Question Re: Football Tickets
Gents,
My dad is retiring labor day weekend and I'd to take our whole family to the football home opener to celebrate. We'll have 11 of us total, 6 adults and 5 kids (3 under the age of 4). I was working under the assumption that if you had your kid sit on your lap, they wouldn't need their own ticket. Unfortunately, I just looked up the "official policy" which says every individual needs their own ticket regardless of age.
My question is how strict do they adhere to this policy? I live in LA and it's been a while since I've been to a game in the Big House. The trip back to Michigan is already a pricey one (why are tickets to DTW so ridiculously expensive?!?!), so I'm really hoping there's a little wiggle room in the policy. Thanks for your help!
I don't believe there is ANY wiggle room here. I started attending games at age 5 and I always had to have a ticket. And that was a LONG time ago.
Zero. Everyone will need a ticket to enter the stadium.
Unfortunately, there is no wiggle room in the policy. I have taken both of my kids when they were younger (4 and 6 currently), and it is typically a one to two quarter shit-show. Cool thing you are doing for your dad, but I would try to get a babysitter for the little ones.
This. I get it's cool because he wants to have this big family thing but in reality, there is a >75% chance that the 3-4 year old kids get bored before halftime and have a hard time sitting still. Then, you're spending most of half-time and the entire second half of the game trying to entertain toddlers, which inevitable gets you, and the people around you, really irritated and you end up leaving early.
I go to 1-2 home games every year and I ALWAYS see parents wrestling with obnoxious toddlers (not their fault, they're only kids and they get bored) only to leave the game entirely by halftime because they're getting frustrated and the people around them are getting annoyed with whining kids.
As others have stated, tailgate so grandpa gets time with the grand kids, then let the kids run around the golf course with a chaperone (wife and grandma?) while the remaining adults see the game.
Unfortunately, your children will be turned away if they do not have a ticket. It is non-negotiable.
Eh, let the kids go in by themselves. At 3 years old, they can EASILY find their way to their seat and back to their parents.
How does this save on not buying tickets?
The solution is clearly to let the kids go play at the golf course while you watch the game.
This reminds me of the time in High School when my dad and his buddies decided me and a friend should be the designated beer getters for the tailgate. We got them plenty of beer - one for you one for me was pretty much the course for the day. I see kids sucking on a mini keg of Oberon over at the course during the game - LOL
Agree with those above that it's pretty strict. I'd suggest that if you want to save some money, you could buy 9 or so together and then find cheap single tickets right before the game on stub hub. But, it's a tight fit in there and I don't really see how you could realistically have a kid (non-infant) on your lap without being all over the person in front of you.
The seats are way too narrow for someone to have a kid on their lap. If you tried to buy a cheap ticket and sneak your kid on your lap next to you, unless their was empty seats around, I would call an usher to get you moved.
It's safe to say that there's probably not a policy you can find anywhere that would be more strictly adhered to. Also, I would STRONGLY recommend making it a "no-kids-under-seven" trip -- at least for the actual game portion. Think about how uncomfortable it already is to try to sit in the Big House and watch a game / get to your seat/ get to the bathroom/ get around the concourses. Then think about it with multiple children under the age of four. That's innermost circle of hell type stuff.
The kids will not only need a ticket but the game most likely won't be a lot of fun with them there. Think about how long a football game lasts.
This is why I'm not taking my twins to a football game until they are about 10 or so.
we take our young kids to games at purdue/iu. room to sprawl. We took them once to the big house last year (3 and 6 years at the time) for the indiana game. It was cold, tight, and the kids were annoying. probably will hold off @UM games for a while.
Also keep in mind that the "seats" are sized for a 1970's ass, not a 2019 ass.
I have to believe people are generally thinner these days due to being more concerned with health and better food being available.
Please tell me that was sarcasm
Nope. I mean, I'm just guessing. I really don't know if what I said is true. I feel that people tend to eat healthier food these days. Obviously not everyone, but people seem to be more health aware. Again, I could be wrong.
You're not just wrong, you're omniwrong. We eat something like 2x the calories we did 40 years ago and we're much less active.
Look at a group picture of teenagers (or anyone really) in the 70's vs today. It's honestly shocking how fat we've become.
You are very wrong. Average height and weight increase pretty much every year. We, as a society, don't eat anywhere near as healthily as we used to, as so many of us have no skill or option to eat anything other than highly processes foods.
I don't know if it is so much the quality of food, but the quantity of food that is eaten.
People eat out more today than in the 70s, and the restaurant portions are way more than is typically prepared when eating at home.
Still not entirely sure it wasn't sarcasm, but check out Figure 1 at the link:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_adult_09_10/obesity_adult_09_10.htm
Obesity rates have increased from ~12% to ~33% between 1970s and now
Edit: And it the time it took me to write that comment two other people relied and now I just look like I'm piling on . . .
take a look at virtually any crowd picture from 50-100 years ago. we are way, way more 'plump' these days.
Take one look at a "Walverine" in your local Walmart
*** /S ***
...then see if you still hold that illusion.
People are more concerned with health these days because most are obese.
What a matarraz. Good lord.
Thanks everyone. I figured that was the answer but wanted to double check. I know it would be cheaper and easier to simply leave the kids with a sitter. But knowing that this will be one of the few chances to take my kids to a game, I just can't pass it up. I grew up in East Lansing, yet my father raised me to be a Michigan fan. I'll never forget the Saturdays I spent with my dad watching the winged helmets. I want to share that with my kids and for my father to share it with his grandkids. Thanks again!
Your father sounds like a good man. Best of luck in securing the necessary tickets and I hope you're able to enjoy the game with the entirety of your family!
quick tip - if you get the top row (row 96 in endzones) there is space behind the seats that is technically empty (just concrete gap before the wall) so you can squeeze more people into those seats. still need a ticket per person to get into the stadium, but in terms of squeezing seats together its an option.
Just realize that by bringing young kids, you're likely signing up for a (very) early departure from the stadium. If everyone is cool with that, then you're all set. But getting them to sit in the sun for 3+ hours with zero attention span will not be possible.
Not to mention with the home opener being August 31 it could be very warm.
1) It's absurd that an infant or toddler needs a ticket. 2) It's even more absurd that people bring infants to football games. I'm not calling you out, Reverend, as it doesn't seem you're bringing an infant. I'm just saying in general that it's absurd to bring an infant to a loud football game.
Then again, it is Michigan Stadium we're talking, so I suppose it's not really that loud in the first place.
If you bring an infant, please don't sit next to me.
I understand your concerns; no offense taken. We actually took our eight month old to the Utah game while we were living in SLC - couldn't miss Harbaugh's first game. Rice-Eccles is significantly louder than the Big House, though it only seats about 50k. We purchased some sound-proof headphones (think the big ones airport workers wear on the tarmac). It can be done and she did awesome. Accept my apologies for any problems children have caused you at previous games. In my experience it isn't because parents are too cheap to pay for a sitter....they just wanna share their love for Michigan with their loved ones.
Get a nice tailgating spot on the golf course and leave the little ones behind with a designated chaperone while the grown-ups go into the game. My mom and wife have stayed behind with my little ones many times back in the day and still very much enjoyed themselves while I attended the game with my dad.
We did the same at the Peach Bowl this year. Infant had on giant headphones and had a great time staring at all the strangers/sleeping. It was a very enjoyable family experience, game result aside.
Peach bowl had the same policy Michigan does regarding children. Everyone needed a ticket, regardless of age.
Way easier to do this with an infant than a 3-4 year old.
Don't be so sure about the Big House being quite. It was significantly louder last year and the fans brought it especially for the PSU and Wisconsin games. This being Middle Tennessee might hold the noise down a little, but I expect the beginning of the game to be fairly loud.
Everybody will need a ticket. Your best bet to save a buck but still sit together is....
- Don't buy through the ticket office.
- Buy tickets a week or two prior to the game through StubHub.
- Buy pairs or singles. Don't worry about sections, seat numbers, or getting a large group together.
- Go sit at the top of the student sections on game day.
The students ALWAYS compact down so there is plenty of room in the top rows which is great with kids. You will have no problem sitting 11 together. Plus, there are restrooms and concessions at the upper level concourse on the west side of the stadium (behind the students). Another bonus.... if the game is a blow out (it better be) the students will start filing out which will allow you to move closer to the field if you choose.
I took my 20 month old son to a game in 2017. I took him because the policy then was that kids under 2 years of age didn’t need a ticket. I thought I’d get him into a game that didn’t matter (I think it was Cincinnati or something like that). He was supposed to sit on my lap. He threw something (a rock he found, maybe) 4 rows in front of us. He kicked the poor people in the row in front of me. He whined constantly. And that was just 5 minutes of the game. I left with him to wait just outside the seating area, and he chased around ants for an hour, ate a hot dog, threw it up, and then we left at halftime. I learned my lesson.
but the point of this rant was that it did used to be children younger than two came in for free.
This is not a new policy. Everyone needs a ticket has been in place since at least the Dave Brandon AD era. We have a large group that tailgates and goes to the game. Whenever we have extra tickets mostly for the bad games (Non conference non openers or Rutgers type games later in the season with bad weather) I would leave them at the gate where people with diaper bags need to go through so if anyone showed up thinking babies got in for free they could still do so. The gate attendants were always thankful as they do get alot of people that just assume babies can come in for free. They did tell me that a few people also do this as well so maybe you just got lucky that game and they had extra tickets there.
I took my 20 month old son to watch my brother's high school basketball game. The next high school game I take him to he will be suiting up.
Leave any kid under 10 at home otherwise your not gonna be watching much of the game
Find a babysitter
I took my 7 year old to the Michigan NW game, he won't be going to another til hes at least 12 !
Don't bring young children to the game. They won't remember it and you (possibly everyone around you) will not have a good time.
The policy really is garbage. We took a 5 month old to the Illinois game a couple of years ago because my wife is an Illinois alum. We knew it would be a blowout and therefore not too raucous on game day. Our daughter did great for 3 quarters and then we left. Having to get a ticket for her was ridiculous though. Later in the year my wife took our daughter with her family to an Illinois game. They sell either infant or child seats for $5 and she just was held by my wife. Michigan could and should do something like this
Illinois also sucks and is desperate for fans to come to games, heck their selling tickets this year for the Michigan game for 50 bucks
Indiana used to be like that also, and when I was in college I'd go to the Indiana game because student tickets with any student id was like 5 bucks, but they were bad back than.
Kids will need a ticket to get in, but have them sit on your lap.
My wife and I have three boys. When my youngest was 6 or younger, if I had four seat together, I'd buy a fifth seat any where in the stadium, and have the youngest sit in my lap or stand in front of me. never had a problem.
But they need their own ticket to get into the stadium.
They need a system where you can check your babies/small children at the gate and pick them up when you leave. Sure, they might occasionally mix them up, but as long as you leave with the same number of similar looking children as you had initially - it's fine. Just remember to tip the baby-check staff member.