Thoughts/Observations from my first experience in Ann Arbor

brb, starting a "What is wrong with people having their first experience in Ann Arbor?" thread.

Thanks for the thoughts. Glad you and your wife had a good time. Apparently there was a major backup at the gate, which could be the reason for the student section not filling up as fast.

that is a lot of observing.

OK, I have to ask this.  I swallowed my pride and asked who the hell Taco Pants was after trying (and failing) to figure it out from context for a year.  Now, I need to know who the hell Lloyd Brady is.  Is this a real person named Lloyd Brady?  Is it somebody who dresses up like Lloyd Carr or Tom Brady, or a combination?  Is he a complete fiction, like Taco Pants?  Who is this man?  What is Lloyd Brady?

Devin is the master of running around in the backfield to Yakety Sax music.

I think the game was hardly in hand when the wave was attempted and I was in the section that kept trying to start it.  We were just stopped on the goal line (was I the only one praying it wasn't Illinois 2 years ago?) and Purdue had picked up a few first downs and was going towards midfield if they score there its a 6 point game.  Once we scored again it was fine.

Other than that I'm glad it was such a good experience!  The jetpack was incredible for me.

I've been pretty hard on the students' coming late, but to be honest, the endlessly whiny old farts are infinitely more aggravating. Congrats on your evident self-control.

Was Toledo, so you are lucky

themselves make all the difference. Let CBN do some free-form programming!

I'm glad you had a great time.  There's nothing like that first experience at the big house.  I was too young to remember anything about my first game.  All I remember from that day as a 5 year old was being in awe of the 100,000+ people sitting around me. 

I was there on Saturday as well and I agree with most of your points.  Jetpack guy was pretty sweet.  You don't really get a sense of how big those scoreboards are until you see them in person.  Although my dad still complained that the numbers for the actual score should be bigger. 

Gardner's interception was epic bad.  From where I was sitting, all I could see were Purdue players in that area.  I would have been shocked if it wasn't picked off.  That reminded me of Denard's third interception in the Notre Dame game where we got 50 yards on one play and then immediately threw up a prayer for the int. 

I'm in the camp that likes some piped music but in moderation.  I don't remember there being overkill of that yesterday. 

Hope you get to another game soon. 

The old geezers complaining about the throw back screen, one of the most sucessful plays we have run this year.  They're not just old and stubborn, they're regressing mentally.

It was my first game this year too.

I was really impressed with the stadium renovations. The new scoreboards go really well with the press boxes/suites (all the same height, symetrical). The stadium always looked kinda "meh" from the outside. Now it looks very modern and classic at the same time and you can see the huge M on the back of the scoreboards from a mile away. I think it definitely helps with the crowd noise too.

Getting into our seats was pretty horrendous, there were huge lines on our end of the stadium at each section entrance (we were sec 9). They really need to address this, IMO. The people checking to make sure you were in the right section seemed pretty oblivious to the size of the line and were just kinda taking it real easy.

I though wave attempt number one was premature, but when they actually got it going, I think it was appropriate timing IIRC. I don't think I've seen a slow wave as slow as that one before. It was pretty funny seeing the slo-mo expressions on each individual person as it came by.

Was there any mention of Slippery Rock?

My biggest issue with the musicwas that they constantly played it at high volume during the 1/2 hour before the game and it made it difficult to hold a conversation.  I was there with family who I only see once a year and we could barely speak.  

Was pretty cool that we were sitting next to Rick Leach's parents though and he came over to talk to them at half time.

Mods: bump to diaries? This is diary-worthy, I think. I mean, it's no THE KNOWLEDGE, but still.

As to the substance, very interesting reactions. I've been going to games since the (*cough*) mid-70s, so I have no sense of what my initial reactions were. Actually, with all the changes it feels more and more like the first time (like the very first time) each time.

I will honestly never understand the psychology of people who pay huge amounts of money to go sit in the cold and bitch about the choices of their coaches and the efforts of 18-23 year olds who are working nearly 24-7 (shut up, Rosenberg) to try and bring glory to UM.

Here is the only area in which I am willing to at least listen to a discussion of how fans who went to Michigan might be different from fans who didn't. I have no empirical evidence to back this up whatsoever, but it just strikes me that when your formative experiences of rooting for M came from cheering for the guys who very probably were in some of your classes, that's just a qualitatively different experience than rooting for guys who wear a jersey that you support because you've chosen to support it.

I'm definitely NOT making a deterministic argument here. I'm sure there are some non-alum fans who are way more positive about the team than some alums. And I don't mind the back-and-forth on MGoBlog of debating whether this call or that throw was good. That's just Sunday morning quarterbacking.

But when you're AT THE STADIUM and all you bring to the proceedings are endless bitches about Lloyd or RichRod or Brady or any of the players? Then IMO you need to be strapped to jet pack man and sent out of the stadium with haste. I just wonder whether those types are more likely not to be alums, because they have more of a sense that they are owed something because perhaps they don't have the same emotional affinity for the school and the players.

for first experience in Michigan Stadium.

I remember my first beer.... mmmmm

I sat behind a "North and South" guy for about 10 years growing up. He would roll up his program and use it as a megaphone, as if the players could hear him from 73 rows up. When we were on defense, he'd yell, "Rush the passer, Bo," again, as if Bo could hear him. I also sat behind a couple guys who smoked stogies non-stop. I left many a game with itchy eyes from the cigar smoke.

I'm not sure Hemingway didnt cut off his route on that INT

The Big House camera team had a good day on Saturday.  They found all the good Halloween costumes in the crowd.  I especially loved the student dressed as Tressel wearing a "Will coach for food" sign.

I returned for homecoming after 40 years in exile (SEC country).  My impressions: first, the stadium renovations are fantastic!  The place looks brand new, is clean, and has plenty of concessions and restrooms.  Second, the cheers aren't as good as they used to be.  Whatever happened to the cheers that students made up their own (usually profane) words to?  What's up with the Looney Tunes or Flintstones or whatever that cheer was where the cheerleeders put their megaphones on their heads?  That was lame!  And what's up with the students?  I watched the student sections through my binoculars.  Everyone was so well-behaved!  No young ladies were passed up to the top row.  I didn't see anyone passing out.  And only one small blue beach ball was bouncing around the stands.  Come on people--this is MICHIGAN!  Where else can you pay $18,000 a year for the privilege of looking stupid in front of 112,000 other people?  Has the entire student body gone "tech-nerd" or did I just pick a bad day to attend a game?