One of the joys of living in Ann Arbor and within a mile or two of the U-M Stadium is hearing on a football Saturday afternoon the noise of the crowd. You knew Michigan had just scored. And prolonged silence meant things weren’t going well.

Well, those days are gone forever. There was always a twofer in the construction of the corporate sky boxes: added revenue and keeping the crowd noise in the stadium to disrupt the timing of the play calling of the visiting teams. Michigan stadium had always been, unlike Ohio State’s horseshoe, a neutral if not downright friendly environment for visiting teams. No longer. And it’s less friendly for townies, too: no longer does the roar of the crowd and the music of the band mark another football Saturday in Ann Arbor for those not inside the walls.