I really should be over this
I really should be over this. It has been a week. The basketball team already has another win under their belt, hopefully they add to that tonight. But I'm not.
I'm writing this for the 10,000 or so in attendance for last Tuesday's game not residing in the student section. No, I'm not writing to the "Go Green" idiots either--you've already got a section of hell reserved for you where "I-O" and "Go White" never come, and your sister always has a headache.
I'm writing to the masses in blue who loaded up in the car, paid $10 for parking, walked two blocks in the cold, and managed to sit in silence for two hours while 1000 booger eating spartans took your home court from you.
WTF is wrong with you? Do you understand that if you had done anything---anything---Michigan would have won that game? Here is a study on crowd noise and officiating. http://wlv.openrepository.com/wlv/bitstream/2436/8014/1/Nevill10.pdf There are 11 or 12 just like that one if you are capable of google. If you cared at all for the outcome of the game do you think Kalin Lucas would have returned to the game after that first half elbow? Do you know the difference between that elbow and the one that got Manny Harris ejected and suspended for a game? The crowd at THAT game was motivated to get up off of their hands for someting other than "Who wants some PIZZA?". Do you think Lucas would have gotten away with picking up his dribble and taking 4 steps in to the lane before kicking the ball out on like 4 out of 5 posessions? Do you think they would have gotten away with yanking Deshawn's jersey on the last shot?
Here is a study on home court advantage. http://www.ncsociology.org/advan1.htm You know what, you can do your own study. Go to one of the NIT games--this could be the last year for the NIT, and I pray it's Michigan's last year in it for that matter--and count the number of visiting team's turnovers which occur when the home crowd is making noise. Compare that to the total number you see in the boxscore. That should give you some idea.
I guess I really dont understand. You've made the financial investment to buy the tickets. You seem to be interested enough to give your time(those of you who didn't walk out with 3 minutes left...again WTF?) you walked at least 2 blocks in the cold...And yet you sit on your hands and take it. This is what gets me. I would've made all kinds of nasty deals with the devil for a W on Tuesday. Yet you couldn't be bothered to look up from your iphone. I hope a painful disease takes you before you procreate. Let this die with you.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:50 AM ^
I have student season tickets but the athletic department didn't email me with information on turning my voucher into a ticket. Second straight time with a marquee game, since it happened with UConn as well.
So I stayed home and watched on the couch.
I am responsible for the loss.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:55 AM ^
They just sent one e-mail about when to pick them up. They gave us both at once at the ticket office.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:57 AM ^
This voucher thing is really a crock.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:53 AM ^
There certainly is a correlation between W/L and officiating and crowd atmosphere... but we know what our fan base is.
And referring to certain moments in that game is purely what if, anecdotal ideas. Does the likelihood that Lucas gets tossed if our crowd was a bit rowdier go up? Yes, but barely. Same with the travel and yanking the jersey. Those studies don't apply to single events.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:54 AM ^
If only Jim Burr didn't get inured before that happened.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:55 AM ^
ground my son? and how much blame do i assign my father i nthis?
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:56 AM ^
"Do you understand that if you had done anything---anything---Michigan would have won that game"
Oh, really? Sims missing an easy 5-footer was totally due to our fans not being loud enough.
Let's not give ourselves too much credit.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:14 AM ^
I'm not sure that a catch and shoot off an inbound pass from side court with 1.5 seconds on the clock is "easy." Throw on top of that having someone tug your shirt (although I don't fault the ref for not blowing his whistle there).
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 AM ^
Is plenty of time to hit the save button, get impatient, and hit the save button again.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:45 AM ^
With 1.5 seconds it really didn't need to be that difficult. He had plenty of time to gather it, even take a dribble, and get a better shot off.
February 2nd, 2010 at 1:06 PM ^
From what I read, Sims wasn't the first option on that play. If that play was so easy, why don't we see more teams win in that position? I think you are overlooking that there are 5 defenders on the floor also.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:56 AM ^
Where were you sitting? That has a major effect on how you hear crowd noise. From my seats, first row behind the Michigan bench, "Go Green - Go White" was always drowned out, except for during Michigan free throws. If you were in the upper level, the State fans probably sounded louder because the sound doesn't move up in Crisler. It wasn't a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the fans who were there, but on the part of those who didn't buy up the tickets, allowing State fans to be there.
As for home court advantage in officiating, we do never seem to get the BS home calls that other teams do. I think Lucas not being thrown out had more to do with the referees not being as dumb as they were at Purdue last year. Beilein is still relatively new to the Big Ten and it will take time for him develop the relationship with the officials that established coaches like Izzo and Ryan have. You have to pay your dues in the Big Ten. This, combined with our ineptitude over the last 15 years has created a culture where we do not get those calls, but we will soon.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:58 AM ^
They are sour.
But I mostly agree.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:48 AM ^
This isn't sour grapes. What would be sour grapes would be to pretend that having a raucous crowd doesn't matter.
Freedictionary.com's definition of "sour grapes."
sour grapes
pl.n.
Denial of the desirability of something after one has found out that it cannot be reached or acquired: The losers' scorn for the award is pure sour grapes.
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:19 PM ^
But I'll be back, jmblue...
Mwahahaha
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:58 AM ^
We're you at the game?
The Maize Rage and even non-students were loud and rocking the entire game. Sparty never took over Crisler - it has been done in the past, it didn't happen last week.
The most you can say is that Sparty got loud when Michigan was obviously quiet. They did their dumb chant during Michigan FTs. What are we supposed to do, try to out cheer them while our guys are at the line?
Given the games against MSU in the past at Crisler, this year was the best home court advantage we've had in a while. About 2500 students in attendance. That's the most since probably 2005. The place was loud and crazy and pro-Michigan.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:01 AM ^
Lucas may have elbowed us but we kicked him in the face. Revenge is sweet!
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:11 AM ^
The number of blue section seats allocated to students is ridiculous. As an alum, the entire blue section should be given to the students if there are enough applications. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that the students wrap all the way around the court at the Breslin. This is huge. The rest of the arena feeds off the students. Is there is a study for the cause and effect of facility size versus number of student tickets or home court advantage versus the proximity of students to the floor?
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:15 AM ^
I've been told by someone in the marketing department that if we have consistent student attendance for 2-3 years, they will make the bleachers wrap around the entire court. What they do not want to do, is offer those to students based on one good year and then have them empty when students don't show up to watch a struggling team. The plans are there,it just may be a while.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:23 AM ^
I was a freshmen when the Fab Five were sophomores. This was only 4 years after our NC. Demand couldn't have been higher. The students only had one side of the court, as they do now. Overflow was the gold seats behind the students.
I understand that there are risks with wrapping the students all the way around. But to be honest, I would think that the students would be more apt to fill the blue seats in meager times than corporate season ticket holders.
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:08 PM ^
I think the renovations at Crisler may coincide with a change in the seating. We may see some of the behind the basket seats redone in order to make room for student risers behind a basket. I think student ticket sales next year may dictate a lot of the future policies.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:16 AM ^
While I understand your anger, I can't quite stand on the soap box with you, because I think it's directed at the wrong people. Your anger needs to be aimed at those who did not go at all, those who let entirely too many Spartans occupy seats in our house, and especially those who should've been occupying the MANY empty seats at what was reportedly a sold-out game.
I was sitting in the rafters (because that's what I got when I chose "best available" months ago), surrounded by Spartans, yet I still found that to be the most rockin' Crisler crowd I've seen in years.
Rest assured buddy, I still hurt from that loss, too. But if you're gonna lay the blame on lack of crowd participation, don't go after those of us who were there. Yell at those weren't.
February 2nd, 2010 at 1:42 PM ^
Blame the ones who sold what must be season tickets to MSU fans.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:27 AM ^
it's an unfortunate reality of the fan base. i remember my first football game as a graduate student and hearing all the hype, build up, etc...and being pretty disappointed. i thought with 100,000+ fans packed in a stadium, it would be rocking...it was not! and, going to see a UM bball game is kinda the ultimate snooze-fest. (however, hockey games are pretty fun!) the first game i ever went to at crisler my friends and i laughed our asses off because the UM student section prints off the game cheers! when you sit down in the student section, there is a pamphlet with the game cheers spelled out! i've never seen that before and neither had any of my friends (all went to different undergrad schools)...seemed kinda funny that the students didn't know the cheers by heart.
my brothers and i have an annual "men's trip" where we go to one prominent athletics event each year: british open, masters, kentucky derby, head of charles, final four, etc. we've recently started going to several college football and college basketball games, focusing primarily on the "craziest" venues and most exciting match-ups. this year we are headed to the alabama-lsu game in baton rouge. to date, we've taken in a few games, seeing OU, UM, Florida, and several other games. unfortunately, game day experiences at the other schools have always been much more entertaining than UM's...and, my brother's point this out with each new event.
this year i started to realize that most of the teams and schools we visit are essentially glorified highschools. the schools that we had gone to visit are major party schools - and take that party school mentality into the tailgate and game scene. that is not to say that they like or support their teams more than UM...it's to say that they consume much more alcohol and much more drugs than UM students/alum to express that support! and, during the games, that alcohol/drug consumption results in a much more raucous crowd - from the student section to the alums.
i don't think the majority of alums would appreciate UM being referred to as a "party school," nor do i think the university's administration would be happy with that reputation. i don't want UM to be known as a party school. however, when you visit other "powerhouse" programs for games, check out how torn up the alums and students alike are getting and compare that to UM. it's really no contest. and, there is a strong correlation between intoxication and craziness.
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:36 PM ^
I think what you said is definitely true for football, but I think basketball is different. Basketball requires a small, yet passionate portion of the student body, not getting people who marginally care about the team. It also does not involve the level of alcohol consumption that football tailgates do. You would be hard pressed to find anyone that considers Duke, UNC, or Wake Forest to be party schools, but they have great arena atmospheres. It comes down to team performance and student involvement.
The design of the arena matters a lot too. Crisler is not designed well for sound. Next time you watch a Duke home game, look how much closer their court side students are to the court than ours. It's because they are on the side without the team benches.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:31 AM ^
Interesting points. Never really put a lot of thought into the officiating being influenced by crowd noise but it makes a lot of sense. I bet refs get a big rush when they make a big call when the crowd is going nuts. More fun then making one to quiet the crowd. That may be enough to sway some questionable calls the wrong way once in a while.
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:03 PM ^
as a footnote, I watched the game on TV (i live in D.C.) and could not make out any crowd support for the visiting team. Crowd looked and sounded great. Back in my day (four-year alumnus of the Maize Rage, '99-'03), I remember more than one Michigan State game where the crowd, it seemed, was 75% Spartan faithful and would drown out any other noise with their chants of "WE OWN CHRYSLER!"
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:06 PM ^
If there's one thing I absolutely don't understand about MGoBlog, it's the inability of so many to correctly spell the name of our basketball arena. And it's so often preceded by someone saying how many years they went to basketball games.
I don't intend to be mean, but really... It's Crisler. It's always been Crisler.
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:21 PM ^
Spelling is difficult without the red squiggly line. Don't blame me, blame the State fans, they're the ones who were chanting "Chrysler"
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:10 PM ^
As a fellow halfway across the country TV viewer, I mostly concur. The only time I heard State fans was during Michigan free throws.