We Own...Penn State

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JoPa Stuck In Unhappy Valley
Michigan's defense was the story (at least the on field story) at Beaver Stadium on Saturday as the Wolverines posted their first shutout of the season and the first home doughnut for the Lions since 1965. Despite continued suspect play by the secondary, Michigan's defensive front only allowed 25 rushing yards yards on 26 carries and forced 3 turnovers to seal the victory. BJ Askew continued to impress with 122 yards on the ground, though the offense sputtered early and often in the red zone. An amazing catch by Marquis Walker for a first-half ending touchdown was the turning point in a ho-hum game, as the #12 Wolverines improved to 2-0 in conference and 4-1 overall.

Dishing It Out... and an Unexpected Shower for the Webmaster
We came, we saw, we talked trash...alot of it. The UMTailgate.com megaphone was in full effect the whole weekend, especially at the pre-game tailgate. We updated neighboring tailgaters about every 15 minutes on the weather, the time, our web site, and the state of PSU football. A late visit by the University of Michigan Superfan was a real treat for me...I've always wanted to chat with this marvel of a modern fan that attends just about every Michigan sports event...not just football. He bestowed his wisdom and the secret of his success with our tailgating group which can be summed up simply as... "Know what your priorities are... and DON'T GET MARRIED."

Under intense pressure early Saturday morning by the 'older' tailgaters in our group, I chose to not shower in support of a quicker exit from the house.... Not long after Superfan's exit, and in the melee of attempting to gather for the group picture, the megaphone trash talking became too much for a disgruntled Penn State fan who proceded to give me the shower I needed in the form of tomato juice. The family rushed to my side as I travelled into enemy territory armed with a belly full of Captain Morgan to confront the brainless drunken jackass. A shouting and shoving match ensued that ended with us deciding to go to the game over going to jail. The UMTailgate.com family were the bigger men on this day, both in brains and in gerh.


Camp Counselors Make Travelling Squad
Several people were on their first trip to State College. T-Bone, Tuba, Amy (AKA Mrs. Hasler), and the beautiful Camp Counselors of Ann Arbor's Summer Fantasy Camp, Lisort and Emit (pictured above) made the trip a memorable (and educational) one. We stormed the campus on the eve of gameday to little resistance from the student body, and only slight resistance from local police that cornered us despite my exceptional attempt to outrun them.

Captain Michigan Wins the Bin Lotto
Sunday is as good of a day as any, as the US and Great Britain began their assault on Afghanistan at 12:30pm EST. UMTailgate.com Hall of Famer Captain Michigan was the lucky holder of 'Sunday' in the pool, and will collect the prize money and most likely turn it directly over to Janet.

Thanks
Special thanks go out to Gar and his gang at Gar's World for their generous hospitality and use of their Winnie. Gar - Sorry we missed you Saturday night...we all passed out... See you Saturday and GO BLUE!

Michigan Football...Balls Out Victory

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Spurrier Sighting on Sidelines

With about three minutes to go in the first quarter, the Michigan offense had amassed negative total yards for the game, John Navarre had been sacked several times and looked like a deer in headlights. It looked so bad that when Gonzales came in at quarterback for the Wolverines, most thought that it was replace Navarre for good. He threw a pass about three yards behind the line of scrimmage to Marquis Walker, who then threw the ball back to Gonzales downfield for a 51 yard gain. That play set up a 21 yard touchdown pass...not from Navarre, not from Gonzales....but from Walter Cross. Later, after stuffing the Illini in their own territory on fourth and inches, the game was all Wolverines.

The Hall of Fame

Prior to the Michigan victory, a ceremony took place at the tailgate. One of the founding fathers of The Tailgate, Larry "Captain Michigan" Goodell, had his leg wrestling belt retired. In addition, his name was stitched into UMTailgate history on a banner that will be flown at all future tailgates. UMTailgate.com honors Captain Michigan as the first tailgater inducted into the UMTailgate.com Hall of Fame.

JoPa Awaits Huge Road Trip

One of the largest road trips outside of the state will occur next week, as UMTailgate.com takes a travelling squad of 15+ out to State College, PA. In a scene that will may rival the Real World, 15 people will attempt to co-exist in a house 1.4 miles from Beaver stadium.

Bin Lotto Rolls Over

In more patriotic news, all of the participants in the Bin Lotto added to the pot, which now totals $140.

Tears For Western...No Gas Necessary

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Love That MAC

It started with a moment of silence, had a patriotic joint band performance in the middle, and a touchdown that really pissed me off at the end. Michigan trounced the Broncos, 38-21. Let us not break our arms patting ourselves on the back quite yet though. The offense was stagnant, the playcalling at times was atrocious, and the secondary had more huge holes than you might see Wednesday night at Rick's...giving up 300+ passing yards. Much improvement is necessary before our Big Ten opener next week against a quarterback that is actually good.

From Ground Zero to Ann Arbor...

Yes folks, not wanting the tragedy to hinder his goal of attending all of this years Michigan games, my good friend Bill made it in from New York City this week. Just wanted to take a second and recognize his portrayal of "The Great Michigan Spirit". We all look forward to seeing you and Tuba make it in next week!



Also, I want to recognize first-time tailgater, first-time gamer, and frequent UMTailgate.com visitor Don Junior, who was amazed at the spirit and love he observed from what he could describe only as 'a family'. He was in awe of the fact that there were more band members on the field at halftime than you could fit in his hometown's miniscule Wrigley Field. I think we might have turned an old Illini fan to Blue.

Our Patriotic Duty...Gone Bad

The game ended and we reconvened at the golf course. After regaining our buzz, someone (to remain nameless) came up with a tremendous idea. We used our game score pool numbers to make a new pool. Each number 1 through 7 represented a day of the week. We drew the numbers from the bucket, and put in $10 each. The person who has the day of the week that corresponds to the day that the U.S. launches a counter-attack in any country wins the pool. Even better...if the counter attack results in the death or capture of Bin Laden...each person throws in another $5 to that person. An unprecedented event such as this can only be called....... The Bin Lotto.

See you next week!

GO BLUE!

FD-WM

Go Red, White, AND Blue

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Following Tragic Incident, University Makes Right Decision

At 3:30pm EST on Thursday, September 13, the University of Michigan announced the postponement of this weekend's football contest against Western Michigan University. I don't think you'll find a more dedicated group of Michigan fans than the ones you can see by scrolling through the pages of this website. However, I think I speak for all of us when I say...'It's just not time for football'. To show up at the golf course at 8am for the purposes of imbibing and celebrating the football team that I love would be, at this point, disrespectful to the victims and their families, and my heart would just not be in it. I only wish there was another reason to gather and embrace the friends that I miss and share our thoughts and feelings. My suggestion to all is to spend time this weekend with your friends, your family, and reflect on what is really important.

As I updated this page, I looked back on the statements I made following the loss at Washington. "We move on... We continue to tailgate" I remember at the time I thought that our now blemished record was the most important thing in the world, as if the world was coming to an end. Now it just seems funny and insignificant. In due time, Michigan football will continue, and perhaps it will be just what we all need to get us away from the television coverage of the attack on America or the impending war on the bastards that facilitated the attack, and enjoy a college football game. I for one cannot wait to join 110,000 Americans in the singing of 'The Star Spangled Banner'. But it will just be a football game, which is what it always should have been.

We are the lucky ones. Despite the inconveniences that we have endured and will have to endure, we can all take a moment and thank God that we are alive, our family and friends are alive, and that next Saturday, we can still say "Go Blue".

Thank you for stopping by UMTailgate.com. 

God Bless America and Go Blue

FD-WM

Gone in 60 Seconds

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Rick Neuheisel has the honor of being part of two of the most dissappointing losses in Michigan history. In both instances, one of which is probably airing on ESPN Classic right now, Michigan was clearly the better team, but ended up with the 'L'. Michigan was unable to seal the deal in picturesque Seattle, Washington, and headed home to Ann Arbor with its first loss of the young season. In less than 60 seconds in the 4th quarter, the Huskies blocked a kick and returned it for a touchdown, and returned a Navarre tipped pass for a touchdown 2 plays into the ensuing Michigan drive. It could have easily been a 15-6 Michigan lead...instead, shocked road fans looked up at the scoreboard finding the Wolverines down 20-12. Play calling was suspect, and the lack of a big play quarterback made THIS Michigan fan want to head down to Columbus and beat up a baseball player.

Either way, what's done is done. We move on. We fix our mistakes. We continue to tailgate.

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We stayed in good spirits and had a great time in a great city. The pictures on some of the later pic pages are from a trip we took up near Mount Ranier.

The Enemy Infiltrates the Road Tailgate

Notable guest at the post-game tailgate was Tyler Krambrink (left), Husky linebacker and a relative of the Godfather. On the shelf with a broken arm, Tyler will be ready to play for the Pac-10 season opener...and down the road when we rematch the Huskies in the Rose Bowl. Rumors around the Michigan program say that someone tipped off the Huskies to our complicated offensive gameplan. Could it be the Godfather that told his cousins...we run left, run right, then throw 4 yard out patterns on 3rd and 7?