Observations from The Capital One Orange Bowl
If I am not doing this right...
How great was this season? So great that I attended my first bowl game ever. After waiting to see if we had earned "Priority" to acquire tickets from the University, (spoiler alert, we did not) I perused the ticket sites and ultimately called the Orange Bowl directly and was able to acquire Standing Room Only tickets. Interestingly enough, the tickets were $225 plus a $100 charitable gift to their foundation. At least that is what I was told. The best purchase I made was a Parking Pass in the (of course) Blue Lot.
Observations
1. We won the tailgate. Many more Michigan fans in the Blue Lot, all of good cheer. Not a huge tailgating experience, as fans streamed in over the roughly 4 hours we were in the lot. Met some Dawg fans, two players Moms, who were delightful and fun. A great group from the Michigan class of 2017 with their own Sprinter Van and a driver. One of our sons, his friends and others dropped by. So much fun. The Michigan Difference!
2. Hard Rock. An open air Metrodome. That is all.
3. Sparkles. Georgia fans were perhaps the most bedazzled I have seen. The sparkle quotient was high, and they were often much better dressed than Michigan fans. Not gonna lie, thought it was fun.
4. The moment I wished I had not engaged with the enemy. On a good day, I can be gregarious, and on a day with a few cold ones in me, I am down right charming. In our SRO seating, where I was able to secure my bride a barstool type chair and a place on the railing, we were positioned right next to a group of 5-6 Georgia fans, a mix of husbands and wives, probably late 40's to early 50's. Right around Kickoff, I tapped the closest dude on the shoulder and wished him good luck, etc. He grunted his affirmation. As the Dawgs first drive unfolded, I made another comment about their excellent tight end, Bowers. That began a steady stream of facts, heights, weights, 40 times and backstories of every f%^*$# Georgia player. All while my team could not find its rear end with both hands. Huge mistake.
5. Better seats. Our 28 year old son had secured nice seats for the game, section 116, and was on the lookout for no-shows for us. By halftime, I realized I knew more about the Bulldogs than the Wolverines, thanks to my "Rainman" like Georgia new buddy, and it was time to leave. Great news? We now had fantastic seats. Not so great news? It was 3-27.
6. Running into my old Boss. Apropos of nothing...but I had a fantastic old boss who played for Georgia. Now about 70, he and I talked about the game and I knew he would be there but I had too much going on to meet up beforehand. Wouldn't you know, as we were entering the section of our second half seating, we bumped into he and his son and had a great visit. Serendipity.
7. Georgia Fans. Like OSU fans, they wear a lot of red. Unlike OSU fans, they did not hate us or have any reason to do so. They have a chip on their shoulder regarding Alabama, and as such, we are kindred spirits. It felt as if they were mildly amused playing us, that it would not be a real test for their squad. And it sucked how right they turned out to be. Just as I started to feel a building sense of relief when we began to dominate the Buckeyes, their solace at knowing they were going to win the game, and in a fairly easy fashion, was palpable. And that, friends, was almost as bad as losing the game.
8. Best tweet about Georgia fans. I tried to embed it and failed. Here is the tweet:
https://twitter.com/sgeorgetter/status/1477161155579756551
As true as true can be. Paste it, it is worth it.
9. Irish exit. Not entirely true, we told a few people we were leaving after it was 3-34. We had to drop of friends at their hotel (south) and then drive an hour plus north to our place, so yes, we left early. And it was the best part of the evening! Home just after midnight. Don't @ me.
10. Post game feels. Emptiness. No desire to scroll and refresh for new content. My enthusiasm was unknown to mankind because it registered zero on the Harbaugh scale. Tired, and sad.
Fear not, gentle reader. I have bounced back. Now, I am grateful for one of the most gratifying football seasons in 25 years. Thankful for the leadership demonstrated by the administration, athletic department, Head Coach, coaching staff and most of all the players. Confident in the future, even though the talent pool remains heavily concentrated in places like Columbus and a few other teams (Hint: We just played one of them)
11. The beginning. I love this metaphor Coach Harbaugh is using. "It feels like the beginning". Saying that after a tough loss, on national television is about as perfect as it gets given the circumstances. Who doesn't want to be part of something good that is only just beginning? Friends, this is world class leadership. This is how culture is built. It is how you define your legacy.
Go Blue!
January 2nd, 2022 at 7:40 AM ^
I noticed that the Stadium was full, except for the seats behind the Michigan bench. Since these were lower bowl near mid-field, I assume the high-level donor seats? No idea why they were so sparsely populated throughout the game (never close to full), while the same seats behind the GA bench were always full.
January 2nd, 2022 at 10:56 AM ^
Yes they are some sort of exclusive club seats.
January 2nd, 2022 at 8:07 AM ^
Sounds like you were actually able to turn a lot of lemons into a little bit of lemonade. Of course, that was last year now! So, it's one day of a new happy new year (ND lost and OSU was embarrassed for most of its game) with lots of Maize and Blue promise for next fall.
January 2nd, 2022 at 9:03 AM ^
OSU came from behind and won a competitive game against a really good opponent. And they did it without a shitload of NFL draft picks they've had all year. Tell me again how they were "embarrassed" for most of the game - I must have missed that part.
Honestly, I thought they were going to be embarrassed even with the guys that sat out. Really thought Utah would run them like we did. But I'll give credit where its due, even if it hurts to do so - OSU manned the fuck up and won a game they had no business winning.
January 2nd, 2022 at 11:33 AM ^
My sense from watching the Rose Bowl was that the Ohio State players thought they could dust off Utah even with some of their players opting out. I picked up a "we should be in the playoffs, but we'll cakewalk this game since we're here" vibe early on. Utah seemed to show the exact opposite.
At the half, the sideline reporter had a brief few moments with Ryan Day. Day was pissed. My guess is he read his team the riot act in the locker room. He may well also have told his defensive coaches to fix things or Day would find somebody better.
The second-half Buckeyes seemed to have a different attitude.
I admired Utah's moxie. Cameron Rising was terrific. Even their backup QB, Bryson Barnes, seemed poised, and his TD pass was pretty darn good.
January 2nd, 2022 at 12:08 PM ^
OSU manned the fuck up and won a game they had no business winning.
Whoa there buckaroo. Utah had converted RBs playing in the secondary and then lost its starting QB in the second half. This, from a team that had already lost three games this season.
OSU avoided embarrassment in the end but this was not in any sense an upset. In fact, they failed to cover.
January 2nd, 2022 at 2:26 PM ^
The embarrasing part would have been losing a single score game after having a ball poked out inside the 5 as you're going in to score. That would have haunted them, perhaps made them feel cursed.
That was the only embarrassing I saw. Utah is a hell of a football team, I wish they'd played with their full roster, same with OSU.
January 2nd, 2022 at 8:24 AM ^
I too was at Hardrock Stadium for the game. This is Steven Ross's, owner of the Miami Dolphins, baby. I thought it was nice. Jerry's world is better. Tailgating was asphalt city and it was hot when we set up around 2:30. Lot was packed and plenty of great football fans - from both sides - all around us. Traffic in and out was surprisingly manageable.
Had an end zone seat snagged on Stub Hub on Tuesday for $260 plus fees, unbeknownst to me till I got there ..... in the M student section. I'm pushing 74 so between the noise, pom-poms, fights over who had which ticket for which seat and who would sit next to which girl, the experience was less than optimum - my son, an M graduate warned me. That M got curb stomped by the best defensive performance I've seen from a CFB team made it seem a lot worse than it probably was. Add to that a lone UGA fan, in his 20s, in our midst that was actually a nice guy but there were fireworks between his cheering every UGA play and frustrated M fans.
Food and bevs were the usual astronomically high priced. For a family of 4, and there was a nice one right next to me, who obviously also got hood winked into buying into the student section, were talking several grand to travel to Miami Gardens, stay in a hotel for a couple nights, eat meals and snacks in the stadium. Wow. Student tickets in the Big House when I was at M (66-70) were $7 each in a season packet. Traveled to the Rose once from Seattle, WA when the tickets were $50 and you could stay at the Marriot in Pasadena for around $60/n.
Times change. Great season for M with nothing taken away from it with the loss to, IMO, the best CFB team right in America right now. Go Dawgs crush Bama!
January 2nd, 2022 at 9:04 AM ^
Fortunately, I had my Capital One card and saved 10% on concessions ;)
January 3rd, 2022 at 7:07 PM ^
You mean Capital One was a leading sponsor? From my seats in section 132, I could hardly notice!
January 2nd, 2022 at 2:40 PM ^
"Joe Robbie" Stadium as it was named at construction is unfortunatley a dinosaur built just before stadium's became caterers to the luxury crowd. They've attempted to correct some things, reducing seating capacity, adding more European soccer stadium style roof and generally upgrading the luxury areas. Its is wholely adequate. But its way down the list of American's nice stadiums.
January 2nd, 2022 at 9:27 AM ^
Thanks for the thoughts. This is selfish of me, but putting out the Bat signal for a season ending "Best / Worst"? Love those.
January 2nd, 2022 at 10:11 AM ^
Saves me a couple grand not to go to Indy.
):
I keep up on MGoblog but do not follow the recruiting gurus.Had occasion a couple weeks ago to ask Tom Seabron what he thought.He said GA has 29 5 sTARS - we have 5 (or 6)mccarthy is one of themDax Hill seemed less than 100%seabron said if you want to beat 5 stars you need 5 stars
great game plan flea flicker was the first call, but the illegal procedure postponed it one playdid not fool GA
both tipped passes would have been first downs, one a TDthe reverse near the red zone was a TD if we just got the handoffthey won because they have better playersthe coaching was equal - we did not get pressure in the first half because they executed, quick passesand staying away from hutchinson
we did not get to their softer (by comparison) secondary until the second halfthen we ended 2 drives with TOs and more on failed 4th downs, usually when mccarthy missed an open receiver during the series
we did not punt in the second halfbut letting them score the first 5 possessions of the game was a hole we could not get out of
Pickens, one of the 5 stars, had 2 catches against AL but was healthy for us
AL has the 5 stars to compete and outcoached GA first timeI think GA wins the rematch - so we lost to #1we all would have taken 12-1, beating Ohio, and making the playoffs if you asked. us last summer
the team played its heart out - though I do not understand getting beat deep the 3 or 4 times that happened.
still great to be a Michigan Wolverine!!
January 2nd, 2022 at 11:39 AM ^
Thanks, it's nice to get a few perspectives on bowl games.
January 2nd, 2022 at 11:50 AM ^
This was the BEGINNING of knowing what it takes to win at the next level. I think back to the Bad Boys Pistons teams of the 1980s. First, the team had to be able to beat the Celtics - it took a few frustrating tries. Then next up were the Lakers who were the class of the league. We had to climb that mountain but eventually did.
After Georgia routed Florida (again) Kirby mentioned something about recruiting (likely a nicely placed stab and twist into Mullen's back) and that no amount of coaching can beat recruiting. You might pull off an upset from time to time but can't consistently compete.
We found our way this year, only to find that there's a league above ours that we didn't have to face (when we last played Bama that team had dropped to the Citrus Bowl for one year). This is a JOURNEY that will take a few more years of great recruiting classes PLUS a few well-placed transfer portals like PSU got for their D this year.
The future is definitely bright but anyone thinking we can scale this mountain in 1-2 years needs to have patience.
I'm hoping Day heads to Da Bears, Luke moves in but has some time to adjust and the Ohio O isn't like it showed in the Rose.
January 2nd, 2022 at 12:07 PM ^
This program has really been in a fog since the tail end of the 2006 season when we lost the last two games with poor defense. A few glimpses of very-goodness (not greatness) in 2011, 2016 (until the Iowa loss), 2018 (until the OSU blowout). 2015 was refreshing because of the previous years but was only the beginning of what we thought was coming.
The difference now is that I think we have an excellent coaching staff - something we didn't have under RR and Hoke and something missing in certain spots under JH. But good coaching can't make-up vs. 12 5-stars except in a one-game series where an upset can happen.
What I'm most pleased about now is:
1. We're not afraid of Ohio anymore. That weight has been lifted - even if we lose next year in C-bus, I think we win in 2023 with JJ and Donovan as juniors.
2. We now have a roadmap during the off-season about preparing for Ohio - every stinking day - that was missing before until guys like Aidan and Hassan made it the mantra.
3. The B1G east will become a two-team league - Sparty won't get lucky again with a Walker and PSU looks like a perennial 3-4 loss team under James (finding ways to lose close games).
4. The fans know the impact they can have on the other team's O - witness the Washington and Ohio games where the fans helped cause multiple unforced errors (delay of game, false starts).
January 2nd, 2022 at 2:01 PM ^
So you missed the first TD scored by a Big Ten team other than Ohio State in the CFP?
January 2nd, 2022 at 11:19 PM ^
No. Sirius XM got me.
January 2nd, 2022 at 8:36 PM ^
You aren’t kidding about the bling and sparkles on the GA fans. Was quite a sight to see.
January 3rd, 2022 at 7:23 AM ^
They’re STILL trying to use up all the money they made off free labor all those years ago.
January 2nd, 2022 at 9:52 PM ^
Shout out to whoever recommended Mandolin Aegean Bistro. Great place! Thanks!
January 3rd, 2022 at 9:02 AM ^
Great description. I was there too, and enjoyed the experience and Georgia fans despite the outcome. Btw, "bedazzled" is a great description of the Dawg faithful as I saw at least 5-10 women in identical sparkling red dresses.
I ended also moving down to very good seats that a friend got right before the game -- so good that I recognized two regents nearby.
January 3rd, 2022 at 10:42 AM ^
Great site lines!
But ...............the PA system and the pumped-in music was PAINFULLY too loud and virtually inaudible. All the artificial BS that makes the pro football experience second rate to the college one was on display. Toward the end of the game, they finally appeared to turn the PA down enough to make it tolerable.
This game was important enough to not require this artificial garbage.
You can't even hear the bands play during the game. They need to be amplified.
Constant "no one gives a shit" BS Orange Bowl / Capital One presentation awards to anybody ever associated with the orange bowl game ..................over its entire life was broadcast during every TV timeout. Only a couple had relevance to the fans and their respective schools. Lloyd Carr got an Orange Bowl Hall of Fame award and there was feel good story about a young Georgia fan.
Best positives:
It appeared from the colors in the crowd that 2/3 of the crowd were UM fans!
Great tailgating aura prior to the game!
January 3rd, 2022 at 11:13 AM ^
I also attended the game. Sat in the middle of the Michigan section, and it seemed like it was 65% Michigan fans to 35% Georgia fans in the stadium. Before the game, the place was electric, loud, really fun. As soon as the game started and reality settled in, it was...less fun.
I'll echo the sentiment that every Georgia fan I interacted with was pleasant and humble, but still with the post-traumatic "can't beat 'Bama" syndrome, despite their team's obvious dominance. There was a young Georgia-fan couple sitting behind us (turns out they were both UGA grads within the past year) cheering their team but nothing obnoxious. At half, I told them I hadn't seen a complete defensive (and offensive) domination like that in a long time. He responded, "Oh, they'll find a way to lose this lead." Wow, I thought we were a traumatized fan base.
Just as the OP stated, they have no reason to hate us (U-M and Georgia have only played 3 times total now), and their fanbase seems somewhat similar to us in terms of recent experience, rivals' dominance, etc. Most of America, I believe, would like to see the Dawgs win the whole thing now, and watching that D makes me think they can do it.
Overall, a fun experience, despite the obvious downer of the game itself. U-M will continue to build on this season, I predict, and we'll be back to even greater heights in the future.
January 4th, 2022 at 9:26 AM ^
first drive of the game, third down, we were LOUD! the Bama and Auburn fans in front of me looked at each other and were astounded at how loud it was. Shame that didn't last...
Not sure if they're done handing out awards, felt like every other minute someone was getting a trophy. So much so the crowd completely tuned the announcements out.
The bands were impossible to hear. I was in the M endzone, behind the band and could never hear them. For that matter, couldn't hear UGA's either. it took the college experience completely away.
No Mr. Brightside and no Pump it up... boo.
The announcer cracked me up. Every time there was a penalty he'd just yell, "Flag!". No there's a marker on the field, or flag on the play, none of that non-sense, just "Flag!". LOL
On Georgia's traditions - The dog barking is weird and strange. The announcing of "one of college football's best traditions" and they just spell G-E-O-R-G-I-A was very SEC (basic). Yet, at the end of the third quarter they put up the cell phone lights and do a little motion, that was neat. Why wasn't that their best tradition?
Fun to be down there, disappointing game but amazing season. Congrats to the team and Happy New Year everyone!
January 5th, 2022 at 4:57 AM ^
I sas thinking Hard Rock is more like the old Busch Stadium in St Louis. Or a more closed-up Spartan Stadium. All the charm of a Syrian counterintelligence officer.
January 7th, 2022 at 4:22 PM ^
I attended the Iowa game and felt sorry for all the Iowa fans that made the trek only to absorb that beat down.
I attended the Georgia game and felt sorry for all the Michigan fans that made the trek only to absorb that beat down.
Our consolation was beating OSU and a BIG championship.
Iowa's consolation was a division crown.
I feel you Iowa fans, I feel you.
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