DOMINATION

/

It's Great To Be A Michigan Wolverine

And it's even better not to be a Spartan. Just when the Spartans had seemed to hit rock bottom, the Wolverines dug the hole a little deeper and stuffed them in it. Not since 1947 had the Spartans endured such a beating. The Maize and Blue racked up seven unanswered touchdowns on way to a 49-3 thrashing of Michigan State in front of the 3rd largest crowd in college football history. No extra second, no bad call in the endzone, no controversy whatsoever, just annihilation.

Rivalry games seem to bring out the best in teams. It's a test of heart, of 'who wants it more?'. Rivalry games make miracles happen. The most downtrodden teams have the opportunity to change their seasons. Coaches can save (or lose) their jobs. Players look accross the line and see people they played with and against in high school. Bragging rights are on the line. Players come to play. That's what makes this win so amazing. After disappointing their fans and being labeled 'underachieving talent', after being a dark horse National Champion pick only to be clinging to a chance at a bowl bid, and after their quarterback was suspended for substance abuse, what did the Spartans do? Nothing. They sat back and watched. They quit...and I love it. It's time to talk trash to your Sparty friends. Give it to them good...for a full year. Remind them that if you totalled up all the points Michigan State has won by in their 8 victories since 1978, you would come up with a total of forty-six points, the same differential that Michigan racked up in sixty-minutes.

The Pros and Cahns of Tailgating

The last two tailgates have been amazing. The amount of food, drinks, and people is increasing weekly despite the chill in the air. On Saturday, we were graced with the presence of Joe Cahn, the Commisioner of Tailgating. Amazingly, we had prepared a sausage and cheese chowder recipe off of his website, Tailgating.com. He enjoyed a bowl of chowder and chatted with us about tailgating techniques. On Sunday, CBS This Morning ran a story on Joe, following him for a weekend in Pennsylvania. As it aired, he was tailgating with Lions fans at Ford Field, completing his weekend in Michigan. Thanks to The Commissioner for stopping by UMTailgate.com and for the Tailgating America apron. It will be worn with pride.

One Moment In Time

/

Blue Out After A Blow Out

With all that has occurred this season, one thing has stuck in my mind. As some of you may know, I sit in section 30 for almost every home game. Each year, a new crop of Freshmen Michigan students get their student season tickets, and are assigned to section 30. I feel like sort of a mentor to them, this year more than most, as a small group of Freshmen have taken quite a liking to the UMTailgate.com crew, and marvel at our hospitality, our spirit, and our commitment. Getting back to my point...the fans this year have been louder. The Penn State game was where it was most evident. Penn State quarterback Zack Mills was forced to call a time out at one point in the game because his teammates couldn't hear the cadence. I've never seen that before in Michigan Stadium.

Feeding off this energy, and going with the trend of university issued T-shirts, Michigan students have organized 'Blue Out', where students will all wear identical blue T-shirts. Those that travel have seen this a couple of times this season. Notre Dame's 'Reutrn To Glory' shirts seem to work, Illinois's 'Muck Fichigan' shirts were less successful. Now that we've seen the exciting (Washington, Penn State), the mediocre (Purdue, Utah), and the horrific (Iowa), I can only hope it's time to see the spectacular, the dominating, and the focused. Hopefully, the Wolverines can regain the fan's respect and re-energize the crowd that has so far done so well. The season is not over. Lloyd is not on the chopping block, Bobby is. Though he plays like it sometimes, John Navarre is not on drugs. Win out, and it's a ten win regular season. Keep the faith, and keep cheering. Go Blue!

Emmy Winning Actor to Appear at UMTailgate

Yes, that's right, our own Bill "Bloomfield" Hasler will be bringing Tim Busfield to the UMTailgate this Saturday. Known best for his role as Elliot on tv's Thirtysomething, Tim has also appeared in other tv shows such as Family Ties and The West Wing, and has appeared in several movies, most notably Revenge of the Nerds and Field of Dreams. There is one problem...Tim is from East Lansing. We will try not to hold that against him as we eat, drink, and prepare to demolish the Spartans.

Fuct

/


DSC00094.JPG

MSU 26, Michigan 24 (In Magical OT)

How can I screw thee?...let me count the ways
The game ended at Spartan Stadium in dramatic fashion. The weird thing is that the game actually ended more than once. The Spartan's game winning drive included controversial penaties, game clock fraud, and possibly the most terrible no-call on a holding penalty ever on a play that shouldn't have even occurred. In the end, the Michigan players walked off the field disgusted, cheated, and unsatisfied. Lloyd Carr on Michigan Replay said he expects a call from the Big Ten apologizing for the disgrace.

The horrible thing about it is that it should have never been that close. The Wolverines were out-rushed and basically out-played by their weaker neighbor. TJ Duckett ran for over 200 yards on a defense let up an average of 54 yards for the first 7 games of the season. Even more stomach turning is that fact that Michigan State has the class of an XFL franchise... several times during the game, the Spartans put on a dancing exhibition both on the sidelines and on the field to the early 90's cult-favorite, "Jump Around". In the end however, they prevailed, throwing a short pass to TJ in the end zone as the clock expired (again). Reached for comment, Daris Dewberry of Phoenix, AZ said "I hope he didn't lob... did he lob?".

Field Passes Marred by Upset
Just want to drop a quick thank you to Bill, or MTraveller as he likes to be called, for acquiring sideline passes for the game. I must admit, I have never been closer to the action and felt closer to the Michigan team. The downside of that is the fact that I had to accept this loss from that new perspective...and it sucks real bad.

Where we stand
Essentially, this just takes away the possibility of the Rose Bowl and the National Championship...which isn't good. However, Michigan still controls its own destiny as it pertains to the Big Ten Championship and a BCS bid. They hold the tiebreaker against Illinois, and if they win out, they will get the Big Ten #1 slot in the BCS....again....if they win out.

Happy Birthday
UMTailgate.com would also like to wish a happy birthday to the little girl that got lost in East Lansing... We hope the rest of your birthday week goes a little better.

GO BLUE!


North Until You Smell It...West Until You Step In It

/

Sparty Awaits

It what is typically known as one of the biggest rivalries in the college football, the Michigan vs. Michigan Agricultural College game is upon us. Michigan, looking to stay in BCS contention, travels into East Lansing this weekend looking to make yet another statement. Here are some of the famous dates in the series history, courtesy of the Detroit News...

  • 1898 : First game between schools: Michigan 39, Michigan Agricultural College 0.
  • 1902: Fielding H. Yost's first game against Michigan Agricultural College. It was played at Regents Field in Ann Arbor. Michigan won 119-0, scoring 20 touchdowns worth five points each.
  • 1927: A crowd of 27,864 showed up for the first meeting between the teams at Michigan Stadium. Three-time All-American Bennie Oosterbaan led U-M to a 21-0 win.
  • 1947 : Michigan State discarded its familiar gold and black uniforms and wore green and white for the first time. Michigan's "Mad Magicians" won, 55-0. It was the first time the game had been on television, with Paul Williams at the microphone for WWJ in Detroit.
  • 1954: Duffy Daugherty's first year as MSU coach, but Michigan's Ron Kramer dominated the game as a sophomore, blocking two punts, and the Wolverines won, 33-7
  • 1964: On the way to the Big Ten championship, Bump Elliot had his finest day against Michigan State with a 17-10 victory.
  • 1989: Bo Schembechler's last game against Michigan State resulted in a 10-7 victory.
  • 1990: U-M Coach Gary Moeller's first game against MSU was spoiled by a controversial call on Desmond Howard, who was tripped in the end zone as he tried to catch a pass for a two-point conversion. MSU 28, U-M 27.
  • 1997: U-M, on its way to a national championship, beat State, 23-7, with Charles Woodson making two interceptions, one in spectacular style in front of his bench.
  • 2001: U-M, favored by six, leads the series 61-27-5.

Party With Sparty...and the UMTailgate.com Crew

Looking for us? The crew from UMTailgate.com can be found from 8:30am 'til kickoff at the University Lutheran Church, 1020 South Harrison Road, just a few blocks from the stadium. We hope to see you all there. Bring food and alcohol.

GO BLUE!