Michigan Student Section: FAIL

I know it hasn't been easy.  Especially for the seniors who, coming into the fall, have endured the worst three year stretch in the history of Michigan football.  Still, it's no excuse for this...

Where the hell are the students?!

No, that's not the spring game.  It's not the waning minutes of the Minnesota blowout.  And it's not the turnout for some *NSYNC reunion tour.  Sadly, that mass of emptiness in the picture above is the student section in The Big House, just three minutes before kick off of the Purdue game last Saturday.  On Homecoming.  For a team with a then 6-1 record.  Ranked in the Top 20.

Oh, the rest of the stadium was packed.  The rest of the Michigan fans somehow found a way to make it to the game.  Folks who drove in from Detroit, or Grand Rapids, or Flint.  Points all over the state and beyond.  They were there.  But not the students.  Who only had to stumble over from West Quad, or their fraternity, or their apartment off Packard.  They couldn't make it.

How sad.

You'll notice that there is no line snaking down the aisles.  No harried or hungover students rushing to their seats.  Students simply late due to a rough Friday night.  Nope.  Those lines never materialized.  Because it didn't get much better than the picture above all game.  The top remained empty througout.

I know I mentioned the invisible students in our MZone Autopsy of the Purdue game.  But the more I thought about it, the more pissed I got.  And we're not alone.  Brian at MGoBlog had this to say:

There's no reason to sell those people tickets at discounted rates if they're not even going to show up and be loud.

Preach.  You think Dave Brandon wouldn't love to get "X" thousand of those discounted tickets back from the students so he could sell them at full price to fans who will also spend another $100 bucks on food and ugly throwback jerseys each game?

There will be plenty of time to miss games.  When that big project is due and you have to work all weekend.  When one of your so-called friends gets married on a football Saturday.  When your son is sick or your daughter has a dance recital.  When life moves you far away from A2.  Then you'd give anything to spend one more carefree Saturday in The Big House with your friends.  Cheering on the Maize and Blue.

But it will be too late.

So get your asses to the games.  This isn't some 8 o'clock on North Campus.  This isn't IU.  This is Michigan, for God's sake!

(thanks to RG for the pic)