http://detnews.com/article/20111021/SPORTS0201/110210321
"It's not a marketing and merchandise strategy," Brandon said. "It was to fire up the team as far as our own competitive edge. I'm glad we did it. It worked out well, but like everything else, some people love it, some don't love it."
Ahhhh....The old days when Bo
He's got a shirt for that, too
AD Imperius has a shirt for that, too... Making money off the haters, too, the guy's brilliant.
Michigan Men by choice, recognized by deeds, tested and proven by time.
That's just, like, your
That's just, like, your opinion, man.
...and theyre not even doing
...and theyre not even doing it for money? /sigh
COYS and lets go Detroit FC!
I loved them too. Now if we
I loved them too. Now if we can just get some stripes on the pants. Or perhaps some wording on the pantaloons, maybe one leg spells out MAN in maize and the other let spells out BALL in blue. That would be fresh
Or pull a Maryland
and do half UTL / half MSU split down the middle
MANBALLS right on the crotch.
MANBALLS right on the crotch. RAWK!
Nearly started laughing out
Nearly started laughing out loud in the middle of class when I read this.
Couple it with MAIZE on the butt
like Victoria Secret does with PINK!
"Deserve to Win!"
Next time
Next time DB should replace the block M in the corner of the jersey with a GoldenPalace.com logo. Maximize profits, man!
Big Time Timmy Jim
Really, Chet?
Did you really just link a porn site on MGoBlog? Man, Chet, you need to chill.
-BeanGoBlue
"Those Who Stay Will Be Champions"
Huh?
Golden Palace is a gambling site that all the athletes and poker players promote by wearing hats and t-shirts to press conferences. It's an example of DB only caring about making money... And who's Chet?
Big Time Timmy Jim
unfortuneately
the wrong team was wearing the striped uniforms.
I'm curious as to what he
I'm curious as to what he thought went well aside from, ya know, the marketing and merchandising.
Did you read the article you
Did you read the article you posted? He said it was to fire up the players and it worked:
"They were going nuts," Brandon said of the players. "They were excited and thought the jerseys were very cool. They were well aware that State had unique uniforms on, and I think they were happy they had their own special thing."
And if anyone thinks Brandon is lying, Doug Karsch on the radio broadcast confirmed how excited the players were about the uniforms.
Twitter: @Raoul_000
They worked? Come on, DB.
They worked? Come on, DB. How did they work? Was the goal to lose? Bottom line is that tradition and history are not formed by 19 year old kids.
Those 19 year olds who wore
Those 19 year olds who wore the winged helmets for the first time... boy did they ever look stupid. I realize I am comparing apples to oranges, but those 'kids' are the ones who make history. We are the ones that watch it...
Hail.
Your comparison would be more
Your comparison would be more apt if the original winged helmets were replaced the next week by a different uniform. A one-time change is (to me) unnecessary, but marketing and so be it. Changing the uniform three times in three weeks in unacceptable.
The uniforms last weekend did look stupid (as do the crooked flat-brimmed baseball caps fashionable for kids for about 3 more months). See, you don't change on a weekly basis based on the whims of kids. The kids are a part of the team's history. They are not the entirety of it. Schools without tradition (Oregon, Maryland, etc.) need to toss out these gimmicks to attract attention. Michigan does not.
Think about that...
See that's where you're wrong. It actually has been 18-23 year-old kids who have formed the tradition of Michigan Football. If it weren't for those kids there would be no tradition.
Tradition is not formed on a
Tradition is not formed on a week-by-week basis. We don't change The Victors (oh wait, maybe we do this year). We don't change the helmets (except for this year). We don't change the team name (umm...ok...I think we're safe). We don't change our colors. We don't write "Victors" and "Valiant" on the uniforms (no longer safe...the lesson the Halo not learned).
The kids come to Michigan to play for the team that is rich with history and tradition. They don't come to the squad and determine what uniforms we wear (any more than they tell the coaches what formation to run). Their input is a piece of the overall equation. There are many who came before them and many who will come after. Weekly uniform changes are an affront to our tradition.
You totally missed my point.
You totally missed my point. Which individuals do you think built the tradition? Who are these "many" who came before the current players? If you answered a bunch of 18-23 year-old kids (be it in 1905, 1940, 1969, or 2011) then you are correct. 50 years from now it will be the 18-23 year-old Denards, Fitzgeralds, et. al. that built/maintained the UofM Tradition that the 18-23 year-old Harmons, Desmonds, Hennes et. al. built before them. This gravy train we and thousands of other alumni ride each Saturday is operated by 18-23 YEAR-OLD KIDS. How is that a hard concept to grasp? Further, If we want that gravy train to keep on rolling so we can enjoy celebrating our alma mater on fall weekends then our program needs to appeal to 21st century 16-18 year old kids who actually enjoy a little flash from time to time. Christ, Oregon has built a juggernaut program off of that concept on steroids. If a little bitching from crochety alumni is the trade off for a few 5 star recruits that enjoy the "creativity" I'm not going to get bent out of shape.
I did read it, and yes the
I did read it, and yes the players were amped up, but you're out of your mind if you honestly believe he did it just for the players. The jerseys certainly didn't give the team the energy to overcome the struggles up front.
For the record, I think one of the dumber things you can do is distract a team by introducing an unfamiliar jersey to them just before a game. It takes your mind off the job at hand, and in-game provides different visual cues than the ones you're accustomed to.
The players WERE going nuts.
Everybody who was at the game knows it. Doug Karsch was right; Brandon was right. The team came out amped like no other time this year.
There is one bit of proof I'll await. Is Michigan going to sell any of those away-version stripe-jobs?
If we aren't "merchandising or marketing" them, then it is a bit hard to argue with Brandon's statement. So I've not seen them for sale. Has anybody? I'm just not aware...
But it is also probably cute on Brandon's part. Does anybody suppose, that if we had won last Saturday's game in the last minute on a 65-yard run by Denard, that there wouldn't have been an order placed for 500,000 units of those jerseys?
Here you go.
Proof that this was not a merchandizing or marketing ploy:
According to what DB said in
According to what DB said in the article they were only planning to sell these if there was enough public demand for them. It sounds like some people must have enjoyed these jerseys. I'm all for giving these kids a little something to fire them up a little more in a rivalry game.
"They will meet a dastardly fate here for that! There isn't a Michigan Man who wouldn't like go out and scalp those Buckeyes right now."
Not exactly, as there are no jerseys in stock
so either they all sold out, were never really for sale, or aren't in stock yet.
Either way, I doubt there will be many prople rushing out to buy a Jersey for a game we lost.
"They're stuck with that quarterback (sophomore Braxton Miller) for the next two or three years, that's fine with me. He throws worse than (Tim) Tebow. - Steve Everitt
That, I think, answers the question.
Sorry, Mr. Brandon; you'll need a better answer to the merchandising and marketing question.
Anybody know how long that has been up?
Odds on when we will see those $80 jerseys going for $12.95 on a sale rack at Dunham's?
when can i get
a throwback road jerzey for my bear? he was totally amped up for this game and can't wait to get the new one.
Double speak
DB is great at talking out of both sides of his mouth. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. When is he going to run for office.
Aren't Regents elected
Aren't Regents elected officials? There you go.
He is very fluent is
He is very fluent is Boardroomese.
Logical fallacy.
Just because the team was pumped up after seeing the new uniforms doesn't mean that's why they were excited. ND wasn't a big deal - the team beat them twice under RR - but this game was a critical rivalry game. Seniors were worried they would never beat MSU. They even had a clock!
"After all was said and done, there was nothing left to do."
Dumbest reasoning ever
I think it's safe to say that "firing up" players right before a game doesn NOT translate to getting them to play their best football. Look at the first half of the Notre Dame game. The players were more fired up than ever via the first night game, the throwback unis, the record setting crowd, and they came out and played very poorly. They made dumb mistakes offensively, and just looked shaken. Once they settled down they started putting things together and playing their game. When you amp up 19 year olds too much they make a lot of mistakes. Sometimes it's better to keep them calm and collected right before a big game. So to say this "amping them up" strategy worked would mean that the team came out with fire and intensity and was able to translate that energy into success on the field... Which obviously didn't happen... FAIL.
Big Time Timmy Jim
That just means I'm
That just means I'm disappointed in the players. Seriously, get these fucking jerseys out of here. It makes me sick to think they are wearing that garbage.
We're
We're going all Maize for Ohio State.
DB is such an arrogant asshole
...he makes me want to Occupy Schembechler hall
Hmm...
#OccupyStateStreet
MA says DB is a DB
MA says DB is a DB
Harvard: The MICHIGAN of the East
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
Perhaps a little,
E77 says MD is a bigger DB than DB.
Taking it one week at a time
So what time does Ann Arbor
So what time does Ann Arbor Torch and Pitchfork open?
I was at the game and I know I was pissed when I saw us come out in those... things. Clearly, Dave Brandon doesn't get it.
"Good evening, and welcome to Michigan Stadium for this the one-hundred thirty-second season of Michigan football, and the thirty-ninth meeting between Michigan and Notre Dame." -Carl Grapentine, September 10, 2011
I say for the OSU
I say for the OSU game the team is decked out in full Scottish regalia.
It would be cool.
or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
I thought the whole point
Behind schools like Oregon wearing different unis each week is because they have no tradition so they unabashedly market themselves that way. Never realized that was actually the key to their onfield success over the last couple of years. Maybe DB is onto something afterall.
Correlation is not causation.
Perhaps Phil Knight and his cash is the causal link you're looking for here?
Forget Being A Michigan "Wolverine",
Embrace being a Michigan "Giant Mutant Bumble Bee." Hey, it's cool.
Shhhh...
You are giving away my Halloween costume for this year. Well, they aren't shipping the jerseys until March, so I guess that will have to wait until Hallowwen 2012.
Huh.
So he's either shading the truth (which, without getting all OWS, isn't so out of character for a CEO) or he can't tell the difference between creating a new product and maximizing the timing of its launch. The latter I can see being used as a bit of a pump-up for the team. The former is all about the $$$.
It wouldn't be as insulting, I guess, if he'd at least acknowledge that his "base" are alumni of a leading university and, as such, should possibly be given a bit more benefit for being able to see through such typical malarkey.
I want to go back to Nike. I liked the apparel better, we won more (I know it has no affect on that), plus recruits like Nike more.
You know, Dude, I myself dabbled in pacifism once. Not in 'Nam of course.
Which recruits have we missed
Which recruits have we missed out on because of Adidas???
I have heard some recruits say they like Nike over Adidas stuff. I know it sounds crazy, but Im sure some kids it adds points to a school if they see one with Adidas and the other Nike.
You know, Dude, I myself dabbled in pacifism once. Not in 'Nam of course.
Yes, they say it and then it
Yes, they say it and then it plays no role in their decision (see T Richardson).
Ahhhh....The old days when Bo was AD.