Michigan Five Years Later: A Student’s Perspective

[T-Dog]

Since there's been a slew of articles about Michigan since it's approaching the five-year anniversary, I decided that as a slave to the times, I would publish my piece about the game.

Grab a Snickers before reading because you're not going anywhere for a while if you want to read the whole thing.

http://www.yosefscabin.com/michigan-five-years-late/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[appst89]

Very nice job. reading your account made me think of my day.

I elected not to go because I had bought tickets to the Bristol Night Race the previous weekend. I decided it was too much to make back-to-back expensive trips. And, while I thought we would do better than expected against Michigan, I didn't really think we would win. Lesson learned, for future reference.

I settled in to listen on the radio. Michigan was up 7-0 when a neighbor up the street called and told me she had found the game on Direct TV and invited me up to watch. To this day, she still says she had more fun watching me than watching the game. A lot of the details have faded, but I remember sitting there thinking we had a chance as the game wore on. I remember calling my best friend, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, but was at a Cincinnati Reds game that day. I called him multiple times with updates. He said the people around him at Great American Ballpark kept asking him for updates. I remember pacing around my neighbor's living room for the entire 4th quarter. When Corey blocked the kick I almost jumped through the window. My neighbor's husband, who doesn't like sports was jumping up and down and cheering. I gave my Dad, who had gone to the neighbor's house with me, a big hug. I don't even remember walking back down the street to my house. I vaguely remember trying to relate the game to my wife, who also doesn't like sports. Then I remember saying, "I'm going to Boone." I got in the car and headed up the mountain. When I got there, it was surprisingly quiet, but I knew it wouldn't stay that way for long. Shortly, the stadium lot began to fill up. People were driving in from all over, students were coming out from everywhere. The next few hours were wild. We were getting regular updates on the whereabouts of the team. Then finally, we heard the sirens. We had heard the Watauga Sheriff's Department was going to meet the team and give them an escort. We didn't know the fire department had joined in too. By that time, the stadium lot was full, Stadium Drive was packed, Rivers Street was packed and the reports were that all the roads into Boone were covered with traffic pulled off on the side of the road. I remember the first bus coming up Stadium Drive with Chancellor Peacock hanging out the door waving pom-poms and giving high fives to everyone around. We greeted the players as they got off the bus and then headed home.

What a great day!

[Yosef]

What a great read. It made me think of my day also.

I had a ticket on the 50 yard line behind the ASU bench - 5 rows up. Couldn't have asked for a better seat. My girlfriend at the time, however, needed help moving back to school for her senior year in VA. I elected to play the good guy card and help her. What a mistake!

Needless to say - she became an ex girlfriend quickly!

[WataugaMan]

Better an ex girlfriend than an ex wife, that's for damn sure!!

[AppStateNate]

Very nice job. reading your account made me think of my day.

I elected not to go because I had bought tickets to the Bristol Night Race the previous weekend. I decided it was too much to make back-to-back expensive trips. And, while I thought we would do better than expected against Michigan, I didn't really think we would win. Lesson learned, for future reference.

The Bristol night race is the reason I can't go to ECU this weekend. Likewise, lesson learned.

[IGgreer]

Wow, that's a great write-up tdog.

Aren't you the same guy that heckled Buzz Peterson at his UNCW intro PC? You are my hero if so...

[AppState2009]

Wow, that's a great write-up tdog.

Aren't you the same guy that heckled Buzz Peterson at his UNCW intro PC? You are my hero if so...

Yeah I remember that guy! Is there a YouTube link to that? Classic!

[MountainMan]

Very nice job, T-dog.

[T-Dog]

Wow, that's a great write-up tdog.

Aren't you the same guy that heckled Buzz Peterson at his UNCW intro PC? You are my hero if so...

No I didn't heckle him.

Now did I sit behind Janice with an App St shirt on and have a conversation with her that she later lied about, I might have.

But that's another front page post for another time.

[appfanz]

T-dog great write up. I remember when the game was announced I was determined to go and did. Turned to my wife at the Detroit airport and said "what are we doing here? This is crazy." But through all the crazieness and the dozens of phone calls we received after the game one thing stood out that could never be taken away from us: "We were there!"

[ASUMountaineer]

T-dog great write up. I remember when the game was announced I was determined to go and did. Turned to my wife at the Detroit airport and said "what are we doing here? This is crazy." But through all the crazieness and the dozens of phone calls we received after the game one thing stood out that could never be taken away from us: "We were there!"

Amen. It was a trip we had to make, and I'll give a contracted account of our trip...

I spent almost 2 years in Michigan during my first stint of grad school (2004 - 2005) and had a fraternity brother at ASU that was from Michigan. I was on my way to the Daytona 500 when the game was announced. Said frat brother called me and said, "we're going." With our ties to Michigan, there was no doubt we were going. We just needed to secure tickets.

Fast forward to June 2007, and my wife and I had just moved to Charlotte from Asheboro. My wife and her family were on their way to Pennsylvania for a family reunion, I had to stay behind as I had started a new job. One night I get a call from her and she says, "sit down." She tells me that her uncle in PA has season tickets to Michigan football because her cousin went to UM. He has five seats and no desire to watch Michigan play Appalachian. She tells me that I can have all five of his tickets if I want them. After I said yes, she told me they were on the front row, on the 10-yard line, behind the ASU band.

So, on August 30th, four frat brothers and I embark on a journey to the "land of the hand" (look at a map of Michigan), that culminated in the greatest sports day of my life. Our fraternity has a chapter at UM, and invited us over the night before the game for a cookout. We arrived, decked out in ASU garb, and they welcomed us by playing "Hot, Hot, Hot" on loop throughout the night. We played cornhole, shot pool, talked football, and then went to downtown Ann Arbor to a bar they frequented. We had a great time and made plans to meet back up after the game, but they wouldn't answer or return our calls--odd. The same thing happened with my buddy from grad school that was a UM grad and tailgated with us before the game.

I can still give play-by-play recollections of the game (as I'm sure we all can), and the emotions we were feeling on each play. I didn't leave my seat the entire game, and for those on here that know me, they know that's impressive. We ended up going out to downtown after the game, but Ann Arbor was dead. The only people actually out were ASU fans just trying to soak it all in.

It has been commemorated by having our pictures on several websites including SI.com and Mlive.com. The BTN also got a great shot of us during the game, and we caught a quick glimpse of ourselves on SportsCenter that evening. The coolest part may be seeing ourselves in the Under the Lights special on SportSouth. The seats were unreal, and every Michigan fan (save one) that we encountered was awesome.

The funny part about the trip is that the game is only part of our story. Perhaps the most epic part of the trip involved the ride up to Michigan, and is a story that will live in infamy amongst our friends for a long, long time. Luckily, the protagonist of the story is getting married next month and I get to give the best man speech!