Ann Arbor ranked top Big Ten city for football fans
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
According to the blog, which explores the "lighter side of real estate," Ann Arbor is the best city in the Big Ten to live in if you are a fan of college football. The author of the post, David Cross, is an Ohio State alumnus and fan, so any talk of the evaluation being biased can be thrown out the window.
"It is with a heavy heart and downcast eyes that I report to you the findings of the latest Movoto Real Estate’s Big Deal List," Cross writes. "I found that Ann Arbor, the birthplace of Michigan State, OSU’s nemesis, was, in fact, the best city for Big 10 football diehards."
We'll forgive Cross the typo of claiming that Ann Arbor is the home of Michigan State rather than Michigan, and assume again that this is a sign that the decision making process was without the bias of fandom.
According to the post, factors that did influence Cross's very formulaic decision were the city's sports bars per capita, and the number of sports radio stations available in the area.
Science at its best!
Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.
Comments
andyrooneywannabe
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 2:41 p.m.
It's obvious this blogger doesn't travel much. Also, what are his qualifications and selection criteria metrics? Do I really care how many sports bars and radio stations there are. You really can only do one sports bar per game day, due to traffic gridlock and the fact the bars are spread out. Game day parking is expensive and some even have an alcohol exclusion. Liquor by the bottle or by the drink is expensive too due to high excise tax, not to mention sandwiches at a noted place on Detroit St.
Pete Cunningham
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 4:29 p.m.
I think sports bar per capita is a solid ranking criteria because if there is only one sports bar in town, good luck finding a seat on game day. Sure, you can only go to a select few in one day, but if the choices are limited you're not going to be able to get a seat and enjoy watching the game.
ThinkingOne
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 3:07 p.m.
I don't know about qualifications, but his criteria is clearly laid out if you bothered to click the link to the entire story. I think even Andy Rooney would have done that much before his usual routine of grousing about something. Speaking of criteria, how does UM, which leads the entire NCAA in virtually every attendance record, come up 3rd in attendance? Because the ranking is based on percentage of capacity. So the larger the stadium and the more people at the game doesn't matter if you are only 3% over capacity... Odd ranking system.
D
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 1:45 a.m.
Football Saturdays are part of what makes Ann Arbor great. I am proud to live here (especially as an alumni); 10 years and going! Go Blue!
Gary Haller
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 1:28 a.m.
Game day In Ann Arbor is a long standing tradition// 100,000 people come into town and watch a football game at the BIG HOUSE maybe 3 kids get arrested for under age drinking .. Every one has a great time The police know how to direct traffic to get people out of town in a hurry.. We are even cool with the out of state fan that come into town wearing their schools colors.! Thats more than I can say for visiting other towns on game day.. This is the best time of year.. The anticipation of the new season..Its a big family and we are all part of it ..I am a Road Service Agent in Ann Arbor.. Every time I get called to help a player at the practice facility to get his car started or change a tire its always great conversation with a very nice individual..The guys are not only great foot ball players They are great people ! M ~ GO BLUE !
craigjjs
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 11:36 a.m.
OMG a positive, well written comment about a sports related article. Well done.
Lou Apostolakis
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 12:16 a.m.
Either Pete misquoted the article, or the article corrected the line about Ann Arbor being the birthplace of MSU. The actual blog currently reads that Ann Arbor is the birthplace of UM. Of course that is wrong as well, U of M was established in 1817 but didn't move to AA until 1837.
Pete Cunningham
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 1:52 a.m.
The Moveto.com blog was changed. Some people probably emailed the author who noticed the same thing we did.
Hailmary
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 9:18 p.m.
And they do it without game day violence.
Nicholas Urfe
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 8:38 p.m.
"We'll forgive Cross the typo of claiming" No actual big ten football fan would make such a mistake. Especially not in print. The man is a poser.
pb
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 8:11 p.m.
FYI, he fixed the mistaken identity issue (MSU for UM)
KJMClark
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 7:48 p.m.
I'd say this sucks, because the football traffic is one of the things I like *least* about Ann Arbor. Grrr. OTOH, sports bars and radio stations were the categories were did worst in. Apparently UM used to win games a lot, so the Wolverines were top in those categories. On most of the others, we were in the top 3, with the exception of the bars and radio stations. I wonder if the ranking would have changed if he'd weighted the numbers by how recent the wins were...
Pete Cunningham
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 9:07 p.m.
It definitely would have changed the scale because of Michigan's 11 national championships, 10 came before 1950 (four before 1904). If only national championships after 1949 counted, commonly referred to as the "modern era", then Michigan would only have one and be tied for fourth in the league behind Ohio State (6: 1954, '57, '61, '68, '70, 2002), Nebraska (5: '70, '71, '94, '95, '97...sorry, I know it stings, but I had to list it), Michigan State (2: '65, '66), and tied with Iowa (1958) and Minnesota ('60). That's not the only thing outdated about the scale of the list. Nebraska's main rival is listed as Oklahoma, but the team's haven't played since 2010 and aren't scheduled to meet again in the foreseeable future. Penn State's rival is listed as Pittsburgh, but the teams haven't played since 2000 and aren't scheduled to meet again until 2016. Of course you could look at this as accurate because it should probably count against a city if its team never plays the main rival.
JGA2trueblue
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 7:47 p.m.
I think there are more recent pics of the stadium with the current scoreboard?
Major
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 4:12 p.m.
Here are some more recent "pictures" of the Big House...30 per second to be exact... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz2Pwyu5ZRk
Themadcatter
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 2:49 a.m.
I saw the billboard for the first time just yesterday (going westward). It is horrendous and obnoxious and extremely distracting. It screams at you it's so big. What were they thinking? My prediction is it will be removed in the not too distant future just like that amusement park-ish look at had several years ago. But this will be complaint driven.
a2cents
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 1:13 a.m.
don't forget the glorious new billboard
81wolverine
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 7:35 p.m.
Unfortunately, this list has zero credibility after the author called Ann Arbor the birthplace of Michigan State.
ferdcom
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 9:19 p.m.
This is probably a jab at Brady's "humorously" calling OSU "Ohio".
A2comments
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 8:59 p.m.
No, 81wolverine has it right. It's proof that he's a Buckeye and knows no better...
Pete Cunningham
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 7:48 p.m.
Or it's proof that he didn't have any preconceptions or biases that would have been formed from being a fan.
treetowncartel
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 7:34 p.m.
It seems like sports radio would a non-factor all the way around since you can get plenty of it in any of the B1G Ten towns over satellite radio and the internets.
Pete Cunningham
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : 4:25 p.m.
Yes, but not everyone has satellite radio and you can't login to the internet while driving, or at least it's not highly recommended.
lumberg48108
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 7:27 p.m.
another week and another story that ranks ann arbor as oh-so-great where would this publication be w/o stories about rankings from obscure blogs no one reads?
Pete Cunningham
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 8:40 p.m.
Only one way to find out.
lumberg48108
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 7:47 p.m.
pete - I bet if I made up a publication and made up a survey and sent it to you guys, you would runt it be warned - for people w/ too much time on their hands might just do this some day
Pete Cunningham
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 7:38 p.m.
Ann Arbor is unofficially atop the list of cities that make the most lists, and AnnArbor.com is unofficially in second place for publications that publish lists about cities, fittingly. Our good friends at The Oregonian are in first place with an assist from the good city of Portland.
Homeland Conspiracy
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 7:17 p.m.
Yawn
riverguy
Tue, Aug 27, 2013 : noon
Some people just aren't happy unless they're complaining about something or they claim to be bored because they read an article that nobody forced them to read.
Homeland Conspiracy
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 11:54 p.m.
Yes it did
Ignatz
Mon, Aug 26, 2013 : 7:21 p.m.
Did reading this tire you out that much?