First and foremost, I am glad the Athletic Department has gone back to using yellow student shirts after the (horrible) year of blue in 2005. The yellow looks infinitely better, as documented by the Hoover Street Rag (also an interesting post on other points, and I generally agree with it). However, the new issue I raise is the task of actually getting students to wear them.
The TShirt Option
The first mistake the administration makes in this respect is allowing the purchase of a shirt to be optional with a student ticket purchase. By simply bundling the shirt with the tickets – no option – the department would guarantee that everyone in the student section at least has access to one maize shirt. At the very least the option to buy the shirt on the ticket order form could be checked by default – I would much rather have students accidentally buy the shirt than accidentally not buy it (which I did in both 2004 and 2005 – I didn’t bother buying the terrible blue thing in 2005 after I mistakenly didn’t order it originally).
Maize Outs
Another area in which the athletic department fails is marking a select few student tickets (last year, it was two games) with the “Maize Out” distinction. In the student section, every game should be a maize out. IF the department would like to mark tickets in other sections, by all means go ahead (I don’t know if they currently do, but by the results of past maize outs, I would assume not). Telling students that a couple games will be maize outs gives the impression that other trips to the Big House have no unofficial dress code, when in fact they should.
The Greek Community
Aside from arriving any time after 7:00 in the first quarter, and leaving in the mid-third the Greek Community at Michigan also serves as a detriment to student section glory. I’m not talking about the seemingly endless supply of Mike Hart and Tom Brady (who they hadn’t even heard of before Super Bowl 38) jerseys available at AEPi and Pike fraternity houses, but rather the “Show Your Letters” shirts that are always worn in the fall by Greeks. Most (all?) chapters require their members to wear these shirts on football Saturdays, and they are always blue (or in some cases, pink for sororities). The athletic department should reach out to the Interfraternal Council and the Panhellenic organization to work toward having shirts that accomplish the missions of both the Greeks (advertising) and the AD (uniform yellowness).
Maize Jerseys
Finally, I know it is not a popular idea among many Michigan fans (particularly the traditionalists), but a maize jersey for the football team (for example, during a maize out night game, novl idea, I know) would go a long way toward assisting in a maized out student section with regularity. Those same people who insist on wearing their OMG TOM BRADY jersey to the game would have an OMG SAM MCGUFFIE option that would not hinder the chromatic continuity of the student section.
Posted under Analysis
Tags: atmosphere, Football
frat greeks= posers/potential alcoholic rapists/scumbags in training.
While I don’t necessarily disagree that there are many bad people in fraternities, I fail to see how that is relevant to the issue at hand.
I too was very pissed when they voted (I think) and a majority of idiots picked the blue out in 2005. Everyone wears blue anyway…looks dumb on tv.
As for the maize jerseys – that would be awesome. But this is coming from someone who likes the oregon jersey options. All yellow michigan jerseys would be awesome. We should start that against someone we know we can beat haha.
I don’t ever want to see maize jerseys in the Big House!
All maize uniforms might be a little much, but it’d be interesting. At least maize tops, blue bottoms.
I agree with everything you said, Tim, and ‘not’, I think you’ve been reading too much of the Daily and haven’t actually been around many Michigan greeks.
everything else is fine, but nooooo maize jerseys. there’s a lot we can do to unify the students and the general public, but maize jerseys would just be awful.
The Maize out would have to be a day game. There will never be a night game in Michigan stadium as long as Bo is alive and Carr is the head coach. Wait a minute….
…but by the results of past maize outs, I would assume not
They do. Yes, this saddens me just as much as it does you.
A maize jersey option would be helpful, I think. Maize jersey/blue pants would at least be worth checking out for Adidas. It looks good on the hockey team at least.
Good points. I think what needs to be the focus is getting it in everyone’s hands for free. If that means putting a swoosh and sponsors on it, so be it. Let everyone have the shirt with their season tickets. Do what it takes to saturate the market.
maize jerseys would be good on the road, but not in the big house. one more thing, it takes a whole lot more t-shirts to have a maize out in the big house than in Crisler or Yost.