Bleedmaizeblue

September 21st, 2015 at 11:02 AM ^

I'm sure everyone on here will complain about piped in music "we should just hear the band because in 1920 there was no piped in music" etc. I was talking to my little brother about it over the weekend (current student) and he made a good point, that the student section thrives on piped in music and when it's played they get loud/energized. And honestly the rest of the stadium feeds of the energy of the student section. Also it's not 1920 anymore and not EVERYTHING that happened in the past is a tradition, and as times change its just as important to keep up with the the current times as well as keeping up with actual traditions. I don't think this season there's been a great focus on the band as well as the cheers during the game. Let them play some music through the speakers as well and please realize that it's not ruining Michigan football




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HenneGivenSunday

September 21st, 2015 at 11:08 AM ^

It doesn't bother me that much. My main comment was that I wanted to hear the band more often. I also commented that I would like the band to be louder (use of microphones) so that we could actually hear and enjoy them. I don't mind some piped in music as the band can't play constantly. I agree that the students seem to respond to the piped in music.




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SpikeFan2016

September 21st, 2015 at 3:46 PM ^

That's an option, it's just a bad one. 

 

I'm sorry if that's rude, I just tend to get very annoyed with non-student fans who endlessly bemoan a few songs. Especially when we really we don't have that much piped in music compared to basically every other college stadium. 

 

The students like occassional music and as the only group in the stadium who yell every down on defense and do all of the band cheers, I think we deserve music if that's what we want during lull times. 

 

If the 45 year olds in the stadium agree to stop sitting on their hands when the opponent is on 1st and 2nd downs and do all of the band cheers, then fine, we can abolish any and all music. But until that happens, it's a bad idea. 

 

Finally, I'm really sick of this issue being brought up on this blog. It divides this fanbase needlessly. Harbaugh once said "if you're with us, you're with us." Instead of whining about a song played during a media timeout that you didn't like, why not focus on the awesome aspects of the Big House experience? The wave that the crowd did at the UNLV game was INCREDIBLE, definitely the best in the last 5 years. Let's do more of that. 

jmblue

September 21st, 2015 at 4:10 PM ^

I was a student here.  I know what the stadium experience was like pre-RAWK, student section included.  I - and the rest of us who went to games pre-2009 - have a point of comparison that the current students don't have, since they've never known the stadium without a full album's worth of Jock Jamz being played.  I don't think it's been a positive change.

Is the overall stadium experience terrible?  No, but it can be better.  As John U. Bacon put it in the book, "this is Michigan" means that we aim to be the best and are always our own biggest critics.  And when they're asking us to pay very steep prices for season tickets, we have a right to voice our opinion.  We are stakeholders in this thing.

 

 

SpikeFan2016

September 21st, 2015 at 7:02 PM ^

You're obviously a stakeholder with a right to voice an opinion, but after 6 years the continued complaining about such a minor factor (whether it's a minor positive or negative) is merely backwards looking. 

 

What about recruits? You think kids from Florida and Texas are going to come on their trips and think "wow, that's really awesome that their fans just sit there in silence during media timeouts." Absolutely not. Music is popular for a reason; it enhances the crowd and atmosphere when played at opportune times. Recruits and modern students want to be able to sing and dance to songs they know.

 

My critique of the current selection is that the classic rock business is pleasing nobody. I think they're doing it in an effort to appease older people like you, when in reality you will dislike anything they play. They should play more pop/rap. 

MBandMarch

September 21st, 2015 at 8:01 PM ^

The most raucous stadium experience I ever experienced was Madison 1985.  

There was no piped-in music.  Let me repeat: THERE WAS NO PIPED IN MUSIC.

The students did Tequila, Beer Barrel Polka, Hot Time, and several others I cant remember at this point, all over the place.  It was NUTS!   The few times the Badgers were actually in the game (this was pre Alvarez) they made enough noise to befuddle our Wolverines.  I remember telling my sorority sister. "It's a good thing they're not good, or we might be in trouble!"

I mean really: it's thirty years ago and I STILL REMEMBER how awsome that "Stadium Atmosphere Experience" was, and it was ALL BAND.  Of course we need a band director to, well, lead the band.....

If I was a recruit from Florida and Texas, and I came into that stadium, with those helmuts, with Harbaugh at coach, that band playing, and fans acting like the ones in Madison..... Ohhhhhh DAMN!!! the chills!  Your shit pop/rap aint doin NOTHIN'!

snarling wolverine

September 22nd, 2015 at 6:35 AM ^

Do recruits really want a steady stream of dadrock?

I agree with others - the stadium experience is becoming bland and too much like other sports teams' - thanks to the steady stream of RAWK. Pre-RAWK we had plenty of games with great atmosphere. The quality of the opponent, and to a lesser extent game time, are the biggest factors. Athletic departments are getting it backwards. Blasting loud music that destroys organic cheers, makes it hard to talk to your neighbors and generally annoys a large chunk of the fan base isn't a great way to get people fired up. I think it's interesting that schools across the country are seeing attendance drop since they've introduced RAWK. And if you visit other schools' message boards, they regularly complain about it, too. It's s very questionable marketing strategy.

JClay

September 21st, 2015 at 11:12 AM ^

I agree with this. I don't mind piped-in music. I agree with the idea that there shouldn't be any during pre-game as the volume shift makes the banner run seem less dramatic but during the game, I don't mind it too much. Let both band and piped-in music carve out their own time.

ElBictors

September 21st, 2015 at 2:52 PM ^

I typically attend 8-10 (incl pre/post-season) NFL games and 2-3 CFB games per year and usually at MILE HI STADIUM and MICHIGAN STADIUM (when not at Rice-Eccles or a Neutral Site Bowl/Dallas).

By reputation, Mile Hi was always one of the louder NFL stadiums for opposing teams and it would still likely rank in the Top 5 or so, Seattle's amplified crowd noise and occassionally decent KC Chiefs teams nothwithstanding.

The thing to me about the "artificial crowd energy and noise" is that it is just that, artificial.  There is nothing worse than the BRONCOS scoreboard using the Under Armour-sponsored "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE" chant at times because they use the same tag line and paid for Promo at every NFL stadium and when the scoreboard CHANT is over, it's clear that 95% of the noise it generated was artificially generated by the speakers and recorded crowd noise and not at all by the crowd.

I would also agree that the artificial stuff chokes off the organic crowd noise and reaction.  I have been to MICHIGAN STADIUM for both night games vs ND and the one vs PSU last year, as well as some recent thrillers vs ohio state.

I would say that the first night game vs ND was as loud a stadium as I have ever been in ...just because of the crowd.  If the game is good, if the opponent is good and the crowd is into it, crowd levels are fine.

It's the artificially-generated crap that I could do without and in terms of the NFL, it has gotten to the point where there is literally no down time for the fans.  Go to commercial and it's some RAWK commercial for Papa John's Pizza or the stadium announcer bellowing for everyone to choose which Waste Management, Inc trash truck will win the computer race on the scoreboard.

Sometimes there is definitely something to be said for a marching band ...a stadium annoucer relaying actual information and for being able to speak to the person next to you.

 

/soapbox

 

jmblue

September 21st, 2015 at 3:47 PM ^

Two things bother me about the RAWK: 

1.  It's a pro sports practice.  Pro sports teams have no band, so they have to play RAWK to fire up the crowds.   Even though college football is better-attended than the NFL, schools for some reason have decided they need to steal this from the pros.

2.  It's producing a sameness across schools.  You watch another school's game and they're playing the same music we are.  "Seven Nation Army", "Hell's Bells", "Come on Feel the Noise"  - every school plays these.

Just a few years ago, if you went to a Michigan game on Saturday and then an NFL game on Sunday, you'd have two totally different fan experiences.  And the experience of going to a Michigan game was different than the experience of going to say, an MSU or OSU game. Both of these are less true today.  

 

 

ElBictors

September 21st, 2015 at 7:08 PM ^

I think the fact that it was the first night game in the history of Michigan Stadium was the biggest factor - and sheer crowd size.  And for all the RAWK that was played during the game, it was more the 4th quarter play and general pace of the game's back and forth.

And funny thing too because I had heard Pop Evil before that game during pre-season hype videos and knew the song when they played it after the game.  At least 75% of the fans around us had no fucking idea what 'In the Big House' was when it came on and sort of ruined the moment.

 

Then I think it was 'Dyno-mite' followed by Katy Perry all after the game was over.

Probably helped and is why I said I don't completely oppose RAWK at times and when used judiciously.  The NFL is on one end of the extreme and Michigan Stadium has always been on the other.  I'd like M Stadium to stay closer to the other even if it moves a bit towards the NFL.

South Bend Wolverine

September 21st, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^

Factually inaccurate.  Every now and again, piped in music and a frenzied crowd coincide, but that shouldn't be confused with the music causing the frenzy.  9 times out of 10, though, piped in music crushes organic chants & cheering.  If you want an energized stadium, boot the canned music.  That's just fundamental crowd dynamics, consistent across every stadium I've been to, from the Big House to Crisler to MLB parks, etc. etc.

South Bend Wolverine

September 21st, 2015 at 11:27 AM ^

This is the thing - piping in music does make the place louder in some sterile, scientific sense, but all noise is created equal.  The kind of noise that creates an intimidating atmosphere is organic crowd noise, because it creates the impression that you're not just going up against 11 men on the other team, but against a howling mob of thousands. (This also impacts referee psychology, incidentally, which is one of the biggest factors in home field advantage.)  When it's just noise, that's an irritant maybe, but not intimidation.

Mi Sooner

September 21st, 2015 at 11:57 AM ^

But all noise isn't the same. Playing Foghat during commercials doesn't add to anything except for fan annoyance. That goes for the rest of the craptastic 70's and 80's choices. They sucked back when I was the target audience, and they haven't aged well.

I could hang with judicious use of Seven Nation Army. UNLV should never be one.

The stadium is much louder now with the pressboxes focusing the noise down to the field. There is less of the need for the piped in stuff now anyway.

SpikeFan2016

September 21st, 2015 at 2:40 PM ^

The band doesn't cause a frenzy nine times out of ten either (excluding the amazing pregame). 

 

The only thing that can truly cause a frenzy is the football team's performance. A mixture of piped in and band music are both great to keep up energy at different times.

 

Should the band be significantly more represented than piped in? YES (and it currently is)

 

Should piped in music be abolished? NO

snarling wolverine

September 21st, 2015 at 4:18 PM ^

The MMB: RAWK ratio is a lot closer than you think.  The last two weeks, during the game itself the MMB predominated, but breaks in the action were at least 50-50 if not in RAWK's favor.  

Saturday, after we scored one TD - leading to a normal commercial break - they played one dadrock '80s song, another one, and then a techno one right as the players were lining up for the kickoff.  When the MMB did play, it was usually followed by a RAWK snippet.  

The Special K dude seems to think we need constant musical cues to know how to behave at the game.  Any break of more than 30 seconds seems to terrify him.   For those of us who know what it was like before they started the RAWK, it's grating.  I can hear this same playlist at a Lions game.  

Chunks the Hobo

September 21st, 2015 at 12:50 PM ^

While I admittedly hate the piped-in music pretty much altogether, the 1920 thing is a poor attempt at a straw man argument (not to mention historically wrong, since the stadium wasn't built until the late 1920s). The piped-in music started with RichRod, going WAYYYY back to 2008. It's still a pretty new phenomenon, and folks who don't like it are not 100 years old and recall doing the Charleston, old chap. Heck, I'm still young-ish enough to be able to remember being a student and not requiring anything but the band to get pumped up for a Michigan game. Crazy!

That said, I think most of us who don't like RAWK at all are willing to accept it's not going away. We're just asking for it to be dialed back and/or at least be better timed so as not to crap all over the natural stadium atmosphere/organic fan enthusiasm.

jmblue

September 21st, 2015 at 3:53 PM ^

"we should just hear the band because in 1920 there was no piped in music" etc

Nice strawman. Piped-in music was introduced in 2009.  

And the student section was completely thriving pre-RAWK.  In fact, all of the issues relating to the student section - not buying as many tickets, not showing up on time (or at all) have come up in the RAWK era.

bringthewood

September 21st, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^

Would be nice to have something besides 7 nations army, and I do not need the scoreboard to tell me when to make noise. Don't mind some piped in music but when the 80 year old lady in front of me is dancing to AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long, especially "she was a sex machnine.." it turns my stomach a bit.

I'd like to see creative music choices by Michigan heritage artists - Bob Seger, Eminem, Uncle Kracker, Motown artists, etc, and use the band and historical band music as much as possible.

Bluefishdoc

September 21st, 2015 at 11:45 AM ^

Definitely played it each of the last 2 weeks, both near the start of the game.Even though most of the music they have played the last two weeks is stuff I like to listen to (Classic blue hair rock and roll), I would rather just hear the band. Since when did Foghat's slow ride pump up a crowd?

Maize and Blue…

September 21st, 2015 at 11:37 AM ^

just not into the selections they are using this year.  To each their own, but I'm just not into the classic rock scene.  Something tells me a majority of the 18-22 year olds on the team probably aren't either.

I do love the band, but they need to do something to make them louder. 

jcgary

September 21st, 2015 at 11:45 AM ^

I like the piped in music only because we can't hear the band in my section which is in the Southwest corner of the stadium.  

On every survey I have gotten from the AD the last 5 years I have always said to move the band into the endzone of the Student section.  This way the band is pointing south and the majority of the stadium will be able to hear them without having the mic the band up.  However I do believe when they poured the foundation in that area years ago they did so to accomodate the band so it might not be as easy as just moving them a section or two over.  

Wolverine Devotee

September 21st, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^

No more piped in music. Please God no. Make it stop.

They can do the 7NA thing but that's it. I just want to hear the band.