Day 3 Marching Band not going to Dallas RAGE Thread

Submitted by MGoNukeE on

In case anyone missed the thread, there's a petition circulating that you can use to show support for the band and suggest to Dave Brandon that he's making a big mistake, which, like, duh. 400,000 signatures is a lofty goal, though reaching it would mean something since that'd require 4 filled Michigan Stadiums worth of real (or fake) e-mail addresses to reach.

The Most Interesting Man In The World - I don't always go to war But when I do I bring the band with me

This meme would be better if I could photoshop Bo's face onto his.

ThadMattasagoblin

April 22nd, 2012 at 1:53 PM ^

The rage is that we have the money and aren't sending the band to the biggest game of the year.  It's not an excuse to hate Brandon.  If he had sent them, I wouldn't have cared about Brandon.

MGoNukeE

April 22nd, 2012 at 7:54 PM ^

Ohio State will be playing a meaningless season as the result of being on bowl probation. A Michigan win there has the stakes of "Michigan didn't lose to OSU," which is admittedly big in the eyes of Michigan but less big than years where OSU is also contending for a Big Ten Championship. If OSU is favored then The Game gets bigger, but as of right now Michigan is favored since OSU will be learning a new system.

Alabama is coming off a national championship win riding the SEC high as the best team in the best conference in the country. Michigan will go into that game expected to lose for various reasons mostly attributed to great recruiting and oversigning by Alabama, giving them a more talented roster. Winning that game, however, would be bigger from a national perspective than beating OSU because Michigan would then be looking at a possible #1 ranking with big ten title and national championship hopes.

Saying the Alabama game doesn't compare to the OSU game next year is ludicrous. Unless you think there is essentially zero chance Michigan beats Alabama. If that's the case it sends an awful message to the nation that Michigan is too cheap to commit its financial resources that it SAID IT WOULD COMMIT to support its own football team.

mzdmv

April 22nd, 2012 at 1:57 PM ^

Are we seriously going to do a day-by-day update about this? Yes it sucks, but a 1,000 signature petition isn't going to change anything. I don't understand why so many of you are up in arms about it. They should be able to go, we voiced our dissatisfaction at DB's decision, great. We don't need a daily update.

mzdmv

April 22nd, 2012 at 2:47 PM ^

Don't give me that. I'm just procrastinating studying for finals and it's a slow Sunday.

 

Besides, I'm not the only one who thinks this. It isn't the travesty everyone is making it out to be. All you're doing by being all RABBLE RABBLE is overreacting. If you're really expecting that daily threads will change anything, don't hold your breath. Or do so until Day 200. Won't do a thing. DB made his decision. Get over it.

BlueReign

April 22nd, 2012 at 2:08 PM ^

I was under the impression that scheduling Alabama was too improve national recognition of the program, not to pad wallets (which we clearly dont need to do considering we have the second largest endowment for public universities). Not having the band at the game doesnt really bother me. Would you like to see the band at every game? yes. Would you like them to be at a big game? sure. Is it a league game with bearing on the B1G championship? no. Is it a game with potentiial to destroy any chances at a bcs bid? not really, assuming its not 49-0. Are you upset about it because of the fact that Bo has that quote about the band? probably.

Assuming the band can only attend a certain number of away games, Ide rather they be at Notre Dame, Nebraska, and OSU this year. 

Flame away, but thats my 2 cents fwiw.

TrppWlbrnID

April 22nd, 2012 at 2:09 PM ^

We should promote this. Here is my idea:



We open with the globe viewed from space, it is rotating slowly at the bottom of the screen. You can scarcely hear a song. From around the globe, a tiny speck comes tumbling gracefully towards us and as it does the music gets louder. As the close nears the music crescendos and we can finally make out the words: "PARTY ROCK IS GOIN' ON TONITE!". And fade out with a slogan: the Michigan difference.

GRBluefan

April 22nd, 2012 at 2:37 PM ^

I can't seem to find one iota of my being that gives a crap whether or not the band makes the trip. This coming from a high school marching band member and someone who lived with numerous mmb members during my time on campus. Neg away.

MGoJoe

April 22nd, 2012 at 2:43 PM ^

No thanks. I fully support the AD's decision on this one. 400 g's is a lot of money to blow just for the honor of having the band play the victors a couple of times. Unless the band is going to perform a super bowl-like halftime show with Madonna, then I'd rather use the money for better things (e.g., paying off stadium renovation loans, upgrading facilities, recruiting top-notch coaches, etc). 

MGoNukeE

April 22nd, 2012 at 2:53 PM ^

if the $400,000 was enough to make a serious impact on the 2012 budget. Given that the 2012 budget already expects an $11-million surplus, it doesn't.

Unless the AD has a specific project in mind that he needs all of the $11-million surplus to go towards that isn't already included in the budget. I'd be willing to listen to that, but I feel that it's time for the AD to justify his actions when this budget also includes

1) raising the per-ticket price for a home slate that got worse this year compared to last at a per-game basis, and

2) sold off a home game to the highest bidder.

T4L

April 22nd, 2012 at 8:12 PM ^

Well actually I've heard that there's going to be a ~$10 million dollar renovation to the front of Schembechler Hall in the not-so-distant future, so maybe $400K does make a difference and  *shocker* Dave Brandon knows what the hell he's doing. Contrary to popular belief, money does NOT in fact grow on trees, especially $10 million dollars worth.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather have my school get state-of-the-art facilities for the football program for the foreseeable future than have our fight song play after a touchdown in what will inevitably be drowned out by fans anyway.

MGoNukeE

April 22nd, 2012 at 8:59 PM ^

Now I'd prefer it if Dave Brandon said that himself or otherwise indicated it somehow, but if that turns out to be true then I will be more sympathetic towards Dave Brandon. Sadly, I won't believe this rumormongering until something with a little more substance comes out.

T4L

April 22nd, 2012 at 10:28 PM ^

Don't believe me then, I don't have to validate what I've been told to you.

But as the gentleman above me said, you're rumormongering just as much as I supposedly am. Maybe you're right, and Mr. Brandon only took the job to further his own career and suck every penny out of the program and the student athletes only to eventually leave and organize a military coup to take over the Midwest, one state at a time.

cozy200

April 22nd, 2012 at 10:28 PM ^

Open your eyes. Cash is plenty. You really think the renovation was planned with the 4.5 million we got from jerry world and espn? In case you are unfamiliar with construction timelines and project forecasting.. Not how it works sport. The band doesn't get seats negotiated for them before hand, if they were never going in the first place. That money was intended for that use among other things. Otherwise the contract portion for the seats would not have been there.

T4L

April 23rd, 2012 at 12:26 AM ^

Talk about contradicting oneself...

Last time I checked, 11 (million) - 10 (million) = 1 (million). That's if the project were to be completed solely with this year's projected surplus, which is positive. that's not a deficit if the net result is still positive. And as you said, these things aren't planned overnight so the project wouldn't be funded entirely by this year's profit. Even if they did begin funding it with this year's profit they surely wouldn't use all of it, and would still have a substantial profit margin.

And if you think that the cash made from this game doesn't at least partially go towards that project, you're incredibly ignorant.

To say that renovations to the facility where the football team spends the vast majority of its time are a waste of $10 million dollars is another ignorant statement. If we want to continue reeling in elite recruits, we need to stay on par with or above our competition, and state-of-the-art facilities are one of the major attractions to many, many recruits. The renovations will pay dividends in the future, there's no doubt about that.

Although yes, I would have liked to have the band at the game, it's not the end of the world and the expenses saved won't just go to the Dave Brandon Strippers and Blow Foundation, they'll go towards something beneficial to the program. Sure you might not agree with some of the things he's done for the program, but he's modernized the athletic department and done substantially more good than bad for it. If you think not too far back, an athletic director in the past by the last name of Canham often made 'radical' and unpopular choices at the time, including hiring an Ohio boy with a goofy last name, but you don't see anyone badmouthing him anymore.

EDIT: Wow, didn't realize how long that turned out. Sorry to everyone, but having talked to the man once in the past I respect him and I find it difficult to tolerate relatively clueless people bad-mouthing him because he made the decision to not bring the band to a game.

cozy200

April 24th, 2012 at 8:41 AM ^

I’m not going to spend the inordinate amount of time replying that you did.  My work pushes the envelope of sanity with hours worked.  However, to simply think that I believe the man to be that ignorant is a fallacy.  While I do believe defending him to be just that.  Time and time again things are taken away, and nothing is reciprocated. 

Expanded facilities, great.  Not that an average fan could afford a suite, but such is the world now, ok.  Raised ticket prices, ok my team is worth it.  Selling a home game away for the sake of expanding a brand and then not bringing said brand, full circle?  No way! 

To speak to the financial side, if he spends 10 million of the 11 million, you honestly believe that extra mil isn't going to vaporize?  Apologies if i offended but let's get real here.  All of these decisions while great for the few, are largely poor for the many. 

Michiganguy19

April 22nd, 2012 at 6:08 PM ^

Big Boys, make Big Decisions. Brandon did this for many reasons I am sure and some of it has to do with precedent. The band doesnt travel everywhere the team goes. If this game was in Tuscaloosa or Eugene, they wouldn't be going either. 

Everyone acts like there is like $400K in Keesh on Brando's desk. For all we know the money done been spent. On things like LAX and everything else that depends on football to exist. I would rather have Varsity LAX than the band in Dallas.

If the band wants to go so badly, they should bake a lot of cookies and start selling them.

TexanGOBLUE

April 22nd, 2012 at 3:00 PM ^

Chill the fuck out. Everything will work itself out. Someone send Mr. Ross an email about this $400k is is just chump change to him.

If Brandon has a specific reason why the band can't travel, why not just voice and let that be that? Atleast we will know why and these damn 3, 4, 5 day unnecessary threads can stop.

MGoNukeE

April 22nd, 2012 at 3:02 PM ^

I hope that a big-money donor doesn't bail out Dave Brandon here. If Brandon makes a public statement saying the department screwed up the budget and didn't account for the band, I would probably be more forgiving and hope that a Ross-type comes forward to pay for travel expenses. Until that happens, I'd prefer it be the good will of Brandon to make it all better with the pile of money he's receiving to even play this game.

Ernis

April 22nd, 2012 at 3:37 PM ^

...DB is using this as a petty ruse. We'll hear the band the way he wants us to hear it: pre-recorded, over loudspeakers. No antiquated equipment, no overhead, no nerds! It's a trial run to become a market leader: the first major program to disband their marching band entirely and move to a completely generic, unremarkable game day experience.

Mr. Yost

April 22nd, 2012 at 4:43 PM ^

Bring back the actual football season...PLEASE.

 

Fact: If this news leaked the week of the Alabama game, and we had a game the next week 75% of you wouldn't give a shit as we moved into Week 2.

Mgodiscgolfer

April 22nd, 2012 at 4:57 PM ^

Dave Brandon had no idea what kind of fire storm this would bring on. If he don't do something soon he might be looking to change his twitter account. He thought firing RR and hiring Hoke would be problematic? OMG we may have had a horrible three years with RR but at least we had a band.   

TallyWolverine

April 22nd, 2012 at 11:35 PM ^

This just in- The Alabama AD has decided not to send their band in support of Dave Brandon's decision. The Alabama fans, in support of his decision, have vowed to simply SING their fight song if/when they score a TD or FG. In other fake news, scientists have verified that the moon IS actually made of green cheese!! In real news, now I'm hungry.