 2-10 gets you a "keep up the good work," of course. Pair that with Eastern's gray concrete stadium and it's like being the head coach of North Korea's football team. Watch out for lightning.

And here's everything. Burnt Orange Nation has collected every nasty bit of PR to befall college football in the past year, getting up to 23 separate incidents (Michigan's major-ish violations are included). This is my favorite one:

13) Unranked UConn Cant Sell Fiesta Bowl tickets (December 2010)

In a further indictment of the current system, there were a flood of stories related to schools being unable to sell their allotment of tickets for bowl games.  Most notably, UConn resorted to begging fans to buy Fiesta Bowl tickets.  Not surprisingly, it didnt work.  Later calculations placed their financial losses for the game at $1.66 million.  Their actual losses were much higher, as OU kicked their ass and then their coach fled for Maryland.  Good times.

The bowl system has successful shoved all the uncertainty onto the college programs they are parasites on, even up to the BCS level.

Etc.: Bleacher Report hires Dan Levy, Dan Rubenstein, Josh Zerkle, and Bethlehem Shoals? What is going on? Gary Danielson declares "landlocked" MSU and Purdue the toughest gigs in the Big Ten. Indiana? Or have people given up on them entirely? He's also a superconference believer, FWIW.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:30 PM
#2
JClay
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Joined: 09/14/2010
MGoPoints: 13751
I can't for the life of me

I can't for the life of me understand how anyone can think getting FREE PIZZA is ever a bad thing. (Free) Hungry Howies and (Hail To) The Victors? Match made in heaven!!

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:40 PM
(Reply to #2) #3
CleverMichiganR...
CleverMichiganReference's picture
Joined: 07/18/2008
MGoPoints: 4443
Hungry Howie's

along with every pizza* I've been cajoled into eating in Michigan is an abomination and should be forced to use a different name, like Champagne vs sparkling wine. This alone is reason enough!

*Pizza House is edible, but "Chicago style" is a different story, although my chi friends tend to dislike PH as much as I do NYPD.

/New Yorker rant

Also, this is Michigan.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:52 PM
(Reply to #2) #4
panthera leo fututio
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Joined: 09/15/2008
MGoPoints: 2013
The problem with the

The problem with the give-away (and especially the aesthetics with which it's carried out) is that it's the sort of thing that's designed to distract from the game itself and coax a moody 12-year-old into giving a shit for the duration of a time-out break.

It's very arguable whether that sort of tactic is appropriate in Crisler, but it's definitely out of place in Michigan Stadium.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:11 PM
(Reply to #10) #5
734mgoblue
Joined: 07/09/2011
MGoPoints: 47
Pizza Pizza

Are you serious? You know that Dave Brandon would totally back the advertisement at the Big House... Dominos Pizza... and regarding the mascot dilemma... I think we know his plans for that!

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August 22nd, 2011 at 2:14 PM
(Reply to #2) #6
STW P. Brabbs
Joined: 08/27/2008
MGoPoints: 3372
Free Hungry Howie's

Is really the only Hungry Howie's worth laying your hands on. Stuff is garbage.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:35 PM
#7
Magnus
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MGoPoints: 123040
It seems like it's been a

It seems like it's been a while since anyone on here railed against Gary Danielson.  It's nice to see that tradition starting up again.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:07 PM
(Reply to #3) #8
Sgt. Wolverine
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MGoPoints: 3707
In fairness,

it's been a while since anyone has heard him calling an SEC game on CBS. Once the season starts we'll all remember how much we dislike Gary Danielson.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:36 PM
#9
ikestoys
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Joined: 09/26/2009
MGoPoints: 1033
If the marketing director

If the marketing director says 'Dude, I don't have to do anything', then he wouldn't have a job for very long. Existences have to be justified.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:43 PM
#10
Eck Sentrik
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Joined: 12/08/2008
MGoPoints: 5376
That song is very

That song is very Nickelbackish.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:58 PM
(Reply to #6) #11
kgh10
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 3107
I was thinking the same

I was thinking the same thing. Sounds like a fusion of Nickleback and Kid Rock...astoundingly bad.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 2:18 PM
(Reply to #15) #12
TrppWlbrnID
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Joined: 10/29/2009
MGoPoints: 9842
i love the fact it ends with a fadeout

thought of the beginning, the middle, the lyrics, the bridge. the ending? just let it ride out.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:45 PM
#13
Everyone Murders
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Joined: 12/14/2010
MGoPoints: 64815
To A Hammer The Whole World Looks Like A Nail

<

>The chief marketing officer's primary duty should be to recognize and preserve the parts of the Michigan tradition that are unique, not turn everything into a February Knicks game.<
>

Therein lies the rub. You don't need a chief marketing officer to recognize and preserve tradition. Any assistant AD worth their salt could do that.

The problem is in having a chief marketing officer in the first place. A big part of Michigan's brand is the affectation that we don't have a brand at all (an affectation I wholly embrace). It's really very zen, if you don't look too closely.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:53 PM
(Reply to #7) #14
Bobby Digital
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Joined: 07/05/2008
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This guy

gets it.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:21 PM
(Reply to #7) #15
MI Expat NY
Joined: 07/24/2008
MGoPoints: 7495
Yep, as long as their is a

Yep, as long as their is a chief marketing officer, there's a "threat" to gameday atmosphere at the big 3 michigan sports venues.  After all, the person in charge of marketing isn't going to be content trying to get a few hundred fans to shell out a few bucks for a soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse, gymanstics, tennis, volleyball, etc. game.  

The other reason why this fight is being had is that football and basketball games are no longer designed for the enjoyment of the fans in the stadium, they are designed for television audiences (and really, for television broadcasters).  Anything added to the gameday experience isn't meant to be a distraction from the game, it's meant to be a distraction from the nothingness that is commercial breaks.  Ever since television money became huge and schools had to sanction longer and more frequent commercial breaks there's a sense that something has to be provided to fans that actually paid to be there during these breaks.  So, as long as there are commercial breaks after a TD and after the ensuing kickoff, and so long as there are "TV timeouts" every four minutes in college basketball, there's going to be a greater and greater pull towards mid-game "entertainment."

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:47 PM
(Reply to #24) #16
South Bend Wolverine
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Joined: 09/11/2009
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"Ever since television money

"Ever since television money became huge and schools had to sanction longer and more frequent commercial breaks there's a sense that something has to be provided to fans that actually paid to be there during these breaks.  So, as long as there are commercial breaks after a TD and after the ensuing kickoff, and so long as there are "TV timeouts" every four minutes in college basketball, there's going to be a greater and greater pull towards mid-game "entertainment.""

That's why we have a goram marching band.  Seriously, have you ever heard anyone leave a Michigan game saying, "man, I really wish the band didn't play so much.  I'm really sick of the band."?

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August 22nd, 2011 at 2:02 PM
(Reply to #28) #17
MI Expat NY
Joined: 07/24/2008
MGoPoints: 7495
For the record, I didn't

For the record, I didn't intend to say that the "solutions" were worthwhile.  They're not.  I'd rather listen to the Band, even if you can sometimes barely hear them, then listen to a PA announcer provide play-by-play for an imaginary race on the jumbotron.  All I'm saying is that before, when TV was just a side consideration to the game, and commercials barely, if at all, extended the "dead time" within the stadium, nobody was coming up with ideas to fill the time.  We had cheerleaders and the band.  Now it's different, and there's a reason that we're one of the last fan bases fighting the intrusion of other forms of entertainment into the game day atmosphere.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:49 PM
(Reply to #24) #18
MGoShtoink
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Joined: 11/05/2010
MGoPoints: 8523
"Ever since television money

"Ever since television money became huge and schools had to sanction longer and more frequent commercial breaks there's a sense that something has to be provided to fans that actually paid to be there during these breaks."

I disagree with this. 

When I attend games, I don't pay to see the "entertainment" during breaks, nor do I expect my money to pay for anything other than the game itself.  I pay to see the game.  I don't mind the breaks as it gives just a minute to sit and rest.

I imagine this is expectation of the majority of Michigan fans.

EDIT:  I also echo what's said above, we have the band and they are damn good!

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August 22nd, 2011 at 2:24 PM
(Reply to #29) #19
Blue in Yarmouth
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Joined: 02/18/2009
MGoPoints: 5720
You're missing his point.

Jus because you (and many other UM fans) don't need that time filled doesn't mean his point doesn't have merit.When is the last time DB or the marketing people asked you what you wanted? They are not thinking about what you (as a fan) want, but what they think would better market the "brand" and how they could make more money. He isn't saying this is a good idea or that he agree's with it, just that it is likely what they are thinking.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 3:15 PM
(Reply to #43) #20
MGoShtoink
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Joined: 11/05/2010
MGoPoints: 8523
Allow me to clarify

I wasn't disagreeing with him, I was disagreeing with the notion that the "dead time" during breaks needs to be filled with anything other than the band, cheerleaders or annoucements.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:50 PM
(Reply to #24) #21
Don
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Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 70352
a greater and greater pull towards mid-game "entertainment.

I'd love to see scout team players chase the members of Pipe Evil or whatever the fuck they call themselves all over the field during timeouts, with the most vicious tackles getting replayed up on the Hokatrons.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:50 PM
#22
M-Wolverine
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Joined: 10/04/2009
MGoPoints: 42199
Wondering what blood oath signing music sounds like....

Still amazed that a draw the line in the sand, no advertising in the Stadium article still gets run over with a comb to find some negative in it. Ah, Michigan fans.

I'm pretty sure I have that Michigan Replay on VHS somewhere.... (College kids, ask your parents).

And I'm not sure disappointment in the college coaching profession is limited to Eastern Michigan.  See - University of Michigan; Last 3 years.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:53 PM
(Reply to #9) #23
BlueDragon
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Joined: 11/14/2010
MGoPoints: 21718
"Flamebait", eh?

Sounds like somebody touched a nerve or two.

Also, unwanted babies were thrown off the mountain top in Sparta, not left there to die.  They didn't take any chances with their undesirables.  #SPARTAAAAAAAAAAUGH

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August 22nd, 2011 at 2:31 PM
(Reply to #35) #24
M-Wolverine
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Joined: 10/04/2009
MGoPoints: 42199
They can take my points, but they can never take my FREEDOM!!!!

I mean, it's wasn't a knock on anyone in particular. I'm sure the previous staff was WAY more disappointed than anyone on here. And at least half of them weren't considered bumblers, but pretty darn good at what they did. It happens. It's the nature of sport, not just EMU. Even as fans...what do we remember most, burned like fire into our memories? Yes, passes against PSU with no time on the clock stick with us...but I bet those memories are never as sweet as the pain we still feel from (name your own game so you don't blame me for bringing it up) failure.  You only go undefeated with nothng to regret every so rarely, otherwise there's always something you wish could have gone better.  And even then, you can do all that, and still have something to lament.  See: 1997 Nebraska; bullshit.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:52 PM
#25
EGD
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Joined: 09/16/2009
MGoPoints: 26584
Stadiums

I live in Seattle and have had season tickets to the Seattle Sounders since the franchise began playing in 2009.  I am seriously considering not renewing for a fourth year, however, because of the obnoxious, constant PA system.  Before the game, at halftime, after the game, whenever possible--they play some loud PA annoucement that makes it almost impossible to think, let alone have a conversation with the people around you.  It's like the circus.  First there is the video-game race on the Jumbotron, then they are rolling fake dice down sections 107 and 108, then they are congratulating the Bellingham Knitting Circle on second place in the regional mitten-off. 

Frankly, I enjoy UM football games a hell of a lot more than MLS soccer, and if I still lived in Ann Arbor and was fortunate enough to have tickets, I probably wouldn't give them up due to annoying PA noise.  But anyone who thinks that stuff adds, rather than detracts, from the game experience is on crack.  The only value it may have is to keep children and other people who may be at-the-game-despite-not-being-actually-interested-in-the-game entertained.

One hope is that if the people who live in the neighborhoods south of Main and elsewhere around the stadium complain enough, they can keep the PA noise to its present pleasant minimum.  I used to live in a house on John street and from the second floor you could hear the PA system lout & clear.  If there was pro-sports-style PA stuff going on, it would have been intolerable.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:54 PM
#26
TIMMMAAY
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Joined: 09/08/2008
MGoPoints: 41342
Brian

Have you heard any scuttlbut about halftime at the "under the lights" game vs. ND?

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August 22nd, 2011 at 12:56 PM
#27
Wolverine 73
Joined: 08/03/2009
MGoPoints: 4471
Are we having trouble selling tickets?

Aren't people buying enough t-shirts or caps or sweatshirts?  There don't seem to be any empty seats at the stadium, and people seem to arrive decked out in M gear.  Most people would conclude the fans are happy and like things the way they are.  I personally loathe what has happened to pro basketball over the last 20 years (and don't even watch it any more), and what is happening to a lesser extent to the NFL and the Major Leagues.  If the games are good, who cares about the rest of the stuff?  If the games suck, who cares about the rest of the stuff?

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:53 PM
(Reply to #14) #28
South Bend Wolverine
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Joined: 09/11/2009
MGoPoints: 7656
"I personally loathe what has

"I personally loathe what has happened to pro basketball over the last 20 years (and don't even watch it any more)"

Amen.  I can't even fathom how annoying it must be to have loud, canned music playing *while the game is going on.*  I mean, if I were a player, I have to imagine that I'd absolutely hate that.  I guess you get used to it or whatever, but still.

Of course, the NBA is also unwatchable because defense has been made illegal by rule, by that's a different matter.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:00 PM
#29
matty blue
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Joined: 08/01/2008
MGoPoints: 4565
"building the brand"

anyone who uses the phrase "building the brand" with reference to michigan sports needs to be fired yesterday.

we already have a brand, you fuckwits.  use it.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:00 PM
#30
PurpleStuff
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Joined: 04/21/2009
MGoPoints: 15963
Northwestern

I have to think that is the toughest job (across all sports programs).  You are in an urban area where your limited fanbase is outnumbered by about 15 other schools.  The facilities aren't great and the donor base is pretty much limited to alumni.  Indiana gets limited support because they stink, but loads of people still care about IU and IU athletics (they still outdrew Northwestern by about 5,000 per game last year).  If the Hoosiers were good, I think the support would appear instantly.  Maybe the quality academics provides a unique edge, but I would think those kids would choose a school like Stanford over Northwestern every time.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:52 PM
(Reply to #17) #31
zlionsfan
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Joined: 10/31/2008
MGoPoints: 632
and they're also a private school

unlike the other 11 in the conference, which may not seem like that big of a deal, but it affects things like "so hey we don't have a scholarship this year, but you can certainly walk on if you've got an extra $55K lying around the house."

IU has never really been capital-G good, so there's no way to test your hypothesis, but in the '80s when Mallory had them going to bowl games regularly, attendance still wasn't that great, partly because Memorial Stadium is small and partly because it sucks. (I haven't been to a game since the construction was done, but before that, it was just a smallish concrete thing, no real character or anything.) And partly because it isn't basketball.

Danielson's just mentioning Purdue out of wishful thinking, rather than admitting that Tiller's been the only decent coach there in 40 years. (Jim Young had three years of Mark Herrmann and two years of not-Mark Herrmann.) I suppose he has a point if he's talking about an environment where it's difficult to succeed: Purdue ADs seem to be fans of doing things cheaply and expecting them to work anyway.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:01 PM
#32
realkato
Joined: 10/06/2008
MGoPoints: 42
Reminds me of something...

Here in Raleigh, the Carolina Hurricanes have a similarly dreadful arena-rock theme song. The chorus is "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, let's go, C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, let's go, C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, let's go Canes." The first line of the first verse is "Carolina has a fun hockey team". I cringe and apologize every time I bring my Red Wings friends into the arena and that songs starts to play. If Michigan ever adopts anything like this, I really will want to die.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 2:09 PM
(Reply to #19) #33
STW P. Brabbs
Joined: 08/27/2008
MGoPoints: 3372
Hype video

My mom was telling me about this on the phone. she was really excited about it. I'm dreading the conversation where she brings it up again and I have to tell her what I thought about it.

The only reason it's not We Are ND is because it's strictly a montage (and it's shorter). This is Not Good.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:13 PM
#34
stmccoy
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Joined: 10/07/2009
MGoPoints: 1828
I never want to hear thank

I never want to hear that song again.  So bad.  Who thought that was a good idea?

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:16 PM
#35
MGoShtoink
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Joined: 11/05/2010
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Event presentation folks?

So the bands at halftime aren't good enough?  I guess neither are the cheerleaders, dance team nor the on-field guests.

If the PA announcements become more than "Don't trash the Big House" and we start seeing mascot races, I'm calling for this guy's head.

Go figure this is coming from a guy who has been to 1(!!!!) Michigan game in his life!

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August 22nd, 2011 at 2:33 PM
(Reply to #23) #36
M-Wolverine
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Joined: 10/04/2009
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I'd be all for

MOAR Cheerleaders and Dance Team.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:35 PM
#37
Bando Calrissian
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Joined: 07/02/2008
MGoPoints: 60181
I'm getting this vision of

I'm getting this vision of sideline reporter-type marketing girls given a microphone and a camera to the megatrons doing in-game promotions, games, and interviews with fans during commercial breaks.  Flashy lights.  Eye-blinding graphics.  Lameness abounding.

Close your eyes and turn up Frank and Jim on the radio headset, click the heels together.  There's No Place Like Home!  

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:41 PM
(Reply to #26) #38
matty blue
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Joined: 08/01/2008
MGoPoints: 4565
do you mean,

"michigan football, a production of i.m.g. sports media," or whatever they say?

i'll take tom hemingway on michigan radio any day.  bring 'em back!

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August 22nd, 2011 at 1:51 PM
(Reply to #30) #39
matty blue
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Joined: 08/01/2008
MGoPoints: 4565
co-sign

we already missed the 'teal explosion' of the 80s and 90s, let's not miss this one!!!

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August 22nd, 2011 at 2:03 PM
#40
turd ferguson
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Joined: 12/09/2009
MGoPoints: 26489
posted from iPhone

I'm totally on board for a mascot and a gameday atmosphere that draws heavily upon that mascot... as long as said mascot is an artist's rendition of Marques Slocum's fuck lion.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 2:16 PM
#41
TrppWlbrnID
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Joined: 10/29/2009
MGoPoints: 9842
the thing about marketers

is that they confuse consumers for customers. while FREEE PIZZZAAAA and mascots might fire up the 12 year olds, the 12 year olds do not pay PSLs or ticket prices or parking. while my mom and her ilk may love dancing to "old time rock n roll" and "shout" during the game, they are not the ones forking over the cash, they just get the crappy game tickets in september before it gets too cold. and for every screaming, hyper 12 year old who will remember a five hour period in the stadium as "the day i almost got a t-shirt" and for every dancing mom who tells her frieds "i danced, it was so silly!" there is some guy with his arms crossed and the palm of his hand on his forehead, pleading quietly for the game to get underway.

/i know, sexist, agist, all that. there are a lot of die hard ladies out there, so this is aimed at the other 98%

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August 22nd, 2011 at 2:37 PM
#42
ndjames86
Joined: 09/28/2009
MGoPoints: 221
Last year I took two buddies

who are Iowa State grads to the Michigan-Iowa game (They weren't so much rooting for Michigan as they were rooting against Iowa and Ricky Stanzi - no complaints here). Their college football experience was limited mainly to Big 12 games but they said that game and the atmosphere was by far the most exciting one that they'd been to. This point falls in line with what most people think - its the fact that when you get 110k people cheering in unison for the same team its pretty awesome. Nobody gets pumped up bc you blast in some rock songs over the PA. Keep that stuff in the NBA, let us have our band and the cheers of the fans.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 8:53 PM
(Reply to #46) #43
jmblue
Joined: 11/07/2008
MGoPoints: 56299
There was plenty of piped-in

There was plenty of piped-in music at last year's home games, though.  2008 was the last year we had no RAWK at the games.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 2:41 PM
#44
legalblue
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Joined: 09/04/2010
MGoPoints: 608
Dear Wolverine Historian

Bo's Last game in the Big Bouse was my very first game at Michigan stadium.   I was 8, and we won.  It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.  This video was epic.  You rock.  Know this... you rock.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 2:57 PM
#45
rederik
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Joined: 03/21/2011
MGoPoints: 3423
It's videos like this

It's videos like this that I point to as evidence that Dave Brandon (as much better as he is than Bill Martin) has been influenced more by his many years in the corporate world than his four short years under Bo.

That, or he's another middle-aged guy who just doesn't know the diference between cool and corny. One or the other.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 3:32 PM
#46
Class of 1817
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Joined: 06/23/2011
MGoPoints: 3190
The Brand, The Brand, The Brand...

Am I the only one who is saddened to see that words like: team, tradition, name, reputation, integrity, style, experience...

They're now interchangeable, and often discarded for the use of the preferred word: brand.

I get it, all right. I'm not a commie-hippie, I still bought a night-game jersey, I don't care about Adidas vs. Nike, and you can stay on my lawn as long as you don't take a dump on it...

But man... It just freaks me out that lately, it seems to be the favorite word and everyone is just pretending like it's always been that way. Kinda sad.

Actually, y'know what? That's enough. You've spent enough time on my lawn. You can come back tomorrow. Thank you.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 4:48 PM
(Reply to #52) #47
BlueHills
Joined: 10/31/2010
MGoPoints: 4145
Agreed

A University isn't a "brand." Once you look at the term, University of Michigan, and call it a brand instead of a fabled institution, you're losing something special.

And this goes double for Michigan football.

Once you think of it as a brand, you're diminishing it, and then it's just another gimmick to market.

I love Michigan, the institution. I love Michigan, the football team. I love the Big Ten, the conference made up of schools.

I hate the idea of the "brand" of any of the above. 

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August 22nd, 2011 at 5:47 PM
(Reply to #55) #48
Class of 1817
Class of 1817's picture
Joined: 06/23/2011
MGoPoints: 3190
All right, good...

I mean, I found myself thinking, "What the hell would Bo say to someone calling U of M a 'brand'?!"

And then I thought, "Man, you're getting old and nostalgic, and it's just Michigan football...relax."

And then I heard myself say "...Did you say it's JUST Michigan football?!"

And then I kicked my own ass.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 4:06 PM
#49
Bando Calrissian
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Joined: 07/02/2008
MGoPoints: 60181
For the record, it's not

For the record, it's not "FREEE PIZZZAAAA," but "Hey Fans!   Who WANTS A PIZZZZ-ZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?"  (cue RAWK)

I can't even begin to explain how much I dislike the Crisler PA announcer.  He's just as bad at Comerica Park, too.  Even if more restrained.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 5:09 PM
#50
BlueHills
Joined: 10/31/2010
MGoPoints: 4145
Marketing Dude

What can anyone expect from Dave Brandon's marketing team, other than a constant assault to change things Michigan fans are already perfectly happy with?

It's one thing if you're a Bush League team needing to do something, anything, to put fans' butts in seats. It's quite another if you're Michigan.

I'm hoping, praying, that very soon Dave Brandon will wake up one morning and simply say, "You know what, I really miss being a businessman," and leave the Athletic Department.

Then again, I'm only hoping it if we don't get someone worse, which is entirely possible.

Yes, we are going to be treated to giant stuffed characters, balloons, halftime stunts, and eventually stadium advertising, tradition and the wishes of the faithful be damned.

I just don't like what people like Brandon are doing to college football, but I know, I know...I'm an old man and get off my lawn, etc...

Edit: I dunno, to me college football is more like religion than "branding." People don't suddenly root for Michigan State because they changed their uniforms or shade of green; they don't decide to attend games at Michigan because of what happens during pregame, or halftime, or because they saw a cute ad.

Branding an institution like Michigan is like branding religion; you can do all the distracting stuff you want and call it branding, but the reality is that none of that stuff has a damn thing to do with becoming a Michigan fan. You can do all you want to "brand," say, devil worship, but you're not going to get many converts to it from the main religions because it's not about advertising, branding, or anything remotely related to those kinds of efforts.

Branding is something you need to worry about when nothing distinguishes your product from another product except a name. Like toothpaste. Or the old GM divisions, that were obsessed with branding (and look what happened!!). That isn't the case with Michigan. Just my two cents.

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August 22nd, 2011 at 5:42 PM
#51
Michigan Arrogance
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Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 15317
I think most people are

I think most people are missing the biggest analogy one can make: that with ESPN. ESPN was rollin' in the mid 90s. I mean, people would work their dinners around SC. It was a must watch first thing in the AM and right after work/school at 6pm.

Since the late 90s (basically when they went to 60min SC), ESPN has been growing their brand NOT by attempting to attract the people who are already are glued to the TV (dedicated sports fans). They tried to attract the casual fans by producing debate and reality shows, more fluff peices on SC, the BUD HOT SEAT, etc. That's how businesses grow. attract new listeners/viewers. that's what minor league baseball teams have bee trying to do since about 1990.

Every sport and every TV station (MTV, hello?) have been doing the same. The problem is, most have grown their brands beyond what the diehards who were already hooked could tolerate. I think DB is trying to grow the brand in much the same way (NIGHT GAMEZ, JERSEYZ, etc) while not alienating the die hards (no advertizing, etc).

Like Colin Cowherd says about sports marketing, "they don't give a shit about you (us, the MGOBloggers)- they all ready own you. They need to attract the next generation and casual fans who may eventually become the die hards."

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