Athletes, coaches from other sports send Michigan Football off

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

This is outstanding.

Fans, coaches and athletes on other Michigan teams all lined up in Glick Field House and held a surprise send-off for the team. I'll call it The Victors Send-Off.

In the bottom left picture, Carol Hutchins appears to be hugging Greg Mattison. 

Beilein and Berenson were there. 

Fans line up to send off Michigan's football team at Schembechler pic.twitter.com/goo5AH0zhK

— Claire Bryan (@claireab320) October 3, 2014

Reactions from players:

 

Omg much luv MAC (Michigan athletic community)

— #H1TP (@GreatGlasby) October 3, 2014

Love the support from everyone! #goblue

— jake butt (@JBooty_88) October 3, 2014
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Football

Miles was right

October 3rd, 2014 at 3:38 PM ^

Brandon seems to favor the girly man type coach, or the yes man coach who cant actually coach... we're gonna be hard pressed to get a good one.

I'm really warming up to Schiano... because this was Martin's first choice, and maybe he was onto something.. he nailed the Beilein hire.

Joined: 09/22/2014

MGoPoints: 409

Perkis-Size Me

October 3rd, 2014 at 4:01 PM ^

I pray Schiano never sniffs Ann Arbor. Aside from the fact that he was a joke in the NFL, what did he really accomplish at Rutgers? Yes, he made them respectable and got some bowl wins, but he never got over that conference title hump. If you can't win the Big East, I don't know how you can expect to win titles anywhere. Especially with some of the talent he recruited.


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MGoPoints: 105756

ndscott50

October 3rd, 2014 at 3:43 PM ^

This was the right thing to do at the right time for the team. Jumping into a bunch of complaints about the AD and team based on this specific event, which simply shows support for the players, demonstrates you have lost perspective.

Joined: 10/02/2009

MGoPoints: 5774

trueblueintexas

October 3rd, 2014 at 3:47 PM ^

Good for the football team. Good for the other teams. Don't care whether students, fans, etc were included or not. Not everything is about the fans. 

It's sad the state of the organization and fan base is such that this was needed and that it would elicite some negative responses. But the reality is, it is, and in many respects, it is warranted. 

Hope the football team can go out and play hard, smart, and with passion like a Michigan team should. Yeah, yeah, yeah, what have I seen to make me think they will?..I'm a realist and and an optimist which is why I said "Hope".

Joined: 11/10/2008

MGoPoints: 36653

GOBLUE4LIFE2010

October 3rd, 2014 at 3:54 PM ^

any one else get this today?

 

 

Please add [email protected] to your address book or safe senders list.

If you are unable to view this message correctly, click here

As part of the Michigan Athletics family and the most invested supporters of our 931 student-athletes, I want to update you surrounding this past week's events.

Following Saturday's football game we spent the next two days reconstructing what happened, culminating in the statement that was released early Tuesday morning. As I stated in the release, we made a mistake, and I take full responsibility for that.

As a result of our findings we have implemented new protocol that addresses injury identification and communication. These changes will be in place starting this Saturday at Rutgers to ensure that we never face this situation again. We are implementing an "Eye in the Sky" system used in the NFL and at one other school, Northwestern, where an observer watching the game and television replays focuses on collisions. This person will wear headphones and be hard-wired to our entire medical staff to immediately alert them to potential head injuries. To learn more about our new player safety measures please click here.

Over the last two days I have met with our student-athletes. Their health and welfare are my highest priority. On Thursday morning, I called a meeting for all Michigan Athletic department team members. We discussed the week's events and importance of supporting all of our student-athletes and especially our football team.

I ​want you to be assured that I ​realize the student body is a critical component of Michigan Athletics. Their pride and passion makes the University of Michigan the special place that it is. Therefore, my first media availability was with the Michigan Daily. ​I look forward to rebuilding the relationship between our students and the athletic department.

While it has no doubt been a difficult week, I have also been overwhelmed and humbled by encouragement from our student-athletes, coaches and department team members.

This weekend I am going to Rutgers to watch our football team compete. I remain committed to providing them and all 931 student-athletes with the opportunity to become world-ready graduates, representing the Block M. Thank you for your continued support of this mission.

​Dave Brandon​

 

 

Joined: 09/12/2010

MGoPoints: 58

Perkis-Size Me

October 3rd, 2014 at 4:03 PM ^

Its sad that it had to come to this to get support for the team, even though we as fans are partially to blame for it. But its a really nice sight to see. Great to see support from the athletic community.

People wonder why they should send their sons and daughters to Michigan? Here's a reason why.


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MGoPoints: 105756

4godkingandwol…

October 3rd, 2014 at 4:04 PM ^

... Nice gesture. What I have issues with is trying to portray DB and Hoke as victims in this. They are not. They are the cause. Support the troops and all that, but hold the leaders accountable.

Joined: 08/06/2008

MGoPoints: 31332

Waves

October 3rd, 2014 at 4:10 PM ^

This is a great gesture, and I'm all for it. But don't think it's going to be a fix for the fundamental brokenness of the FB program.

Joined: 11/11/2013

MGoPoints: 1471

DowntownLJB

October 3rd, 2014 at 4:14 PM ^

so even that message from DB reads as if it's been the whole Department (including all the student athletes, like they've had to hunker down and band together against the big bad students/alumni) under attack this week, not just him personally (and Hoke).  interesting.

 

Regardless, this send off for the football team was an awesome idea and looks like it went off very successfully.  I would love to have the chance to do something similar on campus tomorrow, though I have no idea how to figure out where/when to show up to even be a solitary cheering section.

Joined: 10/10/2012

MGoPoints: 2261

UMForLife

October 3rd, 2014 at 4:18 PM ^

I think it is a prank. They are going to lock up Hoke in the Bathroom. It will be like Home Alone. Nobody realizes he is not there with the team, as he doesn't do anything anyway.

No one will miss him during the game.

 

Joined: 11/04/2013

MGoPoints: 63393

AmishRule

October 3rd, 2014 at 4:22 PM ^

Great gesture and I don't really care who pulled it together -- DB or the Uof M Quilt Club. But the downer is that each sign of unique support reminds each of those players there are problems in the program.

Looking forward to the special day when there is a bigger crowd of all of us welcoming the football team home from a championship game!

Go Blue!

Joined: 10/02/2014

MGoPoints: 691

UofM Die Hard …

October 3rd, 2014 at 4:47 PM ^

Michigan athletics sticking together when one of the teams needs a pick me up...good stuff

 

I am sure the team was glad to see other athletes there and not one fan, probably not too happy with us at the moment. 

Joined: 03/10/2011

MGoPoints: 18363

Buccaneer_9

October 3rd, 2014 at 5:22 PM ^

That Beilein/Berenson picture is my new wallpaper.  Those guys are the Gold Standard for coaching at Michigan.

I wonder if Brady ever knocks on either of their doors and gets any words of wisdom.  If he doesn't, that's a shame.

Berenson is just a goddamned legend & Beilein is well on his way.

Joined: 12/19/2008

MGoPoints: 97

MichAero

October 3rd, 2014 at 5:56 PM ^

There are a couple of ways to look at this and there is probably some truth in all of it. I think there is a part of it that Brandon is doing this for himself, and while that is a bit frustrating, if he can build off of and improve ideas like this, that would be a net positive. We'll see if it is more selfish or if he is starting to change in these next few weeks I think.

Inviting just the athletes: I can understand it this time. I agree that is might further the divide between athletes and non-athletes, but it makes some sense this time. I think the surprise aspect of this was nice, and that would have gone away had all of the students been invited. I also remember going to the welcome home rally for the basketball team after the national championship game and being disappointed by the turnout. Most accounts had about 250-350 fans showing up. I realize it was scheduled on short notice and I don't believe we received an email about it and it wasn't advertised very well, but most of those that showed up were not students.

With the growing apathy of the students/fans, the Fire Brandon rally earlier this week, and there being classes today, I think the Athletic Department went with the safe route. If the team knows about the rally and there is a poor turnout, that is a morale killer to an already "fragile" team. Instead, it was a surprise and a nice show of support from those generally more excited about the team.

Overall, I like it this time. I think there might be some room for a student group to plan things like this for the big road games (or all of them, depending on what they decide) going forward as well. That would be cool to see, and if it was allowed, I would try my best to make it to them.

Joined: 09/08/2014

MGoPoints: 154

Bando Calrissian

October 3rd, 2014 at 6:14 PM ^

This is cool and all, but this whole "Student Athletes Against the World" mentality being hatched these last few days is disconcerting. DB is using the students to deflect attention from his pisspoor job running this Athletic Department. It's just the kind of smarmy garbage we've come to expect from this equally shameless suit of a man.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 68120

steve sharik

October 3rd, 2014 at 6:41 PM ^

I love it; it makes me feel a strong sense of content and inner peace.

If Hutch was in that photo, that'd literally be a living Mt. Rushmore of Michigan coaches in their respective sports.

Joined: 08/08/2009

MGoPoints: 13860

dmac24

October 3rd, 2014 at 10:28 PM ^

Number 5 on Brian's list of things Brandon has done right. He may have screwed a lot of things up and this doesn't wipe those away. But what a great move to get the team sent off on the right foot. I can't imagine how this made the guys feel.

Joined: 07/25/2009

MGoPoints: 1080

Squeezebox

October 4th, 2014 at 9:11 AM ^

While this is a nice gest in principal, it hides the main question of why this is necessary in the first place.

When you take a closer look, it reaks of a Dominos superficial PR stunt to cover and distract attention from the underlying problem.

This is a perfect example of Brandon's "Modus operandi" of putting superficial bandaids on deeper problems.  How will this help fix the on the field problems of the offensive line, play calling and Hoke's general ineptitude?  Of which, Brandon must share a large part of the responsability.

And now Brandon has succeeded in distracting attention away from the problems created from the Minnesota loss - cooling down his own hot seat in the process.

What would you all think if OSU, MSU, Alabama or USC used this sort of gimmick before one of their games - against a relatively lesser opponent, none the less?

 

 

 

 

 

Joined: 04/25/2014

MGoPoints: 1566