Something

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There was a 10-hour drive ahead of us, so as Mark Moundros broke the plane, we were up and on our way to the concourse.  We're Michigan fans.  A win is something we can always take for granted.  Beat the crowd, beat the traffic...it's been a long day, a long weekend in an alcohol induced haze.  We had reached the outer concourse near the 50-yard line as time expired.  The muffled roar of the spattering of Michigan fans echoed in a mostly empty Metrodome.  And I froze.  I turned and went back in, stood and watched as the team retrieved the Little Brown Jug from it's oversized case and took their jubilation to the corner where the Maize and Blue faithful got the only thing that can begin the healing process...victory.  It seems that recently only disbelief and despair has kept me watching after the game clock has read zero.  The last time there was something positive to savor was September 27th.  Hope for the season was still alive then.  Now, we are looking for hope for the future in general.

It's hard to say how much this means.  Only the next two weekends can give us true perspective.  Trying to decide if we ran into the perfect scenario of overconfident Gophers, or if we made some of the strides that we have been seemingly waiting all season to see is a question that needs deep analysis and time to answer.  Quite frankly, right now, I couldn't care less.  What Sheridan's performance does in the Threet-Sheridan debate is probably important...but again, I don't care.  Why the defensive backfield seemed to be within a step of the ball on every play when they haven't been within 5-yards all season...again important.  Again, don't care.

All that matters is that finally, with seemingly nothing to play for except an old water bottle, things came together.  They won in a way that they had yet to accomplish in the RichRod era...dominance from start to finish.  And winning, now more than ever, feels good.

Minnesota. 10 Hour Drive. Nick Sheridan. Who's With Me?!?!?

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Yes, I'm still alive.  Still uninspired.  Still waiting for somebody, somewhere, to SHOW ME SOMETHING.

It's getting old, this losing shit.  They say you get used to it, and that's when the real problems set in.  Teams will forget how to win, forget what it's like to play in meaningful games, and end up needing not only to learn to play the game (or learn a new system) but need to learn how to be ready mentally again.  I don't think we've approached that point yet (the team that is) but it's not that far away.  Every game still counts, not for this season, but for next season...for future sanity.

So it's with deep remorse that I hat tip MGoBlog for this link to the Freep stating that Nick Sheridan will start in the Wolverines final game at the dark, desolate, and decidedly unspirited off-campus Metrodome.  Ya, it's only a 600 mile trek across the United States...to see Nick Sheridan lead the Wolverines onto the field.

Superlame.

So I continue to repeat to myself...

Four Winds Thursday

The Nook Friday

Al's Breakfast Saturday

Beer during game.  Beer during game.  Beer during game.  Beer during game.

Wanna Go To A Road Game?

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​In a little over a month from now, several of us will transition from our normal everyday lives to a state of unreality. Those unprepared will crumble under the pressure. They will neglect to go to bed early enough the night before. They will forget to pace themselves. They will drink too much. They will eat too much. They will forget to wear sunscreen. They will bring too much beer. They won't bring enough beer. They will forget the all important pre-tailgate "movement," and find themselves staring down that aqua colored plastic hotbox, facing a decision that has racked the brains of man since the beginning of time..."go dirty" or "suck it up." Let me tell you brother, your day can go from festive to f***ed in a hurry.

But that's a home game. Most of us in an extreme emergency at a home tailgate have the option to, well, go home. Whether you forgot your tickets, ran out of money gambling with The Dogans, or you just sharted...you have options. Not so on the road. It takes some careful planning to make a trip to a road game. Tickets are often harder to come by. Hotels are often booked near campuses. Parking flat out sucks. To save money...and your sanity...your plans should be locked down right now.

Taking a look at the road slate for 2008 Michigan Football, you should know that you are left with very few decent road trip options.  Three of the games could be considered "premium" games with high cost tickets and lodging,  and the other two might not be worth your effort.  Here's a brief look:

Notre Dame (9/13/2008), despite their failed attempts at "Returning to Glory" or "Rising From the Ashes," still sell out every game, and Michigan vs. Notre Dame continues to be a sought after rivalry.  Unless you have a friend in the ticket office, or a big donor in your circle of friends, you may be looking to ebay and stub hub for tickets at this point.  On the positive side, the drive from Ann Arbor to South Bend is a piece of cake.  However, South Bend is not a metropolis, and traffic is horrendous anywhere near game time.  Arrive very early and still expect a horrible parking place about a mile from the playing field.  All decent parking is reserved for the prestigious contributors to ND athletics.  If you haven't made the trek, the campus is a "must see."  There is a real Michigan-Law-Quad-feel to the place, and of course despite hating it, you need to gaze upon the golden dome and tip your hat to Touchdown Jesus.

Penn State (10/18/2008) is without a doubt the best game atmosphere in the Big Ten.  The White Out will give you chills, and the passion of the fans is equalled only by their welcoming attitudes...basically the anti-OSU.  The drive is long and without substance.  You will swear there is no way that there is a prestigious University in this barren part of the country, and when you arrive, you will find that there are no hotel rooms anywhere close to campus.  Depending on how long you wait to book rooms, you may be a hour or two away from Beaver Stadium.  Right now, you are probably in the ballpark of the hour-away hotels.  By September, you will be staying in New York or Cleveland, and are better off staying home...unless you come in an RV.

Penn State has no equal when it comes to RV tailgating.  There is basically a city of Winnebagos that are lined up as far as the eye can see, with more food and drinking games than even the most seasoned tailgater can handle.  Tickets, if you didn't win the lotto last Wednesday morning, are kind of difficult to come by.  And while the fans are typically gracious, you don't want to find yourself stuck in the middle of the Penn State section, particularly the student section.  You can never be too careful when dealing with a team that has found itself on the losing end of a matchup for 12 seasons.

Purdue (11/1/2008) is probably your least problematic option.  We are talking November though, so it might be chilly for those of you that have a tendency to get cold.  You can probably still get some tickets, but the stadium experience at Ross-Ade leaves something to be desired.  As an away fan, it is second-class at best, which I have documented time and again.  On a positive note, the drive is not bad at all, about the same as the trek from Ann Arbor to Chicago, and there are decent hotel options within 30 minutes of the stadium, if not on campus.  Typically, our contingency finds itself in Kokomo, Indiana on the night before the game...but that is for different reasons (hello HipHuggers).

Minnesota (11/8/2008) is something you want to avoid at all costs.  Unless you have some nostalgic love for the Metrodome, which won't be housing the Gophers when we return in 2012, don't bother making the 10 hour trek to the arctic in November.  It will be cold.  There is not much tailgate area.  The stadium is disconnected from the campus, and consequently there is a disconnected feel from the fans.

There is one HUGE positive however...they sell beer during the game.

Ohio State (11/22/2008) will mark the 39th anniversary of the 1969 game.  Tickets are nearly impossible, parking is horrible, and Ohio State fans are half-breed idiots that are just waiting to discuss their dominance over you in some kind of hybrid English-Carnival Worker language.  This game is for the advanced tailgater and die hard fan only.  You do not bring your wife/girlfriend/mother/sister to this game, or you will likely find yourself needing to fight an ape-like Buckeye fan to defend her honor.  Win or lose, you sprint to your car at the closing bell, and if your smart you bring a neutral jacket to cover your Michigan gear for that run.  The drive is again on par with Ann Arbor to Chicago, so that's not a problem.  The problem is that if you go .5 mph over the speed limit, you and your Michigan plate will be pulled over by a scarlet and grey police cruiser.

Hope to see you in the white jersey sometime this year.

Michigan vs. Kate: Sort of Live Blog...

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​Life is full of difficult choices. Tonight, it was Kate vs. Michigan. Michigan wins. Kate and I will meet up in TiVoLand this weekend.

Thanks to Rhode Island vs. UMASS, which was a sweet matchup  12 years ago, we missed the tip live from the barn. No matter, because as they switched to the action in Minnesota, the announcers welcomed us with "the Gophers are on an 8-0 run. It was 15-4, and it felt a bit like old times. Old times being two weeks ago, that is.

Michigan battled back and eventually took the lead, at which point the announcer made the obligatory poke...

Remember that Michigan Final Four team (referring to the 1991 squad)? No. No you don't. Because it never happened."

Yep. The NCAA got out the big eraser on that one."

But that's not the best quote of the first half. It's this one:

Minnesota has lost 2 in a row. Michigan has won 3 in a row.Something's got to give."

Actually sir, no. Nothing HAS to give. In fact, if Michigan wins, nothing has "given." Both teams will have continued their current streaks. Try that again sometime when the two teams are on winning streaks, or the two teams are on losing streaks. That way, no matter what, somebody's streak is coming to an end. Come to think of it, that doesn't even make sense. OK, I've got it. If Michigan had the #1 offense, and Minnesota had the #1 defense, or vice versa....then something would have to give.

Michigan leads 35-34 at the half in a game that is not unbearable to watch so far...aside from ESPN being too cheap to send the HD crew to Minneapolis.

Offensive rebounding at both ends keeps the game close for the first 10 minutes of the second half. Michigan, however maintained their halftime lead until Minnesota tied it at the line with 10:30 remaining. The announcers then take a shot at the Michigan facilities as CJ Lee makes a quarter quart dish to Gibson for an and-1. It's amazing how the world loves to hate Wolverine nation. 'Sota takes it's first lead of the second half on an alley oop with 9 minutes to go.

Timeout sends us to highlights of American Christian vs. St. Anthony. It's a slow night in sports out there folks.

Things appearing to begin to unravel as we got to the 8 min officials TO. Minnesota up 55-52.

A bad call is followed by two big Gopher threes, one of which is flat out stupid. Really starting to unravel, but lots of time to go despite the fact the jackass announcer would like you to think this 6 point lead is insurmountable with 5:12 to go. This asshole would like to give Tubby a Marcellus Wallace.

Hmmmm. Unravelling continues. TV timeout with 3:44 to go...63-55 'Sota. Keep the faith?

In an impromptu review of Ohio State's tournament resume (because that's what I was dying to see), Michigan was listed as one of Ohio State's "bad losses." That's where we are folks. We're a bad loss. A three-pointer makes it 11, and then, as I have a flashback of Louis Bullock tapping his head, Michigan violates the shot clock. 2 minutes to go.

Should've picked Kate.

CJ Lee just got blocked so hard that his mother felt it. As we trade turnovers and the game comes to an end, the announcer reminds you that we have 6 points in the last 13 minutes. Ugh.

Michigan is 5-24 from three. That, as they say, is not good.

69-60 Minnesota. Final.

Now get over it and go see Jalen Rose at halftime on Saturday.

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