OT: Michigan Fan Loses G0BLUE license plate
From E**N:
A passionate University of Michigan graduate is booing the state -- and suing -- over the loss of his revered "G0BLUE" car license plate.
Joseph Hardig III said the plate has been on family vehicles for years. But he was told it was assigned to another car owner when he recently tried to renew it at a secretary of state office.
"My dad's passed away. I got it from him. It's meaningful to me. We're just huge fans and love the university," Hardig told The Detroit News.
Hardig, a suburban Detroit lawyer, is asking a judge to block the state from giving the plate to an Ann Arbor man who is also a University of Michigan graduate and lives just minutes from the football stadium.
The secretary of state won't comment on the lawsuit.
Hardig, 65, said he visited a branch office Nov. 4, a month before the plate renewal deadline, and was told "G0BLUE" was no longer available for his Ford Edge.
Blue is a University of Michigan color, and "Go Blue!" is a battle cry and common salutation among Wolverines fans.
The personalized plate now has been assigned to Jonathan Fine and his 2007 BMW, although he said he hadn't received it in the mail as of Thursday.
Fine, 52, said he punched in plate options on a state website and found "G0BLUE" was available.
"I thought it was a mistake at first. ... I'm not actually that excited about the plate," Fine told the newspaper. "I just had to take it. It's more just because it was available."
He said he might be willing to give it up if he can find another option.
"I understand why he is upset," Fine said of Hardig. "If I had a cool plate like that, I'd be upset to lose it."
No link because it's E**N.
December 1st, 2023 at 2:33 PM ^
I noticed that the plate has a zero, not an O - I don't know if they allow both (since that would be easy to confuse).
I have had a Michigan vanity plate for years and I would be pissed if it just got reassigned.
December 1st, 2023 at 2:36 PM ^
Generally states disallow either O or 0 as a valid character to prevent that precise confusion
December 1st, 2023 at 2:59 PM ^
- Only use letters A-Z and numbers 0-9 (symbols cannot be processed)
- Spaces are allowed and are counted as characters
- The letter ‘O’ is substituted by the number ‘0’
That is from the Michigan SOS website
December 1st, 2023 at 4:07 PM ^
D is actually pretty close, and they allow that.
December 1st, 2023 at 5:00 PM ^
Wouldn’t that be God damn blue!?
December 1st, 2023 at 2:34 PM ^
I'm not sure what the lawsuit is for. Emotional harm?
December 1st, 2023 at 3:55 PM ^
This is precisely the scenario the founding fathers imagined when they set up the judiciary system
December 1st, 2023 at 4:47 PM ^
Presumably just to block the transfer. Not all lawsuits are about money, and there's nothing terribly controversial about asking a court to block an administrative agency from acting contrary to its rules (if that's indeed what happened here).
December 1st, 2023 at 2:36 PM ^
Whenever I see a vanity plate I make a bunch of assumptions about its owner, none of them flattering.
December 1st, 2023 at 3:03 PM ^
When I lived in Denver, I had a friend who was issued a standard Colorado plate -- "ASK 269"
She said didn't realize the significance until she was at a stop light next to a car of teenaged boys honking and hollering.
December 1st, 2023 at 4:15 PM ^
So you would not think well of the following plate?
MGOBLUE
December 1st, 2023 at 4:50 PM ^
Really? I always get a custom plate because it doesn't cost much and there's not an obvious downside. What are you assuming?
December 1st, 2023 at 5:00 PM ^
Probably that you’re a self-absorbed douche. But don’t take it personally.
December 1st, 2023 at 2:38 PM ^
Is 3BASE available?
December 1st, 2023 at 2:48 PM ^
Would be an excellent prank Christmas gift for someone...
December 1st, 2023 at 3:03 PM ^
Yes
However, here is a much better one, assuming they let it go.
December 1st, 2023 at 3:36 PM ^
CRYNRYN
December 2nd, 2023 at 9:40 AM ^
DAYTUFF
December 1st, 2023 at 2:38 PM ^
I'm not actually that excited about the plate
Humble flex
December 1st, 2023 at 2:40 PM ^
That would never happen here in Indiana. Once you get a plate, it is yours until you move on. I do not get it. How does this happen?
December 1st, 2023 at 2:43 PM ^
Presumably a clerical error.
December 1st, 2023 at 2:53 PM ^
It was his dad's; technically he did "move on," but there must have been a transition phase in which the plate was not technically passed forward to the son yet and that's when the other guy was able to claim it.
December 1st, 2023 at 3:51 PM ^
Presumably the car went to him when his dad died. He said he went to renew the plates, so as long as they hadn't expired, it shouldn't have gone to someone else.
December 1st, 2023 at 2:55 PM ^
(Deleted)
December 1st, 2023 at 2:55 PM ^
This post resonates with me…
December 1st, 2023 at 3:04 PM ^
Just go with the plate below. Boom, problem solved.
December 1st, 2023 at 3:05 PM ^
I hate the obviously personalized plates that are still impossible to figure out what they’re supposedly saying.
December 1st, 2023 at 3:13 PM ^
Yeah, like
GTOFFMYLWN
December 1st, 2023 at 3:15 PM ^
I just got one that says DON.
December 1st, 2023 at 3:19 PM ^
Who knew that Get Off My Lawn looks like a Welsh place name on a license plate.
December 1st, 2023 at 3:37 PM ^
My old boss had 10SNUT. I couldn't figure it out, so I asked him: Tennis Nut.
December 1st, 2023 at 4:07 PM ^
Showing how old I am, the first thing that came to my mind for 10SNUT was Tan Son Nhut, which was the name of the major USAF base near Saigon during the Vietnam war.
December 1st, 2023 at 7:04 PM ^
I see "10s Nut", I'm not gonna explain.
December 1st, 2023 at 3:14 PM ^
Sounds like a negotiation is available.
December 1st, 2023 at 3:16 PM ^
I think I saw this plate recently in Troy.
December 1st, 2023 at 3:20 PM ^
He can always go with a classic:
December 1st, 2023 at 3:21 PM ^
I mean, "G0BLUE" seems much better than whoever is driving around claiming to be:
December 1st, 2023 at 3:22 PM ^
I'd say there's a decent chance one or both of the parties are users here...
December 1st, 2023 at 3:25 PM ^
Getting OT, but I saw this sweet plate at a local restaurant recently and I am so jealous....
December 1st, 2023 at 3:47 PM ^
My KY plate proudly says MICHIGAN.
When I lived in MI, I had 608LU3.
December 1st, 2023 at 3:54 PM ^
It was actually pretty cool, when I lived in VA, you could get a U of M vanity plate. VA lets out of state colleges have them if they get enough petition signatures, which most states don't allow...
December 1st, 2023 at 3:52 PM ^
Not a huge fan of the "MI"--it's U of M--but I guess it avoids confusion with Miami (YTM) down there in FL...
December 1st, 2023 at 3:30 PM ^
Mr. Hardig and Mr. Fine, I'm sure you're both account holders here. We'll create a thread and CR can mediate this for you on the MGoBoard.
December 1st, 2023 at 3:32 PM ^
How about "B1G CHAMPS" ?
December 1st, 2023 at 3:36 PM ^
I'm genuinely confused how that could possibly happen. If the guy already has the vanity plate, why was the other told it was available?
December 1st, 2023 at 3:47 PM ^
Alright, which one of you guys is Jonathan Fine?
December 1st, 2023 at 3:54 PM ^
Probably the last vanity plate I would expect to see available in this state, no shit he was surprised.
December 1st, 2023 at 4:50 PM ^
Several of my favorites:
A Colorado plate I used to see often on the Chicago lakefront:
URA 2L
A Jeep in Phoenix:
RHUT RO
Another Phoenix plate:
LKBONG
December 1st, 2023 at 5:05 PM ^
My dad had the MGOBLUE plate in Indiana from the mid 80s until the late 90s when he forgot to renew it in time. He felt sick about it for weeks so I get what this guy is feeling.
December 1st, 2023 at 6:09 PM ^
Th university purports to claim a legal interest in the "go blue" mark. (Even if very unlikely to be registrable). Defend your mark! Deny everyone the plate without licensing fees! /s
https://brand.umich.edu/trademarks-permissions/trademarks/