When you see M apparel in other countries
So I was in a Wisconsin airport coming home and I saw someone walk down the terminal with a "Strike a Pose" t-shirt. Since part of it was blocked, I asked him if that was the Desmond Howard shirt and it indeed was. We proceeded on our ways with a short "Go Blue!"
I usually reserve a casual "Go Blue!" only when I see Michigan apparel far from home (i.e. not in the Midwest or Florida, which is essentially Michigan South). But I had to compliment this choice of wardrobe since it clearly was diehard fan to own this shirt.
That being said, I've also worn Michigan apparel in Europe and in Asia, and have been "Go Blue'd" before. When do you guys say, "Go Blue," and when do you just pass by with a smile because it's not unexpected to see our colors in a given location?
I vary between a "Go Blue" and the "nice shirt/hat" approach. If you say it casually, you almost always get a response. Shouting it out often leads to the blank stare.
I see your avatar is a panda and your user name seems to refer to Chairman Mao. Are you currently located in China? If so were about? I'm living in Foshan, Guangdong.
I'm chinese, but I'm a student at U of M right now. The chairman refers to my proposal to push through the position of chairman within my fraternity.
I'll be in Costa Rica next week. I'll make sure to wear my old school Jalen Rose jersey. I'll keep an eye out for random M gear and when I see it I'll be sure to scream a Go Blue in their direction. And if I see any Ohio State gear I will non chalntly get into a 3 point stance and form tackle the shit out of them!
There's a guy who rides my bus who has an OSU starter jacket (I'm in Toronto), and last summer I saw a guy at the Copenhagen airport wearing some godawful Buckeye sweatsuit. It's completely false that I was the one who told airport security he was carrying explosives in his underwear.
If someone is wearing Michigan clothing, I usually just say "nice hat" or "nice shirt."
I was in France a few years ago wearing a UM t-shirt, and an older couple walked past us. The man stopped and looked at my shirt, asked me if I was really a Michigan Man.
"Yessir."
"Good for you, son, go Blue!"
Im currently deployed to Iraq, and there is this guy from India that works in the Gym on the FOB that im stationed on... he always wheres a Mich hat... after giving him a Go Blue greeting all i got in returned was a confused look... it was kind of funny.
I work as a salesman in Egypt and I always wear my M gear at work. I rarely get GoBlue’d and my M gear is rarely acknowledged. This one time a hairy nerd took a picture of my sweet laser enhanced Michigan hat thinking I wouldn’t notice. He wasn’t slick.
In South Korea, M gear is quite popular. However, sometimes they don't get the color scheme quite right. I've actually seen a shirt that said University of Michigan in big green letters on a white background. *fail*
I got a couple "Go Blues" when wearing Michigan gear in Greece, including one from someone who was Greek (though quite possibly Greek-American). I've generally gotten them in a crowd so it was a little bit shouted with a wave or "Hail" fist--they were generally pretty safe since, if I hadn't known what they were talking about, I wouldn't have known they were talking to me.
I also ran into a Michigan State shirt-wearer on the Acropolis in Athens. If I had been a little quicker on my feet, I would have told him to go to Sparta but alas I just threw a few pebbles at him (okay, maybe I didn't do that either).
A good chunk of the business cards I hand out here in Southwest Ontario are to college football fans. One guy I work with never missed ND when we host them. Another guy I work with is a Miami fan and can actually hold a conversation about recruiting. Usually, anyone who is a serious college football fan here north of the border is worthy of striking up a conversation with. (There was that one couple dressed from head to toe in matching scarlet and grey--every item of clothing--in the Toronto Science Centre this past summer to whom I just shot dirty looks and was given the same treatment back which is ok, because they were just about the dorkiest looking OSU fans I had ever seen).
How do you distinguish real football fans from the fashion poseurs? Anyone wearing anything from Campus Crew is not worthy. Anyone wearing craft shop stuff like you can get at MGOStore is worthy of a "Go Blue" that will end up starting up a conversation. You also get pretty good at distinguishing the stuff you can only get online or in AA from the MShop or MDen and the stuff you can buy in local hat and t-shirt shops. Look for the Adidas logo. In Canada that is usually a sign that the guy, or gal, has been to AA in the last year or two. Then I usually begin with a "Nice hat" (or shirt) or a "Go Blue!" followed quickly with a "So been back for a game recently?" and if they are for real it usually gets things rolling. Sometimes, a guy "smells" die hard and I just jump right in with, "So what do you think of this year's recruiting class?" or some such and by the end of the conversation we are trading business cards...