UM Bball - Where's the Excitement??
Yesterday I went to the UM alumni bar in Denver to watch the big game, and I was rather disappointed to see only 15 fans there (there were >100 for the Miss State bowl game). Yes, of course I understand that football will forever be our major trademark and that the bowl game would be equivalent to an NCAA tourney game, but it still seemed disproportionate to me. This was the most meaningful bball game for us since OU, after all.
A few of us extended our conversation to discuss the general crowd atmosphere, to include the Maize Rage section. There were only 3 minutes left, and hardly anyone aside from the Maize Rage was standing. Even if you looked within the Maize Rage, half the people seemed to be standing just because they wouldn't be able to see otherwise.
With all of that said, what will it take for our students, alumni, Wal-Mart Wolverines, etc., to become re-energized and more intimately involved with the bball program (understanding that MGoBlog's uniquely hardcore fanbase does not represent the overall UM community)? What will the team have to accomplish before our Maize Rage section increases in size? Before we have ACTUAL maize-outs? Before we have a few sellouts each year? Before the media starts applying 1/3 the effort to our bball team that they do for the football team?
I don't know what game you were watching, but the crowd seemed pretty jacked in the last 3 minutes to me (save for the collective breath hold after nearly letting them back in it for the last 30 seconds)....and can you blame them after the Illinois and Wisconsin heartbreakers? Or MSU heartbreakers in previous years?
I wouldn't expect a bar turnout for a regular season rivarly bball game even come close to a Jan 1 Bowl game...
What part of "M. U. P. P. E. T. S." did you not understand?
In regards to fan participation. There will always be a "wine and cheese" portion of our fan base, and for whatever reason, they seem to be incapable of wearing maize shirts for both football and basketball. They are the same crowd telling people to sit down during huge third downs, and after touchdowns, etc. The only real difference between football and basketball is the number of people.
use the term walmart wolverine. Even as an alum some of the biggest UM fans I know did not attend the school. A byproduct of a pretty badass thing is that people are going to like it. The more the merrier. I'm not saying you're being anything other than lighthearted, I just hate the term.
As far as the atmosphere, it sounded pretty loud to me. Students are on spring break as well so that would speak for the lack of jumping around assuming the general population could buy tickets down there as they usually can for voided season ticket games.
The "Wal Mart Wolverine" comment is stupid. I did not attend UofM but I assure you I am as big of a fan as there is. I proudly sport my M Gear around town and especially traveling in enemy country (Ohio), etc... I like to promote the M Brand whenever and wherever I can and I am not alumni.
I also did not play for the Detroit Tigers but I do wear my Tigers cap sometimes...guess I am a "Wal Mart Tiger".
I'm not a Michigan Man
<br>I'm a Michigan Fan
<br>Should it continue, I simply tell them I'm a season ticket holder. That shuts them up, because they are not. There are no MSU season ticket holders
I think that is stupid too, I live in Canada and tho i would dream to go to school in the states it isnt an option. I have been a die hard ever since i was a wolverine..."walmat wolverine" didnt expect that from a fellow michigan fan
I became a big Michigan football fan back when I was 8 years old. It was tough since the old man was a big ND fan. But it was fun when we would root against each other. If I didn't go to school there I would still be a big Michigan fan, no doubt! I'm glad we have a big fan base across the country and around the world. It's nice traveling around and running into other M fans!
I've never understood why Little Brother uses it as a derogatory term towards us. Is it bad that we have people who aren't alums rooting for our team? I think it's just a testament to how great our athletics have been traditionally. Not every Michigan fan is going to pass the high academic standards. That's not a bad thing...
And I agree with everyone who's saying that the atmosphere last night was great. I was one of the Maize Rage jumping up and down and yelling myself hoarse, and yesterday was the loudest it's been all year. I loved it. Sorry if people didn't show up to the bar.
because MSU fans are WalMart employees.
You may not have realized it, but your comment about people not attending Michigan because not every fan is going to pass the high academic standards is rather elitist and also not necessarily true. You are aware that there are other schools with higher academic standards than Michigan that someone might have chosen to attend, or that someone preferrred another institution for a myriad of different reasons or whose education finished with high school. A fan is a fan - that is enough.
He wasn't saying that Michigan is the best; he was merely pointing out that there are some people who don't get the opportunity to attend Michigan for reasons beyond their control.
As an example, I very much wanted to return to Michigan for law school, but was rejected. I don't think my decision to go elsewhere in any way diminishes my fandom. And I'm sure others have experience the same situation when they apply to Michigan as an undergrad. Others likely cannot afford the rather stiff tuition. Part of being an elite institution (and Michigan is undoubtedly an elite institution) is an understanding that there far more butts than there are seats to fill.
I understand your point, but my response, which I also qualified, was directed to the language I referred to in the comment. I would have chosen different words. I started thinking about what probably would be the largest set of people who applied but didn't get into Michigan, namely, MSU attendees, and I would suggest that they are definitely not fans of the maize and blue.
FWIW, several generations of my family attended Michigan, and I still visit Ann Arbor frequently. I have always found the school to be special in ways that go way beyond Michigan athletics, although football and hockey always been the raison d'aitre for my visits.
I also think it would be interesting, although I have never seen a study, a demographic analysis of college football fandom,
Or in some cases, we just couldn't afford to move clear across the country and pay to live out of state. Does that make us less passionate? Pretty sure I cringe and hurt with every miss or bad play just the same as the alums......
While I was enjoying the whining and crying on RCMB last night, I saw it abbreviated as "Walmartines." I only apply the term to that segment of the fanbase who prove that even Sparty can be right about some of the people some of the time.
As for actually attending school there, Sparty is jealous. People only root for them because they went there and feel obligated. The segment of Wolverines fans they inaccurately reference actually cheer for the Wolverines by choice. No wonder they hate us so much.
I agree, I didnt' go to UM, but I have an engineering degree and I'm pursuing a masters. I have football season tickets, and consider myself an obsessive die hard and do not consider myself a Walmart Wolverine (whether its my decision ot not). If you are a Michigan fan, you do not call someone else a Walmart fan because your taking sides with MSU in my opinion.
Also, I was there Saturday, that arena was rocking, everyone was getting into it, the only reason I can think it was a little tame, was because some of us were nervous as it got close.
hate the users of the term. I'm proud to say I've been officially branded a Walmart Wolverine.
Seriously: don't take it so seriously. They're going to use the term no matter what, and since it's not horrifically offensive, the best defense is simply to laugh and play along. If somebody uses the term on me, I'll laugh and agree. They know what to do when you get offended -- use it more! -- but they're not sure what to do when it doesn't bother you, or when you even seem to like it.
In summary: if you get angry, they have fun with it; if you have fun with it, they get angry (or they give up).
If sparty called me a walmart wolverine, I would just say what's it to ya lil' brother!
alum"Get the Fuck out of my Walmart."
To me, Wal-Mart Wolverines is not an offensive term. It's just an easy, quick-stated term to categorize the sector of our fanbase that is not comprised of alumni, students, and younger kids. Hell, I worked as a greeter and cart pusher at Wal-Mart for a Summer, so I certainly don't think anything Wal-Mart-associated is bad or below me. Also, I know people like Zone Left's Dad have made a great name for themselves there. In fact, if you look at my post, I'm asking for ways to get them more involved because I do realize their importance. Would you rather I refer to this demographic as "Fans who appreciate our community, but did not attend for reasons X, Y, and Z?"
For the people who keep talking about the atmosphere at the game - you're right - I wasn't there physically. From watching it on TV, though, it looked like 20% of the people making 100% of the noise. Watch a Wisconsin game for 10 seconds and realize why it's such a difficult place to play in comparison to Crisler Arena.
Are you kidding me? Not offensive? It is very apparent you have forgotten what it is like to live in the State of Michigan among MSU fans. That term was coined by their small fanbase as an insult to our loyal fans. Since when does attending the University of Michigan make you an elitist and a person that lives here, attends every game, and supports the school (even though I am a GVSU alumni) a Walmart Wolverine? I gaurantee there is a larger percentage of people like myself, not UM alumni, than you that fill the Big House, Crisler, and Yost! So, keep your comments about the LOYAL fans to yourself and just sip your beer and watch UM play on a TV 1500 miles away while the rest of us ACTUALLY spend money and support our team!
Try being a HUGE Michigan fan in Columbus for the past 6 years. Yes, that's me, and NO I didn't go to UM mainly because I was waitlisted and out of state tuition is astronomical. When people make comments like this it makes me want them to live in my shoes everday in Columbus, OH as a Michigan fan. (yes I know its my choice to live here but I am slightly landlocked due to family and the Ohio BAR)
Can we throw out the Wine and Cheese thing, too? While I am not an advocate of asking everyone to sit down, I think there is an over-emphasis on being wild and crazy to show support for a game. Not everyone is 20. I don't want to see our games filled with drunken screaming idiots like there are at OSU. I thought Chrisler looked great during the game, and for the stretch I was listening to the game on the radio the crowd noise was drowning out the announcers. It seemed to me like the people there were excited and into the game. I am not sure what else you are looking for, but I don't think the team lacked for support.
I honestly don't get how people can be U-M fans and not know how to properly spell the last name of one of the greatest, most innovative coaches in school history.
Sorry. Crisler.
I apologize for calling you out, btw. I honestly feel bad about it. Just a major pet peeve of mine. Sorry.
I think it might help the morale of the fanbase if you don't refer to the large majority of UM fans as Wal-Mart Wolverines, Mr. pompous .
Yes thank you. I love the university of Michigan even though I will never have the opportunity to attend this great institution. I take my responsibility as a football season ticket holder very seriously. I just take offense because I really hate walmart
And I did have the opportunity to attend and graduate from this great university.
I was there and the place was rocking. The first traveling call on MSU's first posession was the loudest that I had ever heard Crisler, and that atmosphere was sustained all game long. It was definitely the atmosphere of a big football game at the Big House.
I was in the Rage so it was a little tougher to hear the rest of the stadium from time to time, but when Lucas got called for an Offensive foul for pushing off (moments after the Morgan dunk I believe), Crisler blew up and it was I thought the loudest. Best Bball game I've been to in quite some time!
Rest assured, everyone way up in section 58 was going bonkers as well. That Morgan dunk was up there.
As someone who was actually in attendance, as opposed to being in a bar 1,500 miles away, I can tell you that the atmosphere in Crisler Arena was fantastic. It was the most raucous it's been in awhile - probably since the 2008 Duke game.
To answer your question, it will take continued success from the team. A good product on the court will lead to better fan support.
The renovations should help a lot too. Making the overall fan experience better will pull in more fans from the non student population. Additionally, I've heard that the athletic department is willing to expand the bleacher section to both sides of the court, but that they need to have consistent enought ticket sales that they know that half of the premium seats won't be empty on television.
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mich/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/bkm-bigten-2011.pdf
Also shown are TV listings for the games,
I'm surprised nobody has made an actual thread for this yet so if someone with more points want to do so, go right ahead.
Michigan game will be on ESPN 25 minutes after the OSU game finishes.
Maybe that's why no one was at the alumni bar? Also I read that it was spring break at UM so that's why the crowd wasn't as packed, but I don't know that for sure.
In all seriousness, can anyone explain the inability/reluctance of certain U-M fans to wear maize, especially at designated Maize-out games? Are some fans just so arrogant that they're not going to let anyone dictate to them what they're going to wear?
Can't imagine that a lot of the older fans have bright yellow in their wardrobes.
Possibly, but how many old people had bright orange at Illinois before they instituted orange-outs at every game? Also, I see plenty of able-bodied men and women at games not wearing maize. I think it's more of an attitude thing at U-M.
I think it may be a communication issue. Some older fans may not go online very often. I think it was on this site that I learned it was a Maize-Out.
I'll buy that for this game, but take football for instance. Don't they have MAIZE OUT in big, bold letters printed all over the tickets?
It definitely said maize out in big bold letters on the tickets received by season ticket holders, not sure if the maize out was acknowledged on the single game white tickets.
I had single-game tickets - it was not on there.
For football, yeah, there's not much of an excuse.
I could buy that heavier clothing makes it harder to wear maize for late October and November games. September? There's no excuse. But as the poster above mentioned, there might be an attitude thing.
This isn't directed at you, per se, but the cold weather argument would hold more water if Penn State didn't have 100,000+ fans wearing white long after Labor Day.
Ehh, I could see some white sweatshirts, but I'm going to guess that there aren't too many maize items of clothing that are geared for colder weather. Really, only t-shirts are the only way that these people are ever going to wear maize.
I didnt attend the Duke game in 2008, but the atmosphere was the best I can remember since msu in 1998. I think going forward the upgrades to Crisler will help improve fan support. I wouldn't mind seeing suites between the blue and gold levels, even if it meant a slight decrease to total capacity. I do think something needs to be done to widen the concourses, but I am pretty sure that is in the plans already. Side note, one thing I haven't heard mentioned are the banners. I would love to see the banners updated to something more modern. Those old blue banners look dated. Michigan has a lot of basketball tradition and history. I would love to see like a sweet 16 banner, showing all the years we have made the sweet 16 and one for the elite 8. I think its important to show that we have a great tradition of success, even though we havent had much in recent history.
The game was a pretty loud affair from beginning to end. The Alumni band did a great job of filling in the gaps when a commercial break went on too long. The energy before the game during warm-ups was amazing. It kept getting louder and louder and then when the teams were announced - the place went berzerk (sp?). Everyone was loud and raucous throughout the initial Michigan run. The most relevant comment came from a student sitting behind me during the first TV timeout. And I quote, "I'm exhausted and they've only played five minutes."
I've been going to games for 28 years now. No this was not as loud as Midnight Madness for the Fab Five, but it was pretty darn loud. Also, this game had the fewest Spartans in the crowd since Izzo took over. The place was a sea of Yellow and the boys on the court did not disappoint. The crowing moment came after the game when the team went to center court and led Crisler Arena in a rousing chorus of the Victors.
I was worried the place might be 30-40% sparty, it was more like 10-20%, which is acceptable I guess. I would like to see more Michigan fans, but overall that's the best "michigan fan" showing since Izzo started coaching.