Request to fans for Air Force game on 9/8/12

I don't think its that deep. 

I agree with everything you say,  but this is Michigan. Air Force is going to get an applause equal to or perhaps even surpassing the one our own kids get. We don't poop in coolers here.

Good idea, but you should post a reminder about it closer to game time. We have a long time between now and September and people will most likely forget about this post. Unfortunately, I have a feeling this won't work, as there are too many idiotic students who don't actually follow the team and just show up to the games to be drunk and make noise.

They're the opposing team so I'm not sure why this is such a bad thing.  I have a great repsect for the military but I don't feel its that big of a deal for a football game.

Agreed, and I think suspending the "you suck" chant would be nice also. But yeah, you are overestimating the ability of drunk undergrads. 

Agree.  I was planning to post about it the week before the game or so.  Also, do NOT do the you suck chant.  It would be very disrespectful and not something that should represent Michigan.

I plan to cheer for the Air Force squad as they take the field...before the Brady Hoke Pain Train pounds their dicks into the dirt.

These guys will be serving the country, but today they are college kids no different from any other. There are ROTC kids at OSU, does that mean OSU shouldn't be booed? That said, I don't really boo anyone.

I don't know. I see the point, but coming from a Navy family, I can tell you these guys don't act cordially with each other. It's a game. I think the proper time to show our respect is during the National Anthem, and then treat it like a game.

I don't have a problem with not booing, but I also don't think it's disrespectful. If I were one of them I'd want the full Big House experience.

Maybe I'm too old to remember these things, but how often do non-conference teams (ND and other long-time rivals excepted) get booed?

As well, the OP's post is a little too "Moral Majority" for my taste. We had another one these a few days ago that addressed recruits and Twitter harassment. Do MGoBlog users really need preemptive scolding?

Anyway, it's just football.

I guess, but I doubt opposing players take it personally when they're booed at an away game... maybe Boren.

I am not seeing the logic in this at all. It is tradition. And if it is disrespectful to do it to Air Force then it is no different for anyone else. If we are representing Michigan as stated above, doing it at anytime is representative of what we do. Just because it is Air Force doesn't mean we should act any differently. Outside of a few idiots like at any venue we are a decent place to watch a game. If we have fun, root for our team and give a little razzing in the process does not make Michigan a disrespectful fanbase in it's representation. 

Is Air Force bringing its band?

of the possibility that the Air Force players might want to be treated like any other opponent that comes into Michigan Stadium? 

They do play football because they love it.... and part of playing football is playing in front of hostile crowds. 

I suspect that they are tough enough to handle a few boos.

Edit:  Didn't read Flaimbait's response before posting.  Looks like it might be more than just a notion.

I appreciate the fact that these men have made a choice to serve their country. However, they will be subject to a hell of a lot worse than booing from opposing fans in the very near future. I feel confident that they can handle what any other opposing team has to deal with at a typical road game.

I have plenty of family members that have gone through various service academies that will tell you that the deification of service members has gone beyond the pale since 9/11. If you choose to serve, good for you, but joining in and of itself is not a heoric act and does not mean you're a patriot.

 

The only teams I boo are the ones in the B10 and ND of course. Teams like emu don't conjure up enough hate to boo them

If you wait pre-game by the east gate for the team bus, you get to boo the visitors first. This is where you notice things like Brian Kelly getting off first and rushing into the locker room, as his team wanders in behind. This as opposed to Hoke, who ushers in his entire team, waving them in and offering encouragement, before entering the locker room last. Also, Frank Clark was a skinny kid last year - expect him to be much better with a year of college conditioning. Anyway, I'll be at that gate cheering for both teams this year.

Didn't Ohio fans boo navy or something disrespectful the last time they played them?

I am an active duty Air Force NCO and a lifelong Michigan Wolverines fan that grew up in Ohio.  I am going to try to make it up to this game to root for Michigan.  I would like to think that we wouldn't boo the cadets unless they earn it.  (Hopefully they don't)  Go Blue!

I don't think this is a big concern.  We don't really boo nonconference opponents that much when they enter the stadium in the first place.  We will, however, make noise when they have the ball - it's a football game, after all.

...and Cleveland native. He loves to tell the story about how when he attended the Ohio-Navy game a few years ago the Mids and their fans received a fabulous welcome at the Horseshoe.

The bottom line is that there's really no reason to boo a non-rival non-conference team. I happen to think that Michigan fans who welcome opponents and their fans and are gracious in victory or defeat do a ton of good for the program's reputation. Meanwhile, fans who think that the only way to create an intimidating atmosphere is to be a jerk are deluded.

I'd really hate to hear from AFA fans that they were poorly treated. It would be incredibly embarrassing to have my boss go on and on about how Ohio fans know how to treat a service academy while lecturing me on Michigan fans' poor behavior.

They shouldnt come to Michigan Stadium and challenge us in how they think football should be played. They're a football team. If they didn't want to be treated like one, they wouldn't have fielded it in the first place. Though I don't know how much we boo anyway. Maybe a low rumble when they run out onto the field; a bit more if a team is being all jackassy about it. They come out like Air Force, and not Ohio, they'll be fine. They're big boys.

Went thru ROTC and into the Air Force.  Think this is a litte too politically correct.  Go ahead and boo if that's what you are inclined to do.  Doubt the cadets will care.