Never seen anything like that before. We’ve seen furious comebacks, plenty of games that have gone down to the wire, and some strange changes of fortune but nothing ever like that game yesterday. It was so ridiculously somber at halftime, people were spewing and texting hate bombs all over the place. Many people left at half, more departed in the third. It was similar to the Oregon game [see Sucks Unlimited] last but I think more desperate. Last season after the Appalachian State game and midway through Oregon, it was a different kind of crappy feeling. You knew Henne, Hart and company could play- we’d seen it for three years! With this team there was no equity in the bank and it was hopeless. Looking over the scores in the Big Ten and playing the remaining schedule game a few folks uttered “2 wins” and that seemed reasonable if not likely. No way Michigan turns it around – it wasn’t really even a consideration. Go home and cut the lawn because there IS NO CURE FOR THIS: First half Michigan “drive” chart vs. Wisconsin 9/27/08 So when the team left the field at the end of the first half the boos rained down from around the stadium. It was loud. While Rodriguez joked about it later, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema…
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Charmed Start*
Forget about how Michigan team played on in the first 2 1/2 quarters yesterday against Wisconsin, check out a few freaky things that happened before the game even started. Some would say these are good luck*: –Isiah Thomas was on the sidelines. -The military team raising the American flag during the national anthem started the flag up the pole, aborted after about 15 feet, took it down, and raised it back up to the top. -In the pregame band routine, the feather on drum major Cody’s hat fell off on the south side of the field. *In Haiti
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Bipolar Euphoria: Wisconsin Game Photos
How did that turn into this (above)? Much more tomorrow. Was that the greatest game-day experience inside the Big House? Not quite for me, but it’s up there. I’ll talk about that and so much more. I had to get a few photos out from the game:
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Tradition: Michigan Students Forming the Block M
The Daily [and MSC] noted earlier this week that the Michigan student section is going to attempt to form a block M within the student section at the game today: On Saturday, when Michigan plays Wisconsin, students and Athletic Department officials hope to add another tradition to the repertoire by coordinating a human version of Michigan’s iconic block ‘M’ in the middle of the student section. Volunteers from the Michigan Student Assembly will hand out several thousand shirts — some maize, some blue — to fans entering certain rows. I’ll join a few others in saying I’ll believe it when I see it. But best of luck. While the Michigan students have done a nice job wearing maize from week to week, I think we might end up seeing more of a smattering of blue dots that will loosely resemble a treble clef. The stunt is touted as a new tradition, but did you know Michigan students have formed block M’s in the crowd for nearly 100 years? From the cover of Historic Photos of U-M Football features the students at the 1916 Penn game doing their thing, not with t-shirts but with cards: And based on this postcard found at the Bentley Library we know the tradition dates back at least to 1908: UPDATE: Hey, they did it –…
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Hockey Tickets Arrive
That’s right, the Webmaster is in with season hockey tickets. In Section 22, of all places, which is my favorite section in the Big House! Of note: Maize Outs: – Ohio State 11/1 – Miami 1/9 – Michigan State 1/24 Blue Outs: – Teddy Bear Toss (someone pls explain why this is a significant event): – Michigan State 12/5 Senior Night: (glad to see they’re respecting the older crowd – Ferris State 4/28
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Angel on WDFN (audio)
Angelique Chengelis from the Detroit News on Stoney and Wojo, talking bye week, talking kick return game, talking Wisconsin: [display_podcast]
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A Badger’s Prediction, and the Tyranny
Gilliam, a fellow prestigious Power Index pollster and die hard Wisconsin Badger backer passed along his prediction for Saturday. Somehow his cousin planned a wedding at 2pm [see below] so he won’t be seeing any live action. Either way, here’s his take on what’s going to happen: Our defense is weak, once you get through the line. We are BAD tacklers, especially the safeties. McGuffie should have a field day. Just run the typical “Michigan screens” (I’m not sure if that’s in Rich Rod’s playbook, but it should be), and get him into space on the corners, and buh-bye…. Unless your defense is horrible against the run (and you are playing at home, and desperate, so that helps), you should be able to contain us. Our QB is not bad….and our offensive coordinator is outstanding (especially making in-game adjustments), so we will put up points. Michigan 34 – Wisconsin 23 [Note: Gilliam, you’re defense better be really bad for M to roll up 34] In honor of Gilliam the Badger’s wedding situation I give you a selection from Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch: “As I get older, the tyranny that football exerts over my life, and therefore over the lives of people around me, is less reasonable and less attractive. Family and friends know, after long years of wearying experience, that…
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Fire(d) Millen, and the Millen Day Mix
As if the Maize Rage didn’t have enough things to worry about To pump it up a little bit a little audio for you. It’s a mix I pulled together of drops, Mike ‘Stoney’ Stone, and callers into WDFN, Detroit sports talk radio drive time Stoney and Wojo Show just hours after the Matt Millen firing was announced: [display_podcast] . My favorite memory of the Millen era? I wasn’t actually there, but during that Millen Man march back in November 2005 before the Cincinnati game, a reliable source of mine confirmed spotting someone toting a sign that read, “WE STILL HATE AINGE” including a photo:
