Bygone Traditions at Michigan Stadium

Wins.

I, for one, would support bringing THAT one back.

the tradition of not hearing the black eyed peas is one that i hope is brought back soon.

that and throwing toilet paper.

pissing in a trough

Winning seasons.

Although this wasn't just UM -- it was the going thing late 60's-early 70's. Dad and I had season tickets to '69, and he finally let me bring a roll, maybe it was for Purdue. Unfortunately, my arm wasn't of the best and it only went 10-15 rows. Must have been hell for the cleanup crew in those days.

edit: Tripp beat me to it.

I remember the back-flips. Did the wall height change since '69? I wonder if that was the reason for the demise of that tradition?

To quote Mike Ditka, "The past is for cowards and losers." Seriously, I respect and appreciate the traditions of Michigan Stadium. But a topic like that only ignites the haters. Just like Lloyd said, "Appreciate what you had AND WHAT YOU WILL HAVE HERE."

Go Blue!!!!

Well, until recently, Michigan hadn't had a male cheerleader on the field in years which would probably contribute to the lack of back flips as well as the notable absence of the awesome twirling ninja knives that we're treated to at homecoming. Also, the M-I-C-H-I-G-A-N locomotive cheer has been "lost" or at least homecoming only.

I do seem to remember Goldy getting crotched on the goalpost as recently as 2005 (or possibly even 2007), as well as Purdue's creepy mascot being screwed around with, so I don't know that that's really lost, just less uncommon.

I really just miss the random squirrels that would sneak into the stadium and run rampant to the crowds delight... let those critters back onto the field!

the tradition i miss is the four years when i would get up at 7am and drink beers until stumbling into Michigan stadium to watch football games.

now i live 2500 miles from dear Ann Arbor town; though, i've tried to keep up this tradition by replacing "Michigan stadium" with "my unsuspecting neighbor's living room."

The Frisbee catching dog (cmon I was a kid)

and

Miller Lite's Less Filling, Tastes Great, routine.

enough said

use to "row" where they'd all sit down and grab the person's shoulders in front of them and rock back and forth?

It seems vaguely familiar but I numbed enough braincells during that time that I certainly could be remembering something that never was.

I assumed the marshmallow thing was over (i was there for some of the more vicious frozen marshmallow incidents) but i had no idea the Bullwinkle song and slamming the opposing mascot into the goal post was extinct as well. I have to say the piped in music made me cringe but i accepted it, the lack of Bullwinkle time is anathema to me.

The instruction "Recycle!" would be shouted out mid-4th quarter, and all of the wine and beer bottles would be passed down. There was about one wine bottle per person in the whole section. Amazing amount of drinking. I remember guys getting pony kegs into games. Those were fun games. Somebody brought a keg to the Navy game my freshman year. We won, 52-0. It seemed like such a good idea, somebody did it again for Purdue. We won, 51-0.

btw, the marshmallows and TP were what really pissed off Bo. He hated that stuff. And I think Bo asked Don Canham to really crack down on letting people in with stuff to throw. And that was what led to a bigger crackdown on stuff brought in to drink.

The bit about slamming the opposing mascot into the goalposts; about 90% of the time it was staged, and the mascots cooperated. Otherwise, it is, uh, sort of an assault and battery.

By far, one of the greatest off-field spectacles in the modern history of Michigan Stadium was when, in the middle of a horrific pummeling of Norhtwestern, our cheerleaders (all men, gymnasts and divers, mostly, and incredibly talented at doing flips and tumbling and trampoline stunts and stuff NO cheerleaders do now) did the usual schtick of running the Wildcat mascot into the South goalposts. Whereupon our guys would usually run back to the student section, waving triumphantly at having posted the opposing mascot. But the Wildcat got up, and in the only known display of public sadomasochism I can think of at Michigan Stadium, he waved the Michigan cheerleaders back, and had them ram him again. Then, after that, one more time. The whole Stadium just went crazy. One of the funniest things I've ever seen there.

Yes, we used to row in the student section. We also used to do popcorn, where students would simply jump up and down randomly. I can remember one game where the entire stadium was doing popcorn!

I also miss the days when you could actually bring coolers into the stadium. They banned this after my freshman. While alcohol was technically not allowed security never checked. Can you imagine bringing in coolers of beer today? Damn, that was f-ing awesome.

I second "WINS!!" Straight, to the point, and really the most important tradition there is.

Students NOT chanting "Youuuuuuuu suuuuuuuuuck" during Temptation.

Did "the claw" really only last one season?

I already miss chanting "Who Cares!?" at the opposing team roster announcements. You can have AC/DC or whatever back in it's place, thanks.

I, for one, got pegged with many a mallow while on that field during the 3rd quarter. And this was while conducting and playing "Rocky the Flying Squirrel (Bullwinkle)." However, if they've gotten rid of the mallow tradition, they should bring back the tune.

On the plus side, those mallows that were stuffed with coins definitely hurt, but, they did allow me some change to do some laundry. :)

I miss Michigan Replay. If for nothing else, Across 110th Street. The new show is not quite as good.

And as for either...it's 2010...think someone could pop for an HD home video camera?

All too often tradition turns into nostalgia--and no one knows the difference, and before long people are waxing poetical over shit they can't even remember or never knew.

Tradition is for sentimentalist arseholes who hate change.

LONG LIVE BARAK OBAMA!

I hate field turf. Football players should have grass stains and dirt on them after a game. Nothing is better then a muddy field in November.

Nike! It seems like they put out more clothing options for us to buy. Addias has not really made that much original items since they took over.

absopure used to set up a little tent and hand out FREE water! this was before people used to drink water, i guess, but i remember getting crazy looks carrying around a cup of free water. also, the ground directly in front of the tent was about an inch thick of waxy paper cups that people just chucked on the ground and got trampled.

Back in 'ought six, we used to go to a game and smuggle in a spear or harpoon.

Long about the third quarter, when the games get kind of boring, we'd spot some fat broad and take her down with the harpoon, drag her out to our camper, and roast her.

Now you can't get into the stadium with a harpoon or spear anymore. Fuckin' Kampus Kops.

Hot dog guy wasn't likely enduring enough to make it as a tradition, but that was fun.

I think the glory days were when my parents and grandparents went to games. My dad told me the Big House used to be empty enough that security would let you bring in coolers and you could kind of claim a little area and camp out. They'd show up hours before the game and tailgate IN the Big House and drink for the entire length of the game while watching Bo coached teams. Those sound like the glory days right there.

Does the band still eat apples in the 3rd quarter? I remember seeing that at my first game in the late 70s and don't think I have seen it in the last few years. Of course, beverages play a much larger part of my day now than when I was 7.

The on campus cable channel used to show the same show over and over at 2am when I got back after drinking and was trying to water up to avoid a huge hangover.

It was stadium highlights from the 50s (I think) and the baton people were all men in marching band uniforms.

Those guys were good. No dancing, just marching, but they worked their batons like masters. Some of them could be marching, twirl throw the baton out 10 feet in front of them, and have it bounce back right into their hands as they kept marching.

I would love to see that come back to the Big House.