MaizeNBlue

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Date	Title	Body
12 weeks 1 day ago	To echo a poster above, I too	To echo a poster above, I too tend to lurk and read rather than post here, but reading through this thread inspired me to reply. In principle, what I feel is that the average post, whether front page or in the forum, has lost value. They are sometimes less interesting to read now (and I do skip some FP posts) for several reasons: 1.  Overuse/over-recycling of some memes. Yes, this is the internet and therefore memes will permeate both FP posts and forum posts, and that's fine. But there is a point where they become stale and nauseating to read, especially when there seems to be a race to be the first to post them (the "this won't end well" meme is a good example of this). In this way, the posters are as much to blame as anyone for any "staleness." 2.  Less drama overall (well, except for hockey, which hasn't been covered this year, but I'm admittedly much more of a football/basketball fan, so that doesn't kill me). What can you do, though? That's something we should be thankful for, of course -- but at least for me, not having drama to obsess over in the sports-sphere means that the time and content dedicated to those topics has to be averted elsewhere (in terms of MGoContent, that is) and sometimes those "alternative avenues" don't seem to be as riveting as the content past drama has produced. 3.  That actually makes me think of another point that is echoing others who've posted; the routine/cycled posts and rigid posting structure can slowly wear at the value of FP posts. UVs, game summaries, and weekly recruiting posts are obviously exempt from that because those contain essential information and are always well-done (and usually don't have to be "forced"). However, for non-essential but recurring posts, it seems they have stagnated the front page a bit because the actual amount of information in them varies and tends to slightly over-reference (don't get me wrong though, I'm all for referencing!) or mis-time usage of some of them. It'd be better if the writers could post a bit more free-form because they are all different and have unique styles, but confining them to a set structure dampens that a bit and creates that forced feeling.   All that said, I love MGoBlog and will always read, and a few ideas for how to mix it up a bit came to mind, too. I wish that Brian and co. would bring WolverineHistorian on board! I watched M sports avidly through any media source (TV, internet, a book or two) when I was in middle and high school, which, along with MGoBlog, developed my inherent M-fanhood into an obsession, and much of what I learned came from his YouTube videos both when he was WH and when he was under the handle dynoguy88. Sorry WH, I hope you don't think it's creepy that I know that -- I'm actually the poster (or one of) who followed up to ask why you'd taken old highlight videos down before you switched to WH. Anyway, WH's video content is often linked here anyways, but I'm interested to see what his journalistic skills are, too (he's a pretty good poster when he does post, so I suppose that's a start). Someone who has made so many old highlight videos must have a love and deep knowledge of M football. That's always a valuable perspective, and the fact that he's never over-the-top like some blue hairs can be is a pleasant change. Another thing MGoBlog could do, in terms of inside information, is communicate more with the Maize Rage. I know that might sound silly, but I think it would be greatly beneficial to both parties to have a more official association with each other. MGoPosters could suggest ways to improve both the Maize Rage and possibly even the football student section because the Rage has developed a pretty good relationship with the athletic department. MGoPosters for example, could suggest signs, chants, ideas for game "stunts," anything really, and if it's a good idea, you get to see your idea on TV. On the other side of things, I know that the Rage collectively has a few people that it seems to me always have good sources for breaking info. For example, a friend of mine who is pretty dedicated to the Rage knew days in advance that Maryland and Rutgers were going to join the B1G. His connection was within the Maryland ath. dept., and while that may seem like an obscure connection or bad sample size (of one), that isn't the only time he's had the inside track on football news. He's also not the only person who has had "breaking info." As a senior at U-M, I no longer actively participate in the non-game aspects of the Rage, but I did fresh/soph years and thus am not giving you a baseless perspective. Plus, many of the people who've been dedicated to it all four years are still good friends of mine. In any case, if there was a way to get information from them to here, I bet it would be helpful. Or just do some mid-season score prediction or random-type prediction contests where the prize is a t-shirt, whatever who cares
1 year 7 weeks ago	This has been almost as	This has been almost as extremely downvoted as recruiting updates are upvoted...haha
1 year 7 weeks ago	This is actually a valid	This is actually a valid point, at least for me. I picked up a lot of satirical writing skills, snarkiness, and "personable-ness" in terms of my writing from reading and (not so much anymore) posting. Woohoo for the average M fan being intelligent!
1 year 7 weeks ago	I don't think you have much	I don't think you have much to worry about. MGoBlog can be a very critical bunch, but at the end of the day, I think everyone genuinely appreciates the information you post. EDIT: NOOOOO SHELLAYY I just read the bottom part saying that you're not posting more recruiting updates. Please don't stop.
1 year 8 weeks ago	100% agree. I also enjoy	100% agree. I also enjoy Moonman, so if you haven't tried that....yeah, give it a shot.
1 year 11 weeks ago	Personally, I WANT OSU to be	Personally, I WANT OSU to be elite in all the sports I care about because their level of skill doesn't change how much I want us to beat them.  Although, that said, I could go for a nice 6 or 100 game winning stream against them in football, just to make up for them ruining my teenage years of watching The Game.   EDIT: this was slightly unrelated to the topic, but I don't see a problem in rooting for them when we need to, I guess is what I'm saying, even if it means something good for them.
1 year 13 weeks ago	One of my roommates is	One of my roommates is actually camping out at Crisler for Gameday. They're doing it for the novelty/experience/entertainment of doing it, not to be first in line, so I guess that's a little different.
1 year 13 weeks ago	If you don't take him	If you don't take him seriously, then he makes some decent background noise... I agree though, what bothers me is that he makes connections between various things and incorrectly argues that they're directly related and states other as though he's the first person to come up with his analogies, which is rarely true. For example, Cowherd is the kind of host that will make a theoretical (not fact-based argument) that the only cause of stadiums being sold out is the current winningness of the team. He won't show any correlation in data or, like, admit to us the fact that there are other contributing factors (tradition, marketing, whatever, this was just a random example). Broad generalizations without knowing subtleties. And after you read this you could argue that I'm doing the same, but I've listened to enough Cowherd (not often, but enough) to have a valid opinion.
1 year 13 weeks ago	It seems to me most people	It seems to me most people like Cowherd the way they like a class clown. He's a great entertainer, but most people would think twice about inviting him to dinner ;)   In other words, I'm not at all surprised.
1 year 31 weeks ago	Nooope, Chuck Testa. Thanks	Nooope, Chuck Testa. Thanks anyways though, sir!
1 year 31 weeks ago	If anyone got any extras that	If anyone got any extras that they won't use, I'm very interested in buying two, just so that I can (probably not) antagonize Sparties all morning.
1 year 45 weeks ago	Do you mean preferable to	Do you mean preferable to theoretical Diamond/Kalis, or am I way off? Just curious.
1 year 47 weeks ago	Prayers to the Hatch family	Prayers to the Hatch family and especially Austin for a recovery, basketball completely aside. I can't imagine having to deal with that amount of loss and I truly hope to see the guy in a Michigan uniform still someday or at least at U-M. Unfortunately, the comments on the ESPN article were far less tasteful towards this situation and it makes me sad that people can't put their appalling thoughts aside during a situation like this.
2 years 4 weeks ago	Well, I wasn't really trying	Well, I wasn't really trying to paint us out as being super devoted or anything, but the student section isn't devoid of intensity, either.
2 years 4 weeks ago	agreed, on M students	The Michigan student section doesn't have the best reputation, but I've noticed the same: Michigan fans, especially students, have always given visitors that are in any way hatable a ton of shit, especially if they try to sit in the student section. Off the top of my head (and this is probably an outlier), I remember having a family from Ohio (parents and two kids probably around the age of ten) sit right on the border of the student section. Their kids were repeatedly asked how much they were looking forward to working at McDonalds...then they were told (again, being heckled by a radius of drunk students around them) that this fate was OK because they probably wouldn't ever be smart enough for anything else. I'm kind of surprised the parents didn't say anything. However, if you have any doubts about the student section pulling through and "being loyal" (or whatever) when it matters, go look at an aerial picture of the stadium from that day. That said, every other OSU fan there (at least, that I saw) seemed exactly as one would expect.  Somewhat similarly, against MSU last year and Indiana (yeah, Indiana) in 2009, people in the rows around me were target practicing with popcorn and water bottles at Spartans/Hoosiers unfortunate enough to be sitting in the student section. Interestingly, the M students hit other M students more than opposing fans, though. I suppose these could be outliers of a sort, but I've actually seen this happen at most "intense" home games in some form or another. Sorry that this turned into a long-winded, not-entirely-related-to-your-response post, it's just exam week and it seemed appropriate to defend (well, or maybe incriminate) our student section a bit.
2 years 29 weeks ago	I don't think our student	I don't think our student section is particularly bad....however, the rest of the crowd at PSU blows the rest of the crowd at Michigan away by a shit ton.
2 years 31 weeks ago	Most students who have an	Most students who have an opinion on the music dislike several songs the band plays. Obviously, nobody minds The Victors, Temptation, etc, but sometimes they do play stuff at odd times (i.e. I believe they played Respect after an MSU touchdown last week, weird song choices...). I don't like Seven Nation Army either, and I don't think the crowd noise was like...solely a function of the music being played, but I still think the piped in choices (Hell's Bells, Lose Yourself a couple times) were better than in the past. Maybe it contributed to the noise, maybe not.  I do know that a lot of students (especially ones who are basketball dedicated, not so much the hockey ones) wish the band would play less a role (for basketball, I don't know if that also applies to football).
2 years 31 weeks ago	It was noticeably louder -	It was noticeably louder - maybe because of the comeback, but also because (and this might be stretching it) the music selection was much better. It's a much bigger pump up to have Hell's Bells playing on first down to get everyone fired up as opposed to Calyptors after several good plays, which nobody actually likes... not to diss the band, but sometimes the piped in music does work better.
2 years 34 weeks ago	Yeah, like I said we	Yeah, like I said we represented really well - better than Wisconsin and probably Iowa, too. Cowherd told us after that we "nailed it out of the ball park" (after the show)...which like, who knows, he might have said that at UW/Iowa too, but it seemed pretty sincere since they complimented us during every commercial break.  To be fair, they did come on an ideal day. It wasn't too hot, it was sunny from 4-5, light breeze etc etc
2 years 34 weeks ago	I wouldn't want someone	I wouldn't want someone called The Shredder playing where's waldo with me in a large crowd...just sayin'. Michigan represented really, really well today. They told us to be quieter about 2/3 the way through the show.... also, props to the people who brought the "It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine" sign to the steps of Rackham.
2 years 34 weeks ago	I mean, I'd agree that it's a	I mean, I'd agree that it's a baseline of sorts but I think a better baseline would be a middling team on our schedule. There's really no answer to your question (however rhetorical or not you meant it to be), which sucks. Like I said, you can attempt to set an example but that only goes so far. I still maintain the student section wasn't as bad as people are saying, though.
2 years 34 weeks ago	To be fair, I was in section	To be fair, I was in section 26 (student section) and the atmosphere around me was, well, fine really. Of course we didn't go as crazy on big plays as we would have if it was ND, but it was still pretty loud in our area. When it comes to fixing "game atmosphere," well...that's tough. There is hope though - for example, when I start yelling right when the opposing offense breaks huddle (we should be yelling while they're in the huddle, but that's asking a bit too much for now), a lot of people follow suit a second later (presumably because someone else is doing it). If I wait...then sometimes the people around me don't start making noise until the QB is already under center and about to snap the ball (aka not terribly "useful" noise, especially if the QB has already audibled). That's about all the difference that can be made - just setting an example and hoping people follow it. If you call out the people around you, they just get mad.  To all the people angry over the fact that the Big House isn't as intimidating for UMass as OSU...well, I don't really know what to say. You're probably partially right, but it's really hard to make an accurate judgment because a large part of the problem is simply that the defense wasn't motivated enough to put together a more solid game. Once, Roh motioned everyone to get up when UMass was in the red zone and it got fairly loud...then the defense laid an egg and gave up an easy 10 yard (or so) rushing TD... Just sayin' it's a little mucky to call.   EDIT: and having watched highlights from both home games so far many, many times, I don't think the stadium sounded that quiet on TV given that it was UMass. If XYZ State in 1AA was playing at Wisconsin, I don't think it would be any louder in Madison (or at least not very much either way).
2 years 34 weeks ago	Thanks for putting the Maize	Thanks for putting the Maize Rage meeting time up!!
2 years 36 weeks ago	If ANYONE has tickets, please	If ANYONE has tickets, please let me know as I am heading down to South Bend with a large number of the Maize Rage who DO have tickets. I'll pay a reasonable amount (hopefully face-ish) Please let me know ASAP rmahaffy@umich.edu   EDIT: I'm wondering if the section I get my tickets in matters or if their stadium is mostly bleacher'd like the Big house.
2 years 36 weeks ago	That doesn't count, as it was	That doesn't count, as it was an inverted block M. That's to say, it was a maize block M with a huge blue box around it.    aka it doesn't count....
2 years 36 weeks ago	Unfortunately, at most games	Unfortunately, at most games the rest of the stadium doesn't get very intimidating at any point during the game. Honestly, I just don't think this is a big deal. Anyone who bases their opinion of UM on one two-word chant is...well, not busy enough. I think there are an infinite number of things that prove that UM is classy on gameday alone and the fact that UM's drunk ass students say "you suck" at a game will never be enough to tarnish those things.
2 years 37 weeks ago	LETS GO BLUE	LETS GO BLUE
2 years 37 weeks ago	Always 2 hours before	Always 2 hours before kickoff, even for noon games.
2 years 39 weeks ago	It's interesting that the few	It's interesting that the few OSU fans I know complain every year about how bad they think the OL is. Last year it struggled early but ended up being pretty good and it's hard to argue that they're not good when your offense performs when it needs to in order to win 10+ games per year.  That said, trading yours for UW's might be warranted call but I don't think there's as large a gap between the two OLs as implied (or at least it looks as though that's implied).
2 years 40 weeks ago	Nothing, really, but playing	Nothing, really, but playing the same playlist for pregames for basketball is something I hope the band changes this year. They're awesome, don't get me wrong, but the same thing every game is a little bit emotionally deflating. Some songs always have to be played of course - The Victors, Let's go blue, etc - but stuff like Panama and Kashmir (great songs, I like them both) could be rotated. Of course, I'd still like to hear them more than once a season, but you get the idea.

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