Morning, very earlyish... we load up the car with all of our usual tailgate accoutrements, the sun is out, it's a football Saturday, a faint smell of optimism is in the air... "GO BLUE!" surplants "Good morning" on this day... we set off, to the North.
Morning, earlyish... Another car with a Wisconsin plate passes us, I properly determine the quality of the character of all of the passengers by observing the color of their clothing... assholes, all of them. Smug too. We simply glare.
Still morning, less earlyish... the sky is gray, Big 10 football weather at the moment... it's also foggy as hell, another caravan of assholes is tailgating us, we decide we've been passed by enough assholes today and push on into the fog, a symbol of what is to come perhaps?
10:30. Decide for yourself what to call that. We pull into Ann Arbor, all is right with the world, it's still gray though... a large women with a cheese head and a 1985 Wisconsin jersey on is already too inebriated, the lack of surprise in our vehicle is palpable.
Not too much later. Tailgate is now set-up, tossing the football around, the smell of pigskin, beer, and crisp autumn air is intoxicating... so is the beer I guess, but that's not the point. I need to work a little on my delivery, I'm forcing my father to imitate Tacopants a bit too often... it's early I tell myself, and the next one is a strike. Concerns of Steven Threet appear quickly, like a scar burning on my forehead (dork points?) and then just as quickly fade... A wife just down the way from us screams at her husband that she's not a bitch but that she is cold and wants him to move the tailgate into the sun, and all of us laugh a bit too loudly. It's supposedly a Maize Out today, but you wouldn't know it from my #7 jersey or the thousands of other jerseys walking around... Maize Outs are dumb, leave the color coordination to the student section I say in my best crotchety Michigan fan voice... time for another beer. Band is practicing right next to us, lot of Ferris Bueller songs, somewhat skeptical about halftime show.
1:30. Intelligent football discussion commenses around the tailgate: "Wisconsin's line is big!" "So is PJ Hill... hur hur." "We always stop Wisconsin's big running backs, no really, Dayne never went for a 100." "We have to start fast, get the crowd going and build some momentum." "Yeah."
2:20. Ohio State not exactly killing Minnesota... hearty chuckles abound. We pack up the tailgate and head to Revelli Hall. Get set up to watch the MMB inspection and then march in to the stadium with them (always awesome).
2:30. Band ready to go, now heading towards stadium, crowd slowly starting to build up atmosphere now. Cheerleaders do their "breakout" thing and take off ahead of the band, two trip over, well nothing actually, and wipeout right in front of us... omen? Hopefully not, that scar thing again though...
2:45. Because we have brought a family friend along for his first ever trip to the Big House, I am displaced from my usual seat and instead had to purchase a single about 12 rows behind our seats, something feels oddly incorrect about this setup once I get to my spot. Oh well.
3:30ish. Best pregame festivities in all of college football bar none. Wisconsin team is somewhat lost entering the field and tries to run through the MMB block M... it appears my character assesments from this morning were quite accurate. Bucky is here, I find Bucky, like all mascots, annoying. Wisconsin wins toss and elects to receive... going directly against one of my laws of college football, always defer.
Minutes later. No kickoff coverage, Wisky to our 37 or something... goddamnit. D does an ok job after being put in a bit of a pickle and for the first time this year, an opposing team's kicker appears to be a mortal. Yay.
Few more minutes later. Ugh, that was... ugh.
WHY AREN'T THEY REVIEWING THAT??? WHY??????? !#@%!#%
About 40 minutes later. Oh... My... God. We can't hold on to the football. We can't complete a pass past the line of scrimmage... are those passing yards NEGATIVE? Has a team ever had negative passing yards for a whole half? Surely we'll complete one before halftime... I mean, negative! 27 rushing yards... One first down. Stupid drunk Casillas, DUI scooter boy ruined an 80 yard McGuffie TD by making a phenomenal tackle, I hate Bret Bielema. The small child in front of me is asleep... he is lucky. Oh, and I am decidedly wrong about Wisconsin's kicker, he appears capable of hitting one from 72 yards. The defense has been on the field the whole half... how we are not down by 35 is beyond me. The crowd has been sucked into a dark hole of despair... many are quitting.
Florida loses to Ole Miss. Ha, someone else is miserable too.
Shortly thereafter. Threet is hit as he throws. Pick... he's going to take this to the house right in front of me... please God somebody tackle him. Please. No, seriously. Ok someone did. 19-0. Feels like 49-0. People who boo at college football games should have a special spot in Hell reserved for them. I've had enough of my seat, screw this, I'm moving down where I belong. Undoubtedly the worst half of football I have witnessed in my entire life, B2 confirms this via text. The defense hung tough somehow though. Also, some dude was carried out in cuffs from down near the corner of the endzone... wonder why.
Wisconsin Band playing at halftime. Now sitting right behind my normal spot, conversing with all of those around me. Snippets: "Les Miles..." "Ryan Mallet would still be here" and he'd fumble 7 times I respond scornfully. "We will be playing on Thursdays soon" "Could we join the MAC?" "Sheridian has to come in right?" "We can't be worse than this". I point out that the last time I had to sit elsewhere and then moved back at halftime, we came back to beat Minnesota in '04. Even I laugh at the preposterous notion. We all agree that some improvement in the second half is what we're hoping for, just something for us to hang our hats on.
Michigan Band playing at halftime. If the scoreboard was any different, this would go down as perhaps the greatest halftime show ever. People are actually leaving... it's halftime... they should have a special spot in Hell too.
Last portion of halftime. Wisky's kicker clears the net and "SEND IT UP" rises, one of the loudest cheers of the day actually. Random guy in 80th something row does a heroic job to clear the band of Wisconsin fans and get the ball out of the stadium, many people call for him to put a helmet on and play the second half... hur hur.
Michigan holds on to the kickoff. Loud cheer, we're in the Bronx apparently. We complete a downfield pass for a first down, it feels like a TD and we all react appropriately. The crowd is ready for any sort of positive to latch on to. Michigan's offense shows signs of an ability to actually do things like complete passes, still down 19 with seven minutes to go in the third. Crowd has thinned of the damned, and is actually louder, odd eh?
Six to go in the 3rd. 80 yards away, sweet Jesus let us do something please, defense is playing well and Wisconsin is content to slam PJ Hill into our line. Alright... alright... actually moving the football here... crap 3rd and 10, I think our average 3rd down to go distance this year has been 14 yards.
Two to go in the 3rd. A TD! Perfect pass, great catch by... Koger! Carson who? Intermixed between the "alright, at least we won't get shut out" are people who are saying "hey there's some time here...". Crowd has been dying for something positive all day, a few more plays and we may have something going.
Early 4th quarter. Threet just misses Mathews, then just misses Odoms, both ran great routes and were running free. Goddamnit if we hit on one of those... Threet then misses again, hey that's roughing! FLAG! Keepin' us alive! Screw you Wisconsin fans, if any team in the world deserves a call it's us after these past three halves.... Mathews comes back in and makes a big catch... Nice gutty first down by Threet! 3rd and 2...
They're blit........
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Crowd is on fire! Brandon Minor with a bolt from above!!!! I have to climb back to my seat, I don't know how I ended up over there but I don't care. 19-14 and this is a football game! Holy sweet hell! Voice is cracking, no one is sitting, team is jacked, Anthony Thomas looks like he's going to play without pads in the other endzone. Minor looked like he was shot out of a canon.
Still pretty early in the fourth. Michigan Stadium has awoken, Gingell (of all people) boots one over the Badgers' heads and through the endzone, crowd hits new decibel levels as the defense takes the field. I really hope that Wisconsin gives us the opportunity to pin our ears back... My head hurts and I don't care.
Tip. Time has halted now, that football is in the air forever, please let us come down with it...
(AP Photo/Tony Ding)OH MY GOD!
Pandamonium has never been more apt. I am pretty sure the entire Michigan team and staff was in front of Thompson as he somehow got to the endzone.
Voice gone. 20 unanswered points, the team that had 20 first half yards, 1 first down, and 5 turnovers is now winning the football game. Down is up. Wisconsin fans are absolutely shell shocked, Wisconsin dude near us has head in hands. Crowd has actually managed to get louder.
Our ball again. God bless Mike Barwis, our defense is on fire and they've been out there all day. Handoff to Brandon Minor, he's killed, fumble? Man he really got nailed...
WHAT!?! GO!!!!! THREET GO!!!! NO!!!! HOLD ON TO THE BALL HE'S GOING TO STRIP IT!!!! BOTH HANDS!!!!!!
My voice is gone, I find myself doubled over and just pounding the bench in front of me... I've never been so happy to have no idea where the football was.
Our past philosophy remains in the past. C'mon Rich, a TD is a must here, don't DeBord us, don't do it. McGuffie with a very Hart-like run to set up 1st and goal. Crowd is frothing at the mouth, now. Slam into the line... No. Fumbled snap... please just recover it, ok... my heart is beating again. McGuffie over the left side.... HE'S IN!!!! 27 straight points!!!
Hold on. The final five minutes are an eternity. Brandon Graham explodes. Wisconsin throws two certain picks that end up catches... Fumble!!!!! One first down is all we need. Wisky has three timeouts...
No really, hold on. Wisky calls a perfect screen at the perfect time and Hill rumbles. We're not blitzing for some reason now... they march and score, crap there were two defenders there! We can still win. Oh no. Flag? Flag.... YES!!!! Now for the love of all that is sacred, come after him, bring the house at him... he's rushed, ball towards the back of the endzone.... Incomplete! Onside kick out of bounds! BALLGAME!
Largest comeback in Michigan Stadium history. There are wins, and there are season changing wins. This, my friends, is a season changing win. God bless every one of your cotton' pickin' Maize and Blue hearts. No one wants to leave right now, we simply sit and soak it in.
(AP Photo/Tony Ding)
(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Posts
