OT: Traditional TD fan celebrations

Submitted by budeye on

after watching some of the older highlights at the Big House, I noticed there are some traditions that are no longer seen at the Big House.  One is the tossing of TP rolls.  Another is the 20'+ flag poles that fans used to bring into the stadium and the marshmellow tosses.  I understand the marshmellow tossing caused problems with the field.  But I really do miss the other two traditions.  I also miss the beach balls.   

bacon

February 16th, 2012 at 4:05 PM ^

More dangerous or more fun? Seriously though, the marshmallows were a lot of fun to throw and useful for pelting the sideline camera guy when he got in the way. Eventually they got smart though and put a marshmallow shield on his cart to protect him from the dangerous flying marshmallows.

tdcarl

February 16th, 2012 at 1:55 AM ^

Beach balls, blow up dolls, the occasional condom,  and other inflatable goodies still get batted around the student section. And instead of tp I saw some people throwing rolls of maize crepe paper at a few games too. For those unfamiliar with crepe paper:

mgoblueben

February 16th, 2012 at 11:41 AM ^

Glad someone noticed our efforts with the maize and blue streamers.  We went crazy for the ohio game.  We had over 50 of them and our foreign friend wore a giant puffy coat to sneak all of them in.  But most of us are graduating and I hope someone keeps it going for years to come!

Thorin

February 16th, 2012 at 2:01 AM ^

Everything was better at Ferry Field before that noob Yost decided to dig into the water table to show everyone how big his shovel is. Get off my lawn, Jesse Owens.

WolverineHistorian

February 16th, 2012 at 8:45 AM ^

I'm the one who has probably uploaded the majority of those clips you have watched.  And since I don't include the PAT's in my vids, I should mention that the game was delayed big time after touchdowns.  Stadium workers had to clear a ton of toilet paper out of the end zones before the extra point could be kicked.  And if the opponent was Notre Dame, Ohio State or some other top 10 team, all that toilet paper seemed to be multiplied by 100.  

It's surprising how long this tradition was allowed to happen.  The transition to marshmellows didn't happen until the very early 90's, I believe.

razor93

February 16th, 2012 at 8:46 AM ^

I remember fondly the days of TP being thrown, the passing up of the coed or the smallest "Frosh".  I also remember throwing marshmallows.  I also remember people putting them in their mouths and then throwing them.  That was pretty gross.  I also remember people putting pennies into their marshmallows and then throwing them.  You would get a lot more distance and it could hurt quite a bit, not fun.  I do remember one game during the Moeller years when there was a big snow storm and everytime the cameraman would come around on his crane into the corner it would be a blitzkrieg of snowballs.  I also remember throwing a ton of snowballs at a former woman ESPN sideline reporter by the name of Andrea Kramer.  She was not very attractive if I remember correctly, but I remember this one guy yelling for her saying how much he loved her.  The next thing you knew about a hundred snowballs were heading directly at the guy.  That was a fun day.  Sadly I don't remember who we playing against.

MaizeMN

February 16th, 2012 at 10:47 AM ^

I definitely remember the old penny-in-the-marshmallow trick.  It absolutely made for a longer toss.  When it was hot they would start melting on the old astroturf and get caught in the players cleats; hilarious to see.  I also remember the "Fuck Michigan State" and "I'm Fucking Cold"- Winter Term '88 tees.  Ah, the good old days.

Rocking Chair

February 16th, 2012 at 8:50 AM ^

Before the field was lowered in 1991 the all male (!) cheerleading squad performed backflips off the wall to match the score.  There were only 7 or 8 men so they got pretty wobbly whenever the score exceeded 50 and each had to do multiple flips in rapid succession. 

cozy200

February 16th, 2012 at 9:11 AM ^

I miss the flags for sure.  I understand viewing issues, but it reminded me slightly of old rome where each legion had its own flag/symbol.  Felt more like the coliseum to me.  Im probably just a tool but i liked them alot. 

MaizeMN

February 16th, 2012 at 10:57 AM ^

The other thing I miss a lot is when they used to kick FGs and PATs at the student end, before there were nets.  As soon as the ball hit the section people would toss it back as far as possible, before the ushers could retrieve it.  On a good day we could get 5-6 balls out of the stadium; man, those ushers worked hard for their money.

Heisenberg

February 16th, 2012 at 8:39 PM ^

Beach Balls are definitely still bouncing around the stadium. I love it when a young kid gets ahold of one and spikes it right in some 60 year old womans face 2 rows down..awesome.