Edit: General Admission & Piped in Music
Footnotes to an amazing game...
- I'm not one to shit on the student section, but it was a pathetic sight at kickoff and took awhile to fill out. I don't know if it's total apathy, broke students selling tickets instead of attending a presumed massacre, logistical failings, or some combination, but that was an embarrassment and I hope they didn't show it on TV. I know I'm re-hashing an old debate but where does the AD go from here with student ticket policy?
EDIT: The section I was referring to is not even the student section. General admission failures and fan disinterest is disappointing, but old news.
- We kept the piped-in music running well into the OSU playclock on multiple occasions. I believe ND drew some ire for pulling a similar tactic on us recently. I have mixed feelings; the "Michigan Man" in me felt like it was dubious at best, but I don't mind a little gamesmanship. What did bother me was the use of "Hell's Bells" on not only second down but at one point first (albeit in the red zone). At UTL the wild atmosphere worked, but Saturday was the first time I wanted the piped-in stuff off my lawn, even if it did seem to encourage crowd participation in general.
As for the game itself, I'm proud of the kids and will leave it at that. I don't comment or post much, but these were two topics that haven't received much mention (obligatory SIAP) on account of the ridiculously entertaining, head-shaking, MGoWedgeIssue of a football game that took place. Seemed like the right time to ask what people thought.
December 3rd, 2013 at 10:09 AM ^
Thanks for the constructive thought about the better half of my OP. Maybe it's not piped-in per se that gets me, but the lame and repetitive nature of the timing and selections.
December 3rd, 2013 at 7:28 AM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 10:29 AM ^
The selections are played out - every stadium in every sport in the country has SNA and Hell's Bells can be heard in most of them at some point. "In the Big House" thankfully didn't catch on, but we are good enough to come up with an original concept that fans can get behind.
Have fun at the game tonight. Beat Duke!
December 3rd, 2013 at 1:35 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 7:32 AM ^
I was at the gates to the student section about ten to fifteen minutes before the flyover. It took a total of 45 MINUTES to get through the lines. It was absolutely outrageous considering we used to be in after roughly 5 minutes. It's possible that other games have had poor student attendance but any problem last weekend rests squarely with poor management by the administration.
December 3rd, 2013 at 8:51 AM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 9:19 AM ^
From 2005-2010 I NEVER had this issue. pregame til 1230, 15 minute walk over, in comfortably before kick. It was clockwork before and now its a clusterfuck.
December 3rd, 2013 at 10:30 AM ^
I only made it to ND and OSU games this year (coming from Chicago, and my other tickets stayed squarely with M fans or maybe a spare Buckeye friend of the family for the Nebraska game), but usually make it to at least a few games per year and rarely see empty seats at big games like I did on Saturday. Reports of logistical clusterfuck provide some explanation, though no clear indication why it was so bad compared to recent memory.
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:26 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 7:47 AM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 8:21 AM ^
Maize.
December 3rd, 2013 at 11:41 AM ^
and you are sick of "Wal-Mart wolverines"?
It's the season ticket holders selling their tickets not the "wal-mart" wolverines.
December 3rd, 2013 at 7:54 AM ^
I used to hate the piped in music. Dispite being only 29 years old, the thought was "back in my day, the band was good enough... the band is still good enough!"
After my trip to Penn State this year, and seeing how much they use piped in music and seeing how active the crowd was, I was jealous of their environment... and hated the effect it had on our team. I'm now much more in favor of piped in music.
December 3rd, 2013 at 10:31 AM ^
I'm about the same age, and have the same general sentiment about the piped-in. I want the crowd to be active and the stadium to be loud, and the music certainly seems to encourage it. Not that it's a new problem (if anything, it's been less of one since renovation), but it sucks that the Big House crowd struggles to intimidate our opposition. Saturday started out with everyone standing (I'm up in row 80-ish but no one sat for the majority of the first quarter) and making a lot of noise. That definitely seemed to wax and wane not only with the scoreboard/situation, but the piped-in. It's a powerful tool if we can use it right, but the timing/selection had me missing the "good old days" once or twice.
/bluehair?
December 3rd, 2013 at 8:15 AM ^
is that the unfilled seats stick out like a sore thumb
December 3rd, 2013 at 8:20 AM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 8:37 AM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 8:49 AM ^
There were about 9 sections that were sparse to say the least. About 10 minutes into the game the sections were full. It is disappointing that the students can't make it in on time to honor the seniors.
December 3rd, 2013 at 9:07 AM ^
Most of them care more about getting beligerently drunk than they do about the actual football game. I can't tell you how many I saw leaving when Michigan went down by two TDs.
December 3rd, 2013 at 9:35 AM ^
The students showed up as much as anyone could have hoped for. It was Thanksgiving weekend, for a school that is 40% out of state (contrast that to Ohio St.), for a team that was 7-4 and had showed little signs of life for weeks. Yet, almost everyone flew back; I'm a recent alum and went to sit with the students with my sibling, and friends from New York, Boston, Florida, California, etc. were all there.
Think of it this way. The student section was 85-90% full at kickoff, at least, with 99% Michigan fans. So, rounding down, it was 85% full of Michigan fans. The rest of the stadium was probably 90-95% full at kickoff (those rows above the student section included, which were empty). If we are generous and say that the split was 80/20 Michigan/Ohio St. fans, that means that the rest of stadium was full at around 75% Michigan fans at kickoff, at most.
85% with some empty seats > 75% with those empty seats filled with scarlet. Every time. And the students were loud, into it from the very start.
The piped in music bothered me also - I believe they are supposed to stop after coming to the line of scrimmage, just like they are supposed to stop after the ball is inbounded in basketball (you can't even do the cowbell when the ball is in play during a NCAA basketball game). But, their band did play into ours to make up for it, so it's not like it impacted the game.
December 3rd, 2013 at 10:32 AM ^
I was wrong to lob a grenade at the students, who it seems did their part and certainly weren't responsible for empty GA. However, I stand by the statement that empty seats are a joke at the Big House.
I don't think the piped-in after playclock start altered the game much, but glad I'm not the only one who wondered about its application.
December 3rd, 2013 at 10:10 AM ^
I agree that the GA policy does not seem to be working for the student section. I think we go back to how it always was and give the seniors priority. It is not perfect but it disperses the student section and it at least looks full at kickoff despite people filing in late.
It is sad that people were almost giving away tickets to buckeyes. It looked pretty bad about a half hour from kickoff in terms of red but as it filled up, there was more maize or neutral colors.
I am right on the same page as you with the piped in music. There was no rhyme or reason to it. Play certain songs at certain points is fine (like the band on 3rd downs and 4th downs). The overall "production" of the game seemed to be a little lacking with the music playing over the band and the "look at us and how great we are" halftime show.
December 3rd, 2013 at 10:55 AM ^
It's not the students fault, but I am really curious to see what the Administration decides to do next year with the pathetic home schedule that Michigan has next year, because I think they have a really big problem on their hands.
December 3rd, 2013 at 11:21 AM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 11:33 AM ^
Well, I'm a student and I don't like it. We're a pretty big group, actually. Probably a safe bet that there's some diversity of opinion.
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:30 PM ^
I'm just going to repost because this thread deserves nothing more:
|
Non student section needs to be reduced!! No showing or showing late is one thing but giving tickets to the enemy deserves banning from the stadium. Red in the front row is more pathetic than anything the students have done so...I recommend the following initial punitive measures: GA seating - fair is fair corner endzone only 40% hike in ticket prices with much of it going to a rec center for future generations if you do arrive early you will be crammed in there by ushers instead of picking where you sit "validation" stickers if you can't go and want to just give your ticket away banned from stubhub! - obvious
I'll think of more later but it's a good start |
The only thing I'll add, based on other comments - You can only enter from one gate and old nags who scan tickets will hold you up, forcing you to miss several minutes of action even if you show up 10-15 mins early.
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:48 PM ^
The GA actually makes the student section fill up slower for big games, which I'm pretty sure is the opposite of what they were trying to do. It doesn't work. Go back to the way it was last year.
December 3rd, 2013 at 3:37 PM ^