Michigan Game

Crisp air, a steady drizzle, blankets and coats, hats and gloves, our breath was steaming, our legs were moving, and we were quickly on our way. There was maize and blue bobbing about everywhere you looked, on the sidewalks, the streets, and the cars. Our quick pace was interrupted for a moment; we could not deny a child you see (nor could we deny the chocolate cookies he was selling). One dollar and two cookies later we were back on our way, our gloves in our pockets and a perfectly crisp, perfectly gooey cookie for each of our greedy hands.

We passed the tailgaters and the scent of burgers, hot dogs, brats and beer filled the air. The cool day and rainy weather did nothing to deter the fans. You will not find fair weather fans in this college town; here they bleed maize and blue. As we neared the Big House the crowd got thicker, the traffic slowed and the anticipation grew. A police officer stopped the traffic to let a mob of people cross the street.

We entered the stadium with a sense of awe and excitement. We had never before been beyond the admittance gates and the roar of the crowd heightened our excitement and our hope for a win in the battle for the Little Brown Jug. The game had already begun and as we took our seats there were only a few minutes left in the first quarter. To our disappointment the Wolverines were down 0-10 and a cocky fan from Minnesota gladly pointed that out to the surrounding U of M fans. He was rewarded with explicatives, boos and bets for pointing out the currently obvious and he grudgingly took his seat when he realized he was surrounded by a large pack of Wolverines.

Shortly after the beginning of the second quarter the sun peeked through the clouds giving an omen that our beloved U of M would begin to look promising. One field goal was followed by another and each point the Wolverines gained made the roar of the crowd crescendo. After each fumble, bad play or bad call the crowd would grumble and curse, yelling what they thought Lloyd Carr should have done.

By halftime the score was 13-10 with U of M taking the lead. Once they had more points than the Golden Gophers the cocky fan from Minnesota was not heard from again and the camaraderie between U of M fans grew exponentially. The crowd was simultaneously holding their breath and praying that they would score and when an 85 yard run resulted in a touchdown the stadium erupted in applause. We celebrated with neighbors, our gloved hands clapping high fives to anyone within arms reach and congratulating the team as we went. Each play had the fans on their feet cheering on the favored team.

Towards the end of the game the stadium was slowly clearing, people were retreating to their cars, confident of a win. However, we stayed in our seats until the end, our fingers frozen and teeth chattering. Our first game inside the Big House ended just as we had hoped, with the Wolverines devouring their opponents with a final score of 35-10. The excitement was still hanging in the air as thousands of fans and strangers shared their favorite plays of the game and started out to their separate post-game victory celebrations.