2012 Alabama game

I am not making this up.  But I do need to get it off my chest.

(thanks, mom, but we'll have gnome ore of those presents.)

 

I am not making this up.  

I am not making it up when I say that the most serious fight, in fact, the only serious fight, my wife and I have had since we began courting is the fight over our future children, that is, the college football fandom of said future children.  

I am also not making it up when I say that at the time I tried to quell my wife's rage by paraphrasing Thucydides.  After all, I said, Michigan and Alabama are like Athens and Sparta--a whale against an elephant.  They're just not likely to bump heads much, if at all.  I mean, honey, they've played all of three times in a hundred-some years.  Why can't our kids grow up to support both of them?

That actually worked, for a few weeks, until Dave Brandon Created the Future, or rather Jerry Jones took a(nother) turn as Applegate.  Also, We Created the Future, and a Baby Apostle is on the way, whose fandom is at stake this evening.

At least, that's all that was until I told of our arrangement to my uncle, a Domer alum who likes to live vicariously through people who have viable teams to cheer for.  He suggested that those stakes weren't nearly high enough.  You need more than the fandom at stake, he said.  His name should be at stake.  "Bo" if Michigan wins, "Bear" if Alabama wins.  I laughed it off.  Who of us here knows a woman that would go along with such a preposterous idea?

...

I am also not making it up when I say that after I laughed it off, my wife said that she would actually be fine with it.*

*For those of you who are shaking your heads NoWayWouldAWomanEverEverAgreeToThat I should admit that her sole stipulation was that his formal name, should Michigan somehow hold back her vaunted Tide, would be spelled "Beau".  (She is a Southerner, after all.)  I said, well, OK. I'm still going to spell (and pronounce) it "Bo".

What if it's a girl? Good question.  We've only had one sonogram, at 20 weeks, and that's all we'll have since we go to a midwife at a birthing center, and that's how that rolls. (I guess you could say the girl's got some Ann Arbor in her after all.)  I'm told they can sometimes be inaccurate, but if Denard's arm isn't what we hope it can be, that will be all I have to hang my child's name on at the end of the day.

Three chances for me to look stupid in 3.5 hours (and for the rest of my/his life):

• This could all probably have been avoided had I sprung for travel and tickets to the game.
• This could all have been avoided had I just married some girl in Ann Arbor who only was aware of football to the extent that it impacted her UMS tickets or hair appointments downtown.
• This could be my only chance to have a son with the same name as one of Harvey Updyke's.

PREDICTION:  This is my son, fergodsakes!  GO BLUE!

...

please...

After reading so many Michigan fans' opinions about what the Wolverines have to accomplish to win this game, I am interested in hearing what your predictions are for the final score. Also, what will be the most notable aspects of the game as you imagine looking back on it?

Michigan 26, Alabama 24

Norfleet and/or Hayes makes significant contribution(s). Saban's face turns a shade of red never before identified.

GO BLUE!

Some say the blobs on the beach of Mobile can be chalked up to the tar balls BP donated. In reality, it was the stain and sludge finally surfacing and left behind when Nick Saban crawled upon the shores of Alabama.  The man has an automatic “Montgomery Burns” edition of automatic doors and a whole other string of players on medical redshirts. There is no doubt that after this essence of evil was suppressed by a lackluster program on the banks of the Cedar, his bad voodoo has been in full force. He has humiliated and tortured other teams in his conquest of the NCAA.

                           

 

The man has a disgraceful persona so heavy that even he cannot celebrate his biggest wins. He retires to his lair and begins the planning of world domination after every game in the belly of a Greyhound bus. Michigan is coming from a complete different 270 degree position where they have not had the luxury of enjoying the knee knocking fear displayed on their opponent's face, but instead this once great program that suffered a great civil war and limped along in life. Then a man of mutant stature Hoke emerged from the killing fields of many MGoBlogger meltdowns, détente treaties, radioactive topics that were not safe to traverse in conversation, and a hungry loyal following. Jimmy Carter got booted for a said malaise in the country, as did another southern gentleman by the name of Rich Rodriguez for a football program in the same state.

What followed was thought to be as possible as Luxembourg touting a basketball team in the Olympics to defeat the U.S. Dream Team II. Regardless of the impossible odds of an 11 win season and a Sugar Bowl victory, Michigan did it. The offense had more control of the offense as to sustain lasting drives and the defense look as if they did cage fighting over the previous summer with Liam Neeson to toughen their resolve and TUFFness. As the season progressed, the team, the team, the team began to congeal into a deadly opportunistic football team. GoBo finally shaped the offense around Nard Dog’s strengths along with taking some pressure off him with a respectable running game. The juggernaut in a pumpkin carriage capitulated with a defensive victory over a team that would have taken Michigan behind the woodshed in years prior. The sugar poured, and the people roared.

 

My only logical and reasonable reasoning comes from last year’s Penn State and Alabama game. Alabama wasn’t coming off a National Championship, but heading into one.  Given that Penn State was a heavy underdog in the souls of the Nittany Lion hearts same time last year, some of the more “hope for the best, prepare for the worst” crowd in Ann Arbor can relate to the angst and guttural fear of being more meat in the Saban grinder. Although Alabama controlled most of the game, the beating wasn’t as severe as once thought. Penn State suffered through the pain of dying a thousand paper cuts. Michigan’s offense is arguably much more dynamic and able to strike than the Penn State team of a year ago. There are some questions of holes being filled on the O-line and receiving corps. There is also a numbing knowledge of an almost certainly suspended Toussaint that could put the responsibility of winning the game on the lone shoulders of D-Nard. This could lead to the irisless peepers of the Crimson Tide defense on the same person.  On defense, the anticipation of how well the D-Line will do without Mike Martin anchoring the buffet busters of 2011 is at its peak. There are glimmering prospects with Will Campbell taking advantage of a Groupon coupon to the Barwis Boot Camp training. The senior is a story in the making of a senior that finally gets what his place is in the team and becomes a one man tsunami on the defensive line. Craig Roh may also get to show that he saved the best for last.

+=

 

With all the potential outcomes, I think it will boil down to a Michigan team with some questions on replacing key players and possibly being in a unfortunate position of actually having to deal with the new feeling of having a high bar that came unexpectedly last season. Can Michigan focus on having a whole new year ahead of them with the loss of an “us vs. the world” mentality they used as tacklin fuel last year? Can the holes be filled with the unknown and compete at an equal or even better level? These things will be made perfectly clear September 1^st, 2012. I do think it is entirely possible for Michigan to catch a rusty and hungover Alabama team with stellar performances by their own offense and defense and pull a wet dream of an upset. But this is Alabama. Premier, Nikolas Saban at the helm. The man has created a machine that even would make Neo pee a little. It is for this reason of shadowy practices and ESS EEE SEE culture of moral fortitude in following every loophole that allows me to believe that a valiant attempt will come up short to the meat processing plant built in the West Nile infested swamp of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  It will however, be the very circumstance in where being wrong is much better than being right.

 

 

Ciao,

Roberto.

Originally reported as a sprain but there are rumors of an acl tear. http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2012/08/rain_injury_to_lacy_... http://connect.al.com/user/daniel_blanchard/index.html Edit. I can not find anything definitive.

According to an AA.com article, no decision on Fitz has been made yet, but according to Fred Jackson, Hoke said to prepare Fitz as if he was going to play the season opener. Both Fitz and Clark return to practice today. Interesting to see how this thing plays out.

"Brady just said to prepare him, and that’s what we’re doing," running backs coach Fred Jackson said Sunday during the team's media day.

http://annarbor.com/sports/um-football/michigan-preparing-suspended-tailback-fitz-toussaint-as-though-he-will-play-against-alabama/?cmpid=mlive-@mlive-wolverines

 

According to Joe Schad's Twitter feed.

@schadjoe RB Fitz Toussaint is not necessarily going to be suspended for all or some of Bama season-opener; going through discipline now

 

Personally, I don't know how I feel about this. Granted, I'd love for him to be available, but if he is prosecuted for a DUI, I feel he should miss adequate game time. We hold ourselves to higher standards than MSU and the Chris Rucker-gate or ND and the Michael Floyd situation.

Thoughts? Besides possible euphoria imagining Fitz ready to go against Bama?

 

Edit: My apologies to Mr. Rucker.