Student Tailgating, Yes. Next, Bring Back the Marching Band Tradition.

[GRGOPHER]

Attendance seemed much better when the band played one hour before KO outside of the Chippewa County sign two years ago. I think they changed it to the plaza and two hours before KO last year. I think it was an hour at the dame as well and was pretty well attended.

And improved gameday experience has to focus on the needs of the fans. Having the plaza show one hour before KO will help that a lot.

Totally agree! I'm coming from out of town and 2 hours early is just too early. As far as attendance, there was no comparison...1 hour before generated a large enthusiastic crowd...never missed it.

 

[dpodoll68]

They close streets in Minneapolis all the time, Holidazzle, Aquatential, et al.

With all due respect, this is a terrible analogy. People in downtown Minneapolis are there for a thousand different reasons, with a thousand different places to go, and a thousand different ways to get there. Nearly everyone coming to campus on a fall Saturday is coming there for one reason, all with one and the same place to go. In the past, there have been two ways to access Stadium Village from the west: Washington and University Aves. Now, with Washington forever closed to car traffic, there is one. And if you close University (even for 15-20 min., which in actuality would be more like an hour) there are 3 options for people coming from the west, each more undesireable than the last:

1. Take 94 and join up with either the traffic coming from the south on Oak, or go over to 280 and join the traffic coming from the east. These are not terribly bad options, but there is already excessive traffic on those roads, and adding a significant amount from the west would make things even worse.

2. Get off on Stinson (an extra 7-8 mile detour for those coming from the south, no less) and come into campus on 15th Ave to 5th St. This is an unwieldy and awful route to take on a random Tuesday afternoon. Imagine trying to take it on a football Saturday with thousands and thousands of extra cars on campus. It would take 45 min. or more to get from Como and 15th to the parking lots by the stadium. This is a 1.5 mile drive.

3. Take Washington across the bridge, get off on East River Rd, and again join up with the traffic coming from the south on Oak. This is basically equivalent to option 1, except even worse because East River is not designed to handle this kind of traffic.

All the "marching band must go down University" proponents can engender much wailing and gnashing of teeth over their plight, but it's not as simple as the University and the city waving their hands and making it magically happen. There are logistical considerations which are basically impossible to overcome. They would be risking alienating the large majority of Gopher fans by making bad campus access even worse, just to please a small minority who care about the marching band going down University. From a utilitarian standpoint, it makes no sense.

 

[GoAUpher]

3. Take Washington across the bridge, get off on East River Rd, and again join up with the traffic coming from the south on Oak. This is basically equivalent to option 1, except even worse because East River is not designed to handle this kind of traffic.

This isn't even an option as Washington will closed to car traffic before the bridge (at least, that's how I understood it...will try to remember to look that up when I have more time).

 

[dpodoll68]

This isn't even an option as Washington will closed to car traffic before the bridge (at least, that's how I understood it...will try to remember to look that up when I have more time).

It's not right now - I can't imagine it will be at any point in the future because light rail construction is well underway.

 

[GoAUpher]

It's not right now - I can't imagine it will be at any point in the future because light rail construction is well underway.

Double checked the route info simulation for the Wash Ave Corridor (http://www.metrocouncil.org/transportation/ccorridor/video/RouteSimulations.htm) and you are right. The simulation shows cars merging onto Wash before the bridge and getting on to East River Road just after it. Also, the voiceover makes it clear that the transpo/pedestrian only area starts after the bridge.

 

[husker70]

Ok DP, this weekend you have U2 at TCF, The Twins at Target Field, and The Aquatenial Parade. WCCO had a promo with where to park, and how to get to the events at 10 P.M. You know either Police, off duty police will be out directing traffic. All I am asking is 15-20 minutes on University Avenue. If the March begins 1 hour before game time, get your car parked and enjoy the March to TCF. The analogy is spot on. In this instance we have the Police facilititing 3 events, and just telling us no.

 

[Go4Broke]

Ok DP, this weekend you have U2 at TCF, The Twins at Target Field, and The Aquatenial Parade. WCCO had a promo with where to park, and how to get to the events at 10 P.M. You know either Police, off duty police will be out directing traffic. All I am asking is 15-20 minutes on University Avenue. If the March begins 1 hour before game time, get your car parked and enjoy the March to TCF. The analogy is spot on. In this instance we have the Police facilititing 3 events, and just telling us no.

It is not the Police who are saying no to the U. The people saying no are the Minneapolis Neighborhood Organizations surrounding the U. The Police take their orders from the Mayor and City Council, and the Mayor and Council never make decisions on parade routes, street closings, etc., without consulting with the Neighborhood Organizations. That is also the reason for the restrictions on tailgating in private parking lots along University Avenue near the Gophers Stadium. It goes without saying that the Neighborhood Organizations in Minneapolis are extremely powerful.

 

[husker70]

I find it odd AD Joel Maturi said it was the police who said no. If it is a Neighborhood Orgainization, then we need to find out who represents this group, and explain again it is 7 Saturdays a year, and the march last time I check is on the University of Minnesota Campus. Is the neighborhood group actually the University itself?

The model of how to get this done was the experience of De Lassalle High School wanting a home football field on Nicollet Island. They were able to overcome the City Council, Phylis Kahn and the neighborhood. They were able to get it built. So there is a way, its a matter of want to. I would hope Coach Kill will go 8-4 and uses a little of the PR to get this done. I would think there are several big hitters who bought into the idea of the on Campus Statdium either implied or was promised to bring the Band back down Univeristy Avenue.

 

[Go4Broke]

I find it odd AD Joel Maturi said it was the police who said no. If it is a Neighborhood Orgainization, then we need to find out who represents this group, and explain again it is 7 Saturdays a year, and the march last time I check is on the University of Minnesota Campus. Is the neighborhood group actually the University itself?

The model of how to get this done was the experience of De Lassalle High School wanting a home football field on Nicollet Island. They were able to overcome the City Council, Phylis Kahn and the neighborhood. They were able to get it built. So there is a way, its a matter of want to. I would hope Coach Kill will go 8-4 and uses a little of the PR to get this done. I would think there are several big hitters who bought into the idea of the on Campus Statdium either implied or was promised to bring the Band back down Univeristy Avenue.

Maturi probably said it was the police who made the decision for the sake of simplicity. Here is the probable scenario of what might have happened, or will happen if this matter is pursued in the future.

1. U requests a permit to close University Avenue for the marching band prior to football games.

2. Permit Request forwarded to police and fire departments, other interested city departments/offices, and any City Council Members whose districts might be impacted by it.

3. City Council Member(s) request the affected Neighborhood Associations (their might be more than one) to put the matter on their future meeting agendas for discussion.

4. Neighborhood Association(s) schedule their meetings and invite the U and other interested parties to make presentations in support of the Permit Request. There will probably be several objections to closing University Avenue but the primary one will be possible delays for emergency vehicles (police, fire trucks, and ambulances). Most of the residents and property owners within the district will find a delay of ANY length to be totally unacceptable. They will be very reluctant to agree to alternate routes that will require emergency vehicles to go even one block further to get to the emergency destination.

5. Neighborhood Association(s) vote on the permit request and forward the results/recommendations to their respective City Council Members.

6. City Council Members make their decision based on the input they receive from City Departments/Offices and Neighborhood Associations. They will almost never override the vote of the Neighborhood Community Associations because they are the people who got them elected them in the first place. Their jobs absolutely depend on keeping the Neighborhood Associations happy.

7. Other Council Members will NEVER interfere with a decision made by a fellow Council Member about strictly local matters within their districts.

 

[Spin Your Head]

A question was raised by the UMMB facebook page -


"Question for you UMMB fans - how does a plaza pep rally start time of 75 minutes before kickoff instead of 2 hours sound? (If we build it, will you come?)"

I know some of the discussions on this thread focused on the plaza show timing.

 

[gopherguy05]

Ok DP, this weekend you have U2 at TCF, The Twins at Target Field, and The Aquatenial Parade. WCCO had a promo with where to park, and how to get to the events at 10 P.M. You know either Police, off duty police will be out directing traffic. All I am asking is 15-20 minutes on University Avenue. If the March begins 1 hour before game time, get your car parked and enjoy the March to TCF. The analogy is spot on. In this instance we have the Police facilititing 3 events, and just telling us no.

And if you have heard anything about the absolute cluster-f that it was to try and get out of stadium village Saturday night, imagine that but getting in. I don't think the U likes the idea of half of the crowd not getting into TCF until midway through the second quarter. Hense why University Ave will NEVER be closed.

There are many other battles worth fighting that are much more winnable....we really should take up those causes rather then beating this dead horse.

 

[JoeDirt]

With all due respect, this is a terrible analogy. People in downtown Minneapolis are there for a thousand different reasons, with a thousand different places to go, and a thousand different ways to get there. Nearly everyone coming to campus on a fall Saturday is coming there for one reason, all with one and the same place to go. In the past, there have been two ways to access Stadium Village from the west: Washington and University Aves. Now, with Washington forever closed to car traffic, there is one. And if you close University (even for 15-20 min., which in actuality would be more like an hour) there are 3 options for people coming from the west, each more undesireable than the last:

1. Take 94 and join up with either the traffic coming from the south on Oak, or go over to 280 and join the traffic coming from the east. These are not terribly bad options, but there is already excessive traffic on those roads, and adding a significant amount from the west would make things even worse.

2. Get off on Stinson (an extra 7-8 mile detour for those coming from the south, no less) and come into campus on 15th Ave to 5th St. This is an unwieldy and awful route to take on a random Tuesday afternoon. Imagine trying to take it on a football Saturday with thousands and thousands of extra cars on campus. It would take 45 min. or more to get from Como and 15th to the parking lots by the stadium. This is a 1.5 mile drive.

3. Take Washington across the bridge, get off on East River Rd, and again join up with the traffic coming from the south on Oak. This is basically equivalent to option 1, except even worse because East River is not designed to handle this kind of traffic.

All the "marching band must go down University" proponents can engender much wailing and gnashing of teeth over their plight, but it's not as simple as the University and the city waving their hands and making it magically happen. There are logistical considerations which are basically impossible to overcome. They would be risking alienating the large majority of Gopher fans by making bad campus access even worse, just to please a small minority who care about the marching band going down University. From a utilitarian standpoint, it makes no sense.

DP, you make good points about the hell that is gameday armageddon....but, I have an idea. I grew up in Shoreview and still go home on friday nights for saturday gameday. On Saturday mornings there is little to zero traffic coming down Snelling Avenue from the North towards Dan Patch (State Fair entrance/St. Paul campus and tailgating). The St. Paul lot has an amazing amount of space for tailgating which will be needed in the years to come based on the development plans around the stadium in the coming years. I could easily come tailgating, take the shuttle to campus whenever I wanted, watch the march down Uni, slam a dozen Sully's, have a smoke while I walk to the stadium, go inside and watch our Gophers b!tch-slap the becky's, and finally storm the field with the axe. All without ever worrying about closed roads or traffic. The St. Paul route is a seriously under-utilizied way in that could really help with alot of the Minneapolis routes.

 

[CrocShots]

F the Neighborhood Associations. Marcy Holmes in particular. Sure you can show up to the meeting, but you sure won't be given time to speak at one. They have, and will always be a pain in the @$$ to the U. They were the ones complaining about the stadium noise.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

Earlier in this thread, I sent an email to Mr. Maturi and Mr. Diem, Marching Band Director, regarding my comments regarding the gameday in and around TCF. I posted Maturi's response but not Mr. Diem's. Here is my response back to them. Shoot them an email voicing your concern(s) and opinions.
********************
Mr. Diem and Mr. Maturi,

Thanks for taking time from your busy schedules and duties to respond to my concerns about promoting a better game day atmosphere for Gopher football.

I am an active participant in www.forums.gopherhole.com and I know there is a lot of interest from Gopher fans to establish new traditions and also preserve those from the past. With the advent of TCF, new opportunities exist but there seems to be a common thread that little has been established to date to create an exciting and fun filled gameday experience around TCF. More affordable tailgating opportunities closer to TCF seems to be the largest concern followed by generating more excitement in and around TCF.

Moving the pregame to 75 minutes prior to KO will help. We usually made the pre-game show at the dome and always enjoyed watching the band march from the plaze to the entrance. I know that Jackie and I will have more incentive to attend this Fall as that will fit better into our day due to the long drive from Bayfield and attendance should improve. But it pales in comparison to attending the Badger pregame at the UW Student Union. We would never miss that.

We all realize the budget crunches of the current economy. I know both of you are considering all possible ways to increase revenues. Please don't sell the season ticket holders short, along with the alumni, in efforts to fund the needs of the march band including the reality of having the band in attendance at a future away game. And please encourage Mr.Kaler to move ahead with getting the legislature out of the way of liquor sales in the suites to generate more revenue which was a part of the original plan in building TCF.

I find it interesting that the OSU band took the liberty to march from Bierman to TCF without pre-approval from the MSP police. I assume the OSU director was not ticketed by campus or MSP police!! >) I commend them for their action which made the most sense logistically in that case. Did anyone hear of any huge traffic jams as a result of their initiative? Maybe that in itself shows what can be done.

Said that, my sister, her husband and son who are huge OSU fans, became very, very excited when the OSU band approached TCF. Once they spotted Brutus leading the way, they virtually ran from our perch in front of The Barn, where we were enjoying a pregame brew, to the curb to cheer them on. That is what this is all about; enthusiasm and excitement. A magnet affect. I know we would do the same if the band made an appearance at Kinnick or Camp Randall. Frankly, we find little to cheer about in and around TCF and hope that changes soon. Like I said about pregame two hours before kick-off, "we really didn't care if we missed it."

Please do not bury efforts to bring back the march down University Avenue. Rather, consider how effective that could be in creating excitment and atmosphere compared to doing pregame at the Plaza. In my opinion, the comparison would be heavily weighed on the march versus the poorly attended pre-game at the Plaza. Consider trying that approach one time and see the response rather than assuming that there isn't....."(Mr. Diem) an advantage of any kind to bring that back." or accepting "(Mr. Maturi) we hoped to restore that tradition but were not given permission by the Police to do so, and with construction............" I refuse to believe nor accept that for such a short time period. The city closes of other areas of the city for events.. Or do a practice run. Maybe a poll of season ticket holder may be a way to determine the interest of the fans. In my opinion, this would be a worthy project for Marketing, which could certainly use some input rather than assuming they know the needs and desires of the fans.

Not being aware of the hierachy and planning in relation to game day, it seems as if the Marketing Department carries a lot of weight in decision-making. I realize that teamwork is important but can't one of you, or both, just say that Sweet Caroline will be played between 3rd and 4th quarter?. Mr. Maturi wrote that "You don't want me making that decision. Yes I do Joel. Just do it!! End of discussion!! Funny how the OSU band just did it. Anyone can see that the playing of Sweet Caroline is one time where all fans, young and old, really get into it. To me that would be one new tradition that could easily be established. Fans are anxious and eager to get involved which is hard to do considering all the promo activity for revenue generating reasons during breaks that greatly takes away from the atmosphere. And keep pushing for more band time Mr. Diem as fans much prefer hearing your wonderful band.

Finally, we have to be more creative when it comes to getting more student involvement. Sure winning will help and that in itself would solve many issues. But people need a reason to attend and not just winning. The Oak Street focus may help. Once again, more tailgating opportunites comes to the fore front with this issue both for the students and other fans.

Sorry Mr. Maturi, but I do not agree that "I believe we are headed in the right direction." Maybe in terms of revenue but not in terms of producing an improved gameday atmosphere. There are times when I make decisions operating my business that are in the best interest in creating better customer relations over increased revenues. I believe that it is necessary to take steps to give people good reasons, other than dollar related, to use our services. We don't just promote our business but we promote the Bayfield area as a whole. And it has worked for us as we are still in business during these difficult times as our clients appreciate and value what we have to offer.

Thanks for all your efforts with these issues and I hope that we continue to make progress in making the University of Minnesota the place to be on Saturdays. We are excited to have Coach Kill on board and will be there as we have for many years.

 

[dpodoll68]

Why do people insist on equating downtown traffic/road patterns with the University?

I'm not saying it inherently cannot be done, but anyone who has spent 5 seconds on the University campus can see that it is an entirely different animal. It's even worse when one of two main arteries into campus is forever closed to commuter vehicle traffic. The two are so different so as not to even warrant comparison. One may as well say, "Well, they close down parts of New York City for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, so why can't we do it here at the University?

Please, please, please argue your point from a different angle. This is a terrible point and has no relevance to anything University-related.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

In reply to everyone who mentions the OSU band. They did not march down University Ave, they marched down 5th Street.

 

[Trojan Princess]

Every other band has to get the money as well....do they get more from the Athletic Dept? I know we are not pulling in the same revenue as OSU, MICHIGAN, PSU, etc...but heck if NW and Indiana can do it, why can't we? I think the band kids have enough on their plate and don't need to be doing fund raising for this type of trip. I go to the indoor concerts and buy cd's but that ain't gonna raise $100K I don't think. I think it's going to be up to the A.D. and the new President but somebody fromt he band program and the A.D. needs to start pushing for this. I don't hear anything from them when I email them, other than the usual $$ excueses, which evidently apply ONLY to MN and not to all the other Big 10 schools.

You have to have strong alumni support, plus the athletic department buy into it. We hold fundraisers and give generously to fund the TMB, it's part of our tradition.

USC sends some form of our band (50-100 members) to every away football and basketball game, with all 300+ members sent to South Bend every other year. tOSU did not send their band to the Coliseum, and we were very disappointed...couldn't believe a university that huge (with public funds) could not even send some form of their band to Southern California, with all that national coverage - the most watched regular season game in ESPN history!

Our band is as much a part of the football program as our players, that's the type of mind set you need to build on and establish....we wouldn't dream of sending our players all over the country to play without them.

And yes, we know that outsiders find our band beyond irritating, and we love it. They're part of the intimidation factor.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

My comment and the following response I received from Mr. Diem, the marching band director:
"4. Consider an annual or semi-annual trip for the Marching Band. Having a visiting band at a Gopher game adds greatly to the atmosphere. We realize funds are very tight. But we are confident that Gopher fans will help with that. We would certainly add a small donation to make that happen with our season ticket renewal if that was made available. And we would drop a buck or two at donation sites within the concourse of TCF for that purpose. We are not aware of any effort to allow the public to assist with fund raising other than a direct contribution to the music program."

Mr. Diem: "Moving this band is an expensive thing to do. Since we are on the outer reach of the Big Ten and those stadiums that are closest to ours have little or no sideline room adds to that expense. We are looking at 6-7 buses, meals, rooms, and given the other stadium set-ups, 450+ tickets need to be purchased. The last time we priced out a trip to WI it was in the neighborhood of $45,000. We get incredible support from Mr. Maturi and the President's Office to make the program run, so it would need other avenues of revenue to happen. I do know some alumni from the band have started working on a potential project to start such a fund, but currently I have other issues to focus our dollars on, most notably the needed replacement of our sousaphone line which will come in around $150,000 if we are lucky. (Big bands bring big expenses.) We will continue working with the alumni to see if we can create a fund for this in the future."

No comparison to what the UM does compared to what USC has going.

"

 

[6 Nov 1999]

The University inquired about doing the band down University when they brought football back to campus. The police/City of Minneapolis said no.

Maybe we should appeal directly to the Twin Cities Corporate Sports Authority (TCCSA) and find out what they will allow and under what circumstances. The answer will be no, no, and no. The last thing Ziggy wants is for Minnesota Golden Gopher Football to offer a gameday / pregame experience which eclipses that which the NFL / Minnesota Vikings deliver. Despite the fact that the Twin Cities are growing, this is an absolutely oversaturated corporate sports market. It is pretty cut throat, especially during a recession. Remember, there is only so much disposable income a family allocates to sporting events. A dollar spent on Golden Gopher Football is likely to represent lost revenue for Minnesota Vikings / NFL football cartel. Best case condition for the NFL / Vikings, Golden Gopher Football vaporizes. Then every football dollar gets vectored into the NFL / Vikings bank account making it that much easier for Ziggy to raise ticket prices. How many members of the Minneapolis City Council are in Dr. Eric Kaler's pocket? How many members of the Minneapolis City Council are in Ziggy Wilf's pocket? By the way, how well has Arizona State Sun Devil football fared ever since the ASU regents sold their soul to the Sun City Corporate Sports Authority (SCCSA) allowing the NFL / Cardinals to play in Sun Devil Stadium while the NFL / Cardinals were building the University of Phoenix stadium? How many pieces of silver did these Judas Iscariots get?

 

[6 Nov 1999]

As a longtime and now former member of the UMMB, I have a very clear picture of some of the logistical issues that go into the various ideas. There are other problems on our end of things that go with the University Ave. March. Consider the strain that would be put on the students with a longer march. The stadium is further away from the best logistical place to start the march Church Street. This means that the students have much further to go to get around the back of the stadium and into the tunnel. After only a short time to rest and reset for pregame, the students would then be marching a longer and much more challenging pregame show than what the used to march in the days of memorial stadium. (If you poll the band, not a single person would vote to shorten pregame for a parade.) On top of that, the students would have to walk from the stadium, up to Church Street, and then march to TCF. Not only is this even more work, but then the band has that awkward experience of walking around out in public, in uniform, not marching as a group. This has the appearance of being disorganized. Before someone suggests busing, it costs about $5000 to bus the band anywhere on campus connectors, even more on coaches which the band and the University do not have the money for.

Right now our best option is the Gopher Victory Walk and Plaza Performance that we do before each and every home game. The more people out there before a game, the more fun the event is for everybody.

I don't mean for this to sound like an angry rant, so I apologize if it comes off that way. I felt that maybe an inside view could help clarify some of these issues.

Exactly. General George S. Patton should never have ordered the Third Army on a forced march toward Bastogne in December 1944. A solution to this problem might be to drop the word "Marching" from the Minnesota Marching Band.

 

[6 Nov 1999]

it only applies to the U of M because we have a moron of an A.D. who has a hard-on for over-supporting non-revenue sports at the U of M at the expense of the one's that matter the most to both the U of M and the public as a whole. a fool of an A.D. who would rather field 25 varsity men's & women's sports when the only ones who bring in revenue are football, men's basketball and men's hockey.

you want to know where your band road trip money is going/went?? along with money from the overall football, men's basketball and men's hockey programs?? take a look at the non-revenue sports and that is where you will find most of it sitting. money that the football, men's basketball and men's hockey teams brought in themselves. most learned folks would call it classic income redistribution if you were looking at it from a government policy perspective....guessing maturi is a solid liberal democrat.......just teasing......as i don't want to get into political affiliations.

i guarantee there could be money available for our band to make at least one road trip per season. but silly, protect the non-revenue sports, A.D. guy would rather make sure the women's rowing team has a nice new multi-million dollar boathouse for a super-niche sport that virtually no one in the big ten...or the country for that matter.....even cares about.

there are non-revenue sports apologists on here who will try to say that i am wrong, but i have a pretty good feeling i am right. it is just another example of football, men's basketball and men's hockey once again being over-leveraged in support of the non-revenue, olympic sports at the U.

This Minnesota Golden Gopher sports business model has been reviewed, adjudicated, approved, and endorsed by all members of the Twin Cities Corporate Sports Authority (TCCSA) to include the NFL / Vikings, MLB / Twins, NBA / Timberwolves, NHL / Wild, WNBA / Lynx, St. Paul Saints baseball, and even the Minnesota RollerGirls. This business model is designed to spread our revenue as widely and thinly as possible, encouraging Gophers to be jacks of all trades, yet excelling at nothing.

 

[CrocShots]

I would, at the very least, love to see the band pop into the bars and even around the neighborhoods and down row for pregamers.

 

[Go4Broke]

This Minnesota Golden Gopher sports business model has been reviewed, adjudicated, approved, and endorsed by all members of the Twin Cities Corporate Sports Authority (TCCSA) to include the NFL / Vikings, MLB / Twins, NBA / Timberwolves, NHL / Wild, WNBA / Lynx, St. Paul Saints baseball, and even the Minnesota RollerGirls. This business model is designed to spread our revenue as widely and thinly as possible, encouraging Gophers to be jacks of all trades, yet excelling at nothing.

When are you morons going to get it through your thick skulls? Maturi takes orders from the U's President and the Board of Regents. He doesn't give them They decide what intercollegiate sports the U is going fund. In Minnesota that is the way it will always be. If you don't like it move somewhere else and support some other school.

Whichever non-revenue sports get considered for elimination by the U every high school and youth coach along with every parent, relative, and friend of a child who participates in those sports will send a letter of protest to Kaler, the Board of Regents, the Governor, and the State Legislature. If anyone thinks those people don't pay very close attention to letters from taxpaying voters you are absolutely clueless.

Just take a minute to consider how controversial an issue beer in Gopher sports facilities has been. Here we are going into the football teams third season and the issue is still unresolved. The U tried to eliminate some sports teams several years ago and they are still with us. The total ignorance in GopherHole about the power and authority of the U's Athletics Director is pathetic. The U has never had an AD with dictatorial powers to hire and fire coaches and decide what sports to have. And they never will.

 

[6 Nov 1999]

Desecration of the Armory Grounds and "Iron Mike"

When are you morons going to get it through your thick skulls? Maturi takes orders from the U's President and the Board of Regents. He doesn't give them They decide what intercollegiate sports the U is going fund. In Minnesota that is the way it will always be. If you don't like it move somewhere else and support some other school.

Whichever non-revenue sports get considered for elimination by the U every high school and youth coach along with every parent, relative, and friend of a child who participates in those sports will send a letter of protest to Kaler, the Board of Regents, the Governor, and the State Legislature. If anyone thinks those people don't pay very close attention to letters from taxpaying voters you are absolutely clueless.

Just take a minute to consider how controversial an issue beer in Gopher sports facilities has been. Here we are going into the football teams third season and the issue is still unresolved. The U tried to eliminate some sports teams several years ago and they are still with us. The total ignorance in GopherHole about the power and authority of the U's Athletics Director is is pathetic. The U has never had an AD with dictatorial powers to hire and fire coaches and decide what sports to have. And they never will.

I see. And James J. (Whitey) Bulger did not have John Connolly in his pocket. Nothing in life is so simple as, "...that is the way it will always be." I would argue the opposite, that the only thing that is constant is change. I do not like our sports business model. I did move to another state. I moved around quite a bit after 21+ years in the U. S. Navy. Now I am in Pennsylvania, but not because you told me to move to another state. I am not going to support some other school. I graduated from the University of Minnesota on 22 March 1975, was commissioned an Ensign, United States Navy via the NROTC program at the University of Minnesota on April Fool's Day, 1 April 1975. Therefore, I believe I have earned the right to criticize my alma mater and its heirarchy. After all, I was on the tip of the spear defending their ability to make decisions in their comfortable jobs for over 21 years. While I am at it, who decided to desecrate the grounds in front of the Armory with the Mortenson Construction Company "green house" advertisement abomination which is also blocking the view of our hallowed "Iron Mike?" Absolutely disgusting, showing complete irreverence to our U. S. Armed Forces, especially those Minnesota ROTC graduates who gave their last full measure in defense of their fellow citizens.

 

[RodentRampage]

What in the world does being in the military have to do with Gopher sports. I'm a veteran myself, but this is ridiculous.

 

[6 Nov 1999]

Desecration of the Armory Grounds and "Iron Mike"

What in the world does being in the military have to do with Gopher sports. I'm a veteran myself, but this is ridiculous.

Read Go4Broke's comments telling me to move to another state and support another team. I guess I didn't take kindly to those comments. Secondly, it was not until I was on campus during July 2011 that I first set eyes on the Mortenson Construction Company "living" advertisement desecrating the grounds of the Armory. Excuse me for jumping to the conclusion that construction of this abomination was part of a "quid pro quo" deal linked to construction of TCF Bank Stadium. If this link to Gopher Sports does not resonate with you, than nothing I say will sway you. It is actually an arrogant "living" statement declaring that profits always trump patriotic values and the sacrifices of veterans. It should be torn down immediately.

 

[Spin Your Head]

'Merica!