Relevant Links From Sites We Trust: Appy State Week

App State Athletics / Keith Cline

Anyone who's followed this blog for the last 7 years (yep, we're that old!), you know that we like to feature links from other sites in our game previews each week during the season. We label that section Relevant Links From Sites We Trust. Well, game preview posts can tend to be a bit lengthy, plus I think its good to spread the content out as much as possible the entire game week, and not just dump everything into the preview on Friday.

So here we go.

The Horror, remembered
UMTailgate takes us back to September 1, 2007.

The game itself is foggy.  But I remember the thoughts that were going through my head:

This sucks.

We suck.

We still can't stop a mobile quarterback.

I wish our band did fun stuff like their band did at halftime.

We underestimated these guys big time.

We're going to pull this out and avoid this huge embarrassment.

I was relieved, even confident, when we lined up for that game winner.  And after it was blocked, irrational thoughts flowed in to my head.  I thought for sure we’d just take the ball back from the guy returning the block and run it the other way for a touchdown.  When it didn’t happen, I was just looking around wondering when they were going to add more time to the clock so we could win this thing.  We just need some more time.  We can pull this out if we just get one more minute.  Surely the NCAA is not going to let this happen.  Maybe the BTN will intervene in this their first game, with some soccer-style arbitrary bonus minutes.

This is explicitly why it was a terrible idea to schedule a rematch with Appy State. It requires perfectly reasonable men to have to relive every horrible thought they had that day 7 years ago. We Michigan fans can't just remember that day without feeling it all over again...and those of us with an audience of readers are compelled to write about it.

This article from EDSBS (featuring MGoBlog's Ace Anbender) is another great example.

Jane: I honestly could not tell you what happened for the rest of the day. It was as close as I’ve ever been to the scene of a large-scale crime. I lived in a house full of hipsters (like, editors of poetry collections who wore glasses with no glass in them) who prided themselves on giving fewer than zero shits about sports and even they recognized that this was bad, really, really bad. One roommate was a sports editor for the Michigan Daily, the main paper on campus. When he came home, we barely looked at one another. I think I got a burrito. I don’t know. I don’t remember. I tried to forget.

Ace: We didn’t move. We sat in our seats for what felt like a lifetime, staring at the scoreboard—it has to be wrong—as the student section funeral procession passed by us. At least 20 minutes went by before we came to an unspoken agreement that it was time to GTFO. The band might’ve been playing, as is post-game tradition. They could’ve performed in the row directly in front of me and I doubt I would’ve noticed. In addition to my three roommates, a few of the friends who tailgated with us beforehand came back to our place. The lawn—well, patch of dirt in front of the house—was littered with red Solo cups. Nobody picked up a thing, or even bothered to tell the guy grabbing empty bottles off the porch that he was screwing up our system of using the state’s ten-cent deposit to fund future drinking escapades. He probably needed them more, anyway, but this was ennui, not charity.

Please Dave Brandon...let's never, ever do this again.

We're not alone
Even Slate Magazine is asking why this game is happening!

Why is this game happening? And who, Michigan fans (like me) might be asking, can we blame? The answer, most directly, is Brandon, the athletic director. But he is only a creature of a larger system created by, among others, the NCAA, television networks, the SEC, Chick-fil-A, and Nike. Those parties are responsible for college football’s proliferation of stunt marketing and contrived event games, trends that have reached their apotheosis/nadir in this rematch made in hell.

See, its not just us whiny bloggers pointing cheese-puffs stained fingers from our mom's unfinished basements.

This just in: Students hate watching bad football
ESPN reports that UM student ticket sales are taking a monumental blow.

In advance of its opener on Saturday against Appalachian State, Michigan has sold approximately 12,000 student tickets, down from 20,000 last year.

About 1,500 tickets remain available for Saturday at the Big House, according to Hunter Lochmann, chief marketing officer for Michigan athletics.

From what I've heard, the remainder of tickets available is far more than 1,500. But who knows where all these numbers come from.

Not to pile on, but...

Meanwhile, in Columbus, Ohio, and State College, Pennsylvania, ticket sales are hot as ever.

Ohio State sold 29,614 student packages for this season, adding more than 1,200 to keep up with demand to reach its highest figure since 2010.

Penn State quickly sold its 21,200-seat student allotment in June. Overall, the Nittany Lions have surpassed sales for 2012 and 2013 and expect an increase in average attendance by 2,000 to 3,500, according to Jeff Garner, assistant athletic director for ticket sales.

These news stories that we've read this whole offseason are all fun and games until we see a half-empty student section on TV...every week. Maybe it won't be as bad as they say? Yeah, maybe it won't be as bad as they say.

I'm sure everything is going to be fine. Right? We're fine.

It'll be fine.

No waiver for Isaac
Maybe the top story this week has been the denial of a hardship waiver for USC running back transfer Ty Isaac. Michigan has appealed to the NCAA.

"The waiver got denied initially, and we've appealed it," Hoke confirmed Wednesday. "(We appealed) probably last week, mid week." 

Assuming the appeal is denied, this is not going to adversely effect the rushing output for the year as Michigan is pretty well stocked in the backfield. But the benefit will be having Isaac as a redshirt-sophomore next season when Green/Smith/Johnson will all be junior eligibility and Justice Hayes a senior.

Those who pickem will be champions

Not to self-promote or anything, but time is running out to sign up for our 2014 Maize & Blue Nation college pickem league. Get signed up now for a chance to compete with other MBN fans and a shot at some great prizes compliments of our friends at Moe's Sport Shops/Underground Printing in Ann Arbor!

Delay-free radio in the Big House
As I am beginning to write this, Michigan just announced, in partnership with IMG and WTKA, they will be offering delay-free play-by-play in the Big House for fans at the game.

The three parties worked to eliminate several of the elements that normally lead to a significant delay with a radio station.

WTKA’s AM 1050 in Ann Arbor will be airing Michigan football games without delay during the 2014 season, meaning fans can bring a radio to the games and hear the commentary from Brandstatter and Dierdorf in virtual real time as the play unfolds before their eyes.

I think I join all fans as I stand up to clap slowly. Radio headsets are always great for any fan looking to maximize their game viewing experience at the Big House...but now it's must have. No longer should anyone have to endure hearing JoeBob screaming from 3 rows behind you, or the ever more popular RAWK music, driving you crazy for 3.5 hours. Now your ears will be serenaded by the dulcet tones of Brandy and Dan live from the booth...in real-time!

Know before you go

Dovetailing nicely from the radio topic, MVictors drops his annual provisions post giving M fans the proper info for making sure they're covered with all the essential gear one will need on gameday.

Always required reading, especially this part...

8. Keys. While to afford entry into the Big House I’m guessing most now have keyless entry to their luxury sleds you still don’t want to forget your keys.  Keep them in your pocket.  And P.S. — It is still not cool to shake your keys during a “Key Play.” 

This can't be overstated enough. The "Key Play" is from a bygone era when the jingle of 100,000+ sets of keys could actually be heard (I know we joke, but was the Big House ever that quiet?), but today the customary thing to do is stand up and get loud! Duh!