mvp

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1 week 6 days ago r.s.f.c. -- memories

Anybody here old enough to remember Usenet?  There used to be a group called: rec.sports.football.college back in the early days of the internets.  I only bring it up because BBQ was a frequent (and often heated) off-season discussion topic.

Back then, there were so few people talking about college football online that there was basically one place where *EVERYONE* electronically congregated.  There were some epic threads debating the merits of Catsup-based vs. Mustard-based vs. Vinegar-based sauces.

Also, damn, am I old.
4 weeks 3 days ago Changing too

Civil service is changing, too.  Just look at how underfunded the pension and post retirement benefits are in many municipalities (e.g. Illinois).  Where there are generous packages, these are under intense scrutiny like never before.
4 weeks 5 days ago But It Isn't the Band

It isn't really the band that seems to be throwing the hissy -- it is a bunch of people that *LIKE* the band.  And for Dave "the Brand" Brandon, isn't the MMB a significant part of the brand and therefore something the AD should facilitate.  Not every time, but this time.  IMHO, of course.
4 weeks 5 days ago Fine

The band will do that right after everyone starts paying a "band surcharge" for every football ticket they buy.  $20 per ticket per game should do it.

The kids who are in the band give up 15 - 25 hours per week (including off weeks) during the fall; they give up a good portion of their holiday break for bowl games, and they share (for free) their incomparable talent.  And with a few token exceptions (facilitated NOT through the University or the Athltetic Department, but through the FUNDRAISING you mention) they don't do it for any sort of scholarship.

In addition to the few small scholarships that are given, the band has to pay for directors, staff, uniforms, instruments, music, equipment, insurance, etc.  Most of what makes the band look and sound so good and uniform and consistent IS in fact, private fundraising.

I agree that not everyone values the band the same, but to suggest that they are just a "special interest" is to truly undermine the effort and committment of these kids.
5 weeks 2 hours ago Yeah...

...even the band won't be there.  sigh
5 weeks 2 hours ago Not Realistic

The band has a *very* full schedule in the fall.  It isn't practical for them to go to many more games.  As a M alum and a former MMB member, I have often marveled that the band doesn't go to more games (and that so many visiting schools bring their bands), but the reality is tough.

This situation, however, is a major exception.  ARGH.
5 weeks 11 hours ago Holy Crap

Despite having a Michigan B.S. in Chemical Engineering, an MBA, and a CFA there's apparently a LOT I've forgotten about Calculus in the last 20 years.  When I was in school 115 was cake and 116 wasn't too hard if I recall.  NOW?  Bridges would be collapsing everywhere.  Use it or lose it, I guess...
6 weeks 7 hours ago But, what was the punishment?

The punishment was the the banners had to be down for a period of time.  

I agree that you're judged by the company you keep (and tell my kids the same thing).  However, there were LOTS of good things about the Fab 5 era as well.  By deciding to not put the banners up, MSC is denying the good things that did happen.  Why not put the banners back up?  Is it to punish the Fab 5 who were involved with the problem or is it to dissuade others from following the same path by not honoring or glorifying ANY part of the Fab 5 era?

Another thin parallel is jail time.  If a convict can't get a job after they've served their time, aren't they truly being punished more than just the jail time?  Is that maybe the intent?  This is a VERY complicated and thorny issue as people assess our justice system differently if they believe it should be punative or rehabilitative.  Is the purpose of jail (and the stigma of being a convict) supposed to be so punative that it discourages OTHERS from similar crimes, or is it supposed to be a period that rehabilitates the convict such that they're fit to re-enter society?

I think neither our justice system nor the NCAA are very clear on these issues.  As a result both MSC and Jalen can both reasonably have different views on what should happen next.
8 weeks 3 days ago 15 years ago

I was ignorant of the pilgrimage to football's Mecca that would take place over the next 8+ months.
10 weeks 12 min ago Strategy

As many others have indicated, I'd advise holding off for a while.  If you want to take him because it is easier than finding a babysitter, more power to you.  But, it isn't going to be for him.

We now have 5 tickets, so all the kids can go to as many games as they want to.  About 3 years ago, my (now 14 year old) daughter started complaining that she wasn't getting to go to the "good" games.  This past year she was basically at all of them and is a dyed-in-the-wool fan because SHE wants to be there.

4 or 5 years ago, I started asking her if she *wanted* to go when I had an extra ticket, and most of the time, the answer was yes.  And, she picked up on the fact, very early, that it was a privelege to be there, not a right (and certainly not an obligation).  She also gets that we don't leave before the game is over -- complaining will fall on deaf ears, so it just doesn't happen.

Going to the ND night game this last year was a very special experience for her.

Now my 11 year old daughter is more and more interested in going.  She loves the team, too, and is learning more and more about the game.

My 7 year old son loves cheering, and went to two of the early season games this past year.  He's a soccer player, so we went to a M soccer game last season and that helped strengthen the M linkage for him.  He has a teddy bear he got for Christmas he named "Denard" and wears his 16 jersey to school with regularity.  I still wouldn't take him to an OSU game or something like ND under the lights.

A good indicator is whether or not they like sitting through all, or most, of an away game when you're at home watching it.  If so, they're really getting ready for big-time involvement.
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