Big House
Is it only me, or does the whole "Big House" nickname for Michigan Stadium kind of annoy anyone else? I have no rational reason for it, other than I never heard that for the first 15-20 years of my life (I'm 30) and it seems kind of forced or something to me. I suppose I should like the name recognition and publicity it gives UM, but I still feel like kind of a poseur everytime I say it. Maybe it's just me.
yes, it's just you
I second that
BLASPHEMY!!!!!!!!!
I prefer the Big Hizzy or Big Hizzouse
?
LOL +1
It was cool in the late 90s when it was just something Keith Jackson said. It started getting annoying once we trademarked it and Nike started putting it on shirts.
ESPN overuses any popular culture reference to the point of nausea. I think that's the problem here.
The term is just over used, and like anything else, it wears on you.
If you heard anyone use these phrases today you would roll your eyes:
SHAGADELIC! or YEAH BABY! from Austin Powers
I'M RICK JAMES BITCH!
It happens.
have always used Michigan Stadium.
But then again, I used to watch games at Ferry Field.
Damn that Red Grange was good! (Just kidding... Red Grange wasn't old enough to play at Ferry Field)
Wow, you saw Notre Dame BEFORE it was returning to glory?
before they were Catholic!
Actually, wasn't Red Grange exactly old enough to play during one of the last few seasons Ferry Field was open? He signed with the Bears in 1925, while Michigan Stadium opened for its first game in October of 1927. When he played against Benny, it was in Memorial Stadium in Champaign or at Ferry.
the famous game in which Grange scored 4 touchdowns in the first 12 minutes (Michigan had allowed only 4 touchdowns in the prior 2 seasons!), touching the ball only 8 times and gaining 303 yards. For the entire game, he had 402 yards rushing, 78 yards passing and 5 TDs. It was because of this game that Yost has always distanced himself as coach for that season (he was at the least a co-coach); George Little is the coach of record for that 6-2 season.
The following year, 1925, was also at Illinois, Grange had only 65 yards on 25 carries (but he did has 2 ints) in a 3-0 Michigan win.
Grange's senior year was supposed to be in, 1926, the last as well for both Yost as coach and Ferry Field as Michigan's home turf. But Grange signed with the Bears and actually played in pro games right after the conclusion of the 1925 college season (things were different, then).
So Grange never played in Michigan stadium, which is what I was trying to say, but ended up saying the opposite.
What's annoying about the "Big House?" Have you ever been there? It's almost like a catholic saying that the Vatican is a stupid name. Whatever it's called, it is a place I journey to religiously. It's a place that is special to me, my family, and millions of other people. At least it's not named after animal accesories. (horseshoe)
It's like someone nicknaming the Vatican "The Big Holy," and then everyone using that name for what was once just called Michigan Stadi... err the Vatican. Some of us, when we revere something, eschew nicknames, and call it by its given name. Disdain for what could be viewed as an overused nickname is therefore a sign of respect. (This is not to say that use of the nickname shows a lack of respect, just a different perspective.)
Then maybe you should be calling it Memorial Stadium.
Just sayin'.
Although this is likely the reason that it is never called Memorial Stadium:
Too many others with the same name.
Yes, it's just you.
It doesn't sound forced to me at all. Seriously, have you ever been inside?
It annoys me because of the prison connotation
I'm with ya.
What makes it a tiny bit uncomfortable is that "big house" was the term slaves used for their plantation master's house back in the shitty days. For us though, it works.
Yeah, and "Ole Miss" was what they used to call the wife of "Ole Massa", but that hasn't stopped one of the slaviest of slave states from using it. Not a big deal. I really don't get the complaints about "Big House". The place has a cool nickname and this is a bad thing?
Yes I think the good ole South would be more wary of that association. For the record, Ole Miss was the last D-1 team to integrate and they still go with the Rebels as a nickname. Dixie is their fight song (or one of them.)
............If you don't like the Big House GTFO
bought me a "big house" hat a few years ago that fit perfectly. Couldn't ask for a hat to fit better, and I'm damn particular about hats.
I've never worn it.
I figured some people would blast me, but I'm glad to hear there are other people who have the same uneasiness about it. And yes, I've been there. Actually to every home game except two since 1984, thanks.
"If you don't like the Big House GTFO" - ha, well thought out. I totally just changed my mind.
I've always liked the name. It gives more style, more swagger. It is Michigan Stadium. Yes. But it's so much more than that. It should be a place to be owned by Michigan. Posessed. Other teams shouldn't be going to play a game at "Michigan Stadium". They should be headed to The Big House. In for punishment.
I dunno. Maybe that's corny. But it feels right to me.
Never knew that.
Michigan Stadium to The Big House is that it permanently demeans the Spartan fanbase into "little brother-dom."
Where are you going to see the game? Michigan Stadium (implicitly referring to the stadium for the whole state of Michigan, for the team of all of Michigan), or Spartan Stadium (which implicitly refers to a sub-section of the state going to Michigan State).
My dad hates it, but he's old and crotchety. To him the stadium is "Michigan Stadium" and nothing else.
I don't care what the stadium is called. I care about what is played inside. If Michigan is beating OSU and occasionally competing for the NC, you can call the place they play anything you like.
However, I'm curious if Keith Jackson coined the term "Big House." Sometimes, someone can get away with saying something, and it just sounds weird out of someone elses mouth. In other words, I loved listening to Keith Jackson, and it would seem right for him to say that in the lead up to a game. He never got old for me (although time has now passed him by.) But "Big House" out of the mouth of Bob Costas or Bob Griese would be mildly annoying, and even worse out of the mouth of everyone else and their brother.
I've already wasted too much time in these few words. Call it what you want, although you won't ever hear me say "I'm going to catch a game at the Big House."
It looks like people are running out of topics for threads these days.
would you prefer the Quizno's Presents Godaddy.com Field at Charles Schwab Stadium???
BIG, because in 2010, we'll once again be the biggest in the country. BIG HOUSE, because the prison reference = place of punishment for our opponents. Like it or not, it fits like a glove.
Frankly, I'm more annoyed by "All in for Michigan."
...yeah, every time I hear that catch phrase it just sounds like a big "F$%@ You" from Rich Rod to everyone who didn't buy in in 2008.
Every time I hear it, it sounds like letting the bodies hit the floor.
the Big House
la Casa Grande
Michigan Stadium
the Hole that Yost dug
As long as a nickname is in a respectful manner I have no problem with what people want to call it.
THE PENIS EXPLODER
why would it annoy anyone? the Biggest Stadium in the country! The BIG HOUSE. better than the horseshoe, which it doesn't even look like.
I have to honestly say that I have never heard anyone talk bad about the name of the Big House. Maybe you have to be a student to appreciate it? Its big and our home/house = Big House. Makes sense to me.
I like it and I've never been a U-M student.
This isn't even an argument. The "Big House" is obviously sweet and anyone who says otherwise just doesnt have a clue.
I call it Michigan Stadium. Love Keith Jackson, but once it went on t-shirts, the nickname went over the top.
Also, "All In for Michigan" permeating everything is simply embarrassing. Cheesy marketing crap.
Personally, I think we could do a lot worse than "Big House" for a nickname, so I'll take it.