Impression of the Big House

My neighbor just got back from AA and he said that the fans there were very respectful and overall polite. He didn't have any issues. Also said the renovations greatly improved the atmosphere inside the stadium. I may have to head up that way the next time we go.
 
HAWKEYESTATE4ever said:
That's better, TM. ;)
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Lol I'm sure I'd probably enjoy Kinnick better in another area of the stadium. Actually, there were a couple adults in the student section that I was able to talk to during the Indiana game last year. That was a lot more fun. I like being able to talk a little about the schemes and stuff during the game, and the Michigan fans around us were able to offer me that, and in a very polite manner (I had counted on more arrogance). If I get that from the fans around me, I'm very happy with my time in the stadium.
 
shades1622 said:
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you had a good time and felt compelled enough to share your experience but it kind of sounds like maybe you should just transfer to the U of M? Crying over the fight song!?! Sorry but someone had to say it.

As for changing the Kinnick experience I think we should all be very careful for what we wish for. If someone wants to have a few or several beers prior to the game it doesn't bother me one bit. Just be smart enough not to drive home or get in a car with someone that has had too much to drink.
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+! I'm gonna act like I didn't read this. Nothing can compare to Kinnick Stadium and Iowa City. If the so-called "drunks" bother you than you're concerned with the wrong things while at a game/tailgate. To cry during another school's fight song says that you're commitment level might not be where it should be.

I've been to Ann Arbor in the past and I found it quite boring and overrated. I don't think fans need to be doing beer bongs before the game to have a good time but IMHO I thought their fans acted more like they were preparing to go into a showing of Phantom of the Opera than they were a physical, Big Ten football game. I also think the stadium was very quiet and subdued compared to most other Big Ten (and SEC) stadiums that I've been to. A football game brings a certain type of atmosphere...the Big House didn't have it. Yup, I'll agree that their fans were very pleasant.

If you want to drink wine and sit on your hands then maybe football isn't the sport for you...or Meechegan fans.
 
The fans of Michigan were great. Not 1 bad comment the entire 9 hours I was there.

As for the stadium, I thought it was pretty quiet. I sat in section 9 row 4. Corner endzone near the field. For having 112,000+ people screaming, I expected it to be like Penn State. The fans don't really get up, either. Kinnick is much louder for having 30,000 less people in attendance.
Tailgating was great. Paid 40 bucks to park across the street at the golf course. If you park that close to kinnick, you have to donate $5000!

After the game we walked up to the top row to see the view. It wasn't bad at all. Getting out was slow, but it didn't take too long. It took us an hour after the Iowa/Penn State game a few weeks ago. Didn't take that long at Michigan.

Here is my only complaint. THE BAND. They play 2 songs the entire game. TWO! They sound great, but after the 2nd quarter, I knew exactly what song was coming during the timeouts.
But if that's my only complaint, then I'd say it was a pretty good trip.
 
Iowatailgate said:
The fans of Michigan were great. Not 1 bad comment the entire 9 hours I was there.

As for the stadium, I thought it was pretty quiet. I sat in section 9 row 4. Corner endzone near the field. For having 112,000+ people screaming, I expected it to be like Penn State. The fans don't really get up, either. Kinnick is much louder for having 30,000 less people in attendance.
Tailgating was great. Paid 40 bucks to park across the street at the golf course. If you park that close to kinnick, you have to donate $5000!

After the game we walked up to the top row to see the view. It wasn't bad at all. Getting out was slow, but it didn't take too long. It took us an hour after the Iowa/Penn State game a few weeks ago. Didn't take that long at Michigan.

Here is my only complaint. THE BAND. They play 2 songs the entire game. TWO! They sound great, but after the 2nd quarter, I knew exactly what song was coming during the timeouts.
But if that's my only complaint, then I'd say it was a pretty good trip.
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I knew several people who parked over in the golf course. Damn. Maybe I should have went to the Michigan game instead of the Arizona game.
 
Iowatailgate said:
The fans of Michigan were great. Not 1 bad comment the entire 9 hours I was there.

As for the stadium, I thought it was pretty quiet. I sat in section 9 row 4. Corner endzone near the field. For having 112,000+ people screaming, I expected it to be like Penn State. The fans don't really get up, either. Kinnick is much louder for having 30,000 less people in attendance.
Tailgating was great. Paid 40 bucks to park across the street at the golf course. If you park that close to kinnick, you have to donate $5000!

After the game we walked up to the top row to see the view. It wasn't bad at all. Getting out was slow, but it didn't take too long. It took us an hour after the Iowa/Penn State game a few weeks ago. Didn't take that long at Michigan.

Here is my only complaint. THE BAND. They play 2 songs the entire game. TWO! They sound great, but after the 2nd quarter, I knew exactly what song was coming during the timeouts.
But if that's my only complaint, then I'd say it was a pretty good trip.
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Really? Yeah, the crowd was quiet for the majority of the game since Michigan was getting blown out, but in the 4th quarter I thought it was pretty electric...I also swear I felt the stands shake, which has never happened at Kinnick before (for me at least)
 
Okay, I have been to Kinnick a few times, sat in the Student section once, I don't think anyone knew who Iowa was playing after the 1st quarter. The other games, I went to were better because not everyone was hammered, but it may have been better if they were. Nothing, but complaining about play calling and how terrible the team was. Now, I am not saying that everyone has to be positive and all, but how many times can you say the team sucks while dropping the f-bomb every other word? At least the students found ways to entertain themselves because the game was so disinteresting.
I have been to Michigan Stadium five times and saw Iowa there once, my wife and I were amongst the section where everyone had season tickets for many years and it was a blast. The fans were just fans, rooting for UM and finding inventive ways to insult corn, but they never went overboard. I have not been to the renovated stadium yet, but living 40 minutes away, I must get there. The fans there are intelligent and respectful, it doesn't make it boring, unless you are a person just hoping for it. If you wanted to see the fans get ugly, you should have been there when they played Oregon the week after losing to App. State, people that I know who had kids left because fans were so bad and throwing things at the UM sideline, throwing anything they could.
I was there when Henne hit Mario Maningham when PSU was ranked No. 2, I believe, that game wasn't quiet at any time.
I am curious, who has been to Ohio Stadium and did you like it? A lot of people I know in this area that go, don't wear any Michigan shirts, hats or anything because they get spit on and have had drinks poured on them and had things happen to their cars...
 
After reading all of these, I thought I would give my take on AA. I showed up to tailgate around 9:30 very surprised it wasn't more crowded. We tailgated in the lot diagonal to the stadium/across from golf course. Not many people grilling, several people drinking wine, and fans across from us sitting down reading the newspaper. Was very surprised at the way too laid back atmosphere. The stadium was great and did get VERY loud in the 4th quarter. Loudest stadium I've heard in a long time. Mich fans were 95% respectable. We chatted with our tailgating neighbors long before and after the game. They expressed their dissatisfaction with RichRod and wished us luck in beating MSU. Very respectful and stated they were glad we enjoyed ourselves in AA.

NOW, in no way was I impressed with the fans during the fight song. Everyone in my section just did the clap, and I never heard a single person sing the words. ALSO, in no way was the atmosphere better than Kinnick and Iowa City. While walking up the stadium at halftime, I had something thrown at me. It happens everywhere, but just figured I'd mention it since to many posters here, the Big House was "heaven."

Great experience for me this weekend. Nothing bad to say, but it kind of let me down that so many posters were almost talking up AA as better than Iowa.
 
t25 said:
After reading all of these, I thought I would give my take on AA. I showed up to tailgate around 9:30 very surprised it wasn't more crowded. We tailgated in the lot diagonal to the stadium/across from golf course. Not many people grilling, several people drinking wine, and fans across from us sitting down reading the newspaper. Was very surprised at the way too laid back atmosphere. The stadium was great and did get VERY loud in the 4th quarter. Loudest stadium I've heard in a long time. Mich fans were 95% respectable. We chatted with our tailgating neighbors long before and after the game. They expressed their dissatisfaction with RichRod and wished us luck in beating MSU. Very respectful and stated they were glad we enjoyed ourselves in AA.

NOW, in no way was I impressed with the fans during the fight song. Everyone in my section just did the clap, and I never heard a single person sing the words. ALSO, in no way was the atmosphere better than Kinnick and Iowa City. While walking up the stadium at halftime, I had something thrown at me. It happens everywhere, but just figured I'd mention it since to many posters here, the Big House was "heaven."

Great experience for me this weekend. Nothing bad to say, but it kind of let me down that so many posters were almost talking up AA as better than Iowa.
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Cool story bro...
 
jfish06 said:
+! I'm gonna act like I didn't read this. Nothing can compare to Kinnick Stadium and Iowa City. If the so-called "drunks" bother you than you're concerned with the wrong things while at a game/tailgate. To cry during another school's fight song says that you're commitment level might not be where it should be.

I've been to Ann Arbor in the past and I found it quite boring and overrated. I don't think fans need to be doing beer bongs before the game to have a good time but IMHO I thought their fans acted more like they were preparing to go into a showing of Phantom of the Opera than they were a physical, Big Ten football game. I also think the stadium was very quiet and subdued compared to most other Big Ten (and SEC) stadiums that I've been to. A football game brings a certain type of atmosphere...the Big House didn't have it. Yup, I'll agree that their fans were very pleasant.

If you want to drink wine and sit on your hands then maybe football isn't the sport for you...or Meechegan fans.
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The drunks in the student section (where I sit) bother me because it's not fun to be around them. Part of the fun of being at a game is the interaction with the people around you, and there are rarely people around me at home games that I'd want to interact with.

And it wasn't the fight song itself that got a lump in my throat. It's that 100,000 people could actually stand up and sing both the fight song and the alma mater. I've NEVER seen (or heard) anything like that before at a game. It was just really cool, and it put a lump in my throat. I do like their fight song, but it's not the band playing the song that did it. Believe it or not, it's possible to love your team and still get that feeling about another fanbase and stadium. It's no different than those Michigan fans who stayed to watch the Hawks come and celebrate with our fans.

I'm also a very nostalgic fan, especially so for someone who's only 20 years old. I value traditions, even those of other schools, much more than the typical fan. Even if I desperately want the Hawks to beat the Wolverines, it still tickles me to death that I was able to see them touch the banner in person, and hear the fans sing.
 
tm3308 said:
Not sure if this has already been talked about elsewhere, so I apologize in advance if this is a repeat topic.

I made my first trip to Ann Arbor this weekend with my dad, one of my buddies, and 3 of my dad's friends. And aside from the 7-hour drive (longer for my dad and his friends, coming from Wayne and Decatur Counties), it was fantastic! I loved the atmosphere around Ann Arbor. At least around the stadium, it was much more open and warm than it is at Kinnick, where the UIHC and houses are just right on top of you, almost suffocating compared to AA. Tailgating at the golf course was great, I like things to be a little more laid back (not Prohibition, just a little more laid back than Kinnick). I even met hwkwyld out there, and it was great getting to meet someone from around here.

And I was pleasantly surprised by the Michigan fans. Me and my buddy had tickets in section 4, the other people in our group were in section 6. There were two Iowa fans right behind us, but everyone else immediately around us were Wolverines, many of whom were about our age (college-aged). When I saw student-age Michigan fans I expected to take a lot of s*it, and we didn't take any. We were able to talk all game with the couple right in front of us, and it was far more enjoyable than any game I've been too in Kinnick from that angle.
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I agree....sadly enough I went to watch a game that the hawks lost up there (2004) but other then some teasing comments here and there I had a great experience in AA including the tailgating. They work hard to get 110,000+ in that stadium and make it possible in that you cannot be over 12 inches wide to sit on your seat with much comfort. I had a number of Michigan fans around us and they were obviously big times fans but were very cordial. Then in 2005 I went to the Hawks game in Columbus and while walking from the parking area to the stadium I joined in some "Lets go Hawks" cheers with other hawkeyes walking near us and we were told at least 5 times during that walk to "F*ck you". Was really pretty sad and living here in Ohio feel strongly that the bad blood between Ohio State and the Wolverines starts here in Ohio. Michigan fans are much classier in my eyes....hands down.
 
Downtown bar district was very good. Like a lot more upscale than the PedMall area. Don't get me wrong, I love the IC bar scene, but I was really surprised at how many up-scale bars and restaurants there were in downtown AA.

Stadium- as good as advertised, but no replays of controversial calls or even a big play, none at all.
 
t25 said:
After reading all of these, I thought I would give my take on AA. I showed up to tailgate around 9:30 very surprised it wasn't more crowded. We tailgated in the lot diagonal to the stadium/across from golf course. Not many people grilling, several people drinking wine, and fans across from us sitting down reading the newspaper. Was very surprised at the way too laid back atmosphere. The stadium was great and did get VERY loud in the 4th quarter. Loudest stadium I've heard in a long time. Mich fans were 95% respectable. We chatted with our tailgating neighbors long before and after the game. They expressed their dissatisfaction with RichRod and wished us luck in beating MSU. Very respectful and stated they were glad we enjoyed ourselves in AA.

NOW, in no way was I impressed with the fans during the fight song. Everyone in my section just did the clap, and I never heard a single person sing the words. ALSO, in no way was the atmosphere better than Kinnick and Iowa City. While walking up the stadium at halftime, I had something thrown at me. It happens everywhere, but just figured I'd mention it since to many posters here, the Big House was "heaven."

Great experience for me this weekend. Nothing bad to say, but it kind of let me down that so many posters were almost talking up AA as better than Iowa.
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Well remember, in my case, I'm in the student section at Kinnick, so it really was an improvement in the overall experience for me. I also don't drink, so the more laid back tailgating suited me just fine.
 
tm, I think you should sell your student ticket and spend a little more for a regular one for the next game! I think you will get the same experience at Kinnick as you did in AA. I also forgot to mention how impressive it always is to me how well our fans travel. So great to see everyone cheering and staying til the end to cheer on our team. Proud to be a hawkeye every single week.
 
I have been to AA twice to watch the Hawks play, 2002 and 2004. It was a great experience. I vividly remember walking to the stadium in 2002 and having three different Michigan fans on three different occasoins approach us and tell us that they were nervous about the game and thought that Iowa was going to win. These people were in no way supporting the Hawks, but rather they were being realistic about how good that Iowa team was. Contrast this way of thinking with ISU fans.
 
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