Angelique: Free Tickets pad UM's 100K streak
Angelique has just put up a story over at the News, apparently in 2014 UM had to give away 62,879 tickets, or 8.6% of attendance, up from 2.8% the year before. The whole thing is a pretty interesting read, LINK
It also had this interesting graphic. I know that they count the band/ushers/etc, but it's pretty clear that we were under 100K for multiple games this year
In other words: Michigan had to give away thousands of tickets just to fill the Big House this much: pic.twitter.com/ZrHFv1TwjH
— Alejandro Zúñiga (@ByAZuniga) April 17, 2015April 16th, 2015 at 11:23 PM ^
April 16th, 2015 at 11:26 PM ^
Eh, he isn't the one who made the schedule, which I'm assuming was a big part of the problem. Not saying performance didn't have anything to do with it obviously, but a big time home opponent would have brought that number down some.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:33 PM ^
April 16th, 2015 at 11:37 PM ^
But the whole "having an AD that schedules The Horror II" thing definitely didn't help anyone sell tickets.
But selling the same amount of tickets for UConn and Appalachian State would have decreased the amount of giveaways by almost 17%.
I said that a better schedule would have brought down the number of giveaways. I'm not seeing any connection between your replies and my posts.
Unranked, 4-1 PSU is not a good opponent. The game aired on ESPN2.
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April 17th, 2015 at 12:00 PM ^
Thank you for this retro opinion that will, I'm afraid, largely fall on deaf ears or those with terminal ennui.
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April 16th, 2015 at 11:26 PM ^
Good thing he knew a few things about marketing! I mean, who else would have thought of giving away tickets for free???
They had to buy two Cokes.
It isn't Hoke's fault that David Brandon hired him for his dream job with he was woefully unprepared to take it. Brandon made the decisions that affected attendance the most.
1. Shoddy treatment of RR and subsquent firing.
2. Hired underqualified Brady Hoke to take over a roster that was built for the spread offense.
3. Tried to trample on every gameday tradition he could in the name of money. End result: the games weren't fun anymore for a lot of people.
4. Bled as much money as he could out of the fan and donor base.
5. Pissed off the students, who are the current student section and future fanbase.
Great post Tater.
I also firmly believe Brady Hoke was unprepared and in over his head. He'd have been a fool to turn down this kind of opportunity though.
This is more about Dave Brandon and bad management.
That said, why all the hate for someone who loves Michigan? Why can't people accept the fact that he gave us 110% and would die for the block M? He didn't succeed and now it's over.
Give it a rest already, time to move forward. True Wolverines don't eat themselves from the inside out.
April 17th, 2015 at 12:57 PM ^
You misspelled Dave Brandon.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:24 PM ^
No surprise here. Don Canham did the same thing early on. All programs have done it from time to time.
There would not even be an Eastern Michigan if it were not for free tickets.
I would like us to stop being like Eastern Michigan though. It's time.
this was to maintain integrity of 100k attendance.
But yes I 100% agree with what you are saying.
when the on-field product wasn't that great. No big surprise, not really news, nothing to see here.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:26 PM ^
Angelique....could you not? Ixnay on the eakstray. Besides, last year didn't happen until Harbaugh.
April 17th, 2015 at 12:29 AM ^
April 17th, 2015 at 10:19 AM ^
Nix is a varient spelling of the German and Yiddish "Nichts". German and Yiddish were spoken quite a bit in the US, especially NY in the 20's and 30's. That is the same time Pig Latin was popularized. Ixnay stayed in Pig Latin, which isn't used that much any more, but "nichts" never was absorbed by English.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:27 PM ^
April 16th, 2015 at 11:28 PM ^
Goodness people, let it go.
Michigan. I wish they would let it go, too. But it will never happen. It's an exciting story that the once storied Michigan program is in the dumps.
I'm happy we give away free tix. Makes me feel better about my expensive seats. And if some visitors from Mott or local High Schools get to use them, good.
It is a built in advanatage for that other school in this state. They kind of hide behind the curtain while everyone shits on Michigan.
It would be easier to swallow if every other article wasn't a fluff piece that conviently ignores they can't even sell out their parking structure stadium with 40,000 less seats.
big siblings programs, and other people who otherwise couldn't afford to experience a game at the Big House.
Giving away tickets is better than letting them go unused.
April 17th, 2015 at 12:26 PM ^
The Detroit News has usually given us a fair take. I don't read this as a hatchet piece - it's informative.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:32 PM ^
DB was too busy firing off hot takes to alums via email to care.
I am still amazed that that happened and it was revealed on a message board post. By a kid who buys chobani because they sponsor the football team no less.
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/dave-brandon-sends-snarky-email-back-alum
April 16th, 2015 at 11:58 PM ^
I'm just amazed that Brandon could have even held the position or have been CEO for Dominos. The decisions he made were just incredible. Paying money to fly a plane to East Lansing. I would have found it amusing if some rich Michigan guy did it but that's what our tickets were going towards?
April 16th, 2015 at 11:34 PM ^
Think of how many Coke's they could have sold
April 16th, 2015 at 11:45 PM ^
April 16th, 2015 at 11:37 PM ^
Some pulitzer-winning investigative journalism here, Angelique.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:41 PM ^
People in the press box.
I wouldn't be surprised if the event staff and players counted too. They are all, in fact, in attendance.
I think it would be more accurate to say they "count" every person "in attendance". Also, that line about the wireless scanners is crazy. I've never been to a game and not had my ticket scanned, even at peak time. If the scanners are so inaccurate and they don't capture every ticket scanned, go back to hand clickers and add up the totals with a calculator.
Also, what is the seating capacity of the friggin' press box? Paid and comped tickets for the Penn State game last year was 102,600. Announced attendance was 113,085, that's a difference of over 10,000. Let's say both teams, bands and coaching/training/team support staff is 1,000 people, which is probably a high number. Were there really 9,000 other people in attendance somewhere?
April 16th, 2015 at 11:55 PM ^
We were under 100k in actual attendance. We could have still been over 100K. All they have to do is give the tickets to somebody for it to count as attendance whether you go or not. I'm just glad we got through the season keeping the 100,000 streak intact.
really a streak if you have to give away tickets to give the appearance that the streak is on??
Free tix, no tix, tix for a coke, it doesn't matter. If sections are empty, but the ticket is still counted, that's bullshit... and that's what happened this past season.
April 17th, 2015 at 12:04 AM ^
Glad that that's over with.
Never been so happy for a season ticket waiting list in my life.
April 17th, 2015 at 12:17 AM ^
Funny coincidence... I just got done reading that article. I thought. So what! We commented in here all season long there was no fucking way the 100,000 streak should still continue.
We're homers... but we're honest homes.