Published November 11, 2005
Maize Rage confident that real fans will support team
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To the Daily:
We are writing in response to Jack Herman's article on the decline in basketball season ticket sales (Cagers see decline in ticket sales, 11/08/2005). First of all, we'd like to stress that Maize Rage is not disappointed with the decision to withdraw the anonymous donation for free bleacher seats this year. Paying a meager $130 for a season of supporting our Michigan men's basketball team will certainly not deter the team's faithful following who bought tickets before the donation and will continue to buy them after - it will only deter fans who are decidedly "fair-weather." This will be best for our team both during this season and for several years to follow.
Financial considerations aside, sold (or donated) tickets don't do our team much good when they are stashed untouched in hundreds of desk drawers until big-name teams come into town. And if students are opting not to purchase tickets this year because they now have to pay for them ($27 less than football tickets and even further below the cost of hockey tickets), they are probably the same students who don't rip a ticket off their package until winter term, when the Big Ten season arrives. Frankly, we owe our thanks to these students who have opted out of the privilege of bleacher tickets - their seats have now gone to louder and more enthusiastic students.
And speaking to those underclassmen, please understand this: Do not take for granted the boon of first-year bleacher seats you've come upon. We are right on the brink of a new era that Coach Tommy Amaker and this year's basketball team are poised to begin. In the years to come, bleacher tickets will be a commodity that only three- or four-year consecutive ticket holders can receive.
Remember too tickets are just pieces of perforated paper until you cash them in for the memories that only college athletics can bring. Use them, and make sure that you leave Crisler Arena with sore legs and scratchy voices each time you do.
Members of Maize Rage
