Mike Hart Visualizes You Some Scoreboards Comment Count

Brian

The worst thing is when you know you saw something useful somewhere obscure a long time ago and stare at the Google box certain it will not help you. So it was yesterday when I tried to dig up a scoreboard comparison graphic that I thought I saw on a Mississippi State blog sometime in the murky past. Never found it, [UPDATE: It was on an Auburn blog; we are basically going from South Carolina to Tennessee] but the Daily did this:

ScoreboardGraphic[2]

So there you go. Bigger than a blue whale. IIRC, this is a standard Daily graphic they use whenever they have to compare the size of anything to objects in the world. I remember that elephant.

The actual viewable area for the boards is 47 x 85. This is large. When I went to Auburn a few years back I reported their single HD board was "killer" and that Michigan fans had "no idea" how much they needed one. That board:

war-damn-eagle[2]

That board was packed with frippery and advertising—about every fourth play instead of a replay you'd get a frustrating ad—that Michigan's boards will presumably be free of. This is going to be life-changing. Serious. Your life will be different. There will be a band hype-up video that actually gets you hyped up. You will understand what is happening in football games better. You will have up to date stats. Also grapefruit will taste better.

Let's explore in the universal language of Mike Hart pictures. I could not find dimensions for the existing scoreboard but I remember Michigan State's setup, also installed the late 90s, as nearly identical. The size of that increasingly vintage board:

51487715[55]

The size of Auburn's board:

51487715[49]

What you'll see this fall:

51487715[50]

Very big. Somehow still considerably smaller than Minnesota's. And just for the hell of it here's Godzillatron:

51487715

Ah but wait:

In its first usage, the portion of the new screen that was typically used for showing replays and film highlights was approximately the same size as the old video screen. More recent games have featured a 16:9 format image centered in a ring of advertisement and score/clock related information. Nevertheless, complaints continue about the advertising, with some fans shouting out "We won't shop/eat/bank there" when advertisements are played loudly in the stadium.

This is wikipedia so it's true. With ads…

godzillatron-ads

…Godzillatron loses a big chunk of its advantage, especially if they blare as loud as the ones at Ohio Stadium or Memorial Stadium. Michigan's going to have the best combo of replay and lack of annoyance in the country. Point Dave Brandon.

Comments

jericho

April 6th, 2011 at 1:07 PM ^

I like the size of the new scoreboard, but will they keep a running tally of the rushing, passing and total yards for both teams like the old one?  I thought that was excellent and will miss it badly if they don't do it anymore.

Bez

April 6th, 2011 at 1:50 PM ^

It's big enough that from the one football game I've been to at TCF(vikings/bears monday night game) I was watching the screen the whole time and not the field and it was an incredible experience...with that said I also didn't have wiper blades on my glasses which I could have used that night.

slaunius

April 6th, 2011 at 1:59 PM ^

Good god that thing is ugly. Part of it is Minnesota being cursed by that ugly color scheme,  and part of it is me not knowing what Cub is and yet being enraged by it just the same. Anyway, if I'm reading it right, I think Coca-Cola is playing Dairy Queen. 

Aside from the scoreboard, I drove by the stadium itself last summer, and from the outside it looked a lot like Rynearson Stadium (EMU). This is not a compliment.

CrankThatDonovan

April 6th, 2011 at 10:50 PM ^

Huh, I've always assumed the name Cub was bear related.  I didn't know the letters actually stood for something. 

Also, I believe TCF no longer goes by Twin Cities Federal as they are now much more of a regional/national brand.  In Minnesota, as one would expect, they have quite a few branches, many outside of grocery stores (and some inside Cub too, haha)

bigmc6000

April 6th, 2011 at 1:16 PM ^

I went to a UT game a few years ago and it looked just like that. When the game starts they use up the whole screen with this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Godzillatron_Closeup.jpg

It's a pretty awesome site as it's huge and lights up the whole thing but once that's over it's back to what Brian was showing above - ads all the time and during all timeouts they have video commercials - annoying...

 

EDIT: Also, something to be aware of. We are going to end up using a least a chunk of those boards for stats so I'm guessing our raw video is going to look like Auburn's with the rest showing the score and stats. Still though, massive awesome upgrade that, when you realize we have two of them, gives us more video board real estate than everyone except Cowboy Stadium - hmm, maybe that's why we're playing there ;)

ksnio

April 6th, 2011 at 1:18 PM ^

If it is 108 x 62, but the video is only 85 x 47, what is the other space going to be used for?

 

Also does Minnesota only have one giant board?  These will be on both sides, right?

oriental andrew

April 6th, 2011 at 1:35 PM ^

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/040511aaa.html

Press release mentions a "New custom scoring system".  Not sure if it's the strip at the bottom of the enclosure (where it shows the clock, Go WOLVERINES, and the M with the bar logo I thought was no longer being used), or possibly something they could do with the sides of the enclosure (where it just has the block M's).  I'm sure they will use the video screen for some stats, scores, etc.

erik_t

April 6th, 2011 at 2:27 PM ^

And one baby one serving the very few people in the stadium who can't see the big board easily. It's nearly an open horseshoe, with the big board in the end of it.

 

Can't fathom the loons upthread who think that it's less than a beautiful stadium on the outside...

Don

April 6th, 2011 at 1:34 PM ^

As a cynic, I will be amazed it it turns out to be completely devoid of advertising. While I don't expect any adverts in video or audio form, I will be very pleasantly surprised if there are not some static advertising/corporate logos on the overall structure somewhere.

TrppWlbrnID

April 6th, 2011 at 2:30 PM ^

http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2011/03/12/sports/doc4d7b1e85ee10d030057168.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Brandon explains, “The first instinct is to play commercials and display advertising (in Michigan Stadium). We did research with our customers and they said don’t put the damn advertising in our stadium."

as the guy who changed the pizzas, i would say DB listens to his customers.  for how long, i am not sure.

in this article he also says “I hate Ohio State — I don’t like them,”

HAIL 2 VICTORS

April 6th, 2011 at 2:44 PM ^

I know what you're thinking. "Did he buy six ads or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, Brandon?

kw_hanna

April 6th, 2011 at 4:12 PM ^

I'm not sure if there will be some sort of adidas adds on the board...

 

But there will definitely be ads on the screens in Crisler and Yost because the pictures on the brochure that came in the mail have ads on them. Adidas logos in the corners, meijer all over..I'm just saying.

DougoBlue

April 6th, 2011 at 1:34 PM ^

They never show replays of any plays that the fans really want to see (penalties or questionable calls).

Wouldn't want any disorderly fans or unnecessary profane outbursts.

maizenbluenc

May 26th, 2011 at 1:11 PM ^

"bulllllllSHIT!"?

Why do I feel like going to a game at Michigan Stadium is a very different experience than it was as a student in 1986?

Someone said they don't do Bullwinkle (does the pep band even come around?), I don't see the wave on TV, you can't bring in water, much less hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps (and probably toilet paper as well), the coaches don't get all exorcised about the officiating like Bo did, and now no profanity?

No wonder people complain Michigan Stadium is so quiet - it's no fun anymore ...

/s

WolverineHistorian

April 6th, 2011 at 1:35 PM ^

Nice! 

Just out of curiosity, what's the outside of the scoreboard going to look like as we walk up to the stadium?  



I assume it's the Block M.  Or maybe the capacity number like on the pre-1998 scoreboards?