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In case anyone missed the thread, there's a petition circulating that you can use to show support for the band and suggest to Dave Brandon that he's making a big mistake, which, like, duh. 400,000 signatures is a lofty goal, though reaching it would mean something since that'd require 4 filled Michigan Stadiums worth of real (or fake) e-mail addresses to reach.
This meme would be better if I could photoshop Bo's face onto his.
It's already been posted. Listen, I really want the band there as well; and I think that it is a big mistake not only for the fan base, but for branding, not to have them there. But this whole outrage over it is a little extreme in my opinion. I think that a lot of people on this board just want a reason to hate Dave Brandon, and go over the top to vilify him. Do I think this is a mistake, absolutely. Do I think this is a "war" against the loyal fanbase, not at all.
I think that a lot of people on this board just want a reason to hate Dave Brandon, and go over the top to vilify him.
Any reasoning behind why you think this is the case? Or is this just some hunch because the AD has already shown a trend of changing traditions at Michigan for the sake of making more money*?
*Yes I know it's not a Michigan tradition for the AD to front the bill for the band's travel costs, but it's also not a Michigan tradition to sell out a home game for the sake of making a money-grab. It's also not a tradition to lie about how money is the reason why we can't send the band when the public can see and read the AD budget for this year.
I won't take the time to look up every thread discussing different topics/problems with Dave Brandon, nor will I take the time to look up all the Brian posts about Dave Brandon, but if you follow along religiously as I do there is absolutely no question that there is a segment of the MgoBlog (and I would suppose Michigan) community that takes it upon themselves to attack our AD at every turn. I happen to think that overall he's doing a pretty good job, however that isn't the issue. The issue is the "boy who cried wolf" syndrome some people have where they complain about every thing the AD does as a masterful afront to everything Michigan in the name of the almighty dollar. The result is that when there is a legitimate complaint, which I think this is, people go overboard with their reactions....which I think this is. While I would love to see our band at the game, I'm not going to get worked up like some people have been and make outrageous claims that Dave Brandon is selling out the University.
Soooo how about those parents of mmb members who purchased non refundable plane tickets at a pretty large cost, and purchased tickets to see their kids there? Eh who cares right? I'm not gonna say DB is selling out, i think he's been a typical corporate tool who happens to be an AD this entire time
"typical corporate tool"....oh boy. Son you need to come back down to earth. Like I said twice above, I disagree with the decision and if I were in his shoes I would allow them to go. However, this is not a criminal act, nor that big of a deal really.
The petition is for "The Cotton Bowl Classic", not the Cowboys Classic. The Cotton Bowl Classic is played on New Year's Day.
How much credibility does this petition have when it isn't even worded correctly for the U-M vs 'Bama game?
...because the petition definitely says "Cowboy Classic" all over it. Unless it used to say "Cotton Bowl Classic" before getting edited, but the petition is fine now. However, the other thread thought the petition wasn't very credible either, given that
1) the creator's credibility is suspect,
2) the wording seems to suggest some form of social injustice when the issue is simpler than that (contract has seats for them, AD sold out game for money grab, etc), and
3) 400,000 signatures is incredibly unlikely without bot spamming.
I'd be completely in favor of signing a revised version of the petition, but exam review is preventing me from taking the initiative.
The fact that the petition has been reworded since people originally signed it, definitely makes it questionable.
It shows that people who signed the petition before the revision did not pay attention to what they were signing and that the revised petition no longer has the same meaning as the one that they signed.
The mistake was blatantly obvious. However, so were the intentions.
Nevertheless, the original petition was altered after people signed it, invalidating all signatures prior to the revisions.
Do you mean to tell me that an online petition has no credibility or pull whatsoever? Color me shocked
Bring the band!
RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BpgDtoj73DQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Not to mention many people admitted to signing multiple times. More people contributed to the HTTV Kickstarter and that actually costs money.
Compromise: Give the band members the tickets that were designated for them and a voucher for a box of crackerjack.
...the band will somehow be there? Hmmm...
but I am trying to get my head around the fact that as it stands now, when Denard rushes into the end zone and kneels, in lieu of the Victors, we will hear silence?
I would guess that at the minimum you would hear cheering from the fans.
Pretty similar to a road game. Its not like the band was at every game before. While it was written in the contract, ultimately $400,000 is a lot of money for not that much exposure. I mean Alabama and LSU both brought their bands to the the national championsip, I don't remember them.
But we are technically the home team. We need every advantage we can get because it will be an extremely tough game to win,
As others have said, you'll hear the exact same thing as you do at 75% of the games played outside of Michigan Stadium.
Michigan normally has 9 away games in a 2-year span, with the band attending 3 of them. That is, 1/3 of all away games that Michigan plays in has the band in attendance, which is more than the 1/4 that you cite.
When you assume one bowl game each year (reasonable given that we're not making a major transition), and that fraction increases to 5 out of 11 (nearly half).
When you take into consideration that this game will give about as much exposure for Michigan as the UTL game, there is a lot of incentive to have the band at the game.
The dude is acting like this is the first time in the history of Michigan football that the band won't be playing The Victors after a touchdown.
time that the band won't be playing The Victors after a TD scored against Bama. Comparing this game to a midseason away game against Indiana or Minnesota is absurd at best.
I did not make that comparison here.
As others have said, you'll hear the exact same thing as you do at 75% of the games played outside of Michigan Stadium.
This game is not equivalent to all games played outside of Michigan Stadium. Also, of those games that one might consider close to equivalent, the band is there and is playing The Victors after every TD.
People are upset but no one's burning couches or flipping police cars. They are signing petitions and venting on blogs. I fail to see how this has any negative impact on your person. Go take a nap and then try waking up on the other side of the bed.
His question was essentially, What will you hear after Denard scores a touchdown? As if we have never played a game without the band in attendance.
I admit that this is not a regular "road game." However, it's not breaking some long standing tradition of the band attending every game.
Let it go OMG Shirtless. Sometimes someone's opinions will trump everything else. I agree 100 percent with you, but debating it over and over and over all summer isn't going to help anyone.
As 75% of the games. Not an away game at Northwestern or Purdue.
I was responding to the guy who must not have been aware that the band doesn't travel to every game.
When you are one of the most recognized sport teams in the world, on a national stage, in the biggest game of the early season, you NEED to make sure your "brand" is represented in the best way possible. This is huge for recruiting, growing the fan base, and the perception of the conference in which we play compared to the SEC. All of these things are impacted, even if slighty, positively with the band being there. Our program is much to important to say we can't afford 400,000 to send our band. Ridiculous.
Why can't they just use piped-in band music? Problem solved. Money saved. Everyone's happy.
I'm pretty sure that everyone would not be happy.
It wouldn't be nearly the same if we just had it played over the loudspeakers. We might as well have this at one endzone then...
Sms in 5 minutes I had 3 more of my friends on FB to sign also...
Keep sending these reminders so everyone sees it.
Thanks
Judging by the rate at which comments are coming in on this thread and the composition of them, there's considerably less RAGE today.
Though it's finals weekend at Michigan and the weather is nice outside. Either Dave Brandon is an evil genius bent on keeping Michigan fans distracted from his master plan to screw the band over or there are plenty of outside forces to keep Michigan fans from feeling outraged. Tomorrow is another day, however.
Edit: Did I seriously need a /s tag for that?
My high school sent our band to the Rose Bowl (marched behind Michigan in 2004) and Fiesta Bowl during a four-year period while I was there, and we didn't have any bowl committee pay for it. This is embarrassing.
The marching band is going to at least two other road games this year and I'm guessing your high school band did not. By the way, did you go to strawman high school?
The band pays for those trips. Not the athletic department.
A band booster at high school level I'll tell you those trips likely cost $1200 to $1400 per band member, paid by the families or fundraising or donations or some combination. Not very likely the school paid for much of any of it (although there may be exceptions). HS is different from a college getting a bowl-type payout after being asked to name their price
Money has to come from somewhere.
It's ridiculous. This game will be played on a national stage. The Victors is unlike any other fight song and is incredibly recognizable. It's absence during a game of this magnitude would be certainly conspicuous in my mind.
If not the entire band, how about a smaller contingent ensemble??? Seniors only??
Argh. There should be a cost effective solution to this.
This shit would not fly if William D. Revelli was still around.
Speaking of, I wish The Victors was still played with this kind of energy.
Is it the same RAGE as when the initial news broke? No. I'm still mad about it though.
I still find the "it's just like any other away game" mantra that some are taking a bit silly. We don't get to name our price for other games like we did for this one.
Makes us seem like cannon fodder for bama. It makes us look the washington generals. Do you not have hope Mr. Brandon?
WTF, no it doesn't. We don't bring the band to Purdue road games yet we normally beat Purdue on the road.
How can you post like 4 posts up saying don't use a strawman, and now you compare a road game at Purdue to playing against Alabama?
