From the Student Section Enjoys Lower Blood Pressure

Submitted by SaddestTailgateEver on

For those of you who regularly come here looking for an unhinged diatribe against the powers that be, let me first apologize and recommend a different column. Thankfully, there isn’t really any of that here this week (ok maybe a sentence or two). I’ll preface by saying that I was away at an engineering convention last weekend and missed the second half of the Rutgers game, so perhaps my program ire/ennui wasn’t quite to the levels that many others here had attained. Either way, I found Saturday to be a welcome relief, not only that we won, but also from a general fan experience perspective. And this is compared to last year in particular, where the night game atmosphere mixed with general admission to produce one of the worst fan experiences I’ve had in the Big House (admittedly only until the opening kickoff).

Pregame: From the Football Student Advisory Council

The football student advisory council (or football SAC as some of their members call it) is a new initiative this year to get more student fan input on the program, the games, the department, etc. I have a few friends who are serving on it and so occasionally have the luxury of getting a feel for things yet to come (and occasionally can put that into print). After this week’s meeting, one of them commented that

“Anything and everything is on the table to fix this.”

“Where this means everything,” I replied.

“Yes.”

That includes lower student ticket prices, allowing bringing water into the stadium, etc. So despite the chaos of the last few weeks, it seems that the athletic department is listening. Whether, and how much, they’ll act on it obviously remains to be seen, but it seems reasonable to be at least guardedly optimistic. Hunter Lochmann, the AD’s Chief Marketing Officer observed that he has never seen Brandon like this—that he’s hurt, and that he wants to fix things. Will he be able to? I don’t know. But if *if* he does change course, if he does

  • back away from the relentless commercialization of the football experience,
  •  lower ticket prices, 
  • fix the “little things” like allowing people to bring water bottles in,
  • work to change the culture from a client-provider model to a more family/community model,
  • back off from allegedly micromanaging aspects of the football program,
  • stop screwing around with seating policies, gimmicks, and promotions,
  • apologize for the way concussion-gate was handled and commit to being more forthcoming, and less legalese-y in the future, and in short
  • work to bring back the fan experience that made the Big House what it was for decades;

then I won’t be crushed if he stays. Do I think he’ll be able to, or even willing? Not yet. But I’m not out for blood, I’m not a mean, vindictive blogger. I’m just a flawed, frustrated human being—as, I imagine, is Dave Brandon. And I’m not above forgiving someone who screwed up majorly, as long as they acknowledge the shortcoming and work to correct it moving forward. I can’t, and won’t, take my name off the petition; but for me this is about the issues, not the person. And if the issues get fixed, then the person can stay.

Pregame: MGoTailgate

I was explaining the above thought process to a friend as we walked to the MGoTailgate, which was a great tailgate experience and well worth the encouraged donation. He asked if I thought that allowing the purchase of beer in the stadium (as had been done for the Winter Classic and soccer match) would go over well with the students. My honest answer was (and remains) “no”. In the absence of fixing the real issues, I think that students would (possibly rightly) view it as pandering, and many would balk at the implication that students will be happy as long as they have enough to drink, actually issues be damned. This line of thinking was reasonably confirmed when I got to the stadium, which brings us to

The Stadium: Night Game Edition

Walking in the first thing I observed was that the event staff seemed to have a different air about them. Rather than getting hassled about the cowbell (which, mea culpa mea culpa, is likely still in the stadium) they seemed to be encouraging it. Further, they seemed genuinely interested in the signed photo I had with me because I had no place to put it prior to the game starting, and at least one was aware of the tailgate and expressed his desire to have been there.

The next thing was easily the most shocking. They were giving out free water bottles to students entering the stadium. Yes. Free. So maybe I can start crossing items off that list above already. Here’s hoping. Many students, however, were less enthused than I. Once in the student section, the pre-game featured (by my count) one “Fire Brandon” cheer and many students criticizing Brandon’s attempts to “buy them off” with “two dollar water” after paying as much as they did for season tickets. So yes, I think that many small steps may be viewed as pandering at least initially. That doesn’t mean that the department should give up on these small steps. There’s just a lot of damage to heal, which will take some time and a continued effort.

I’m reminded of the department’s response to the chaos of the night game last year: they handed out seat tickets when you checked into the stadium so that there wouldn’t be a mad rush to the seats. The problem: they did this for the Akron game, saw it wasn’t necessary (for the Akron game) and abandoned it going forward (where it may have been beneficial). I’m worried that we may repeat that with things like the water, which in isolation was very much appreciated. By itself or one-time-only, however, it won’t do much to fix all the damage that has been done.

Apart from that, the only thing worth mentioning was the occasional drunk student trying to get a “Fire Brandon” cheer started when we had the opportunity to force a safety (no, not that safety), who claimed that his 5 years here (everyone together now “get off my lawn”) made him the expert on the damage Brandon has done. But yeah, Zazu is right—there is one in every family, including the Michigan family. And there’s not a whole lot to be done except perhaps…

[Author’s Note: No, I’m not actually encouraging that. MGoBlog isn’t encouraging that. Nobody is encouraging that.]

Overall, from a fan experience standpoint, this was one of the more enjoyable games I’ve had here (though I have to admit, Norfleet was a huge part of that). Are the underlying problems gone? No. But it’s still a welcome relief to know that I can still go and support the players without enduring something that makes me wonder if it’s worth it. And at this point, that’s really all I ask.



[EDIT:4pm 13 Oct.] In my haste to get this out I overlooked one great occurence. 

Before kickoff we were doing our usual "get the attention of any borderline famous person that happened to walk by" routine. One of these people was Regent Bernstein, who not only acknowledged our yelling at him but stopped to talk to us and was incredibly personable. After a bit of chatting we jokingly said that he should come join us in the student section. He replied "There's plenty of room" so quickly that we didn't immediately get the insinuation that had been made, but yes I do believe that the Regents (or at least Regent Bernstein) get it.

Comments

MBloGlue

October 13th, 2014 at 3:43 PM ^

Thanks for adding your student in-stadium perspective. I appreciate it as an out of state alum. I saw some comments yesterday to less piped-in music during the game? Was this the case?

KSmooth

October 14th, 2014 at 1:18 PM ^

One more observation about rock music: in recent years they have been using piped-in music to pump up the crowd before the players charge out of the tunnel, and whoever runs the PA system insists on playing "Thunderstruck" or some such until the players are halfway out the tunnel.

That threatens to ruin one of the most dramatic moments in U of M football.

There's only one song that should be playing at that moment: The Victors.  If you're going to play anything else to pump up the crowd beforehand, it should stop at least 10-15 seconds before players leave the tunnel, so that the moment belongs to the team and the band.

Just my two cents...

Hail-Storm

October 13th, 2014 at 3:46 PM ^

This was great to see and hear about the changes.  It's nice to hear the staff view the fans as fans and not the enemy. Like you said, small steps, but steps in the right direction. The ship may have already sailed, but the Hail Mary's at least show that they haven't given up.

If your friend is looking for suggestions, maybe suggest that Brandon personally take a big paycut to help reduce student ticket prices.  If he earned what Martin did, then it'd reduce the student tickets (if there was 20,000 again) by $30 each for the season.  Now THAT would mean something to me.

M-Dog

October 13th, 2014 at 6:33 PM ^

These posts are great.

Add this to your list:  if they come up with an Alt uni that people generally like, such as the blue on blue, let them see it again.  Don't make it just about having to have a completely different Alt each time so that you can sell the new items.  

This is one of those little things that says it's not all just about making a quick buck.

 

SCS100

October 13th, 2014 at 8:50 PM ^

See if they'd be willing to scrap the validation fee required for the student section. That should eliminate a few (or a lot) of the no shows since students can sell their tickets, and those who buy won't have to worry about paying an extra $40 or $50 in addition to the ticket.

jcgary

October 14th, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^

During my years at Michigan were the first couple years they had the validation fee to resell tickets.  While I didn't like it at the time I think it is a good policy.  

I would rather see UofM drop the price of tickets for Students to $10 per game and keep the validation process.  This way any students that want season tickets can get them and you don't have to students that could care less buying season tickets and selling for a big profit.  This is why they instituted this policy in the first place because some students that wanted tickets couldn't get them because they sold out and yet many students that just wanted to make a quick buck got them.  

My senior year when I needed an extra ticket I would buy from a friend and go validate it so the person I was bringing didn't need to bother with it.  Any students selling now can just go to the ticket office and validate before selling them.  

KSmooth

October 14th, 2014 at 1:20 PM ^

...hit the nail on the head.  An alternate uniform that is consistent with the overall identity ("brand" in Brandonspeak) and not strictly a one-off gimmick is tolerable and might even be embraced given enough time.

Gimmicks are tacky.  You may find a few suckers, but they irk most of the rest of us.

If you want to introduce an alternate uniform, do it the right way: have the team wear them once or twice a year, not just for the hyped up (UTL) games but against some of the lesser opponents.  And make them consistent with the established uniforms.  Keep the doodads and cutesy details (like the stripedy numbers) to a minimum.

In the end, we're okay with change.  It's stupidity and tawdriness that drives us nuts.

 

k.o.k.Law

October 13th, 2014 at 8:47 PM ^

I think he should immediately refund half of what was charged, and offer students tickets to the remaining games at that reduced price, and

season ticket holders should be offered tickets for the last games at half price,

and then resign

Jon06

October 14th, 2014 at 12:41 AM ^

I don't understand why it took so much to get DB to listen, but if he's finally listening, that's positive.

He should still be fired for cause for the post-concussion embarrassment, though. That was total moral bankruptcy and abjectly terrible leadership.

Livonia Wolverine

October 14th, 2014 at 12:50 AM ^

The water bottle thing is WAY overblown (and I hate Brandon) you try to bring any drink into any stadium in this country (College and Pro at least) and they won't admit you. If you're going to complain and protest for change, focus on legit things so they take you seriously.

grumbler

October 14th, 2014 at 10:22 AM ^

Before you make such pronouncements, you might want to check and see if your made-up "truth" is, in fact, true.  You can take water bottles (sealed) into many stadiums, such as (just taking the first ones in order from a google search for "water bottles" and "stadium"):

Surprise Stadium in Arizona

http://www.surpriseaz.gov/files/springtraining/surprise-stadium-policies.html

Kauffman Stadium in St Louis http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/kc/ballpark/information/index.jsp?content=security

CenturyLink Stadium in Seattle http://www.soundersfc.com/matchday/stadium-guide

Memorial Stadium at University of Missouri http://www.mutigers.com/gameday/stadium-policies.html

I had to go to the sixth entry to find the first prohibition on filled water bottles (Rio Tinto stadium still allows empty water bottles http://riotintostadium.com/guide/ )

To paraphrase you: if you're going to try to whine and argue against against change, try not to focus your arguments around bogus "facts" that you have just made up, so we take you seriously.

Livonia Wolverine

October 14th, 2014 at 11:39 AM ^

It seems you care more about water bottles and seat cushions than the product on the field. If you allow water bottles you might as well just sell alcohol at the game. Unless you're naive enough to think that's actually water in there. Which to be honest, you probably are.

bluebyyou

October 15th, 2014 at 5:26 AM ^

The product on the field should probably be the place to start, and that is Brady Hoke and the coaching staff he has assembled. As I see it, there are two problems Brandon has created, the first being his selection of Hoke as head coach, the second being the other issues that the OP has noted along with the various items that have occupied so much bandwidth on MGoblog of late.

In my opinion, regardless of what you do with ticket prices, water bottles and the host of other problems that Brandon has instigated with his marketing strategies, the big gorilla in the room is a football team that on a good day is barely average and typically worse than that. Hoke and Brandon are linked at the hip, a hire that was bad and now requires change.  Then there is concussiongate and its various failings which cast a very bad light on the University of Michigan.

Brandon will do what he can to save himself, and if it helps the students along the way, that's a good thing, but I believe that Brandon's tenure as an AD has failed at so many levels that his departure should occur asap.  I also have strong concerns that university politics will allow Brandon the opportunity to change course somewhat and continue as the AD.

It was a lot of fun to go the UTL III, but I fear the win and the fan experience for a night may have taken some of the steam out of the movement for change.