NYWolverine

History

Member for
3 years 40 weeks
Blog
View recent blog entries

Karma

Current value
1

Recent Comments

Date Title Body
1 week 3 days ago But that's the thing;

But that's the thing; Minnesotans are really likable, so us folks ranking 'sota higher are doing it because we feel kinda bad. We actually want Minny to be good, and enough so that it's frustrating when we reflect on Minny's lack of relevance. It's a lot like how some people say 'it must really suck to be a Cubs fan...' It's that lovable losers thing.

Plus, they've got the new football facilities, a decent basketball coach and team, so it's irritating and as if the'yre just not putting the puzzle together. PUT IT TOGETHER, GOPHERS! I would love to see Minny crack the Top 10 and make a BCS (just not at our expense). It would be nice if the Brown Jug Game was relevant for something other than giving my favorite Michigan bar its name.
3 weeks 2 days ago Pants are over. Kilts are in.

Pants are over. Kilts are in. It would be the best giveaway in sports history: 100,000+ screaming fans decked out in maize kilts. Bring Braveheart to the Big House.
4 weeks 1 day ago OK, now compare those

OK, now compare those stadiums listed and their concourses, concessions infrastructure, infrastructural layout as I discussed, etc., etc. If there are ANY infrastructural differences at the pro stadiums as opposed to college stadiums that enhance them as feasible cold-weather event venues, then you just proved my point.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't say hosting a final 4 playoff wasn't feasible at Michigan Stadium (or a similarly situated forum). I only said that the "infrastructural concerns" weren't necessarily as scoffable as Brian would portray them. The concerns, insofar as they're valid, exist. But I would argue they can be mitigated, and the idea of home playoff games is a good one. I think it would generate a lot of excitement, create memorable matchups, and result in teams scheduling more competitive regular seasons in order to get that very important home playoff game.
4 weeks 1 day ago And I admit, or rather would

And I admit, or rather would expect, that the weather would only be as ferocious as it's ever been for OSU, which isn't bad at all. But I wouldn't say vocalizing a concern about heating and weather infrastructure at stadiums and venues such as Michigan Stadium is wholly misplaced.

Lambeau Field might be as good a comparison as you can find, but a sell-out crowd in Green Bay is just over 71,000, and that crowd is wildly favorable and advantageous to Green Bay. Now, the idea that crowd favoritism and advantage would play into the decision-making here is laughably ironic, but where the BCS's biggest criticism is the unlevel playing field re: bowl selections (currently tipping hard toward the SEC), it wouldn't do the BCS any favors to subject itself to the same, or heightened, criticism in the reverse.
4 weeks 1 day ago You just uncovered two more

You just uncovered two more "infrastructural" concerns: heat and crowd cover. I can't imagine many B1G stadiums, or stadiums north of the Mason Dixon, have heating systems in their stadiums, or canopies against the elements. Try selling a $150 ticket to a 35+ year old fan and his kids who are going to have to shiver out a winter game in Michigan. God help you if it rains or snows.
4 weeks 1 day ago My sense is Hancock was

My sense is Hancock was referring to stadium parking infrastructure and mass transit sites, whereas college campuses typically serve populations that are relatively 'on-site' already. Bowl game sites have to expect droves of RV trekkies, commuters from far and wide, and public transportation options to be completely saturated.

Speaking from experience, when you go to the Rose Bowl, you enter a parking lot expanse that can obviously handle a colossal draw of humanity (RVers, commuters from far and wide, tailgaters, trailers, etc.). Public rest-facilities at the Rose Bowl have showers, or are modified to have showers for the RVers. There are sufficient out-lots to handle parking and tailgating needs for the rest of the influx. There were marked public transportation sites that avoided confusion and dangerous crowding or bottlenecks.

I don't think these are scoffable concerns, although I do believe with reasonable planning and orchestration these concerns can be fairly mitigated.
4 weeks 3 days ago Eat the cake because it's

Eat the cake because it's cake. But tomorrow, eat lots of cabbage, refried beans, and eggs. Walk over to and fill her cubicle with a particularly noxious fart. Say, "Oh, I'm sorry. I guess that cake didn't agree with me." Hang a maize and blue air freshener in her cube as you leave.
4 weeks 3 days ago This is the big picture,

This is the big picture, here. It's a home game, and profit-wise, it's a relative wash. But instead of baby-seal U at home, it's Alabama at a pro-venue, under a marquee bill, in prime-time, with next-level branding, etc., etc. As a one-off, I'm for it, even though, as a fan and alum, the MMB sleight is a pretty unfortunate casualty. But because I don't know what kind of atmosphere will be created in the MMB's traditional and classic stead, I'll withhold judgment.
4 weeks 3 days ago I never denied the

I never denied the significance of the MMB, in fact I think I explicitly addressed that point. And, I'm not going to defend my fandom, because let's be serious.

We're talking about a one-off game here, in the largest pro-venue in football, against the reigning MNC, with maximum exposure, automatic next-level branding, and for a profit. In a one-off like this, while I still defend the significance of the MMB to the event and fan-experience, it's an ancillary issue to me. If DB was bringing Alabama to Michigan and sending Michigan to Alabama for a home-and-home, and he cut the MMB to either event, I would have my pitchfork at the ready. But this is simply a different type of event, and one I'm willing to give DB credit.
4 weeks 3 days ago I don't think I missed any

I don't think I missed any point. And to be honest, my gripe about the MMB is more a nostalgic issue as an alum who's seen live Michigan games, because I'm really not too upset about it from an AD decision standpoint.

As nostalgic fans, we want the MMB to be there because that's what Michigan college football is to us. And if this is really supposed to be a bowl like atmosphere for the fans, it won't so much be without the MMB. Except, I don't think DB was going so much for "Fiesta Bowl" for the fans as he was "Super Bowl" for the recruits, donors, and people watching TVs. It's a pro venue, and the largest one at that. We play Alabama, the champs. Based on billing and venue alone, the marquee automatically brands Michigan as something of a next-level contender.

As for the MMB...have you ever noticed the folks at home don't really ever get to watch the halftime performances anyway? I do feel for the M fans who will pay for tickets and, wanting to see the band perform, will not get that wish fulfilled. But we don't really know what's planned for halftime, nor do we know what the live game-feel will be like sans-MMB.

All I know is how I fall re: the favorability of having Michigan and Alabama on the marquee of a pro-venue, in prime-time, for $4.7M received. Maybe we just agree to disagree.
Theme provided by Roopletheme; sidebars adapted from Chris Murphy.