Michigan alums in Southern Cal/West Coast?

Submitted by amir_6 on

I'm expecting Staples Center to be rockin' with Michigan fans come Thursday night. Many alums in that part of the country! Should we expect an environment similar to MSG during the B1G Tourny?

freejs

March 20th, 2018 at 2:30 AM ^

and I was there all 4 days. Cannot describe the pure joy of the team raising a trophy on your birthday. 

I hope for you that you get to experience what I experienced. 

I'll be in LA, too, and close enough to the floor, and arena shaking loud, as per always. 

 

 

Mich fan in AZ

March 19th, 2018 at 5:11 PM ^

Hey everyone! First time posting here.

Anyways, I can't go to the Thursday game, but if we win I can technically go on Saturday but I don't have a ticket yet. I looked all over for the Internet to buy an e-ticket but everything apparently only delivers via snail mail (UPS, FedEx, etc.) I live six hours from LA though so that kind of delivery won't be easy. Any tips on buying a ticket on Thursday should they win? Not sure I want to drive that far for an attempt at buying from a scalper, but I really want to go if they make it to Saturday!

Mich fan in AZ

March 19th, 2018 at 6:01 PM ^

I've never been to the Staples Center so this is very helpful. I'm just going to buy my ticket as soon as it's over if we win and pick it up on Saturday. Wish I could go Thursday but I have too much going on at work.

Also, anyone by chance know yet what sections will be dominated by Michigan fans, so I can try to get a ticket with some of our own?

Thanks for the tip!

StraightDave

March 20th, 2018 at 1:35 AM ^

TAMU fans will dump their tickets after the Thursday game. I did this when UM played in Jerry’s world - I went to the Sweet 16 game then paid $8 for outstanding seats for the Elite 8 ball game.

Not sure the snail mail thing. Go out and buy a smart phone or a printer.

FrankMurphy

March 19th, 2018 at 5:18 PM ^

Michigan is the most well-represented Big Ten school on the West Coast in terms of alumni, but there are still probably not nearly as many here as there are on the East Coast simply due to distance and population. Public transportation and traffic are also a lot worse in LA than they are in the NY area, so Staples Center is harder to get to for those who live on the outskirts of LA than MSG is to get to for those in NJ, CT, or other parts of NY.

I still expect us to outnumber TAMU fans, but I doubt it will be as home-like as our BTT games at the Garden were. 

TrueBlue2003

March 19th, 2018 at 6:45 PM ^

the UM Alumni Club of LA is the third largest outside of Michigan (after Chiago and NYC) and there are a ton of alums/fans here that will attend the game.

And with UNC and Xavier not making it, I think we'll easily outnumber the other three fanbases (I'm certain about FSU and TA&M, and I'm just assuming Gonzaga just doesn't have the volume but maybe they have a very loyal base of traveling fans?), so the atmosphere should be very good for Michigan fans.

Unlike NYC fans that get a visit from Michigan almost every season, we on the west coast have far fewer opportunities to see the team and I think fans are going to take advantage.

Tri-state area fans correct me if I'm wrong but if you're coming from NJ, CT, LI, etc, you're still looking at an hour plus commute, correct?  Only the furthest reaches of the LA metro area exceed that commute time to LA Live at the times people will be making it (blessing in disguise about the game time is that if you can get the afternoon off, your ride in at 3pm is a little easier than for a 7pm game).

I'll be taking public transportation into town.  It's better here now than a lot of people realize. People are so in the habit of driving and not even considering public transportation in this town.

panthera leo fututio

March 19th, 2018 at 6:18 PM ^

That's the perception, but I'm not sure how well it holds. It's easy for me to say, since I live in Ktown and getting to Staples is trivial, but there are a ton of places you can leave your car around the region and take a ~30-minute train ride to Staples. I wouldn't be surprised if the number of people who could get to the arena in under an hour without paying for stadium parking is higher in LA than in NY (keep in mind that the NY region gets *way* less dense than LA once you get outside of NYC)

VinegarStrokes

March 19th, 2018 at 5:28 PM ^

i live in newport beach but i have a panic attack everytime i have to venture east of the 405. further, as someone who has lived in manhattan for over 30 years, i hate driving and i'm terrible at it.  that said, i'll be there on thurs and, with a win, saturday...

goblue16

March 19th, 2018 at 5:33 PM ^

Good news is Gonzaga, Florida state, and Texas A&M are far enough from LA that the fans have to travel by plane so based on that I would expect Michigan to have the biggest representation this weekend. GO BLUE!!

I Heart Huckleby

March 19th, 2018 at 5:44 PM ^

I'll be there like whoa.

Also, The LA Alumni Club sent out on FB today that they're hosting a pre-game "tailgate" at Tom's Urban @ LA Live -- right across the street from Staples. So for anyone on the fence about trying to come down and find a ticket there should be a solid Michigan-friendy backup spot to stay and watch if you get priced out.

https://www.facebook.com/events/178000732823675/

Weather's supposed to be crap on Thursday though, so there's that.

I Heart Huckleby

March 19th, 2018 at 7:36 PM ^

Yeah this one's not missing us, big system coming slowly across the pacific, dangerous potential for floods and mudslides in the areas that were hit by wildfire, but probably just a wet and windy day in DTLA. When they see them coming like this they can usually tell a week or so ahead it's gonna be gross.



http://www.intellicast.com/Storm/Hurricane/PacificSatellite.aspx?animate=true

https://www.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=lox&wwa=all

 

 

UNCWolverine

March 19th, 2018 at 5:45 PM ^

I'll be there. Out crew actually got suite tickets on StubHub. No food or drink included but it will be nice to all sit/stand together in a suite with couches, TV's, etc.

Looks like still quite a few suite tickets available. They are a bit pricey but I think well worth the convenience.