OT: Elbel parking lot being torn up
The parking lot/asphalt football field next to Elbel is being torn up right now. Roller Hockey enthusiasts and streetballers weep.
Rumor has it that it is to be replaced by Field turf to be used by the MMB. Another rumor has it that pretty soon all of elbel will be turfed and no longer to be open to the public.
If it helps the MMB, that's good. If it doesn't really matter for their practicing, then I don't really understand why it's being torn up.
Also, I'm negging you with no explanation because you neg all the There are.. posts with no explanation. Except, now that I have explained it, my reasoning is flawed.
Do they really need to march around on turf instead of cement? I think, as you said, that it doesn't really matter. That's why this makes me mad.
It's hell on the legs.
has never marched.
The thought of field turf on elbel makes my knees hurt much less. There is nothing we can do about high step on hardwood (pictured above) though.
you could play drums...
besides having kick ass solos, crab stepping was the reason i was jealous of the battery in my band
Although I was a trumpet player and we were the best section in the band. Our egos proved it.
Of course you were in band.
I always love how it sounds like it modulates when the person zooms out all the way at 4:50. So funny.
Well there is always that rink up next to Palmer where you can fight it out with the basketball players for elbow room and the tennis balls routinely land on the rink. Although watching one hockey player get drilled by an out of control serve was pretty funny. Keep your head on a swivel.
Your rumors are correct. Turf will replace the asphalt so the MMB has a better practice field. Turf will also eventually replace most of Elbel and potentially be a home for lacrosse.
I had originally also heard the same thing about Elbel being turfed and used for lax, there were even plans for this to be done, and a youtube video of how it would look. However, this was all said prior to the team gaining varsity status, and what I heard in that transition (from Tim I believe) was that the lacrosse at Elbel plans were scratched due to the varsity status. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Is there any reason why Lax doesn't share the new Soccer facility as their home field? Seems to be a perfect fit. Or if Lax is going to occupy Elbel, why didn't soccer get that priviledge?
Lacrosse not happening at Elbel. End of story.
for the same reason as Waggles. That said, marching formations are a lot easier on the ankles on field turf rather than asphalt or grass, so it sounds like a good idea to me.
Elbel field better stay public....
What I've heard is that if Elbel becomes turfed, it would no longer be open to the public. It may still be open to Michigan students, through a gate requiring a MCard swipe. That would make it an acceptable plan; however, it may cut down on the tanning out there.
who the hell cares about the field and those soccer playing ninnies and those frisbee playing hippies, where the hell am i going to play roller hockey now?
Sorry to inconvenience your recreation. As for the MMB, doing their job causes serious injuries on that god-awful blacktop.
then they could practice in the grass, or not be pussies, how many people do you see running countless miles through AA on sidewalks and paved paths. Ive driven by while they were practicing, a good few of them could deal with losing some weight and getting into shape, that would probably help with the "injuries"
there is a little difference between running and lock-step... go out and try and last a day in the MMB's shoes in August or at all during the season and then we can see who will be talking afterwards. A majority of the MMB were athletes as well as musicians in high school... Don't talk shit unless you want to back it up...
What I don't see is your average Joe running the pregame routine around the city of Ann Arbor. Running does not impact your feet, ankles, shins, knees, back, neck, etc. in the same way marching.
The surface of Elbel is the problem; people get their feet caught in a crack and dislocate their knees. But sure, they're all "pussies." Now get out there and do a full run of pregame, you bamf.
Don't be a dick, it won't get you anywhere and it won't make people sympathize with you. It also makes band members sound like assholes. My 2¢
Posted at 2:03 EST, or Mountain Time?
Texas is such an odd place.
That would be mountain time. Texas is a big vast place
Some place you pay for, I guess.
I had heard back in '03 when I was still at Michigan that the band wanted this done because the band members were getting bad shin splints practicing on the asphalt.
I wouldn't be surprised if they fieldturfed all of Elbel like you said and it becomes the home to the lacrosse varsity teams. (Not sure if Michigan has announced where the teams were going to play permanently).
Completely ruined our roller hockey playing. Palmer does have those nets, but the surface is nowhere near as nice as the Elbel blacktop. Palmer tears up the wheels. We were notified of this about a month ago, but I was really hoping it would just be talk and wouldn't really happen.
The black top, which is horribly uneven, wears on the knees and the legs and the body in both the short and long-terms. Last season, an MMB student dislocated her knee by just walking on the black top. Literally, walking. The member was out for the rest of the season and then was unable to pursue Drum Major as they had been training to do for 3 years.
Sorry about your roller hockey thing, though.
Makes some sense. But I still don't get how it's rougher on the knees et al than the guys I knew who would play basketball on cement all night, or tennis, or whatever.
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<br>And if you're hurting you knee just WALKING...I'm guessing the surface isn't you're biggest health problem.
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<br>Like I said, the band deserves it, and can have it for all I care. But I'm not sure the surface is all to blame.
They stepped in a crack that was filled in with tar, and on the way of falling down twisted their knee up pretty bad.
As for the difference in surface, when you're doing a high step you come back down hard on your feet, basically slamming your foot into the ground. The force from that travels up your legs and can be damaging to some body parts. On a turf surface the impact of your foot slamming down is greatly reduced lessining the chance for injury.
This. You should treat your body no different than you treat your car. It can take a lot, but it can't take it forever.
The worst is the crack on the 45 yard line, its big enough to swallow a whole foot and the whole entry line needs to do entries over it.
I'm all for not making people do activities on a cracked surface that isn't safe. (And I really don't have any problem with turfing it. Will probably look a lot nicer). And I can see how someone could hurt themselves on an UNEVEN surface just walking.
As for the force, I doubt it's much more than running up and down a basketball court, or even more, jumping up high for a shot or rebound, or even making a sudden stop on a tennis court. They all can cause injury. Though there is something to be said for quantity too.
Like I've said, I'm not objecting, and it sounds like it will go to good use. I'm just saying there are other outdoor activities that have wear and tear too.
It is more. The reason it's more is because you're bringing your knees up as far as you can, and then slamming - toe first - your leg and foot back into the ground. I mean, it's actually slamming, as opposed to shuffling, running, and jumping, where you get to catch yourself on your ball or heel or anywhere else. It's much more stressful because it's toe first.
And I suppose this explains why they never replaced the two broken basketball hoops.
Seriously it would be a shame if Elbel is no longer public, as that was one of the selling points of houses in this area.
Does anybody know anything about the whole surrounding area of Elbel?
I used to live there and wondered about that big abandoned-looking factory building next to the train tracks. There's also Fingerle lumber yard which I thought went bankrupt and was sold for private development a couple years ago, but last time I was in AA it was still operational.
Big abandoned factory is still there and looking abandoned. Fingerle Lumber is still operational and selling 4x8' pressboard bp tables for $20, and those damned trains still go by at 3AM, blowing their whistles.
No trains until they repair the washed out rails up by Plymouth and Barton. Or did they already get those going again?
I actually miss that train, lived next to the tracks for two years.
I literally live right next to the track. There are definitely trains that go by at obscene hours and I always forget to close the window at night.
My dorm room freshman year was next to a dumpster, and the truck-with-front-forklift would always empty it between 5 and 6 AM on Saturday mornings. Brutal reveille call with one hour of sleep some nights.
Had the crews there on an off work day right after it happened even. Though there's a pipe now CONSTANTLY draining water to the street that doesn't exude confidence.
There was a train at the crossing on Main just south of downtown with no gate or lights but a big horn blast just as I was picking of my wife after returning from seeing Super 8. Creepy.
You're married?
That's ok, I'm shocked by the fact many a time too. I wouldn't have me either.
The abandoned-lookinh building was going to be purchased by the lacrosse team for their proposed facility. Since the varsity move, that's nolonger an option, and I imagine it'll stay abandoned.
The abandoned-looking factory building is the Buhr Shelving Facility which holds all of the books thatthe UM library owns but doesn't have the space to shelve.
Buhr's not lovely but it's not that bad. It is also not been for sale, being filled with millions of books and all.
Fingerle Lumber almost closed in 2008, but the company made some changes to its pension plan and carried on. This archived Ann Arbor News article has the details (but only the first several paragraphs are available for free).
Professor Boerma informed us this spring that it was going to be turf. It will save a lot of ankles, lockstep was murder when it was wet. On the other hand, I graduated a month ago and I already have a "back in my day" story. I guess I really am an alumnus.
You remember when the old Maize and Blue took on the Wildcats of that school in Evanston in aught-eight? Worst foot-ball field-conditions this side of the Mississippi River.