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!
And you're reading too much into the complaints.
You just keep coming with the strawmen.
Wow. Talk about reading way too much into something. Brandon was specifically discussing recruiting there, not the gameday experience for the fans...
Just to repeat...
That’s a pretty powerful message about what Michigan is all about...
That doesn't sound like it's a message just for recruiting purposes, and if it were, he'd be a bald faced liar. Right?
Do you find it at all plausible that 17 and 18 year old black kids might think Beyonce
<that'sracist.gif>
so I still don't really know what all the bitching is about.
Yes you do. You're basically just trolling at this point.
You don't seem to understand the concept of a strawman. The allegation was that Brandon is ruining the gameday experience by providing a super bowl-like atmosphere, and as evidence of this, a poster cited his comments about Beyonce and planes. I responded that his comments were made in the narrow context of recruiting and not as a reference to the general viewing experience of the fans, which is why he specifically mentioned 17 and 18-year-old kids. In other words, I was directly refuting the claim that Brandon believes those things are an integral part of gameday for the fans. That's not a strawman argument.
To your second point, there is nothing even remotely racist about suggesting that young black male teenagers might think it's kinda cool that a historically popular young black female R&B artist delivered a halftime address at a Michigan game. Oh wait, they're both black, so it must be racist, right?
Yeah, except Brandon has said similar things about current student attendance adn the general experience as well.
That quote was made referring to recruits. Sure. But if you think Brandon only applies that thought process to recruiting, then you're living in ignorance. He's out of touch with the common fan, the common alum, the common student. There's boat-loads of evidence of this. That quote is one example. You don't say things like what he said, ever. You don't say that Michigan football is about spectacle for spectacle's sake. If Rich Rod said that, he would have been publicly destroyed.
Another example is his insistance that "the kidz need their wi-fi" even though the students have demonstrated it is literally the last thing they care about.
I'm not going to pull the quotes, but he's said numerous times that in order to compete with the 60" tv at home, Michigan needs to bring the "WOW" factor. You know this. He's made it very publicly clear, so I don't understand why you are arguing he hasn't done this.
That has been the biggest downer in my experience. Like you said, not Brandon's fault, though. They are becoming more and more noticable as I get older. Not only is are the fans in the stadium well-ready, but the players are waiting and waiting ready to go for the man in the red hat.
If he wants to make it like a "superbowl", then he has failed miserably.
I wouldn't mind so much if actually made it into "one resembling the Super Bowl".
...problem is, what he's mostly done is made it into one resembling a minor league baseball experience.
...when it was announced that PSD prices were going up, I emailed DB to voice my displeasure. Average ticket prices for a season package went up 8% the previous season and 12% the season before. I was not happy with 8% over the next two seasons in the form of a PSD phased in over two years.
Surprisingly, he responded. We actually went back and forth over a series of emails. Here is a portion of our dialogue:
DB (as part of his response to my initial email): "When you compare our costs of a day's entertainment at Michigan Stadium (including parking, etc.) for a football game vs. the NBA, MLB, NFL, it is a bargain."
My response to him: "Single game tickets for the Lions sell for as low as $50. Wings - $25. Tigers - $15. Pistons - $10. These prices are far less than what one will pay for a face value Michigan football ticket. Regardless, Michigan football is not professional and should not be compared to professional sports. They represent very different definitions of fan loyalty."
DB: "Your opinion is we shouldn't compare the entertainment value vs. other sporting events - I disagree. I can rest assure you they compare against us!"
So.... yeah, the experience is changing and it is by DB's design.
Pretty interesting he emailed you back multiple times . Quite an interesting last statement by him.
I'd like to call him out on his statement on 60 Minutes how about he is treating Michgian football as a business model. Seems not appropriate for amatuer STUDENT athletes.
I tend to agree with Brandon that Michigan football is competing against the pro teams for entertainment dollars. I don't understand why Brandon thinks it's good marketing to make his product the same as the others only more expensive.
I don't think that is too hard to fathom.
I think it is more the perception of the fan experience as it relates to the higher cost. When you add in losing, it magnifies the displeasure. I personally don't mind the changes as much as others, but I understand how all of these things combined can diminish the experience.
Being nostalgic, I miss the days of when everyone rattled their keys for the key play, toilet paper streamers and marshmallows. Those were all part of the experience that didn't cost much but made it fun. Those are also the feelings of someone a little older, such as myself.
I tend to agree that a winning program would quiet some of the complaints and for me personally, I want a winning program. It does more damage to the brand to extend losing records to OSU, MSU, etc. over the last 5-15 years than get hung up about the music.
