Section 21 cheerleaders and stadium etiquette
At the State game I was mostly surrounded by Spartans. A few of them were very annoying, but the fans that bugged me the most in the immediate area were a couple with Maize 'n Blue gear. Why? As far as I could see, they had a poor grasp of stadium etiquette, at least as I understand it. I'm accustomed to standing up often for big plays as the "standing" wave cascades upward from the field. No big deal ... I usually enjoy the process and it seems healthier than sitting for the whole game. But, outside the student section I rarely see people standing continuously. That's what these two fans, who were apparently boyfriend and girlfriend, were doing.
When it became clear that this was going to be their baseline posture, I decided to engage them in conversation. (They turned my seat into an obstructed-view location. It was that simple.) I had to reach over a row to do so and the woman was closest, so I started with her. When I asked whether she wouldn't mind sitting for "less important plays" she gave me a really nonlinear answer along the lines of "GO BLUE DEFENSE AHHHHHHH!!!" Ever accidentally step on a cat's tail? Remember the sound the cat made? Multiply that by six or seven and you'll have some idea of how the chick sounded. It hurt my ears.
It was my brother-in-law's turn, so he tried poking the guy, who went ape$hit. In spectacularly nonlinear fashion, he started screaming to everyone in the area about how Michigan hadn't beaten State in many hundreds of days and how we needed to STAND UP and support the team. The doofus was the self-appointed spirit bunny of Section 21. Even the meathead Spartans behind me were stunned at the outburst.
Anyway, I'll spare the readers the rest of the details. They settled down a bit and, shortly after the dude screamed himself hoarse in the third quarter, they left (!). So much for the cheerleader role ...
Were they justified in standing up in a sea of sitting people? Spirit aside, I just wanted to see the game. I honestly didn't understand why they couldn't sit like everyone else (since their own view would not have been obstructed). What do MgoBloggers think of this?
October 14th, 2010 at 2:19 PM ^
then lose weight. I can understand having trouble standing for 3 hours if you are 80-100 years old or have an injury that prevents you from standing. Healthy adults should be able to stand for three hours.
October 18th, 2010 at 11:29 AM ^
I'm very curious as to old you are or how many conversations you've had with 40-50 years olds who have knees that have been decimated by years of athletic activity and manual labor. Standing can hurt the knees and back in that case regardless of weight.
Personally, I love standing at the games when I'm there (out of state now) but I value being considerate of the people around me more than my personal enjoyment. I'm supporting the team by paying money to the AD and cheering even from a seated position and joining in with all the fun stadium rituals that make up the Michigan game day experience. No one calls for me to sit down when it's a crucial play and we're in it because many of those folks are standing for those plays. But when you're standing for every play and screaming your head off, how do you make even more noise for the crucial plays?
For me, it fundamentally comes down to whether I value my rights over the rights of the people around me, and I don't. I try and help everyone enjoy the gameday experience.
October 18th, 2010 at 12:20 PM ^
are you me -365 days?
October 14th, 2010 at 10:38 AM ^
Is when people (not in student section) stand on there seat. I was at the home opener and this lady in front of me stood on her seat. When I asked her to sit down or just stand her husband responded she wont see! Well the kid next to me had no chance to see, so I spoke up for him and told them he couldnt see. This was replied with maybe your kid should not go to the game (he wasnt even my kid, but I still wanted to stand up for him. Some people are just rude.
October 14th, 2010 at 10:40 AM ^
I'm almost 60, but if the day ever comes that I can't stand at a game, I'll watch it on TV or get a handicapped permit.
October 14th, 2010 at 10:47 AM ^
+ infinity to you, kind sir. You set a brilliant example for every fan in Michigan Stadium! I want a seat next to you so I can support your standing - an enforcer, so to speak.
October 14th, 2010 at 10:50 AM ^
I was standing in section 21 the whole game too. Thankfully the Michigan fans all around me understood and did not complain once.
I agree if you object to fans standing to support the team don't waste your money on a ticket. If you would rather sit down you will enjoy it much more on the couch.
I'll be just like you when I'm 60.
Go Blue!
October 14th, 2010 at 11:01 AM ^
"I wanna talk about this topic right here. If anybody hasn't read this topic, this was brought to me by blueheron. I think this is worth readin'. Let me tell you why I'm talkin' about this topic. Three fourths of this is inaccurate. It's fiction. And, this topic embarrasses me to be involved with athletics, tremendously. And that topic, had to be written by a person who doesn't like to stand. And has never had to stand during the entire game leaving their heart broken and has had to come home upset! And has had to deal with that when he's upset and kick a person when he's down!... I'M A MAN! I'M 60!"
October 14th, 2010 at 12:14 PM ^
Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
October 14th, 2010 at 1:35 PM ^
Thank you for the education. I'm ashamed to have missed the reference. My bad.
October 14th, 2010 at 10:41 AM ^
STAND UP DUDE! I will be standing for the Iowa game...hope i'm not in front of you!
October 14th, 2010 at 11:00 AM ^
Au Contraire my friend. You should hope you will not be in front of me. Have you ever seen a human cannonball at the circus? You just might be one in front of 100,000+ fans.
October 14th, 2010 at 12:19 PM ^
Plus, I'd like to see you actually follow through with that actionable threat. GVBlue_is_still_blue is about 6'5" and weights 285lbs. He benches 575lbs and squats 650lbs for reps. Good luck with that, tough guy.
October 14th, 2010 at 12:49 PM ^
You know me too well Profit.
I also regularly tow airplanes down runways with a rope and my teeth. This dude better watch out.
October 14th, 2010 at 1:36 PM ^
That one made me laugh out loud here at my desk, drawing strange looks from my co-workers and enhancing the humor of your post. Good times!
October 14th, 2010 at 2:31 PM ^
Yes. BTW son, you are grounding (edit: GROUNDED) from being a MOD for a week because your opinion is not the same as mine.
Now I am going to go flex in front of the mirror for 3 hours.
xoxo
October 14th, 2010 at 10:41 AM ^
then stay home and watch the game on TV. You ever been to Ohio State? Iowa? Penn State? These fans dont sit, hell even last year when I went to EL for the game, no one in my section sat the entire time. You should be standing most of the game, sit down during TV time outs. Watch an SEC game, and see how many people you see sitting on their butts all day. Stadiums all across the country never sit, and are loud the entire game. Especially if Michigan is on Defense, you should be standing and making as much noise as possible.
I would encourage more people to stand and make as much noise as possible. The "down in front" people drive me nuts and do nothing to help any home field advantage we might have. You dont want to stand at a football game between Michigan and MSU..... stay home.
October 14th, 2010 at 12:21 PM ^
...they were having an actual aerobics class in the stands all day - it literally looked like they were running in place, with their arms pumping up and down in the air. I couldn't find a good crowd shot of that, but it looked a lot like this, only x 40,000 (there had to be 30,000 Michigan fans there for capacity).
October 14th, 2010 at 2:23 PM ^
how did Chappell know which play to run? Did you all have playbooks?
October 14th, 2010 at 10:42 AM ^
that when you bring 100,000 people together in tight quarters, you cannot help/avoid that a small percentage of these people are going to be drunks, jerks or assholes. Unfortunately, some of these people also root for the maize and blue. They will fight with their "own" because they feel they think they know better or are "privileged' because they paid for a ticket. Is it within their right to stand up when everyone else around them is sitting? Sure. Are they also assholes for not looking around and being considerate of the other people around them by "following the crowd"? Yep.
I think group humiliation works best on these kinds of people. Start a "Sit down - A holes" chant in the section works pretty well. It is times like these where marshmellows worked well to give people like this your "feedback" on how you think they are acting....If someone is standing up and a whole section of people pummel them with mashmellows until they sit down, I guarantee, they will eventually sit down. Man I miss the mellows...
October 14th, 2010 at 10:51 AM ^
Maybe instead of chanting to get some people to sit down you could get off your ass and cheer for your team
October 14th, 2010 at 1:16 PM ^
I stand up every time. And when the rest of the crowd around me sits down, I sit down. It's has nothing to do with getting off my ass and cheering for my team. Wow, here is a novel idea, I can also cheer from a sitting position as well. Is that OK with your self righteous ass? It has more to do which being respectful and courteous to the people around you. If I bought tickets in the student section (or any section) that stood the whole game, I would stand the whole game. The author was not talking about what the crowd should do to maximize the "Cheeriness" of the Michigan crowd / game experience. He was asking about when someone willingly choses to go out of there way, to act like a douche bag causing the people around them to be annoy/pissed off. I will cheer for my team unconditionally, but not at the expense of looking like an asshole or make the experience of the people around unpleasent or frustrating. Hey tell R.B., acting like this is called "Staying Classy Ann Arbor". You should try it sometimes...
October 14th, 2010 at 1:38 PM ^
If the crowd around you jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?
October 14th, 2010 at 12:05 PM ^
Way to fight douchery with even bigger douchery.
October 14th, 2010 at 10:42 AM ^
Fortunately in our section, most have had the tickets for years. Occasionally, we have a few fans that want to stand the entire game. We usually are able to persuade the inconsiderate numbskulls to sit during "less important plays" or we would launch them 50 rows down to the field where they could get a much better view.
As far as the screaming woman, a couple of years ago there was a teenage girl that let such a blood curdling scream that my ears started to ring. I then very calmly told her that if she screamed like that again into my ears, I would reach down her throat and perform a laryngectomy without anesthesia. That was the last scream that she let out.
All it takes is a little persuasion!!
October 14th, 2010 at 10:53 AM ^
There are less important plays? Way to go there threatening a teenage girl for being loud at a football game..
October 14th, 2010 at 12:08 PM ^
I would love to see you try to exist at an Oregon game or an LSU game.
Stay at home.
October 14th, 2010 at 12:17 PM ^
is... if you want to stand and yell and scream in a way that expresses your every interest at the expense of others, watch from a bar or at home... where such actions are more indigenous
October 14th, 2010 at 5:52 PM ^
You're really a tough guy, huh? Yelling at and threatening a woman who yelled too loud at a football game, you stay classy my friend.
October 14th, 2010 at 10:43 AM ^
I don't mind sitting or standing. I had to sit during the Rose Bowl and it wasn't bad because people typically stood up for big plays or in the middle of a big play developing.
But I assume this wasn't their first trip inside Michigan Stadium and it's known that the "old people" don't like to stand. Even if they didn't know this, they should have been made aware pretty quickly that their section is one that is a "sitting" section.
You probably spoke up not just for yourself but the other people around you so don't question your actions.
October 14th, 2010 at 10:45 AM ^
It's a judgment call - I personally like seeing people stand anf support the team loudly, but at the same time if you are the only one in your section standing, then it is probably a good idea to at least sit during the less "criticial" plays. There are many older or younger fans who either can't stand (old fans) or can't see when everyone stands (kids, who are our future fanbase).
October 14th, 2010 at 10:47 AM ^
that's always yelling down in front. You have to understand that you are at a college football game not a musical, princess. Yes you paid for your tickets but the last time I checked so did everybody else. This is the reason why the Big House is described as the quiest 110k in the country. I'm in section 21 row 3 and I plan on standing the whole game like I always do. Get off your ass and cheer for your team. GO BLUE!!!
October 14th, 2010 at 10:59 AM ^
No doubt, there are times to stand to cheer for critical or big plays or even during momentum shifts. But, not everyone in the stand is not a teenager or under 30. To say the elderly should stay home or sit in the disabled section shows arrogance and lack of respect. Many of those that can't stand for the whole game have been supporting the team for decades. The jerks that come to one game and stand for the whole game with no regards for others are just plain A** H**es.
October 14th, 2010 at 11:41 AM ^
I'm 30; I stand if I can. I'd prefer our crowd to stand the entire game. Given that there are tens of thousands of people who want to get season tickets, I find it unfortunate that people who have season tickets think that they are entitled to sit and watch, like spectators from afar, rather than stand and cheer and be an active participant. I realize you can cheer while sitting down; however, I don't think it projects as well, and, frankly, I think when you're standing, you get better air/lung capacity and can cheer more loudly. It also just looks far more badass if/when the entire stadium is standing. See: Death Valley in Baton Rouge, The Shoe, et al.
October 14th, 2010 at 12:25 PM ^
I find it unfortunate that people who have season tickets think that they are entitled to sit and watch, like spectators from afar.
The gall of them.
October 14th, 2010 at 2:25 PM ^
My point was this: It is a football game. It is a situation where the crowd's participation can have a direct impact on the outcome. I realize that people can cheer while sitting down, but I think that people generally are louder when standing (I realize I have no empirical evidence to back this up, and people may say, "no, they're louder because it's a key play, and they're also standing, but there's no correlation." I don't agree, obviously; I think standing encourages more cheering).
I guess I just don't get why people who go to a game wouldn't WANT to have an active role in what's going on, to the extent they can. The "sit and watch from afar" statement was me saying that there are people who have an attitude akin to Washingtonians who would go out and watch Civil War battles in Virginia from high atop hills-- they were spectators, and I doubt their cheering or lack thereof had any impact whatsoever on the outcome. (Also, I know- comparing the Civil War to CFB is, uhh...specious; perhaps a better comparison would be watching golf live, or watching a musical or something).
My basic point is, active fan participation and a rowdy environment should be what we strive for. I think we have a crowd that has been accustomed to success for 40 years, and it has sort of breeded the atmosphere we see at the stadium. We need to change that. We have an incredible natural advantage, competetively, that is being wasted in the form of our crowd not being as active and participatory as others'. Part of that, to me, is standing. We don't struggle to sell tickets; we should attempt to make "the norm" standing, and if there are people who find this disgusting (note, I am not saying "people who CAN'T stand"- there's a section for them), then they should, in my Draconian opinion, be forced out for those who can and will; i.e., they end up letting someone else take their season tickets and don't renew them, because they just don't WANNA stand UP for a WHOLE FOOTBALL GAME!. I realize this is harsh. I really, truly, just want a more intimidating atmosphere, and this-- the majority or entire crowd standing throughout-- would foster that, IME.
October 14th, 2010 at 2:27 PM ^
Sorry- double post
October 14th, 2010 at 10:51 AM ^
Yeeeeaaaa... I have been in the student section for a couple years now, but have been to a few games outside the student section. My advice would be to stand up and if anybody gives you shit from behind (TWSS) just look back and make an arm motion and funny face signaling that there are "crazy assholes" in front of you so you can't sit down. It's better if you stand anyway. Seats are way too small...
October 14th, 2010 at 10:51 AM ^
I understand the both views. I am in section 16 and stand for portions of the game. One of my friends that sits with me sometimes starts standing for no reason and the people behind start yelling "Down in front" and since my buddy paints his body we started writing "UP IN BACK" on his back with paint and he just points at his back when they yell at him. But he does sit down if everyone around him is sitting.
As for the OP i think how you approached the situation seems better than just yelling "down in front" I did notice on that day alot of people had very short fuzes when it came to their tempers.
October 14th, 2010 at 10:54 AM ^
-1 to your friend for being a face/body painter. It should be a -1 to you as well for not stopping your friend from being "that" guy but I've cut you some slack since you were not "that" guy.
October 14th, 2010 at 11:04 AM ^
Woodley is "that guy" since he face painted last weekend?
October 14th, 2010 at 1:37 PM ^
I award +1 for body painting to negate your -1 for body painting
+10 for telling those wine and cheesers in a creative method to stand up
October 14th, 2010 at 2:01 PM ^
Well, if you're doing that, then -1 to you for your response to my response to the face painting tidbit and then a +1 to myself for losing points because some people either enjoy painting their face or enjoy those who do paint their faces.
Oh, and a -1 to Geaux Blue for trying to use LaMarr Woodley against me. That's just mean-spirited and hurtful.
October 14th, 2010 at 2:15 PM ^
[insert graphic of strutting (noun) with phrase "haters gonna hate"]
October 14th, 2010 at 2:24 PM ^
+1 for having Borat as your avatar
+1 for the haters going hate
full disclaimer: I have only body painted once. My idiot friend thought the latex paint you buy at Home Depot would be good enough for body paint. Except it made me itch like crazy and about five minutes into the game i was scratching that crap off my chest and face.
October 14th, 2010 at 2:29 PM ^
Although I don't bodypaint, why are we upset with people bodypainting? Why is radical fanaticism a BAD thing, unless there's violence involved? Seriously? Because, what- some body paint could rub off on you if he brushes up against you? Hell, I want the craziest fans possible, minus committing crimes. Think of something like the Black Hole in Oakland, but, you know, minus the felonies. (But keeping the absurd costumes and cheering)
October 14th, 2010 at 4:26 PM ^
Face and/or body painters frighten me = I do not like to be frightened = I have a problem. Simple as that. I'm sure they are outstanding people, they just scare me a little.