A discussion on the origins and significance of the "1" in the Michigan Stadium official capacity. Includes an interesting theory coming out of a 1960s article in Sports Illustrated.
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True Dedication – Opening Michigan Stadium Sights & Sounds (1927)
A few sights and sounds from the Michigan Stadium dedication on October 22, 1927. Video footage, a theft(!), the MMB, enemy praise and much more.
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Buckeye Constructs LEGO Horseshoe
Kudos to another Buckeye fan who’s taken a run at constructing a LEGO Ohio Stadium: Paul Janssen of Dublin used about a million Lego pieces to build the recently finished 8-foot-by-6-foot model, which has room for 6,000 Lego people. Janssen says the project “took about 1,000 hours over two years.” A couple of nice photos of his masterpiece: This version of the ‘Shoe puts the 2006 version constructed by another rabid Bucknut, (discussed here on MVictors) to SHAME. It took twice as long for the ‘06 project and it stands just about a foot tall: It’s unconfirmed whether Janssen’s next “project” is to kiss a girl. (Of course, this jab is coming from a man who has a piece of the Big Chill ice in his freezer). Anyway, a hearty salute from up North to Janssen and his efforts here but he’s clearly missing a few details, especially the goings-on just outside the stadium: And while he included bathrooms, he missed this critical slice of reality:
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Lightly Chilled (Pregame Notes and Photos)
I popped over to the stadium for a few minutes to get a flavor of the action and the scene. Notes: Achtung! Media relations announced that they have CLOSED both golf courses tomorrow due to the weather. Fend for yourselves! mgoblog’s game preview is up. Check out The Only Colors for the Spartan preview if nothing else for the photo that leads off the post. I ran into the pyrotechnic crew (at least a dozen guys). From the sound of those cats, it’s going to be pretty good. If-Dwight-Scrute-were-in-charge good. Tune into WTKA 1050AM for the pregame show. I’ll be doing a Big Chill edition of This Week in Michigan Football Hockey History. It involves life, death, ice and you might even from Red Berenson in the middle of the segment. And here it is: [display_podcast] FWIW – I’ll likely be in the Victors Lounge tomorrow if you have the means. A few photos for you, enjoy. It was beautiful out there around lunch time: A view of the Blue line from one of the benches Refrigeration in Exexcelsious deo From the student section
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Military Appreciation Day on Saturday: How You Can Help
A few cool things planned for Saturday as the athletic department honors the military during the Illinois game: Members of the Wounded Warrior Project and Gold Star families of Michigan will line the tunnel as the Michigan football squad takes the field. The MMB will play a medley of military sounds from each branch and will be flanked by two 65×120 foot flags, held by members of the U-M ROTC and Student Veterans’ Association. Four T-38s will perform a fly-over. How to Help At gates #2 and #8 on Saturday, folks will be collecting items for the Afghan families and troops: For Afghan families: they request new or used winter clothing, coats, hats, gloves, Michigan clothing (nice!), pens, pencils, crayons, notebooks, children’s books, generic bifocal lenses, blankets, small toys, stuffed animals. For the Troops: black socks (Jalen’s got those), deodorant, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, gum, protein bars, Ramen noodles, canned meat, trail mix, and new or used DVDs or video games. You can also leave handwritten cards and letters. If you can’t make it they’ll be taking donations in the lobby of the ticket office at 1000 S. State Street between 8:30am and 5pm starting Monday 11/1 through Friday 11/5. Tim Hortons is donating up to 720 pounds (46,000 cups!) of coffee. When they mentioned this I saw a big…
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Banished from the Big House
Prior to the Iowa kickoff I heard from good sources that the athletic department revoked some premium seating privileges as a result of unruly behavior from certain fans during the Michigan State game. Tonight I spoke to Dave Ablauf from media relations who confirmed that two individuals had their tickets in the premium seating areas revoked due to consumption of alcohol inside the stadium. Ablauf said they reviewed the incidents with fans seated near the offenders and ultimately made the decision to take away their tickets. He added that premium ticket holders sign an agreement that clearly states the beverage policy. I think that everyone is clear on the alcohol policy but it sounds like a few folks got out of control and earned it. Ablauf wouldn’t confirm whether the offending fans were rooting for Michigan or for Michigan State, instead stressing that the alcohol policy applies everywhere in the stadium to ticketholders and their guests.
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Interview: John Pollack of ‘Save the Big House’
On Wednesday fans and media will get a good look inside the nearly completed renovation of Michigan Stadium. While there’s seemingly been an overwhelming positive reaction to the new digs by fans, you may recall that the project had its opponents. The most vocal was a group named Save The Big House, led by longtime U-M fan and Ann Arbor native John Pollack. The group received much attention in the media including this piece in the New York Times. Pollack, 44, formerly a speechwriter for President Clinton and Rep. David Bonior, suggested that the needs of the athletic department could be met via an alternate design. His team proposed a less costly plan that would expand seating, add bathrooms and the upgrade the press box without adding premium seating or suites: savethebighouse.com Pollack is the author of the book Cork Boat and resides in New York these days. He was kind enough to answer a few questions about the (nearly) finished project. For the record, a couple things here. I told Pollack right off that I disagree with much of his stance about the renovation. And if I count as a U-M historian, I’m firmly with Bacs, John Kryk and the others who argue Fielding Yost would support this project based on what I know about the man. This said,…
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Stadium Bridge is (still) Falling Down
Anyway, earlier this week the challenger Lesko rattled off a few complaints by those around town including the state of the Stadium Boulevard bridges. Many fans of course use the structures to get to the stadium on football, basketball and even hockey (parking at Crisler is a good way to go) gamedays. Since March 2009 the city reduced the available driving lanes down to two (from four) for safety reasons. They still aren’t fixed and the city has been turned down for federal funding to this point.
