UM Football Experience Survey
I just received an email from the UM athletic department that includes a link to a "football experience survey." if you are like me, you have many opinions about what goes on in the stadium on saturday. if you get this email, please take the time to fill it out and be specific about your concerns. if you did not get this email, check your spam folder. if you still did not get this email, i am not sure what to say. it is likely they only care about my opinion.
my general opinion, in all things, but especially michigan football is that it is not made better by hearing snippets of Crazy Train. it would be nice to be able to talk to the people around me between plays without screaming over Black Betty. i really like the Veteran of the Game, though.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
You sound like a down in front kind of guy.
My "complaints" would be during commercial breaks it would be cool to see cut ins of other games from around the country live on the scoreboard (they do this at UGA). And more pep band playing pop/radio songs instead of the same three or four tired old cheer tunes. Wisconsin has jump around between the 3rd and 4th quarter and it would be cool if UM could find their own version of that to do at games. And what happened to the maize pom poms for big games? If there was one thing Brandon did right it was making night games a spectacle and the pom poms were a great addition to that.
Also, and I don't know if this is even possible, but if there was a way to make the grade of the bleachers steeper to improve sight lines that would be a big improvement. Sitting closer to the field is almost a worse seat than sitting up high once you get past a certain point in the stadium. It's way too flat near field level. Ideally they could steepen the grade of the stadium, widen the seats even more, and then add decks to each endzone with brick around the entire stadium. At least that's what I would do. Lambeau did something similar when they renovated.This would definitely help with keeping noise in which the towers on both sides have helped do too.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:33 PM ^
"TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THE DAMN STADIUM YELLING AND JUMPING AROUND. WHY CANT WE ALL JUST SIT QUIETLY AND ENJOY THE GAME THE WAY WE USED TO???????????
October 15th, 2018 at 12:47 PM ^
It's amazing to me some people want the same experience inside the stadium as they do sitting on their couch. I want the loudest most intimidating environment in the big ten, not the quietest 100,000 fans in the country. Michigan should be exploring ways to improve their gameday atmosphere every single year, especially with the way attendance around college football is heading.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:56 PM ^
It's a valid point to say that downtime isn't a bad thing. When there's literally nothing going on, why do I need to have my head blasted with ear-splitting songs that have absolutely nothing to do with anything happening, much less anything to do with Michigan? Why can't the band be a bigger part of the experience, and not just a spectator while Special K plays some sick beatz?
There's a time for noise and excitement. Yet the sheer barrage of noise merely for the sake of noise, at all times, never-ending for four hours, which is what Michigan is apparently going for these days, isn't making the stadium experience any better.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:11 PM ^
Fact is whether we like it or not, the younger generations are constantly plugged in listening to music - look at the kids now whether they are walking around campus or studying, they are listening to music.
Times have changed.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:24 PM ^
This has nothing to do with earbuds and Beats by Dre and everything to do with the fact that Special K has no damned idea what they're doing. It's been almost a decade of week-by-week spitballing on how to make RAWK work in a stadium with decades of engrained gameday traditions. It doesn't work. Watch around the stadium. No one reacts to most of this stuff when there's nothing else going on. It's just noise.
October 15th, 2018 at 2:15 PM ^
thankfully, they didn't collaborate with down in fronters like you.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:52 PM ^
Obligatory username checks out.
October 15th, 2018 at 2:03 PM ^
I think you are misconstruing my comments here, MGrow. You’re better than that.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:53 PM ^
They were giving out maize towels in the student section. And I think Mr. Brightside and Blues Brothers are the Jump Around equivalents. Otherwise I agree
October 15th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^
Can't change the rake of the stadium bleachers without, essentially, rebuilding the entire structure. It is what it is, And, yes, it is pretty shallow down low. The contrast with stadiums like Neyland is startling.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:34 PM ^
Time to dig deeper and rebuild then. If they added decks in the endzones then obviously they don't need as many rows in the bowl. Would also help tremendously with noise. And you're right, Neyland is steeeep. Don't think Michigan Stadium needs to be like that, but any improvement they can make in that area would be a positive in my eyes. The interesting thing is Yost originally intended for decks to be built on the stadium at some point.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:37 PM ^
Uh... What? OK, just rebuild the entire stadium?
October 15th, 2018 at 1:48 PM ^
I'm not an engineer or architect, but there has to be something they can do. I remember back in 2005 they messed with the seating when they were adding handicap rows and what not.
October 15th, 2018 at 7:06 PM ^
Make the legs on the front benches shorter, gradually increasing until Moritz Wagner's legs are dangling in the back.
October 15th, 2018 at 11:07 PM ^
We do have a tradition at the end of the 3rd quarter. The band plays the Blues Brothers and everyone dances. Been doing it at least since Denard was here and I suspect much longer?
Mr Brightside is becoming a tradition and maybe that thing where The Team The Team The Team banner comes out.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:33 PM ^
Every game I am blown away by the lack of out-of-town highlights/scores during breaks. If Northwestern just scored to go ahead of MSU late, show us! That's my only real in-stadium complaint.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^
Other stadiums literally cut to the TV feed during downtime. Northwestern shows minutes of other games at a time during TV timeouts. It's pretty great.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:35 PM ^
Nope... they don't care about my opinion.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:36 PM ^
The music could use two changes, a few more breaks where the band can play more and a wider rotation of songs. A moment or two of silence wouldn't be a bad thing either
I'll even add better editing of songs and better timing.
PS they've ruined 'Machinehead' 3 weeks in a row because they don't give enough time to reach the best parts.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:05 PM ^
I filled mine out before I thought of this, but I agree, I don't understand why they will stop a song (often before the best part) just to start another song.
I will give them credit though for playing Jump Around in the fourth quarter (savage move), and then resuming playing it after they had to stop in the middle for a play. I really hope we have a big fourth quarter lead against Penn State so we can do the same with Zombie Nation.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:36 PM ^
I want whatever gives us a home field advantage. I don't picture a quiet conversational volume as aiding our defense during the game.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:29 PM ^
No one is talking about being able to hold a conversation during play, but nice red herring.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:42 PM ^
I'm not renewing my season tickets after this year. I've discovered how amazing it is to enjoy the game from home and actually get things done during the day. I never thought this day would come. I'm only 32, dammit!
October 15th, 2018 at 12:45 PM ^
You'll be back!
October 15th, 2018 at 1:16 PM ^
You bet your ass I will - when I have kids.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:25 PM ^
You don't have kids and you're complaining about time?
October 15th, 2018 at 1:53 PM ^
Logged in just to say I laughed my ass off to this.
Preach
October 15th, 2018 at 2:48 PM ^
Bye Felicia
October 15th, 2018 at 12:43 PM ^
I got this a couple of years ago, and ripped them a new one for when they had the 'Michigan Stadium Factor' count every time there was a false start on the other team. Said it was something I'd expect to see at a place like Cincinnati or Syracuse or someplace in the MAC, and that it was an attempt at doing too much, and was cliche and ridiculous. I haven't seen that dumb counter at a game since, so, you're welcome.
October 16th, 2018 at 5:30 AM ^
Isnt't that a good thing to keep track of how many false starts we generate? What's different about that vs them putting up "Wisconsin would prefer silence while on offense"? Also, a MAC stadium isn't consistently loud enough to even do that.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:43 PM ^
I really want to take this survey....
Just so I can say....
FIX THE DAMNED CELL SERVICE!!!
Also did anyone else notice the MEWSIIIIC being played OVER the band at the end of the game? Ugh.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:23 PM ^
I have had season tickets for years and the cell service gets worse and worse each year - Verizon is TERRIBLE there. I just don't understand it and it frustrates the hell out of me. It's 2018 and I can't check scores of other games, send a text or check twitter for injury updates or replays. I couldn't even get service at the tailgate across the street. How does this get fixed???
October 15th, 2018 at 2:11 PM ^
Answering a question with a question...
Is this a Michigan Stadium problem? Or a Verizon/AT&T/Sprint/T-Mobile/Saul Goodman problem? I'm not real big on internet usage during games, but I witnessed them putting in a whole bunch of hardware a few years ago, and I think that web access is improved. They complain about it in every Stadium I know of, most particularly including Ohio State and Camp Randall, where I have had similar problems, along with similar access.
October 15th, 2018 at 6:37 PM ^
Your not a big fan of internet usage during games yet you have had similar problems at rivals stadiums.
Maybe UM could collaborate with service providers to fix the problem. I know I know. What a millennial comment.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:51 PM ^
TV outfits should charge more for commercials, reduce the count, and then let the game flow a little more continuously. This is not my thought invention but I subscribe to it!
Inside the stadium? I dont get back often, but when I do I'm in heaven upon entering the concourse. Talk to the people around you early and you wont have any issues with conflicting in-game behavior.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:58 PM ^
If having conversations with people is a priority for you go to a quiet bar or restaurant maybe a coffee shop. That's not what a football game is nor should it be.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:27 PM ^
Sure, why shouldn't I enjoy going to a game with friends or family if I can't talk to them about it while we're there?
October 15th, 2018 at 12:58 PM ^
Bring back the urinal troughs!
October 15th, 2018 at 1:06 PM ^
Good one, Earnest!
October 15th, 2018 at 1:15 PM ^
My list of areas for improvement:
1-100: FEWER MEDIA TIMEOUTS
101: Fix the home/away imbalance. Make Sparty visit the Big House 2 years in a row.
102: Better cell coverage. It's 2018 and we're rich, dammit, fix it.
103: More and better replays / cut-ins from other games. The video boards are underutilized.
104: More marching band, and better halftime shows. The SMU game "voting PSA" was awful and the band director deserves to be fired for it.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:24 PM ^
What's bad about encouraging people to participate in the democratic process?
October 15th, 2018 at 2:36 PM ^
It was a lame, un-entertaining show. Mostly Grapentine reading quotes instead of the band playing. A short PSA as part of a larger patriotic / military themed show would have been fine.
Basically, it was my one in-person game this year, I was pumped for a cool band show (used to be a high school bandie myself) and I felt like Ralphie with his Little Orphan Annie decoder... "A crummy commercial? SON OF A BITCH!"
Plus, have you ever been in AA in fall of an election year? You literally can't walk 2 blocks without someone asking you to register to vote. The message is saturated. At this point, (at the risk of being a curmudgeon) if you don't know you should register, I kind of don't want you voting (you're gonna be an uninformed voter).
October 15th, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^
gdub, I couldn't agree with you more...especially the SMU halftime show. I remember thinking that politics has now entered college halftime shows. I could also be happy with much much less music in between every goddamn play played so loud that it distorted. Unfortunately it doesn't feel as much like a college experience but inching closer to an NFL experience.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:29 PM ^
There was nothing 'political' about the halftime show. If you can't see someone say 'hey, it'd be great if we all participated in voting' without getting bent out of shape about 'politics,' then you're the problem.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:31 PM ^
You should have seen some of the comments on the MMB Facebook page. You'd think they went out there and did a tribute to the North Korean Mass Games for 12 minutes. Never thought voting could be so controversial.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:43 PM ^
UUHH, I'm not bent out of shape about politics. I've been going to the games for 35 years and have never seen a halftime show like that. I'm all for voting, but good God do we have to have a half time show that to me is clearly pointed toward the dislike of the current administration? I'm not starting a political discourse on the blog, but saying I'm part "of the problem" for sharing my thoughts????? Fuck this place. I'm done.
Whoever moderates, this blog, cancel my account and donate my points to someone else
October 15th, 2018 at 1:52 PM ^
You know what the halftime show was for the 1969 OSU game? A full-on anti-nuclear proliferation extravaganza that included a mushroom cloud AND two gigantic peace signs (which has its roots as a symbol in the anti-nuclear movement). Sometimes the band pushes the envelope a bit.
Yet in this case, it's voting. Not any particular policy position. Voting. Just. Voting. The show even included quotes from members of both major political parties. It was a show entirely devoted to encouraging student participation in the electoral process. For shame.
October 15th, 2018 at 2:45 PM ^
Unless that '69 show was also 80% stadium announcer, 20% band, it sounds WAY more entertaining than the SMU show, regardless of whether or not you agree with the anti-nuke politics. Probably a pretty good set list too.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:55 PM ^
I'll take them!