I'm so not interested in doing this. I'm not ready, and you don't care. You've heard it all. The apocalypse, the aftermath, the haters, the lovers. Nothing I'm going to say is new or profound. But we were on a roll here at UMTailgate.com. Lot's of posts, lot's of activity, and a great tailgate. So I feel it has to be done. Moving on, moving forward, or whatever. So, on with the chlorophyll...
My name is Frank, and I love Michigan Football. So much so that it hurts. Every single year it hurts, and honestly, it's more a matter of when, not if, I will be disappointed. And still I love it. Each and every year, I go into the season as a fan, with a giant pile of prejudice, and let everyone that will listen know that Michigan is going to win every game they play. And I believe it. I really do. I don't know how to say were going to lose. I don't know what it means to not believe in this team.
But at some point, inevitably, they lose.
I've seen rough starts, like the many seasons that were ended early by Notre Dame or (fill in any west coast road trip here.) I've seen rough finishes, like we've had the last few years. I've seen us lose to our far inferior in-state rival. I've seen us give up the Little Brown Jug on our home field. I've seen Iowa come in to Michigan Stadium and smoke us on homecoming. I've seen us lose in a shoot out to Northwestern in Evanston. I saw the Hail Mary. However, I've never seen anything like what I saw on Saturday. And that doesn't make me very unique, because as I have been painfully reminded throughout this terribly long holiday weekend, no one has.
Fool me once, shame on you...fool me 15 times, and I become the fool? Perhaps. But there's an odd consistency to this program that beckons me as the leaves begin to change. We usually win, and for some reason, that's enough for me. And while I dream of the day that we become the Nebraska of the mid-90's, the early 90's Florida State, or the current USC...running off a three year clip with one or two total losses...I'm willing to wait for it. Maybe forever. Meanwhile, I'm content of being the Michigan of the 1900's and 2000's.
Perhaps that's what makes me different than you, or perhaps you feel the same way.
As for the on-field recovery, or rebuilding, or whatever it is...I just don't know. What will it take for me to forget what happened? Blunt head trauma I suspect. But I have found solace in the "bad" Michigan teams over the years. Every win becomes a big win. Who wants to be the team that lost to the team that lost to Appalachian State? No one. But we WILL win games this year. And maybe each one will be sweeter because we are not supposed to win. With each win, we eliminate a team that can throw ASU in our face. There are 119 teams in Division 1-A college football...we can shut up 11 of them.
So, see you Saturday?
