Football Monday - Wooooooooooooo

So about that football game, oh yeah, I was there!  Here is my recap:

Michigan vs Michigan State 2012, the battle for one of the strangest trophies in college football, the Paul Bunyan Trophy.  Michigan State has beaten us the past 4 years, and we were ready for that to change.  The streets were packed getting to the stadium:

Making the left turn off of Hoover onto Greene

The band came out onto the field sounding and looking impressive as ever, the team then followed under the Go Blue banner:

Then there was some football played, it was quite an interesting game, we never scored a touchdown, and they only scored one.  Things got ugly at times, our offense couldn't move the ball or we'd get in the red zone and couldn't get into the end zone.  Then there was the one long drive our defense gave up, that's when I really started worrying.

Sometime during the first half

Into the second half it was a 1 and 2 point game changing leads every time one team would score.  We couldn't convert with 2 minutes left, I thought we were done for.  But wait, we got the ball back with less than a minute in good field position, if we could just get 20 more yards we would be in field goal range.  Dileo came up with a HUGE catch to set up Gibbons for a 38 yard field goal.  I couldn't watch, but then I heard it, the crowd went nuts, I was shaking so hard all my next pictures were blurry! 

Blurry crowd as we took the lead with 5 second left



OMG he just made that kick!!!

Michigan State tried to get fancy on the kickoff return but we shut that down to secure the win!  It was then announced to the crowd that was Michigan's 900th win, the most wins of any division 1 football program, Go Blue!

Winningest

All of this led to the students, and then some alumni and fans rushing the field.  It was a very classy field rushing, no damage was done, everyone just wanted an excuse to keep celebrating, I mean 900 wins?? that's aMAIZEing!!

Party on the field

Oh yeah, we eventually made our way onto the field too!

Football Monday (?) - First BCS rankings and reaction

The BCS sucks, that is my reaction.

I'm only a little upset that Michigan is not in there, I really do think they should be in over Texas at #25 (we have better losses, and our wins are equivalent) but I also understand that if we win our next one or two we will make it in (if at that point we don't make it, I will be angry).  What makes me most angry is that Florida is sitting at #2.  And how favored the SEC is as a conference.  I will admit that Alabama is a very good team, and I think they deserve to be #1, but the rest of the SEC is very overrated.   Florida has a win over LSU who really hasn't proved themselves to be anything, they did beat South Carolina, but I saw South Carolina losing at halftime to Kentucky, the worst team in the SEC.  Aside from Alabama, not one of those teams played a real out of conference game, so why are they favored so much? I have no clue, and this is a good reason to hate the BCS.  There are no Big Ten teams in there at the moment and I blame ohio state for that.  They are not eligible to be ranked (since they got unnecessary benefits and are cheaters) but they are doing all they can to beat-up a weak Big Ten so that none of those teams can be ranked.  Thanks a lot osu, this is why nobody likes you.  At least we only have to put up with the BCS for a couple more years...things have to get better, right? RIGHT?

End rant, thank you for your time. Go Blue!

At least this was nice...45-0

Football Friday: Maybe this week the Big Ten won’t embarrass themselves…

So I think I cursed the Big Ten.  I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.  I won’t expect anything out of this conference again all season.  So yeah, the Big Ten has already made a mess of everything and it is only week 2!

This week is a bit lackluster, some conferences are starting their conference games but some, like the Big Ten, aren’t.  One of the early games I’m interested in is Cal vs OSU.  I would love to see Cal come into Columbus and beat OSU, but I doubt that will happen.  From what I’ve seen of Cal football, they are usually disappointing.  At one point Arkansas vs Alabama was suppose to be a good game then Arkansas lost to ULM, I think you can thank John L Smith for that!  Florida vs Tennessee is where gameday is heading, this is a terrible choice of location.  Two average teams that are over ranked just because they are in the SEC, no thanks. 

The do have good colors

Then there is the Michigan game vs the Minutemen of UMass.  This should be easier than Air Force was last week, but if it isn’t, I will be extremely worried about the rest of the season.  I’m interested to see how long they keep Denard in the game and who comes in as his back-up when he is pulled.

There are two night games that I am interested in.  USC vs Stanford should be a good PAC-12 game. I really hope Stanford can put up a good fight (or just win!) and show everyone that USC isn’t that good (and I kinda like Standford, just don't tell all my Cal friends that!).  The other night game is Notre Dame vs MSU.  I have no clue who to root for in this game, but I would like to watch it to see how both teams look against a similar opponent.  I will be surprised if one side takes off with the game, I think it will be a close one and I think ND might just come out on top (and who cares if I jinx them, as long as one team losses, I’m fine with that!).

Football Friday – Let’s move onto week two! (with a quick look at the fun of week one)

The first weekend could’ve gone a bit better for Michigan.  Not only did we get blown out, but one of our top cornerbacks is out for the season with an ACL tear (What have we done to re-anger the Michigan Secondary Hating God?).  But before the disappointment of the game I had a great time!  We went to college gameday (it was my first time, and it was a blast!), pics below:

Early morning at Gameday!

So excited for football and good friends!

Yes, please!

Of course we had to stay till the end!

We then tailgated and ate for the next 7 hours and finally made our way into the stadium.  Our seats were in the second row form the top and in the corner of the end zone, pretty much the worst seats ever.  Luckily, the stadium was designed very well and we still had a great view of the field and could hear our band!

The field isn't that far away...

yeah band!

And that’s where the fun stopped, so let’s move onto next week!

Let’s start with a couple conference games I’m interested in.  Both of the new teams to the SEC play their first SEC games and I think both have a chance to cause an upset or at least make it a good game.  Texas A&M plays Florida and I think A&M stands a good chance at winning that game.  Missouri takes on Georgia, who I think is over ranked, and I think Missouri will give them a good game, not sure if they can get enough for the win but I would like to see that!

The rest of the games I’m interested in are in the Big Ten.  I would like this to be a week where the big ten goes 12-0.  First, Michigan has to win.  Air Force is always a scary opponent coming in with the triple option offense and a very disciplined team, but I think Michigan can win this and hopefully it will show that Alabama was really that good (and not that we were that bad).  The other teams that might struggle the most to meet this goal are Purdue and Illinois playing Notre Dame and ASU respectively.  Both of those games are winnable but I wouldn’t be surprised if one doesn’t happen.  Penn State plays Virginia which I think is a toss-up and Northwestern plays Vandy (also a toss-up).  So I guess there is a less chance of this happening then I originally thought, but I hope for the best, so Go Blue and Go Big Ten!

Kinda how I feel right now...

Football Friday: Cowboy Classic, here we come!

College football season has begun!  It really is one of the best times of the year and I think it's one of the reasons fall makes me so very happy.  I am heading to Dallas tonight (!) to see Michigan play Alabama in the Cowboy Kickoff Classic.  I know it is going to be a great experience, and I wouldn't be shocked if Michigan surprises some of those doubters out there and plays a really great game!

The season started off right last night with S.Car vs Vandy.  I was really pulling for Vandy to win since I really don't think S.Car is worthy of a #9 ranking.  And they did prove that last night needing some help from the officials to win the game.  UCLA beat Rice, which is good, I guess.  I tried so hard to become a UCLA football fan when RoB was in grad school there, but they could never get anything going on offense so to see them put up 49 points on anyone could be a good indication for the future.  I was a bit surprised by how much BYU beat WSU, I hope WSU can pull it together under Mike Leach, but it didn't quite come together last night.  And good old Big Ten team Minnesota beat UNLV in 3OT(!) giving Big Ten teams a 1-0 start to the season, thanks golden gophers!

As for games today, I'm very excited to see Boise State go up against MSU.  Michigan State has some talent, but Boise is always a contender, and I'd take Boise's coach over Dantonio any day.  I think Peterson out coaches Dantonio for the Broncos to win!  I've also recently made some friends who are NC State alums and has made me more interested in their games.  NC State plays Tennessee and I think it should be a good game, Tennessee lost their best receiver and I really know nothing about the ACC so this is kinda a shot in the dark but I'll give the edge to NC State here.

How cool is this?

Then we come to Saturday, oh Fall Saturdays how I've missed you.  Well as you can image most of my attention is focused on the big Michigan game in the evening, but there is a whole day of college football before that!  I'd like to see most of the big ten teams win but some losses I would be ok with (Miami(OH) over OSU, yes please!), however I'm not sure if all can win.  One that I'm worried about is Penn State, they are playing Ohio University and with all the turmoil could be facing an upset from a decent MAC team.  Clemson vs Auburn should be a good game and I'm not sold on Clemson so I could see Auburn winning this one.  An upset I would love to see is Hawaii over USC, yes USC is good, but I don't think they are best in the nation and it would be nice if someone could expose that, and the sooner the better!  Then we have the big one Michigan vs Alabama.  I think Michigan will surprise Alabama with what they show up with.  If Michigan can stop Alabama's run (not an easy task, I know) and force McCarron to throw we have a chance.  Get Denard on the field as much as possible and use our offensive powers and style, something Alabama hasn't recently seen.

Gotta love that Ohio bobcat mascot!

I cannot wait for this game and I know the atmosphere surrounding it will be amazing!  Let's Go Blue, beat Bama!!

Number 16 on the field, number 1 in my heart!



I'm back, and so much to talk about!

 Been a while, time for some updates:

Well I took a slight break form blogging to attempt NaNoWriMo.  Unfortunately, I didn’t complete the 50,000 words during the month of November, but I did complete just over 10,000!  Even though that number isn’t huge it’s the most I’ve ever put into one story and I feel like I have much more I want to write to finish the story, so in a way I do feel like a winner and am happy I attempted it!  Another part of the reason I did it was to help support Rob with his, but he fell apart about halfway through the month, I’m upset I didn’t try to continue to encourage him. I really hope he picks up his story again, like I plan to with mine.

The next (and probably biggest) new thing in my life is that I am moving!  I got offered a temporary job assignment and decided to accept it.  It is in Kentucky, which is a far cry from Oakland, CA, but I’m excited.  All the moving and packing is stressing me out, but living in a new place and working on a new project should be worthwhile.  The assignment will last 6-12 months and then the plan is head back to Oakland where I’ve been working for the past 4 years. 

On my last day at work in Oakland I was pretty sad to leave my office.  I’ve been there for almost 4 years and it was my first job since college so it’s all very strange to be leaving.  I’ve been in Kentucky for two weeks now and I’m heading back home for a few weeks for Christmas.  Then Rob, Angel and I are driving all the way across the country to set up home in Lexington, KY.  I’m ready to live somewhere new so I think this will be a good move for me, but at the same time I really loved everything about Oakland (except the cost of living) so I’m sure there will be a lots I will miss.

I’ve already found a place to rent!  It’s a house, which is a huge deal for us.  It’s so expensive to rent a house in California so it’s nice that we can afford one in Kentucky.  It is a perfect size for two people and we finally get to have a yard for Angel.  I’ve already been scoping out the local restaurant scene and getting advice on places to try.  One of my biggest fears was that there would only be chain restaurants, and at first glance that’s how it appeared.  But after talking to others it sounds like there are lots of local gems and I can’t wait to find them!

In other news, Michigan football had a tremendous season!  They ended the regular season at 10-2 with a win over ohio!!!  That hadn’t happened since my freshman year of college, so it was a nice weight finally lifted off our shoulders.  Our coach, Brady Hoke, was also named the B1G coach of the year, and very deservedly so.  I’m so excited about this team in the future and am proud as always to be a Michigan Wolverine.  We are headed to the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech.  I’ll do a more in depth bowl preview as they get closer, but just having Michigan in a BCS bowl is beyond awesome!

So that’s a lot new for me, wish me luck in my move (did I mention how crazy my life is?)  I’ll keep you all updated on my new life in Kentucky!

Football Tuesday (I know, just a little late): The Crazy Big Ten

I wanted to get one more post done before I get super involved with NaNoWriMo (which I’ve started, yay!).  I hope to keep updating the blog, but we’ll see how this month goes with all the other writing I’ll be doing.

So the last time I talked about college football I hyped up Wisconsin. Since then, they’ve lost two games in a row...yeah...so apparently my hype is the kiss of death, awesome.  For a while it looked like Wisconsin was going to run away with the big ten, win their division and totally out play the other team in the championship game.  Well, that might not happen now that they’ve lost two games. 

There are all kinds of different scenarios that would play out, causing lots of possible combinations of teams playing for the Big Ten Championship.  The teams left in the race on the Legends side are Michigan (yay!), Michigan State, Nebraska and Iowa (although after losing to Minnesota I can’t see them making it). And on the Leaders side are Penn State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State. 

kinda what it feels like...

I’ll only get into how Michigan can get there.  Mostly, they have to win out and hope Michigan State loses one more conference game.  There are some crazy scenarios if Michigan loses another game it would have to be cross division (Illinois or OSU) and hope that Michigan state loses a division game.  Michigan can’t lose to Iowa or Nebraska if they want a shot at the championship game.

All of these weird losses in the Big Ten just show that it isn’t the strongest conference out there.  This makes me sad, because the Big Ten is my favorite conference (obviously!) and its hard for others to give them respect when they can’t earn it. 

As for the rest of the country.  The big showdown is this weekend between LSU and Bama, should be a good game the only downside of it is that its on CBS.  Not sure what it is about college football on CBS but its just not as good as ESPN or ABC, I don’t feel like they capture all the greatness that is college football. 

As for the other unbeatens, it would be fun to see Stanford go undefeated and get the chance to play for a national championship (since I live close to their campus).  I think Oklahoma State will lose a game and I don’t see Boise State dropping one but if there are already two unbeatens then I don’t see them getting a shot at the title game.  However, if the only two unbeaten teams left are an SEC champ and Boise State I think Boise should definitely get the chance to play for a national championship over a one loss team.

Hopefully I’ll get a post out this Friday but no promises (that whole NaNoWriMo thing might be taking up all my free time).

Football Friday: Bye Week

Well last weekend was a bust.  From the ugly uniforms, to the poor playing (on Michigan's part), and the dirty playing (on msu's part) it all just sucked.  And now it's behind us, onto the future!  We (Michigan) can still make it to the big ten championship game if we win out (be positive!) and MSU loses to Wisconsin (which will happen, have you seen how good Wisconsin is?) and any other big ten team (also very likely because sparty will be sparty).  Although the big ten championship game might be a lopsided one since Wisconsin seriously looks good (they really should be getting more love in the polls).



There was a collective WTF when these uniforms showed up on the field


This week, we have a bye, which seems kinda like a let down, I get sad when i can't watch my team play :(  But its probably a good week for a bye, let some players get healthy and let the staff figure out all the things that went wrong against msu (starting with the uniforms, please, Dave Brandon, never again).  We will be ready to take on Purdue next weekend, I have a good feeling about it!  No worries though, there should be plenty of games to keep me interested this Saturday.

The most exciting games will be on in the evening.  That's when (the previously mentioned) Wisconsin vs MSU game is on, and I'm really hoping for Wisconsin to put MSU back in their place.  An interesting west coast match up is Stanford vs Washington.  Stanford hasn't play anyone worth anything, and they do look good, but this will be the first time they play a team that is worth anything.  Even though Washington isn't great (they lost pretty bad to Nebraska) they should give us a chance to see if Stanford is worthy of  being in the discussion for first place.  A good game of unranked teams is the notre dame vs usc game.  I have a hard time with this one because I hate both teams.  A notre dame win would help us, but if they win the rest of their games (since they have a cupcake schedule, except Stanford) they would be BCS eligible which is ridiculous, the aren't good enough for the BCS and really don't deserve it (again, always overrated).  The Auburn, LSU match up earlier in the day should be good, but I don't really see LSU stumbling in this game so it will just be LSU winning, again.  That's it for the week, enjoy all the football!

Football Friday: If you can't get into college go to state...

It's Michigan vs Michigan State this weekend!!

This actually has a lot at stake for both teams,  who ever wins this game will have a very good chance at winning the legends division in the Big Ten.  Michigan has lost the last three and we are very hungry to take back the Paul Bunyan trophy and put little brother back in his place!  This is an interesting rivalry since a lot of people outside of the state of Michigan don't realize its a big deal.  People who live in Michigan say how annoying the state fans have become, but again that isn't seen outside of the state of Michigan (I guess not many state fans make it out of there...).  So usually this is one of our lesser rivalries, but this year its going to be a big deal.

While I was a student at Michigan we beat state every year and I have some great memories from those games.  The best football game I have ever been to was against MSU in 2004.  Michigan was down by 17 points with under 9 minutes to play and that's when things got exciting.  It was getting late, cold, and it was Halloween weekend so lots of students started to leave (a really really bad decision). 

In the last 8 minutes Michigan was able to score 17 unanswered points to bring it to a tie (this was helped with a recovered onside kick and it might've been the first time I learned what that was ;).  With a few seconds left state attempted a very long field goal.  I was in the marching band at the time and during big games they would have us sit on the field so they could sell out seats.  Our section happened to be on the field right behind the endzone so depth perception is a little off.  Anyway, from our seats it looked like the field goal was good and I remember feeling crushed, but only for a second or two and realized the stadium was cheering because we were heading to overtime!

 Edwards had a huge part in the comeback

Overtime was ridiculous since the played at the endzone that was right in front of us!  The stadium was so loud and excited (well those that didn't leave early) and I think I was shaking the whole time (not sure if it was nerves or the cold, probably a combination).  After one OT we were still tied, then after two we were STILL tied.  Third overtime in college football means you have to go for the 2 point conversion if you get a touchdown.  We were on offense first and scored a touchdown (yay!) then went for two, and Henne threw the ball to Massaquoi (who had some really bad drops in the game) and he caught it!!  All our defense had to do was stop them, and they did!

Next thing I know we are rushing the field jumping around with the football team and cheering our hearts out!  Rob and I watched a replay of this game yesterday and as we saw the band rush the field we recognized so many people and caught glimpses of each other in the clips of celebration they showed.  Here are two videos of the second (second half comeback) and third (OT win) parts of the game (don't get down when we go down by 17, it gets better, trust me!), bonus points if you find me in the videos!

I don't have energy or time to write about any other games this weekend, I will be watching all of them but this is a big weekend for my Wolverines.  Let's Go Blue beat msu!!!!!

Michigan Vacation Part 1: Football!!

So I realize I've been missing for a while (almost two weeks!).  And I thought it was about time I updated you on where I've been and what I was up to.  I was in Michigan for 9 days so lets start with the first event, Michigan Football!

We arrived at the Detroit Airport and waited what seemed like forever in the rental car line.  We had a small issue with the rental car, we had reserved a small compact car (since we would be driving a lot, and we love to be efficient) but they couldn't seem to find a small car for us so we ended up with a free upgrade to one of the smallest cars they had, a Ford Flex (not small at all, it seats 7, and is really just a minivan in disguise).  It was also super cold and raining, we were not ready for this weather!

Check that ext temp for September 30th!

We spent the first weekend in Ann Arbor mostly for the football game, but also got to see some old friends and eat at some favorite restaurants.  First I wanted to do this link up with the Belles of Saturday and show off some of my gameday pics (and try and expose their blog to some northern schools!):

I <3 Denard

If you look closely you can see the ball in the air headed for Vincent Smith!

The game was great and Michigan won 58-0, yay! (I realize I've missed two Fridays for Football Friday, but I promise this week will be a good one with the big game we have against little brother!)  There were some fun offensive plays in the game where we used two quarterbacks (Gardner at QB and Denard in the back field) and the awesome trick play where Vincent Smith (usually a RB) threw for a touchdown.  It was also nice to shut them out (even though it took a lot of mistakes on their part to help us with that).

Most important were the people I saw before the game while tailgating.  I got to see most of my closest friends from college and I saw every person I ever shared a room with (which is pretty good considering I live in CA and only make it back there once a year).  Its always so nice to see old friends and catch up with them and their lives.

Roomies 417 Michigan House, "Reunited and it Feels so Gooood" (thanks for the great pic Typh!)

After the game we bar hopped to see the rest of the games of that day/night.  Including Wisconsin destroying Nebraska and little brother (michigan state) beating that school down south (ohio state)!  I did all this with my girl friends since Rob was off getting a tattoo and then going to a "bachelor party".

As for the food we had throughout the day, we started the day with bagels, cream cheese and fragels from Bagel Fragel on North Campus (jalapeno bagel with parmesan artichoke cream cheese, yummy!). Then some great tailgating food and drinks (Apple Cider and Hot Dam!). For dinner we went to Cottage Inn, and I got a quick snack at NYPD!

A great day in Ann Arbor full of football, food, and friends!

More of my Michigan trip to follow...

Football Friday: I won't be watching any games.

The reason I won't be watching any games is because I will be camping all weekend at Point Reyes in Northern California.  As much as I tried to convince Rob we should head out there after at least the morning Saturday games (So I could watch Michigan), he said no, we have reservations starting Friday night.  So then I tried to look into a nearby sports bar (I could just sneak away for the morning), but it is really hard to find a sports bar in the Bay Area if you are outside of San Francisco so no luck there.  I have given up and decided to accept the fact that I will miss college football this weekend.  The only consolation is that I will be enjoying the outdoors all weekend at a National Park, Point Reyes!

I can taste the oysters now!

All that doesn't mean I can't discuss this weekends games, though.  It'll be short roundup of things I would look forward to if I were watching the games.  There are only a handful of "big" games and they are all teams in the south-ish.  I'm kinda sick of all these southern teams and I'm ready for some real Big Ten games!

First up is Florida State (FSU) vs Clemson.  Clemson did a good job last week with Auburn, but Auburn wasn't going to be great this season anyway.  FSU did a decent job in their loss to Oaklahoma, but I'm still not sure if they will be "back" this season. Then we have Oaklahoma state vs Texas A&M, I think both of these teams are over rated, but Texas A&M a little more so. Last is Askansas vs Bama, I don't really like either of these teams.  Can you tell that I really don't care about these games? Maybe it is a good thing I'm going camping...

One thing I would like to see is from the Big Ten, 10 of our teams are playing this week and we have a good chance to go 10-0 on the weekend.  It won't take any crazy upsets, just all 10 teams playing solid football.  Michigan probably has one of the tougher games, against San Diego State (SDSU).  SDSU has an experienced quarterback who is a great passer, and Michigan's secondary is not great.  Michigan also stole their coach, Brady Hoke, last year and he apparently gave his former players the news via mass text message.  I would be out for some revenge if I were them, so I hope Michigan is ready!  Maybe Denard's passes will start working better for him this week, or maybe he'll just run run run...

Still think the logo is stupid...but love the conference.

Enjoy all the games.  I'll be hiking, tide pooling, camping, devouring oysters, and trying not to think about the football games I'm missing (that shouldn't be too hard).  Big Ten conference play starts next week and I will be IN MICHIGAN, YAY!

I'll be here, be jealous!

Football Friday: The correct way to use a cowbell

I watched the LSU vs Mississippi State game last night, and it was quite the defensive struggle for a while, but eventually LSU pulled through and I really think they just wore out the Miss State defense.  But the worst part of the game was those damn cowbells.  Lots of people complained about the vuvuzelas during the world cup in South Africa, but I think these are worse.  It's one of those background noises that just sounds like a swarm of bugs, very annoying.

A much better use of a cowbell would be one person beat out a rhythm with a drumstick and everyone around them cheering something catchy like "Go Blue".  This is much less annoying and makes for a unified cheer instead of just background noise.  But I might be just a little biased :)
(I tried to look up you tube videos of both these situations but it was hard to find anything, I guess you have to go to the games and judge for yourself!)

Anyway, this weekend my Wolverines take on the Eagles of Eastern Michigan University.  This game is usually a walk over for us, but there are a few things different this year.  They come into this game 2-0, I can't remember the last time this happened.  And they have Mike Hart as an assistant coach of some sort (hopefully they are just grooming him so he can take over the running backs position coach at Michigan in a few years!).

I <3 Hart

Another interesting game is obviously Oklahoma vs Florida State (fsu).  I'm still not convinced that fsu is for real, I think Oklahoma will beat them.  The other game to keep an eye on it ohio state (osu) vs miami.  I hate osu, but they are part of the big ten which I always try to root for so I'm kinda stuck.  Miami already lost a game so it'd be great to see them beat osu.  But I's also like he big ten to look good, for once, so a road win would be nice.  I can't decide who I want to see lose! And lastly, michigan state (msu) vs notre dame (nd), I'm also torn on this one.  I think nd is better this year, but they are still over rated so I think I'd like to see them lose (again!).  Lots of people root against MSU (they are a hated rival) but I don't see many msu fans around here (they usually don't make it vary far out of Michigan) so I don't have to deal with their fans.  I'll take Oklahoma, Miami, and msu.

Check out my earlier post for some great game day fashions (haha, fashion, from me!).

Football Friday*: Under the Lights!

Its Michigan vs Notre Dame this Saturday, YES!

I know, I know, neither team is ranked so whats the big deal...well, it must be a big deal because ESPN Gameday will be in Ann Arbor tomorrow!  It is also the first night game ever in Michigan Stadium (which I guess means the first night time kick-off, because there was that triple overtime against msu a few years ago that went well into the night!).  I'm not a fan of the "throwback" uniforms we will be wearing, but if that's the worst thing all night, I'll be happy!

I have mixed feelings every year about this game.  I'm always very excited, but also very nervous.  Its so early in the season you never really know what to expect.  I do not, however, agree with Lou Hotlz when he always says this game will make or break your season. Maybe thats true for notre dame because they don't play a real conference schedule, but I don't think a win would send us to the national championship game and I don't think a loss will cause us to implode forthe rest of the season.

I also have mixed memories about games in this rivalry in the past. My first ever Michigan vs nd game was in '03 and it was a total blowout (38-0, M) and all I could think was why were we so scared of these guys and why were they ranked?  Ever since then I've always felt the were overrated...always (even when we lost to them, I still felt like they were overrated).  Some of my best memories are from '06 and '09.   In '06 Henne and Manningham lit up the field and our defense came out hitting hard and destroyed (then Heisman hopeful) Brady Quinn.  I loved the Sports Monday headline "Heisman-handled".  Also when Mannigham ended up in the band I got to give him a congratulatory pat on the shoulder!  In '09 I was returning to Ann Arbor as an alum and our team had just come off a terrible season and was looking for any glimmer of hope.  We seemed to have found it for at least that one game in freshman QB Tate Forcier and it ended up being a nail biter, come from behind victory!

A familiar sight in '06, I miss this defense :(



From '09, I was there, cheering my head off!

 I think it will be good and close this year but sadly I won't be able to watch it live (so no texting or calling me!), since we have yet another wedding to go to. PLEASE no more weddings on Saturdays in the Fall, if you are my friend you will understand and WON'T plan your wedding for a Michigan Football Saturday, right? right!  Ok, rant over, unless I get another wedding invite....

I'm not sure there are any other exciting games this weekend, I guess Bama at Penn State might be good, I'd love to see an upset there. The Auburn vs Miss st game should be good, but I can't see Auburn beating them. Or maybe the in state rivalry in Iowa? I'm a little curious about the Oregon vs Nevada game, but that could quickly turn into a rout...or maybe not (as much as I enjoy watching Oregon, I feel a slight tie to Nevada since it's so close to where I grew up!).

Anyway, GO BLUE beat the Irish!

I couldn't resist!

*I think this will be a new thing for me every Friday, thoughts?

The Best Season is Finally Here!

Its almost fall, and that means its COLLEGE FOOTBALL season (aka the best season)!!! It's been a long wait but its finally here, the first college football game is on tonight, and my beloved Wolverines play on Saturday!

I have a strange history with the sport of football.  Growing up I was very athletic and played lots of sports but had zero respect for football, maybe because I thought it was stupid that only americans play it.  It also didn't help that our high school football team was god awful and they seemed to get all the money, when our soccer teams were consistently making it to state championships (I might have some pent up bitterness).  Every now and then I had to play in the pep band for those football games, this was also pretty terrible.  We didn't have a marching band so sometimes our director would throw together a random assortment of students from the jazz bands which resulted in poor instrumentation.  And we played really crappy music, our high school didn't have (doesn't have?) a fight song so when we scored a touchdown (which was rare) we played the "Hey Song", which is awful.  All this resulted in me using the common phrase "Football is Stupid", ask anyone in my family, I said it all the time, I truly hated the sport.

Then came college, everyone told me that i would have to like football because I was going to school in the Midwest.  And I felt like that would be ok, I've always loved big sporting events but to me football was never that.  I had also made the decision to play in the marching band which obviously revolves around football, this I was also ok with, maybe I was turning over a new leaf.  I was even excited for my first football game in the Big House. 

Yup, that's me, second in line

Then, BAM, I loved all of it!  I soon became Michigan  football obsessed, over the next year this turned into an obsession with college football as a whole.  Now, my Saturdays are run by football I want to watch games all day and eat/drink/tailgate.  I read a ridiculous amount of blogs about Michigan and college football, I really can't get enough.

Pure love

That brings me to this weekend the start of this amazing, amazing time.  The most important game being, of course, Michigan vs WMU (GO BLUE!).  Other games I've very interested in are LSU vs Oregon (I'm taking Oregon in this one), Boise vs Georgia (going with Boise).  A few upsets that I'd love to see are Minnesota over USC (go big ten!) and south florida over notre dame (who doesn't love watching notre dame lose?).  Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this time of the year?


I hope to see some of this!