Penn State took over the Big House

Submitted by pullin4blue on
With 11 minutes left in the first quarter of the Michigan vs. Penn State football game, the Michigan fans left the Big House. Not literally, of course, but it would have been the same if they did. From my seats in section 21 the only thing I could hear was the PSU band playing and playing and playing. They lacked the woodwind section that the Michigan Marching Band has, but they turned their horns toward the stands and played like there was no tomorrow. 
Now, I have to assume that the Michigan band was playing because there was no music playing over the P.A. system of the stadium. It felt like I was sitting at the MSU game last year where a silent crowd sat there and let an opponent take over our stadium. Say what you will about Delaware State's Approaching Storm marching band, but they gave it everything they had (and then some). What did the MMB play at that halftime??? A salute to Opera. Give me a f-ing break!

If I can't hear our band playing, the players can't hear our band playing. They can, however, hear the piped in music. The music gets the players pumped-up and the fans get pumped up as well. It gets everyone (except the band director) fired up. Maybe we should consider taking our band out of the seats where they are spectators and put them back on the field where they are participants. What do we have to lose?

This is our house. If you're going sit quietly while you watch the game, do it at home. There are plenty of people who want tickets who will yell and scream and support our team. Try to be one of them. Now I know how Brandon Graham feels.

jg2112

October 25th, 2009 at 3:21 PM ^

Except, Brandon Graham plays for Michigan - you whine about the stadium and the woodwinds.

This is not "your house." It's a football stadium. Where your favorite team plays. Get some perspective.

Magnum P.I.

October 25th, 2009 at 6:30 PM ^

This is the funniest, most ridiculous attempt of yours to act the contrarian. It's really getting old, though. Why do you feel it's your job on this blog to police posts and humiliate people with whom you disagree? Do you need a hug?

Personally, I don't like piped-in music, and I don't think this thread is diary worthy. Are those the points that you're trying to communicate, as well? The most hilarious thing you wrote is "get some perspective." I won't elaborate.

For the record, you're damn right the Big House is a footbal stadium, and it belongs partly to every U-M alumnus, and to every U-M fan, really. If you have a problem with students, alumni, and fans using the pronoun "we" to refer to membership in the U-M family, then you're lacking the capacity to feel a part of something. Too bad. It's a great feeling.

Mturner

October 25th, 2009 at 3:25 PM ^

I completely agree, i was haunted last year by hearing go green go white echo throughout the big house as early as the third quarter, and it happened again this year. The one small corner of PSU fans and band were louder than all the michigan fans. As soon as the opposing fans start to get loud, turn on the loud speakers and everybody else in the stadium will just drown them out. It is obvious that the michigan band, is too quiet, and dormant to change the vibe inside the stadium.

mad magician

October 25th, 2009 at 3:25 PM ^

The difference in yesterday's game came down to music, piped-in or otherwise. Kevin Koger makes those grabs if he'd had some AC/DC to fire him up. Gerg Robinson brings the corners up closer to the line if he'd had Eminem for inspiration. Martavious Odoms doesn't twist his knee if he'd had some Journey to loosen up to. I salute you, good sir, for saying what needs to be said.

My god, 125 years of Michigan football without piped-in music. Ask anyone, they'll tell you how pathetic we were.

djlarson33

October 25th, 2009 at 3:44 PM ^

College football analysts and fans alike have been offering varied opinions about the fall of the Michigan Wolverines. I have done extensive research and have discovered the real reason behind this shocking drop from a Capital One Bowl victory over Florida in Lloyd Carr's last game to only 3 wins last year and a current 5-3 record this year. Don't let the five wins fool you. Three of them are against Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Delaware State. So why is Michigan now just a mediocre team hoping to win one more game so it won't endure two "bowl-less" seasons in a row? The Nike gods have placed a curse on the Wolverines for switching to Adidas.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=C4&Date=20080101&Catego…

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/teams/mmk/photos;_ylt=Ap8_DS256fP…

It's noteworthy that West Virginia was sponsored by Nike during Rodriguez' tenure.

http://www.ogpaper.com/images/Rich-Rodriguez-coach-Michigan-football-We…

It is also interesting to note that the only team in the top 10 not sponsored by Nike is Cincinnati (Adidas). Only one of its wins is against a ranked opponent (South Florida).

Sometimes when somebody takes over he thinks that he needs to change things just to change things. Come on Rich! The Nike gods have so much more power than the Adidas gods. Any blessing bestowed by Nike will more than cancel any curse delivered by Adidas. Nike, Nike, Nike, Nike...

Section 1

October 25th, 2009 at 8:15 PM ^

Rich Rodriguez had absolutely nothing to do with the adidas contract, which was negotiated before Lloyd Carr retired.

Rich Rodriguez is, of course, responsible for the loss of family values at Michigan, the transfer of Justin Boren, the kidnapping of the Lindbergh Baby, the assissination of Archduke Ferdinand, and, thereby, the outbreak of World War I.

pullin4blue

October 25th, 2009 at 4:51 PM ^

To jg2112,
I beg to differ. Michigan Stadium belongs to the fans, students and alumni of the University of Michigan. For years, Michigan has tried to give it's team a home field advantage. Think about Crisler Arena before they moved the students back down to the yellow seats. All the rich folks that could afford lower level mid-court seats sat there (on their hands). Yes, the tickets sold, but everyone sitting up in the blue section would be going crazy and the old folks in the yellow looked like they were at church.
I am saying the same thing about the football stadium. We need passionate fans, not just fans. We need fans that don't care if the team wears Nike or Adidas. We need a home field advantage, and if the football team can't provide that by putting fear into the hearts of opposing teams, then we, the fans have to do it for them (for now).

MaizeNBlue

October 25th, 2009 at 6:00 PM ^

It blows to have the stadium taken over by opposing fans, but I don't really think piped in music has anything to do with that (although it would be funny to drown out their cheers and band with the speakers TURNED UP TO 11/10 CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW??? like they always seem to be).

I think it'd be good to have the band back on the field again, for some of the reasons the OP stated, but also because they'll be able to move around better before halftime and not be bottlenecked trying to get on the field as they are now. That way, we wouldn't have to deal with two minutes straight of piped in music (like vs. Indiana - yuck).

M-Wolverine

October 25th, 2009 at 6:13 PM ^

I think it has more to do with the fact that the game was so bad the PSU fans were chanting "hey hey hey, goodbye" IN THE 3RD QUARTER! You don't want the fans to take over our Stadium...don't get killed in our Stadium.

Ryano

October 25th, 2009 at 7:59 PM ^

Section 21 is directly across from the opposing band. What do you expect to hear? Guess what, someone in section 43 is going to find the exact opposite. I was in the student section, and both bands sounded great. I'm so tired of these complaints about the music situation. Bring an iPod or something.

Section 1

October 25th, 2009 at 8:11 PM ^

for the Penn State game. I had friends in from New York who wanted to see some of the game from Section 1, and I had a golfing buddy to spend some time with in Section 19.

The difference in the sound(s) of the two bands is, I assure you, based simply on location. The location of the listener, and the location of the bands. I heard it myself, from the two different places.

As for the fans and the outcome of the game, uh, I don't think so. I'm sad to say it, but this was one Saturday afternoon when Joe Paterno's team schooled us. It isn't always that way, and I remember a far worse beatdown that our guys dealt to Penn State, in their house, back in 1997.

I was part of the crowd (and band) from Michigan that made a lot of noise in Spartan Stadium this year. Timing of the games' events, and the ebb and flow of play, can always make a sizable visitor contingent sound a lot louder. When the home team gets knocked on its butt, the home crowd quiets down, and of course the 8,000 visitors sound pretty loud. We did the same in E. Lansing.

And no, the MMB did not do a salute to Opera. I'd kind of like that, if it was real Opera. They played a bunch of pop tunes. Based on how our defense was playing, I think the band should have played the Mad Scene from Puccini's Turandot.

lhglrkwg

October 25th, 2009 at 8:55 PM ^

about yelling loud. people in here are the die-hard michigan fans, and not the superfan type who toss it in after a bad loss. and it's also easy to rag on being the lack of sound from fans late in the game but seriously, tell me a fanbase who keeps screaming when their team is losing by 25 and their team has effectively scored 3 points for the last 55 minutes of the game.