Something not mentioned yet: Students being on time
I haven't seen anyone mention this yet, but for the most part the student section was mostly full at kickoff. A nice sight to see.
Did they change anything? I know they got rid of the GA but did they do anything else?
Could it be that the ones that showed up on time are ones that are actually there for the game and shrinking the student section cut out some ''deadweight'' (ones that show up late because they want to keep tailgating)?
August 31st, 2014 at 3:17 PM ^
August 31st, 2014 at 4:00 PM ^
So you weren't actually IN the stadium to make an educated opinion. Got it.
I was there and the stadium was full. There were zero noticeable vacant blocks of seats. But we'll take your word for it.
August 31st, 2014 at 4:53 PM ^
I was there. There was much extra room in my section, after halftime I could have laid down on my bench...
August 31st, 2014 at 6:16 PM ^
You would have had plenty of company laying down at the stadium, the Applachian State team laid down too.
August 31st, 2014 at 6:44 PM ^
I salute them.
August 31st, 2014 at 9:28 PM ^
damn dude...he was just making a comment on what he saw. sorry he couldnt be there. im happy you had the opportunity to go. geez. calm down. who really cares how full the stadium was? tv is a better experience anyway lol
August 31st, 2014 at 3:19 PM ^
August 31st, 2014 at 3:25 PM ^
The section was considerably smaller compared to years past but yes, they filled up around 10 minutes til kick, which is obviously an improvement.
August 31st, 2014 at 3:26 PM ^
August 31st, 2014 at 3:27 PM ^
Cut out the deadweight. There's a lot of places on campus you can sit and talk to each other while texting.
August 31st, 2014 at 3:28 PM ^
August 31st, 2014 at 3:30 PM ^
It's probably due to a ton of different factors. New OC's first start. Nuss is highly decorated and a proved QB coach. That was probably a slight draw.
All of the reports about an aggressive defense, with proof in the scrimmage game. Plus Peppers was basically promised a starting spot due to his fall practices. That was probably a slight draw.
The Oline and RB's, even though there wasn't a ton of good news, this is the first game to see if they could finally start to click, and our senior RB Fitz is gone, who was going to step up?
These are all reasons I was interested in the game, seemed like a lot of tiny factors could have played a big in part filling up the student section. Along with everything posted above.
August 31st, 2014 at 3:34 PM ^
I don't think any of those reasons had an effect on whether or not students showed up on time.
First game of year.
Non-die-hards didn't get tickets.
No more general admission, meaning students spread out amongst the entire section, meaning it likely appeared fuller than it was.
End of reasons.
August 31st, 2014 at 3:45 PM ^
You could be right. I am not a student anymore, and my reasons for watching/going to games now are not the same as when I was a student in college.
EDIT: Grammar is hard.
August 31st, 2014 at 4:35 PM ^
Also, no classes/homework yet. It does not "cost" as much this week to carve out four hours to spend on a football game.
August 31st, 2014 at 3:44 PM ^
The students who care about these things show up on time already. The students missing the 1st and 4th quarters likely don't care if we have a new OC who is a proven QB coach.
August 31st, 2014 at 3:55 PM ^
It'd be a win if they even knew that we had a new OC.
August 31st, 2014 at 4:36 PM ^
The Tri-deltas think he's dreamy. They spread the word.
August 31st, 2014 at 4:50 PM ^
the many non-students who started leaving shortly after halftime--including almost the entire row two below me. There's a tad of a double standard on attendance expectations.
August 31st, 2014 at 6:41 PM ^
It's "leaders and best" not "leaders and the best".
Also you don't throw in the ending GO BLUE until the end of the chorus.
August 31st, 2014 at 3:33 PM ^
August 31st, 2014 at 3:36 PM ^
They came out on time last year, the year before that, and every year before that. Total attendance still never got above 107k.
August 31st, 2014 at 6:04 PM ^
North Texas @ Texas
Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Attendance: 93,201
This number is stunning to me. Texas with a new coach(start of a new era) and it was not enough to crack the 100,000 mark. Bedford even called out Longhorn fans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hkm7R2CupE
August 31st, 2014 at 3:40 PM ^
screwed up the wave.
Also I think that some of the students being on time was the kids zone they put above sections 29-31.
August 31st, 2014 at 3:54 PM ^
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August 31st, 2014 at 5:04 PM ^
The band played The Victors when we scored a TD, which killed the wave, because The Victors trumps the wave, obviously. It was super slow deveoping because of every section other than the student section, that, and doing it while on offense is what caused it to fail.
August 31st, 2014 at 5:06 PM ^
I don't actually know the proper order of the wave. Can anyone enlighten me?
August 31st, 2014 at 5:16 PM ^
Did you see my response to your post about the students screwing up the wave in yesterday's stadium experience thread? Since you can't stop posting about how the students screwed up the wave, is the doing-it-on-offense issue which was discussed yesterday the only screw-up?
August 31st, 2014 at 3:42 PM ^
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August 31st, 2014 at 3:47 PM ^
I used to think that maybe I got so annoyed when people complained about the student section because I was myself a student and felt like I was being attacked. Now that I've graduated I know that's not the case- complaints about the student section still annoy me, perhaps even more than they used to.
August 31st, 2014 at 3:58 PM ^
I couldn't agree more. And the "get off my lawn crowd" that scoffs at student tailgating needs to get over themselves. Having fun with your friends is a significant part of why the student gameday experience is so memorable. Alcohol also gives a needed boost to our timid noise/rowdiness levels compared to the Death Valley's and Autzen Zoo's of the world.
August 31st, 2014 at 4:00 PM ^
Your logic... is confusing. Do you think Autzen and other student sections don't partake in boozing before games?
The two (tailgating and showing up on time) don't have to be mutually exclusive.
August 31st, 2014 at 4:07 PM ^
Read any of the countless pieces this offseason about students being a national trend and you'll know the bubble isn't just about Michigan, yet we have some of the most expensive student tickets in the nation. Also this is the concern with noon games against inferior opponents. West Coast teams (Oregon) do not play this early too often, it's mostly Big 10, Big 12, and ACC games.
August 31st, 2014 at 4:17 PM ^
It's not that hard to smuggle in some booze in your pocket
August 31st, 2014 at 4:52 PM ^
This. Snuck in airplane bottles of Captain's just about every game. Bought a big pepsi. The party continued.
August 31st, 2014 at 3:47 PM ^
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August 31st, 2014 at 3:57 PM ^
The student section looks a little funky now, but it beats having three or four full blocks of bleachers being empty for the world to see. I would say it is a step up from last year.
August 31st, 2014 at 5:37 PM ^
It looked decent on TV.
For all of the criticism it gets, it's still the section that stands out when you see crowd shots of the stadium.
August 31st, 2014 at 4:08 PM ^
August 31st, 2014 at 4:22 PM ^
Students did a nice job of showing up. So did the fans. Completely forgot about all the <100K drama of the off season until later in the game.
August 31st, 2014 at 5:01 PM ^
was better than I expected, I highly doubt the announced attendance of 106,000+ . There were plenty of empty seats in our section and that appeared also to be true throughout most of the stadium. 102,000? Yes. 104,000? Maybe. But telling us 106,000+? It once again stretches the credibility of our Athletics Dept.
But the students? I was very impressed by how early they were in comparison to what we've seen in recent years. Great job, kids and young adults---keep it up!
August 31st, 2014 at 6:32 PM ^
We need an FAQ about this - people are continually confused about how attendance is calculated, despite it being discussed constantly.
In college football, the announced attendance includes everyone in the press box and on the field, in addition to all the tickets sold. That is how Michigan normally has attendance that exceeds its capacity. When we had an announced attendance of 115,109 for last year's ND game, it wasn't because we sold 5,000 extra tickets, but because we issued a ton of credentials, had a bunch of recruits there, and so forth.
An attendance of 106,811 for this game means that they sold probably 103,000 tickets. (Note: this does not necessarily mean that every one of these 103K was present.)
August 31st, 2014 at 8:48 PM ^
This is the way it has always been. If you've been complaining about the stretched credibility of the AD due to this since the 70's, fair enough. But I suspect your complaint is just another weak non-argument against Brandon.
It was as full as the CMU's and Akron's and Deleware's of yesteryear.
August 31st, 2014 at 4:24 PM ^
August 31st, 2014 at 4:36 PM ^
It was clearly more full than normal at the start of the game (especially for a noon start). There was a small patch in the upper LH corner of the student section that filled in during the first 5 minutes or so of Q1. A good showing by the students.
August 31st, 2014 at 4:39 PM ^
So, the most important thing: Did the students have fun?
Any students have any comments?
August 31st, 2014 at 5:13 PM ^
Student here and let me say that was the most enjoyable blowout I've ever been to! Doesn't trump games like 2011 OSU or UTL2, but I had a lot of fun just hanging out my friends and cheering for some good dominant Michigan football. Also got to teach some of the freshmen who didn't know the cheers or the important players. I was just really glad to be back in the stadium.
As for the attendance thing, I agree there were way more people there at kickoff than I thought there would be. Still lots of room to move around and by no means packed, but there weren't blatant areas with no one there. This was definitely more because it was an opener and no one had any classes to worry about. I'm interested as to how the Miami game will look. I have a feeling that that game will have more of an attendance problem.
August 31st, 2014 at 5:23 PM ^
August 31st, 2014 at 5:46 PM ^
For the most part I had a very fun time at the game, but I would probably expect that from any student who is often on the blog as they are probably bigger fans of the team and the game as a whole. I know a lot of students left as early as halftime, but the main reason for that was the heat, so hopefully that isn't something we'll see in the future. But overall a pleasant experience.
As far as students arriving early is concerned, I can say the only reason I was there on time was because of the new policy regarding points and next years tickets. Bonus points are awarded for showing up 30 minutes early or more that go towards better seating for next year. Can honestly say otherwise I probably would've been there around kickoff or a little later. I plan on getting to every game 30+ minutes early this year so I can be near the front for next year's games, specifically MSU and OSU. However I'm not sure if all students are aware of the new policy.
August 31st, 2014 at 6:06 PM ^
Wow.. I was there about 15 minutes before kickoff right around when the band was playing. I had NO idea about that policy. Thanks for the info!