What's so awesome about Dave Brandon, anyway?
The "Brandon's thoughts on the BCS" thread inspired this directly but I've been wondering for a while: what has Dave Brandon done to deserve the genuflection in his general direction on this forum and elsewhere? I think he's been competent in his capacity as AD so far if only just that. He's made no substantial hires, he's made no substantial retentions (having basically delayed, with good reason, the most important early personnel decision he's going to make). He has done some housecleaning, having apparently gotten rid of some of the folks in the department whose mistakes led to the sanctions. Maybe that's cause for celebration, though it could also be scapegoating competent bureaucrats for understandable minor errors uncovered in an investigation sparked by lies. But, at any rate, that doesn't make him "the best AD since Don Canham," as someone wrote on here today.
I mean, I'm not dissing at all. He seems fine. And I'll go ahead and say it: I'd Iike to not think of him as simply an empty suit who got rich selling coupons and pizza and as someone who knows a ton about how to make money money make money money money, but that's where I am. Nothing against pizza and coupons (i'm a fan of both, yo); he seemed like a safe hire and has been every bit as competent as I expected. I just don't get all the praise.
His first blog entry was underwhelming to the extreme — not very well-written with more old chestnuts than a Nat King Cole Christmas album (/Rick Reilly). Also, Special K. I don't want to read too much into the blog entry (as I assume his real reasons were something like "we get millions of dollars every year even if we don't go to a bowl" or something) and it's not like I expect him to be Slavoj Žižek (Žižek would make an awful AD), but when I saw he had a blog I was hoping it might be nearly as smart as, say, Mark Cuban's. And I expect him to do things like call himself the CEO of Michigan sports and talk about how much moolah the department can pull in. But these things don't inspire the superlatives issued toward him on here. But maybe I've missed something. Missed something huge. Maybe it's all in his demeanor. Maybe his coupon and pizza empires were the work of some genius that I'll never understand because I didn't go to Ross.
I just don't get it. Please explain, please — especially if you can do so without calling him a pimp. I've known pimps; they don't inspire my adulation either. (Long time reader, first-time thread-starter)
November 17th, 2010 at 4:44 PM ^
Will not end well.
November 17th, 2010 at 4:49 PM ^
No no no. Please I don't want a fight. Or to be negged into Bolivian. I'm willing to learn the ways of the Brandon. I'm willing to be ALL-IN for DB. I want this to end well. I liked Bill Martin enough. I've read an awful lot about the history of Michigan ADs (because I had to teach about it). My favorite AD ever is Tom Jurich at Louisville because he's made a bunch of great hires and has a bluster about him and I like the cut of his jib. End well, dammit!
November 17th, 2010 at 5:00 PM ^
Are you Bill Martin?
November 17th, 2010 at 5:03 PM ^
You left me with no choice but to release the insane evil toddler
November 17th, 2010 at 5:10 PM ^
. . . does not know Zizek from Chex Mix. And in the mind of this empiricist, that's a compliment to Bill Martin.
November 17th, 2010 at 5:21 PM ^
Or to be negged into Bolivian.
Is this for true? Or did you do it on purpose?
November 17th, 2010 at 5:35 PM ^
Maybe it was autocorrected?
November 17th, 2010 at 5:48 PM ^
says hi.
November 18th, 2010 at 2:11 AM ^
its the same word, just switching the first two letters
November 17th, 2010 at 6:10 PM ^
...into 
Bolivian, you say?
November 17th, 2010 at 5:52 PM ^
This is actually serious. I don't want to say what I think your name is, but do you have dreads and were a gsi for Bacon?
November 17th, 2010 at 9:29 PM ^
I know this trick. I say "yeah" and then you neg me. We've been through this before; it was called evals.
But really, who are you, then?
November 17th, 2010 at 10:06 PM ^
I was in your discussion section fall of 09. That is the only class I could think of where you would teach about Michigan AD's, and I remember you said you were a Louisville fan (went to undergrad there as well I think). I was the kid who was taking the class independent study and had to write two papers. I think the one I wrote for you was about the freshman eligibility rule.
November 18th, 2010 at 6:29 AM ^
Oh hey, B. I remember you well. Or fairly well. That was a pretty good paper. You graduated this year, right? Engineering? Hope you're well.
November 17th, 2010 at 4:47 PM ^
Got my popcorn ready...
November 17th, 2010 at 4:47 PM ^
He fixed Martin's comedy of errors.
November 17th, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^
He played for Bo, and is referenced in Bo's book.
That hair makes Gerg's hair slightly jealous.
He was a ridiculously successful CEO of dominos.
He says things like: "The Freep should apologize for their hit job" [paraphrased]
"Saying Rich needs to win X number of games this year is stupid" [paraphrased]
Search MGoBlog for the tag "Dave Brandon's Pimp Hand" and you'll see a few more reasons
November 17th, 2010 at 4:57 PM ^
Tom Goss also played at Michigan. Granted, he didn't play under Bo, but Bo was a huge fan of his. In the first edition of his book, Tradition, he wrote: "He's going to be a great AD." We should be careful not to be overly influenced by things like this.
November 17th, 2010 at 7:33 PM ^
I think Brandon rocks and he is doing a phenomenal job. I could not be happier with his decisions up to this point.
November 17th, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^
And what have you done for UM lately?
November 17th, 2010 at 6:09 PM ^
If you don't want to attempt to seriously answer his question, just don't say anything.
November 17th, 2010 at 6:38 PM ^
Well I guess my attempt at internet sarcasm failed.
November 17th, 2010 at 6:44 PM ^
No it just wasn't funny...
November 17th, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^
Strong Leadership. That's all I have to say.
November 17th, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^
I demand the mods neg you one miiiiiiillion points!
November 17th, 2010 at 4:56 PM ^
You hand over those two fine young lasses in your avi
November 17th, 2010 at 5:17 PM ^
Ha -- good luck! I've already tried that.
November 17th, 2010 at 6:20 PM ^
You do realize that they are porn stars right?
November 17th, 2010 at 6:53 PM ^
*runs to get tested*
November 17th, 2010 at 4:49 PM ^
That alone is enough for me. I also look forward to jumbotron replay screens in the near future.
November 17th, 2010 at 6:11 PM ^
I know I'm an outsider, but can we stop using the word "jihad" on this site when referring to the NCAA Investigation? As a Muslim, it pains me enough to have the word being mis-used and misunderstood on tv for political reasons, but is it really necessary to mis-use on a Sports Blog?
I don't mean to single you out aawolve, as I've seen others do it to. I'm just throwing out a suggestion. Anyways, I don't want this to turn into some kind of political discourse so I'll stop right here....back to David Brandon.
November 17th, 2010 at 7:52 PM ^
Your comment kind of made it into a religious/political thing, no?
November 17th, 2010 at 9:57 PM ^
I see what you're saying. That's why I chose not to delve into more detail. To each his/her own.
November 17th, 2010 at 7:57 PM ^
Consider it done.
November 18th, 2010 at 1:22 AM ^
I gotta say you seem like a really rad dude, you've always been classy while hanging round these parts.
November 18th, 2010 at 9:30 AM ^
Jihad can mean many things, but "holy war" is certainly an important and mainstream form of jihad. This is how the word is used here. This from Wikipedia:
Controversy has arisen over whether the usage of the term jihad without further explanation refers to military combat, and whether some have used confusion over the definition of the term to their advantage.[28]
Middle East historian Bernard Lewis argues that "the overwhelming majority of classical theologians, jurists, and traditionalists (specialists in the hadith) understood the obligation of jihad in a military sense."[29] Furthermore, Lewis maintains that for most of the recorded history of Islam, from the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad onward, the word jihad was used in a primarily military sense.[30]
Bernard Lewis' interpretation on Jihad is partially correct according to Fiqh Made Easy: A Basic Textbook of Islamic Law which describes Jihad as being "divided into four types:
- Jihad against the soul: Struggling against the soul to yearn for the Religion, act upon those teachings, and call others to them. (Paraphrased)
- Jihad against Shaytan: Struggling against Satan without doubts or desires.
- Jihad against the disbelievers and hypocrites: this is done with the tongue, hand, heart and wealth.
- Jihad against heretics, liars, and evilfolk: This is best done with the hand, if not the hand then the tongue, if that's not possible then the heart." [31]
So, yes, the term "jihad" has multiple meanings, and there is debate about whether the warfare element of the term is overemphasized, but that jihad includes a conception of warfare is not widely disputed.
November 18th, 2010 at 11:03 AM ^
for negbombs from all the sensitive Sallys. +1 for not being afraid to say something, unlike everyone else.
November 18th, 2010 at 12:43 PM ^
I don't disagree w/ anything you've said and won't be negging you. It's all true. There is def. a military aspect to the concept, no arguing that.
2 quick points:
- If you study the Quran, you'll find that the majority of Jihad mentions are about your first bullet point (Struggle against yourself)....which basically translates to ending bad habits, being a better person, etc.
- Again, there is no denying the fighting aspect of it, but the devil is in the details. I'm no scholar but I know fighting is only allowed to be in self defense and there are rules behind it (civilians and livestock are off limits). It's not supposed to be some full-scale "us vs. them" onslaught.
Sorry if this is getting way way OT. For those that would like to talk more, I'd be more than willing to discuss offline.
November 17th, 2010 at 4:49 PM ^
Yes, you certainly have missed something big. He handled the NCAA sanctions with class and dignity. DB is finally investing in some basketball facility upgrades. First night game in history of Michigan. Scheduled Alabama in 2012 at Jerry World. Look if you aren't impressed by now there is no hope for you. He also slayed a dragon. Does that help you out?
November 17th, 2010 at 4:55 PM ^
The basketball facilities, and the lights in the stadium, were planned before Brandon arrived.
Handling the sanctions with "class and dignity" should be expected of any AD, not some incredible accomplishment.
I'm still not sure why it's such a great thing to deprive Michigan fans of a home football game in 2012 to line Jerry Jones's pockets.
I'm also not happy that he was not only willing but eager to put us in a different division from OSU. I am disapppinted to be separated from them. Having the Game at the end of the season is only a partial consolation.
He might prove to be a good AD, but really hasn't done much of substance to impress me yet. We'll see where he goes from here.
November 17th, 2010 at 4:57 PM ^
certainly been somewhat negative lately, jm.
November 17th, 2010 at 5:07 PM ^
Do you disagree with any of my points? BTW, I forgot a couple more:
-He banned outside bottled water at Michigan Stadium.
-He kept Special K employed as our PA sound guy.
And while some may disagree, I find the idea of launching fireworks before, during and after the Big Chill to be very, very tacky.
November 17th, 2010 at 5:08 PM ^
Brandon is obviously a powerful and well-calculated leader.
I am a little nervous he will over-commercialize the Michigan brand. I'm not totally against this as long as it is executed well. Not a whole lot of data points to infer from now, but I'm pretty sure his tenure will be a success.
The Arby's logo on the Big Chill merchandise is stupid though. We better have gotten seriously paid from that.
November 17th, 2010 at 5:17 PM ^
I'm definitely concerned about over-commercialization. The dangerous thing is that, because he's an ex-player, and a smoother public speaker, Brandon has "political capital" that Martin never had. When Martin nearly struck a deal to sell the naming rights to the Game, it led to an outburst of "Martin's a coldhearted businessman who doesn't get it" complaints. I don't think that will happen if Brandon tries it. He'll find a way to make us support calling it the Progressive Insurance Game to Progress to the Championship or something.
November 17th, 2010 at 5:23 PM ^
I agree with your other posts but lets not fly off the hinges and conjure up things that may never come to pass.
November 17th, 2010 at 6:11 PM ^
Obviously, the Game won't be called exactly that. But I'd bet it will have a corporate sponsor in the near future. I also expect the new scoreboards in the stadium to contain advertising. Brandon's status as a former player gives him cover to make these moves.
November 17th, 2010 at 9:31 PM ^
The world almost came to an end with the halo, ads will never go inside the stadium. You can take that to the bank (maybe there was a better way to say that)
November 17th, 2010 at 5:24 PM ^
You've got to believe Brandon knows we don't want this, right?
Right? Right??