Who does the counting for attendance
Last night was amazing and seemed packed early but somehow the crowd was announced as lower than last week. Did they forget the number they made up last week? Did they change the definition of attending ? Not that it really matters but how was last night 108,345 if last week was 109295??
September 12th, 2021 at 7:58 AM ^
I thought this game would have higher attendance, but the first game of the season usually packed.
September 12th, 2021 at 8:06 AM ^
Here is a reaction from a Huskie fan. Posted on another board.
SheFixesTheCable
Posted on 22 mins, , User Since 131 months ago, User Post Count: 7887
22 mins
131 months
7887
Night and day. Holy hell that was on another level.
My first time to the big house and I was beyond impressed by what I witnessed tonight. Place was jam-packed 20 minutes before kickoff and the place was rocking until when we left with 6 min left in the game. Their student section is probably 3x the size of ours and they were engaged the entire time cheering Michigan.
In the 3rd quarter they showed a replay of the GW-FG against us in 2001 which got the crowd excited and the kicker was then shown on the big screen. Place went nuts.
Every time Giles Jackson‘s name was called the place filled with boos. It was on part with A-Rod at Safeco on 2001. The entire stadium knew who he was and let him hear it.
No need to comment on the game itself. We all saw how inept we were against what looked like a “good” Michigan team with limited offense. They probably win 7-8 games this year is my guess.
Jimmy is clearly in over his head and the play calling and overall offense was downright emberrassing. Barring a miracle turnaround Jen needs to press the reset button and start over at the end of the season. Recruiting has completely nose-dived since he took over and now the play on the field is just terrible. If we wait any longer it will set us back every further.
FWIW- had an awesome time in Ann Arbor- better experience than LSU. Fans were great and the gameday experience was humbling. Watching a game at HS will feel like a D2 experience. It was that much better at the big house.
September 12th, 2021 at 8:36 AM ^
This is awesome to read given the usual shade thrown at the Big House, thanks for sharing. Certainly seemed electric on TV.
Any other highlights from that thread?
September 12th, 2021 at 9:02 AM ^
Here's another post.
drewdawg11
Posted on 6 hrs, V I P, User Since 237 months ago, User Post Count: 25295First time at the Big House. Everything was what a first class athletic department should be. Their marketing, their fan interaction. It was all amazing. Every inch of town was UM themed. There is zero doubt about what the biggest show in town is. The entire town of Ann Arbor was decked out, and every front lawn had people gathering and enjoying the day. The tailgates were all over the place.
September 12th, 2021 at 10:36 AM ^
Some other impressions in these comments:
The gameday experience at UM kicks all kinds of ass over UW
I concede that it was a night game, a Maize Out, and it was 9/11. But the in stadium experience is far and away superior to the UW experience. The fans were into it the entire game. There was no mass exodus at halftime and late return in the third. The Jumbotron had creative ways of firing up the crowd. The student section was packed. Everyone in our section (UM people) stood for almost every single play. The tailgate scene was dope. Most of all they just seem to have a ton of fun.
The UW experience at this point is nothing like that. Shitty music that doesn’t pump up or involve the crowd. A steady stream of ads on the Jumbotron. Lame ass fans that sit on their hands with dour expressions on their faces. The GO/HUSKIES chant that used to shake the stadium now sounds like a pale imitation. It’s just this half assed west coast vibe that is more interested in taking selfies and crushing beers than the actual game.
I have the same takeaway
I attended the game as well and the vibe was incredible. If you are a west coast recruit and visit this atmosphere, or an Ohio State, type of place I can see why that would be appealing.
Totally jealous of the game day experience
September 12th, 2021 at 9:12 AM ^
Goes to show that the architectural design of the stadium (a favorite excuse of some) doesn't hamper the atmosphere - if the fans want to generate an atmosphere. If you have 100,000 people together in any place, they'll make plenty of noise if they feel like it, regardless of the acoustics.
The bigger issue over the years has been that a lot of our non-student fans tend to be quiet. We see the same thing in Crisler.
September 12th, 2021 at 9:53 AM ^
While I agree with all of that, a night game always helps amp up the excitement.
Watching on TV last night and looking at/hearing the crowd just got me pumped up even more from home. I remember for years and years watching college football night games on TV and looking at the home crowds going crazy. It made me jealous because I thought WE should get to see what that's like. When I went to Braylonfest in 2004, I tried to savor every moment because I figured that was the closest we'd ever get to a night game at the big house.
The fans were just incredible last night. If they were that epic on TV, I can only imagine what it was like in person. I'd award them a couple touchdowns if I could.
September 12th, 2021 at 8:42 AM ^
This isn't the first time we've had a former teammate show up as an opponent player - yet the ire against Giles Jackson is greater than I've seen in any other instance.
I assume he left on bad terms?
September 12th, 2021 at 8:48 AM ^
Bad mouthed us to a couple of recruits we were in on IIRC.
September 12th, 2021 at 9:01 AM ^
And Xavier Worthy. The biggest recruit. Who, in the wake of losing Ronnie Bell...maybe gives us the confidence to throw the ball (I say maybe because I have absolutely NO idea if he's doing anything down at Texas. I don't fetishize former players like some).
September 12th, 2021 at 10:57 AM ^
I keep track of former players just out of curiosity and so far it appears he is contributing about as much as the typical high level freshman would. A total of three catches albeit with a high average. No TDs. Thats it. He will probably be great in time but don’t see how he changes our current situation all that much.
September 12th, 2021 at 8:22 AM ^
I do the counting and those numbers are accurate.
September 12th, 2021 at 8:28 AM ^
I saw more empty last week than I did this week. I questioned the numbers also.
September 12th, 2021 at 8:59 AM ^
My understanding is that attendance is based on tickets sold not people who come through the gates. So there's no person who counts. Just what a computer says is the number of tickets the AD sold.
September 12th, 2021 at 9:08 AM ^
Plus the number of press/VIP passes given out, which is why the announced attendance frequently exceeds the official capacity.
I suspect someone goofed and typed in the wrong number. There were definitely more people last night than a week ago.
September 12th, 2021 at 9:14 AM ^
We were at the game and when they announced the attendance my husband and I looked at each other and said "huh?" It was definitely more crowded this week.
September 12th, 2021 at 9:22 AM ^
Ditto , I was expecting 110 based on how crammed it was. Also, first time where literally no one left at halftime
September 12th, 2021 at 1:51 PM ^
My gut reaction was certainly more than WMU. However, in SEC 21 & 22 there were a smattering of empty seats. The Student Section was full. My guess was about 111K. The corner field level opposite the student section was light compared to other UTL games.
In addition, this is the largest away crowd (non conference) except for ND that I can remember. They had Sec 14/15/16 filled from row A up to about row 50. Then the usual top of Sec 8/9/10. Their Pep band was inaudible. For a sh!tty team, they travel well; my guess is their Alumni Group bought these tickets last year directly from the AD.
September 12th, 2021 at 9:21 AM ^
At the game and it seemed pretty full; The count could be right.
1. WMU was an in-state opponent within driving distance.
2. WMU brought its band and probably a bigger entourage than usual.
3. First game at the stadium since COVID on a sunny 12 noon start. Easier for casual fans to pop in and out. Dealing with post game traffic isn't something non-serious fans like to do. For people on this board, it is so in-grained that this is just an accept part of the game day experience but for less serious fans, it is a major hassle.
4. A night game during this time did give some people pause. In my section, many of the older retiree season ticket holders (well past 65 years) were not there. Scanning the boxes, they weren't packed like the Under The Lights game.
5. The difference of 950 seems plausible. BUT the stadium really rocked and was noisy! The sea of maize in the student section was a great sight. The students really came out!
Go Blue!
September 12th, 2021 at 10:41 AM ^
Agree on point 4. 2 seats next to me were empty. Not sure why they didn’t sell them.
September 12th, 2021 at 10:54 AM ^
The announced attendance isn't a literal count of the fans at the game though. If a ticket is sold, it's "attended" whether or not the ticketholder shows up.
I would be surprised if we sold fewer tickets to this one than WMU. I think there was a mistake.
September 12th, 2021 at 9:21 AM ^
At the game and it seemed pretty full; The count could be right.
1. WMU was an in-state opponent within driving distance.
2. WMU brought its band and probably a bigger entourage than usual.
3. First game at the stadium since COVID on a sunny 12 noon start. Easier for casual fans to pop in and out. Dealing with post game traffic isn't something non-serious fans like to do. For people on this board, it is so in-grained that this is just an accept part of the game day experience but for less serious fans, it is a major hassle.
4. A night game during this time did give some people pause. In my section, many of the older retiree season ticket holders (well past 65 years) were not there. Scanning the boxes, they weren't packed like the Under The Lights game.
5. The difference of 950 seems plausible. BUT the stadium really rocked and was noisy! The sea of maize in the student section was a great sight. The students really came out!
Go Blue!
September 12th, 2021 at 9:57 AM ^
I saw bigger crowds roaming the streets and tailgaiting than before the WMU game. There were a lot of Washington fans as well and much more than I expected.
September 12th, 2021 at 10:39 AM ^
Main Street was purple
September 12th, 2021 at 10:00 AM ^
As Bacon has reported, the attendance figures are totally made up
September 12th, 2021 at 4:39 PM ^
As John U. Bacon reported in Endzone,
In 2011 and 2012, they used the number of tickets scanned, which is a flawed system because the scanners depend on cellular service, which any fan can tell you is notoriously spotty in Michigan Stadium.
So presumably it is scanning plus some estimate of what tickets weren't scanned based on how long scanner reporting outages existed at any given gate.
September 12th, 2021 at 10:03 AM ^
I grew up in Iowa and the University of Iowa football games were a big draw. My high school physics teacher was curious on how they came up with the attendance at the games, so at one of them she just straight up asked the facility people. They told her that they might have some sort of ballpark figure based on sales or turnstiles or whatever, but for the most part it's actually just made up within a range that seemed pretty wide (like +/- 5000).
Take that for what it's worth, but but it does sound somewhat plausible... how do you get to 108,345 for example and not just ~108K or something?
September 12th, 2021 at 10:18 AM ^
Yea that was strange
September 12th, 2021 at 10:39 AM ^
The gate guy didn’t even scan my ticket when I walked in. It was a cluster.
September 12th, 2021 at 2:42 PM ^
Same thing happened to us. Scanner was reading "Offline" and she tried several times to scan our tickets and finally just said go ahead.
September 12th, 2021 at 10:39 AM ^
A retired volunteer with a hand held clicker at the main gate. “Single file please, if I miss someone we have to file out of the stadium and start all over.”
September 12th, 2021 at 4:32 PM ^
Trump wasted his money hiring lawyers, he should have just hired the Michigan attendance counter. LOL.
September 13th, 2021 at 8:30 AM ^
“Wasting money hiring” implies said person actually pays people he hires
September 13th, 2021 at 12:03 AM ^
RNG between 108,000 and 111,000 for most games