Shout out to M fans at the BIG 10 Championship Game
This may have only played a small part in the championship run this weekend, but I wanted to give a shout out to all the Michigan fans who made it to any games, but specifically, the Championship game on Sunday. On TV, the Michigan crowd was very loud (along with the band who were also great). I think it definitely helped the team with the last little push. I also loved to hear the MVP chant at the end.
March 13th, 2017 at 11:53 AM ^
Agreed. Looked and sounded like a great showing on tv.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:46 PM ^
Sounded real good! I'm glad DC surpassed expectations - everyone was dissing it. I wish I could've gone! I live a short bike ride away on Capitol Hill and work around the corner in Chinatown but I was in California all last week. Missed out on a great run!
We East Coast people are loud and rude. It does not make us very good dinner company, but it makes us good basketball fans.
March 13th, 2017 at 11:55 AM ^
was there Thursday and Sunday with my daughter. The crowd on Sunday was extremely loud, involved and I'm 100% sure had an impact on the game. Coach B noted the crowd twice in his speeches after the game.
I know it's only a conference tournament, but for some reason this felt bigger....
It was a big deal for this team. Any time you are cutting down nets after a tournament, it's a big deal.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:00 PM ^
I was there for Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.
The crowd on Sunday was interesting....there was a LARGE block of Wisconsin fans behind the benches, presumably because they were confident enough to buy in advance. Michigan fans, on the other hand, outnumbered them throughout the rest of the arena because of our large alumni base in D.C.
At the beginning of the game, the noise level was relatively equal and may even have favored Wisconsin somewhat. Once Michigan got rolling, though, it was LOUD for us. Comparable to a home game.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:06 PM ^
noticeable on TV, too. Great turnout.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^
There are tons of Wisconsin people here in DC too. I was gonna say Wisconsin was probably a good team to make the finals - got a strong following of people who will travel + healthy numbers of alumni in the District and surrounding areas. Glad Michigan took care of 'em!
March 13th, 2017 at 12:06 PM ^
We did. The last five minutes we owned that joint.
It definitely gave the team a lift. The last five minutes of the first half they got tired and allowed Wisconsin to come back to within one.
But the last five minutes of the second half was a different story. Wisconsin started the exact same kind of comeback but Michigan kept answering. As they kept answering, the crowd grew louder and more animated on both ends of the floor . . . "LET'S GO BLUE!" on the offensive end and "DEFENSE!" on the defensive end.
You could tell the team was feeding on it. There was no letdown at the end of the second half.
That De-fense chant was great. Not on the level of Northwestern from 2015, but great. And the fans going nuts on that Wilson dunk (among other times late) was fantastic.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:06 PM ^
March 13th, 2017 at 12:14 PM ^
I was there every single day. Our fans seemed to be outnumbered Thursday and Friday, about even on Saturday, and far larger on Sunday. Not only were they loud, they took initiative. Being in the band, it was nice to have cheers started by fans who weren't us. It was incredible how the "Defense," "Let's Go Blue" and "MVP" chants could start on the opposite side of the arena of the band, and quickly expand to fill the place. It was a welcome change from how sterile Crisler has been most of the season.
Great job everyone!
March 13th, 2017 at 12:36 PM ^
Yes! The chanting was awesome. It seemed to come from behind Michigan's bench and VERY QUICKLY spread throughout the rest of the arena. I was in the opposite corner and it got to us within seconds.
Also, somebody brought a cowbell and did the "Go Blue!" bit after we won, which was awesome.
Definitely sounded like home games.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:21 PM ^
Yeah was there thursday saturday and sunday and Michigan was well represented all weekend and the atmosphere on sunday was great as the random fans there before the game they cared about got weeded out.
And for all the people complaining about it being in DC, since more Michigan fans seemingly showed up to this than bothered to show up in Crisler for most of the year and were definetely louder I for one am pretty happy alums on the east coast got a chance to cheer on the team.
The people complaining probably live in Michigan and have probably never ventured outside of the Midwest. These people also disregard that within the B1G footprint, DC is home to the second largest number of B1G alumni behind only Chicago. If it was up to me, I would play the tournament in Chicago, but if you are looking to maximize attendence it really should only be in one of three metro areas: Chicago, DC, and New York (3rd largest number of B1G alunmi).
March 13th, 2017 at 12:28 PM ^
There were a few times in the game yesterday where I was practically asking myself if this were a sold-out game at Crisler. The announcers noted a few times how loud the Michigan fans had become. The Wilson dunk and the ensuing steal near the end of the game generated total chaos, it seemed. I know I freaked out and had an endorphin release.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:35 PM ^
That a loud, vocal, supportive crowd always..... ALWAYS...spurs on a player / team to play at a higher level. Being out on the playing field, court, pool, whatever. It is such a rush when you hear a crowd cheering for you like that.
It was great that all the Michigan fans and alumns there made it known who they were supporting. It was resounding, impressive and awesome.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:57 PM ^
is a hot bed for basketball talent. So it's nice to show local prospects that there are Michigan fans on the East coast as well, willing to come out and support the boys. Tournament was good exposure for Michigan on the East coast. Cheers
www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1g_PJ6E-FqodmetTVC5x4fir-2TI&hl=en&ll=…
Basketball recruiting.... another reason why Rutgers and Maryland were added.
Interesting graphic above. Takes a minute to load, but take off the low-majors and mid-majors and you're left with the Power 5 teams. Shows the concentration from New York to Philadelphia to D.C. area.
That was interesting to look at. College basketball is not nearly as regional as college football is for the big 5-star names. The top players on most of the elite teams tend to be from out of their region.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:41 PM ^
Michigan while watching TV. Got goosebumps hearing DEE FENSE in the second half of Sunday's game on TV replay when got home to watch from family outing, even knowing the result already. Terrific support.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^
Went Thursday and Sunday with the family. Sunday's game was intense and the place was rocking in the final five minutes.
When DJ threw it down followed by Walton's layup, it sounded like Crisler on TV. I was so pumped. I raised my bottle of KBS as the seconds ticked down and thanked the boys for a great four days of watching college basketball. As a fan, I wanted this one more than the 2014 B1G Tourament Championship.
Our turnout was even better than it looked on TV. Wisconsin fans all wore red so they stood out. But Michigan was a mix of some maize and some blue, with the blue blending into the background. But the crowd was about 2/3 Michigan.
I was lucky enough to be able to go to all four games. The atmosphere was great, and the family had a great time. Even when arena wasn't full, we were able to keep chants going for long periods of time. Yesterday was the best, given that there were more red-clad folks, but we drowned them out throughout the second half.
Besides all the winning, the coolest part for me were the numerous comments about my "We had subs, it was crazy" t-shirt (Thursday and Sunday), with several M fans asking for permission to take pictures of it.
I did my part and was rewarded with this scene at the end:
My wife is a Duke grad, so we watched the ACC tournament final on Saturday night. When Duke won, they were rewarded with confetti and streamers at the end.
I thought to myself: "Man, I want that for Michigan tomorrow."
Got it!
Couldn't help but get choked up at the ceremonies afterwards, The Victors, Beiein addressing the crowd and the Team. Tepid crowd on Thursday, but things built pretty nicely from there. About 3/4 full yesterday. It's a start. All my Maryland buddies are ALL IN B1G.
I was there for all 4 games and my son (7) was able to join for 3 of them. It was a great atmosphere, tons of Michigan fans. It reminded me how great live games are compared to TV. i was thrilled to share that experience and a love for Michigan with my son - he got lots of practice singing the fight song. I know that these games and the championship will be a special memory for us to share. The other thing that was great was the sportsmanship of almost all the Big Ten fans - the overwhelming majority of folks there had school pride and didn't feel the need to tear down anybody else.
i know you mid-west folks were upset about the tournament being here in DC, but i'm in favor of it being here every 4-5 years.
Couldn't agree more on the point about sportsmanship. During the four games had various combinations of my son, daughter + friend, and wife there, and witnessed not one incident of bad sportsmanship from any other fan.
I was at the semi-final game Saturday and the crowd seemed somewhat reasonably split and slightly subdued until Walton took over down the stretch. After Minnesota pulled close and Walton led the response, Michigan fans made some serious noise. Even from my club level (200) seats you could almost see the crowd energy flow into the players as they made the push to put the Gophers away.
While watching the game on TV. Proud of our team and our fan base.
GO BLUE!!
Attended all four games and saw each and every play. What a thrill. So proud of the coach and the team. Didn't want to change the karma so I wore the same clothes for four days. Getting them washed quickly so I can wear them again on Friday....
March 13th, 2017 at 11:39 PM ^
Great championship run. Unbelievable turnaround since January.
I was able to make it to illinois, Purdidn't, and Wisconsin. I now know there is nothing better than a mid-day basketball game to sneak out to .... "I have an event to go to, I'll be back around 3pm."
"Original" Big 10 teams traveled very well. Was great to see so many Midwesterners from Iowa, Purdue, Wisconsin, Indiana here in DC. And there were also a lot of Sparties on Friday.
Sat next to a Maryland fan during Purdue game (he was settling in for almost 12 hours of basketball). They miss their ACC rivalries and think they have no chance in football now. I wonder if they had to do it over again ... would they stay in the ACC? I'm not sure with Under Armour behind them that the Big10 money is worth the loss of traditional rivalries (they were an original ACC team!).
After the game on Sunday, I was near the tunnel where the team exited and the guy next to me was asking/challenging all the players and coaches to jump up and touch his hand. It was a pretty good jump as you can see from the photo. Everyone in good sport and fun accepted the challenge. Coach Beilein joked with him and was about to walk by when the guy said, "Jeff Meyer could do it." Beilein stopped in his tracks, accepted the challenge, jumped in his street shoes and tie ... and slapped the guy's hand. Pretty awesome.
Not sure if I posted picture correctly ... but hopefully.
Maryland fans never wanted to leave the ACC. It was the Maryland admins that mismanaged the AD finances and were looking for a quick fix to get out of the hole they dug.
It's a shame really. Regional rivalries matter. But they threw it all away.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:12 PM ^