Questions about the Michigan Stadium experience

Submitted by mich_hockey_6 on
I haven't had a chance to attend a game yet this year, so I haven't had a chance to see what has changed and what hasn't. Obviously, the RAWK music is still running rampant. Some of this has already been covered in previous threads, so I'll just ask the questions I haven't seen answered (or missed). -Are water bottles still prohibited? -Have they removed the ads from the concourse? -Is the student section a hybrid between GA and assigned seating or has it been returned to the same set-up as before Dave Brandon broke everything? What other input do MGoBloggers have as far as fixing the game day experience at Michigan Stadium (aside from just winning, because, of course we want to win)?
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mgowill

September 19th, 2015 at 5:54 PM ^

I was there today and the music was toned down some, comparative to last week. The students got a wave started, then got a slow motion wave going quite successfully, and then a super speed wave going. I really enjoyed the game day experience today.



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snarling wolverine

September 19th, 2015 at 6:42 PM ^

There was still a ton of RAWK.  After one TD, they played part of one '80s rock song, part of another '80s rock song, and then a bit of techno before the kickoff - all three at a very loud volume, so that I had to shout to my friend next to me.   

They still don't seem to trust that we can find a way to be entertained between plays for more than a couple of seconds.

 

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MGoSoftball

September 19th, 2015 at 9:06 PM ^

holder next to me brought in a dosimeter.  He was getting 80 db duing the RAWK music.  This is not terrible (IMO).  We sit in SEC 21.  The noise was higher in the second half.

Here is a list of 80 db per Purdue Engineering Department:

 

Garbage disposal, dishwasher, average factory, freight train (at 15 meters).  Car wash at 20 ft (89 dB); propeller plane flyover at 1000 ft (88 dB); diesel truck 40 mph at 50 ft (84 dB); diesel train at 45 mph at 100 ft (83 dB).  Food blender (88 dB); milling machine (85 dB); garbage disposal (80 dB).

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snarling wolverine

September 20th, 2015 at 10:43 AM ^

I'm in my 30s. Are you cool with the Michigan Stadium experience becoming more and more like that of a pro sports game? Pro sports teams have to play RAWK; they have no other source of music. Colleges don't have to. Schools across the country are diluting their own college game day experience and then they furrow their brows, wondering why on earth attendance is dropping.

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drzoidburg

September 20th, 2015 at 8:58 PM ^

this is what i was getting at yes, although i think attendance dropping is more complicated - certainly the lousy economy combined with $80 tickets for a non-blueblood opponent like byu is part of it. TVs are also part of it, but at this point i have to wonder which is more annoying - listening to musburger or RAWK

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The Peanut Master

September 19th, 2015 at 9:28 PM ^

I have heard this before and initially agreed, but now I don't quite understand it. The whole point of the crowd when Michigan is on defense is to be as loud as possible. But the wave actually quiets the crowd significantly, since most of the stadium is just watching the wave until it comes to them.

And I can't buy the argument that Michigan's offense is distracted by the wave - if our players are actually losing focus because they're concentrating on the wave, we've got bigger problems on our hands.

The "best" arguments I've seen are that the crowd should be naturally 100% focused on the game when we're on offense simply because we're on offense and need to cheer them on (but waves are only attempted in blowouts, making this much less important), and that if we score a TD the wave will likely abruptly end (fair concern, but not a dealbreaker in my mind, especially in blowouts where we're more likely to prod around for a while eating clock, which is exactly what happened today).

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Bando Calrissian

September 19th, 2015 at 5:54 PM ^

-Yes

-Sort of, the ads are smaller, above historical pictures of Michigan Football on the columns in the concourse.

-As I understand it, student seats are how they used to be.

As for input... Less RAWK.

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mich_hockey_6

September 19th, 2015 at 6:01 PM ^

I emailed the athletic department about the RAWK music and the reply was not condescending at all. At first I thought I emailed the wrong athletic department. Anyway, the reply was respectful and when I replied back I thanked them (Kurt Svoboda) for taking the time to read and respond, then reassured him I would stop drinking and go to bed.

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mgowill

September 19th, 2015 at 6:03 PM ^

The people behind me were complaining that the student section wasn't full. I did point out to them that the bottom 30 rows were overfilled with students. The students were standing in the aisles in those bottom 30 rows. There were also students at the bottom couple rows standing sideways. I was impressed for a noon game that the student section was full for UNLV.



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Bando Calrissian

September 19th, 2015 at 6:06 PM ^

How many students do you really think are crowding? Honestly, for decades, the student section has looked full from top to bottom. All of the sudden, the students stop showing up and there are empty rows at the top of the stadium, and we're supposed to believe they just magically started moving down to sit with their friends?

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Alton

September 19th, 2015 at 7:26 PM ^

I keep seeing that they widened the seats.  I'm pretty sure they have not done that.

I think they said many years ago that they were going to widen the seats, but the capacity would have been reduced to less than the highest capacity in the nation, so they changed their minds.  I can say definitively that there are the same number of seats in my row as there were in 2005, 1995, 1985 and 1975.  Seat 12 is still the aisle seat in my row, just like it has always been.

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drzoidburg

September 20th, 2015 at 9:11 PM ^

no, there's about 3-4000 fewer students than my time, but back then we occupied all of section 32-33. There are definitely unsold seats, that whole upper half of the last endzone section, which this year was sold instead to the public. The top rows of 25-32 are just students who no showed. But this is a futile thing to complain about, as it's happening across the country What they did the past few years is widen isles but not in the student area

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arsenal926

September 19th, 2015 at 7:13 PM ^

I mean it's not magic, but there is a reason. Back in the old days the ushers would never check to see if the people in the student section were actually students. That led to kids from the ann arbor high schools sitting together with their friends. Groups of people who bought individual tickets sitting together. etc. Sometimes it was young alumni who just wanted to sit in the student section with their buddies.

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drzoidburg

September 20th, 2015 at 9:22 PM ^

what's pathetic is scheduling unlv, 3hr+ games when tv tells us to play instead of put it on tape delay, and sticking the loudest fans, who also happen to be the reason for the university's existence, in the corner endzone treat them better, not like just other customers to exploit, and they'll respond better

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