Stories/Impressions from the Big House 5-0 Big Chill Victory
OK, as people are returning, I thought we could use a thread for those of us who were able to go the the MOST ATTENDED HOCKEY GAME/MICHIGAN STADIUM EVENT in history. Post your thoughts from being at the game here.
Me, I was surprised how good the view of the ice was. Could actually see the puck in section 42, row 22 pretty well. The other side of the ice had some rough sightlines, but no worse than usual bad angles. The lights work great, but I wonder if long passes are going to get lost in them. They are bright.
Contrary to some posts, the atmosphere was great. It was fun time had by all, the chants got louder as the game went on, as people learned them. It was really a party atmosphere, so there weren't the "loudest I've ever hear the Stadium" moments, but there were also more beach balls than I had ever seen there too. (Except for the ass holes who kept popping them).
They ran a pretty good show, with events and stuff mixed in. It was very RAWK lite, with the band doing a great job. Kudos to the LONGEST rendition of the Blues Brother theme ever...that was awesome. The Tuba section must have needed oxygen after it. The fireworks were cool, and it was pretty awesome after the game, synchronized to the music quite well. And I am amazed how fast the lights turn back on. In my experience, big (older) lights like that take FOREVER to turn back on.
The only "negative" I could see was that this was obviously a test run on advertising in the Stadium. It was everywhere. Not just the boards, or on the Zamboni, but when people are taking shots on the Human Curly Fries (HT & a +1 to the first person to post a pic of that here), we kinda get it. The scoreboards had advertising on not only the screen, but the video strip below it was just running off ads all day long. (Yet they didn't have time for the "send your pic to be on the screen" thing they mentioned early in the game, but never did). I guess there's no advertising in Michigan Stadium only if it's a football game. Get ready, it's coming.
I'm sure I'll think of more stuff, and have additional posts, but this has it pretty good. Oh, yeah, the game was great too. Got the shutout, and 4 of 5 goals in my (and students) end. Really overall an awesome production by the University. When can we do it again?
December 11th, 2010 at 7:20 PM ^
Looked pretty good from Kezar Pub in San Francisco! Handful of other die-hards were there watching the game.
December 11th, 2010 at 7:23 PM ^
I posted this in the thread below, but thought I should share it here too. Here's the finale of the fireworks...hopefully I can upload the other two videos I have of the fireworks show in a bit
December 11th, 2010 at 10:40 PM ^
I wasn't there so the BTN's story/impression of the event will have to do.
December 11th, 2010 at 7:26 PM ^
December 11th, 2010 at 7:32 PM ^
Yup. And it was awesome. Being the huge bomber, it had a relatively speaking slow swing over the Stadium, a big beautiful black bird gliding (not so loudly) over us. Another bit of awesomeness today.
December 11th, 2010 at 7:33 PM ^
Yeah i was amazed at how quiet it was
December 11th, 2010 at 7:33 PM ^
*stealth* bomber
December 11th, 2010 at 7:37 PM ^
It was the flyover to end all flyovers.
The bomber flew in from the south, and I was sitting in the south end so I couldn't see it coming. But I knew it was coming because the north end of the stadium could see it coming, and the roar from the crowd at that end kept getting louder and louder as the bomber got closer. The bomber made nowhere near as much noise as the old WW2 bomber for the UConn game, but...wow, it's an incredible sight.
December 11th, 2010 at 8:15 PM ^
Yes there was. I've never seen one in real life and it was quite a bit larger than i expected. Pretty cool....
December 11th, 2010 at 11:23 PM ^
the back porch of my house...I dragged my 9 year old son out to see it...he thought it was the coolest plane he's ever seen!
December 12th, 2010 at 6:27 PM ^
duh!!!!!!
December 11th, 2010 at 7:33 PM ^
Pics coming in a few. Impressions:
- I was in 26/26 in generally had good view of the action (pretty much from the corner, right behind the band). I was more towards the 50 for Wisconsin, but didn't feel like this was an enormous difference
- The people in my section didn't know/didn't do a lot of the chants, but whatever
- The lights are amazing and night football games need to happen more often here after Notre Dame next year
- The fireworks were great and a nice touch
- The Big Chill (movie) tie-ins were great, if underappreciated, I think (go see it if you haven't!)
- It really wasn't cold at all until it got darker, and even then it wasn't terrible
- Couldn't have asked for a better time, and this needs to become a tradition, it'll be good for Michigan and college hockey
December 11th, 2010 at 7:37 PM ^
Not too cold (not really cold at all), no rain (or snow). And Kasdan being there was was kinda cool. I could have used more Empire Strikes Back or Raiders references for him though. ;-) I'm just glad they didn't use the clip where those whiners tell Bo not to choke till the 4th quarter...
December 12th, 2010 at 12:01 AM ^
Overall, it was a blast, and the game was perfect. All of the ushers, and I believe even the announcer, kept saying see you next year. It seemed like this will become some sort of tradition, but I'm just basing that off of the entire event staff saying "see you next year" as we left. They may have just been saying it in a happy new year sort of way, but I really don't know. For those of you that didn't make it, I hope there is another one planned so that you can all go out and enjoy it, too. Go Blue!
December 12th, 2010 at 11:13 AM ^
I think they said see you next year because this is the last event in the Big House til the spring game.
December 13th, 2010 at 1:07 AM ^
But they have to do this again. I don't think it should happen every year, because we all might start taking it for granted. But I'd recommend a Big Chill every four years, so each class (students and players) get to experience it once during their time in AA.
And I'll repeat: have the Wings play the Habs next time. But section off some of the poorer seats for that, so it's indisputably a larger crowd for the M game.
December 11th, 2010 at 7:33 PM ^
Ads on zambonis and the boards are pretty standard. There are ads along the boards and on the zambonis at Yost, so, I think those were UM hockey things, rather than a Wanting-ads-in-the-big-house thing.
http://www.hockeybarn.com/images_content/articles/200902/5b.jpg
DON'T PANIC!
December 11th, 2010 at 7:39 PM ^
I said "not only on the boards or Zamboni", which, I kind of expect at hockey, but over everything, and particularly a LOT on the scoreboards. It was the latter more than the former. But I probably didn't point it out enough.
Which actually, as Dave probably wants to hear, didn't really bother me all that much. I just know it's going to get under some people's skins, and as a fair assessment, needed to be mentioned. I bet Brian has something to say about it Monday.
December 12th, 2010 at 12:13 AM ^
December 12th, 2010 at 5:23 AM ^
With the lights, suites, night games, etc. will come advertising in the stadium. It is inevetable.
A good corporate CEO like DB can not keep staring at that big plump cash cow and not eventually milk it. It's what he does.
Don't worry, it will be "subtle" advertising *wink*.
December 11th, 2010 at 7:39 PM ^
It was to be there. I watched it on BTN down here in Raleigh and nothing could have ever made it better than it turned out to be. Holy shit! Can you imagine the football recruits digging this stuff? Wow!
December 11th, 2010 at 7:43 PM ^
Here's a slideshow of my pictures from today (again, section 26, row 26). Sorry for the numerous shots with people's heads in the way--I'm short. Not apologizing for the huge number of pics, though. Enjoy!
A quick teaser:
December 11th, 2010 at 7:44 PM ^
Also, OMG SHIRTLESS moments for Kevin Koger and Darryl Stonum. The team was sitting in the student section corner and seemed to be loving it. I have no idea how Koger managed that for most of the 2nd period and intermission...it was getting cold by then.
December 11th, 2010 at 7:47 PM ^
Mid-way through the first period some of the guys (Demens, Stonum, Koger, et. al) made their way down to the front of section 28 and from then on they were having a great time. It's kinda cool how they got to go to a game in the big house. They kept trying to start all the chants, the wave, and getting on each others' shoulders. It was pretty entertaining to watch all around.
December 11th, 2010 at 8:19 PM ^
Really? In my comment below I mention that it wasn't really all that cold. I was assuming you were actually wearing clothes. Those guys are tough. And crazy.
December 11th, 2010 at 8:25 PM ^
They all gave away their letterman jackets to the ladies around them almost immediately...which was followed by relentless flexing (demens)
December 11th, 2010 at 7:57 PM ^
TomVH tweeted this:
RT @timmbloem @TomVH FYI, @CornellStone22 (Darryl Stonum) is in the front row at #TheBigChill shirtless being hoisted up leading the student section cheers
That's awesome, nice to see them all having a good time.
December 11th, 2010 at 8:28 PM ^
Yeah, Darryl got up and started the wave during the second period.
December 11th, 2010 at 8:53 PM ^
when we tried to cross over the wave, the east side of the stadium struggled. Also, was that the slowest slow wave ever?
Also, it was very cold. I wore layers, but my feet were gone mid way through the second period. Awesome event.
Please make annual or semi-annual
December 11th, 2010 at 9:27 PM ^
But if they did it every year, it would become commonplace, and not sell out. I wouldn't do it more than once every 5 years or so. Maybe after we add more seats in the endzone.
December 12th, 2010 at 5:29 AM ^
A lot of people were there for the novelty of it. They won't keep coming back.
When they held Slippery Rock games at the Big House back in the '70's, they got 60,000+ for the first one. For the novelty of it. By time they had the second one, attendance fell way off.
I would still like to see some non-traditional events at the Big-House every year or two. The trick would be to mix it up enough to keep people coming.
Can you say Michigan Soccer on a narrow pitch?
December 12th, 2010 at 11:56 AM ^
the wave was started way too early. I wanted to focus on the wave, but the score was still 2-0 halfway through the second period. Probly why it didn't do so well. We should have waited until the third period (and the score would have been at least 3-0, a comfortable third period lead.) I noticed a lot of the football players were gone during the third period, at least in section 25 where RR, GERG, and DRob were sitting.
Overall a fun game, nice to dominate FYS. Even the refs added insult to injury and disallowed the only puck that got by Hunwick. The right call if the play is dead when the net comes off its moors. There were some bad calls but not too many penalties overall, and they called about the same number for both sides.
Advertising was annoying, I lost count of how many times the announcer said "The Arby's Big Chill presented by Buick". Hopefully not a trend.
December 12th, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^
I got really mad about that, and thought it was some freshmen trying to start it like when at a football game this year, we started the wave too early and when we were only up by one score (I was livid).
I didn't know it was the football players, that makes it better I guess since they just wanted to have a great time and be part of the crowd for once. But not only was it the 2nd period, where we were only up by 2 points...
It wasn't even halfway through the 2nd. That's like doing the wave in the 2nd quarter. Also, we had a penalty. That's like doing the wave when the other team is in the red zone and not making noise. I know we dominated on PK and PP, but seriously, we were shorthanded...
Again, I'm not as mad anymore, but I refused to participate in the wave due to the circumstances.
December 11th, 2010 at 7:47 PM ^
It was great to see us beat State at the Big House! I loved the game but I still prefer the energy of watching the games at Yost.
December 11th, 2010 at 7:59 PM ^
I agree, M-Wolverine, I was pleasantly surprised at how good the view was. We were in sec. 22, row 38, and I didn't get the expected impression that the players were 1000 miles away. Fireworks were awesome, crowd was good, weather was hockey-appropriate but not too cold -- what can I say, I loved it!
[Edit] And, oh yeah, the result of the game wasn't so bad either . . .
December 11th, 2010 at 8:07 PM ^
Even more fun than I expected!
December 11th, 2010 at 8:50 PM ^
Agreed. I was higher up in the north-west corner of the student section and the view was amazing. I loved the last words of "See you next year".
December 11th, 2010 at 8:15 PM ^
For whatever reason, I wasn't into the whole "hockey in a footbal stadium" thing. But, my buddy bought tickets, so I went. I am really glad I did. It was great. I was in Section 38, row 82 and I could follow the puck well. Shots were kinda hard to follow, but the players' reaction let you know if they went in.
It wasn't too cold. Dress warm and tough it out people. (I have lived in Michigan pretty much my whole life, so mid-30s don't bother me that mich.)
The advertising was there. It wasn't in your face, but the Meijer 3 stars of the game, and the Arby's goal shooting contest in the first intermission let me kinda "meh." (But wanting a jamocha shake.)
The lights are great. IMHO, the over brightness some have mentioned was due to the reflectiveness of the ice as viewed from the stands. No problem for football.
The only negative was that I was buying a hotdog when the flyover happened. FAIL!
FWIW - After the fire works, the announcer thanked everyone for coming to the "inaugural Big Chill at the Big House." He then said, "See you next year." If they want to do this every year, I'm in.
Why couldn't the Wings and the Habs have played there last night?
December 11th, 2010 at 9:52 PM ^
Brandon said in his post game presser maybe every 4 years....
December 12th, 2010 at 7:26 AM ^
Because Gary Bettman sucks as a commissioner and doesn't jump on great opportunities. Mike Babcock was stated saying he wished the Wings would have played outdoors, sounds like the are pushing for a game at Comerica in the future.
December 12th, 2010 at 10:12 AM ^
That is all.
December 11th, 2010 at 8:22 PM ^
I was a little dissappointed with the lack of students participating in the hockey cheers around me, but that was to be expected. Tempation was always a mix of goalie-sieve and you suck, but when sitting in the nosebleeds with freshmen who most of which have never been to Yost I guess that was ok. Closer to the field it was probably better. By the end of the game the goal count chant was pretty strong though.
And I agree on the party atmosphere, hell, someone even snuck in a blow-up doll and passed it around like a beach ball.
December 11th, 2010 at 8:23 PM ^
and it was better than I could have imagined. My friends and I were having a blast and the atmospere was incredible. Glad I was able to attend another historic event in the big house.
December 11th, 2010 at 8:30 PM ^
I have to say I was impressed with how well the AD pulled this off. It wasn't quite Yost, but the atmosphere was great. I hope to see some Hello posts tomorrow.
December 11th, 2010 at 9:39 PM ^
I will not be happy if I see Curly Fries, Belle Tire dude, or any other corporate mascot patrolling the sidelines in Michigan Stadium in the future. I can survive for spring game or even the Big Chill but never for football.
I guess I can live with some of the signage but didn't like when the announcer did ads over the loudspeaker or interupted the gameday experience with advertising. The passive stuff I would tolerate as long as we can ditch Curly Fry dude
December 13th, 2010 at 1:21 AM ^
...that the price of each advertising sale will generally increase according to scarcity. I hope he keeps Michigan football games ad-free. If he allows advertising at The Big Chill, or even at the spring game (or at a soccer game or a Wings/Habs game), he'll be able to charge top dollar.
December 13th, 2010 at 9:41 AM ^
He's already said he won't put any ads in the Big House.
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/dave-brandon-discussion-hd-scoreboards-other-stuff
He said he's been to other stadiums that have ads all over them and has spoken to our fans, and hands down we don't want them and he said he'll respect that.
December 12th, 2010 at 10:30 AM ^
I wouldn't be that excited. He is a meh 3-star, with a FAKE 40 time. Also, look at how short his legs are? I did hear he is a grity player. A best a project. I assume he will redshirt.