Nebraska Pregame - Flyovers, Card Stunt

Submitted by M-Wolverine on

Was a little surprised to see this hasn't been posted yet*-

 

MILITARY APPRECIATION: There won’t be jetpacks at the Big House, but that’s about all that will be missing from Michigan’s Military Appreciation plans on Saturday. Athletic Department officials are urging fans to arrive to the game early to participate in a card stunt project. During the national anthem, fans will hold up 65,000 cards that will combine to form an American flag. The cards will be affixed to seats in sections 1-23, circling around the south endzone from east of the 50-yard line to west of the 50-yard-line. “We’re keeping (the cards) away from the students, so they don’t turn into boomerangs,” a military representative joked on Monday. The national anthem will also feature a flyover from four F-16 fighter jets out of Pope Air Force Base in South Carolina. The jets will be launching from Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Mount Clemons, Mich. and flying south to north over the stadium — and the card stunt. The head pilot for the flyover is a Michigan graduate. Plans are to have a live video feed from the lead jet play on the stadium’s videoboards to show the card stunt from overhead. Pregame hospitality for veterans will also be held at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse. “Let me tell you, it’s awesome,” Hoke said. “We all are thankful for those who have served this country and those who are serving. “Coming from San Diego and having the relations we were able to have with the Marine corps and the Navy, it’s humbling what they do for our country and what they do for us to be able to sit here to today and get asked questions, some good and some not so good.”

So show up early!

http://www.michigandaily.com/sports/notebook-michigan-prepares-unfamiliar-opponent-familiar-style

(*Assuming it's not...Search function doesn't seem to be working, and I scrolled through 3 pages to the day before to see if it had been yet...maybe I'm just still living in a world where MGoShoe would have had this posted 5 minutes after it was reported...)

bluebyyou

November 15th, 2011 at 11:07 AM ^

I'm looking forward to being part of the flag.

You can never say thank you enough times  to those brave people in the military who put their lives on the line for all of us.  God Bless and be safe!!

maizenbluenc

November 15th, 2011 at 1:28 PM ^

this may be possible. The island might be far enough aft on the newer carriers to fit in a full length / width field. There would be room for sidelines, but the fans would have to sit in the endzones. Wonder how long it would take to field turf a flight deck?

BUT, we would have to wait for 2015 when they commission CVN-78: the GERALD R FORD!

And a game agains Navy in this case would be totally appropriate.

[Edit]: another thought - un-retire the #48 and make it a legacy jersey at the game.

TorontoBlue

November 15th, 2011 at 2:41 PM ^

for the folks in the stadium, that will actually be the correct visual display - looking south at the flag while the jets fly over top of it coming right at you.   the view from the cockpit cam shown simultaneously on scoreboards will just be an extra visual bonus.  GO BLUE!

SirJack

November 15th, 2011 at 12:44 PM ^

I know it happens all the time, but why, exactly, have fighter jets fly over a stadium? I guess the military sees it as good PR, and football in general seems culturally to be unquestioningly pro-military (though I suppose the majority of any nation is typically pro-military). Do other countries do this, or is it a uniquely American oddity?

Mr. Yost

November 15th, 2011 at 9:25 PM ^

I work in athletics...and I def thought of that. I'm sure if I did, they did too. But at least it's for a good cause.

12pm kicks are getting harder and harder with SEC style tailgating getting more popular.

With that said, I'm sure they'd still do this if the game was at 3:30p or 8:00p. But it won't hurt to have people inside at kick rather than coming in around 1pm.