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Not breaking any news here,…

Not breaking any news here, but re: the correspondence degree, two thing:

1) It was harder to do back then and really required commitment.

2) Part of that commitment was living up to a promise to his grandmother (who raised him but sadly passed away before his time at Michigan.

I'm in the "Juwan is a good dude" camp.

I only picked Auburn for two…

I only picked Auburn for two games, but ... yeah.  They were also my sleeper pick in a pool where each of 8 participants get 8 teams, no duplicates.  So, damn.

But yeah, not watching much basketball this year really hurt the old "gut feel" meter for me.

There have been different…

There have been different strategies at different times.

When the band was on the East sideline, it was so that the students and "50-yard-home-side-wealthy-donor" fans could hear them better as they played across the stadium.

Like Bando said above, their home has been where it is now since they reset that area specifically for the band.  

About that same time, the B1G changed their rules to allow the band to be mic'd and amplified, theoretically allowing more people to hear.  It took some work, but it is somewhat functional and allows more people to hear the band when they play.  However, if you are in a section that is near the band, it can be very frustrating as you hear the band directly and then, after a short delay, through the amplification system.

When I was in the MMB ('89-'92 seasons), we were on the West side and had decent sight lines.  As also stated above, some of the subsequent solutions were pretty terrible for being in the band and actually seeing the game.

The rooting guide has been…

The rooting guide has been an incredible feature and resource, but respectfully, I agree that we want OSU to lose. Without the auto-bid, they are done. And locking in a tourney berth is more important to me than a conference tournament banner. 

I followed up with another…

I followed up with another phone call.

There is/was a separate sale for club ticket holders, but it was not specific to the individual seats.  In other words, you're not guaranteed your tickets, but you can buy up to six.  So I guess the idea is that club ticket holders get first dibs on the club seats, but they're trying to allow for the fact that some will buy none and some will want more than their normal amount.

For some reason, not every club ticket holder got the email.

When the sale went live today, if you put in your code, you got access to the club seats not yet sold.  If you didn't put in the code, you only had access to the regular seats still available.

This is the first year I've…

This is the first year I've had season tickets for hockey since being a student.

I just called the ticket office to understand the process.

They told me that when renewing season tickets, there is an option to pre-purchase tickets for the B1G Quarterfinals.  Since I didn't go through the renewal process, I never knew that.

They also said, there was an email that went out February 13th, but I never received that message.

Oh well.  I guess now I know.

My original post is clearly…

My original post is clearly... unclear.

The main point I was trying to make is about how the Athletic Department allocates what are normally Maize Rage seats for spring break week.

I've responded to many comments above.  All good, I get it.  People don't want to watch this team and I should not suggest they should.

Don't know who runs it.

Don't know who runs it.

When I tweeted that I was surprised how many Purdue fans were filling the Maize Rage, whoever runs it responded and told me that the Maize Rage has only the center section of the Maize Rage for spring break week.

So not only does the Maize Rage not control much, they have even less control for this one game.

No offense taken.  

As I…

No offense taken.  

As I have said in multiple responses in the thread, the main point I wanted to make was about how the Athletic Department is filling the Maize Rage during spring break.  I clearly did not make that explicit in my original post.

In response to your comment about "no Michigan fan in their right mind", I think I'm a rational person and I chose to go to the game.  I have season tickets, I like basketball, I like Michigan, and I chose to go.  I knew it would likely be a loss and I chose to go anyway to see how it played out.  I was already around for the weekend to go to hockey games Friday and Saturday and for other reasons over the weekend.  So I went. 

In retrospect, I think the worst part of my original post was suggesting that others should behave in a way they don't want to.  That is definitely how the post was written, but I fully accept that anyone can do what they want.  My choices are my own; other's choices are theirs.

Well on one hand, I agree. …

Well on one hand, I agree.  Nobody does a promotion independent of the opponent or calendar.

But it is true that the Maize Rage gets a certain number of tickets for every game of the season except the one game during spring break.  So, the Athletic Department explicitly does make this particular decision exclusively based on the calendar and totally independent of the opponent.

For sure.  We're all sharing…

For sure.  We're all sharing opinions here.

I'm not sure what part of the idea I'm suggesting is so difficult.  There's something like 1,000 Maize Rage seats that would be managed for one game outside the normal ticketing system.

I'm not saying I know everything about how ticket sales work or that mine is the only idea that is a viable alternative.  I'm just suggesting something I think would be plausible to address one specific issue.  

Of course, there are risks and challenges and potential money left on the table.  But why do you think the idea is so bad?  I'm not trying to be contrary just for the sake of it, either.  I tried to give you a genuine response to your question about how I was suggesting to do one thing and other than saying it is impossible, you're not saying why you think so.

Also, just, like, your opinion, man.  So... cool.  I'm not hurt or offended, just curious.

I'm not saying do it for all…

I'm not saying do it for all of Crisler.

This is just for the Maize Rage seats that you know will be unused because it is spring break week.

Crisler Arena capacity is 13,751.  Maybe 10% of that is Maize rage with the center Maize Rage section still going to M students.  So it is, like, 1,000 seats where you're losing, net, maybe $25 per ticket.  So it costs you $25 grand for tickets that have already been sold to students as part of their season ticket package.

I'm not suggesting it would be free for the Athletic Department, but it wouldn't be a bad investment in goodwill.

Every year, for spring break…

Every year, for spring break week, work with local elementary schools to give each of them some number of tickets.  Whether it is a pure give away, or the tickets are sold for $5, or whatever, the goals are:

  1. Local kids get to go to a Michigan game in a way that is a lot more affordable than for a typical game.
  2. Kids and families fill those sections with non-transferrable tickets.
  3. Goodwill.

The locking out comes from the fact that for this one game, you don't sell the tickets the way the Athletic Department normally sells tickets.  And I'm not saying for the entire arena -- those sales go on like normal.  This is just for the Maize Rage tickets that are going to go unused because the bulk of students are gone on spring break.

As I said in a post above, if you looked at the kids in the white t-shirts that stood with the Michigan players during Lift Every Voice and the Star Spangled Banner, they were having a blast the entire game.  They don't particularly care that the team isn't good -- they were just excited to be at a Michigan game in Crisler Arena with everything that goes along with it.

Of course, Purdue fans would have still filled Crisler yesterday, been loud, and dominated our fans.  But they wouldn't have filled the lower bowl Maize Rage seats and the student corner section.

If Michigan happened to be number 2 in the country, I'm sure there would be a lot more demand for those tickets.  But if you do the promotion every year, schools and families know to look for it and would likely come no matter how bad the team is.

This is my entire point.

This is my entire point.

For spring break week, when the Maize Rage is gone, make an affordable promotion that gets kids and families into Crisler, into the Maize Rage, and lock out visiting fans.

Even in a crappy year, there would likely be demand if they gave the tickets to local elementary schools for, say, $5 each.  Then a family of four could go for $20, kids could experience a B1G game, and we wouldn't have what we had yesterday in the lower bowl of the arena.

Commuting makes it more difficult, but that's why you make it a local promotion.

For sure.

The main point I…

For sure.

The main point I'm trying to make is about what the Athletic Department does with the Maize Rage tickets during spring break week.

Even if the team is awful, a bunch of local elementary school kids and their families could go to the game in an affordable way, have fun, and fill the Maize Rage with somebody not screaming "Boiler Up!"

If the team happened to be great, a bunch of kids would get an opportunity to see a great team that would likely be much less accessible to them.

For sure, everyone has free…

For sure, everyone has free will and can spend their time and money however they choose.  But as a basketball fan base, my experience is that Michigan fans aren't great.  Even in good seasons, for many games, there are lots of empty seats.  The economics of basketball ticket pricing are certainly to blame in all sorts of ways.

I made the main point of my post confusing by starting with this.  That wasn't my intent (even though my choice is to support the team as a season ticket holder).  As I've tried to point out in some of the comments, the main issue I wanted to highlight is the Athletic Department's handling of the Maize Rage tickets during spring break week.

Again, the main point of my…

Again, the main point of my post is obviously muddled.

Lots of frustration for lots of reasons for lots of people.

What I'm trying to say is that the Athletic Department has an opportunity to do something better for the specific situation of how to fill the Maize Rage during spring break.

Fair enough.

I really have…

Fair enough.

I really have no response other than to say my choice is to buy tickets, go to the game, and support the team.

It is not for me to tell others what to do.  So I accept that even if it isn't what I do.

My main gripe is with the Athletic Department and my suggestion is that they do something different, specifically with the Maize Rage tickets during spring break.

I had two of the '97 Pepsi…

I had two of the '97 Pepsi cans.  One eventually failed and had a slow syrup-y leak where I was keeping it in the basement.

My point is, for one game of…

My point is, for one game of the year, when it is spring break, do something totally different.

For example, I don't want to go back to the "Buy a Coke, get a ticket" promotion, but if you know the student section will be mostly empty, plan for that by giving local elementary schools all the excess Maize Rage tickets for $5 each.  

That token amount will make it so that the tickets aren't wasted.  But then a local family with elementary school aged kids can get a Crisler experience for a family of 4 for $20.  Then the tickets are guaranteed to not go on the open market.

I totally agree with the point about "put a better product on the court."  But this would be a feel-good promotion, regardless if the team were contending for a championship or having a bad season.  Just looking at the kids who got to stand with the M players before the game -- those kids were having a BLAST all game long.

As I said in my original post, I understand that it is more likely for the MSU game that there will be MSU fans in the arena.  Especially in a down year when people are dumping their season tickets. That's why I started by saying, "Michigan ticket holders, do better."  I was able to secure great tickets at Spartan Stadium this year through a family friend, and Michigan fans were pretty dominant this year.

My main point is that for this one specific situation -- Maize Rage and students gone for Spring Break -- there's an opportunity to do something different and better.

I mostly agree.

The MMB,…

I mostly agree.

The MMB, Hockey Band, and Basketball Band all do share one challenge:  The gameday experience is so programmed and managed that there's a lot they don't control.

I do like that JP is very quick to get the Temptation theme going after a good save.  For hockey, that results in COY and fans doing the "goalie! sieve!" thing, which is slightly more creative than the football "You suck" (which I also like).

Even so, there is a script they must follow for certain parts of the game and decisions made not at the band level regarding who is playing what and when (DJ vs. Band vs. replays vs. other scoreboard/screen stuff).

But all that scripting is why the COY need to be organized, creative, and most of all LOUD.

Last year, it was the Monday…

Last year, it was the Monday morning after the end of the regular season.  If the same, then it would be next Monday.

Official capacity is only 5,800.  So it isn't like there's a lot of inventory to move.

We have season tickets to…

We have season tickets to football, basketball, and hockey.

I feel the same way about the COY, Bando.  When MSU was at Yost a couple weeks ago, there was a small MSU contingent, but they were LOUD.  COY should have quickly and easily shut that down.  A simple "Go! Blue" chant would do, or covering up "Go Green.  Go White." with "Can't Read, Can't Write."  Also, what the COY are doing should be more situational and specific to individual opponents and players.

The Maize Rage is somewhat better, IMO, but needs to be more organic as well.  I have a separate rant about the Athletic Department and how it impacts the Maize Rage that I want to write this morning.

The student section for football desperately needs to get more organized.  Do the wave.  Great.  But do it either after the game is decided or at least when Michigan is on defense.  And do anything possible to engage more of the general crowd.

[Old Man Stuff/]

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Llewelyn’s shot wasn’t great…

Llewelyn’s shot wasn’t great. But he needs experience to play down the stretch as the one for a high major program. He hasn’t done that very much. Also, he had the confidence to take it. Next time maybe he has a better take on using the clock, being brave, and being disciplined. Pretty easy to sit in judgment knowing the shot didn’t go in. 
 

I thought Dug’s late layup attempt was fine — he makes a lot of those and it almost went in. 
 

I’m not saying the season is great or that mistakes haven’t been made. But let’s celebrate the second chance this year to learn from mistakes in a win. 

Funny to see all the…

Funny to see all the negative comments and ignorance — especially about Juwan’s late game coaching decisions. 

To sum up:

The team played hard tonight.

They have lost many games they should not have. Some of that is coaching, some of that is the players. 
 

They did not lose tonight. 
 

Dug did not play for a long stretch in the second half. In the first half, his knee was wrapped on the bench; unclear if he tweaked it tonight or earlier. When he was in, including at the end because he is the team’s best (only real) press breaker, he played well, hitting 3 of 4 important free throws to ice the game. The last one came on a WI foul that was after the ball had been passed away and took Dug out. He still made the final FT. 
 

No idea if this means anything is “fixed” but the team disappointed all who took WI -7 in the second half and many here who seem to want them to keep losing. 
 

The officiating was frustrating; Wisconsin is still Wisconsin. 
 

I’m glad they got the win. 

It has been standard…

It has been standard Wisconsin. 
 

Every offensive possession is a series of shoves, chicken wings, elbows, and travels. Almost nothing called. 

Michigan breathes on Wisconsin and gets called for a foul. 

Couldn’t get a call or a…

Couldn’t get a call or a fair shake (other than the one make up call after they called a foul on M for what should have been a held ball). 
 

For better or for worse, they are playing hard. 
 

The problem is how many times we’ve seen this movie this season. 

I got part way through the…

I got part way through the comments, but I did not read them all. 

Business is good because it is a path to consulting. But the consulting firms demand both good grades and hyper-intelligence (which they assess through their interviews). So just getting good grades isn’t enough. If you can make it, it is probably the path to the most money the soonest.

Have him watch Pursuit of Happyness. You can make a crap ton of money in finance, but there are so many incredibly smart people working in that industry. And many of them have drive and motivation you might not appreciate. 

Have him read “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life” by Scott Adams. Main point: don’t try to be the Michael Jordan of one thing because that’s too hard; try to be top 10% of each element of a unique combination of skills which is easier to do, but hard to replicate for others. He calls it building a “skill stack.”

 

Agreed. And Wisconsin was…

Agreed. And Wisconsin was fortunate on the one goal they did score. 
 

Barczewski made a good save but ended up seated with his legs extended in front of him. The rebound trickled just out of his reach and Horbach was able to get the put-back. Not much Jake could do at that point. 

Well written, Ace.  Glad to…

Well written, Ace.  Glad to hear the positives; sorry for the challenges.

Time heals [many] wounds... glad you are able to write and share this here.  Good luck.

In retrospect, it was…

In retrospect, it was watching warmups for the first game of 2021.  The sideline and interaction between the position coaches and the players just seemed ... different.  I didn't know that it would lead to *this*, but that was the moment for me when I saw something had changed.

Also paywalled, but a…

Also paywalled, but a similar article from Jason Gay at the Wall Street Journal:

https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/jim-harbaugh-michigan-national-championship-nfl-86b10eb0

Jason is a Wisconsin grad and regularly, in a tongue in cheek way, bemoans the number of Michigan grads at the WSJ.  FWIW, there has been quite a decent amount of Michigan content at the WSJ this week.

We were supposed to go…

We were supposed to go Austin to Atlanta to Detroit yesterday, leaving at 12:50.  We ended up direct from Austin to Detroit on the 5:30 this morning, which meant not much sleep, but not too much hassle.  Well worth it!

Returning the rental car to Austin yesterday to get the shuttle back to the hotel, I saw Zinter's family in the return area.  So... cool story bro.

Also, we had time to kill, so stopped at the Austin Buc-ees.  Once we were at the hotel yesterday, we got word that the Michigan Marching Band was delayed leaving too.  So the entire MMB went to the Katy, TX Buc-ees and my son was asking if we needed anything.  LOL

That is a long-standing…

That is a long-standing phrase at Michigan.  Back in the Hoke days, my wife did the women’s football academy.  During the QB instruction, Devin Gardner said the way to remember how to spin the ball is to “flick the booger.”  It has been part of our family lexicon since.

I think there was some…

I think there was some conservatism, but not too much.  M was playing with a lead, and they knew it.  But there were a couple key plays that were just misses by M.  I'm not calling out players, just describing the plays, but two huge swings were Cornelius dropping the slant (which would have gone a long way) and Keegan missing a block on 3rd and 2 in the 3rd Q that got Blake tackled.  If it were more desperate, you could go for it on 4th and 2, but as I recall it was the minus 45 yard line, M was up 7, and JH just elected to punt.

JJ said afterward that he…

JJ said afterward that he looked and didn't see anything but didn't want to take too much time being that close to the goal line.  So I think he made the decision and it wasn't a called run.

It feels like walking around…

It feels like walking around California. Probably 4 or 5:1 Michigan fans. 
 

In the stadium, Rose Bowl felt like 60:40 M to Bama. Hoping tomorrow is even more Michigan. 
 

I will be losing my damn mind and liyd as hell. I will be in the Blue so you can find me. 

Just went to Dean’s Downtown…

Just went to Dean’s Downtown on Main. Had a great vibe. Good drinks and some fun interactions with Huskies. Recommended.
 

Back at the bar at our hotel for tonight. Need to rest up and get the vocal chords warmed up for tomorrow. 

Update: MMB link to…

Update: MMB link to instagram video…

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1lgWhzLJ_s/?igsh=MWprYWduZWhvaDJxbA==

It is the BEST.
 

My…

It is the BEST.
 

My daughter just graduated after 4 years in the MMB and was with us at the game. My other daughter starts at Michigan Law this fall. She was with us too. We are lucky and very proud parents. 

They arrived at LAX, went to…

They arrived at LAX, went to a rehearsal, then went directly to Disney for free time from around 5pm to 10 pm. The next morning, they went back to Disney and performed early before heading to the pep rally. 

As soon as the clock hit 15…

As soon as the clock hit 15:00 he was off the bench. Felt like a punishment for some team rules infraction. 

No

No

It has nothing to do with…

It has nothing to do with prices. The tickets are *sold*, they just aren’t *used*.

Athletics is trying promotions, reminders, emails, and texts to try to get the seats filled. 
 

 

In interviews since the PSU…

In interviews since the PSU game, Moore has stated that the Mammoth package was planned and repped in fall camp.  This was part of our coaching staff playing the long game and anticipating being able to fairly vanilla for 9 games with some stuff left in the bag.

Wondering what we'll get to see vs. OSU.

Certainly felt that way in…

Certainly felt that way in real time.  I thought there was at least one missed and a lot of aggressive jumps.  That's the home-field advantage, and they maximized it.

I think most opponents would have said the same thing about Aiden in 2021.

I had this same thought (jiu…

I had this same thought (jiu jitsu) after the second series.  Just felt like we needed to use their own moves against them.  The question was, "How?"  Boy did our coaches answer.

As ususal, Seth, incredible…

As ususal, Seth, incredible write-up.  I learn so much from these.

My question, is about the first play from scrimmage.  It seems like that's less about how aggressive Diaz's defense is and more about the fact that our line just got beat badly.

In that play, other than the backs and WRs, there are 7 guys around the ball.  5 OL and 2 TEs.  Technically, I guess the end is up top b/c the upper TE tight is in the backfield.  But long before any linebacker has the chance to "spike" (or do *anything* for that matter), as you point out, Henderson is beaten.

But shouldn't that have been a double team on that defensive lineman?  To me, more than anything else, that showed *why* Diaz is running the defense he is.  I know I'm not breaking any new ground here by saying the d-line is fast, but ... damn.  And that wasn't even one of the ends, it was a defensive tackle. How does our double team get beaten that badly?  

I guess that's kind of the point -- Michigan's offensive line hadn't seen anybody like that yet.  But, at that moment, I was really worried about the next 59:52.  If we couldn't stop that with a double team how screwed were we going to be?  All I could think about was Brian's "teleported into the backfield" comment.  And lo, I was scared.

My point is that it is truly remarkable how fast PSU's defensive line is.  The fact that our staff had a way to address it that could be executed by our players, shows how remarkable they are.

Was going to answer but 101…

Was going to answer but 101 said exactly what I was going to say.  Even the corners of the lower bowl are pretty good.