The Rest of College Football

[Dr. Strangelove]

Well you could actually read the thread if you want to know my opinion, but basically what I'm saying -- again -- is that what makes for continuity and consistent alumni support is what's indoctrinated pretty much starting at freshman orientation. And, that it's important to strike a balance.

Neither Talent nor myself have ever suggested that there shouldn't be a balance. But a majority here complains about every minor change. Piped-in music makes em bitch, a slightly different jersey makes em bitch, longer timeouts makes em bitch, the ads in the stadium make em bitch, etc etc

Resisting all change isn't a balance, obviously. But until the older fellas here start talking about about changes they've witnessed in the past 20-30 years that they actually liked, I'm going to keep assuming they disapprove of everything "different". Everything Hanni or Jeff has said the past few days indicates they think that all sports pretty much suck except CFB and that too is about to be ruined by Dave Brandon and his ilk.

[drok]

Honestly, getting rid of the wings or playing piped in music exclusively instead of the band would pretty much guarantee that I would lose most of my interest in the team. I would still follow them because it was football, but in the same way that I follow the NFL because it is football.

[hack]

until the older fellas here start talking about about changes they've witnessed in the past 20-30 years that they actually liked, I'm going to keep assuming they disapprove of everything "different"

Well, exactly. You're going to assume. You're going to turn their views into a caricature easier to mock.



the ads in the stadium make em bitch

Nope. No ads in Michigan Stadium. So rare; so pure; so beautiful. A testament to tasteful presentation. A visual treat. And, given how much advertising would bring in, an indication of how powerful those old codgers are.

[whodean]

I'm in agreement with the position that time and change hasn't eliminated the popularity of MLB or the NFL but I do think the direction these once grand sports have taken has weakened their popularity, at least with me.

you might be projecting your opinion upon fandom in general here, these sports are massively popular.

[hack]

You keep on saying that, but, again, when you go to the events you hear the bitching. Same stuff Jeff says. People aren't at the point of abandoning ship yet. Will they get there? Unclear, but likely some will.

[Dr. Strangelove]

until the older fellas here start talking about about changes they've witnessed in the past 20-30 years that they actually liked, I'm going to keep assuming they disapprove of everything "different"

Well, exactly. You're going to assume. You're going to turn their views into a caricature easier to mock. .

They turn themselves into caricatures. You yourself acknowledged that doomsday style predictions are Hanni's "style"

[Dr. Strangelove]

You keep on saying that, but, again, when you go to the events you hear the bitching. Same stuff Jeff says. People aren't at the point of abandoning ship yet. Will they get there? Unclear, but likely some will.

And a point we've repeatedly tried to make is that someone is always bitching about something. Something that's been changed and presumably "ruined". And what's really unclear is that for every person who walks away in disgust, there MAY be a person who likes the change and pays attention to a sport they had previously ignored.

Some probably bitched about the winged helmets when they were introduced. Some probably thought they were stupid. Maybe even a handful walked away from the fanbase. Today's venerable tradition was yesterday's stupid gimmick. If someone refuses to accept that, then they likely aren't going to accept anything new. It will merely be tolerated.

[hack]

I think there are core traditions and non-core. You know what would happen if somebody messed with the helmet. We saw what happened with the halo. But the core stuff counts. That's what bonds the blue hairs to the stoned freshmen. As long as those two constituencies can find a point of reference, all will continue to be in awe of this very amazing commonality that brings them together, and feel a part of something large and wonderful and, of course, send money. What's the right balance? How much to tinker? I don't know. But that's how it is -- find a balance and don't mess with the core ingredients.

[whodean]

The Big House crowds had been turning more and more morose over time, something needed to be done to ramp up the energy. Some here bitched about the night game and it was nothing short of a massive success.

People like change less and less as they age.

[Tony G]

getting rid of the wings

I'm sure Nike has modernized version on the drawing boards ready to go into production

[hack]

The Big House crowds had been turning more and more morose over time, something needed to be done to ramp up the energy. Some here bitched about the night game and it was nothing short of a massive success.

People like change less and less as they age.

They also, as they age, have more and more money to donate to the program.

[UMStan White]

"People like change less and less as they age."

What a stupid ass comment that just like DSL shows a failure to understand the difference between "tradition" and "change merely for change's sake". That's what DSL doesn't understand, (well--duh!) and apparently neither do you. Nike is "change for change's sake". Brandon's stupid ass uniforms is "change for change's sake" Nothing those two idiots do enhances the "tradition" of the program.Nothing those idiots do creates a new tradition that older fans are incapable of appreciating and accepting. They merely make the team look like ass-clowns. (And Hack--you beat me to it--one of the greatest "traditions" is the complete ban on advertising at the Big House--a "tradition" that DSL and his minions can't comprehend because Gee's pimp Smith is a whore to the advertising and Nike dollar).

[UMStan White]

"Some here bitched about the night game and it was nothing short of a massive success."

Who bitched about the night game? cite a source before merely making unsubstantiated comments maligning fellow posters.

[Hannibal]

When it comes to college football, I think that the notion that it's the old people who don't want any change and the young people who embrace it is a myth. Maybe "young" if we're talking about 10 year olds, but not if we are talking about the student-age population. Mgoblog's readership is overwhelmingly under 35 (along with Brian himself) and pretty much the entire place is fanatically opposed to the very stuff that I have been complaining about. My observation about the student population at Michigan is that they always have been. This is more of a "hardcore vs casual" thing than a "young vs old" thing. It's also about harvesting a century's worth of goodwill vs cultivating it for the next gernation.

[Hannibal]

"People like change less and less as they age."

What a stupid ass comment that just like DSL shows a failure to understand the difference between "tradition" and "change merely for change's sake"

Yup.

Fritz Chrisler added wings to the helmets because he thought that it would help him win football games, not because focus group testing showed that it would increase souvenir sales in the 12-15 demographic by 10%. This is exactly the type of thinking that a Marketing-centric airhead like Dave Brandon brings to the table.

In that regard, I'm not seeing a lot of opposition today about the seeded plus-one format currently being discussed as a starting playoff format. So much for the idea that people complaining about clown uniforms are just doing so because they bitch about everything.