Well, DB, I hope you’re happy. With less than a week to go, Michigan has
still not sold out the App State game in what YOU THOUGHT would be a cute
re-match on a holiday weekend, no less.
What’s the plan now? Donate the
tickets to a worthy cause just to keep the 100,000+ sell-out run alive? And then have a bunch of obvious no-shows in
the stands? Yeah, that’s brilliant. You better hope that Hoke and company
develops this team this year and saves your bacon. I’m calling you out, DB. And I’m going to challenge you to the
following:
1. Be honest, for a change, and recognize that
Ticket Prices and the cost associated with attending a game are TOO
DAMN HIGH!. State
unequivocally that mistakes have been made and that the ticket buying public is
getting the short end of the stick in this whole deal. A three-fold increase in 15 years? Come on…Even the most avid fans have a tough
time swallowing that. For comparison:
(and I have the ticket order sheets to prove it!)
Tickets
(1999): $360 for two
Season Tickets in the End Zone ($30 each – 6 home games.
Parking
Pass: $120 ($20 for each home game)
Hot
Dog: $2
Coke:
Souvenir - $4 Regular - $3
Total
Budget (assuming two dogs and two cokes per game)
$360+$120+$24+36=
$540
2014:
Tickets: $1050 for 7 Home Games + $300 for PSL’s!!!
Parking
Pass: $280 for 7 games
($40 each)
Hot
Dog: $4
Coke: Souvenir - $9 !!!
Regular - $5
Total
Budget:
$1350+$280+$56+$70 = $1,756!!!
And I’ve left out all the
incidentals due to the fact that they are there regardless and haven’t gone up
as much in comparison. Drop the
concession prices and reduce the ticket prices and you might entice a few
season ticket holders to stop thinking about, “Well, my annual entertainment
budget is $X and I’m spending this much on Michigan. IF I didn’t spend it on Michigan Football,
what else could I do? Hey, that $1,756
buys a 70” HDTV at Costco!!!
2. Scheduling.
God, please - PLEASE
– Let this be the last stupid and moronic thing you do as an AD. Scheduling the likes of App State, I
mean. I’ve had to listen and watch way
to much in the last two weeks and there’s still 5 more days before game
day. Don’t ever do something like this
again. I would prefer an SEC opponent, a
Big 12 opponent and the B1G has a Pac12 agreement which is good for the
future. I also wouldn’t mind getting rid
of the MACrifice and would enjoy seeing anything else on the schedule.
3. Stop
being jerks with respect to getting into the stadium. At least you let the Seat Cushion thing go
last season, but I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re going to try to
enforce more and more. Don’t do that.
4. If a
fan wants to bring in a bottle of water vs. having to pay you $4 for the same
bottle of water, let them. Or sell water
for a buck, whichever.
This isn’t a complete list, but it’s a start….Read it. Do it. Adding Wi-Fi to the stadium experience isn’t going to solve your
problems, DB.
MIKE
before you Hike!!!
Twitter and the internet literally BLEW UP when Devin
Gardener tweeted that until Nuss arrived, he had never identified the MIKE
before. Now, he is the key MIKE
caller. First: For details on what a MIKE is, mgoblog does a great run down and explanation of the entire thing. If you don’t want to link its more or less
the “2nd level” defender in the middle of the defense that doesn’t
necessarily have an offensive counterpart; strike that, it’s really about
blocking assignments once the inside middle linebacker is called out. And before going on that Borges rampage, it
was the center’s responsibility to figure that out in the Borges offense, not
the QB’s. But generally, the QB reads
the Defense and makes the call. It’s not
a huge deal, but nevertheless, it’s something Devin should have probably been
doing all along.
And
I Was Worried…
That there wouldn’t be enough to talk about to justify an
additional post before next Monday. But
look at everything we have:
Domer academics – 4 players still sidelined
Ohio’s Miller out for the season
Sparty – Strangely quiet up in East Lansing, doncha’
think? Of course, LeVeon Bell getting
nabbed on the marijuana thing has hurt the Steeler’s chances this season…
Brady Hoke working his Black Magic….Could he also have an
upside down “M” hanging in his office and is he trying to conjure the old Michigan Spirits? Nah....
I’m actually a little surprised the domer thing hasn’t
been cleared up yet. According to Daddy
Swarbucks, the investigation committee has to pour over thousands (?) of e-mails
and try to figure out if there was anything in those e-mails that could be
construed as plagiarism. I’m no expert,
but plagiarism is downright hard to prove, unless it’s blatant copying word for
word of someone else’s work. Too many
people think identical things on any given subject, and I would think that this
academic investigation team would be getting pushed hard to complete this
review. On Rock’s House, the quorum is
that these 4 will more than likely all be re-instated once they are cleared of
any wrongdoing.
Still, I believe where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And I’m willing to bet another 1 or 2 “innocent”
domer players get the boot.
Ohio, on the other hand, is the first fan base to
experience the “5 Stages of Slappy Fan Grief” all by their lonesome selves... For a brief reminder, they are:
1. Denial
and Isolation – The ohio message boards are of course full of emotional
outpouring for Miller (as, frankly, I feel for the guy, too – Not even I want
to see a kid’s career come to an end in that fashion). And some of the fans are simply stating that
everyone fights for a starting job at ohio and Barret will be ready to go. How long has it been since they’ve had a
redshirt QB at ohio? However, they are
also extremely upbeat, with the exception of some that are in the next stage
3. Bargaining –
Yep, lots of ohio fans in that “bargaining” stage hoping the defense can keep
them in games while the offense gels…I get that. I think that’s what every reasonable fan
would be thinking at this point…until they find their defense on the field for
40 some minutes a game is unsustainable, even for the best defenses out
there. Yep, great teams usually win TOP
and control the ball…somehow. IF you can’t
do that, it’s gonna’ be a long season…
4. Depression – I
think the most reasonable fans are probably right here. They’re smart enough to know that any chance
of an undefeated season (barring a red-shirt frosh year like Winston had,
which, come on, that only happens once in a blue moon) just went out the
window. Now, survive the non-con and
maybe you can get to 10-2, 9-3, with a couple of unforeseen losses to
conference teams….
5. Acceptance –
Some ohio fans are probably down here already, but before the season even
starts, it’s a tough place to put your mind.
I remember 2008 knowing that Michigan was going to lose games…But I didn’t
accept the fact that Michigan was going to miss a bowl until the 7th
loss happened…
So, Godspeed Braxton in your rehabilitation and full
recovery…we’d love to see you in the Big House in 2015!!!
Forde
Runs Down the Top 25 Most Intriguing Games
Michigan is in there three times. App State, domers and ohio. I hope they can win all of them.
Bill
Connely’s Preview
The
Hot Seat
Not mine, somebody else’s. But, nevertheless, great minds think alike.
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