treetowncartel

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 10:21 p.m.

I actually made the decision the tickets were not worth it after during Lloyd's last year. His selfish decision to announce his retirement before the bowl season was over, allowing all the ADs to circle the wagons around their coaching staff, and the seasons record, were enought to force my hand following that season. I get to a game now and then, but right now I have kids that are lot funner to be around. I'll never forget hoping to introduce my daughter to Michigan Football at a young age, when much to my dismay someone had given their ticket to one of those Walmart Wolverine fans who thought the visiting team could hear his string of F-Bombs from some 70 odd rows up from their bench. Plus I can't watch ESPN Overdrive their.

David Briegel

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 9:06 p.m.

Michigan announces 112,000 every week. That is tickets sold. I promise you there are not that many at the stadium. Empty seats in the student section, on the 50 where the press box used to be and the suites are not sold out. Will Brandon have to tell us how much revenue that has cost? How much is concession revenue down? johnya2, great post!

Jaxon5

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 7:05 p.m.

Finally found the evidence needed to discredit Theo's comments. There is no such word as "laiden" :) But seriously, look at Macabre's post for evidence of Michigan having more returning starters than most if not all Big 10 teams. Even if Michigan has a higher percentage of freshmen starters, it is up to the coaching staff to keep the pipeline filled with talent in all 4 academic classes. That's part of an excellent program. That's a big gap here at Michigan. You just can't have this type of gap and think you're doing a good job as a coaching staff. The goal is WINNING, not to install your favorite system at all costs (i.e. LOSING).

3 And Out

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 5:31 p.m.

Johnnya2...great points... one correction though: Harbs took over a 1-11 team, not a 2-10;)

riverraisin

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 4:18 p.m.

No sense in me leaving my 2 cents.... johnnya2 said everything I wanted to say. Whether you like it or not, The OSU is also right.

johnnya2

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 2:51 p.m.

"Championship football teams are stacked with juniors and seniors. " More lies. 1.UM had Mike Hart, Chad Henne and Jake Long all start as TRUE freshman. A championship caliber team 2. If he has beeen there THREE years, that meansd freshman and sophomores should not be starting, he had plenty of juniors or seniors HE could have recruited. Who chooses the players on the field? Your logic is like the kid who murders his parents crying about being an orphan. 3. The team that just kicked UM's butt is loaded with juniors and seniors and look back to where they were when those seniors were freshman (hint 9-4and in the TOP 25). 4. Rich Rods vaunted offense is not even the best in the Big Ten. Wisconsin is outscoring them by a touchdown. 5. I see freshman KICKERS all over the country able to hit extra points and kick the ball in bounds, or make 30 yarders consistently. If these frosh are such head cases that they can not perform in their freshman year, THEN DON'T RECRUIT OR PLAY THEM 6. You mention that the top tier Big Ten teams all have juniors and seniors starting. What were they last year and the year before? OSU has been part of the Big Ten championship for FIVE straight years. Rich Rood had SEVEN returning defensive starters his first season. When he HAD experience he went 3-9. 7. Rich Rod did not take over a 2-10 team (like Jim Harbaugh did). He took over a 9-4 team. Bo won his first year, Tressel won his first year, Stoops won his first year, Mack Brown won his first year, Urban Myer won his first yeear. Larry Coker won his first year. A GOOD coach uses the players he has in a scheme that will work, not plug a squarew peg into a round whole. He made the choice to blow up the foundation of the house so he could put on a different color paint. Finally, PROBATION. If Rich Rod goes 13-0, he should STILL be fired for that alone. Go ahead and start the excuses (everybody does it, it was only 20 minutes, it was somebody else's fault) I wonder those who make this excuse say when there is an offside penalty, that well he was only a little offsides. YOU EITHER CHEATED OR YOU DIDN'T. Rich Rod cheated. He MUST be fired.

Yelmonian

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 2:39 p.m.

Scooter dog, That's a great attitude. Live in Washington. Had season tickets to Washington Husky basketball because it let me see the big name schools. I gave up my tickets, because I disagreed with a new athletic department policy. Everyone said the same thing. We have a long line. No one will miss you. Two years later, I was getting calls that I could have my choice of seats. They no longer had a line waiting. You have the biggest stadium in the country, third largest in the world... if you can't sell out a 14,000 seat arena in Seattle... it's not far fetched to think that UM's 110,000 seat stadium could start having some empty spots after a year or two more of RR and 500 ball.

evenyoubrutus

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 2:36 p.m.

I'm glad all of you have finally given up your tickets. The Big House is better off with folks like you at home.

scooter dog

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 2:30 p.m.

I am sure they won't miss all you crybabies who give up your season tickets. Last I heard they still had a very long waiting list of diehards to take your place.

treetowncartel

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 2:24 p.m.

@ Quimby, I declined my tickets three years ago and haven't missed them at all since doing so. I've actually been enjoying my fall Saturdays, allowing the game to slip in on the radio or sometimes on the tv. There is nothing like being out on a boat on a nice fall day listening to Brandy and Beckamn almost have a coronnary as the debacle unfolds.

ViSHa

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 1:45 p.m.

completely agree with Alan (including agreeing with OSU). Yelmonian's quote comparisons are just the icing on the cake. these personality traits are what make the losses harder to take.

Macabre Sunset

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 1:28 p.m.

Yet an independent analysis by one of the major college football preview magazines showed Michigan as the third most experienced team in the Big Ten coming into the season. The Wolverines are just low in senior starters. It's poor coaching, not a conspiracy against the coach. Each moment he occupies the coach's chair here does damage to our program. Five more days.

tzgoblue

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 12:51 p.m.

saintd RR was given a 6 yr contract. I'm not prepared to watch this train wreck continue down the tracks for 3 more years. Our offense can't score from anywhere against good teams until we are behind by 20 pts or more and the other team takes their foot off the peddal. This has gone far enough. As a long time dedicated die hard fan, it is embarassing to watch this happening to our program

Quimby

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 12:48 p.m.

I'm done with Michigan Football after being a season ticket holder for 25 years. Brandon needs to understand that the first principal of marketing a brand is that you need to have a quality product to work with. A 6-17 record in conference play over 3 seasons is unacceptable. In fact, a Rodriguez-coached Michigan team has not beaten a conference team with a winning record yet. Sadly, the basketball program has been in the sewer for 20 years now. Now, the football program has officially joined the ranks of the basketball program on the "futility" and "no sign of a turnaround in my lifetime" top ten list. Unfortunately the only thing that will get the attention of Brandon and his staff will be empty seats, or at least seeing visiting fans outnumber the home crowd. Welcome to the house that Bill Martin built and that David Brandon marketed.....

Mark

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 12:41 p.m.

RR continually says that the base defense you run is overrated. So is he saying a 5'9 180 lbs safety coming up to the line for run support is the same as a 6'5 300 lbs defensive lineman playing against the run. RR is clueless when it comes to defense. He constantly talks about how we need to get off blocks better, but 9 out of 10 times when an offensive tackle is blocking a saftey or hybrid linebacker the lineman is going to win. Don't you think that stat would change if you had a 4th true downlineman?

Yelmonian

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 12:33 p.m.

P U MSU, I don't get the... give it time quote. He is on his third recruiting class. I don't care if he got there late on the first one. It is still his... plain and simple. How do you still have 5 freshmen starting on the defense? He should at minimum have sophmores starting. As one UM fan told me, this next class has real good players. OK... so you are going to be plugging in more freshman? When does it stop?

alan

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 12:29 p.m.

As much as it pains me to say it, OSU is correct. Ouch. RR is a buffoon, a loud, overpaid gym teacher and he was when he was hired. The fiasco with his previous contract, the questionable ethics he displayed at WV, the disgrace he has brought through violations, and the large number of players who left (Mallett comes glaringly to mind) all speak to his character, or lack thereof. The greatest football program in history is reduced to a joke around the country. Are we trying to be Notre Dame? He shouldn't have been hired in the first place and he should have been gone by now. I would hope that his replacement is a person of integrity. Go Blue.

Yelmonian

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 12:28 p.m.

People ask me why I'm not fond of RR. Take the following quotes. One is Danny Hope of Purdue, and one is RR of UM. Both are saying the same thing. One talks about being proud of his freshman. One talks about why it's not his fault. "Very disappointed with the loss, but very proud of our football team. I think they showed a lot of courage and poise and Boilermaker pride in the latter half of the season, we would come in most of these game three and four touchdown underdogs and play the top teams and players down to the wire. I look down there and count five, six freshman on the field and that is encouraging in regards to the future of our program." Hope "I've never coached before and had five true freshmen playing on defense...Are you kidding me? I'd like to know if anyone else in Division I has five, six true freshmen playing on defense." Rich Rod

P U MSU

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 12:27 p.m.

Breakdown of the Big10's top teams Starting Juniors or Seniors OSU: Offense 9 (4 seniors) Defense 9 (7 seniors) Iowa: Offense 8 (6 seniors) Defense 9 (6 seniors) Wisc: Offense 9 (5 seniors) Defense 9 (4 seniors) MSU: Offense 9 (6 seniors) Defense 7 (5 seniors) UofM: Offense 6 (2 seniors) Defense 5 (3 seniors) What coach is going to have success with this. Give this team time.

The OSU

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 12:14 p.m.

For those UM alums desiring to see RR leave, OSU will host his retirement party this Saturday. Tickets are sold out but you can watch from home on TV. Save your gas money for your trip to Detroit and the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl. Let's see how well your Shoelace-less wonder does in The 'Shoe. Regardling comments that RR's teams merely need to mature, keep in mind this is COLLEGE football. Players are only on campus 4, maybe 5, years. This is NOT the NFL where you groom a team over a period of years, hoping to get a QB to play for 10 years and plug some holes by trading for experienced veterans. In college ball, you need to keep the pipeline constantly full and the players constantly moving up. When Carr left, your pipeline had has many quality athletes as anywhere. It's a cop-out to say RR didn't have the tools he needed. He just couldn't use what he had.

P U MSU

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 11:36 a.m.

Mick, You are correct. Championship football teams are stacked with juniors and seniors. Something that Michigan is lacking. While it has been proven over and over again that experiance matters, it is something that people who want RR to be fired deny. Or if they do not deny it, it is RR's fault we are a young team. Give the system a chance with some experianced players. That's all I'm asking.

Mick52

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 10:59 a.m.

I really wish you guys at aa.com would stop using other news stories as sources for your stories. I really do not like seeing stories on here reporting simply what you read. If you read a story and find some aspect of it interesting, pick up the phone, contact the particulars, get the info, be nice and develop them as sources, and write your own story. Don't quote other writers, its sort of like plagiarism. Links are okay, but just with a quick note. Now, I am going to do it, but I am not a writer like you guys are. If I were and getting paid, I would just look this up: On TV in regard to Wisconsin's team, one of the broadcasters noted that Wisconsin's team is loaded with 5th year seniors. And that UM's offense and defense were stocked with 1st and 2nd year players, maybe only one senior starter on each. Interesting fact. I have observed over the years in the Big Ten when M/osu were reigning, that the other eight would every few years put a great team together and get some upsets. Those teams were stocked with experienced seniors who decided to forgo the NFL early and stay.

saintd

Mon, Nov 22, 2010 : 10:56 a.m.

I like this wisconsin coach a lot and wish them well. I also think Rich Rod has a contract because he was the best bet to bring us back to the top of the mountain. I think we let him do his thing and if he fails at the end of his contract than just move on. I believe he was given 4 years so let's see how it goes next year and save the tax payers money we would forfeit with a firing. With a fairly good defense next year I think we have the offense to be in the top 10. I doubt that any new coach will get us there any sooner. You have to admit that this offense is a lot of fun to watch as they can score from anywhere at anytime and they are all so young. We have a great future in store for us.