Share your Big House “down in front!” stories

Probably an outlier here, but a "down in front" might be justified if just a very few people are standing (with no one in front of them standing) for a protracted period of game action.

1997 Michigan-Notre Dame at the Big House.  My friend and I had seats in the endzone and we stood up for a big play, I believe ND's first TD.  Some old guy behind us kicks my friend in the ass, tells him to sit down and calls him a bum.  Then says he'll always be a bum.  Never addressed me, just my bum-looking friend.  Needless to say, I stood the entire game while my friend chose to sit.  Like a bum.

I sit in section 39, and people rarely stand. Tbh, I'd prefer sitting the entire game rather than sit-stand-sit-stand-sit constantly.

In 2017, for the MSU game, when the entire stadium stood for the 4th quarter, I was yelled at to sit down. What made this worse was the fact that it was a downpour, and the surest way to keep rain off you was to stand. So instead I had to sit and my legs got completely drenched. Thankfully that guy doesn't sit there anymore.

Maybe if tickets weren't insanely overpriced now people other than the down in front crowd could afford to attend more games.

In 1999, tickets were like $35 each.  Adjusted for inflation that's about $54 today.  And that was for every game IIRC, none of that "dynamic pricing" bullshit to hose people for the games they actually want to see. Individual game tickets are at least double that now, plus a crazy high per seat fee.

I guess if I was old and spending my kids inheritance on tickets I'd want to watch the game sitting down too.

What is a Muckity Muck?

I went to the Iowa game and when I sat down, I asked the lady next to me, "so is this a standing up or sitting section?" and about 10 people around me yelled out, "SITTING!"

I've had down in front a few times over the years.  When respectful I accommodate.  And I'll let them know if the crowd in front of me stands, I will naturally stand.  Most have been very good about that. 

My one down in front was an Osu fan, tried to pull me down and I turned gave him the stare and turned around.  Dude tried it again, pulling on my coat saying sit down.  Turned again this time I told him stand your arse up the rest of the game cause now I'm not sitting regardless.  I didn't..  He was complaining the entire time, me after the game, he had a comment or so after I laughed told him, I had a great time and don't come back.  I knew I was being a richard and intentionally so after that one. 

My first post graduation season tickets were in Section 20, Row 1.  You'd think you might be able to sit down, but there is a Row A in front of Row 1.  There is also no slope to the stands there.  Your vision gets blocked by the Michigan bench when the ball gets past the 30 yard line to the corner of the field.  You have the rolling TV sideline camera guy rolling into your field of vision when the ball got near the goal line.  So, where you'd think you could sit, you end up standing most of the game.  You'd hear down in front, but they were yelling at the 20 rows of people standing because we were standing.

The Michigan Bat-Man guy used to be about 10 rows or so behind us.  I wonder if he's still over there.  Any reported sightings?

Not Michigan Stadium, or Michigan involved, but an Ohio State fan. Only time I came close to punching another person at a sporting event. 
 

I went to Oklahoma, and in 2016, Ohio State came and played at OU. Miserable game due to them eventually murdering us (but we got revenge the next year). Anyway, my dad came to visit and we went to the game. We has student section seats which are general admission. OU student seats are really fucking decent. Lower Bowl between 50 yard line to back of the endzone. However, they always oversell student tickets, so if you don't get there early, you may not get a seat.
 

So anyway, We get there a few hours early, and sit through a rain storm, which resulted in fucking incredible seats to what was supposed to be the biggest game of the year on our season. 
 

As expected, student section fills up well before kick off. Game kicks off, and everyone is standing up on the bleachers in the student section. 

Halfway through the first quarter, some idiot Ohio State fan who bought a student section seat off of some OU student shows up and is shocked there aren't any seats available. So this idiot decides its ok to walk into the space in between the bleachers in front of me and my dad. As a reminder, we have some of the best seats in the house. Bewildered, I tell the OSU guy, he can't be there, this is our area. 

Dick OSU fan: He goes, hey man, your standing up, we won't be in your way. 

Me: Yea, but my dad is in his 50's, he's going to need to sit down at some point. Sorry but we are going to need the space you are standing in. 

Dick OSU fan: Well what do you want us to do, there are no seats? 

Me: Get here hours earlier like the rest of us

Dick OSU fan just turns around and refuses to move. 

Me: Ok fine, I'm going to get security and I know the security guy for this section. 

Dick OSU fan was gone when I got back. 

One time I read on Mgoblog that someone was at Michigan Stadium and they told someone or were told themselves to sit down.

Not necessarily a down in front story but I once had a couple of you guys swap tickets with my Dad and I because they wanted to sit next to a couple of ladies we were sitting next to. We ended up doing the swap and ended up with much better seats. 

I'm pretty sure this was Bowling Green 2010 a game in which Denard got hurt and Tate Forcier came in and lit things up.

Hope those dudes had fun

I feel like people who stand in the middle of the section when no one in front of them or behind them is standing are just as annoying. Super frustrating when taking a grandparent to a not very exciting game and have an asshole stand up when no one else is. 

It's about standing at the right time (big 3rd downs, close games, final minutes, etc.) But not the whole game, especially when no one else around you is. 

Hooray picking fights in the fanbase!

Mods, please delete.

UTL 1. Sitting like 5 rows back from the field in one of the end zones. Got popcorn thrown at me from people a few rows up because I was standing. I just continued to stand there with a quick bird flipped over my shoulder. Not even sure if they were ND or UM fans.They were kicked out of the stadium and missed the end of the greatest game in stadium history. Sucks for you, buddy!

Does being at an FSU game with my still quite diminutive child count? Everyone had stood up for an exciting play but we were closing on the end of the game so they continued standing--NOT throughout the stadium, mind you, but just in front of us. I said, "Pardon, would you folks mind sitting down again--my child can't see." They politely did so.

I actually got kicked-out of the first UTL game right at half time from a "down in front" situation with another Michigan fan.

As usual, we are packed-in like sardines in our seats.  There were 2 elderly ladies right next me who were able to sit.  Unfortunately the guy right in front of them (a Michigan fan) would not sit down (because we were packed in) and was totally blocking these 2 ladies.  Throughout the entire first half the ladies would graciously ask the guy to sit down, but wouldn't.  The situation gradually escalated and finally got involved right as the first half ended.  I got into a rather loud verbal exchange with the guy, and the usher in the area wasn't having it.  He kicked-us both out, and I watched the rest of the game outside in the parking lot with some random tailgaters that empathized with my story.

/cool story bro

The ND game this year the guy behind me for the past 15 years decided to start screaming at the young men in front of me. It was only kickoff and everyone in the section was standing in front of everyone else. The young men in front told me before the game they were college students in NC and were going each year to a major college road game for the experience. They were very polite and were rooting for Michigan but the guy behind me wouldn't stop yelling F bombs at them the whole game. I know he has had his season tickets for 40 years and seems to know people in the ticket office but I had enough of his antics and turned around and told him if he didn't shut the fuck up I was going to turn him in for his 1/5th of whiskey he somehow gets into every game. Haven't heard a peep since. Some people think we are all there for their entertainment. 

Go Blue!!!!

While it is not a Big House story, I do have a funny one from Wisconsin this year. I take my son (11) to a B1G road game every year, and since we live in Florida it's always a bit of a trek. This year's game was Wisconsin and we had nice seats on the 40 about 20 rows up. We were surrounded by Michigan fans both in front and behind us, but next to my son was an older couple in their 80's. They seemed like your classic midwest grandparents - decked out in all their Wisconsin gear and singing along to the fight song. The stadium was pretty loud that day and you could tell people were excited. For most of the first quarter people were standing up and cheering and every time this old guy next to my son would start screaming profanities at the Wisconsin fans in front of us who were standing. Everytime people sat back down, he would continue berating the folks in front of us. Although they looked like people who would consider "poopyhead" to be a horrible slur, he kept breaking out f-bombs, a**hole, and even called one guy the "c" word! I switched seats with my son and gave him a few stares, but I figured these were his regular seats and I was but an interloper who plunked down some cash on StubHub for good seats. I kept to myself. The other Michigan fans around me had the same tactic. By the end of the second quarter, the Wisconsin fans on the receiving end of this asshole started throwing abuse back at him with one guy refusing to sit down even during a timeout. With the score out of hand at half, we figured this older couple would leave and we'd all be better off. But no. He was back after halftime. 

You all know the misery of that game and I won't recap it here, but by the fourth quarter the crowd had thinned considerably. Maybe half of the people remained in our section. Oddly, the Michigan groups around us stuck around (probably b/c we all dropped too much cash on our tickets to leave). That was when grandpa turned to me and said, "Boy, you guys are going to get your asses kicked by Ohio State. Your coach is garbage and so it your team." Man, I couldn't take it. Getting hamblasted by cheeseheads is one thing. Being insulted by a fat grandpa was another. Basically, I lost it. I looked at this douchebag and said, "You know, everyone here in Wisconsin has been nice and welcoming until I met you. All game you haven't shut your pie-hole. You bitch, moan, and complain while my 11 year old son has to sit and listen to you. All this AND your team is killing us. But no, you can't just enjoy it. You have to fucking poke me don't you? You think bringing up Ohio State is a good idea? You've got two options - stand here and I break your jaw, or get the hell out of here." The dude's jaw dropped open and the remaining Michigan fans around us started clapping and piling on. Grandpa's wife then stood up, grabbed his elbow and said, "Listen Lester, these people are right. You've embarrassed me and all these nice people. Take me home." 

My son looked at me and asked me if I would have punched the guy. I have to admit that his OSU comment is what tipped me off. I would have regretted it, but at the time, it seemed like the most reasonable thing to do. 

313 game. Some blue hair was yelling at me to sit down at some point in the second half. I asked her why the hell she was still there since all the old folks leave after the band plays at halftime.

At Penn State this year they handed out white pom poms and this goofball waved one almost all game long - no players could see it, no cameras on him - he just waved that thing like he was paid to do it.  On the other hand, a PSU fan was wearing a blue on white "Ann Arbor is a Whore" t-shirt and my wife shamed him into taking it off because it offended her.   

Here is a section 40 story.

Virtually nobody in the section is standing. There are a lot of elderly people around us (I mean, its section 40!). One 45 year old man with his ~20 year old son are seated a few rows ahead of us.  The kid decides he wants to stand the entire game.  One of the elderly people behind us very politely asked, in between plays, if they would sit unless the people in front of him stand.  He littered them with F-Bombs.

Many of us told him to not be an asshole and to not be disrespectful to fellow fans. He didn't like that and decided to leave late in the first quarter. As the 20 year old went to leave, he open palm grabbed a woman's breasts - in front of her husband, as he went to leave.  The dad did nothing.

The "do I stand or not stand" topic comes up a lot.  As someone who has sat in the stadium my entire life (from newborn to 31, as a student and as an alum) I see both sides of the argument.  But I think we can all agree angrily cussing out a polite elderly person and grabbing at ladies on their way out isn't exactly a good way to represent the university - or yourself.