How crazy is this donation idea to UofM?

Submitted by IUandUofM on

I am a bit of a collector of sorts, and I have been trying to find ways to contribute to the football program in more ways than just money.

I have the opportunity to purchase 2 REAL and complete 100 million year old dinosaurs that are called Psittasaurus.  They have been removed from the ground and they can be mounted in a 3-D posture like you would see in a museum.  These guys are tiny though ... about 2 feet long from head to tail.  The company I am working with can arrange the two to look like the Denard vs. Notre Dame Heisman photo.  Here is the photo and examples of similar dinos that have been posed.

My idea is to have them arranged in that way, and ask that the University put it up for display somewhere in the stadium or player area.  It would include the real game photo or redering of it and a plaque.  The neat thing is the poses could be quite natural in nature ... one dino chasing the other.

It is also customary to name complete dino skeletons ... of course we would call one "Denard" and just leave the Notre Dame player one unnamed.

Question is ... is this cool or am I dino crazy?

 

 

MGoBoard
Football

James Burrill Angell

January 29th, 2011 at 12:05 PM ^

Well.......couple things:

1) Taking your idea seriously, you have to understand that the Athletic Department makes millions and millions of dollars and isn't going to spend the time on this because, again, nothing personal, compared to what they do, this is small potatoes. I know this because there was recently an alum who restored an old hotrod and gave it a Michigan paintjob and offered it to the athletic dept to auction off and they told him no. He then went to some other parts of the University (I think the Alumni Association and Motts) who also passed.

2) The University/Athletic Department can't make money off the NAME of any of its active players. Its against NCAA rules. So as one of the other posters said, you'd have to do the Desmond pose or something like that.

 

Joined: 08/12/2009

MGoPoints: 15918

rockediny

January 29th, 2011 at 10:47 AM ^

till Denard graduates. While I feel he will do great things for Michigan and will win a Heisman, we can never know how things will pan out.

unless this is a joke, then lol

Joined: 08/14/2010

MGoPoints: 7566

DaytonBlue

January 29th, 2011 at 10:47 AM ^

going into UM's football shrine.  they're neat in too weird a way.  maybe UM's natural history museum would be interested, especially if you didn't pose them?

Joined: 12/08/2009

MGoPoints: 2079

M-Wolverine

January 29th, 2011 at 11:51 AM ^

The Football program doesn't want it and will do nothing with it. Donate it to the Museum. They can study it, helps their rep, and helps train the next batch of palentogists. Plus it'd give them a nice new display, and you would probably get a plaque. The team would probably just "donate" it to them anyway, and you'd get no acknowledgment, just strange looks. It seems a waste. The whole business seems a little shady. "Possible New Species Insectivore discovered & prepared by TRIASSICA (click images to enlarge). The dinosaur is now housed in a private collection." So an undiscovered species sits in a private collection, rather than being studied, for a buck? Museums can't afford to outbid collectors...especially smaller one's like U-M. But if an animal is never discovered, did it ever really exist? Seems a waste, and a loss to knowledge.

Joined: 10/04/2009

MGoPoints: 42190

aaamichfan

January 29th, 2011 at 10:51 AM ^

How much does it cost to purchase a dinosaur skeleton? 

 

Edit: Nevermind..I followed the above link and found the prices.

Joined: 10/23/2009

MGoPoints: 14362

jhackney

January 29th, 2011 at 11:47 AM ^

I am willing to give out a one time deal. I have a G.I. Joe action figure and a Tennage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figure (Donatello). I am willing to sell to the first responder for a low low price of $20. If you stand them up just right and bend their arms, it will look like this:

Edit: Oops, This is from my Barbie collection. Still looking for any takers...

Joined: 12/11/2008

MGoPoints: 19772

M-Wolverine

January 29th, 2011 at 11:58 AM ^

Is it someone cool like Snake Eyes, or someone lame like Crystal Ball? I don't want to be putting the Fridge in those positions. (Unless you meant originally GI Joe [Colton], but then I don't think he's to scale with Donatello...)

Joined: 10/04/2009

MGoPoints: 42190

Don

January 29th, 2011 at 2:35 PM ^

The species in question is Psittacosaurus, and according to Wikipedia, only 400 skeletons have been unearthed. Given the small number, I have a hard time believing that a fully excavated fossil skeleton that's been completely removed from the matrix so that you could mount it in the way you envisioned would be available for the price quoted. The amount of time required to separate any fossil bones from sediment matrix is huge for a single bone, and doing it for an entire skeleton is mind-boggling. A large percentage of fossilized Psittacosauruses have been found in China. Given the booming trade in fake fossils in China, I wouldn't spend one dollar with these folks under the assumption that you're getting a real fossil and not a re-creation, regardless of their protestations that they're genuine.

In addition, Psittacosaurus was a relatively small plant-eater. Given the nature of football, I would think you'd want to have a carnivorous dinosaur skeleton.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148237