John U. Bacon: "You're killing the fanbase, David Brandon!" (Paraphrased with liberties)
Mr. Bacon has written quite a bit about why Ticket Sales have been flagging. As I, myself, have recently been offered a "deal" on single-game tickets, I love reading Mr. Bacon's salvoes over Brandon's bow:
This fall Michigan is in danger of breaking its string of 251 consecutive games with 100,000-plus paid attendance, which started in 1975.
And then this gem:
After Brandon became Michigan's 11th athletic director in 2010, he often repeated one of his favorite lines: "If it ain't broke ... break it!" You have to give him credit: He has delivered on his promise.
Happy Monday Mr. Brandon! Special Delivery for you, direct from the desk of John U. Bacon!
It's David Brandon's fault that Michigan doesn't currently have a good football team. Hopefully, if Hoke has one more bad year, Brandon won't make the same mistake he made with RR.
I moved away in January of 1998. I paid something like $35 in 2004 to see the last game I saw in the Big House. I saw over 100 games in the Big House, my first being an 8-7 victory in 1960 over Illinois featuring Bump Elliot coaching against his brother Pete.
Bottom line: my Big House doesn't exist anymore. I am glad I left so I haven't had to watch the decline, hastened by David Brandon's greed.
My memories of the Big House are intact. It was a place that honored tradition and was free of the excess of other, more commercial college football programs. Better yet, out of those more than 100 games, I can count the losses on one hand. That works out to a winning percentage over 95%.
Those days are gone. I hope that other generations get to experience what I did, but it won't happen until David Brandon is fired.
Like pumped in music. Trying to change the uniforms. However, if the product on the field was great there would be no threat to the 100K attendance streak! I hope this is the turn around season for Brady! If not we may miss the 100K mark and a new coach will have to be hired.
100% disagree. You seem to undersestimate the scores of Michigan alums who have been alienated to the point where we refuse to donate to the athletic arm of the university. Myself, included will only resume our giving when Dave Brandon is either fired by the president or resigns. I am sick and tired of Dave Brandon catering to the top 1% of the socioeconomic demographic while making Michigan athletics completely unaffordable for the middle class. I couldn't care less if Michigan was a defending BCS title holder. It used to feel like a family with the Michigan fan base, now it feels like a country club.
If you're sick of DB now, just wait until he runs for office. [on the plus side, that should mean that he leaves the AD post]
Because, WOOF!
have this home schedule if Brandon didn't bend over and let the B1G dictate (dick-tate?) that we have MSU on the road AGAIN the same year we are on the road at OSU.
I keep hearing this. Does anybody have any proof whatsoever that Brandon didn't fight the Big Ten on this? Michigan only has 1 vote, so until I see something saying Brandon didn't fight this or received notice well ahead of time, I'm not going to give him flack for a decision that was out of his hands. People for some reason think Michigan should "run" the Big Ten, but criticize the Big 12 for giving Texas too much power. You can't have it both ways.
It's not direct, but you can infer from Brandon comments with regard to OSU scheduling, that the AD's do in fact have much input in the scheduling process.
better OSU thinks they got hosed because they travel to MSU and PSU over a three week period.
I'll bet they do.
regularly.
Canham was the AD when the Big Ten sent OSU to Pasadena over us in 1973.
Yeah, my thoughts as well. Everyone bitches and moans about UM not throwing their proverbial johnson on the table and demanding a better schedule, but at some point all teams need to have a usable schedule and if MSU and OSU are these major rivalaries and (in OSU's case) a major draw on other teams' schedules, sometimes stuff like this happens. And while we all love UM, there are probably quite a few ADs who are just as sick of UM.
since I was told this in complete confidence, but I figured that since it's the MGoBoard and people on here are completely rational and independent thinkers, I can share it without too much drama.
So, here it is: DAVE BRANDON WAS BORN IN CANADA HAS NO LEFT BIG TOE CUT KANYE WEST OFF IN TRAFFIC HAD A THREESOME WITH JUSTIN BIEBER AND MERYL STREEP AND ALLEGEDLY KILLED MILEY CYRUS AND 4 OTHER HOOKERS
This comes from a good source too so I wouldn't doubt the information. Just an FYI to everyone on here.
I got it from my best friends sisters boyfriend brothers girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw them all at 31 Flavors last nite. Just sayn
A google image search of that ALL CAPS stream results in only 5 images. Seems like we should play a game of CLUE:
I MADE IT
I actually think this is a reprint of Bacon's blog entry from earlier in the month, but we can leave it here for those that might not have read it before.
The one thing that sort of struck home for me is the talk about how it seems like the athletic department now is trying to create the very atmosphere that many of us through the years would go to Michigan games to explicitly avoid. One of the things that made the experience at Michigan Stadium unique was that it was football-centric because there was not much else to distract, and now, it has definitely changed.
sorry if it was a complete reprint. I couldn't recall the quote at the end from when I read his previous blog post. Guess I'm getting old (40 in 16 days! woohoo!)
What notable changes have their been to the atmosphere since Brandon took over? What is it that so significantly worsens the viewing experience?
really did like the graveyard like atmosphere with the light bulb style scoreboards, cold hot chocolate, soggy popcorn, and hotdogs made of "stuff." Who knew?
The food still sucks. The "hot" chocolate is still not hot, the coffee is luke warm, the hot dogs are cold, the fries are cold, the pizza is so very dried out, hard, and cold (probably made in the morning), the pulled chicken sandwich was so overcooked that it was literally mostly charcoal (disgusting), the pulled pork was dry and cold. The food at the stadium is the worst of any that I've ever been in - the concessions at my son's high school and all the other high schools are even better than in Michigan Stadium. The only good food in the stadium is the kettle corn.
I'll bite:
1. De-emphasis of the band during the game.
2. Addition of ads for weddings/corporate events, etc. This has quelled student-initiated cheers and band opportunities.
3. The student-section debacle of 2013. Debacle is an understatement.
4. Disallowing water bottles in the stadium and increasing (not decreasing) the cost of water inside.
5. Dynamic pricing that moves in one direction.
6a. The music.
6b. Seven Nation Army. God I hate it - seriously it bothers me. I know this is a personal bullet, so feel free to ignore it. However, 7NA is the antithesis of Michigan. It's following the pack. And I fully believe the crowd is quieter during it. The crowd used to scream and shake noise makers during big plays. Now 7NA comes on and there a loud "OH!" followed by realatively quiet "oh oh oh oh oh ooohhhh". The stadium was much louder in '06 (we were winning, so that helped).
7. Making each game a superbowl. I used to love the halftime shows and seeing the band's creatiity, now we get gimmicky stuff both before and after.
There are others that I don't blame him for specifically.
Don't forget the noodle. And the idea of bringing back a mascot. And Clowniforms, Uniformz, $4 water, the whole Legacy number debacle that we now have, no seat cushion (but you can rent ours), okay you can have your seat cushion. The Brand.
DB is a fucking stooge.
Edit: also, the skywriting crap he pulled in EL.
So you're talking about the noodle that nobody saw, the mascot that doesn't exist, and the seat cushion policy that was never enacted? Yeah, those really ruined gamedays.
I didn't say that he has "ruined gamedays". What he has done is take away the pure feeling of gameday in Michigan Stadium, for me anyway. You can keep coming back with strawmen, I'm done with this thread. I'll continue to be a fan, and go to the games that I really want to be there for. Other than that, I'm not giving my money to Dave Brandon.
So you'll give Brandon money when you want to see his product live, continue to watch on TV (which will generate revenue for the television partners that include Brandon and UM), and (I assume) continue to purchase UM gear and support places like this blog (which indirectly benefit Brandon through licensing deals from ad partners). I think people underestimate how much money Brandon and UM get out of them just following the team.
mythical "pure feeling of gameday in Michigan Stadium" of which you speak?
Should I go back and rehash all of my above points?
What do you think Ufer would think about the current state of affairs? Bo? I wonder what Lloyd thinks...
I don't know what Ufer would think, but for somebody that was way over the top when it came to broadcasting the game and then introduced that blasted horn*, Ufer might actually embrace a lot of what has transpired over during the intervening 30 some years since his passing. To be sure, he likely lamented the fact that Don Canham abolished Band Day and Boy Scout ushers.
*I actually hated that horn but was willing to put up with it because...well, because Michigan was winning.
I'm with you LG. I've only been attending UM footbal games for 35 years, and trust me, the game atmosphere has not changed all that much. Sure we have new facilities, new scoreboard, suites, better sound system. So what's wrong with using them? The only thing that has "ruined" the game day experience the past few years has been the lack of success by the team. Win 10 games this year, and the game day experience shines like a new penny.
Yes. I agree. But they need to do a better job with thier new equipment. The problem is that they really dont seem to have a clue how to use the scorboards, and the sound system is often to loud and distorted.
The issues that people have with DB would still be there if we were winning more games, but winning would certainly diminish the negativity. I think that the general unease about the direction of the program under Hoke (DB's hire) also plays into the equation quite a bit. I believe you can get away with raising prices as long as the fan feels like they are getting value out of it. Based on the comments here, it seems clear the fans are not getting value in the form of wins, wins vs. rivals, tradition, or quality of the experience.
As for the Scoreboard and Sound System-My pet peave at the stadium is the continued malfunction of the scoreboards for the last 3 years. Whoever is putting up the down & distance seems to have no clue as well. I am not sure if it is the scoreboard or they have interns in charge, but that has to get fixed.
I still don't see what's so bad about having a mascot as long as it doesn't look awful.
The piped-in music started in 2009, Martin's last year. Rich Rodriguez was in favor of it, thinking it would enhance our homefield advantage. I do think it has to some degree - there is less dead crowd time between plays, for better or worse.
I don't agree that it was louder in 2006. Even if you don't think the piped-in music has an effect, the boxes on both sides of the stadium definitely do a lot to hold in crowd noise. The stadium can get much louder post-renovation than it could before.
There are a lot of things you can say about the Michigan football experience, but you can't plausibly argue that the stadium used to be loud in the past (unless you're going really far back, like the 1970s). Our stadium was mocked for being too quiet for a long, long time.
There are a lot of things you can say about the Michigan football experience, but you can't plausibly argue that the stadium used to be loud in the past (unless you're going really far back, like the 1970s). Our stadium was mocked for being too quiet for a long, long time.
Agreed 100%, but that doesn't have anything to do with Brandon, or anything that he has done. The stadium renovation was Martin all the way. I'm not sure that you're saying otherwise, I couldn't tell what you were replying to...
The poster above is claiming that it was actually louder in the stadium before the renovations and music were added. That definitely was not the case.
was no louder in 1975 than it was in 2005. I thought the bottle ban started over 10 years ago maybe even during the Goss days. Yes, I do seem to recall the wailing way back when (late 90s), it was 90F and people were charged $3 or $4 for a bottle of water. I suppose initally that was to force sales of concessions, DHS has banned bringing liquids, or much of anything else, into large public arenas, on and off, for almost 10 years.
Way back when traditions were made during the 1970s very few fans had seat back chairs...I think most fans thought they were bad form as they intruded upon the space of others.
1, 6a, and 6b can be rolled into a single complaint, which is the music. Fine. 5 is irrelevant to actual gameday, and 3 doesn't have anything to do with the complaints about commercializing the viewing experience. The ads are annoying, but there are only a few of them per game. It's maybe 2 total minutes out of 3 hours.
I guess I just don 't get it. Are people really claiming there has been a transition from some pure, football-centric experience to a "superbowl" atmosphere based on water, music, a few ads, and a little less of the band? Maybe that's enough to do it for some people, or maybe it's because I'm fairly young and didn't really start paying attention at games until about 10-15 years ago, but I don't get it.
Honest question: How many games have you gone to in the past 5-10 years?
The student debacle absolutely effects game-day experience. Having an empty student section is fucking depressing. When I went to a game last year and the student section never filled, it was sad.
How much money I spend absolutely affects my gameday experience. I don't have a lot of excess cash. Since I graduated a few years ago, I only go to games that I either can get cheaply or that I am offered tickets to. As a result I go to fewer games (an 11 / 10 on effecting game day experience) or I go to games and totally avoid buying water, pop, food, whatever. This doesn't effect me as much since I sneak an empty water bottle in and generally fill up at a tailgate.
Yes, RR started music in '09. Mostly pre-game stuff though. Not incessant 7NA. I will credit the ADept with scaling back the music last year. So, it's getting better.
My first games as a freshman were in 2006. We had no internet, no wi-fi. Nobody had smartphones. Texting was prevalent but still secondary to actually calling someone. The band was amazing. There were no announcements/music that interupted student cheers. There was a hot dog guy. There was something pure about the experience that doesn't exist anymore. And I, as an immature 18 year old, fell in love with that. It seems to me that not as many 18-year-olds are falling in love with the gameday experience, as evidenced by the decline in student tickets. Winning matters. A lot. But there wasn't an exodus like this year's between 2008 and 2009.
Actually it was under Carr that piped-in music during the pre game was introduced. In 2009, it was added during game time, and there was a ton of it. (Watch the '09 ND game the next time BTN broadcasts it, and you'll hear the music constantly being played.) RR wanted it during the games to fill dead time, and got it.
Regarding student seating, keep in mind the GA seating was implemented in response to poor student attendance in previous years. It didn't create the problem (though it failed to solve it as well). The student attendance issue seems to be a problem all over the place.
As for there not being an drop off in ticket purchases in 2009, that year's schedule had home games against ND and OSU. This year's schedule has neither, nor does it have MSU. I think you have to go back about 80-some years to find a home schedule that didn't have any of the three rivalry games on it. It's terrible.
The decrease in ticket renewals this year can probably be pinned down to 1) the horrible schedule and 2) the aftertaste of 2013. I don't think the game day atmosphere is a big factor. Otherwise we would have seen more non-renewals in previous seasons.
I'm referring specifically to the complaint that Brandon has turned the atmosphere inside the stadium into one resembling the Super Bowl. I'm asking how he's done that, and so far replies have pointed to music, water, and occasional ads, which doesn't seem like a whole lot.
He has specifically stated that his intention is to make each gameday experience a miniature Super Bowl. He said that, and you know that.
And what exactly do you think he meant by that? I interpreted it to mean that he wanted every game to be as exciting and important as the Super Bowl, not that he wanted to increase water prices and play loud music. But of course, Brandon makes a completely innocuous statement, and you, Brian, and Bacon jump all over it because you personally dislike the man and blame him for many if not all of Michigan's recent failures.
I think he meant exactly what he said:
“You’re a 17-18 year old kid watching the largest crowd in the history of college football with airplanes flying over and Beyonce introducing your halftime show? That’s a pretty powerful message about what Michigan is all about, and that’s our job to send that message,” Brandon said.
According to Dave Brandon, Michigan is all about airplanes and Beyonce. That's the message he wants to send. HE SAID IT. Not about the Victors, or the band, or the banner, or the iconic uniforms. Beyonce. It's not an enormous deal, to me, but it's a somewhat big deal. And I understand why it is a big deal to many.
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2013/09/dave_brandon_michigan…
Wow. Talk about reading way too much into something. Brandon was specifically discussing recruiting there, not the gameday experience for the fans, and the obvious import of the quote is that young kids are going to be excited to play for a school with a big national brand that can put on events like that. Do you find it at all plausible that 17 and 18 year old black kids might think Beyonce (you know, probably the most successful R&B artist of her generation) introducing the halftime show is kinda cool?
But if the complaint is that Beyonce and flyovers have ruined the experience, well, she had a single 30 second cameo on the screen one time, and flyovers have happened for decades, so I still don't really know what all the bitching is about.