The Fate of the Michigan Team...Not That One

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​There is a commercial that used to run ad nausea during NCAA football and basketball games, and occasionally you still see it. It profiles a random female NCAA athlete or a male athlete in a non-revenue producing sport and highlights their athletic prowess as well as their pursuit of an academic degree. The tagline is poignant, "There are 380000 NCAA student athletes, and most of them will go pro in something other than sports."

Most of us as fans give our football team unwaivering support. For their time as Wolverines, be it three, four, or five years, they are part of our immediate family. And even when they move on to the next stage of their lives, then remain a part of our family in an extended role. We watch many of them go on to make us proud at the next level, and as tailgater Lisa pointed out in her message board post, we bask in the glory ofmore of our players than any other University. But it's that next tier of players that are often forgotten. Below the NFL roster players, be it pro bowlers, 2nd stringers, 3rd stringers, or practice squad guys, there's a group of Michigan men that are hanging on to a dream. They find themselves moving in and out of NFL camps for tryouts each fall. Making a team is all they think about. They want to participate. They want to play again.

With NFL Europe now defunct, and the Arena League's 50-yard field...enter the AAFL. The game you love, with teams from the hotbeds of college football. And the best part...bullshit free. No mascots. Team Michigan. That's it, that's the name. The rosters are made of men that GRADUATED and exhausted all of their college eligibility, lending a certain amount of credibility to the character of the players. There is also a regional aspect to the roster, as players that wish to participate that went to college in the team's home state are automatically on that team's roster, with the rest of the positions on the roster filled by a draft. In Michigan, they even secured a first class venue in Ford Field.

I was excited to see names like Willis Barringer, Garrett Rivas, James Whitley, and even old number 21. Yep, that's right, Jeremy LeSueur. Sure, not really household names in the world of professional football, but they ARE household names to us. The release of the Michigan roster names made me think about all of the players that have disappeared off of our radar over the years. It would be nice to see some of them again. Plus, seriously, it's football in the spring. There's not that many teams, and in turn not that many games...which is good because that makes it not too much of a commitment for your average fan.

So here's the problem: Garrett Rivas may never get a chance to boot that first kickoff. The league was scheduled to open camp next Wednesday, with games starting in April, but now they are apparently in financial peril. The league has a very well run viral marketing campaign through emails to fans from players, and they have a well-designed website. But now that website is headed by a message from the league that states that they are looking for a new majority owner. Not exactly the thing you want to be looking for going into your first season.

Every effort is being made to insure that the '08 season will be played as planned, but this depends upon locating a new majority owner with the needed liquidity, which in turn depends upon the League being able to finalize a TV deal. Otherwise, the inaugural season will be postponed to '09.

Enter the comedic naysayers...

Luckily, We'll all only have the memories of their draft and its epic covert liveblog on Snarkastic to cherish as we watch Eric Crouch and Chris Leak desperately try to stave off real life for another year. Trust us, men: having done it for years now, it's well worth the effort. Have you considered law school? It's like a pro football career, but with delicious and utterly crippling student loan debt.

and...

The players who were selected in the initial draft may also be an indication as to why the league should just give up now. Headcase/uber-washout Eric Crouch managed to be the third overall pick. I won't lie, when Eric Crouch is your league's third overall pick, it better be for a flag-football league.

Even more hilarious, Peter Warrick was drafted 40th overall. And Wayne Fontes's brother was going to be a head coach. Awesome.


That's John Fontes he's talking about. Um, he's Michigan's coach. OK, OK, maybe it's a little funny.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I still believe there is a place for something like this. Maybe they were thinking too big, maybe they had bad accountants, I'm not sure. If nothing else, the idea of this league should remind you that there is a large amount of amazing athletes that wore the Maize and Blue, men that made a difference at the amateur level, and depending on your level of dedication, made a difference in your life in some way. They now reside in sports purgatory, trying to find their place in "real life" with a dream of making it in professional sports. And wherever they are, and whatever they do, they deserve your support and respect.

Now Read This

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​This everyday stuff ain't easy kids. You've got to respect the dedicated bloggers. There are sooooo many out there with regular and original content, especially those with Michigan ties. For those that have been under a rock, and because my blogroll is embarassingly small, here's a few of my daily reads that keep me informed and inspire the ideas for what you often see here:


  • MGoBlog: Like I need to send you here. Simply the best.

  • Michigan Football Saturdays: Lots of great flashbacks and great analysis. Also a Lloyd lover and a fellow Pirate that has covered yours truly on occasion.

  • Autumn Thunder: Pure fun. Plus I'm quoted on the front page. Notice my self-indulgent theme here.

  • Michigan Sports Center: Like a young Mr. Cook with his amazing analysis fresh out of high school. He's proof that the future is bright in the Michigan blogging world.

  • Straight Bangin': Can't decide if it's a hip hop blog posing as a Michigan blog or vice versa...either way I love it.

  • The Blog That Yost Built: Hockey heavy and very well written, you should be going here every day through the Frozen Four.


Hope you enjoy them all and click their ads for posterity.

Another Super Tuesday and Reader Feedback!

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How many pivotal Tuesdays can we have in one year? It's Clinton-Obama...for all the marbles...again. Seems like a long way to go to see who is going to be the Ohio State of the U.S. election.

Segwaying nicely into your government and you, or your government and college football if you will, I present to you House Resolution 938:

Commending the West Virginia University Mountaineer football team for exemplifying the pride, determination, and spirit of the Mountain State and overcoming adversity with skill, commitment, and teamwork to win the 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Whereas Mountaineer receiver Tito Gonzales demonstrated outstanding play with a 79-yard touchdown pass and showed a national television audience how important Mountaineer success was to his team and his State;


Wow...and you were worried about a war for oil. Meanwhile Congressman Alan B. Mollohan wants you to give a hand job to Tito Gonzales for catching a ball...sorry...I mean, for catching a ball on national television. They were honored at the national level, and more recently at the state level, and for what??? For winning a Bowl Game with aracist interim coach after not taking care of a homegrown talent and forcing him to look to blue-er pastures.

Which brings me to a comment left just yesterday afternoon on one of my posts from a couple of weeks ago. With all of this posting during my lental obligation, it is deep in the archives, but in the interest of not wanting it to fall on deaf ears blind eyes, I give you the ramblings of reader goblue381...

I have a question for you. Have you ever been to West Virginia? I probably would guess not because you are making stereotypical statements about the state that you know nothing about. You are probably one of those people who doesn't even know where West Virginia is. I am ashamed to see this article on this website. I graduated from UM in 2004 and currently attend law school at WVU. Your bashing of a professor I hold in high regard is very disturbing. You attack someone who you don't know at all. You act like you know more than he does when in actual reality, he's got more knowledge and experience in law than you'll ever have in your lifetime. You write this article as slander to West Virginia. You call out the West Virginia University Sports and Law Society like we need to smoke drugs and feel good about ourselves before we read it. In no way did that blog EVER attack Michigan at all. It is an informational blog to discuss the legal aspects of the feud between Rich Rodriguez and West Virginia. I read this article today and it makes me ashamed to be a Michigan fan because of people like you who know NOTHING about the law or West Virginia. Yes, you can write whatever you want about West Virginia because its your 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech but when you attack a person's character as well as an area you know nothing about, you are crossing the line. Shame on you.

I'm no lawyer. In fact, I'm not much of anything, but I do have this tailgate party that I attend and support. Basically, I'm just a fan with a blog with some humor that is often tasteless. Yes, I have been to West Virginia. Played golf there, up in a mountainous area. 18 holes for $9.50. Classy. Muskrat sandwiches were available at the turn, as well as Miller High life. Unfortunately, there were no inoculations for hepatitis to be found. When it comes to West Virginia, it's really not MY stereotype. Ever typed "west virginia redneck" into google? Prepare to waste a full day clicking through the 50,000 sites. You're right though, my limited time in West Virginia is no where near sufficient to form such jaded opinions. Plus I've never been to WVU, I've only read about it:

Fire officials in Morgantown, W.Va., have ordered the removal of all upholstered furniture, debris and flammable objects from porches in city neighborhoods with high West Virginia University student populations in an effort to put a damper on the outdoor furniture blazes that have become a tradition.

Honestly, I didn't attack the intelligence of Professor a.d.p.c. He's probably the smartest man alive...in West Virginia. The equivalent of Not Sure being the smartest man in the world. And while he may have "more knowledge and experience in law" than I will ever have in my lifetime, I am fairly certain that neither he nor you will ever dine on a deep fried white castle hamburger. What I was ripping on was his name, which he so pompously leaves uncapitalized and accented. Somehow that was an attack on his character? This guy might be Mother Theresa for all I know. Though my psychic (or psychotic) opinion is that he is a lot like that guy from the Harvard bar in Good Will Hunting:

I was just hoping you might give me some insight into the evolution of the market economy in the Southern colonies. My contention is that prior to the Revolutionary War, the economic modalities, especially in the southern colonies, could most aptly be characterized as agrarian, pre-capitalist --

So to sum up: I made a little fun of West Virginia, commented on a law blog being boring, and poked fun at a man's bad faculty photo. Ah, so sue me. Wait, law school right? No, please don't sue me. My apologies. All I ask of you is this: Don't be ashamed to be a Michigan fan because of me. In no way do I represent the typical Michigan fan. What you should be ashamed of is the fact that your BA in History and Econ didn't get you into Michigan Law, and instead you had to go West Virginia, which I don't find on this list. Do you like apples?

The Weekend Roundup, Tommy Boy Has Been Bad Edition: March 4, 2008

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​What you missed this weekend while you aced the WWF Action Figures Quiz...

The March, the Madness

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​It's here...March that is. Despite the fall of basketball around these parts, there is still something to be excited about. Bracketology. Two weeks from tonight, the Big Ten tournament will conclude and Selection Sunday will begin. Michigan, outside of what would be the most improbable scenario in basketball history, will be sitting at home in the post season. No NCAA, no NIT. But they can't stop us from filling out our brackets. No sir.

The 2008 UMTailgate.com tournament challenge will be the 8th annual, which is both amazing and disturbing. Even more amazing and disturbing is that I recently received an email from a 7-month old child. It reads...

I whooped all your asses from the womb last year.... Who wants more?


For those that don't remember, the unborn grandson of The Godfather won last year's challenge, and now he is apparently talking shit. Challenge invites coming soon....watch your mailboxes.