Stadium Experience Today

Submitted by Black Socks on

For all of you who attended the game - would you kindly contrast the Hackett experience with those in the past?  I am on the West Coast and would have loved to be there.

Thank you.

MGoBender

September 12th, 2015 at 10:49 PM ^

Really?  They played 7NA twice before/at kickoff and I thought I was going to have to stab my ears if that continued all day.  Luckily it didn't.

The blue-hairs in the single-digit sections let the wave die - come on people.  Then, shame on the students for not getting it going again when we were up really big.

Concession prices actually increased as well.

As everyone notes below, much less RAWK music, but lame choices when there was.  Back in my day (05-09) the band played pop songs and that was the best of both worlds.  Fun songs to sing along/dance along to, but not the commercialization/minor league baseball feel. 

Definitely an improvement, but I think it can still be much better.  An exciting, important game always helps and we'll have a few of those this year!

mmp

September 13th, 2015 at 5:30 AM ^

Hey agree in the concession prices. Who ordered two hotdogs and two pops in the commemorative cups and was stunned when they asked me for $27.



I get that I got the better cup and that cost me an extra $4, but that is gouging your customers big time.

ChuckieWoodson

September 12th, 2015 at 6:11 PM ^

I kind of expected a lot more pageantry and "fireworks" so to speak, but besides for a loud cheer when Harbaugh was introduced there really wasn't that much to speak of and it was great.  Just the way it should be - focused on the game and the players and not making each game feel like the Superbowl. The band was great, piped in music was still there but was well done - not overpowering, IMO.

The best part about it?  Seeing power running and doing it well.  Damn it felt good today! 

growler4

September 12th, 2015 at 6:33 PM ^

Look, I had no complaints before today. I think a lot of the complaining has been petty and about nothing.

Having said that, the gameday experience continues to be great. There is still piped in music at times. Volume diminished but I'm not sure the quantity appreciably diminished.

In the concourse, there continues to be advertising on the pillars. If that ruins someone's gameday experience, that person has bigger problems to deal with, IMO. The fuss people make about macaroni and other things of little/no real consequence never ceases to aMAIZE me.

The Stadium is a great place to watch a game and the Event Staff is polite, friendly, and helpful. 

 

A Fan In Fargo

September 12th, 2015 at 6:44 PM ^

Don't really mind if there is piped in music or not. Any experience in the big house is awesome. Some of you guys don't know how good you have it over there. I wasn't there today but will be for MSU. Anyway, I've had this dream of being there when Journey comes on and Don't Stop Believing is sang by the entire crowd. My mother loved that song. Is there anyone who can arrange or talk to someone who deals with the music and can have this played during a timeout or something? I'll give $100. When it plays you text me your address to 605 448 3082 and the money is yours. No bullshitters either. I care about two things that day. UM winning and hearing that song as they are kicking ass. Great game today. Loved the whole thing except the opening drive. 

clarkiefromcanada

September 12th, 2015 at 6:12 PM ^

Michigan continues to gouge the loyal $6.50 for a hot dog, $7.50 for a brat, $5.50 for the box of maize for the kids, $4.50 for a 24 oz. soda...

They are getting my money on the donation, the tix etc. They would still makes *lots* of money with more reasonably priced items and I'd feel less screwed over.

michiganfan94

September 12th, 2015 at 7:25 PM ^

Empty seats at the top of the student section. I don't remember seeing this (even during RR's 3-9 year) until the last few years of the Brandon/Hoke era. Hopefully it's not half empty for next week's UNLV game (noon start won't help). 

mmp

September 13th, 2015 at 5:35 AM ^

I I remember it being full for every game that year. In fact it probably over sold it because it was always too tight. The students just aren't coming to the game the same numbers they used to. I had expected this game to be different but it wasn't.

James Burrill Angell

September 12th, 2015 at 6:20 PM ^

Much less Rawk music, much more MMB. Definitively more of the old Michigan but still some old elements of Brandon/Lochdogg. I really hate the stupid fan cam but it's probably picky. A lot less of the sort of athletic department ads.

I'm not sure but I don't remember hearing the speakers outside the stadium blaring instructions like a prisoner camp like I did the last few seasons. Did I miss that or was that done away with?

Still long concession lines and lines into the middle sections getting in. Earlier poster is correct that the prices are the same on food.

There was a flyover and was supposed to be a paratrooper jump at halftime that was cancelled because of weather.

TreyBurkeHeroMode

September 12th, 2015 at 6:19 PM ^

I'll repost what I said over the gameday thread then try to add a bit:

Beyond the play on the field, the stadium experience was night and day.

There wasn't a single advertisement on the video boards that was trying to get us to have our weddings at the Big House or download an app or join the Victors Club or some such. We were asked to go to the field hockey and volleyball games, that's it.

The pregame hype video was spectacular, I need to find it online. Chills.

Sponsors were much harder to find. Pom poms were unbranded. There wasn't even an ABC Sports banner hanging on the wall that I could see.

The band now has a hype video. They played a heck of a lot more between snaps and series. Even the volume on the scoreboard speakers was down pretty significantly -- which was an issue because it was hard (at least where I sit under the press box) to hear the referee's penalty calls.

At halftime, the "This is no longer Dave Brandon's Michigan Experience" vibe lost all pretense at subtlety when the band started spelling out things like "TRADITION" and "YOST." It was the least monetized I've felt at a Michigan game in many years.

Then they started running the ball up the middle out of an I formation and holding the opponent to 1/11 on third downs. It was glorious.  

The big theme of the day was that this is the 150th anniversary of Michigan athletics, with the baseball team being the first sport. Lots of video of athletes in all sorts of sports training -- first time I've ever seen a women's track and field athlete throw a discus in a Big House video. Halftime show of the band was celebrating that, spelling out all sorts of words like COMPETITION and EXCELLENCE and TRADITION and YOST and ending with THOSE WHO STAY. (Plus a cool animated band stick figure thing with soccer and basketball players and the flag corps playing the ball.) Some voiceover bits from various Michigan people, from the drum major to Schlissel to football players and beyond reading Yost's "this Michigan of ours" piece.

Most of the video board interstitials were those short "Who's Got It Better Than Us?" videos they've been running in social media.

They welcomed the freshmen and other new students in the crowd to the Michigan family and had the rest of the crowd give them a round of applause.

Beilein won a NCAA sportsmanship award and got it in the endzone. Place got a bit loud for him, as well as for the WWII veteran who left UM in 1942 to fight in the Pacific they introduced. 

Even the flyover was slightly de-Brandonized -- yeah, there were a pair of jets that went over, T-38 trainers from some Air Force training unit on the East Coast. But the twist was that the two pilots were USAF lieutenant colonels who were both Michigan Engineering graduates. (There was apparently some parachute thing from SOCOM that got cancelled because of weather. I'm slightly concerned that our elite commandos can't parachute through relatively high clouds and hit a 100 yard x 55 yard target.)

In general, a very happy and engaged crowd. Louder than I'd heard it in a while.