snow

I always hoped to be undefeated facing ohio in the snow at The Big House.

No, not Michigan, not football, but Boren St. - it would take a stronger man than I to not post it!

I work at a software company in A² and they just announced that because of impending DEATHSTORM 2011, our office will be shut down tomorrow. This means I get to roll out of bed, curl up on the couch, flip on ESPNU and "work from home" for the day.

Anyone else's life get infinitely better because of the storm?

Today's "snow armageddon" in the southeast got me to thinking . . .

For those of you that live in the south, y'all know what kind of reaction there is to a predicted snow storm.  For those in the north, a snow storm is an everyday occurrence and you probably laugh hysterically at the reaction of southerners.  (Yes, all of the bread and toilet paper in the local Target here was gone by early evening yesterday in preparation for the 4-8 inches of snow predicted). 

On my enjoyable drive into work this morning, with the roads to myself, I started comparing the physical and emotional reactions of people to approaching wintry weather compared to the reaction to coaching changes across the country.  As the analysis evolved, it became pretty entertaining and I wanted to share in case you are entertained as well.  What I've tried to do is match the reactions to snow storms based on geographic location to the reactions of a fan base to a coaching change at a particular school.  Here's some categories I've created - please feel free to add more that you believe are pertinent, especially for schools/locations that are less extreme examples that the ones I chose:

Snow in Georgia = Coaching Change at Michigan:  I think this fits.  Those of you in Georgia (Atlanta, in particular) that deal with approaching snow storms know how drastically people freak out when even a hint of snow is forecasted.  I think this is how the coaching change/search has gone with Michigan fans: 

Everyone that freaked out about a change are analogous to southerners living in Georgia that are not used to the snow.  Those that did not want a coaching change were aware that a change could occur but were emotionally unprepared and started freaking out when it became a foregone conclusion (equivalent to southerners flocking to the grocery store to get milk and bread). 

Everyone that welcomed the change are analogous to northerners living in Georgia that feel comfortable in anticipation of a snow storm.  Those that welcomed the coaching change believed it would be "all good" and did not worry.  However, once the change came they quickly realized that they were not prepared for the fallout and became extremely nervous and began expressing their reservations.  For example, Atlanteans (?) realized that getting to work from the suburbs was almost an impossible exercise, just as the coaching change at Michigan has frustrated many to the point of trying to remove themselves emotionally.

[You could probably substitute several schools here including, but not limited to, Florida(?) and USC(?)]

Snow in Michigan = Coaching Change at Eastern Michigan:  You could substitute a number of schools here but I thought Eastern was the most fun.  Everyone that lives in or has driven regularly in Michigan knows that snow in that state is a regular occurrence and almost all but disregarded.  (As an aside, I can remember being in school up there in 1993, probably the worst winter I've experienced, and classes went on as usual.  I remember walking to the Frieze Building in a -60 degree wind-chill for my 8am calculus class.  And I also remember commuting to work on roads covered in ice with people driving at least the speed limit, seemingly oblivious to the ice.) 

I imagine this to be the same for die-hard fans of Eastern Michigan football (are there any???).  They basically expect a coaching change every 2-3 years as part of the game.  Just as players graduate and new players must be recruited, so do coaches at schools like Eastern.

[Other analogous schools = Minnesota(?), Washington(?)]

Snow in Florida = Coaching Change at Penn State:  This one is the most enjoyable to discuss . . . Everyone in Florida knows that it could, one day, snow there.  Every Penn State fan understands that, some day, Joe Paterno will retire, be fired, or pass away on the job.  Nevertheless, each year that goes by where neither happens leaves Florida residents less prepared just as it leaves Penn State fans unprepared for a change.  In particular, every year, Penn State's coveted assistants get wooed by other schools (e.g. Bradley) and Penn State fans freak out that their coach-in-waiting is going to be gone.  When the time actually comes, if ever, its going to be very entertaining to watch.

Snow in Canada = Coaching Change at Notre Dame:  Per jHackney.  Self-explanatory.

as ohio is getting covered with snow right now, i wonder if anyone has the phone number for the Boren Family Snow Removal Company? I would like to call them to get an estimate.

please post the number, please.

Hope this wasn't posted before, but I was just watching the MSU vs. PSU football game from 1993, and they said something I've never heard of being done to the field. I guess there was snow on the field and the field had frozen. Now, I don't think that's that big of a deal and that you can still play on a frozen field, but apparently not. To Un-freeze the field they decided to use fertilizer before the game. They then play one half of football. During halftime they decide to wash the field off to rid it of the fertilizer. This just seems like a lot of trouble for something that doesn't seem like a huge deal. I would be shocked if this sort of thing still occurs or if it was common back in the day. Could Michigan run in to a similar type of situation where they have to warm the field up? Do they have some sort of heating under the field or another plan to prevent this issue? I guess this situation never occurred to me. Anybody else see this during the game?

EDIT: This also caused a good amount of water left on the field, which is another reason I thought it was so wierd.