Events Of The Weekend: Big Chill

I went into the game expecting that I would not be watching the game at all since 9 years ago at the Cold War (when my eyes were much better) I couldn't see anything from the upper tier. At row 64 in the SW corner, my sightlines were amazing and I never lost sight of the puck.  Yost may not have planned it this way, but his amazing football watching Stadium doubles as an acceptable venue to watch the boys on ice.

Agreed. Michigan can't predict how good MSU will be when scheduling the game. Also, Michigan - Miami (OH) lacks the in-state name brand that comes with 2 intra-state rivals.

While I couldn't attend the Big Chill, it looked spectacular on TV. Brian should be ashamed about this negative post.

but it was michigan that got jobbed to create that powerplay for state in the first place. Rust got shafted on a call, where the MSU player tangled with him and proceed to fall straight back on his ass. No help from Rust. Total acting job.

Hard to feel bad for MSU, when they shouldn't have been in that position to begin with.

I'm one of those who thought the Suarez "save" in the World Cup quarterfinals should have been an automatic goal (blatant intentional handball to clear a ball that is obviously going in), and I see this as the same (and would regardless of which team was involved). It has to be something where it's obviously going in (if there's any doubt make it a penalty shot, as I believe it's supposed to be for intentionally dislodging the net if the puck is in the crease at the time), but there was no doubt that puck was going in.

Would it have mattered? I doubt it. We have one line worthy of a tournament-level team, and that ain't gonna get it done against anyone good (which Michigan certainly is). But it's still a royal shafting that the net got knocked loose a nanosecond before the puck crossed the line.

IIRC, Cooper's OSU teams were very talented and, all in all, quite successful.  He couldn't beat us to save his life, and his record in bowl games wasn't that great, but my recollection is that he consistently fielded strong teams, unlike MSU hockey of late.

The announced attendance for the MSU game was also over 113,000.

Also: The attendance announced at the Big Chill was not "Guinness-endorsed." All, Guinness did at the game was certify that the attendance had surpassed the previous Guinness record for a hockey game. Guinness hasn't released their official attendance number yet (which will be lower than the 113,411 figure announced at the game).

I was there with a bunch of my friends, and we all agreed it was a spectacular event and a lot of fun. The only negativity I experienced came from grumpy MSU fans, and even they seemed to enjoy the event despite the loss. This MGoPost is wholly unrepresentative of the Big Chill.

Brian left before the fireworks anyway (was two rows in front of me). (Wasn't sure if it was him, didn't want to be awkward-guy...) 

Was also cool to see Rich Rod, Denard and some recruits (I think) at the game. They walked around the North end zone and sat in the front of our section for a while. 

It was a first-class event.  The atmosphere around us was electric, and I overheard so many positive comments from M and State faithful alike.  There was a very polite and energetic State group right behind us who to a person all said things like "Win or lose, wouldn't miss this for anything". My family loved it, I loved it, and ALL of my buddies who went loved it. 

The Athletic Dept and all those involved in the planning of this event deserve a hearty "thanks"

Lastly, as much fun as it can be to slight them, there was only 1 school to invite - and that's MSU.  Sure, we heard a few digs about football, completely to be expected, and deserved. But on the other hand, a couple of the Spartys behind us remarked about the promise of our basketball team. I think the general positivity of everyone involved is a reflection of how fun and remarkable the event was.

Sorry you didn't see it that way Brian. 

If it's like most other UM kicks this year, he missed it.

Have the soundtrack and love it:

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Chill-Deluxe-Various-Artists/dp/B0001JXQCE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1292266208&sr=8-2

The Big Chill came out while I was a student at Michigan and its themes and soundtrack were pretty ubiquitous at the time.  They even brought a follow-up by Kasdan to Ann Arbor for a premier, given the popularity, etc., of The Big Chill.  I thought it was pretty boring and a non-event (esp since they basically just read telegrams - yes, telegrams - from the celebrities who couldn't make it in person (all of them)), but then I was probably waiting for a scene that included the UM-MSU football game somehow.

I was really suprised at the end of the game when Hunwick wasn't named one of the top three players of the game, but was really happy when the players (I think that's what it looked like) made him skate out to be recognized as well, and the announcer correctly added the fourth honorable mention.  34 saves, gotta love the little netminder.

Comment on the announcer...

1. He kept calling it a hockey match.

2. He couldn't even read the number when he was announcing how many people were at the game.  

Brian may be a little bummed about the soccer team losing on Friday.  He seems to have become a pretty hardcore soccer guy.

before the game, about how both teams had agreed to stay for the post-game fireworks.  I believe it was part of the one of the initial releases on the post-game fireworks.  I don't remember the exact reason, but something about soildarity, experience for the fans yaddah yaddah yaddah.  That's why they State had to stay out, they had already agreed to it.  I didn't notice them trying to leave and I think they probably should have been able to leave and just be alone after that, but what's done is done.  And to pre-empt it, I really hope nobody plays the "Wah wah Sparty sportsmanship" card, after Michigan left the ice without shaking hands after the Friday OSU game.  Obviously the reason for that is probably pretty clear and Red sent in somebody to pull them back out, but again, what's done is done. 

Also, Minnesota the last couple years wouldn't have necessarily been much better, they've fallen off quite a  bit too, Thanksgiving weekend nonwithstanding.  Look at last year's 6-0 loss to the worst Michigan team in 20 years.  Unfortunately, you don't have to be a legitimate top 10 team to have a decent chance of beating Michigan anymore.  State was probably the right choice for a whole host of reasons, from tradition, to proximity, to rivalry recognition, regardless of their current prowess.