Very Belated Announcement

​My deepest apologies for how late this announcement is, but we have a couple of tailgaters that have decided to go ahead and take the plunge, committing themselves to spending the remainder of their days together in sickness and in health, whether it be a Rose Bowl season or an Insight.com Bowl season, 'til death by alcohol do they part.

Being inappropriately groped in the above picture by yours truly is Michelle, affectionately known around the tailgate as "Tailgate Girl." She has been a fixture of the tailgate since we recruited her out of section 30 as a freshman. Her appearances were scattered throughout her college career as she managed her own UMTailgate spinoff at our rainout location.

Prior to last season, she finished her education, and appeared at the golf course in a full time capacity. At her side was her longtime boyfriend Kevin, who divides his time between earning multiple engineering bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees (now all completed...congrats!) and building Michigan themed grills in a machine shop. He became my right hand man for the 2007 season, a tailgate sous-chef if you will, and I wouldn't have made it through the season without him.

Just a few weeks ago, Kevin popped the question, which is of course, "Will you marry mego to all of the Michigan games with me?" Tailgate Girl accepted, and Kevin will take her last name...the couple will become Dr. and Mrs. Tailgate Girl.

Congrats to them both!

Princess Off the Market

​A collective tear has been shed by the bachelors of Wolverine nation. We have lost a good one...to Notre Dame. The Princess, daughter of The Godfather and Godmother, cousin to Goody, Aiden's aunt, Kelly's sister, and niece to Captain Michigan, has agreed in principle to terms outlined in a verbal contract of marriage to James Jaque Johnny Jerod Justin, a  Notre Dame fan. The Princess holds a place very high in UMTailgate.com lore outside of her family connections. A  photo of The Princess holds the record for the longest period of time gracing the cover of UMTailgate.com (back in the pre-blog days). In addition, the photos from that event , The Princess's graduation from high school, were the first on UMTailgate.com to be taken by a digital camera. Yes, you love UMTailgate.com historical trivia.

Details of the agreement were not available at press time, but there are several rumors on the outline of the verbal contract:

• The Princess has received an "engagement ring" (which from this point forward will be referred to as "the rock"), the size of which has not been reported.


• The groom has agreed to the "Goody Clause," which allows The Princess to keep the ring regardless of what happens.


• The Princess has also received a "massive amount" of roses, the number of which has not been specified, but according to reports, some family members have had to take in some roses due to the overflow. Most of these roses will be pressed and kept in a scrapbook held by the Godfather.


• The wedding will occur "sometime in 2009," but will not have a cheesy date like 9/9/09.


• The nuptials are banned from occurring from August 20th to January 10th, or in the month of April.


• The Princess will be eligible for a "rock upgrade" after 5 years of marriage, or in any year of marriage in which Notre Dame manages to defeat Michigan.


• The Princess will not be required to attend any Notre Dame football game unless the opponent is the Michigan Wolverines.


• The wedding cannot occur until the Godfather has acquired and paid for next year's season tickets and his new Toyota Sequoia.


• James-Jaque-Johnny-Jerod-Justin will be required to make an appearance at all Michigan football games that The Princess requests him to attend. In addition, he will be required to fill the working role of his counterpart, Fry Daddy Frank, whenever Fry Daddy Frank is unable to attend a tailgate. This falls under the "Godfather's Son-In-Law" clause. This clause includes:
• Getting the Godfather to/from tailgates.


• Unloading the car.


• Frying stuff


• Getting Bears tickets for Godfather


• A general knowledge of ticket acquisition, including Stub Hub, Ebay, and general scalping.

A press conference is scheduled for 9am tomorrow...but you probably will be watching the other press conference.

Congrats go out to the happy couple.

The Future is Now

​The 89th battle for the Little Brown Jug went to the Wolverines on Saturday, 34-10. Once again, fans were treated to a tale of two halves. A first half of fear and loathing, and a second half of proper adjustments, inspired defense, and taking advantage of the opponent's weaknesses. If I had a nickel for every time my section 30 cohort Kevin mentioned that there was a midget in single coverage on Manningham, I'd have enough to replace the EZ-Up tent that fell victim to the whipping wind during the tailgate. Note to self..always use stakes. Live and learn, folks, live and learn. Seems that is the theme for this edition of the Wolverines. The solomidgetcoverage on Manningham in the first half usually precluded a hand-off to Minor or Brown. In the second half, it resulted in laser guided Mallet-bombs for large gains...and still some hand-offs to Minor and Brown, ya know, to keep 'em honest.

Hart, no Henne. Henne, no Hart. No Henne or Hart. This is the reality of what has so far been an rags to riches comeback. We've done it...and we've done it with part or all of next year's team. And while I've really appreciated the experience and chemistry we've gained for the future, I think I'd like to have 2007's team play out the rest of this season. No, really, the resting of Henne and Hart was a nice gesture, but I think I'd like to see them dressed from here on out. Lloyd seemed to hint that they will both be back for the Backyard Brawl on replay...so, nice.

Three games. Two tough road tests, and one for all the marbles.

Death, taxes, and cold and rainy days for soups and stews...all certainties it seems. A surprisingly open Ann Arbor Golf and Outing was host to an amazing array of warm concoctions from a bevy of tailgaters. Bacon and dumpling, vegetable, stuffed pepper, broccoli cheese...and so many others. On site grilled cheese sandwiches made their first tailgate appearance for dipping and munching. Considering the weather, it was an amazing turnout.

For those that may not have heard, UMTailgate.com was featured on the front page of The Ann Arbor News on Friday. The article followed the "battle" between UMTailgate and Garsworld, and thanks go out to Jo Mathis for doing it. Thanks also to Gar for inferring that UMTailgate.com is X-Rated and full of strippers, while his tailgate is family oriented. The online version of the article has a youtube video featuring yours truly bashing Gar and his little world. Wow, the Orlando Sentinel and the Ann Arbor News in one season. Worldwide baby, worldwide.

Congratulations go out to Goody, son of the Captain, and nephew of the Godfather, on his engagement. No jokes just yet. Whew...this is the toughest thing I've ever done. Not sure how long I can hold out.