I have been to M, NW, OSU, ILL and IU. By far the worst leg room/seat space was Michigan Stadium end zone seating sad to say. The only place close to as bad was in the corner at ND.
I would suggest Brian has many options regarding what he can do, a boycott being only one. In fact, if he is serious about running for Regent, he is doing that as well. I would point out that whatever you mean by "necessary action prior to the game" may well not be what many of the people you profess to support want or will benefit from. In fact I think the whole notion of a boycott is terribly disrespectful of many of the folks involved in the program. A boycott does not just affect Hoke and Brandon and Ross, but many other folks. At the bottom line this is about a lack of success on the field, not any more noble effort. The damage a boycott will do to the University and the football program and the hard working people involved - if successful - is hard to calculate, but make no mistake it will be damaging.
I wasn't planning on attending the Maryland game, but I will now. The people who work hard as players, student staff, coaches and adminsitration deserve support. I know several of these people, so I do not speak from the view of a fan without any personal connections to the individuals involved. They are by and large good people doing their best for the university. This is not professional football. I am disappointed, but not surprised at the MGoBlog reaction. I hope others will continue to support those working hard despite their lack of success on the field and lapses in judgement in real time.
First game I saw was also Bo's first as coach at M. 45-7 win over Vandy. Morehead and Doughty were stars. I remember the cheerleaders getting tired doing back flips off of the wall.
5. No.... I like the rawk music and most of the showbiz stuff and unlike most here don't care much for all the tradition and the band etc. The stadium, however, is the most uncomfortable place I have ever watched a game (I've been to several other Big Ten and NFL venues). The space for your "seat" is riduclulously small. That in concert with the tickets now costing more than the market rate led me to cancel. I still love the University, the coaches and the team, but will support them in other ways.
I have purchased six season tickets in the end zone for several years. I go to a couple of the bigger games and sell the rest. Usually I have been able to break about even. But now that is no longer the case. The donation and ticket costs have outstripped the value. This is probably for many reasons. I think younger people do not want to be anywhere their phones don't work. The stadium is a very uncomfortable place to sit for four hours especially as americans have gotten bigger, much bigger. The on field product is weak compared to 1969-2007. I wish the team well, and even Dave Brandon well as he competes in the big business world of college football. But I will contribute to the University in other ways than as a season ticket holder beginning in 2014. The stadium has become a playground for the well off. I'm not sure with the way the US economy is going that there will be 114,000 people well off enough and willing to fill the Big House going forward.
Sure, but I bet Brian is not on the A List of consultants for any NCAA football head coach. He would be on the A List for those looking for consulting on fan sports blogs.
Oh well, delicate flower, internet tough guy whatever you guys say. I think Brian definitely thinks it goes beyond Mattison. I also think he means exactly what he says. He has a strong global opinion about the program which, in my opinion, he does not have enough information to substantiate. Once again, I would expect more humility after the excoriation of Borges followed by the record breaking offensive performance last Saturday.
I have been reading this blog for a long time. While it may be something you suggest is a given, I would argue Brian is not accepting this when he writes this:
"To me the issue goes deeper than Mattison. This is a whole-program issue, one that I think we all wondered about when Michigan hired a guy who was all about manball. If Michigan can't get a two-minute drill executed in under eight minutes, how can we take the idea that Michigan is comfortable at high pace seriously? They suck at it on offense; they suck at it on defense. This goes back to the guy in charge."
He does not have enough information to know if this problem is program-wide or Hoke centric. He just doesn't know. That he acts like he does, is irritating to me. Maybe if he said "it seems" like this may be a whole-program issue, it would be less irritating. Maybe if he said this "may well" go back to the guy in charge, it would be less irritating to me.
There is much more than viewing video (and BTN video at that, not coaches video) to understanding these issues. I don't think making absolute statements such as in this post is warranted.
Borges and Hoke have forgotten more about football than Brian knows. Some of these conclusions Brian makes about "the program" with his limited access to information are preposterous. A little more humility is in order especially after the trashing of Borges followed by a 63 point explosion.
I am amused by the fact that this site treats Schembechler as a god and crucifies Borges. Al Borges is a far more creative coach than Schembechler or any of his assistants were back in the day. The tradition of Michigan is to run into a 7 or 8 or 9 man front, take your lumps early and wear down the opposition. I spent many a Saturday in my youth watching far less creative efforts than that versus PSU last Saturday. It always caught up to Schembechler at some point in the season.
I think Dave should start charging what the product is worth. Season ticket holders should be charged the estimated worth of their tickets per game. For example the prices for an end zone season ticket holder should range from $10 for the Akron ticket to $250 for UTL2 Nortre Dame ticket. Drop the forced "donation" bs. Then dumping the Akron ticket for $10 doens't seem like an issue. Otherwise attendance and season ticket purchases will continue to fall. Season tickets in even years should cost less than in odd years when Ohio and MSU both come to town. Right now I am thinking that I am overpaying for my season tickets since several games are valueless or overpriced (CMU, Akron, Minnesota for sure) . There were a lot of free tickets available for Akron and CMU this year.
The bottom line is that the near and mid-term futures look very good indeed. One thing I think most on this board undervalue is the impact having a true passing quaterback will have on the O line. As exciting as Denard was, he truly made playing offensive line more difficult to play due to his poor passing and inability to effectively read the run option. Teams will not be able to stack the box on Devin, who was a higher rated recruit than Denard.
The lack of a passing threat from Denard, rather than O line play, may have been the primary reason for Fitz' inability to run effectively early on last year. Also many running backs play better when they are the primary running option.
AC was hands down the best receiver in modern Michigan history. I would say he was the best Michigan player of the past 44 years (I started watching M football in 1969) with the possible exception of Charles Woodson. He was criminally underutilized by Bo. For example he caught 17 passes in his freshman year for seven TD's. He averaged over 27 yards per catch as a freshman.
It is pretty clear that he needs to go. He had a great job and did well, but part of maintaining the job is being a successful public representative for the University and the football program. You simply can not be identified with this kind of content and maintain this position. It is better to let him go now rather than have to defend continuing to employ him to people that will rightly never understand a decision to keep him. I think Gus Johnson would be great in the role as well.
Given how infrequently Robinson gets to shoot, I would say he is a better three point shooter than Hardaway despite the %. It is a lot easier to shoot when you get as many shots as Hardaway versus the infrequest attempts Robinson gets. Robinson's production given the fact he is the fourth option and rarely has a play run for him is truly outstanding.
The jury is still out. We have seven of our nine most difficult regular season BIG games to play. We split the two tough BIG games we have played. We may be all that, but our rebounding and defense are not elite.
In Bo's first six years he rarely played ranked teams outside of Ohio and the Rose Bowl opponents. ND was not on the schedule and the Big Ten outside of Ohio was not strong at all. In those six years, Bo was 2-3-1 v. Ohio and 0-2 in the Rose Bowl. In those six years Bo did not have a bowl game in four seasons. When the scholarship limits came into effect, the team played ND every year, the Big Ten became more balanced and Bo had to play in a bowl game every year, the performance suffered. I think Carr's record is more impressive given the much tougher schedules, increase in games played, scholarship limits, a national championship and a bowl challenge each year.
The more I think about it, the more I wonder if post-football accomplishments or non-football accomplishments that reflect well on the University are a larger part of the decision on who gets honored. I don't know about the Wisterts, but Harmon was a war hero. Desmond's NFL career was pedestrian (notwithstanding a Super Bowl MVP), but he has been very successful and popular as a TV personality.
Ford was a decent football player on mostly poor Michigan teams. He clearly had his number retired for his political achievement of being selected president in the wake of the Watergate scandal. I don't think his number should have been retired. The celebrtion of players should be for what they did for Michigan on the field, not what they achieve in life following football. Otherwise, you might as well honor number 10 for Tom Brady.
NFL teams use a roster spot for this kind of player. If it was so easy to be outstanding at this task they wouldn't do so. He should make a difference with coverage on punts by snapping more quickly and accurately than a walk on and should help with field goal accuracy as well as reduce the possibility of blocked kicks and punts. Believe in the coaches. They know how important this position is for a football team.
The ACC is going down. Given there are going to be only four major conferences shouldn't they jump to one of them? Or should they let others take the spots and be left out of the party?
Anyone think there are some sleepness nights these days for the AD's at Syracuse, BC, Pitt, NCST, Duke and Wake Forest? These schools seem to be in the most peril of losing when the music stops.
My thoughts:
Playoff should include all NCAA FBS conference champions and one wild card (12 teams). Teams are seeded by strength of schedule. Wild card is chosen by selection committee, but cannot get a bye. All games except for championship game to be played at site of higher seed’s choosing (teams could be required to have a minimum stadium capacity).
Here is how it would have worked in 2011:
Round One (December 10, 2011)
Ark St @ Alabama
N. Illinois @ West Virginia
S. Miss @ VaTech
BSU @ La Tech
Round Two (December 17, 2011)
Ark St/ALA winner @ Wisconsin
N. ILL/W. VA winner @ Oregon
S. Miss/VaTech winner @ LSU
BSU/LaTech winner @ OK St
Round Three (semi-finals) New Year’s Day (January 2, 2012)
Two games at highest seed winners from round 2
Round four (final game) 6-8 days following New Year’s Day
Bowl selection for most schools could be done in early December. Bowl invitation to tournament losers could be factored in. Losers of round two and three could be slotted into New Year’s weekend bowls.
Benefits of this system:
Includes all NCAA FBS schools (no mid-major whining allowed. ND and BYU and other independents have a chance to be included as wild card)
Makes the conference season all important. Maintains that which has been lost in basketball: an important regular season.
Keeps the chances of a non conference champion winning very low.
Provides very strong incentive to schedule tough non-conference games which enhances regular season. A home game in round two or three could be dependent on scheduling tough non conference games.
Allows bowls to continue with high quality of football.
I first went to a Michigan game in 1969-Bo's first game as coach- and was it a wild scene. The games I got to attend in the 70's also seemed like getting in on a big giant party. Man were people having fun. My Dad purchased season tickets in 1979 when I was in LSA and about the same time the games were first sold out on a season ticket basis. Many fans were in their 20's and 30's and it was still a giant party with people making noise and having a good time. Over the years these people kept their seats and the crowd aged and aged and aged. It became a quiet place and I often wondered why did I come to sit in an uncomfortable seat with a bunch of grumpy 40-60 yr olds listening to the MMB playing the same old, same old.
My Dad had to go in a nursing home in 2008 and couldn't make it to the stadium, so I quit going to M Stadium and went to the home to watch games with him. This year, I decided it might be fun to go to the Notre Dame game.
Man, what a difference. It was like going to a giant party again. Except this time the music fit the vibe. I am so happy the powers-that-be have updated the experience. MMB has their place, but I'm sure I'm not the only one that appreciates Pop Evil and the rawk music. I will guarantee you, 90,000 people would not have stayed for 30 minutes after the game without the music.
Let's not get too high on our horse fellas. As I recall we were the first University to market an offcial toilet seat repleat with a block M in maize and blue.
Recent Comments
You are correct!
Tigers:
Game five 1968 World Series (Lou Brock fails to slide)
Honorable mention: The Bird 2-1 over the Yankees 1977
Lions:
Playoff win over Dallas 1991 (Barry runs wild)
Honorable mention: v. Vikings in 1991 (4th Q Comeback)
Michigan:
M 10 OSU 7 in 1971 (Billy Taylor scores! Billy Taylor scores!)
Honorable Mention: UTL I
Pistons:
Game Five 2004 NBA Finals (Five game sweep of Lakers)
Concert:
Iggy Pop at Second Chance 1981
I have been to M, NW, OSU, ILL and IU. By far the worst leg room/seat space was Michigan Stadium end zone seating sad to say. The only place close to as bad was in the corner at ND.
Howard Cosell (sense of the moment):
"Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!"
Gus Johnson (capturing the moment):
"The slipper still fits."
Marv Albert (catchphrases):
"Yes. And the foul."
"Yes. Serving up the facial."
"He hits from downtown!"
Ray Scott (for the minimalists):
"Starr...Dowler...touchdown Green Bay."
Isn't this being done this way so M has seven home games in both 18 and 19?
Ferentz may not be a HOF coach, but he's won 4 of the last five versus M and is 6-5 lifetime at Iowa versus M. Hopefully, things change soon.
Knight's blows away Blimpy's and also provides the beef for most of the top burgers in other restaurants in A2.
If MGoBlog ran the world in 1880 there would be no football.
I would suggest Brian has many options regarding what he can do, a boycott being only one. In fact, if he is serious about running for Regent, he is doing that as well. I would point out that whatever you mean by "necessary action prior to the game" may well not be what many of the people you profess to support want or will benefit from. In fact I think the whole notion of a boycott is terribly disrespectful of many of the folks involved in the program. A boycott does not just affect Hoke and Brandon and Ross, but many other folks. At the bottom line this is about a lack of success on the field, not any more noble effort. The damage a boycott will do to the University and the football program and the hard working people involved - if successful - is hard to calculate, but make no mistake it will be damaging.
I wasn't planning on attending the Maryland game, but I will now. The people who work hard as players, student staff, coaches and adminsitration deserve support. I know several of these people, so I do not speak from the view of a fan without any personal connections to the individuals involved. They are by and large good people doing their best for the university. This is not professional football. I am disappointed, but not surprised at the MGoBlog reaction. I hope others will continue to support those working hard despite their lack of success on the field and lapses in judgement in real time.
First game I saw was also Bo's first as coach at M. 45-7 win over Vandy. Morehead and Doughty were stars. I remember the cheerleaders getting tired doing back flips off of the wall.
1. Alum
2. 34 Years
3. Renewed 0 tickets
4. 6 Tickets not renewed
5. No.... I like the rawk music and most of the showbiz stuff and unlike most here don't care much for all the tradition and the band etc. The stadium, however, is the most uncomfortable place I have ever watched a game (I've been to several other Big Ten and NFL venues). The space for your "seat" is riduclulously small. That in concert with the tickets now costing more than the market rate led me to cancel. I still love the University, the coaches and the team, but will support them in other ways.
I have purchased six season tickets in the end zone for several years. I go to a couple of the bigger games and sell the rest. Usually I have been able to break about even. But now that is no longer the case. The donation and ticket costs have outstripped the value. This is probably for many reasons. I think younger people do not want to be anywhere their phones don't work. The stadium is a very uncomfortable place to sit for four hours especially as americans have gotten bigger, much bigger. The on field product is weak compared to 1969-2007. I wish the team well, and even Dave Brandon well as he competes in the big business world of college football. But I will contribute to the University in other ways than as a season ticket holder beginning in 2014. The stadium has become a playground for the well off. I'm not sure with the way the US economy is going that there will be 114,000 people well off enough and willing to fill the Big House going forward.
Sure, but I bet Brian is not on the A List of consultants for any NCAA football head coach. He would be on the A List for those looking for consulting on fan sports blogs.
No, you don't have the information Borges is privy to. And I bet you didn't think we would score 63 points versus IU.
Oh well, delicate flower, internet tough guy whatever you guys say. I think Brian definitely thinks it goes beyond Mattison. I also think he means exactly what he says. He has a strong global opinion about the program which, in my opinion, he does not have enough information to substantiate. Once again, I would expect more humility after the excoriation of Borges followed by the record breaking offensive performance last Saturday.
I have been reading this blog for a long time. While it may be something you suggest is a given, I would argue Brian is not accepting this when he writes this:
"To me the issue goes deeper than Mattison. This is a whole-program issue, one that I think we all wondered about when Michigan hired a guy who was all about manball. If Michigan can't get a two-minute drill executed in under eight minutes, how can we take the idea that Michigan is comfortable at high pace seriously? They suck at it on offense; they suck at it on defense. This goes back to the guy in charge."
He does not have enough information to know if this problem is program-wide or Hoke centric. He just doesn't know. That he acts like he does, is irritating to me. Maybe if he said "it seems" like this may be a whole-program issue, it would be less irritating. Maybe if he said this "may well" go back to the guy in charge, it would be less irritating to me.
There is much more than viewing video (and BTN video at that, not coaches video) to understanding these issues. I don't think making absolute statements such as in this post is warranted.
Hoke didn't say that about Borges and I dare say he knows a lot more about his team and coaches than any outside expert.
Borges and Hoke have forgotten more about football than Brian knows. Some of these conclusions Brian makes about "the program" with his limited access to information are preposterous. A little more humility is in order especially after the trashing of Borges followed by a 63 point explosion.
Al Borges A+
MGoBlog: fail
I am amused by the fact that this site treats Schembechler as a god and crucifies Borges. Al Borges is a far more creative coach than Schembechler or any of his assistants were back in the day. The tradition of Michigan is to run into a 7 or 8 or 9 man front, take your lumps early and wear down the opposition. I spent many a Saturday in my youth watching far less creative efforts than that versus PSU last Saturday. It always caught up to Schembechler at some point in the season.
I think Dave should start charging what the product is worth. Season ticket holders should be charged the estimated worth of their tickets per game. For example the prices for an end zone season ticket holder should range from $10 for the Akron ticket to $250 for UTL2 Nortre Dame ticket. Drop the forced "donation" bs. Then dumping the Akron ticket for $10 doens't seem like an issue. Otherwise attendance and season ticket purchases will continue to fall. Season tickets in even years should cost less than in odd years when Ohio and MSU both come to town. Right now I am thinking that I am overpaying for my season tickets since several games are valueless or overpriced (CMU, Akron, Minnesota for sure) . There were a lot of free tickets available for Akron and CMU this year.
He's listed as a redshirt SO on MGOBLUE
The bottom line is that the near and mid-term futures look very good indeed. One thing I think most on this board undervalue is the impact having a true passing quaterback will have on the O line. As exciting as Denard was, he truly made playing offensive line more difficult to play due to his poor passing and inability to effectively read the run option. Teams will not be able to stack the box on Devin, who was a higher rated recruit than Denard.
Fitz with Devin as QB in 2012:
34 carries 193 yards 5.7 YPC.
The lack of a passing threat from Denard, rather than O line play, may have been the primary reason for Fitz' inability to run effectively early on last year. Also many running backs play better when they are the primary running option.
AC was hands down the best receiver in modern Michigan history. I would say he was the best Michigan player of the past 44 years (I started watching M football in 1969) with the possible exception of Charles Woodson. He was criminally underutilized by Bo. For example he caught 17 passes in his freshman year for seven TD's. He averaged over 27 yards per catch as a freshman.
It is pretty clear that he needs to go. He had a great job and did well, but part of maintaining the job is being a successful public representative for the University and the football program. You simply can not be identified with this kind of content and maintain this position. It is better to let him go now rather than have to defend continuing to employ him to people that will rightly never understand a decision to keep him. I think Gus Johnson would be great in the role as well.
no, a big back of recent vintage, second in the heisman voting and an awesome running back who some "experts" thought would only be a fullback
For all any of you know Shallman could be the next Toby Gerhart.
just awesome. Enjoy the win, I always say. Shake it Tubby, shake it.
Given how infrequently Robinson gets to shoot, I would say he is a better three point shooter than Hardaway despite the %. It is a lot easier to shoot when you get as many shots as Hardaway versus the infrequest attempts Robinson gets. Robinson's production given the fact he is the fourth option and rarely has a play run for him is truly outstanding.
GRIII is more athletic than Hardaway and a better outside shooter and finisher around the hoop. McGary's conditioning is suspect.
The jury is still out. We have seven of our nine most difficult regular season BIG games to play. We split the two tough BIG games we have played. We may be all that, but our rebounding and defense are not elite.
Isn't Tom Bergen in between Johnny Rob and Joel?
In Bo's first six years he rarely played ranked teams outside of Ohio and the Rose Bowl opponents. ND was not on the schedule and the Big Ten outside of Ohio was not strong at all. In those six years, Bo was 2-3-1 v. Ohio and 0-2 in the Rose Bowl. In those six years Bo did not have a bowl game in four seasons. When the scholarship limits came into effect, the team played ND every year, the Big Ten became more balanced and Bo had to play in a bowl game every year, the performance suffered. I think Carr's record is more impressive given the much tougher schedules, increase in games played, scholarship limits, a national championship and a bowl challenge each year.
The more I think about it, the more I wonder if post-football accomplishments or non-football accomplishments that reflect well on the University are a larger part of the decision on who gets honored. I don't know about the Wisterts, but Harmon was a war hero. Desmond's NFL career was pedestrian (notwithstanding a Super Bowl MVP), but he has been very successful and popular as a TV personality.
Ford was a decent football player on mostly poor Michigan teams. He clearly had his number retired for his political achievement of being selected president in the wake of the Watergate scandal. I don't think his number should have been retired. The celebrtion of players should be for what they did for Michigan on the field, not what they achieve in life following football. Otherwise, you might as well honor number 10 for Tom Brady.
Like Rick Leach. Oh, wait...
NFL teams use a roster spot for this kind of player. If it was so easy to be outstanding at this task they wouldn't do so. He should make a difference with coverage on punts by snapping more quickly and accurately than a walk on and should help with field goal accuracy as well as reduce the possibility of blocked kicks and punts. Believe in the coaches. They know how important this position is for a football team.
Ohio's game before Michigan:
2013 IU
2014 IU
2015 IU
2016 IU
Unbelievable.
The ACC is going down. Given there are going to be only four major conferences shouldn't they jump to one of them? Or should they let others take the spots and be left out of the party?
Anyone think there are some sleepness nights these days for the AD's at Syracuse, BC, Pitt, NCST, Duke and Wake Forest? These schools seem to be in the most peril of losing when the music stops.
They are only tied to the hip if VaTech has no option in the other three conferences. No reason they coudn't go to the SEC with Miami.
UNC, MD, Duke and UVA to BIG. Academics and money rule. NC, MD and VA are growing states with big media markets.
Hmmm....adding Iggy and keeping Pop Evil is an option too....
I first went to a Michigan game in 1969-Bo's first game as coach- and was it a wild scene. The games I got to attend in the 70's also seemed like getting in on a big giant party. Man were people having fun. My Dad purchased season tickets in 1979 when I was in LSA and about the same time the games were first sold out on a season ticket basis. Many fans were in their 20's and 30's and it was still a giant party with people making noise and having a good time. Over the years these people kept their seats and the crowd aged and aged and aged. It became a quiet place and I often wondered why did I come to sit in an uncomfortable seat with a bunch of grumpy 40-60 yr olds listening to the MMB playing the same old, same old.
My Dad had to go in a nursing home in 2008 and couldn't make it to the stadium, so I quit going to M Stadium and went to the home to watch games with him. This year, I decided it might be fun to go to the Notre Dame game.
Man, what a difference. It was like going to a giant party again. Except this time the music fit the vibe. I am so happy the powers-that-be have updated the experience. MMB has their place, but I'm sure I'm not the only one that appreciates Pop Evil and the rawk music. I will guarantee you, 90,000 people would not have stayed for 30 minutes after the game without the music.
Let's not get too high on our horse fellas. As I recall we were the first University to market an offcial toilet seat repleat with a block M in maize and blue.