>>>>> " " == Hawkins, Jeffrey N <[log in to unmask]> writes: > Alan Harder writes: >> You also seem to think that all UM fans who have no affiliation >> with UM are fair weather fans. I wonder if this is really true. >> Do the unaffiliated fans drop their UM support when UM is having a >> down year? For example, did these "abrasive" and "obnoxious" >> people suddenly stop supporting the UM football team this year? >> Yes, things have changed. The crowd is now very vocal, and very >> pro-Michigan. They are not outnumbered by any visiting team's >> fans. > I think you answered your own question Alan. Where were the UM > fans when the Hockey team was mediocre? There were none! If the > football team finished middle of the road for a few years, it would > be interesting to see what would happen there as well. I agree that this is would be the true barometer of the fair weather fan. If UM hockey went down the tubes for, say, five years, and opposing teams suddenly started bringing more fans to Yost than the home team, or even if attendance just dropped off markedly, then I would have to agree that the fair weather UM fan theory is valid. Somehow, I don't think that the Big House will ever fail to sell out for a game, no matter how UM is doing. It hasn't failed to top 100,000 in attendance for a long, long time now. > I will admit that I am biased MSU fan extremely, but I still feel > that I had some valid points. We'll see if the Spartans can > finally beat UM at Joe Louis this weekend. When was the last time > MSU beat UM at the JLA? Well, you did have some valid points, especially about the Detroit media. And wow, the listserv must have been behind, since I got this message on Tuesday, and the results of that game have been known for quite some time now. > Jeff H GO STATE! -Alan Harder [log in to unmask] Go Blue!