There's absolutely no way that ends up on a bulletin board somewhere
Helmet numbers are here to stay
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:52 AM
#1
Helmet numbers are here to stay
At least for this years Big Ten season. I like them better than helmet stickers and but I prefer the helmets without but whatever. They really don't bother me I guess.
It's near the bottom of the article which itself is worth a read.
http://detnews.com/article/20111001/SPORTS0201/110010401
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:58 AM | 
Not a big fan
Not a big fan
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:54 AM |
I think this is just a clever
I think this is just a clever
I think this is just a clever way to improve night game jersey sales in Ohio. Hoke knows we are judging him using that metric, and wants to keep us satisfied.
Hail.
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:01 AM |
You don't say?
You don't say?
You don't say?
Denard has spent the offseason working really hard and smiling at people.
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:01 AM |
As long as they come with
As long as they come with
Ws
Auwê ka hua`i lâ
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:37 AM |
Hmmmmm. Let's put W's on the
Hmmmmm. Let's put W's on the
Hmmmmm. Let's put W's on the helmets after each win, like WWII bombers after each successful mission.
And perhaps some tastefully done nose-art of naked cheerleaders on the front of each helmet.
Too much?
M'Dog
October 2nd, 2011 at 3:19 PM |
would have gone nudy
would have gone nudy
but daughter next to me watching football.
Time is working funny again. Greg Mattison has a phonebooth time machine he sent the secondary back to Charles Woodson's childhood in; they have emerged with ZZ Top beards, children, and skills.-BC
October 2nd, 2011 at 3:29 PM |
I thought that was what tattoos were for...
I thought that was what tattoos were for...
I thought that was what tattoos were for...
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:02 AM |
keep winning and I don't
keep winning and I don't
keep winning and I don't care. Start losing and...
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:02 AM |
Count me in the "like em"
Count me in the "like em"
Count me in the "like em" group. Cool, retro, touch without going all throwback.
My now sfmk avatar has a website - www.inshapemom.com
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:03 AM |
I like them as well...
I like them as well...
and did the btn annoucer say that Hoke choose to keep them because the players wanted them?
GO BLUE!!
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:16 AM |
To honor formed players
To honor formed players
Who wore those numbers, which, I am not sure why the jersey doesnt do that, but whatevs
Auwê ka hua`i lâ
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:49 AM |
posted from iPhone
posted from iPhone
No, you are wrong. It was because the players liked them.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:38 AM |
What happens when the players
What happens when the players
What happens when the players say they like yellow pro-combat jerseys and blue wings on a yellow helmet? You know some of them eventually will.
I'm sorry, Michigan stands for something. Michigan is more than just today's teenage fashion trend. That's what Maryland is for. Becasue they don't really stand for anything.
M'Dog
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:51 AM |
It's to honor the former
It's to honor the former
It's to honor the former players who wore the numbers on their helmets--not just wore the numbers. The helmets used to have numbers on them. Hoke, as quoted in annarbor.com:
“We want to honor those guys who wore those numbers (on their helmets) before. The 42 championship teams. And the guys who have represented Michigan. That’s important to us.”
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:18 AM |
Like most of college football
Like most of college football
Like most of college football except Alabama, the numbers were on the helmets for only a short period time in the 60's.
M'Dog
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:07 PM |
They were actually on our
They were actually on our
They were actually on our helmets for 10 seasons (1959-1968).
October 2nd, 2011 at 1:02 PM |
The numerals were added in
The numerals were added in
The numerals were added in 1956. Second sentence of the second paragraph on the Kramer helmet:
http://www.helmethut.com/College/Michigan/MI1956.html
http://www.helmethut.com/College/Michigan/MI5768.html
Far we their praises sing for the glory and fame they have brought us...
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:50 AM |
Yes that is exactly what they
Yes that is exactly what they
Yes that is exactly what they said
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:15 AM |
If it's true
If it's true
that they are back because the players love them, I'm on board. I like the idea that it's an internal thing, giving the players more ownership.
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:35 AM |
I don't mind em
I don't mind em
We're not the ones out there busting our asses. If that's what they wanna do then I'm for it. They might look better if they were the same color though.
I have Hokeamania
40-34...Hail. I still hate tsio...7 months til we meet again.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:40 AM |
I bust my ass at work. I'd
I bust my ass at work. I'd
I bust my ass at work. I'd like to change our longstanding corporate logo to something cooler, but it just doesn't work that way.
M'Dog
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:53 AM |
Be realistic here....
Be realistic here....
Brady Hoke takes and cares about the player's opinion more than your boss takes and cares about your's....
"This might sound arrogant and if it is, it is. We're Michigan."- Brady Fucking Hoke
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:40 AM |
I'm feeling the helmet numbers...
I'm feeling the helmet numbers...
Hoke gets it. Not only does he know and love the UM tradition, he's making great additions to it. Here's hoping Hoke, establishes a Bo/Lloyd like legacy in A2.
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:49 AM |
posted from iPhone
posted from iPhone
I like it. It's a small change but it's a change. As long as they keep improving week to week, they could put Roman numerals on their helmets for all I care.
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:51 AM |
If RR did this, Ann Arbor
If RR did this, Ann Arbor
If RR did this, Ann Arbor torch and pitchfork would be sold out. But eh, whatever, I think they're kind of cool. And we just trucked a B1G team by 60 and have a top 5 recruiting class so I refuse to complain about anything M football related today.
"I just hope Tressel doesn't fire me"
-Gordon Gee
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:56 AM |
If RR had won his first 5
If RR had won his first 5
If RR had won his first 5 games his first season, he would have been able to do these types of things.
Let's not go down this road.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:03 AM |
RR wouldn't have known that
RR wouldn't have known that
RR wouldn't have known that we used to wear numbers on the helmets.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:44 AM |
I'm surprised that Brady Hoke knew about it. Not just RR.
I'm surprised that Brady Hoke knew about it. Not just RR.
Michigan's history with numbers on the sides of their helmets dates back only to 1959-68. That is all. Michigan didn't, as Hoke claims, win "42 Big Ten Championships with those helmets."
Brady Hoke was 10 years old when Michigan last had numbers on their helmets. Rich Rodriguez would have been about 5 years old when Michigan last had numbers on their helmets. It was a nine-year tradition, that was driven not by any Michigan tradition at the time, but was driven by the then-current fashion among other football teams.
I have wondered if there was a rule in the late 1950's that requred teams to put numbers on helmets; I have been unable to detemine whether such a rule existed, but it is true; as of the late fifties, every single team in the Big Ten Conference had put numbers on the sides of their helmets. As shown here, by The Helmet Project:
http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/
(Click on "BIG TEN" in the left sidebar, then scroll down for each team's historical helmets.)
So it is almost impossible to argue that this is a return to any "Michigan tradition." As far as I can tell, it was a late-fifties rule that Michigan was forced to comply with, for eight or nine years, along with everybody else in the conference.
I'm glad that somebody else besides me said it, but it needs to be said; given the outlandish kerfuffle over the Number 1 jersey, which never even got as far as an actual football game, there just can't be much dispute about the fact that if this same action (retaining numbers on the sides of helmets as part of our regular numbers after the UTL game) had come up during Rich Rodriguez's tenure, the arguments would have been layered with RR's alleged 'failure to understand Michigan traditions.' Whereas with Hoke, the exact same scenario is used to promote his deep understanding of Michigan traditions. It's all a bunch of baloney.
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:28 PM |
Who cares?
Who cares?
I disagree with you, but then again, who really cares if RR would have faced scrutiny or not? He's gone and nobody knows what would have happened, and this would have never happened for the reason I pointed out anyway?
October 2nd, 2011 at 1:44 PM |
The reason why RR came under
The reason why RR came under
The reason why RR came under such intense scrutiny is bc he switched to a drastically different system without his guys in place, and subsequent losing seasons, followed by the bastardization of our D and special teams. BC or this, with a small case of throwing players under the bus and passing the buck, he got all the scrutiny one could throw his way...If he put the numbers on the helmet, he probably would have gotten scrutiny. If he won, it wouldn't have came or would have blown over
October 2nd, 2011 at 2:07 PM |
wrong, Wrong and WRONG.
wrong, Wrong and WRONG.
You posit an interesting notion; that Rodriguez might only have gotten scrutiny on things like uniform issues, because of unhappy results on the field.
We know, from history, that that notion is wrong.
Before a Rodriguez team had hit the field (and assuredly in 2008 it was the catastrophic ThreetSheridan offense, NOT the defense, that got that year off to such a terrible start), and before there was ever a single "L" associated with Rodriguez, we had Braylongate and the kerfuffle over the Number 1 jersey. It is a decidedly less-important affair than changing Michigan's iconic helmets for Conference play, but there you go; a perfect comparison of what was such a disaster in the press for Rodriguez, and what is so smoothed-over for Hoke.
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/football/index.ssf/2008/05/no_1_flap_is_no_longer_a_probl.html
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:51 PM |
RR abandoned one of
RR abandoned one of
RR abandoned one of Michigan's greatest traditions: pitching shutouts on defense. As Hoke, Mattison, and Borges have restored the respectability ON THE FIELD, they have earned some room in the OFF THE FIELD adjustment department.
And don't represent the helmet numbers as something completely new. Just because they only wore then for a decade, they are part of the Michigan tradition.
October 2nd, 2011 at 1:14 PM |
I think I get it...
I think I get it...
Some 5-and-0's are better than others.
October 2nd, 2011 at 1:20 PM |
Except that you clearly don't
Except that you clearly don't
Except that you clearly don't get it.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:10 AM |
this may be true...
this may be true...
but dont you think that the two reasons you cite are valid reasons to be fine with the changes? When we had a losing team with RR all the fans could hold on to were the past michigan traditions bulit by much more sucessful teams. Now that Hoke has turned the tide (i mean jersey sales are through the roof in ohio) this team can start its own traditions without the uproar that would have accompanied them under the rich rod.
Not that its the best comparison but remember rich rod was 2-3 at this point in his first year as coach
"You talk about trust you, gotta trust a player to win a face off, win a battle, get the puck out, or shut somebody down, i put Matt Rust in front of anyone" - Red Berenson
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:48 AM |
"...but remember rich rod was 2-3 at this point..."
"...but remember rich rod was 2-3 at this point..."
And Coach Rodriguez was 5-0 at this point in the season that he got fired.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:54 AM |
Ooh 5-0. He had won a whopping 13 games in 3 years at this point
Ooh 5-0. He had won a whopping 13 games in 3 years at this point
Are you ever going to give up on this Protect Rich Rod from the Interwebz kick? Or are you just going to keep up the good fight until he gets another job or you die?
I put up a tough front, but deep down I just want to be held.
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:14 PM |
He wasn't 5-0 as a Michigan
He wasn't 5-0 as a Michigan
He wasn't 5-0 as a Michigan coach at that point. He was 13-16.
But anyway, no, I don't think he would have been crucified for putting numbers on the helmets. He instituted a lot of changes, many of which did not draw criticism.
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:31 PM |
Completely irrelevant. Rich
Completely irrelevant. Rich
Completely irrelevant. Rich Rod is gone, and it should be obvious by now that that is a good thing.
October 2nd, 2011 at 1:09 PM |
Don't blame me.
Don't blame me.
I didn't start this thread. And I didn't introduce "Rodriguez versus Tradition" into this thread. I didn't even start the trashtalking aspect of that old argument; you did. But if guys like you want to start it, I'll be happy to finish it. At least insofar as it requires any clear-eyed recitation of history.
If, on the other hand, absolutely nothing matters apart from W's and L's (which is probably true for the vast majority of self-identified "Michigan fans"), then everything else is irrelevant. And Hoke can say anything he'd like about Michigan tradition and it means nothing as long as he's winning.
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:03 PM |
I believe all the torches and
I believe all the torches and
I believe all the torches and pitchforks were sold out long before RichRod left Ann Arbor and were consistently on backlog long before for his tenure came to an abrupt end.
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:14 PM |
Before It Goes Too Far
Before It Goes Too Far
Follow the random tweets of a Michigan alum - http://twitter.com/#!/LorneEC3
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:10 AM |
Helmet Numbers
Helmet Numbers
I'm indifferent to them honestly, but if the players and staff like it, that's excellent. Besides, all it takes is for one point from Hoke, and the indifference may become sheer adulation. The point is just that magical.
Follow the random tweets of a Michigan alum - http://twitter.com/#!/LorneEC3
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:12 AM |
Yuck. You don't put a nose
Yuck. You don't put a nose
Yuck. You don't put a nose ring on the Mona Lisa.
M'Dog
October 2nd, 2011 at 1:05 PM |
Terrific analogy.
You will
Terrific analogy.
You will
Terrific analogy.
You will love the future Mascot. Will be part Wolverine, part Corporate logo.
Michigan Men by choice, recognized by deeds, tested and proven by time.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:30 AM |
Um, we were not very good
Um, we were not very good
Um, we were not very good the decade that Michigan wore numbers on the helmets. We got good when Bo came in and removed the numbers.
So here's an idea: Since we are so keen on selective-memory throwbacks, let's honor those great Bo teams and take the numbers off the helmets.
M'Dog
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:15 PM |
I appreciate the point you are making, but it isn't true.
I appreciate the point you are making, but it isn't true.
Yes; as I indicated above, Michigan's "tradition" with numbers on helmets is mostly artifact and trivia, not any real tradition. And not any sort of tradition, as you rightly point out, that is built on pure success.
But in 1964, Bump's best year, Michigan went 6-1 in conference, 9-1 overall, beat good MSU and OSU teams, and went to the Rose Bowl to put a 34-7 beating on Oregon State.
With numbers on their helmets:
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:42 PM |
While I don't like the numbers
While I don't like the numbers
it's just a matter of personal preference.
The argument that they somehow "ruin" something that was previously perfect and never-changing betrays a highly-selective personal editing of actual fact and history. Or to put it differently, it's horseshit.
I'd like to see the stickers come back largely because I arrived at UM in '71 when Bo used them, but it would be idiotic to argue that not having them is somehow an affront to "tradition."
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:30 AM |
They look clean and sharp. I
They look clean and sharp. I
They look clean and sharp. I hope they keep them.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:38 AM |
To cite winning, player
To cite winning, player
To cite winning, player preference or precedent as rationale for numbers is pretty suspect to me as either 3 points can change due to opponent strength, group think or be countered with another historical precedent.
Brandon and Hoke will interpret tradition through their own lens and personal needs. Player preference? Please, they do what they're told and have little choice.
It will be interesting to see where AD Imperius takes the program over the next 5 years.
Michigan Men by choice, recognized by deeds, tested and proven by time.
But I'm not the coach who gets to make the call.