MSC halftime speech video
Certainly sounds like she was hitting the sauce early before the game
edit: thought i did the embed right but i guess not. here's the link:
November 11th, 2013 at 12:37 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 12:44 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 1:04 AM ^
If you listen to Gordon Gee speak first, MSC's speech is worthy of comparison to Abraham Lincoln.
November 11th, 2013 at 1:05 AM ^
if she was upset the content of her speech did not imply it. It's as if she has no self realization. I at least know when I am drunk.
Was she roofied perhaps? This is epic fail. There doesn't need to be explanation but it begs it. It's shocking, disturbing and sad. If she didn't have a stroke - then roofie makes the most sense - though I don't know what drug does that - you would have to be in high school not to realize you were that drunk with alcohol.
November 11th, 2013 at 1:11 AM ^
Basically, what's going to happen is that at 9AM tomorrow, the Board of Regents will put out a press release saying she had an allergic reaction to a new medication or some such thing, they've met/spoken with her, it was an isolated incident that wasn't helped by the speaker system/microphone lag, and that they have full confidence she will be fine to assume her duties through the end of her term. The search for a new president continues, Go Blue, etc.
But really, she was drunk. We all know it. And the constant barrage of jokes at Michigan's expense will continue. The autumn of our discontent and all that.
November 11th, 2013 at 1:51 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 2:30 AM ^
http://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-statement-regarding-president-colemans-halftime-remarks
Blames it on the wireless mic.
I happen to be an audio engineer in a duplicit alternate life and I honestly don't buy it...unfortunately...
and how is it that Mark Harmon knows how to talk normally with a microphone at the Big House: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjWWcbnNHr0
November 11th, 2013 at 6:50 AM ^
- No medical excuse;
- Absolute denial of any/all alcohol;
- Incredible proffering of "mic-delay" excuse, combined with "unexpected request for speech" excuse.
It's not the crime, it's the cover up...
November 11th, 2013 at 7:06 AM ^
a crime, either. Which is why this will go no further.
I think you could plausibly assume that there was no alcohol involved but a tired, blowsily/blithely relaxed lady garbling an impromptu speech. Whether you cut her some slack probably depends on whether you liked her in the first place.
I thought I liked her. But then I heard her talking about how great DB was. . . :)
November 11th, 2013 at 9:57 AM ^
It's funny - the only thing that really bothered me about the clip was the praise of Brandon. I think some people here are taking this way too seriously. She's a 70-year-old woman who has served the university well (in my opinion), is nearing retirement, and had a few drinks at a football game (apparently at an event that further serves the university). I'm more than willing to laugh this off as a "we've all been there" moment. Plus, there's something endearing and human about it, given that she holds the position she holds and has no known history of these kinds of things.
November 11th, 2013 at 8:07 AM ^
Yeah, I want to continue to donate money to a University that treats me like I'm an idiot.
November 11th, 2013 at 8:53 AM ^
It would be a little more believable if half of her job didn't involve speaking through microphones. She has been doing this for decades, and all of a sudden she can't handle the delay?
If one of the Big Ten's referees had that much trouble with a wireless microphone in a stadium, they would be sent back to doing junior high school games.
November 11th, 2013 at 9:30 AM ^
When your job involves public relations to the extent that hers does, with speeches given to any number of groups on any given week, you never have the excuse of "I didn't know I was giving a speech, I'm so unprepared, and I don't know what to do with this mic."
Bullshit.
She's given so many speeches about Michigan by this point that there has to be a pre-loaded set of things she can say in any given situation at the ready. After twelve years of this, she's a pro.
November 11th, 2013 at 6:44 AM ^
I'm embarrassed that I watched that.
November 11th, 2013 at 7:02 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 7:09 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 7:46 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 8:04 AM ^
Internet, won.
November 11th, 2013 at 9:25 AM ^
Yes, another Gary Moeller joke! Let's make jokes about a guy who we assume was a drunk but really wasn't!
November 11th, 2013 at 10:25 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 11:38 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 7:46 AM ^
during this speech, she was dropped for a 3 yards loss.
November 11th, 2013 at 7:50 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 8:02 AM ^
Having heard president Coleman speak many times I fear that was something neurologic (other than alcohol).
November 11th, 2013 at 8:42 AM ^
"Drunk" didn't really occur to me at first.
I honestly thought, "My God; so this is why she is retiring! She sounds terrible. What a medical catastrophe. I feel so sorry for her. I wonder what it is. She sure has deteriorated fast. Last time I heard her speak it was nothing like this. How have they kept it so quiet? Am I the last person to know about this?"
That was before she even ended her remarks.
So I think the weird thing, if she was really hammered (and I think that's the most obvious explanation at this point), is where she got the booze.
It was halftime; the University says with total commitment that there is no alcohol served in her box, "or anywhere in Michigan Stadium." Okay. Rules are rules. Got it. But what about outside of the Stadium? Crisler? The Junge Center? Anybody know exactly what was going on at the fundraising campaign kickoff party somewhere in the Crisler Center? Was that as alcohol-free as the Stadium is supposed to be? That party started early; I expect that she was there for hours before the game.
November 11th, 2013 at 9:16 AM ^
I was at graduation in May and she was fine and that was after she announced retirement so that's not it. Bizarre.
November 11th, 2013 at 9:26 AM ^
Hasn't there been alcohol served in the Regents' Box since the fancy one was put in the bottom of the old press box in the late 90s?
November 11th, 2013 at 12:09 PM ^
Her box is usually well-stocked with ice cream and soft drinks, but no booze. My party did not see her at the Crisler Center.
I'm inclined to buy the wireless mic explanation.
November 11th, 2013 at 8:09 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 10:46 AM ^
...if we had a good football team involved in a campaign for a Big Ten championship, to talk about instead.
November 11th, 2013 at 8:33 AM ^
One of the best videos of all time.
November 11th, 2013 at 8:48 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 9:14 AM ^
Faded!
November 11th, 2013 at 9:28 AM ^
That's a true friend of the program. Nice of you to jump on the grenade, MSC.
November 11th, 2013 at 10:03 AM ^
I'm all about representing the university and all that...
But MSC has more than bought any benefit of any doubt. I think it's hilarious and I give her a pass.
Sadly, I barely remember the speech or the halftime show... I think I was in the pisser, but lets just say if I had to speak, it would have been a little worse.
November 11th, 2013 at 10:03 AM ^
according to a press release, just a tricky microphone. Seems like that speech was as well conceived as Fitz running on first down... If one doesn't have a sense of humor about this team and situation you're going to be miserable for the rest of the year. Our kids are young, the central O line is totally ineffective , Devin is beat up and behind schedule with decision making, Hoke is a nice guy but definitely no Harbaugh, and the Big10 is an awful conference right now. At least we have the Lions to pick us up!
November 11th, 2013 at 10:06 AM ^
I woud note: It is her first time speaking at a full Big House with that speaker set up and not the pared-down graduation audio system. There's a huge difference.
November 11th, 2013 at 10:15 AM ^
This has got to be a 50+ year low point, right?
I was about that drunk at the time, but I was at home on my couch with my dog.
November 11th, 2013 at 10:37 AM ^
Either she was drunk, or she filled in for Gardner at QB for a series when I wasn't watching and took a shot to the head.
November 11th, 2013 at 11:31 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 11:36 AM ^
I couldn't even listen to this more than halfway through. I am surprised this video hasn't been "removed by user" yet.
November 11th, 2013 at 11:53 AM ^
“We rarely use live wireless microphones at Michigan Stadium because of the way that sound is distributed; it travels from the north scoreboard across the field to the south. There was significant wind that caused the sound to be delayed and distorted and created feedback during President Coleman’s speech.”
November 11th, 2013 at 11:57 AM ^
I think every referee since about 1985 would be surprised to learn that "we rarely use live wireless microphones at Michigan Stadium."
November 11th, 2013 at 12:14 PM ^
someone please comment on if the Refs sounded tanked at all during the game.
November 11th, 2013 at 12:24 PM ^
Looked it up. You're correct to a point, however..."We assume that this is because the wind "pushes the noise along." Unfortunately for our intuitions, it can easily be shown that this force is too small to account for the observed effect.The speed of sound in air is about 760 miles per hour (1,223 kph). If a typical wind is blowing at 30 mph, this is only 4% of the speed of sound, meaning that wind can only shorten or increase the distance a given sound needs to travel by that amount. The difference would be too subtle to be detected by the human ear, so obviously this does not uncover the source of the phenomenon."
http://www.wisegeek.com/why-does-sound-travel-better-with-the-wind.htm
What's my vel, now?
November 11th, 2013 at 12:06 PM ^
Yeah I'm not sure what to believe here. For speech patterns to sound that messed up from alcohol, you're talking about black-out drunkness, which seems really unlikely. Even if she had that much to drink, someone would have recognized it before she got on the field and stopped her from giving a speech. The microphone excuse also seems a little implausible but more believable than MSC getting out-of-her-mind hammered.
November 11th, 2013 at 11:05 PM ^
the more i think about it. All of the educated folks here, yet so stupified by an audio issue (which was my immediate and lasting guess)... this is a great university. None of you have ever participated in a conference call, VOiP classroom or webinar with sound issues?