Why scoreboard 4s?
When the pregame clock at the stadium runs down to 4:44, lots of 4. are put up on the scoreboard. Is there a reason for this? Seem like if they were testing the scoreboard they'd put up 8s and would do that well before under 5 minutes to kickoff.
I recognize this is not exactly riveting, but at least it is somewhat a diversion from my opinion on what should happen is better than yours.
October 17th, 2010 at 10:49 PM ^
It always does that. I have no idea why. If it's true that we're getting new scoreboards next year, this might be the last year we see this "tradition." Someone page Fielding Yost III!
October 17th, 2010 at 10:49 PM ^
This is something that I have long wondered.
October 17th, 2010 at 10:56 PM ^
I always wondered about that, good for you for bringing it up hahaha maybe we can find an answer somewhere?
October 17th, 2010 at 10:57 PM ^
After 50+ games I have been to, I have never noticed this. I guess you learn something new every day. I agree though, wouldn't you want to test all the lights and use 8's?
October 17th, 2010 at 11:08 PM ^
I've noticed this since I started going to games in the 70s. Always stops at 4:44 and starts again one minute later at 3:44. Could this just be a tradition with no other purpose?
October 17th, 2010 at 11:12 PM ^
They did this with the old scoreboards, too? Huh. Never noticed.
October 17th, 2010 at 11:09 PM ^
That's an interesting one, I have no idea why they use 4s.
But say you use all 8s and you find out you have a dead light or two. Then, like you said, what do you do if you're testing 5 minutes before the game? My guess is it's not about testing whether the lights work or not but about something else (or maybe about nothing at all?).
October 17th, 2010 at 11:13 PM ^
After googling for a few minutes I found this page with the quote below. Apparently you're not the only one who wonders this.
The tradition of showing all 4's on the scoreboard has become to stand as a reminder that the team must play 4 strong quarters to insure victory. At least that's how it was explained to former Athletic Director Tom Goss when he enquired about the practice. According to interviews with the scoreboard operator, it really began as a prank to see if anyone was paying attention to the scoreboard minutes before the game.
October 17th, 2010 at 11:27 PM ^
Thats what I love about this stie is all the obscure UM athletics factoids I learn.
October 18th, 2010 at 12:11 AM ^
Thank goodness for whoever found that quote and put it on that site. It was the only one I found.
Now I can sleep better tonight.
October 18th, 2010 at 10:59 AM ^
If you find him, thank him profusely and then give him a lesson on the proper placement of the letters I and E.
October 17th, 2010 at 11:32 PM ^
The Google Machine comes through in the end. Wouldn't expect anything less out of Larry Page.
October 17th, 2010 at 11:44 PM ^
How did anyone know anything before Google?
October 17th, 2010 at 11:46 PM ^
I'm confused... what is this "before Google" you speak of.
Awesome find though, that's great. One more thing I can enlighten all the freshmen around me with. Slippery Rock scores took a while to explain.
October 18th, 2010 at 1:10 AM ^
A lot of people don't know that Google search is just a fancy schmancy Dewey Decimal System.
October 18th, 2010 at 12:01 AM ^
October 18th, 2010 at 12:41 AM ^
4 x 4 = 16. Denard is number 16. As a child, he'd teleport up to the Big House to screw with the scoreboards during pregame, so that the product of any two numbers on the board would be his favorite number. Now, he just runs up to the press box and back when he wants a couple of milliseconds break from stretching and throwing warmup-balls. Ba-Da-Bing.
October 18th, 2010 at 7:02 AM ^
October 18th, 2010 at 10:23 AM ^
My dad has always told me that the scoreboard operator made a mistake one day before a game when he set the scoreboard to all 4s. He then started doing it before every game to make it seem as though he meant to do it. Not sure what his source for this is, but every time we take a new person to Mich Stadium, he has them watch the scoreboard and tells them this story as fact.
October 18th, 2010 at 10:57 AM ^
in a book a few years ago. What I remember is
the clock operator would be working away and when he was prepared for the game he would stop the pregame clock at the 4:44 mark to let another operator/stadium personel in the Big house know he was all set. This was due to the fact who ever it was did not have a phone line. This was back when the ol blue scoreboard was new.