SPARTAN STADIUM
I have been to Spartan Stadium countless times, while in College, and a few times since. That place is a dump, especially relative to the Big House. Under the stadium, resembles High School bleachers, and was really dirty and old. There are Ramps, sorta steep to walk into the stadium. (I saw people tailgating at Parking Structures=with TENTS, strange)
I sat in section 16, the south end zone. There is ONE video Board in the whole stadium, in the SOUTH END ZONE. So, for any replays, the design actually encourages the South side of the stadium to turn away from the field of play to watch the video board. About the Video Board, that is what it was. It had very few Statistics, you had to be turned around looking away from play to happen to catch stats. There were very few replays of questionable plays, and camera angles always sucked.
The crowd was actually turned away from the game to watch some stupid video shell game. I could not believe they were staring up at the Board, screaming "Number 4". Speaking of screaming, I was sitting next to families of Spartans. It seemed to be OK, to yell "Get up P_ssy" when players shaken up. "1,2,3,4 First Down Bitch" It was OK to yell "F U" and Flip the Bird to the Referee, my entire row of Spartans did it. I heard screams of "Forcier is a C-Word" Stay Classy Sparty. (If I hear that stupid "Spartans what is your Occupation?" Cheer from the movie "300" I will puke.
I know this Board constantly discusses game day experiences in the Big House. This offered a very interesting contrast. I have taken my children and their friends to numerous UM Home Games. I can not imagine taking children, EVER, to Spartan stadium.
Discuss.
PS My friend and I stood with four other UM fans in row 14. We kept telling all of the Spartans "The Difference between UM and Spartan fans is that UM Fans always believe they can win and comeback, Spartans on the other hand, believe their team can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory."
PSS I wore my "Michigan Tate is in Ann Arbor, Not Lansing" TShirt.
October 4th, 2009 at 1:06 PM ^
i was surprised that like 95% of the MSU fans i came across were friendly and said we had a kind of good game, we'll be good this season, etc. it's just that 5% of complete drunk d-bags they have running around that ruins my perception of spartan fans
October 4th, 2009 at 4:03 PM ^
26 minutes just to pee in good ole Spartan Stadium.
At Spartan Stadium? Not everyone does.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:32 AM ^
No question. I have been there twice and it was a slum.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:49 AM ^
Oh ya, and what a real trooper you sound like. Because real winners discuss annoying fans around them, and then discuss how they "kept telling all of the Spartans 'The Difference between UM and Spartan fans is that UM Fans always believe they can win and comeback, Spartans on the other hand, believe their team can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory'" in the same post, right?
Or spend their entire critique pointing out exactly the kinds of games that thousands of people were having fun playing, and an atmosphere that makes rivalries engaging, but they shoot down every single point of it by saying it's lame and immature.
Your user name should be Debbie Downer. And your T-shirt? You honestly sound like the most annoying person to EVER sit around. Yuck.
October 4th, 2009 at 1:27 AM ^
basketball team walking to the stadium booing and pointing at any fan dressed in Michigan colors. This may seem trivial and minor, I kind of laughed, but thats not the kind of sportsmanship you expect from student athletes. I think the NCAA would frown on such behavior.
October 4th, 2009 at 9:18 PM ^
Walking from the Stadium back to the car; we were actually walking behind the women's BB team. Cue tipsy 18 year-old coed, running toward the band of ladies:
Co-ed: "Aw yeah, bitches! We won!"
BB team: :: looks confusingly at co-ed, as if to say "did you just call us bitches, like, collectively?"
Even the Spartan fans had to chuckle at that one.
October 6th, 2009 at 2:55 AM ^
One of those girls was 6'9". It's unusual to find a girl taller than me, let alone taller than me when i'm standing on a chair.
October 4th, 2009 at 9:35 AM ^
Jamming 110k in a place that should probably seat 85k; Blue Hairs who have one foot in the grave mingling with Wal Mart Wolverines who couldn't find the Diag with a GPS (enjoy the ride back downriver after another loss to tOSU); porta johns (really, porta johns?). I am sorry walking up a ramp is a little too tough for your fat arses. I realize it's probably the most exercise you will get all fall.
Keep the PIg House. Things we wouldn't trade with you people include our hoops program, our football team and our stadium.
October 4th, 2009 at 10:10 AM ^
Is also a dump. So both schools have improvements that could be made. Also, the Breslin is getting so many banners that it is hurting the lighting somewhat.
October 4th, 2009 at 1:00 PM ^
Breslin is a nice place to watch games. Constructively and objectively, your stadium is not very football fan friendly, no replays, few stats, and another scoreboard is needed. I almost took my 8 year old to the game. Not very family friendly.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:22 PM ^
I think it would be more accurate to say Crisler was fine at one point but hasn't aged well. That's not the perspective being posited concerning Spartan Stadium; rather, it's being said that Spartan Stadium is an ill-constructed dump.
October 4th, 2009 at 5:07 PM ^
The only thing resembling a "dump" in Spartan Stadium yesterday was Michigan and their sweet jersey's with the cheeze-wiz stripes down the sides.
October 4th, 2009 at 7:08 PM ^
Have they invented trash cans in EL yet? You guys really need them around the stadium, it was trashed (like, beyond how a place should be trashed after a game)
October 5th, 2009 at 12:30 PM ^
Sorry you don't like the place. Solution: Don't go to EL again. Stay home and watch it on TV.
I have had similar experiences at umaa. The visitors normally get the tickets in the end zone. It takes the whole halftime to get out the exit to stand in line to use the troughs. The traffic is horrible, parking is expensive and commercial (I used to park at a car wash along side the golf course until one year one of you fine drunken fans ripped my side view mirror off my car as I was leaving).
I've had apples, carmelcorn balls and marshmallows with batteries inside thrown at me and heard the F-- State commentary many times in the over forty years I've gone to aa. Your seats are small and my worst experience with that involves sections with the diagonal seats in the corner. You actually sit with the guy next to you encroaching your space with his 30 degree angled seat. Nice!
Bottom line is all stadiums have there bozo fans, all are not perfectly designed. Spartan Stadium has commercial signs. That's a trend of the times. Big Money rules! Did you ever sell the muti-million dollar rights to the big donor floor in the new luxury suite area.
I love the commentary about "if you can't get into college, you go to MSU." I think it really should be: If you can't get into college you root for Michigan.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:51 PM ^
Some comments:
Drunk fans = every stadium.
Bad seat location for visitors = Really? Are you serious? That is definitely an anomaly, found only at the big house (rolls eyes).
Many, many, many fans = horrible traffic. I'll take it.
Angled seating = the nature of having a round stadium. Geometry much?
Troughs = gone - try to keep up. OUR renovations actually made some vast improvements (though some would disagree that taking out the troughs was an improvement).
"if you can't get into college, you go to MSU." I think it really should be: If you can't get into college you root for Michigan" = Ummm, this comment just really doesn't make sense. I'll pass on this.
October 5th, 2009 at 2:39 PM ^
we have some of the whiniest fans in the history of whining
October 5th, 2009 at 11:35 PM ^
"1, 2, 3, 4, first down, bitch!"
October 27th, 2009 at 7:15 PM ^
Reading comments on this blog make me feel lucky to be a Spartan, in fact. I'm still astonished to see how pretentious UM fans are, to think I nearly went to school there.
I believe this is one of those situations you need to have an "in" to know anything about, which I do.
As for the cameras, those are all student run. It's a great program and they work very hard in the stadium as well as in other games around campus. If those were the camera angles in the Big House, nobody would be complaining.
The replay board is synced accordingly with time-outs. Never have we, or will we interrupt the game, and people don't turn their heads away from the game. Videos and sponsorship information are cued up during time outs, and go as planned when television stations have breaks and commercials.
We cannot show plays that are under review, or where people get injured. It's just law, and ethics.
Our facilities may not be up to par, but it's the environment that matters. Sloppy students don't represent the majority of us who attend games in Spartan Stadium in hopes of seeing some good football (which there was on October 3rd for those of you who continue to make snide 'little brother' comments.)
I went to MSU because UM cannot provide me with the major or experiences I've gotten in East Lansing. There's nothing wrong with criticizing a stadium that's looking retired, but personally cutting down the whole school is just immature, and I'm sure by the nature of the comments on this blog that most of you are dried up alums.
This thread just proves to me how materialistic many University of Michigan fans and alumni are.
"We expect to lose?" We nearly clinched the number one spot in the Big Ten on Saturday. Just saying.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:40 PM ^
This will end well. Just saying.