Since this turned into such a popular thread earlier, with me playing the role of contrarian Defender of the Faith, I thought I'd update you with the basic news (the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan voted the idea down) and my own take on the news.

So, the boys at MGoBlog were not all that far off from all of you in ridiculing the notion of fireworks.  I was mostly an agnostic; not my idea to be sure, but still a seemingly innocuous 'thank you' to the fans for the first season in a lifetime in which we have none of Notre Dame, MSU or OSU on the home schedule.

Two things are clear to me:  (1) The fireworks show was both more, and less, than what many anticipated.  More on that just below.  (2) The Regents (all of whom are elected) seemed exquisitely sensitive to the sort of ridicule/blowback seen here at 11W, and to some extent on MGoBlog.

(1)  What sort of fireworks show did they have in mind?  This is weirder than I had imagined.  I gather that what was planned was fireworks for the team's entrance, just like you guys did (as I pointed out in the previous thread) but also for touchdowns, game-ending, etc.  I am picturing "Comiskey Park meets college football."  This more-actualized description seemed to freak out some of the Regents, as well as most Michigan fans with whom I am in contact.  I'd be a lot less concerned about a grand, separate, postgame show (many of you thought such a thing an unworthy stunt, contrasting it with the select fireworks in the 'Shoe) than some brief shoot-offs before, during and just after the game.  (Again, think "Comiskey Park.")  At the same time, the Athletic Department apparently made the point (a true one) that what was planned was not much different from what was done with fireworks at the big outdoor hockey game between Michigan and Michigan State.  (There were fireworks for the teams' entrance, for goals, the game-ending, etc.)  There was also some talk about opposition from neighbors, which is funny because the local e-paper, AA.com, did a story in which all the locals seemed pretty psyched about free fireworks in the fall.  (Purely coincidentally, a bill was introduced in the Michigan House today, to roll back the recently-relaxed state laws on higher-powered aerial fireworks.  The partisan split has been mostly urban Michigan Democrats against fireworks and rural Michigan Republicans for fireworks freedom.  Some local news outlets are reporting on a lot of post-4th fireworks that has gotten very annoying, and a weathercaster on the local ABC affiliate lost an eye to a fireworks accident this month.)

(2)  I guess that all big state university boards are now pretty political places.  (See, e.g., the University of Texas in Austin, this week.)  Michigan's Board of Regents is no exception.  Some years ago, current-AD Dave Brandon sat on the Board as an elected Republican.  There is a supermajority of Democrats right now.  The Democrats include a very smart and connected corporate lawyer (Larry Deitch), a t.v. personal injury lawyer (Mark Bernstein) and the daughter of Tigers' owner Mike Illitch (Denise).  The Democrats have a seemingly frosty relationship with Brandon.  As a lot of the MGoCognoscenti have pointed out, the sort of questioning and public rejection seen today with this proposal is rare in the extreme.  These things are usually cleared carefully in advance and rubber-stamped by the Regents when public meetings roll around.  (And in that respect, more aggravation for news organizations like the Detroit Free Press, which first reported Regents' meeting the agenda item -- Michigan never "announced" fireworks shows to spur ticket sales -- and which is now suing the Board of Regents over what the Freep thinks are open meetings act violations.  Today's big 'No' vote will, oddly, help the Regents say, "You want to see us deliberate?  Well, you just did...")

So there you go, Buckeyes.  I am pretty satisfied that all of my earlier comments remain valid on this subject.  It was a dubious aesthetic concept, I admitted.  And having heard the unlikely-sounding details, I think I'd have voted "No" as well.  (Reversing what I had earlier felt would be a "Yes" vote as a hypothetical Regent.)  The guardians of traditional integrity at Michigan have spoken.  And as suggested by the 11W commentariat and echoed by none other than Regent Deitch, we expect our fireworks to be produced on the field.