The Football Economy

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Yet other business owners say that Michigan football isn't giving them the boost it once did--partly because the team is not as strong as it used to be, and partly because the economy is so much weaker.

"It's not quite as easy to fill up," says James Koen, general manager of the 197-room Four Points by Sheraton near Briarwood. Koen says his customers are more budget conscious and likely to shop around--so the hotel has actually lowered rates on some rooms during football weekends.

A football weekend is no longer "a guaranteed sellout," agrees Weber's Inn general manager John Staples. To save money, fewer fans now stay overnight--or even for a big dinner after the game. Staples says Weber's even hosts wedding receptions on football Saturdays--something that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

Even at Pizza Bob's, game days aren't as busy as they were three or four years ago, says Pam Pietryga. Still, there's plenty to do--especially since she and her husband, Terry, a radiologist, have season tickets. "I help out until a half hour before the game starts--and then I run" to the stadium, she says. She leaves at the end of the third quarter and listens to the last minutes of the game on the radio.