The Big House Game Day experience - what's good and could make it better
I'm a season ticket holder, and usually enjoy the entire Game Day experience - from tailgating pre-game, until heading out of the lot after the game.
So, what's been "really good" about the past two season? Obviously, the team is playing well. And, one thing that's a noticeable difference, IMO, with seasons past is - the fan engagement. There seems to be more "volume" and noise coming from the student section and the entire stadium. Few things are nicer than a delay of game, or a false start, in their opening series or two - which just ignites the fans more. In a way, a self-fulfilling prophesy.
The weather lately, has been incredible. Saturday's game against the Spartans could not have been better. For late October, just amazing - comfortable, warm, not too breezy, etc.
So, what could be better? For the night games - I think they should all be "maize outs". Night games tend to be "rarer", and they are usually associated with a national broadcast. My ask of Warde Manuel, and to a lesser degree Santa Ono (since Warde probably controls the purse strings for this expenditure) - spend whatever it takes, and - relatively speaking, it's not that much money - but have 200 thousand pom poms - make sure there are enough for EVERYONE - regardless of where or when they enter the Stadium - so, every fan / attendee has a pom pom or two. For both night games this fall, the "pom pom" availability wasn't what it needed to be - maybe some early arrivers horde pom poms - but, besides the student section - it seemed like 20% of the fans had pom poms available. These games are tremendous opportunities to promote the experience, and create a tremendous environment - which will "show" great on tv - has to pump up the team - and, translate to a spirited ambience that recruits visiting the game will embrace.
I am "old school", so - you can get off my lawn - about the DJ and some other commercial break activities. For instance - instead of the 100 yard dash - use that time for Bon Jovi or Journey to great the crowd amped up and "into it" before an upcoming series when Michigan's on D. Maybe they can post the lyrics on the video boards for fans who don't know all the lyrics to sing along. Though many know Mr. Brightside, it seems like a number of fans don't - and, "make it easier" for them to join in to create an environment that's loud, cool, fun, and advantageous for the Maize & Blue.
What do you like - and what would you change - about the game day experience IN Michigan Stadium.
October 31st, 2022 at 4:43 PM ^
No, no it doesn't
October 31st, 2022 at 12:22 PM ^
I think they could add more creative concessions than the usual, popcorn hotdog or pizza. And I’d be ok if the whole DJ thing is done after this year. DJ Skee was quite awful during the Penn State game.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:27 PM ^
The thing is, both DJ Skee personally and the DJs in general are undefeated. I don't care for them, but I can't imagine they're going away until Michigan loses. And since I don't ever want to cheer for a Michigan loss, I've resigned myself to DJs in perpetuity.
Can we lose the MC, though? He wasn't at the OSU game last year, and therefore he isn't part of the magic formula.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:51 PM ^
I mentioned it in my below comment, but DJ's are not created equally. If you weren't at the PSU game, you might not realize how terrible Skee was. And if you're a boomer whose only DJ experience is Skee, I see why you'd be vehemently against them. He had several 'skits' during the game that were among the most awkward, cringeworthy attempts at getting a crowd pumped up that I've ever seen. He was also a 35 year old white guy trying hard to talk like he's from the hood, which bordered very uncomfortably into the area of problematic.
DJ Truth was the dude for MSU and he was so, so so, SO much better. Unlike Skee, he didn't play the exact same Michigan Stadium music we've been hearing since 2010. There were some interesting choices I hadn't heard before during the 4th quarter and I'd say he actually played a pretty big role in keeping the stadium rocking during timeouts in that part of the game. He didn't inexplicably interject himself over a microphone 10 times like Skee and let the music speak for itself.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:55 PM ^
This is the answer on DJ Skee. I’m 28 and I found it unbearable at some point. The worst thing is that penn state fans probably think that guy is always a part of our gameday.
October 31st, 2022 at 1:39 PM ^
A Penn State guy was sitting next to me and he said that the Michigan Stadium experience is great but the DJ was the lamest thing he ever saw.
October 31st, 2022 at 1:00 PM ^
Well said. DJ had his moment for OSU last year. That Pump up song was amazing. But the PSU game he was lame and really like you said played the normal 80s rock n roll songs. DJ truth was amazing many times I caught players on the sidelines even jamming to him. Great energy.
October 31st, 2022 at 3:36 PM ^
Agree with the specific DJ commentary.
I actually saw several MSU folks being very complimentary of the UM game experience - in particular the songs/DJ - as compared to MSU.
October 31st, 2022 at 4:33 PM ^
He did a nice job and should be back
October 31st, 2022 at 6:50 PM ^
Eh, DJ Truth was better than Skee, but he cut the music way too late for Mr. Brightside, effectively screwing up the a capella part. There was also some point where he started a singalong right before the offense was about to have a critical play.
I think all the DJs have disappointing this year, and I don't see any need for them to continue. A stadium sound guy is perfectly capable of playing Pump it Up
November 1st, 2022 at 12:39 AM ^
Truth. DJ for MSU was orders of magnitude better than Skee.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:38 PM ^
I am closer to a "get off my lawn" type - but I can't imagine the DJ is going anywhere. You want to attract 5 start talent? NIL, obviously, is important - but these players also don't want to play in a static environment. For better or worse, the DJ gets the crowd going in a way that the band just never could. It's raucous, it's a party, it's exciting - that's where kids want to play.
October 31st, 2022 at 9:04 PM ^
I’m surprised that Zingermans hasn’t found a way into the stadium. I couldn’t imagine the prices they would want though.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:25 PM ^
I had no internet access the whole game. My network was (I’m guessing) overloaded and there was no Wi-Fi access. Or, if there was, no guidance on how to access it. Many of us couldn’t participate in the light show because our app couldn’t get connected to a working network.
The commercial delays are another problem. They seem much worse in person than they do on TV.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:28 PM ^
I couldn't participate in the light show because somehow my Shazam-style sync failed. You didn't need network access, assuming you downloaded the app in advance.
The light show looked pretty neat for the people who could take part.
October 31st, 2022 at 1:21 PM ^
The “light show” was largely a flop. Not enough people participated and the stadium didn’t dim the house lights, so it just looked like a bunch of people were lighting cigars. And of course the tv timeouts were soul crushing.
November 1st, 2022 at 12:42 AM ^
I'm not so sure about that. To me it was a great visualization of the inadequate bandwidth around the stadium on game day.
Edit: I did download the app, and gave it ALL required permissions --please hold while I remove said permissions-- required, and I was not able to "participate."
November 1st, 2022 at 7:30 AM ^
I had the same issue. Downloaded the app, enabled all the permissions, but it was stuck on "waiting to sync."
October 31st, 2022 at 12:49 PM ^
As someone who doesn’t get out much, do other large capacity stadiums have internet access issues as well?
October 31st, 2022 at 12:27 PM ^
As athletic director, I would hire a cool production designer to completely manage the audience experience from music to light to pompoms or whatever. Unless there is already someone in that role, in which case I would hire a new one.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:28 PM ^
Found Dave Brandon's account
October 31st, 2022 at 12:33 PM ^
Positive - the ushers are always very good. The crowd has been into the games much more in recent years (helps to be actually good at football). Some of the things during timeouts are fun (catching balls from jugs machine, 100 yard dash, punt pass and kick). IMO, those are the things to use the MC for, not for the cheers that everyone knows.
Negative - Cost, in all its forms. It's just so GD expensive to go. I guess I get the ticket prices, but I think a major act of goodwill would be to cool it on the concession prices. Just because you can charge that much, doesn't mean you have to.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:36 PM ^
Get the damned wireless service fixed so you can actually download something. It's been like this for the past 3 years despite so-called upgrades.
Cut back on the volume and frequency of the piped in music so I can hear what the people next to me are saying.
Let the vendors accept cash again. The number of people who have caught covid from handling money you could count on one hand.
October 31st, 2022 at 2:03 PM ^
Completely with you on getting the wireless service fixed. I was at the Penn State game and had zero issue hearing what everyone around me was saying. Maybe your hearing just sucks.
It's so much easier to tap a card than it is to pay cash and get change back.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:37 PM ^
Positives: Grapentine is A+, no ads is great, the intangible Michigan Stadium experience still exists. You still have 110,000 people in an awe inspiring sight upon entering the stadium.
My issues: The sound system sucks. The scoreboards do too, which they're hardly even updating in size. The MMB halftime shows have been super hit and miss from my POV during the Harbaugh years (Late 2000's and early 2010's I thought they were often quite creative and attention drawing). I hate that OSU feels way ahead of Michigan in creative halftime shows. The MC is a complete and total disaster. They must have signed him to a Mel Tucker contract given the universally negative response. The DJ, an idea I like in theory, was brutally cringey against PSU with some terrible skits and most of them have played the exact same type of music that Michigan Stadium has played since 2010 so we weren't even getting the alleged benefits. DJ Truth against MSU fixed this with a top notch 4th quarter that clearly kept the crowd and players fully energized. Keep Truth and for God's sake lose DJ Skee for good. The iconic pre-game entrance has been awkward for several years as they can't seem to get the music and James Earl Jones intro to flow into it in a pleasing way. I still have assholes in my section screaming "down in front" every other game. I have actually seen them go to ushers who proceed to take their side and make people sit on two occasions in the last two years, which I wish I was joking about. It's section 23 which is a boomer section, but still. We actually got through both PSU and MSU without incident despite our section standing for the whole game. I'll take the progress. Timeout 'entertainment' like the 100 yard run or punt catching challenge technically gets students' attention, but doesn't actually help atmosphere/home field advantage in any way and feels like it belongs at a minor league baseball game. After not showing a single out of town score on the board for all of last year and three games this year, they finally heard the complaints and put them up during Maryland, PSU, and MSU. Once. They scrolled through each game one time at halftime. Hopefully you weren't in the bathroom. They refuse to add WiFi despite cell service being a black hole on gameday and the only possible explanation I can come up as to why is some sort of weird stubbornness because Dave Brandon wanted it.
We're close to giving up our season tickets. Not there yet, but the gameday experience has been on a sharp decline for years now. Basketball is so much cheaper and gets so much less support than it deserves, if we had to choose one it would absolutely be that.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:56 PM ^
Were they standing on the benches?
Standing on the concrete is one thing, and the ushers shouldn't get involved. Standing on the benches, except maybe for a kid, is a problem. You end up forcing everyone behind you to stand on the benches also, which is unsafe.
October 31st, 2022 at 1:13 PM ^
Definitely not standing on the benches. Just… standing. Both usher situations were last season. This year I’ve had three times where someone has been complaining in my near vicinity. I’ve said something twice, specifically when one guy in front of me started trying to literally hit a man three rows in front of him with a cane for standing during the first drive of the game. “We’re at a football game, if you want a church service St Mary’s is five blocks northeast.” Now that I think about it, you stand for like half of a Catholic mass too though.
Michigan stadium has a crap ton of handicap seating that they installed to be compliant with recent (last decade or so) law changes. If you truly cannot stand, you have options.
October 31st, 2022 at 1:23 PM ^
In my section, they stood on the benches at the start of the game. The Sparty fans especially. But the ushers did a nice job of making everyone stand down. Standing on benches is just the stupidest thing.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:40 PM ^
Interesting topic for me. I had season tix for 15 years but gave them up after 2019. Then Covid happened and this was my 1st game back since the '19 OSU game. It felt very different. The 100 yard dash, punt/pass/kick were new as was the DJ. I'm not saying it was bad but it was clearly a different feel. I'm guessing it was also intentional to have Bo/The Team,The Team, The Team removed from the experience as well which I understand. I'm not offering up any specific complaints but I was struck by how different things felt in what was essentially a 2 year absence for me
October 31st, 2022 at 12:41 PM ^
DJ - I like this addition.
Bathrooms - need more of them.
Gray Hairs - Fine. You don't want to stand ALL game but there should be a level of acceptable standing in big games. I got told "down in front" on the first drive on Saturday!
October 31st, 2022 at 1:29 PM ^
The stadium should be accommodating to people of all ages, including children and older folks. A stadium in which everyone stands all game, and in which so many people are blind drunk and yelling “fuck you” all the time, means older and younger fans no longer feel safe. I know many people who will no longer bring their kids or grandparents. A stadium can be loud without feeling like a frat house at midnight. Just too many fans act like idiots. I realize this position is unfashionable.
October 31st, 2022 at 2:47 PM ^
Don't think standing automatically = people yelling "fuck you" and, as mentioned above, I don't feel like there needs to be standing all game. But I definitely think standing at appropriate times of the game for appropriate duration should be the bare minimum of what's allowed. It is, after all, a Football game and not a church service.
October 31st, 2022 at 2:57 PM ^
You ever encountered that drunken belligerent asshole in like Row 25 who absolutely will not sit down, even when everyone around them is? Pregame, halftime, every moment, feigning deafness or acting the tough guy when people try to ask them to sit. Yelling at kids and old people alike. I've seen it a lot over the years in our section. "Up in back" is not the noble hill to die on that you think it is, my guy.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:44 PM ^
You lost me at Bon Jovi and Journey
October 31st, 2022 at 1:40 PM ^
Same here. I don't think singing along with sappy songs pumps anyone up. I also believe that there's only so much "pumping up" that you can do with the non-student crowd during a long game. Save it for the important sequences.
I enjoyed the punt, pass, and kick competition. 100-yard dash, too. At an earlier game it was fun watching someone try to catch balls from the Jugs machine.
October 31st, 2022 at 12:57 PM ^
Add a second tunnel?
/s … just in case
November 1st, 2022 at 12:52 AM ^
"Take the L, and get the fuck out of our tunnel," is the only acceptable response to this.
October 31st, 2022 at 1:04 PM ^
I'll just name a few from my extensive list: Allow sealed water bottles (like MSU does), start scheduling decent nonconference opponents again, having a bit less DJ and a bit more Band would be good, improve the Internet access, and quit being a commercial for the Armed Forces.
Re Maize Outs, the Athletic Dept and MDen ought to contact Nike, Carhartt, and Columbia about official cold-weather Maize Out coats, jackets, and hoodies. (EDIT: Something like what the recruits were wearing yesterday would be good, see below)
October 31st, 2022 at 1:06 PM ^
After going to the Lions game yesterday (my first time at Ford Field ever), I realized how much of the "innovations" the last couple of years at Michigan Stadium are simply imported from FF, including the on-field MC Anthony B.
The Lions do a MUCH better job of deflecting from the media timeouts than Michigan does. There are MORE of them, but they are shorter in the NFL (2 minutes vs 3 minutes for CFB). BUT... there is no "red hat" guy on the field to be the target of our ire, the refs do not tell us there's a media timeout, etc. Part of that is that in the NFL, the players stay on the field even after a change of possession so it "feels" less ugh. The Lions also just FILL all that downtime with "stuff." Michigan has started doing that but it feels artificial when we have a college atmosphere that should have MORE of the unique features of Michigan Football not just Michigan themed gimmicks.
Overall, I kind of like the DJs. The music should NEVER get the crowd loud before the offense is playing, however. That was pretty rough on Saturday night.
I agree on others' thoughts on WiFi (again, FF has excellent WiFi), the lack of CFB scores.
The students have really been struggling on the Wave, a thing I have often been "old man" about, but there's a proper way to do it. And it ain't happening these days. I know the students have the disadvantage of missing 2020 in the stadium, but so far this year, the Wave has failed spectacularly.
The Wave:
- only started while the opponent has the ball
- only started when M has a two-possession lead
- first 2 times are regular
- 3rd time is fast
- 4th time is slow
- 5th time it reverses direction
- 6th time it splits (goes both directions)
NOTE: The reason I prefer fast then slow is twofold: 1) That's how we did it in the late 90s and 2) if slow happens on the 3rd rotation, it can easily die quickly - fast keeps the momentum up enough to even get to slow. YMMV
October 31st, 2022 at 8:42 PM ^
Back in the early 2000s my cousin (who went to Purdue) said the Wave at the Big House was the coolest thing he’d ever seen a crowd do. But yeah I wish the students would learn and do it right again!
Even though I think the Blue Out will never work (too many not-blue faces in the crowd, sporadic other colors of clothing and hats), a great wave with dark clothing and then Maize Pom-poms up when the wave arrives would look great.
The students are probably frustrated that everyone doesn’t join in. Well that’s because they keep doing it when we have the ball 🤦🏻♂️
Get it together students and Go Blue!
October 31st, 2022 at 1:08 PM ^
Concession quality is way up. The BBQ Split (which is BBQ pork or chicken, coleslaw, and beans in a dish) is a great gameday meal, easy to eat and keeps the hands clean. The Nacho Place near section 4 is also very good.
I don't love that the NCAA has kicked the opposing bands out of the field area as a permanent post-COVID restriction. Being an upper Section 7 denizen, it put the MSU band right there and it's a lot.
The in-game contests with students are fine because honestly, it's a lot of three minute breaks, so at least have something interesting to fill the time.
I would be very happy if Michigan/MSU is never, ever, a night game again.
I also want to credit the student section. For years, there was hand wringing that they don't show up, but they have been there mostly on time.
And functional wi-fi would be nice, though I learned that push notifications can sometimes get through on Verizon during the game, which is how I was able to tell my section that Luke Hughes had won it in OT for Michigan from the CHN Go app.
October 31st, 2022 at 1:35 PM ^
Ah, I didn't realize that's why the MSU band was at the top of Section 7. I figured MSU had bought all the seats their fans didn't want and put the band there to annoy the crap out of us (not joking). I was in Sec 5 and this was probably the only thing I didn't enjoy about the game/experience.
October 31st, 2022 at 2:53 PM ^
It seems like a lot of other schools have figured out the new band rules and not screwed over both fans and the bands. Michigan... has not. Even Alumni Band had to leave the stadium to go down the tunnel for halftime, because apparently stairs aren't allowed now?
It's a bush league copout to put opposing team bands at the top of the bowl, which makes it nearly impossible for them to do anything, and is a logistical nightmare for all involved. I don't care how you feel about the school or the band. Be bigger than that.
October 31st, 2022 at 1:17 PM ^
Bring back Whiskey, the ball-chasing/pushing dog.
November 1st, 2022 at 12:55 AM ^
I prefer Valiant.
October 31st, 2022 at 1:19 PM ^
40 y/o - season ticket holder for a while:
- Not being able to get reliable service still chaps my ass every dang week. All I want to do is send some Big House pictures to friends and family, look at the some sports scores and scroll through some live twitter feeds to find out info from the broadcasts I can't get in the stadium. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile all come up short.. then a few rows down I see some kid watching a live game on his phone (what service does he have!?!?).
- I am a fan of the mobile tickets, this has saved me a few trips already to swap tickets with family.
- I also keep holding off on buying a satellite dish to watch TV during tailgates because I keep holding out hope I can use my YTTV with an aircard or cell data.. probably should stop holding my breath.
- I don't mind the DJ, the MSU DJ 10x better than the other guy.
October 31st, 2022 at 3:09 PM ^
YTTV worked on a jetpack or aircard at the RV until people start showing up to the stadium area. Damn shame. I haven't broken down and got the mobile dish because I hate DTV with the hate of a thousand suns, but I suppose there comes a time.
October 31st, 2022 at 1:24 PM ^
The Wolf of Wall Street humming thing before kickoffs is dumb.
Achieving maximum noise & excitement while humming is impossible - like touching your nose to your elbow - cannot be done.
October 31st, 2022 at 1:24 PM ^
Here is an interesting perspective . . . from a 16 year old girl:
I took my 16 year old daughter (Junior in high school) on a college visit to UM the weekend of the Penn State game. The UM info session and campus tour were on Friday. She wanted to go to the Michigan-Penn State game on Saturday as well, to get a feel for what that part of the Michigan experience was like. Can't go to UM without taking in a game at the Big House.
I had my concerns about the game. She does not watch football, and she thinks that the few high school games she goes to are "Waaay too long". Those games don't even last two hours.
Oh oh. What's going to happen when she goes to a Fox Big Noon Saturday game on national TV with 10 gazillion commercials that takes three and a half hours? I was very concerned that she would be bored and irritable by the 3rd quarter, and would complain and want to leave the game.
But she loved it! They do a really good job of keeping the audience involved during all the breaks. There are lots of audience-participation things, and of course she loved all the sing-alongs to Mr. Brightside and so on. She even liked the football part and the crowd involvement in it.
That my Tik Tok daughter - where 15 seconds is too long to watch a video - would enjoyably watch a football game for three and a half hours amazed me.
So hats off to the people in charge of stadium entertainment. It gave me a new perspective. The stuff that I as a middle-aged man may find schlocky, is stuff that other people in the audience really like.
No one person or age group "owns" Michigan football, so it's nice to have a good balance. If the game is going to survive, it has to be able to appeal to more than just middle-aged alums.