The Game 2021: The win that changed everything
Thought we should take a moment to remember the win that changed the trajectory of the program. 45-23 was amazing, but 42-27 will forever hold a special place in my heart. This was probably the single most important win for the program since 1997, and is arguably right up there with 24-12 in 1969. Like many of us, I literally cried tears of joy as I watched the fans rush the field (which got me in trouble with my wife, who said that I looked even happier than I was at our wedding š¤£).
GO BLUE. BEAT OHIO.
(s/o to parkinggod for the highlights)
November 21st, 2023 at 3:17 PM ^
Ran the ball right down their throats! Look for a repeat performance Saturday.
November 21st, 2023 at 4:15 PM ^
I hope so, but the run game has not looked nearly as good this year. That said, McCord is no Stroud either.
November 21st, 2023 at 8:50 PM ^
Iām not worried about the run game as long as we stop being predictable.
If the box is stuffed we need play action.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:18 PM ^
(which got me in trouble with my wife, who said that I looked even happier than I was at our wedding š¤£)
Was she wrong?
November 21st, 2023 at 3:19 PM ^
I choose to assert my rights under the Fifth Amendment.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:56 PM ^
Smart man!š
November 21st, 2023 at 3:28 PM ^
In a very different way, yes. It was peak fandom happiness. True catharsis. Even happier than ā97 in many ways (probably because I was 14 at the time and didnāt have a full grasp of my fandom yet). After all the years of heartbreak, beat downs, and just never ending hope followed by dread, that was an incredible win. Wish I couldāve been there for it.
also, itās why, even if we lose on Saturday, itās not the end of the world for us. Weāve won 2 in a row. All of the pressure is on OSU and 3rd base.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:35 PM ^
All of the pressure is on OSU and 3rd base.
I agree. Even if Michigan loses, as fans we can take solace in the fact that the OSU fan base lost its composure and (working with a to-be-determined number of others) brought us SignGate. It means a little too much to them.
November 21st, 2023 at 4:50 PM ^
But letās still win
November 21st, 2023 at 3:18 PM ^
(which got me in trouble with my wife, who said that I looked even happier than I was at our wedding š¤£)
I told my wife that it was in the top 5 days of my life and she was like "as long as our wedding is up there too, I get it." Definitely a keeper.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:34 PM ^
I was in the band for Braylonfest and got on TV after multiple TDs.
My wife is smart enough not to ask where that day ranks in relation to our other life events.
November 21st, 2023 at 8:30 PM ^
I literally cried tears of joy as I watched the fans rush the field (which got me in trouble with my wife, who said that I looked even happier than I was at our wedding š¤£)
I think the defense has to be something along the lines of, "Different kinds of tears. Contained within those tears of joy at the long-awaited victory was the release of so many years of pains and suffering; whereas you my time with you is not of pain and suffering - it is has been (and for me shall always be) bliss and pure joy."
November 21st, 2023 at 4:16 PM ^
Better shot of the same event
November 21st, 2023 at 8:46 PM ^
We gave the ārun low to the groundā signs, then knew what was coming, and we tricked those fools!
November 21st, 2023 at 3:24 PM ^
The first drive was almost a complete replica of the first drive in 2019. However, the missed extra-point in '19 foretold despair. Here, it was the interception after the first stop that I thought began the slide down. Never have I been more happy to be wrong.
November 21st, 2023 at 4:41 PM ^
I remember texting a friend who isnt a fan of either team after the first TD to tell him Michigan scored first in 2019, 2017 and 2016 but still lost. Then when Cade threw the INT I told him 'see this is where the slide happens'. I was just so beaten down that my mind couldn't accept that Michigan would beat Ohio State until we got the final stop and started taking knees. When the clock hit 0 it was a rush of joy I've only felt one other time (I'm a Cubs fans so you can guess when). I sat there dumbfounded for hours.
It's only natural that when an event happens multiple times the joy lessens a little bit each time, but somehow every year The Game keeps feeling bigger and more important. Last year it was to dismiss the cries that it was a fluke. This year its to shut up the delusional people who think the last 2 years were due to cheating.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:29 PM ^
I've been to over a hundred Michigan games, but this is the one I'm most glad I was at in person. Was truly a unique feeling in the stadium that day, and it felt so vindicating to finally get that big win.
November 21st, 2023 at 6:24 PM ^
Watching that game, it was very clear that the M crowd was in a very different mood for that game. It was like 80K+ people going through their Network moment simultaneously for an excellent result.
"We're mad as hell, and we're not taking it anymore!"
That could apply to this year as well.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:29 PM ^
First time we realized Ryan Day's OSU was soft and they've gotten softer every year since.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:32 PM ^
It's so snowy and cold. I'm surprised tOSU didn't ask for the game to be canceled.
SO much fun. Thanks for posting.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:43 PM ^
The firm investigating the whether forecast was not as efficient as their current PI firm.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:53 PM ^
As of right now no snow in the forecast for Saturday, but a high of only 37F, so I'm sure that will be cried about if Michigan wins again.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:40 PM ^
There must be a German word to express my feelings that day, because there isn't one in English. Some combination of joy, relief, excitement, and 5 other emotions.
1997 was just pure happiness, but we had always been a good to great team up to that point in my life. I couldn't fathom what it would be like to lose to OSU more than twice in a row.
2021 was sweeter for all the suffering of the past 18 years.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:49 PM ^
Do Germans have words that express positive emotions?
And, being at both 1997 and 2021, 2021 was better for all of those reasons. I know we try to compare years, but 2021 was right there with 1969. I like to think that 2021 is this generations '69 game because it seems to have ushered in a new era just like that game did.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:57 PM ^
I think they do as long as those emotions were triggered by someone else's suffering.
November 21st, 2023 at 3:59 PM ^
I think there is a very solid argument that the 24-12 win in 1969 was substantially more significant.
November 21st, 2023 at 5:47 PM ^
Rich people comparisons.
November 21st, 2023 at 4:00 PM ^
Made my day. Those running backs-Haskins,Corum and Edwards. Those lines-offense and defense. Sanristil on offense. Running it down their throats! What a win!
November 21st, 2023 at 4:10 PM ^
I thought it sucked.
November 21st, 2023 at 4:12 PM ^
Just remember as the clock hits 00:00 and you begin to feel a little sad: with sporting events it's not whether you win or lose that counts, it's how drunk you get.
November 21st, 2023 at 5:46 PM ^
I hope this Saturday sucks also. In fact, I hope you upchuck.
November 21st, 2023 at 4:18 PM ^
which got me in trouble with my wife, who said that I looked even happier than I was at our wedding
I can't comment on your exact situation, but I would guess a key difference is your wedding was planned and expected, and had a reasonable courtship and engagement period that led, somewhat predictably (though not without its ups and downs) to this outcome, and thus did not elicit an emotional outburst of surprise or release of decades long frustration, whereas The Game's outcome was unknown, unscripted, unanticipated, and anxiety inducing, prompting the emotional release in response to the triumph of good over evil.
November 21st, 2023 at 4:56 PM ^
I think it was the most important victory in team history. If you don't win that, I don't know that we win last year. It changed the program. The 20 years prior were hell. It's been resurrected
November 21st, 2023 at 5:11 PM ^
I wrote this in another thread but wanted to share it here. It was truly one of those moments that I couldn't believe I was fortunate enough to be in. I can count the number of U-M games I've been to, in person, on my fingers.
We hadn't been to a game since the ohio 2007 game but decided, at the beginning of the 2021, that we would go. U-M sent me an offer for a ticket pack. One pack included osu and three other games, the other no osu and four other games. Going, and choosing the right ticket pack, might be the best decision I've made in my entire life.
Was so happy to cross "storming the field at Michigan Stadium" off my bucket list. I'm 51 and my wife's 57. I had joked, "you know we're running on the field if we win". She kinda chuckled and said, "We are not." She looked over at me after Haskins scored the last TD and could see in my eyes, "Yes, we are."
I don't know if any of you have seen Let It Ride. Horse racing movie with Richard Dreyfus. Near the end, he just says to himself, "I knew it" after in incredible run of luck. I felt the same way that day.
I've looked at every post-game picture, and video, since and never spotted us. Today, someone posted a picture on Twitter and sure enough I finally found us on our way down tot he field.
I'm getting buried with one of those maize pompons.
Go Blue!
November 21st, 2023 at 5:20 PM ^
I was just not expecting that. I was making plans to go to the Rose Bowl and happy to be doing that. I don't know exactly when I believed - leading at the half I knew I SHOULD believe the way it was playing out, but I didn't. When we went up 28-13 I started to believe but then when they scores again, I was too nervous to really believe until Haskins hurdled Cam Browne.
That whole season was magical, but none more than the game. What an emotionally uplifting moment.
November 21st, 2023 at 8:55 PM ^
Letās hope you have to make Rose Bowl plans a week from Sunday.
November 21st, 2023 at 5:44 PM ^
STRAIGHT into my veins.
November 21st, 2023 at 5:50 PM ^
Magical day.
Hope Saturday is the same.
November 21st, 2023 at 6:01 PM ^
Not gonna lie I needed that highlight video. I should go back work but that was 12 minutes I've needed lately. A win last week didn't bring me the joy that this brought. I don't think we can replicate that type of game this Saturday but I hope the stadium is as electric and I hope I'm wrong about our run game having sustained success like we had in 2021.
November 21st, 2023 at 9:34 PM ^
I was in the student section of the Shoe in 2018 and in some random section of the Big House (but still near plenty of Buckeyes) in 2021.
Both times you could absolutely feel it when the stadium started to realize that they had their most hated opponents on the ropes - the energy of both stadiums just hit critical mass in the space of about a minute each time.
I liked it a lot better in 2021 of course. My wife and I were shaking those pom poms like Will Ferrell with a cowbell, and I screamed Mr. Brightside out on the field until I couldn't talk.