Hypothetical overseas home game
This is my first time starting a thread so please forgive me if this is dumb. I'm here in Ireland for the week for work, the first few days in Galway and now in Dublin before I go back home to good ol Kzoo tomorrow. Normally Iove coming here but this week the entire country is just infested with Notre Dame fans because they are playing here tomorrow night. While I hate to see so many fans around, I can't help but be a bit envious at what they've created. It's brilliant. They have created an entire nation of Irish fans, their souvenir shops have tons of ND gear, etc.
My question is this: if we wanted to create the same type of fervor in another country, what would be your vote? I wouldn't mind traveling overseas a few times to catch a game in a new country, but which ones would make sense?
August 24th, 2023 at 6:17 PM ^
France would be my vote. The French just have a certain…I don’t know what???
August 24th, 2023 at 6:53 PM ^
MO-JO…. the libido, the life force, the essence, the right stuff.
August 24th, 2023 at 9:08 PM ^
Some say it is the je ne sais quoi while others applaud the joie de vivre
August 24th, 2023 at 10:33 PM ^
For me, it's all about the ménage à trois.
August 25th, 2023 at 8:02 AM ^
Coulez vous couche avec moi se soir?
August 25th, 2023 at 8:34 AM ^
Nah, it's the frog legs.
August 25th, 2023 at 8:50 AM ^
You have apparently confused dog shit for mojo. Paris is a giant dog park where no one picks up!
My vote would be New Zealand.
August 24th, 2023 at 9:18 PM ^
Savoir flair.
August 24th, 2023 at 9:56 PM ^
Makes sense, the French love Les Bleus
August 25th, 2023 at 8:04 AM ^
1) France
2) Ukraine
3) Austrailia
August 24th, 2023 at 6:19 PM ^
We should hit up the only two stadiums in the world larger than The Big House, in India and North Korea. The one in Gujarat is a cricket stadium so I'm assuming you could fit a football field in there. The one in Pyongyang is a soccer stadium so that should be no problem.
August 24th, 2023 at 6:29 PM ^
Somehow I can see Harbaugh being intrigued by playing in North Korea.
August 24th, 2023 at 6:54 PM ^
We should schedule a game vs MSU in North Korea, wait for the Spartan team flight to land, then turn our plane around and come home. Hopefully they all get stuck in Pyongyang and can't escape.
August 24th, 2023 at 7:24 PM ^
North Korea might be the one thing I don’t even wish on sparty. osu, yes
August 24th, 2023 at 7:46 PM ^
The last thing that Michigan State fans need is a martyr complex.
August 24th, 2023 at 10:28 PM ^
If we're not automatically ruling out authoritarian regimes, then I'd vote for Iran. We know we've got at least one big fan over there.
August 24th, 2023 at 6:22 PM ^
Whatever countries where the translation of "Go Blue" sounds super bad-ass.
August 24th, 2023 at 7:21 PM ^
Italy might work on that criteria. The soccer stadium in Milan holds 80K and the Olympic Stadium in Rome holds 70K. And, if you get Italians enthused about something, they will be ENTHUSED!!!
VAI BLU!
August 24th, 2023 at 6:24 PM ^
Let’s see.. where would be a hospitable home for a Wolverine? The image of Logan and X-men comes to mind.
I think Japan… and forged steel.
The idea of the largest stadiums in the world is appropriate too.
August 25th, 2023 at 8:42 AM ^
I vote for Columbus, Ohio. Just need to make sure our passports are valid.
August 24th, 2023 at 6:25 PM ^
Ojabo is from Scotland and he said he chose Michigan because the weather was similar. Scotland is a great country to visit and maybe it'll be good for recruiting!
August 24th, 2023 at 6:39 PM ^
Windsor
August 24th, 2023 at 6:51 PM ^
Stole my answer.
August 24th, 2023 at 8:41 PM ^
Where's the attraction when, sadly, most of the Windsor Ballet has gone OOB?
August 24th, 2023 at 8:47 PM ^
According to Wikipedia, EMU (as Michigan State Normal College) played Assumption several times in the teens and twenties.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_college_football_games_played_outside_the_United_States
August 24th, 2023 at 6:42 PM ^
Enjoy. I was at the NW/Nebraska game there last year to kickoff the season, sporting my maize and blue jumpman zip-up naturally. Tons of Nebraska fans around the country most of the week.
Of course the game experience got a lot better when their internet went down and they handed out free beers for 3 quarters of the game. I think I drank 6 freebies.
August 24th, 2023 at 6:46 PM ^
I thought we already did that in Iran. And maybe the Vatican.
August 24th, 2023 at 10:02 PM ^
Ahmadinejad would roll out the red, scratch that, blue carpet for us
August 24th, 2023 at 6:55 PM ^
My vote is 1201 S Main St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
August 24th, 2023 at 10:42 PM ^
The extra "1" in the address is in honor of Fritz Crisler.
August 24th, 2023 at 6:56 PM ^
No way we should ever give up a Michigan stadium game under any circumstance except as part of a home and home with another top program
August 24th, 2023 at 9:59 PM ^
No home and home any longer. It’s a 12 team playoff. Tomato cans until that changes. Learn from SEC.
August 24th, 2023 at 6:57 PM ^
Did Notre Dame really “create” anything here? Their team name is literally the fighting Irish, and they’re playing a game in Ireland. Of course actual Irish people will be naturally drawn to root for them.
Its like if a French soccer team named the fighting Americans came over to play a game in the states every year. I think most Americans who cared to watch the game would root for them too.
I see what you’re trying to say, but I think you’re giving ND a little too much credit here.
August 24th, 2023 at 7:32 PM ^
To me, the games in Ireland for ND are a no brainer, especially when they match up against a team like BC with a huge Irish population in Boston. I also get the NFL games in London, Germany and Mexico, because they're testing the feasibility of going international. Weren't there some college games in Japan once upon a time? For most college teams the only attraction is a trip for the players, where they will have little time to enjoy it, and a junket for deep pocket fans...like me. It actually makes TV schedules worse because of the time difference. Go figure.
August 24th, 2023 at 7:25 PM ^
Some contenders IMO
Germany - we’ve had 2 players in the last 5 or so years from Germany, so seems kind of fitting.
Brazil (with heavy security measures) for the crazy soccer fans
Argentina - same reason as Brazil, should be a little cooler temperature there too
Jamaica - so we could recruit elite sprinters to the team….this is actually my favorite one as I type it
but all in all, I don’t really support this as I prefer money and support goes to local economies where the team is playing be it Ann Arbor or another college town. But I for sure wouldn’t want to abandon a home game, but maybe just make it one time neutral site kind of game.
August 24th, 2023 at 10:58 PM ^
Germany would be fun, except translating the fight song would be really, really awkward.
August 25th, 2023 at 9:21 AM ^
Plugged in from google translate. (I substituted “cheer” in for “hail” otherwise we would be talking about small bits of ice)
Ein Hoch auf die tapferen Sieger. Jubel den siegreichen Helden zu. Hoch auf Michigan, die Spitzenreiter und Besten. Jubel den tapferen Siegern. Jubel den siegreichen Helden zu. Hoch auf Michigan, die Champions des Westens!
don’t know how accurate this would be.
August 24th, 2023 at 7:46 PM ^
Germany
August 24th, 2023 at 7:52 PM ^
Since they have Ireland I would glady take London and all of England. Goodell has been trying to shove football down their throats for a couple decades and we can show the Brits who the winningest team to ever play the sport is.
But.... our colors are more closely aligned with Sweden and....
The underdog country that anyone with a head and a heart is rooting for. My vote is Ukraine. Just need them to darken their blue hue a bit.
August 24th, 2023 at 8:18 PM ^
The Swedish and Ukrainian blues are pretty close to the official UM academic colors...the AD official UM colors, not so much.
August 24th, 2023 at 8:08 PM ^
Seeing Michigan play in Egypt would be cool.
August 24th, 2023 at 8:24 PM ^
Somewhere in Africa, without a doubt, would be the coolest for me. South Africa is probably the most logical from a logistical and fan service standpoint.
August 24th, 2023 at 8:34 PM ^
No please don’t ever do this. Neutral site games played in the US already suck.
Plus season tickets are already expensive enough and now you want me to pay to travel to another country?
August 24th, 2023 at 9:21 PM ^
I was living in Dublin in 1978, and turned down Grafton Street one day and stumbled on a whole bunk of drunken American cops, in uniform. They had come over to get plowed for St. Paddy's Day, a day that the Irish didn't even celebrate. (I think they have started since then?) My friends thought of them as a bit of a scourge. . .
August 24th, 2023 at 9:55 PM ^
No, just no.
August 24th, 2023 at 10:01 PM ^
The Vatican. I hear there's someone there who's chomping at the bit to try out his new gear.
August 25th, 2023 at 3:18 PM ^
AI, please mock me up a short video of Il Papa getting ready for the Michigan game, headphones on, 146 inch Samsung with PIP in the background, trying out his gear.
August 24th, 2023 at 10:50 PM ^
Munich Germany. going to a game during octoberfest would be phenomenal