The gist: A complete, all-cylinders win against a 28-point underdog doesn’t do much, but there’s something. After the mess last week a game like that muffles the notion that this team might be going sideways and it restores a bit of the hope that you had preseason. Based on what he did out there, it should also build your confidence that Shea Patterson is indeed a guy who could lead this team to good things in the big games.
Mood: Despite that most M fans would trade blowing the doors off a team like Western Michigan for a third down conversion in a big game, it still feels good. “Mood” creeps up a couple slots:
meta: Based on popular demand I added the little indicator arrows to represent where the mood was adjusted from the prior week (if applicable), and the mood history for the current season at the bottom. As always thanks to Scott @TheBlockhams for the faces.
Uncharmed Start: For the superstitious among us, a couple things had you reaching for the rabbit’s foot:
- First off, I love the voice of stadium PA man Carl Grapentine, but he fumbled his traditional opening line when he wished the stadium “Good Afternoon“. It was well before kickoff and thus several minutes before noon. As many of you know Mr. Grapentine typically makes the distinction to welcome you ‘Good Morning’.
- It happens occasionally, but after new drum major Kelly Bertoni did a perfect backbend, she short-tossed the mace. It doinked the cross bar and thumped to the turf. Instant analysis>> you can practice the backbend in your apartment, the diag, at Rick’s (a real crowd pleaser that gets you free drinks if I’m tending bar)…but it’s tough to find a place to simulate the mace toss over the goal posts in front of 100,000 folks. She’ll learn from this and get it done next week, count on it. P.S. How long has the drum major been doing the mace toss? I’m not exactly sure, but here’s an amazing pic from the 1933 Cornell game [Bentley]:
- Finally, many who walked into the game at Stadium & Main were welcomed by this jaundiced-eyed fellow:
Sticker Shock: No confirmed changes this week from the last year’s home ensemble, but the helmet stickers deserve note again on these pages. Last week was the first time stickers appeared before the season (and this is recorded on the Timeline). Based on a scan of the helmets on Saturday, it appears as though no player received a single helmet sticker following the loss to the Irish. Jeez.
Columns: There are a series of former Michigan stars honored inside the concourse in tastefully-done displays. I like it. Yes, they include advertising but that’s not new, and it’s only inside the concourse so live with it. More here including a list of the players honored.
Banner: Props to the great Dr. Sap and Seth Fisher of mgoblog for joining the crew that raised the coveted M CLUB banner! Here’s Sap warming up:
Banner Part II – Electric Boogaloo: This was new this year as well, as the students unwound this beauty:
Hey that’s cool. I added in the ‘under review’ section of Michigan Football Traditions (it needs to last a few seasons before getting elevated). I like this a lot but really would have dug it if they pulled out this beauty:
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