Happy fun content tonight or tomorrow.

Posted under Blog News

Instate WR Fred Smith has chosen Michigan State over Michigan. A large part of his decision hinged on the possibility of (not) playing for Tom Izzo’s basketball squad (we have the next Matt Trannon).

The commitment of Smith leaves up in the air the possibility that Michigan takes another wideout in the 2008 class.

Posted under Recruiting

…per the Free Press. Utah is a mid-major team that is probably better than a lot of low-level BCS teams, so this is a welcome addition, especially since it doesn’t require the promise of a return trip (as Bill Martin demands). That would mean the ’08 schedule is completed as follows:

Sept. 6 MIAMI (OHIO)
Sept. 13 at Notre Dame
Sept. 20 UTAH
Sept. 27 WISCONSIN*
Oct. 4 ILLINOIS* (HC)
Oct. 11 TOLEDO
Oct. 18 at Penn State*
Oct. 25 MICHIGAN STATE*
Nov. 1 at Purdue*
Nov. 8 at Minnesota*
Nov. 15 NORTHWESTERN*
Nov. 22 at Ohio State*

The article also gives confirmation that Carson Butler will rejoin the team, though it’s unclear whether that is based on more than just Lloyd’s vague Big Ten media day(s) statements, with fake sourcing to sound official (yes, real press do that all the time).

Posted under Personnel

One of the comments on Tim’s post about the Michigan Marching Band really surprised me. In it Anonymous wrote:

3:30 games are obviously better atmospheres than noon games. We should only play once or twice at noon.

I will go on record that I really dislike 3:30 games. In the interest of full disclosure, I was one those assholes who left probably the greatest game in Big House history early, Michigan vs. Michigan St. my freshman year (2004). Everyone I was sitting with wanted to leave after the last huge shotgun-counter back breaker. I succumbed to peer pressure and left. I ended up sprinting back to Mary Markley Hall and breaking in through the window of my buddy’s room because the door wasn’t working. I caught Braylon killing the will of MSU and all of overtime (which is the only reason that people seem to think Tim Massaqoui was worth a damn). So, it could be argued that my hatred of 3:30pm games is a result of my natural self-loathing for leaving early.

Now that I feel freed by confessing my biggest Michigan Football related sin, I hate 3:30pm games. Part of it comes from being a member of one of the State street fraternities (it may or may not have a volleyball court). My football Saturday’s generally start at 7am when I hop in a car and head over to whichever sorority we are Pregame partners with to wake them up and invite them over. This happens every game (except Homecoming) no matter when the starting time. Noon games are beautiful because it’s the perfect amount of time to get into a proper level of pre-game preparedness and there is time to rest between either celebrating a victory or self medicating a loss (the Year of Infinite Pain probably cut a good 5 years off my life span). Also, I definitely feel more into Noon games. There’s something inherently college football about it.

The arguments for 3:30pm games seem to be:

1. OMFG was the MSU game amazing under the lights (I FEEL ASHAMED STOP RUBBING IT IN)
2. More national exposure for recruiting and general Michigan viewing purposes.
3. You don’t have to wake up early.

I’ll concede point one to an extent. Having that game end under the lights added an element of coolness and novelty for Michigan fans who aren’t used to night games. But, realistically, that changed the game from a 9.998 to a 9.999 (always have to leave room for a better game). Arguably, the fact that the game was a day before Halloween and there was everyone from Waldo to a man sized lobster in the student section had as much value added as the night-ness. What made the game was Braylon Edwards decided he didn’t want to lose, and it would be a top game at the Big House no matter when it was played.

On the second point, I can’t really agree completely. I may not be the best one to judge this since I’ve never lived out of Michigan, but it seems that starting at 3:30pm would be nice because it would be 12:30 on the West Coast, but then you have to compete with the regional games there for viewership. How many people are going to watch a Michigan game in Texas when both Texas and A&M are in action? And does Michigan really have a problem with spreading it’s brand nationally? Also all these points might be moot with the new structure of ABC/ESPN* coverage structure.

Finally, like I said in the beginning, I always wake up around 7am for football games. I don’t like waiting. No matter who Michigan is playing, I’m always wired and worried and need to see the game to relax. 3:30 never seems to come soon enough. Also, I really think it would be cool to have a pregame atmosphere like some of the schools we play. Penn State has the benefit of being surrounded by nothing and hills, but it is amazing to see the caravan of RVs and tailgaters coming in on Friday night. An entirely new city was up and running by 7am when the game starting around 8pm. I really wish there was more of push for a Michigan Football Saturday: presented by Adidas (I kid) feel than the current Michigan Football Game feel. As corny as it is, and how much I hate to credit Notre Dame with anything, the excitement and school pride was shooting through the dome while the Notre Dame football team walked (and Charlie Wiess waddled/rode a golf cart) from the chapel to the football stadium. It isn’t a big thing, but it got everyone fired up a few hours before the game, which is something I feel Michigan lacks. I hope that if the Athletic Department tried to put something together before a football game at like 9-10am fans would show up and get fired up for the game. The only thing Michigan has close to this is the MMB marching from Revelli Hall to the tunnel (see, we still love the MMB).

I am for a night game once a year. I don’t want to a night game for no reason. Ideally we would pick a good team (Penn St., Wisconsin, Iowa?), do it every year (home and away) and make it an event at Michigan. One reason the Admin types have reservations (besides Martin’s comments on travel) is what will the students and many of the fans do during the day before the game. Worst cast scenario: drink themselves into oblivion during the day making it Hell for the crotchety old guys in yellow vests. The obvious solution seems to be provide something! Have a pep rally (do we even know what those are?) Have players address a crowd. Bring in some bands. I don’t know what exactly would work, but if some effort is put into a day full of football related events, I think it could something really special.

So, my ideal schedule would be all Noon games except one exceptional night game with a day full of football related festivities preceding it. Bill Martin, get on that…

Posted under Analysis

Hooray for fun things that are going to inhabit this space in the next week!

1) More parts in the “Stadium Atmosphere” series, so that band members can realize that I’m really not trying to pick on them.
2) Fred Smith coverage (assuming he announces for the good guys tomorrow).
3) Media day coverage on Monday.
4) Big Ten Network Open House Wednesday.
5) More things that I forgot.
6) Any other fun news that may or may not come up.

…and there was much rejoicing.

Posted under Blog News

Please note that when I wrote my (apparently over-) critical piece on the MMB, that it was but one in a series of such posts, and fear not, much of my vitriol has been saved for fans themselves, cheerleaders, athletic department, etc.

I know not every change in my post was entirely realistic, that is why I write on a blog, saying that they are ideals, not things that OMG must change immediately!!! Things like the placement of the band aren’t going to change, and I’m aware of that, I just wanted to note that I thought it was far from optimal.

Most of the points I’m going to rebut or at least respond to come from Hoover Street Rag‘s response to my original post. I’m glad Jeremy (along with a bunch of commenters) took the time to develop arguments, and we can have a suitable, productive-ish discussion, rather “omfg ur dum!!1” going on left and right (though not all commenters were above that the first time around).

And on to the discussion:

1. Band location – already mentioned.
2. Lack of cheers either catchy or able to be participated in by students/fans – I will stand by this statement (and Jeremy seemed to agree with it, though I take issue with his statement that students get into “Respect” – as a student, I’ve never noticed anyone with any particular joy for that song).
3. The claw – I don’t hate the claw itself, it’s something that’s not necessarily unique (see the FSU Tomahawk Chop), but at least it exists, to fill in the dearth of fan participation, if onlt slightly. The onlt aspect I hate is the words to accompany “Temptation” that the students employ (just say “you suck” a bunch of times). If there were some sort of creative lyrical content to accompany the Claw, I’d be all for it. However, I do respect Jeremy’s opinion on UM not having anything to do with actual wolverines (though if that’s the case, why are their bronze statues in the Big House concourse, and actual stuffed creatures in Crisler?).
4. GD3DKPT. HATEHATEHATEHATEHATE. Just had to get that out there. I sat next to the band last year. To the best of my observations, there was not necessarily silence during said thingy, but certainly not as loud as the other students around me (despite mass participation in GD3DKPT and no mouth noises). Also, don’t even try to imply that MMB doesn’t perpetuate the GD3DKPT, as Professor Nix was up on his little podium deal miming the activity, for not only the band, but also the students to copy, but with actual keys in their hands.
5. Alma mater. You will not convince me otherwise. Alma maters exist as something to be sung or played at the end of a contest. I don’t know where in my original post it came off that I wanted it to be played before the conclusion of the game. I just want the tradition of college football (and, yes, even MMB, when Revelli was still around) to be upheld by the most recognizable band in the nation.
6. The postgame show. Paul responded in the original comments with (approximately) my opinion on this, and the cheering factors:
   

   Finally, I don’t mean to sound like an ass, but the crowd isn’t there for the
   band, the band is there for the crowd. The crowd should not cater to the Band’s
   traditions or history. The supplier has to provide the consumer with what it
   wants and the consumer wants cheers (and developing cheers for cadences is huge.

Feel free to respond away once more. Again, I’m glad there is actually some intelligent discussion going on. Remember, my criticism of the band won’t sound quite so harsh when other volumes in the series come out (re: idiots in comments thinking I’m just picking on the band). To the best of my knowledge, Paul, a former band nerd himself, will also be responding on VB.

Also, the halftime music is going to suck this year. Take that, band!

Posted under Analysis

I got an e-mail from the Michigan Athletic Department announcing a Big Ten Network open house Wednesday, August 8 at 12:45pm. It will take place at the Junge Family Champions Center (so you can see where a recruit goes to be wowed). Big Ten Commissioner and Angry Letter Writer Jim Delany will be in attendance as well as the Mark Silverman, Big Ten Network President.

The e-mail and the event is being coordinated through the Michigan Athletic Department, so I’m kind of curious if this will be traveling show that will hit up every Big Ten school. It would seem a little weird to only have this event on one campus. It’s not as though Michigan is the only fan base who have their reservations.

It is definitely a ploy to try to control the dialogue. The most politically drenched section:

We at Michigan are extremely excited about the network and believe that local cable companies have an obligation to look out for the community’s interest. Their competitors, DirecTV and AT&T, are both carrying it on basic cable, and we think big cable is abusing their position in the market place.

The rest of the letter is basically logistics and posturing. It’s weird that it just went out in a direct e-mail without any corresponding link on mgoblue.com. Varsity Blue will be providing full team coverage. We’ll also be covering media day on Monday. Should be a big week.

Posted under Misc.

The Offensive Depth Chart has been updated to reflect my smoke-fire-etc. information that Carson Butler will be reinstated to the team. The Scholarship Count/Eligibility Chart was already modified to take this into account with the departures of McKinney and Schifano, who have also been removed from the Depth Chart. Rumors have it that Steve Schilling is being looked at as RG, also reflected in the Depth Chart, though it may be the Timeless Lloyd Carr Motivational Tactic being employed in the direction of Alex “Lazy” Mitchell.

The Recruiting Board has been updated to reflect McGuffie and Cox, their effects on recruiting the position, Fred Smith’s presumed lean-ness, etc. Starting with the next recruiting class, remind me to make a static recruiting board so as to remove the necessity of all this copy-and=paste crap.

I apologize for the fact that this looks like crap. I’ll have Paul fix it later.

Feed Smith announces Sunday at 6, expected to be Blue.

Posted under Personnel, Recruiting

I’d really enjoy feedback on this series, so please comment. Also, please note that I didn’t do so much of the “extended editing” on this piece, so be gentle about those types of issues.

As someone who is not an insider to the ways of the band, but rather a student and fan of the Michigan football team, the band has been failing in its responsibilities to enhance the gameday atmosphere inside Michigan Stadium. There are various ways in which the band’s presence could be improved.

The first improvement is the placement of the band. While the band exists to enhance the experience for all fans, the students are the primary participants in the cheers and songs that are played by the band. In Michigan Stadium, the band is placed in the stand within the student section, so that the sound moves away from the students. This makes it difficult for all students to hear certain songs by the band, and nearly impossible for the poor freshmen in row 98, who can hear almost nothing the band plays.

The students’ participation in cheers led by the band is hindered not only by their inability to hear what the band is playing, but by an utter lack of these cheers in general. On any given Saturday, the band typically plays 3-4 songs with participation by students: “Temptation” (3rd down stop, with the claw and the “You Suck” chant – which I despise), “Hawaiian War Chant” (I think, it’s the one they play on most first downs, with the hands in the air and the “Let’s Go Blue” at the end), “Let’s Go Blue” (random, with clapping and yelling “Let’s Go Blue” at the end), and “The Victors” (With the singing, and the clapping, and the fist pumping, etc.). If there are any others I’m forgetting, let me know, but this is still sparse, sparse stuff.

Encouraging the God Damn 3rd Down Key Play Thingy. The GD3DKPT is the bane of my existence. It not only gives people (mostly students) an excuse to not make loud noise on opponents’ 3rd downs, but even encourages them not to. The band endorses the GD3DKPT by remaining silent, and wiggling their hands in the air, without even having keys to make noise. This renders them literally silent, at a time when every soul in the stadium should be making as much noise as possible.

Refusal to play the alma mater at the end of games. A very important tradition in college football is the playing of the school’s alma mater at the conclusion of the contest, win or lose. Some of the most powerful moments have come during this time. Matt Leinart, confetti flowing around him, conducts the Sprit of Troy in “All Hail” after the Trojans clinch the National Championship over Oklahoma in January 2005. Jim Tressel and his fellow coaches and players stopping in front of the Block O to sing “Carmen Ohio,” before (while) the students in Columbus stormed the field after defeating Michigan in 2006. Under Jamie Nix, the Michigan Marching Band has refused to participate in this tradition. My freshman year, I e-mailed Professor Nix, asking him why the band did not engage in this time-honored tradition. His (remarkably rude) response was that he would do things the way he wanted, and if fans wanted to hear the alma mater, they could wait until the end of the postgame show. I can only hope that the new director has the respect for college football tradition (and concerned fans) that Mr. Nix so clearly lacked.

Posted under Analysis

Dann O’Neill participated today in a live chat for ESPN. Nothing too revealing was stated, though his latest measurement are 6’8″ 290. He hasn’t been in touch with any remaining recruits, or even any other commitments, for that matter.

Lim(enlightenment) as n approaches this interview-like substance = 0

Posted under Recruiting