A few random notes, pics and takes in the aftermath of a solid trip to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. A few quick hitters: >> Hospitality. File under you probably don’t care, but I’ll say it. The media was treated first class by the Sugar Bowl folks. Beyond being ridiculously courteous, they provided excellent communication, was quick with the transcription of the press conferences, offered good food/coffee/drinks, workspace, logistics, etc. They offered a couple of nice gifts as well—a Sugar Bowl jacket and luggage tags. It was very cool to be a part of it all. They also arranged for a 30 foot Po Boy (above). >> Dome View. The press box in the Dome is all the way at the top, here’s a fairly accurate look at the view from up top: They did have video monitors rolling everywhere, along with a screen of live stat updates. The ESPN feed appeared to be about 6-7 seconds behind the live-action. >> Fans. I was surprised by the number of Virginia Tech fans that showed up for the game. I thought Wolverine fans would overwhelm the joint but that didn’t happen. There was still more Maize and Blue out there but to me, it was only a slight majority. One thing I noticed wandering around town—Michigan definitely had more students just…
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Viva Michigan Helmet Stickers!?
Near the end of Wojo’s extensive Q&A with Coach Hoke was this exchange: Q. Many fans crave a return to old Michigan ways. You’ve talked about being tough in the trenches, having a pounding defense. What about the little traditions, like helmet stickers again? A. I don’t know about the helmet stickers yet. I’m gonna get some counsel from ex-players, from coach (Gary) Moeller, coach (Jerry) Hanlon. We are going to have captains, I can promise you. It’s a tradition many believe started with Woody Hayes and the Buckeyes in the late 1960s but thanks to the piece in Hail to the Victors 2010 by John Kryk (with Steve Sapardanis), we know that the tradition was actually started by Bo. Kryk described the scene in 1969 when Schembechler announced that the Wolverines would be placed stickers on their helmets after games: “Oh, like Woody?” a reporter asked. “Uh-uh.” Schembechler grinned triumphantly. “Woody got the idea from me.” Kryk goes on to trace the start back of the “big-play” stickers to 1965, Bo’s third season at Miami, OH (then still nicknamed the Redskins). They used little red tomahawks. Thanks to Sapardanis, here’s a breakdown of the Michigan helmet decals used to date: Count Sapardanis as one who would like to see the tradition return in fact he’s made a bold suggestion…
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Butch Woolfolk Speaks His Mind (1981)
Through Tate’s twitter goodbye we got a little reminder of when Troy Woolfolk’s criticized Forcier’s workout habits this summer. You might recall that later on media day Tate said all the right things about Woolfolk’s words, and he added that, “seniors are the leaders of this team. Whatever they say, they can say—it’s up to them.” So I thought this was interesting. My pal Steve Sap sent over a clipping from a September 1981 Detroit News a few weeks back. In it, T-Woolf’s dad Butch Woolfolk (B-Woolf?) spoke to the media about his concerns about the team a few weeks into the season. Preseason #1 Michigan was upset by Wisconsin the opener but then smoked Notre Dame 25-7 in Ann Arbor. After a disappointing five point win over Navy many were scratching their heads–and the elder Woolfolk made it known he wasn’t happy with the flaky start: “I have a tendency to speak my mind, and maybe I shouldn’t say this…but this team is just not mentally ready…It’s a mess.” He added, “I don’t like this team right now. I don’t like it at all.” While Butch didn’t target a particular player, he did call out his fellow senior teammates saying, “The sad part of it is there are a lot of seniors on this team. And seniors are supposed…
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This Week in 19th Century Michigan Football!
Here’s the last entry* in ‘This Week in Michigan Football History’ to be played Saturday on WTKA 1050AM’s Key Bank Countdown to Kick-off pregame show before The Game. It’s probably the most unique segment in the series as we go back — ALL the way back – to the 1800s and talk about the game played on this day in 1883 against Stevens Institute, the first game ever played against Racine College and a few key facts from the underappreciated 19th century. I hope you enjoy it: [display_podcast] Thanks to reader Scott B. for pointing out to me the tie to George Jewett, the first black player in Michigan (and conference) history, and the current team. Believe it – according to U-M Media Relations, freshman DB Courtney Avery is a descendant of Jewett. I’m digging for some better details on this. The sponsor of This Week…is Wolverine Beer so here’s where you can find it and you can hear all of the This Week… clips here. * Exclusive: We might to special hockey history segment for the Big Chill so look out for that.
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Military Appreciation Day on Saturday: How You Can Help
A few cool things planned for Saturday as the athletic department honors the military during the Illinois game: Members of the Wounded Warrior Project and Gold Star families of Michigan will line the tunnel as the Michigan football squad takes the field. The MMB will play a medley of military sounds from each branch and will be flanked by two 65×120 foot flags, held by members of the U-M ROTC and Student Veterans’ Association. Four T-38s will perform a fly-over. How to Help At gates #2 and #8 on Saturday, folks will be collecting items for the Afghan families and troops: For Afghan families: they request new or used winter clothing, coats, hats, gloves, Michigan clothing (nice!), pens, pencils, crayons, notebooks, children’s books, generic bifocal lenses, blankets, small toys, stuffed animals. For the Troops: black socks (Jalen’s got those), deodorant, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, gum, protein bars, Ramen noodles, canned meat, trail mix, and new or used DVDs or video games. You can also leave handwritten cards and letters. If you can’t make it they’ll be taking donations in the lobby of the ticket office at 1000 S. State Street between 8:30am and 5pm starting Monday 11/1 through Friday 11/5. Tim Hortons is donating up to 720 pounds (46,000 cups!) of coffee. When they mentioned this I saw a big…
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Bo Rolls into Berlin (Navy 1976)
Here’s a program to the 1976 Navy game: A selection of a few other Navy-Michigan programs from the U-M Bentley Library program database: On Saturday from noon-3 WTKA 1050AM (and I assume WTKA.com) will be replaying the original Bob Ufer radio broadcast of the 1976 Navy game. If you’re cleaning out the garage or mowing the lawn I suggest you tune in. Old ‘Ufe practically wore out the scoring horn in this one, as #1 ranked Michigan put up 70 points on the Midshipmen, the most since 1905, and it’s a radio call to remember. Incredibly Bo’s Wolverines actually trailed with just over a minute to go in the first half before taking the lead. In a span just over 5 minutes in the third quarter sophomore QB Ricky Leach accounted for four touchdowns, two on the ground and two in the air, and shortly thereafter Ufer nearly keeled over with excitement as he tended to do. Based on the WTKA promos, after the 70th point Ufer likens the feat to “rolling into Berlin”! A few props are in order here. First, Ira and crew at WTKA for continuing this tradition. Next, my pal and M history buff Steve Sapardanis of Guts ‘n Glue for recommending they reair this game. Finally, audio and video archivist Art Vuolo, Jr., [see…
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Who Voted for Michigan – AP poll Sept 7, 2010
A quick rundown of who voted for Michigan in this week’s AP poll which of course doesn’t really count toward anything but people like to talk about it: I don’t know if Michigan is worthy of any of this, but I give these guys credit. They did what most pollsters fail to do—they apparently crumpled up their preseason ballot and voted based on what they’ve watched on the field, how novel. Here’s the guys who jumped Michigan into the top 20: Doug Lesmerises – Cleveland Plain Dealer (Newspaper) <—wow. This OSU/Michigan love lingers in the aftermath of the moving-The-Game near debacle. Jon Sololmon – The Birmingham News (Newspaper) <—In Birmingham they love the Shoelace. Brett McMurphy – AOL FanHouse (On-line) <—Brian Cook’s old haunt. And props to U-M grad Niyo. I owe him an Underground Printing O’Sullivan’s Mug Club shirt next time I see him.
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Jug-ists Rejoice
This blogger rejoices over the news tonight. So does this guy (below). That’s Louis J. "Doc" Cooke, longtime Minnesota administrator who started Little Brown Jug rivalry by suggesting the teams play for the crock in 1909: If you’re not ready to rejoice, take in the entire Little Brown Jug lore series: Part I: What Really Happened in the 1930s Part II: Spinning Myths Part III: Getting it Right Part IV: 2013: A Space Quandary Part V: Red Wing Roots Part VI: Is the Greatest Trophy in College Sports a Fake? Part VII: Open Questions Follow MVictors on Twitter
