Diehard.
10/25/08 - Putting on a stiff upper lip despite the humilation and horror surrounding her favorite team this season,
Julie faithfully exhibits a "thumb's up" (though a forlorn and feeble one) in the face of yet another loss, this one potentially to
intrastate rival Michigan State, a team the Wolverines generally dispatch with alacrity. But this year?
We shall see, but the faithful are feeling a little queasy as kickoff approaches....
Note: We lost 35-21 as Coach Rich Rodriguez's disastrous first season continued in a state of freefall.
She's finished, too.
"As for me, I'll be munching popcorn, freshly popped and laced with cumin and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese, sipping a well-chilled bier of the german persuasion -- a
nd watching saturday afternoon cooking shows on PBS. I just can't take it no more!"
The above admission came from fairweather fan Julie, who will premeditatedly avoid the UM-OSU clash
this weekend. After 129 seasons of entertaining the masses of Michiganders, the Wolverines (3-8 this year) have
finally estranged former aficionados who are now turning to the likes of PBS' "Low Carb Cookworx," "Lidia's Table," "Barbecue America,"
and "Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska."
The horror, the horror. wom
True Blue (and Maize)
RJ in the wake of his recent knee replacement surgery
August, 2008 - Fresh off the operating table, RJ gives his replacement part a spin. Unfortunately, he got stuck with a guy rehab specialist, instead of the hot little blond he could have gotten.
(Ed. note: In order to keep fingerprints from sullying his beloved UM shirt, he requested that the therapist wear rubber gloves.)
When Hart Must Depart...
(clic the pic.)
It's Sam to the rescue...
clic the pic.
Note: Sam McGuffie played one modest season (2008) at UM and then returned home to Texas, claiming "homesickness" as the reason for his abrupt departure, the wuss.
In 2010, he resumed his collegiate career at Rice University as a redshirt sophomore. To be continued....
Are you ready for some football?
AC
Exclusive: Bo, Woody to return for game.
NOTE: UM lost to OSU on November 17, 2007, for the fourth straight time. Their two most important offensive players Chad Henne and Mike Hart were hurt and unable to contribute in the 14-3 loss. Coach Lloyd Carr then announced his retirement on November 19, precipitated by his inability to defeat UM's biggest rival.
OSU went on to play LSU in the National Championship game on January 7, 2008....
Ruination
9/1/2007 - For inveterate Wolverine fans, losing to tiny Division II Appalachian State was a car wreck of the fatal variety...national championship aspirations quashed in the first week, coast-to-coast ridicule, and humbling on-the-the field humilation.
Post Mortem
Now that Appalachian State has vanquished mighty Michigan, piercing the maize & blue hearts of millions of feckless fans, they have to quickly move on and prepare for their next challenge, taking on this awe-inspiring opponent.
9/8/2007 - Then came week two for the Wolverines...
Gone Bluer Still
and finally, THIS happened...
It's a sort of six degrees of separation thing...
Wofford stops Appalachian State.
9/22/07 - The magic-carpet ride is over for Appalachian State. Its 17-game winning streak, which included the Division I-AA national championship last year and more famously the triumph at Michigan, is history after a 42-31 loss at Wofford, a fellow Southern Conference opponent in Spartanburg, S.C.
By inference, this now means that Wofford (whatever that is) can also beat UM.
Who'da ever thunk THAT?
2006
This was the scene around Ann Arbor yesterday (11/20/06), as fans paid their last respects to a coach named Bo. Perhaps the tackiest thing I saw was a local freelance photographer (seen above in file photo) who was standing outside of Schembechler Hall with a lifesized cardboard cutout of the great man offering "Personalized Photos with Bo" to mourners as they approached the area. He was charging "just ten bucks a pop," as he himself stated, and from what I could see, he was doing a very brisk business, especially with the UM Football-NASCAR crowd. (And just when I was beginning to think I'd seen it all....) WOM
Think Tranquil Thoughts.
Eagle Harbor, MI, Fall 2006 - After weeks of hyper-hype about the Big Game (and the pain and agony of another loss to the Ohioans), we offer up this placid scene on Lake Superior in the Keweenaw Peninsula to help everybody wind down and prepare for next year, goddamn lucky bastard buckeyes....
Eagle Harbor is at the top of the Keweenaw, west of Copper Harbor, about 550 miles north of The Big House.
UM: Out to win one for Old Coach
Rose Bowl, 1990, Bo's last game...alas, the boys lost to USC 17-10
From the Maybe-They-Have-A-Heart-After-All Department...
Columbus, OH, 11/17/06 -- The "Hate Michigan Rally" featuring a band named the Dead Schembechlers was renamed the "Beat Michigan Rally." The band, which still planned to perform Friday night at a music hall near campus, said its name was to honor Schembechler as the face of Michigan football.
The music hall's marquee said, "God Bless Bo."
Glenn "Bo" Schembechler
4/1/1929-11/17/2006
Click here to read timely Ann Arbor News article on Bo from Tuesday, 11/14/06
1969 was Bo Schembechler's first year as Head Coach at Michigan. He wasted no time in making his mark in this legendary rivalry...
1. He just watched STEEL MAGNOLIAS
2. His mobile home flooded
3. He realized he's over 50 and wearing a nut necklace
4. Somebody stole his velvet Elvis painting
5. Buckeyes are just naturally pussies
6. He lost his NASCAR belt buckle
7. He got fired from his job at the Piggly Wiggly
8. He didn't get tickets to the Willie Nelson concert
9. Just found out HEE HAW was canceled
10. Michigan kicked Ohio State's ass
11. Bo is dead
-from The M Zone, a fanatical Michigan blogger's site-
UM vs. OSU
-contributed by RJ-
Honk Bob Ufer's Horn Here.
Linda and I were at this game. Disappointed Michigan fans had been leaving in droves throughout the fourth quarter when it appeared that the contest would end in a tie. I'd say the stands were half-empty by this point in the game. We had 50-yard line seats, and it was a nice day, so we stuck around. It was easily the most exciting play I have ever witnessed in person (other than MJM's long putt with his arms akimbo at Conley's a few years ago - also, the funniest damn thing that ever happened on a golf course). Must have been crushing to the Hoosiers who would have been ecstatic with a tie in The Big House. Instead, they got a long, dreary trip back to Bloomington, hapless bastards. Well, they'd get their revenge on the basketball court anyway.
On the way back to our apartment that afternoon, we stopped and talked to an old gent (he must have been at least 56!) who lived a block or two from the stadium. He was out raking leaves, his transistor radio blaring Bob Ufer's post-game show from a chair on the front porch. He told us that when the crowd let loose after Anthony Carter's touchdown, and Ufer's insane commentary spewed out into the airwaves, the early departers streaming by at that moment stopped in their tracks, listened intently, and simultaneously came to the stark realization that something big had happened in their absence. Indeed it had: They had just missed the greatest play in UM football history. The fools. WOM
From her earliest days of toddlerhood, the one and only Maggie knew which team to stand behind. (Always WAS a smart one!)
UM Man
Chris Marion, who attends another UM, showing his proper allegiance. (Clearly, he's no fool either.)
An Unbelievable Stretch
| Date | Site | Ranking | Results | Big 10 Finish | Attendance |
| UM | OSU | W | UM | OSU | UM | OSU |
| 11/20/1971 |
Ann Arbor |
3 |
|
UM |
10 |
7 |
1st |
3rd (T) |
104,016 |
| 11/25/1972 |
Columbus |
3 |
9 |
OSU |
11 |
14 |
1st (T) |
1st (T) |
87,040 |
| 11/24/1973 |
Ann Arbor |
4 |
1 |
T |
10 |
10 |
1st (T) |
1st (T) |
105,233 |
| 11/23/1974 |
Columbus |
3 |
4 |
OSU |
10 |
12 |
1st (T) |
1st (T) |
88,234 |
Click here for even more food for thought.
In the early days of the Bo Schembechler vs. Woody Hayes rivalry, the above chart shows just how tight things were. Both 1973 and 1974 came down to field goal attempts by Michigan kicker Mike Lantry. He missed a total of three last minute tries in those two years, and you see the results.
The two best items being sold outside of UM Stadium in that era:
- A lapel button that read: Woody is a pecker.
&
- Rolls of TP printed with Coach Hayes' face and the words Wipe Woody!
The 10 greatest rivalries
ESPN.com
1. Michigan vs. Ohio State
When Ohio Stadium opened in 1922, Michigan spoiled the party with a 22-0 victory. The rivalry was heated in the early days as both have been long-time college football powers. But it got even hotter in 1969, when Bo Schembechler took over as Michigan's coach and upset Woody Hayes' No. 1-ranked, undefeated Buckeyes. Four times in the next six years, both teams were ranked in the top five when they met. In 1970 and 1973, both were undefeated (they tied 10-10 in '73). From 1970 through 1975, Michigan entered without a loss every year. The Wolverines won just once. Ohio State was 9-0-1 in 1993, 11-0 in 1995 and 10-0 in 1996. The Buckeyes lost each time. That is rivalry.
