[Editor's note: At the end of the season I invited each of our photographers to submit something about their experience covering Michigan the last year. These guys drive across the country to get to these games, see them from the field, and often interact with players and coaches and administration, so they have a very different perspective than we the unwashed in our at-home offices.

Previously: Photos Editor Bryan Fuller, photographer Patrick Barron. Here’s MG's:]

On the notion of belonging:

In early November 2020, as I was biking to Crisler to photograph my first game since the beginning of the Covid pandemic and the abrupt ending of the 2019 season with a canceled B1G tournament, Fred, a good friend, sent me this message:

“I don’t how it is possible, but you are spoiled - more than usual - so enjoy for us”.

I can not look back at 2021, without starting in 2020 ~ That year MGoBlog skipped the photo review because of the very limited amount of events covered.

The Big Ten getting the news that its 2020 tournament was over, March 12, 2020

In Ann Arbor, everything started in chaos: The Football season was not a disappointment but an embarrassment to many, the men’s Basketball program did generate expectation but the absence of fans was a mood killer.

Despite the mess, Fred was right. I have been spoiled beyond reason with the chance to be in person to so many games. His words followed me everywhere, from the Emptiness of Crisler to a full Big house, from Livers celebration in a dead Schottenstein Center to the deafening UNC’s Students in a packed Dean E. Smith Center.

A year later in November 2021, all the past year just feels eerie, from the Men’s Football & Basketball team winning a B1G title and both beating OSU, the record drafted players by the Hockey team to the fantastic performance from the Women’s basketball and the slow rebirth of the stadiums with fans authorized to come back. Something is happening in Ann Arbor, beyond the pandemic with the athletic finally delivering on many levels.

Yes, I am spoiled to be witnessing the story, like the fans and public are, we are all part of it.

Often, Sport is told with tight and extreme close up photos of actions. In 2021, you will see that my favorites are made with wide shots to show the bigger story.

Most days, it still feels not right, why am I here? That question is true for every game I have covered in my life, but it sounds truer when you are one of the handful present. I will never get used to being on the sidelines, and I am beyond thankful for those many opportunities.

To conclude:

Since the link to my social media at the bottom of the blog has been broken* for years:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarcGregor
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcgregor.campredon/
• If you'd like to support my photography business (Who has been hit hard in the past 2 years) and my personal projects, you can purchase prints on my website at: https://www.marc-gregor.com/Prints

* [Just hadn’t brought it to the right person’s attention –Ed]