OT-ish: Poorly behaved alumnus at football gate Saturday
To the alumnus who got in the face of the ticket taker/Event staff member at the main football gate on Saturday, shame on you. Getting up in their face, yelling, because YOU didn't download your ticket ahead of time, is unacceptable. Saying "I pay your salary" is laughable and disgusting, because 1. You don't likely and 2. They essentially are volunteers and 3. how disgustingly elitist.
Shame on you and your behavior. Do better.
(Mods, delete if you must, I'm just PO'd at this behavior, and my son works the gate)
October 31st, 2022 at 4:27 PM ^
Come on man, do better
October 31st, 2022 at 7:28 PM ^
A-effing-men.
Anger is weakness. Superiority is illusory inferiority. And hovering above to belittle a stranger is peak repugnance.
October 31st, 2022 at 4:30 PM ^
There was a strange feel to the crowd at the game Saturday. I didn't witness this incident but I did witness numerous adults being extremely rude to not only MSU fans but to other Michigan fans. One much older man got thrown out of my section before kickoff because he was harassing people about their SAT scores, and two other older guys got into a fight because one of them wouldn't sit down. It was a weird crowd, don't know if it was because it was a night game, or because this game attracts people who don't normally attend Michigan games.
October 31st, 2022 at 4:33 PM ^
Our society is on a knifes edge right now.
October 31st, 2022 at 7:18 PM ^
People have just lost their damn minds.
October 31st, 2022 at 10:06 PM ^
I bet the all-day tailgating/drinking didn't help this person stay composed.
October 31st, 2022 at 4:35 PM ^
I don't think there's been an MSU or OSU game in the last ten years or so where I haven't encountered people being unusually awful, and almost always fellow Michigan people. No one has any chill, people get unusually combative, and yes, the "up in back" stuff gets unreasonably testy.
I don't know where these people come from, but it's not great.
October 31st, 2022 at 4:44 PM ^
Think about what our record vs those two has been the last 10-20 years, it makes sense.
Also it's good in a way visiting fans aren't comfortable enough to come and take over the stadium anymore, do you want more 2009 OSU?
Also the "I want to sit and do nothing" crowd is becoming a thing of the past which is also good. Even the older people around me on saturday were into it.
October 31st, 2022 at 4:45 PM ^
I mean, these assholes are going after other Michigan fans! I don't care about creating a hostile environment for opposing fans if it's even hostile for our own people.
Honestly, people should be able to go watch their team play a football game. Gentle ribbing is fine. Being a dick to someone else just because you think it helps the team? Nah. Lose me on that.
October 31st, 2022 at 7:36 PM ^
It was amazing to see so many people either tailgating or just walking around near the stadium area as early as 2 PM. Traffic on Ann Arbor/Saline Road was also backed up from I-94 to the golf course gates by that time. It all meant that folks had all of that extra time to get either liquored up or hyped up before the kickoff. There were literally many thousands of sparty fans roaming around, wearing their green and white colors as well. This all added to the extra volatility pregame.
Wouldn't be surprised if there are no more MSU night games at Michigan stadium. Warde should say to the B1G and networks, I told you so.
November 1st, 2022 at 7:20 AM ^
Two women got in a fight in my row as one was trying to make her way back to her seat and made a snide comment to another lady regarding standing up to make room for her. There was more to it but I won't go into more detail but it was bad and uncomfortable and I definitely felt the vibe of people being on edge more than usual.
October 31st, 2022 at 4:49 PM ^
agree with Bando, this is a terrible take. No one should be meant to feel unsafe visiting a sporting event because they're supporting a different team.
You can be a very passionate fan and cheer loudly without being an asshole
October 31st, 2022 at 5:43 PM ^
Been to an away game at MSU or OSU? If so, did you feel safe?
October 31st, 2022 at 5:44 PM ^
(It's actually not that bad!)
October 31st, 2022 at 7:30 PM ^
Yup. I’ve been to M wins and M losses at MSU. With and without my wife, with and without my kids. Never felt unsafe.
That said, I will not go back to Columbus.
October 31st, 2022 at 8:14 PM ^
I went to Columbus decades ago as a senior and didn't feel safe but that doesn't mean we should return the favor.
October 31st, 2022 at 8:45 PM ^
I was terrified in East Lansing (1997). I literally watched UM fans get thrown into bales of hay and hit with beer bottles while being punched. I definitely traveled in a pack on game day. At OSU, I just heard dudes say what they would do if they ran into a UM fan.
Yes, I'm so chicken I hide my maize and blue under neutral color coats/jackets on those campuses.
November 4th, 2022 at 8:19 PM ^
I felt safe cuz there were three of us but they are assholes for sure. One guy got in my face until I told him I had covid then he fell into the stands. It was beautiful. That was MSU last year.
October 31st, 2022 at 5:54 PM ^
I live out of state so I usually attend two to three games a year. This was my first game since Washington last year, where people were throwing things at me for standing, even though the entire stadium was because apparently 6’1 is too tall. Honestly, between Saturday and last year I really don’t find attending football games to be enjoyable anymore.
October 31st, 2022 at 8:08 PM ^
Which section? I like sec 38-42. I’ve sat in 44, 1-4 and I still prefer my area. I’ve always had a great time in these sections. My current season tickets are in 41. Love my section! Try it out next time you come up for a game.
October 31st, 2022 at 5:54 PM ^
I'm not saying they should feel unsafe, we're a far cry from turning into Columbus.
October 31st, 2022 at 5:21 PM ^
I know exactly what you are referring to and it is not recent and not due to a late start. The 1997 Ohio State game had the exact same feel to it and it was a noon kickoff (of course).
That was my favorite game that I ever went to (I sadly wasn't able to go to the Game last year) but I remember the crowd being very weird and on edge. I saw more Michigan fan on Michigan fan fighting / yelling / confrontations than I have seen in every other game put together, including this past Saturday.
Some people just don't respond well to "tension" (even sports tension) and mix in some liquor and that is what you get.
October 31st, 2022 at 4:47 PM ^
...and people in here weeks ago were saying there's nothing wrong with a night game against Staee... the notion of people being liquored up all day and bad things happening is waaay overblown.
SMH
October 31st, 2022 at 8:39 PM ^
It's just statistics
Noon Games = 1-2 arrests 5-10 ejections
3:30 Games = 2-5 arrests 10-15 ejections
Night Games = 5-7 arrests 20-30 ejections
Or something in that ballpark. Add in rivalries/rowdy teams and you can but a 1.1 to 1.3 multiplier on that, etc.
The common denominator is: Σ -hours of alcohol consumption, Noon games don't get much more than 4 hours max. 3:30 8 hours max. Night games are the drunkest/sloshiest.
As an undergrad for night games it was a guarantee that at least one person got so drunk they just vomitted and went to sleep before the game even started.
If bars are open to 3am there will be more accidents than 2am; 4am more than 3am, etc.
At some level we are ants crawling around the ant farm, having this game be late at night was beyond idiotic, especially in the cold (though it wasn't awful).
Night games should be reserved for Sept., great weather temps, great energy, and it puts a spin on what otherwise is usually a route. By Oct. it's often too damp, leaves/mucky, and cold, etc.
I'm turning into an old man lol
November 1st, 2022 at 12:21 AM ^
I'm sure if they pass the bill to allow alcohol sales in the stadium, that will curtail the pregame consumption /s
October 31st, 2022 at 4:47 PM ^
booze
October 31st, 2022 at 4:53 PM ^
Booze and extra hours of tension. Michigan's noon games are a wonderful tradition that needs to be preserved. Kick their ass in broad daylight, send them home to their mommas before dark.
October 31st, 2022 at 5:10 PM ^
That's my first instinct. Not that it can or should be used as an excuse and must be held accountable for your actions. I think many Michigan fans are conditioned to the short window noon game tailgating and may be out of their element for the extended tailgating for night games. Top it off with a rivalry game and voila.
October 31st, 2022 at 9:05 PM ^
I can't touch that voila stuff. I get black out drunk.
October 31st, 2022 at 4:51 PM ^
i thought so, too; my guess is that it was because it was a night game vs sparty. the crowd arrived in town way, way earlier than usual (our usual lot was full at 5:30, where we usually can get in up to about 45 minutes before kick), with much more tailgating. no problem with that, but it definitely seemed like a drunker vibe than usual. that, and the night game environment, which can be pretty electric in general.
October 31st, 2022 at 4:59 PM ^
I’m bringing my two young children to the Michigan@Rutgers game Saturday. I hope it’s a different vibe.
October 31st, 2022 at 6:04 PM ^
Rutgers was amazing when I went a few years ago. Very nice people
November 1st, 2022 at 12:17 AM ^
It’s nice bc they haven’t attached their egos to the success of their team as much (because they usually lose). More of a picnic and chill atmosphere - just happy to be here and included kinda thing.
October 31st, 2022 at 5:06 PM ^
he was harassing people about their SAT scores, and two other older guys got into a fight because one of them wouldn't sit down.
I mean this is exactly what fans from a lot of other schools would imagine a section filled with Michigan fans to be. People, don't be like that! (Also, whither the ACT?)
October 31st, 2022 at 5:28 PM ^
WTF? Someone was talking smack about SAT scores? That’s insane.
October 31st, 2022 at 5:34 PM ^
Yeah man, he was a weird dude. I wonder what he's doing now... and I hope he's ok.
October 31st, 2022 at 8:42 PM ^
Hopefully he ran into a Northwestern fan and was put in his place.
October 31st, 2022 at 5:41 PM ^
Two good explanations:
1. Alcohol. Enough said.
2. Social Media, which has normalized (encouraged?) horrible behavior.
October 31st, 2022 at 6:14 PM ^
My eight year old and I attended. I don't make it to games often and this was his first. We had a great time!
October 31st, 2022 at 7:14 PM ^
So glad you and your little guy had a great time at the game and an enjoyable trip overall.👍
Go Blue 🏈🏈🏈
October 31st, 2022 at 9:50 PM ^
Great to see you. And thanks again for coming out!
October 31st, 2022 at 6:28 PM ^
Older man or much older man? It wasn't me, honest.
For the political comments below...let's just make an effort to be better people than our politicians? Being kind, courteous and treating others better than we expect ourselves to be treated is completely under our control and costs us nothing.
October 31st, 2022 at 7:13 PM ^
id be shocked if there were 0 incidents given plenty of 100k people drinking. even if everyones stone sober theres inevitably some assholes in every crowd that size
October 31st, 2022 at 8:18 PM ^
It's almost like 114,000 people drinking for 10 hours before a nighttime football game on Halloween weekend could create problems.
October 31st, 2022 at 8:48 PM ^
Based on your numbers, there were about 1000 elementary school kids chugging spiked juice boxes all afternoon. When the kids are getting liquored up for night games, we have a huge problem.
October 31st, 2022 at 8:47 PM ^
It was definitely a weird vibe. Night game MSU late October weird. Strange, because it was such a beautiful day. I don't know man.
October 31st, 2022 at 10:45 PM ^
All day, day drinking. That's it right there. People had more than enough time to get super drunk, sober up a little, then get another drunk on for game time. So they're drunk but it's like a partially hung over and tired drunk. Happens to me in Vegas all the time.
November 1st, 2022 at 12:59 AM ^
As the kids would say, "The vibes was off." The guy that sits behind me about had a complete meltdown over someone innocently in the wrong row. 3 rows ahead of me a huge verbal altercation went down with 2 50-60 year old men screaming at each other at the top if their lungs over God knows what. This was all in the 1st quarter. Luckily, things calmed down a lot after that, but my goodness that crowd had a strange feeling to it from the jump. I was sitting there with my wife in her MSU gear and 37 weeks pregnant thinking, "oh shit, this was a very bad idea." Luckily, I was wrong, but it's all getting a little concerning.
November 4th, 2022 at 8:59 PM ^
It was nice meeting your wife Dan. See you for! Nebraska!
November 1st, 2022 at 2:11 AM ^
Probably due to a lot of time for drinking at the tailgates for these night games.