September 24, 2016
Michigan Stadium (Capacity: 107,601)
Ann Arbor, MI
Michigan Wolverines vs Penn State Nittany Lions
Final Score: 49 – 10
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It was a bucket list experience at the home of one of College Football’s bluebloods as we spent part of the weekend in Ann Arbor. Located in Southeast Michigan about 45 minutes from Detroit, the city of Ann Arbor is the 6th largest in the state with a population around 115,000. That is surprising since it has the feel of a large college town. The University of Michigan certainly is a significant component to A2 as much of the city’s economy is centered on it and the school’s resources help to bring many other types of companies and services. Michigan is one of the leading research universities in the country and it is a Top 40 school, also classified as a Public Ivy. It is a big one too with 13 different departments (colleges/schools) and over 43,000 students. The Wolverines football team has traditionally been a power in the sport as the program that began in 1879 has the most all-time wins in Division I. They have 42 Big Ten titles, several National Championships (the last coming in 1997) and from 1968-2007, Michigan finished with a winning record. The last several years have been disappointing by their standards, but coach Jim Harbaugh has quickly brought the program back to the national discussion. Michigan Stadium was completed in 1927 and the original capacity of 72,000 quickly grew to over 100,000 in 1955. Known as The Big House, it is the second largest stadium in the world and Wolverines fans fill it every Saturday to make for a festive event.
Prestige Ranking: 5 out of 5
Location
Michigan Stadium and the rest of the athletic facility section is about a mile south of downtown and campus. It’s a short drive or lengthy walk and it is well worth checking out both areas. The center of Ann Arbor has plenty of great local shops and restaurants with the amount of variety likely giving somebody a new place to eat every night for a couple months. The bustling center of town eventually leads into the primary campus. A self-walking tour should include the Burton Tower, Law Quad and The Cube. There are several highly-acclaimed museums in multiple fields. Closer to Michigan Stadium is a mix of business and residential, with a few local dive college joints if desperate for a quick bite. On gameday, the main thing to check out is the nearby Towsley Museum. This houses an awesome, modern museum for Wolverine football and it opens three hours before kickoff. Also close-by is a FanFest, the location of the Marching Band’s entrance to the stadium.
Location Ranking: 8 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
A lot of people go to the game. A lot. Therefore, planning is needed for getting there and naturally, traffic can be expected. It will be worse upon departure rather than arrival, since that gets spaced out thanks to tailgating (we hit very little congestion in parking on the main campus 5 hours before gametime). I-94 is the main route to Ann Arbor, but there are several other highways with good access that lead into town, so utilize a traffic app. Each parking area is easy to find and the main one is the golf course, which is where the tailgating can be found as cars fill the open areas not in play. Several downtown garages are open as well and a $3 shuttle will bring fans to the stadium and back. Our choice was the Hill Street Garage, a 20-minute walk to the stadium. It worked well for us, but there were only about 50 spaces left long before game time, so have alternates in mind. All cars need to vacate school lots 2 hours after the final whistle.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 5 out of 8
Exterior
Michigan Stadium was dug out from well below ground, so this is not the giant structure that fans may expect to walk up to, given the capacity. Most of the look is in the form of brick, which is consistent with the other nearby venues as the relatively recent addition of press and luxury towers on each side has led to the brick foundation. Each entrance section has an iron gate attached to brick columns and the center of that gate has a “Michigan Stadium” sign. By far the most distinguishable and photogenic exterior feature is the huge block “M” logo that is on the back of each scoreboard.
Exterior Ranking: 7.5 out of 10
Concourse
Both ends feature outdoor open areas that attempt to let the stadium breathe since 110,000 people is a lot to move around. Enclosed concourses can be found on the sidelines and these have openings on the side to provide light, air and outdoor views. A second, upper concourse on the east side of the stadium helps to provide more options and spread out traffic. These areas look good with various school-themed touches and colors (see displays), plus the opening into the seating bowl occurs higher up and that is nice that fans do not have to climb forever to reach their seats. Nor is there a need to walk miles up giant ramps to reach an upper deck like in many other stadiums. Of course the concourses get crowded during typical times, but the entire area is quite spacious compared to other large stadiums.
Concourse Ranking: 4.5 out of 5
Food
The majority of stands offer a typical assortment of stadium food: hot dogs, sausage, burgers, chicken tenders/sandwiches, along with pulled pork. To find better variety and offerings, only the north end zone will provide that. It’s not a lot, but it’s better as visitors will find Big C’s Barbeque, Wholly Habaneros, a stand with unique Reuben Egg Rolls and Mediterranean food from Palm Palace (I had very good shawarma). There is no alcohol served at the stadium, but the water is free as they had hydration stations providing 8oz cups.
Food Ranking: 6 out of 8
Interior
Michigan Stadium may be simply designed, but there is more to it that makes it a deceptively good stadium and place to watch a game. The shape follows the football field, but unlike other elliptical bowls (Yale, Rose), Michigan’s has a slight centralizing angle at the curves and there is some verticality to the seating structure. Additional sightline positives include a very close distance between sideline and stands, and a lack of impeding luxury suites, meaning all 100,000+ are as close as possible to the field. Despite the capacity number, the stadium does not look like it should hold that many. That means a notable downfall as seats are very tight and there are many seats to a row. Feeling cramped if in the middle of a row is an understatement. Above the stands on each sideline is a large and sleek multi-level box that includes press, suites and clubs. Those boxes came during a 2010 renovation that also included new seats and permanent lighting (the first ever night game was in 2011). Except for a few sections of individual seats, the stadium features blue benches for seating. Embedded into one of the sides are yellow seats that make up a huge “M” logo. Best of all, no advertisements anywhere inside the stadium!
Interior Ranking: 9 out of 14
Scoreboard
This is exactly what I’m looking for in a scoreboard. Sitting above the seating bowl on each end is a board that is large, but not an obtrusive monstrosity. A clear, HD video screen takes up most of the space and the limited blue, open areas have an “M” logo or “Michigan” script. Important game information is displayed at the bottom.
Scoreboard Ranking: 4 out of 4
Displays
In the stadium there are several nice touches, but the prominent displays detailing Michigan’s footballing history are reserved for the modern Towsley Museum, about a 10-minute walk from the Big House. Inside Michigan Stadium, the best place to start is Gate 2, where (apologies for not knowing the right name) a set of Greek Columns displays Wolverine conference and national championships in each sport. A ring sits on the top with part of the fight song inscribed. Very cool. Not too far away in the lower concourse is the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The concourses themselves are great as the outer brick wall includes a plate for each county that makes up the state of Michigan. Various logos and pictures of past players can be spotted throughout the enclosed areas, plus one section has each football national championship. Flags of Big Ten teams fly at the top of the seating bowl as the remainder of the interior is devoid of Michigan honors. The sideline boxes would be a good place to put championship years.
Displays Ranking: 5 out of 6
Cost
As you would expect, it costs a lot of money to attend a Michigan football game. The less-desired non-conference opponents cost $55 to $75 for a ticket, while the two big names on the home schedule this year (Wisconsin and Penn State) range in price from $99 to $130. That is excluding the stupid, high fees attached to each ticket. These prices are slightly on the higher end when compared with the other 6 big football programs in the conference. Parking is certainly on the higher end with $20 for lots that require a long walk or shuttle and $40-$50 lots for the golf course where most of the tailgating is. The program went for $5 and food prices were ridiculously high: $6.50 for a hot dog, $5 for a 24oz soda and $9 for a burger.
Cost Ranking: 3 out of 8
Fan Support
The Wolverines have a streak dating back to 1975 where the attendance has been over 100,000. It was a stretch to believe that number during a few of games in lean years, but most of the time, The Big House is a Full House. Especially with the team good again in 2016, every seat is filled except maybe the top of the student section. Everybody has some sort of blue or yellow Michigan shirt on and the passion for the team throughout the state and even the country from alumni is top notch.
Fan Support Ranking: 8 out of 8
Atmosphere
I had goosebumps on more than one occasion during this game. It started with the entrance of the Michigan Marching Band and their pre-game festivities culminated with the M Club banner at midfield as the players jumped up to touch it as they ran to the sideline. All the while, the band is playing “The Victors”, probably the most recognizable fight song in college sport. The band is great throughout as fans clap/sing to the fight song during the many times it is played. “Let’s Go Blue” is another great little pep tune played periodically and I also enjoyed the fast-paced version of “I can’t turn you loose” that the students have a dance to. The noise during game-play is loud, but the stadium isn’t set up for the best acoustics and the fans aren’t super-crazy, so it’s not near the top of loud college football stadiums. Still, I heard a couple of huge roars and the fans did their part early in the game to crank things up. Things did settle down once the game got quickly out of hand, but that’s when the place turned more festive as we enjoyed a terrific rendition of The Wave as students sped it up and slowed it down. Michigan Stadium’s noise may not garner a perfect ranking, but the overall historic atmosphere along with the band pushed me to a 14/14.
Atmosphere Ranking: 14 out of 14
Other Stuff
Lots and lots of history here as we have: the classic wing helmet that debuted in 1938, the colors of Maize (yellow) and Blue, 6 retired numbers, 5 coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame, 3 Heisman Trophy winners and numerous memorable games. For a YouTube sampling of Michigan Stadium lore, check out: ’79 vs Indiana, ’91 vs Ohio State, ’96 vs Colorado, ’07 vs App. State, ’09 vs Notre Dame, ’11 vs Notre Dame, ’15 vs Michigan State……Michigan’s rivals are Michigan State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. The Ohio State rivalry is one of the best in sport and I saw numerous t-shirts reflecting that……It is unknown where the Wolverine nickname came from as the animal is not found in the state. Also noteworthy is the university does not have a mascot……There were a lot of bees milling around the seating, enough to stop me in my tracks a few times while making the rounds. Be careful if sitting in the stands to eat as these suckers like people food.
Game
Penn State was still struggling from the hard hit the NCAA gave them after the horrible findings discovered in 2011. Even though they came into this game undefeated, Michigan smashed the Nittany Lions. This one was over by the middle of the 2nd Quarter. It was 28-0 at halftime and the Wolverines led in yards gained 259 to 50. Michigan went on to win 49-10 and they finished with a team total of 326 yards rushing and 6 TDs.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
