My wife and I made a planes, trains, and automobile-like trek from Minneapolis (I know, I know, my handle is DCBlue, but we just moved to Minneapolis 5 months ago and I don't want a new, geographicly-correct handle) to Ann Arbor for the Notre Dame game.  It was pretty horrific, travel-wise.  We caught a 10:00 a.m. flight to Chicago, rented an SUV, drove to Oak Park to pick up our tailgating stuff from the couple who we share our 4 season tickets with, and drove to Ann Arbor.  Worth it? Abso-fucking-lutely.

Some observations from Ann Arbor and the game:

1. It kind of surprises me, but it's easier to get into a decent restaraunt on Saturday night after the game, rather than the Friday before.  There was a wait of 1 to 1.5 hours at all the places on Main Street on Friday night (we ended up heading to Red Hawk and got in immediately).  On Saturday night, we went to Real Seafood and only had to wait about 10 minutes.  Must be that everyone wants to wait in traffic.  FWIW, my advice is to consider going out to eat and then getting out of town, if you have time.

2. I've been going to games since the late 80's as a teenager, and have had season tickets for over 15 years.  The Notre Dame game ranks up there as one of the biggest emotional roller coasters I've ever seen in person.  Not as consistently euphoric as the 1995 Biakabatuka game, as it was clear in 1995 from the beginning that Michigan was going to roll Ohio State.  Not as much expectations as the 1997 Ohio State game with a shot at the MNC on the line.  Penn State 2005 comes close, but I just didn't think that was as good of game.  It ranks right up there on my personal list of best memories at the Stadium.

3. I'm previously on record HATING the idea of RAWK music.  That being said, if it is inevitable then there must be a little more thought put into the actual execution of the play list.  I mean, sweet Jesus, how hard is it to make sure the actual upbeat parts of the songs are played at the appropriate moments?  There were a couple of times where the music started way to late and had to be cut out as the play started.  Hint: If the song has an intro that the crowd must wait for before responding, don't use it.  I also tend to agree with my wife that the Black Eyed Peas' Tonight's Gonna Be a Good nite would be a nice addition to the play list.  Even as a traditionalist, and as much as I hate to admit it, the crowd responded to the music.

4. Not to sound like Charlie Weiss, but from my view in Section 6 (site of the Mathews catch, thank you) it was obvious that Brandon Graham was getting absolutely smothered in holds.  I think the pic of the ND lineman covering his entire face says it all.  As I recall, nothing was called on that played and ND connected on a first down pass play.  I realize holding could probably be called on most plays, but some of the shit that was going on with Graham was borderline felonious.

5. The Stadium was loud. Not sure I'd classify it as "Oh my God, this place is so much louder" but it was noisy.  Section 6 is largely a sit on your hands type of section, but I was proud of some of the Blue Hairs who actually were standing and yelling.

6. With #5 being said, I wanted to punch the 50-ish guy behind me who started yelling "down in front" at halftime so he could get a better sightline to watch the band.  I refused, and told him, "It's halftime, dude, you can stand."  I wanted to tell him that we should have been standing for the entire time.

7. Our seats are right in front of a handicapped seating area in Section 6, making it very unpopular when we stand up.  You can maintain a good sightline to the field, even when the rest of the lower section 6 is standing below the reserved handicap area.  This bums me out, actually. I'd much rather be standing.  That being said, I can only hope that when I'm in my 90's, I at least have the option of being there in a wheelchair, like the guy I spoke with who was wearing an M hat backwards.  Looked better than Tony Romo.

8. Most of the crowd stayed and cheered after the game until the team left the student section area and headed to the tunnel.  It also got REALLY loud in the concourses after the game, with Go Blue and It's Great to Be A Michigan Wolverine.  Good stuff.

9.  Boubakar had a really rough day.  You know it's rough when you're bailing out immediatley and the receiver's are still getting behind you.  All that being said, he still was an aggressive tackler.  I wish he would have held onto the pick he dropped (and likely would have scored on).  I may be crazy, but I think he'll bounce back.  The ND recievers were nightmarishly good.

10.  Chad Henne may be a robot, but I'm not sure Tate Forcier is human, either.  It's a quality I admire in Michigan quarterbacks.