The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FROM OUR READERS THE STUDENTS' SIDE Dear The Wolverine: Just read the December 2011 issue January 2012 • Vol. 23, No. 6 ISSN 1048-9940 Editor John Borton Associate Editor Michael Spath The Wolverine.com Editor Chris Balas Football Recruiting Editor Tim Sullivan Staff Writer Andy Reid Managing Editor Chris Riffer Contributing Editor Steve Downey Contributing Writer Ryan Tice Editorial Intern Kevin Minor Layout And Design Cory Lavalette Jeanette Blankenship Contributing Photographers Eric Bronson/BronsonPhoto.com Lon Horwedel Per Kjeldsen Cover Photo Per Kjeldsen Publisher Stu Coman Business Manager Linda Autry Circulation Manager Gail Evans Assistant Circulation Manager Jason Jones Marketing/Merchandise Manager Beverly Taylor Director Of Advertising Dave Searcy The Wolverine is published monthly. A one-year (12 issues) subscription is $49.95. The Wolverine is printed at The Papers in Milford, Ind. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Wolverine, P.O. Box 1304, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Periodical postage paid at Durham, NC 27702 and additional offices. For advertising or subscription information, call 1-800-421-7751 or write The Wolverine, P.O. Box 1304, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. The Wolverine is a publication of Coman Publishing Company, Inc., 324 Blackwell St., Suite 560, Durham, NC 27701. E-Mail Address: thewolverine@comanpub.com Subscription questions: gevans@comanpub.com Web Site: www.thewolverine.com 8 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2012 including references to late arrivals or poor attendance by students at football games this year. In the students' defense, let's remember: • The football team's performance over the last three years has been embarrassing, es- pecially on defense, no doubt creating some apathy. I suspect the problem will subside as the team continues to improve, and the reason to attend games shifts back to "sport- ing event" from "large party" (although it will always be "large party" for many). • The Wolverine notes that the uni- Many Michigan players celebrated with those in the student section after U-M defeated Ohio State. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL versity sold a record number of stu- dent tickets this year. That means they are selling to more "fringe" fans who do not have an interest in attending the entire game or even some of the games at all. This is common sense. • The students as customers are presumably signifying their displea- sure over the noon start times. While this is in conflict with the television requirements, the university needs to decide which constituency it prefers to appease (I suspect it's the TV audi- ence), or work to change one or the other's preference. • I have heard that the treatment of students by ushers in Michigan Stadium this year was abysmal, with stringent section number enforcement. Why don't we admit what has been going on since the beginning of time, and allow students to sit wherever they want within the student section? • 40 percent of the student body is from outside of Michigan. The football season has been extended now so we are playing Thanksgiving weekend. I am sure a large number of students would rather be home with their fami- lies for the holiday than cutting it short and trekking back to Ann Arbor by Saturday morning, which means for many traveling on Friday. I was actu- ally surprised that the student section was as full as it was for the Ohio game. The bottom line is we have made The Big House so big that we are test- ing the limits of demand, especially in light of the poor product in the re- cent past, and some of the uninterest- ing games that have been scheduled against bad non-conference oppo- nents, and especially FCS teams. This is also evidenced by the extremely low prices that tickets can be pur- chased for outside the stadium before most games. I know there is a waiting list for season tickets, but this obvi- ously doesn't guaran- tee that the stadium is always full. The an- nounced attendance at many games is laugh- ably inconsistent with the obvious fact that not all the seats are filled. Hopefully this will change as our Wolverines re- gain their dominance. Jonathan Ball Via the Internet Interesting points, Jonathan. The ques- tion then becomes whether to reduce the "fringe" with fans anxious for seats — anxious enough to show up, and on time. MORE STUDENT PUSHBACK Dear The Wolverine: I would like to comment on the sub- ject of empty seats in student sections at football games starting at noon. First, I agree that there were empty seats evi- dent at kickoff of these games. How- ever, they weren't nearly as empty as one of your correspondents stated, claiming that the student section was "roughly half full … and remained that way through much of the first quarter, and into the second quarter." That statement is a gross exaggera- tion — the gaps filled up very rapidly as students streamed in, and there were very few empty seats midway through the first quarter. Your cor- respondent may not be aware of the cause — of what happens to students living in dorms on Saturdays. Lunch is served at noon and the unionized employees at these locations refused to accept a different, earlier schedule on game days. These stu- dents have to choose between lunch or missing the kickoff — some obviously pick the former. It must be noted that