Possible night game @ The Big House
This is behind a Rivals paywall. It says that Michigan and Notre Dame are in discussions about a night game at The Big House in 2011. Some are even saying that it's imminent and will be announced in the next couple weeks.
http://michigan.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=338&mid=132403241&sid=883&ti…
I get back to A2 for at least one game every season and I will be there for the first night game without a doubt.
There is a different feeling in there when the sky is pitch black. Maybe it was because of how they finished, but the walk back to campus in the dark after thrilling OT victories over PSU and MSU were amazing. Really hope that this is true.
go a long way towards restoring the national impression of that rivalry.
Plus, if we pan out this year like I expect us to, and Brian Kelly is the same coach at ND that he was at Cinci, that could be a HECK of a game.
OMG OMG "THE NEW MICHIGAN ERA HAS JUST BEGUN!"
[sarcam] -- I'll believe when it's official. Though exciting prospect.
Everybody is talking about what an incredible atmosphere there would be. What better way to impress recruits?
Song Girls.
more winning.
the night game but we better be wearing maize jerseys.
now that's just crazy talk... what would be better than seeing yellow streaks in the night sky caused by Denard running for a 50 yard score???
It's certainly a more complicated thing for the city to deal with than having a game at Yost, but I haven't heard anybody complaining about that. On the contrary, it's being treated like a wonderful novelty that everybody's being encouraged to attend. The only difference is that it's not a night game. I really don't see what the big deal is for one single night game every season or every other season, especially if it's early in September. If the game starts early, then the problems of the geezers navigating their Buicks home afterwards are a bit lessened.
My thoughts on this:
Blackout Jerseys here we come!
Can we also change our fight song to some overplayed 80's hair metal song?
We should get one of those cute, furry little mascots like Minnesota's Gopher.
The entrance banner should have advertisements on it to make quick cash.
The #1 should be assigned to Jack Kennedy because as a rapper he is number one.
Standing in the stadium should be outlawed for the down in front crowd.
Finally, our helmets need to be solid blue with a maize block M on the side.
Cool story.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:28 PM ^
its amusing when old farts piss themselves simply because Michigan is going to attempt something new and exciting.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:38 PM ^
I was being facetious.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:37 PM ^
A night game between Michigan and Notre Dame at the Big House would be simply amazing, I would try to get tickets for that right away.
March 17th, 2010 at 11:33 PM ^
We'll all be witness to the most successful "Maize Out" the world has ever known!
March 18th, 2010 at 12:28 AM ^
OMG! You have Goliath! In your avatar! I love Knight Rider! +1
March 17th, 2010 at 11:51 PM ^
This talk pleases me. But seriously guys, where was this enthusiasm last year about this? Last year around this exact time I suggested the very same idea would be a good one and got a lot of hate! This was the BPE (Before Points Era) of mgoblog so I didn't get "negbanged" but I got quite a bit of hate. Yes I realize the petition and maize jerseys were stupid ideas and I have matured since then, but I knew this was a good idea all along. Check out this thread from a year ago:
http://mgoblog.com/diaries/michigan-football-night-games-petition
March 18th, 2010 at 12:27 AM ^
Maybe my future was wrong.... 2011 is not right.
GBW and the Beaver confirmed the talks are happening.
Not to be a debbie downer, but I've always heard that the city doesnt want night games from a public safety point of view. A huge number of people tailgate on the golf course, which, at night, is a big, unlit area that could easily become rife with crime.
That said, under the lights at the Big House would be sweet. The '05 Penn State game ended under the lights, and that was one of my favorite games during my 4 years there.
We'll see what happens... I like new ideas, but I also don't like the RAWK completely, and Maize jerseys will never happen. there was talk in 2006 about reversing the helmets (Blue wings on maize helmet) for the 1 vs 2 OSU game... and as soon as it was made public so was the info that the idea wouldnt happen. Our home jerseys are perfect. Tweaking the gameday experience is one thing, messing with perfection is another.
March 18th, 2010 at 10:41 AM ^
I heard the public safety thing as well the last time this was mentioned. I have a few thoughts on that though. First I will state that I do not live in a big city so I may be way off base.
I think the public safety thing is a bit of a joke honestly. I mean, the thought that because a game is at night people will all of a sudden become hardened criminals when ordinarily they are law abiding citizens is strange to me.
If the game ends in the early evening you still have 110,000 people leaving a stadium, many of them drunk and with ample opportunity to committ various crimes as the leave.
I realize that drinking can cause some people to do things they wouldn't normally do, but I haven't seen it turn law abiding citizens into hardened criminals looking for any opportunity to assault a person who crosses their path. They may piss on a lawn or litter.....maybe even smash a beer bottle on the ground, but put public safety at a significantly increased risk? I just don't see it.
Again, I am a small town guy who only visits big cities frequently, so I could be way off the mark.
March 18th, 2010 at 10:50 AM ^
I don't think the 110,000 fans from the game are the issue. I think the issue is that the "usual hardened criminals" in Ann Arbor will have a better opportunity to commit their crimes. I mean, if I'm a thief, at 9pm a bunch of cars on a golf course would be pretty easy to break into...
Again, I don't really know whats going on, but that's my understanding
March 18th, 2010 at 12:55 PM ^
Even if that is their rationale I am still not buying it. If a guy is looking to break into cars (and he is a career criminal) he will find the cars to break into.
Criminals committ crimes whether there is a football game being played at night or not. That has no effect on their actions. For this reason I think you may be wrong about what the concerns surrounding this issue are.
It seems that if "public safety" is really the issue, there is something about having a football game at night that significantly increases the risk to the public as opposed to games during the day.
From what I read the last time this issue was raised much of it was referring to the prolonged tailgate gatherings and more time for people to get drunk.
My arguement is that drinking doesn't USUALLY turn normal law abiding citizens into dangerous criminals that put public safety at risk. It does lead them to make questionable decision to a degree, but not normally ones that would endanger others.
My question is how does a game played at night increase the risk to the publics safety? For me I just don't see that it does.
Having been a college student before, I would go as far as to say that I (nor any of my friends) wasn't any more dangerous to the public whether I was tailgating before a sporting event, sitting in a bar drinking or walking down a street at 2 in the morning hammered out of my mind.
"Criminals committ crimes whether there is a football game being played at night or not. That has no effect on their actions."
I agree that a significant decrease in public safety at a night game is unlikely. And I also think that if it where likely, it is not a reason to not have such a game. But to argue that context has no effect on level of crime, that criminals are robotic, taking no heed of their environment, is ludicrous. This argues against nearly everything ever learned in law enforcement. Crime will likely go up, but so should police patrol (foot, bikes). It is not reason enough to not have the game.
March 18th, 2010 at 11:14 AM ^
So we could have some police patrol the golf course during the game. I mean, colleges and towns have night games all over the freaking country in way worse areas than the rough streets of Ann Arbor. All UM and Ann Arbor have to do is ask other colleges/towns what they do to prevent this sort of thing from happening.