Wright Thompson on Ole Miss Section 0

Submitted by I Like Burgers on

Not sure how many saw it, but Wright Thompson's piece on his season tickets at Ole Miss in section 0 touched a cord with me and offered me a little perspective on the current situation.  If you haven't seen it, I really recommend it.

For all the bad surrounding the program lately, and the traditions they are altering or flat out taking away from us, there's still our own personal traditions to hold on to.  Sure, the team might lose against Rutgers today, and they'll probably lose a few more times this season.  And I had planned on not watching the game at all.  But you know what?  I've watched every game for the better part of the last 20 years -- good times and bad -- and I'm not going to let the recent events change my own personal traditions.

So with that said, I'm still drinking from my Michigan coffee mug this morning, I'm wearing the same shitty worn out Michigan shirt that should have been retired 8 years ago, and I'm going to watch the game with my 2-yr old son with the hopes that some day he'll have the same traditions.  And there's no one that can take that away from me.

Go Blue.

Bando Calrissian

October 4th, 2014 at 11:35 AM ^

That's how I feel about sitting with my family in our seats, which is why I'm so defensive and angry about the way DB has treated families like ours over the years. For decades of loyalty to our university, a family of four with six Michigan degrees between us gets nickled, dimed, and belittled, and we're seen as expendable.

College sports is about stories like these; it's not about Coke promotions and synergy and the WOW experience. Michigan Stadium used to be filled week in and week out by people like Wright Thompson and his parents; it's not like that anymore.

Clarence Beeks

October 4th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ^

This is exactly how I felt watching it, too. A big part of the segment was on the university traditions and pageantry, and when coupled with the individual traditions, BOTH coming full circle generation after generation. That is the part this administration doesn't seem to understand. It's such a corporate mindset they are exhibiting and it's about time they wake up to the fact that while a major university is similar to or profit corporation, it is in fact not a for profit corporation (with the major differentiating factor being that the primary goal of a not for profit is something). other than making a profit (duh).

Mr. Yost

October 4th, 2014 at 1:24 PM ^

...it's really not like that ANYWHERE anymore.

That part of CFB is somehwat dead. Unless you can afford to keep it alive. Most people couldn't.

So it's understandable, why you would feel with the story and feel that way about Brandon. But OSU, Texas, Florida, LSU, Penn St., Alabama, Virginia Tech, and Georgia used to be like that too.

That's just not college football in this day and age.

Now people buy their 75" TV over renewing their season tickets.

You have every right to feel the way you do, no question, all I'm saying is that's not the norm for college football the way it used to be.

Are all the people around your seats still there as long as you've been there?

Even if so, that's awesome, but I really don't think it's the standard in today's world. When I used to go to Michigan games, it was almost intimidating because I felt like everyone knew each other. Even before Brandon that started to go away.

KBLOW

October 4th, 2014 at 11:37 AM ^

That was a really nice segment.  I'm watching on the TV and cheering the team on tonight as well.  I don't think I have it in me to liveblog tonight but who knows.

MGlobules

October 4th, 2014 at 12:13 PM ^

running now, then sheepishly watched. Hell, millions of other fans watch their teams, even when 85% have no prayer of championships, NCs, etc. . . 

Victor Valiant

October 4th, 2014 at 12:55 PM ^

Liked the segment.



Separately, I found it disingenuous how ESPN was hyping Ole Miss as being a special place for football and all of that. They are a mediocre/bad SEC team and have been for a long time. The team and the school are not special. I'd argue that every single team in the SEC save Vanderbilt creates more excitement amongst casual fans than Ole Miss. They are the only SEC team I don't even think to gauge each year because they are so overwhelmingly irrelevant.

acnumber1

October 4th, 2014 at 1:02 PM ^

Wait a minute...OP has been wearing the same game day shirt throughout the RR and Hoke tenures?  We may have stumbled upon the problem!

 

Kickstarter for new gameday apparel for I Like Bugers?

mrfoxdoc

October 4th, 2014 at 1:32 PM ^

Agree with the sentiment about gameday traditions. It's a shame that Ole Miss' for so long included confederate flags (seen in the segment during footage of Archie Manning playing), "Dixie" as their unofficial fight song (the Confederacy's song during the Civil War), and a long history of anti-minority sentiment (riots in '62 when first black student enrolled). Can't think of Ole Miss without that crap bubbling into my head. Hey, that's a relative win for Michigan right! 

k.o.k.Law

October 4th, 2014 at 1:57 PM ^

The video shows what a WOW moment is.

It is remembering your Dad taking you to that 1969 UM-Ohio game, your first UM-Ohio contest.

And in 1971, he apologizes for having missed on ordering tickets (he told you that you would both go again) when he reads in the paper that game sold out.

And you, uncharacteristically, have ordered two yourself, for his birthday present, and together you watch Woody rip up those down markers.

And you get tickets again in your sophomore year at UM, for the game, for him.

The next year he buys season tickets, dropping the Lions.

You visit him and your Mom in their seats at halftime most games, and they take you out to dinner after most games, your junior and senior years, and later again when you live in Ann Arbor.

And you take your daughters.

And when your father passes, a brother keeps those tickets in the family.

And you visit him and his son at halftime.

And you tell your oldest, she should sit with the students while she is a student at UM, you only get to be a student for a short while, after she says she wants to keep on sitting with you.

And when she graduates, with three degrees, you buy tickets, because you are blessed and can afford it, and sit with her again.

Forget "wow moments."

UM football was, and can be again,  part of a wow life.

MaznbluinSC

October 4th, 2014 at 2:28 PM ^

Sitting in Copenhagen Denmark, I was almost glad that the game would start at 1:12 a.m. so I had a good excuse not to watch (or listen) it.  Then I read on facebook where other Michigan athletes and coaches sent the team off to Rutgers and I felt good for the team.  So today I wore my M hat all around Copenhagen and will at least listen to the game.  There have been few games I have missed over the past 40+ years and I'm not going to deliberately start now!

One other thing that crossed my mind when reading the facebook posting.  Instead of boycotting games or wearing red, maybe we should figure out a way to fill the stadium when the team comes out to warm up and show our support for them.  I think enough messages have been sent to the powers that be so whatever is going to happen with coaches and administrators will happen, good or bad.  We need to show the team we support them!

AHM16

October 4th, 2014 at 4:17 PM ^

We ALWAYS support this team through thick and thin. We as fans have expectations and standards for this program and when they're not met then this leads to some serious problems as we have right now.