This Week's Obsession: The Best Game
The question this week is a simple one. Of the Michigan games you've attended, which one is your favorite, and what makes it stand out so much?
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Seth: I've got so many Michigan memories with my dad that I can't separate (or I'm just not ready to think about) them, but even if I could it would still be the one when I started going without him that sticks out: The '98 Penn State game.
It was a chilly, kind of overcast, sweatshirty Michigan fall afternoon and I was a first-year flying solo. My freshman year came right after the national championship and the "Halo" stadium expansion, and that meant fewer student seats available with way too much demand. The freshmen were at the bottom of that list, thus I wound up with the option of getting only a "half-pack" or no tickets. Since I went to all the games with my dad and his friends anyway, what did it matter? So it wasn't until the PSU game, when my dad wasn't going, and Steve Kyritz offered me his ticket, that I got to see my first game from the student section. Since I'd been informed not sitting in your seat was SOP in that mass of human bodies, I wound up squeezed and standing sideways on a bench in the 30-somethings.
And it was a hell of a game to do that. That PSU team was very good (they came in ranked #9) and the last time we'd faced them was Judgment Day/Party at Bollinger's House. Michigan was still floundering in the #20s because of the two losses to open the season.
What made the day was each time Penn State got near us they'd get blown back by three sections of 18- to 21-year old raging psychotics possessed of toilet paper rolls and marshmallows. The Nits didn't arrive until later in the 1st quarter, and Michigan blocked a FG. They came down again and Michigan stood them up on the goal line three times before PSU let time expire in the quarter to get the hell away from us (they didn't get in on 4th down either). In the 4th quarter Penn State kept getting pinned deep against us, and the linemen couldn't hear the calls, meaning we were treated to a TFL fest. Michigan won 27-0 and by Mondaywas back in the top 15.
Michigan with my dad was this paced thing we enjoyed like a baseball game while he and his best friend worked through their complicated lives. His standard cheer was a clap-clap-fistpump. PSU '98 was the first time I experienced the Big House as a visceral thing I did with my whole body. I still sat with my dad at least a game a year, but when it came time to sign up for '99 student tickets I was one of the first in line.
The Mathlete: I don't think that was the real ticket, I didn't see the official game sponsor noted anywhere.
[Hit THE JUMP for the obvious answer, a far less obvious answer, and one that falls somewhere in the middle.]
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Brian: There are different answers for this depending on whether you're talking about how I felt in the immediate aftermath of the game or how I feel about it now.
Immediate aftermath is easy: 2010 Notre Dame. I was there, Denard ran towards me on his "shoelaces flapping in the wind" Bergkamp run and dove in that endzone after engineering the drive that didn't seem possible en route to 500 total yards... 500 total yards at ND. I mean, you guys. The possibilities were absolutely endless right then.
We lingered in the stadium as long as possible, finally leaving when the band did. We ended up going in the same direction, so we just trailed them as they did their cadence. By the time we got to some random Indiana Chili's I was completely exhausted and just so, so happy. It was the best time at a Chili's ever. By anyone. I had the best time anyone has ever had at Chili's.
Unfortunately, it just didn't really work out, man. For various reasons from elbows to Greg Robinson to Al Borges Michigan frustratingly wasted that guy, and so there's a bittersweet tinge to those memories.
So let me put on the old man cap and say the obvious one: 1997 Ohio State. Beating OSU to go undefeated and put yourself in position to win a national title with a defensive performance so ridiculously dominant and that punt return was electric. You could feel the crowd progressively lose its mind, relax, and then tighten up again as Michigan raced out to 20-0 lead and then let it slip back to 20-14. When it was finally obvious that no one was getting 20 on this Michigan D, the validation of Woodson--his coronation--was complete.
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Photo credit: Lon Horwedel/AnnArbor.com
The Mathlete: As the non-legacy non-local Michigan fan, I didn't even make it to my first game at the Big House until the 2010 Michigan-Illinois shoot out. I brought my dad with me (decked out in his Kansas State gear everyone mistook for Northwestern) and spent the cold morning tailgating with JamieMac featuring guest appearances by Tim Sullivan (of MGoBlog at the time) and Seth (not of of MGoBlog at the time).
The game itself, well it was something. It turned out to be the last fun moment of the RichRod era. 130+ points, three overtimes and the closest thing to a defensive stand the Greg Robinson era ever produced. There was no Rose Bowl at stake, no Big Ten title. No one knew what the future held but the luster from the Notre Dame game Brian mentioned was long gone, but this was a fun Saturday. Denard had a head injury of some sort and with his job on the line, RichRod threw Tate Forcier back into the fire and still managed to score on virtually every possession.
Within two months Forcier, Rodriguez and [GERG] Robinson were all long gone and everyone quickly moved to forget an ugly era of Michigan football. But it was a great day for my dad and I and one I'll never forget. It was a great day for my dad too and we even made it back to the hotel in time to watch Kansas State throttle Texas behind 9 yards passing.
Seth: "Seth (not of of Mgoblog at the time)."
Of MGoBlog was I, but went I then by a different name.
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Ace: I had much the same quandary as Brian when coming up with an answer to this question—perhaps even more so, since my time in the Michigan student section spanned from 2006-2010, and U-M's home schedule in 2006 was rather underwhelming. Think back on the rest of those years and you understand my plight.
That's an issue, since I'd really like to pick a game from my time as a student. While I was lucky enough to start going to games at the Big House in 1994, and saw such classics as the Biakabutuka game and the aforementioned '97 Ohio State and '98 Penn State contests, my youth-clouded memories of those games are almost entirely reinforced by subsequent rewatchings later in life. Choosing one of them, for me, would be akin to picking the '98 Rose Bowl, and I watched Woodson intercept Leaf from the comfort of my neighbor's living room.
Part of me wants to cheat back a few years before college and pick the 2003 Ohio State game, but that took on much more significance in the rivalry drought to come. (Also, by that point I was truly spoiled by Carr's dominance over Cooper, and hadn't yet recalibrated expectations for this Tressel fellow.) Another part wants to say Under The Lights I or the 2011 Ohio State game, but I worked both of those games; as much as I love my job, it's tough to say my greatest Big House experience came during a game in which I wasn't allowed to cheer.
I'm left with games that were best appreciated in the moment. I considered the 2008 Wisconsin game, the most fun I had in the student section at U-M. The 2009 Notre Dame game came to mind, as did Denard's coming-out party to open the 2010 season against UConn.
In the end, though, I have to go with a game that didn't take place in Ann Arbor. After suffering through The Horror, The Dixoning, and the subsequent questioning of everything I ever thought I knew about Michigan football, I nevertheless joined a group of friends in a caravan to East Lansing, where we were greeted my many a green-and-white "34-32" T-shirt.
Our seats were in two different pockets of the exceedingly confident MSU student section; Spartan students had been given inflatable spears upon entering the stadium, which predictably led to constant poking of the Michigan fans seated among them. Proverbial fightin' words were uttered.* This was my first road game, and it had all the components necessary for an intense, potentially glorious one: an evenly matched rival, a seat deep in enemy territory, and the pure adrenalin rush that comes from willingly being in a place where one may not be entirely safe.
It didn't pay off until the end, of course, but when it did—it's tough to even describe the feeling. MSU scored 21 straight points to go up by ten with just 7:40 remaining. Mike Hart, by far my favorite player during my time as a student, saved the day by recovering a Ryan Mallett fumble when the freshman had to replace a banged-up Chad Henne for a snap. Then RoboHenne activated, floating the most beautiful pass I've ever seen in person to Greg Mathews to bring Michigan within three, then winning the game by lobbing one up for a leaping Mario Manningham.
The stunned silence in Spartan Stadium as State's final drive petered out was my everything. The walk back to the car, heads held high, as we gleefully reminded any MSU fan idiotic enough to bring up The Horror that they'd just lost to the team that lost to that team was wonderfully cathartic. I love the Big House and have countless memories from that beautiful building, but there's something about the road game experience that's tough to top.
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*One such verbal foray by an MSU student aimed at one of my friends—which I cannot reprint here for a multitude of reasons—backfired so hilariously that he was disowned on the spot by his group of friends. He stood silent, horrified, for the rest of the game. Few moments in the stands have been more rewarding than seeing his face go sheet-white when he realized his attempted insult was really a self-mocking for the ages.
and watched the goal posts come down however, the magnitude of the event just didn't have quite the impact on me at age nine as later games would.
If I had a time machine . . .
1) UM 24 - OSU 12
I attended the game with a high school football teammate and his father who was being recruited by Michigan.
This was my first UM game and, of course, the best and in the best seats I have ever sat in Michigan stadium. Our seats were on the east side of the stadium on the 40 yard line, 40 rows up, with many OSU fans around us.
OSU was undefeated, No. 1 in the country riding a 22 game win streak. This was Woody's best team ever. UM was a 16 point underdog.
3 interceptions by Barry Pearson. Numerous third down runs by fullback Garvey Craw getting first downs by only one yard to keep drives alive.
I was shocked at the number of OSU alum who were crying after the completion of the game!
2) 1971 UM 10 OSU 7 at Michigan stadium. Attended as a UM student.
UM Tom Darden picks off a pass with under a minute to play at midfield. Woody thought it should have been pass interference. He ran out on to the field to protest the call. He was so enraged that he tore up the first down marker. The entire crowd in response sang "Good Bye Woody, Good bye Woody. Good bye Woody, we hate to see you go" as the game ended.
It was so cool!
most important: 1998 rose bowl. though most of us thought the victory was a foregone conclusion.
most exciting: braylonfest against msu. close second to ND under the lights and last second TD against PSU after Carr pleads for a few more seconds.
most dominating: 1997 on the road against PSU. That romp was totally unexpected.
craziest: beating illini in 10 OTs after Forcier comes in to relieve Denard. Brabb's last second game winning kick against Wash (2002?) was also pretty crazy considering the too many men on the field on the previous play; missed kick.
best Bo-coached game: defeating defending champ Miami at home in 1984 and picking off Kosar 6 or 7 times. UM ended up 6-6.
yet I think in terms of the depth of feeling it left me with, the 98 Rose Bowl has to top the list. The game itself was really not that exciting, but standing in the emptying bowl beneath the San Gabriel mountains as the band played the postgame show, the gravity of what I had just witnessed (over the course of the whole year) started to hit me (and my dad, brother and one of my best friends). We just stood there silently, with smiles on our faces, not really knowing what words we could add to the situation that could make it any better. The only thing I can equate it to is seeing a sign at Joe Louis after the Wings won their first cup in 40+ years in 97 that read: "Now I can die"
In terms of exciting game, I don't know if anything can top UTL I, although Braylonfest was close, and I was fortunate to watch us win two nailbitters in the Snakepit in Columbus in 88 and 90 as a UofM student. The sheer loudness of the stadium since the renovations has made a big difference.
That being said, there are probably two dozen games I could see people making a reasonable argument for. One of the things that I love the most about having season tickets for so long is that it seems to me that in almost every year, even really bad seasons, we've had games where you walk out of the stadium feeling grateful that you were able to witness the game in person. 2008 was a horrible season, the Wisconsin game that year was magical.
I live in Ohio so we simply must win that one. I've only attended two losses to OSU: 2001 and 2005, which sucked.
2002 Michigan State was good. The margin was almost enough.
I watched UTL 1.0 from my living room. It was awesome and I don't think I could have handled the strain in person. The two late Michigan TDs were at the far end from my usual seat, so that wouldn't have helped.
UTL 2 was on my birthday, a beautiful evening, and following some pregame jitters I was never really worried that we were going to lose. Plus: chicken dance.
1988 vs. #1 "The U"
One week earlier, Mike Gillette provided our own horrific version of wide right, missing a 45+ yarder in South Bend by inches as time expired. ND won the game b/c a Hawaiian Hobbit masquerading as a leprechaun named Reggie Ho kicked 32 FGs.
The following week was the home opener, on September 17 (!), against the Fighting Jimmy Johnsons. Michigan dominated the game for the first 53 minutes, taking a 30 - 14 lead into the 4th quarter. When Miami got the ball with about 7 minutes left, the entire stadium (not just us in the student section) was singing "Goodbye."
53 minutes of the greatest in-person game of my life was subsequently followed by 7 minutes of dong punch, followed by a funeral procession walk home. Hoover street looked and sounded like the Hearing Impaired New York Marathon.
As an aside, later that season, the only blemish was a tie at Iowa when we put in Tracy Williams to go over the top for the winning TD (not Tony Boles, LeRoy Hoard, or Jarrod Bunch, or hell even Allen Jefferson). Williams pulled a Charles White, except the refs got it right. Iowa took over, ran out the clock, and secured the tie.
Michigan went on to win the Big Ten and the Rose Bowl and was, in my opinion, the best team in the country. Talk about being a few plays away from a national title. if Gillette makes the kick, we recover one onside kick against Miami (YTM), and Williams doesn't fumble...
Alas, this was the M.O. of Michigan Football under Bo Schembechler.
Heh - "dong punch" is a perfect term for that Miami game. I was at the ND game in South Bend the week before, and while there, I, being stupid and sitting in the ND student section, got taunted a lot (you don't say!). The real culprits were two a-holes wearing Wisconsin gear who said they were on the Wisconsin football team (Wisconsin did not play that weekend). I laughed at them, and warned them what was going to happen to them in a couple of weeks in Madison, never mind the result of the Michigan-Notre Dame game.
So, we lose to ND and Miami, play and beat Wake Forest in a boring game, and head up to Madison. We pounded Wisconsin, 62-14.
OK, enough - best game I attended that we won IN ANN ARBOR was the UVA game in '95. I was so spoiled by winning during my time at U-M that a lot of the games were not that exciting. One fun game was when we beat Illinois in the aforementioned '88 season to clinch the B1G title. We rushed the field and picked up pieces of the Astroturf.
Best game I attended anywhere was the 2000 Orange Bowl, despite a massive hangover.
The question is not limited to football ("Of the Michigan games you've attended, which one is your favorite, and what makes it stand out so much?"), so I won't confine my answer to football.
The best Michigan sporting event I've ever been to is a no-brainer: 2002 Regionals at Yost. Michigan beating St. Cloud on Friday (the legendary Molly game) and the win over Denver on Saturday to send Michigan to the Frozen Four are two of the better games you'll see anywhere in any sport. Saturday's win over Denver had the building shaking and louder than I've ever heard Yost or any other Michigan venue. Hard to imagine that will ever be matched at a home game, since the regionals appear unlikely to return to Yost anytime soon (and the student section is a shadow of its former self).
is synonymous with football and despite the thrills I got from watching the '89 NCs in bb, it's easy for me to remember the game that gave me the most satisfaction. It was the MSU game the season immediately following the "infamous clock-gate" in EL. I looked at an MSU fan and told him, "State will pay for that for a long time." He responded with a look and made a statement that basically told me I was full of _ _ it. So it was definitely a gas to watch those poor suckers in the green and white get annihilated the very next year starting a run I believe that lasted for seven consecutive years.
series at Yost around 89 or 90 ish, supposedly the birth place of the C'Ya chant. Electric atmosphere that day.
They were a clear favorite and were pissed about being sent to Yost to play. They made us use the vistors locker rooms, and bench and wear our road jerseys. They came out blazing and took a two goal lead that easily could have been four or five they way we were getting outskated. At the end of the first period we got hit with a five minute major, and things looked pretty grim. We came out, killed off the penalty, and Matt Herr scored just as he was coming out of the penalty box. Yost went bonkers, and didn't stop rocking for the rest of the game as we went toe to toe with the best team in the country, scoring the game winner with like three or four minutes left in the game. After the game, and in years since, you talk to North Dakota players or fans, and they'll say that Michigan didn't beat them, the Yost crowd did.
What made the game extra fun for us was that the previous game was MSU vs OSU where Sparty was a heavy favorite with Ryan Miller in goal. There were some spartan fans near us talking shit, and I remember the students near us chanting at them, "too dumb to be a Michigan Wolverine" Watching the sparties slink out of there after an overtime loss with their tails between their legs was a perfect appetizer to our game.
Wrecking #1 Miami in 2010 to keep the tournament streak alive:
http://www.mgoblue.com/allaccess/index.html?media=174581
(Featuring one of the few good things Tristin Llewellyn ever did)
Beating Notre Dame (2008) 3-2 after being down 2-0
That ND game was crazy. I wish I could find it, but there used to be a video on YouTube taken from the student section at the moment the goal was scored, and it damn near broke the camera's microphone.
EDIT: Spoke too soon.
Yup, I have that video favorited and originally posted it above but the CBS video captures the roar of the crowd way better. I wish you could have the crowd roar with the video you posted
If we open this up to hockey, the game against BC in (was it) 2005 when Jack Johnson blew the goalie's mask off is up there for me. Early-season game, two stacked teams, and JMFJ literally blew the place up.
dad took me to my first game at the big house. Also my record against ohio is 3-0 (97, 03, 11)
followed by:
The Game 1991 (Desmond)
The Game 1995 (Tim B 300+)
The Game 1993 (upset undeafed OSU) - man that day was cold.
Stopped for dinner on our way out of town and the place went dead silent when we walked in. Priceless.
Easy choice for me.
Mainly because I was there. But I agree with buckley that Desmond's game, 1991 was classic.
Two I suppose are in contention because I was there for each. I simply wasn't at any of the other potential contenders--1997 Ohio State; 1998 Rose Bowl; 2004 Michigan State; etc.
Hands down winner was UTL 1. It was my bachelor party, and two factions in my group of buddies were badly split on whether it should be a day filled with binge drinking, strippers, and possibly illegal activity, or do we tailgate and go to the game. I prevailed and my "party hearty" buddies honored my request.
By the end of the night, the "party hearty" guys didn't have a complaint in the world. Our ears were ringing for an hour after the game and we were all hoarse the next day. When I'm in a crap mood about our team, I'll still watch the 4th quarter of that game which is still saved on my DVR.
A somewhat distant runner-up was 2005 vs. Penn State. Undefeated PSU came into Ann Arbor aganst an unranked Wolverine team. Carr argues to get 2 seconds put back on the clock for he final drive. On 4th down with one second to go, Henne fires a pass to Manningham for the go-ahead touchdown.
The only game I even still remember after all this time is '97 OSU. I was a freshman that year and they had too few tickets for too high of demand so all the freshmen only got half a season's worth. However those half packs still had tickets for every game they just had the seat numbers blanked out or NA or something for the games you didnt have. I had OSU but a lot of the people who didnt simply wrote in seat numbers and the student section was PACKED. I spent the entire game standing in the aisle wedged in like a sardine until I rushed the field (after the cops stopped beating the crap out of the students and just defended the goal posts). It was awesome.
But I'll say Michigan vs Penn St. in 1994
Played golf in the morning at Pierce Lake in Chelsea
Absolutely beautiful fall day, watched a Michigan team come our of the lockeroom at halftime fired up like no Michigan team since. Nearly beat the best Big Ten team I've seen in my 40+ years.
Tremendous football game and atmosphere. Besides the loss, just an incredible day all around
Pierce Lake is one of my favorite golf courses. Used to go there a couple times a year when I lived in Lambertville.
who could forget this game?
I was scanning down the thread and knew based on average age that thisone wouldn't be anywhere near the top of the list, but this was my senior year and the most fun I have ever had at a Michigan game. On top of the fact that nothing in my years of watching Michigan football prepared me for us calling a play like that, we had lost to ND the three previous years (in painful ways -- last second FG, Rocket Ismail) , and really needed to win that one.
This is far and away, Brett Musburger's finest call.
Wow, I had no idea I was one of the old guys on the site, LOL. Shocked no one mentioned the Desmond ND game yet. I was a Senior in High School when the catch happened in 1991, not sure if I had been accepted to UM yet or not...Desmond's 4th down catch was thrown directly at me sitting in the end zone. It was the anti-Michigan play, going for it on fourth down, and going big instead of running it up the gut. Everyone in the stadium was shocked, and all I could think was OMG Elvis overthrew it!! Only to see the crowd rise up as one and go crazy an instant later...I dont think newer fans understand how much ND was our true nemesis for much of the 80s and 90s. They would seem to luck out against us every freaking year, it was heart break after heart break.
I went to all the home games that season and had to sit through the rocket returning TDs during my last ND vs Michigan game.
This is the game for me too. I was surprised to get so far through the thread before it was mentioned. I was at Michigan from '89 to '93 and it was the loudest I ever heard the stadium.
Maybe I'm just remembering it wrong, but it seemed like ND always beat us back then after we outplayed them. We HATED Notre Dame. Many of us hated ND more than OSU! (This has since been wholly rectified).
That was another game that felt like we should be up by 20 but it was super close. That diving catch is one of my clearest memories of those 4.5 years.
1984 against then-national champions Miami Hurricanes. Having never experienced a Michigan game before, it capped an overwhelming first week away at college - being a rural kid from a one-police-car-one-stoplight village in upstate New York. Bernie Kosar was intercepted 5, no, maybe 12 times and Harbaugh was just beginning to show his awesomeness. First experience with the Michigan marching band, the wave and, of course, talk of a national championship... crushed a few weeks later when Harbaugh broke his arm against MSU.
2nd place: '85 OSU in AA. Freshman year, 1st OSU game, one of Bo's best teams, Harbaugh to Kolesar for 70+ yds and a 27-17 win
There are several to choose from, incluidng 1986 wins at both Notre Dame and OSU that me and my buds watched from portable bleachers tucked in the corners. Ohio's field was so crowned, we couldn't see anyone's knees and below when they were at the other end of the field. Both were wins when the enemy missed desperate field goals at the end of the game.
The 1985 OSU game was cool too, when Earl Bruce single covered John Kolesar, not knowing he was the fastest guy on the team. Advance scouting has evidently advanced since then. There was an Iowa game won at the end during that era where we all charged the field afterwards and then wondered what we were supposed to do.
There's some random Sparty game before then that my Dad took me to in EL. We ate at some diner afterwards. The waitress figured we went to the game, and said, "Oh, wasn't that a shame", and my dad just cracked up and said "No."
But, in the end I have to go with UTL uno that I watched with my daughter. A couple nights ago, I called her down, and we watched the 4th quarter again on BTN.
1981 vs ND. We were preseason number 1 but got upset the week before on the road at WI. ND was number 1 and we whipped them at home. I remember all the talking heads saying Michigan was overrated and ND was suppose to win by 10 points at Michigan stadium! One of Smith's better games at QB. The 70 yard TD catch by carter was quite exciting! Foust never recovered after thsi loss!
1970s: My first game, Navy 1976. 70-14. I remember learning my 7's in the times table that dayt (I was 6). What surprised me, looking at the box score just now, was that Michigan only scored 9 TDs that day. While they did manage the 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70 progression the normal way, the second seven points came from two safeties and a Bob Wood 51 yd. FG.
1980s: Iowa 1986, 20-17. (M #4, Iowa #8) My step-mom was a graduate student, which back then somehow entitled you (well, her) to Section 23 tickets. I went with my friend, who was friends with Shemy, who saw us and waved us down to the bench for the last five minutes. Couldn't see a thing, but we ran on to the field, slapping helmets, to celebrate Gillette's gamewinning FG as time ran out.
1990s: Notre Dame 1991. (M#3, ND #7) Tickets were diametrically opposite the Howard catch, but my then-girlfirend (now-wife) said her celebration was like flying -- I guess I had picked her up right as she jumped, and continued to jump myself. (My 44-year old back winces just thinking about it now).
2000s: Notre Dame 2009. The first of the string of last-minute UM wins in the ND series. Didn't think the drama could ever be topped.
2010s: UTL, And then it was. I can still feel the electricity from that game as an almost physical memory.
FWIW, OSU 2011 came awfully close, and would have been #1 in any other decade. OSU 2013 was this close to being the #1 overall, too.
"GiveItToWheatley" - 1993 Rose Bowl
"Carter Scores!" - 1979 Michigan v. Indiana
Videos courtesy of The Wolverine Historian
2004 game against State with my dad. It was such a huge swing from the low feeling watching State run all over us en route to a big lead to the exaltation of watching Braylon take over and ultimately the fourth down stand by the defense that ended the game. What a great evening!
What a horrible, wonderful question. Trying to pick a favorite game is like being asked which of your kids you like best. Still, there are three that stand out for me.
- 1979 Michigan vs. Indiana. I was a Junior, had decent seats, and was dejected as we anticipated a loss in the last few minutes. The stands in the student section were emptying out, and my two roommates had already left the stadium. I chose to stay til the bitter end. I was rewarded with the single most electric moment I ever witnessed in a game.
- 1993 Rose Bowl vs. Washington. At the time, I was a pastoral intern at a church near Pasadena. On Christmas morning, the church I served gave me three tickets to the Rose Bowl. That was the best adult Christmas gift I ever received. (I still have the blue Pasadena street sign "Michigan" that someone gave me with the tickets.) Going to the parade in the morning, and to the game in the afternoon, a glorious win, is something I'll never forget.
- 1985 Michign vs. Notre Dame. This was a night game in South Bend, the first time I ever was on a game road trip. This was the beginning for Lou Holtz. I went to the game with a fellow mgoblogger and a few others, but this was before cell phones were common. Somehow, I was separated from my friend, who had the tickets. What a disaster. To this day I don't know why, but the lady at the will call window took pity on me. Somehow, she had a ticket in the Michigan player family section that she just gave me, gratis. It was an awesome seat. Michigan hung on to win a nailbiter of a game on the road. I never did see my friend that night (although we've been to games together since.) But it was an extremely memorable game.
I have been to about ten games in the Big House and have been a Michigan fan for most of my life. This was the first and only time I have gone to a big game. Most games I had gone to were lesser opponents. I did go to see Notre dame play Michigan one time. This specific time was really special though because we beat Ohio after years of being on the losing end.
What made it even more special is that I am from Dayton, Ohio, and everyone in my family are fans of Ohio. That and it continued the winning streak of games I have attended. I have only seen Michigan win in the Big House. Knock on wood that continues.
Love reading all these. There are truly few memories as fond and fun as glorious football victories and reminds me why I'm so irrationally passionate about this football team.
As the child of an alum with season tickets and then getting to be a student for 8 years, I'm not lacking for games to choose from. 97 OSU was obviously incredible, but I was only 11 and didn't have a full appreciate for what I was seeing. Some others that stand out:
2002 Washington: We scored on our first and last plays of the game, pretty cool
2003 Notre Dame: I was a senior in a Catholic high school and half of the other students were bandwagon "required by faith" ND fans. The ass whooping we put on them made school fun the next week. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to follow it up with the OSU game that year because of a hockey tourney.
2004 MSU: My freshman year, I just remind the band playing "Living on a Prayer" over and over and singing louder each time
2005 PSU: Incredibly entertaining game with a lot of weird plays and of course the perfect ending
2006 PSU: Awesome road trip, even better defensive performance
2007 MSU: MSU's arrogance about the Appy St. game made the way the game played out even sweeter. They really thought they had us.
2008 Capital One Bowl: Up until this game, there really weren't too many games in my lifetime MIchigan entered as a decided underdog (sadly this has changed). It was incredible to see the change in the Florida fans as it became obvious in the first half that this wasn't the Michigan team they were expecting. It was a beat down, Mike Hart's rare fumbles on the goal line kept the score much closer than the game really was. Henne was incredible and so were Arrington and Manningham. My entire family was able to go to the game, and the tears in my eyes when Lloyd was lifted up will always make this a special game for me.
2010 ND: Like Brian said, the aftermath of this game was incredible. Too bad our defense forgot how to stop people a few weeks later.
2011 ND: One of the craziest games and unlikeliest wins I've ever seen. An amazing contrast from the last 3 years and actually set the table for an exciting and rewarding season.
Memories like these are what keep me addicted. While there has certainly been more angst around the team lately, I've learned to enjoy the highs and brush aside the lows as much as possible.
Welcome to the board! A plus1 to help you get going.
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