Your 2003 Michigan Wolverines
/From Beale to Bourbon to 7th Avenue
It was arduous, but well worth it, as the UMTailgate.com tour took the long way to Tampa. Travelling through Stevensville, Memphis, and New Orleans ended the monotony of the straight shot down Wolverine Bowl Game Parkway (A.K.A. I-75). In Tampa, we (Webmaster and Bloomfield) met up with Stephen, Bubba, and Old Frank for a quick tailgate, some souvenir shopping, and a stadium tour. Yes, a stadium tour was warranted before the game. I can't stress enough how much better Raymond-James Stadium (known to the locals as Ray-Jay) is than the Citrus Bowl. Someone needs to swap the position of these bowls in the Big Ten - SEC hierarchy. The food was actually edible, the beer was cold, and the place was clean.
The Strength is in Our Defense?
A shootout at the Outback Bowl ended with victory for the Wolverines. Chris Perry ran for four touchdowns and had just under 200 all-purpose yards. John Navarre threw for over 300 yards. But the game was won by taking care of the football and capitalizing on turnovers. Coupled with opportune offensive conversions, the Wolverines pulled away from the Gators and sealed a 38-30 victory.
The Ohio State University is The National Champion
Stealing the fire from my bowl season enjoyment, the Buckeyes upset the Miami Hurricanes and ended the season 14-0, winning the concensus National Championship of college football. Did you cheer or jeer? Mixed emotions filled the Ann Arbor bar from which I viewed the game. Crossed between rooting for the Big Ten and deep rooted hatred for the Buckeyes, I chose the latter, and explained to those that cheered for the scarlet and grey that if Michigan was in Ohio State's position, the Buckeyes would be rooting against the Wolverines so vehemently that Columbus would have been renamed North Beach. Now that it's over, I'm happy for the Big Ten, and happy that the Wolverines may be able to use what they witnessed as motivation for next season. And we WILL need motivation, as the media will no doubt be hyping the 'high-powered' offense that is returning with two seniors at the two biggest skill positions.
