This is the final voting portion of the 2009 MGoShirt Alert, a design project that will enable MgoBlog readers to vote for an upcoming design in the new MGoBlogStore.

July 2, 1863. June 6, 1944.    November 22, 1969.

Throughout the course of mankind, there have been days where the choices of men alter the course of destiny forever.  Today, gentlemen, is one of those days.  After weeks of preparation and voting, success and failure, flotsam and jetsam, we have come to this day.  Today we'll vote on the winner of the 2009 MGoShirt Alert.

I will once again go over the scoring that was used to determine the four finalists.  As you all know, each of the fifteen entries were open to voting by the MGoCommunity to determine its success, rated on a scale of five stars to one star, with five being the most successful and one being the least.  With that being said, each five-star vote was awarded five points, four-stars were given four points, three stars got three points, etc. All points for each shirt were then added up to a grand total, and that total was divided by the number of voters for each particular poll to determine the shirt's final average score.  Obviously, a perfect average score would have been 5.00, with the lowest possible score being 0.00.  No design received either.

Yesterday I did a final count on all shirts and re-did the math for one last consideration, and then ranked all fifteen designs according to their overall average score.  It is, then, with great pride that I reveal the finalists:

1.  MASCOTS
Final Score: 4.31.
To my disbelief, yesterday's shirt recieved the highest overall score.  There was legimitate concern about possible legality issues, and although we may have to make some minor tweaks to the design should it prove the winner, I am proud to say that I think we're okay on that front.  I will admit that I did not expect the reception it received yesterday, but am nonetheless grateful.

2.  THE DESMOND
Final Score:  4.03
Ah yes, our good friend Mr. Howard, the first Heisman trophy in Ann Arbor since the legend of Tom Harmon.  There were many debates about tweaking this shirt, the text, the typeface, the foot, etc... but all in all this was our first consensus 'winner' of the entire contest.  Certainly wearable by the exclusive MGoBlogger or the broad UM fan base, it's got undeniable mass appeal.

3.  BRIAN'S AVATAR
Final Score: 4.02
Another late addition to the contest, this was the last design I did, after someone suggested it on an earlier entry.  Modeled directly from Brian's own screen icon on the Blog, this shirt also raised suspicions of possible Imperial entanglements, and in fact WAS red-flagged and pulled for use of the Block M.  You can't blame us here-- it's a Michigan web site and we're smart enough not to bite that hand.  You'll notice the design has been tweaked from its original, now using a sans-serif and less exclusive "M" in the background of the design.  We're officially good to go.

4.  THE WOODSON
Final Score: 3.50
Charles Woodson, the man who put the swagger back into Michigan.  I really enjoyed creating this shirt as well, and tried to let the design speak for itself.  There were debates about this one as well, concerning the off-center alignment, the shadow of the Heisman, the silhouette of Woodson, etc.  But make no mistake-- people were talking, and the shirt was well-received.  (Dude, you really can't see the Heisman here??)

So we've made it to the Downtown Athetlic Club and we have our final contest finalists.  Voting will start now and will remain open for the entire weekend, with a final post announcing the winner on Monday.  Gentlemen, it's time to vote:

For the sake of authenticity, I thought you all might enjoy seeing how the rest of the shirts stacked up.  Final scoring beneath the four finalists, ranked from highest to lowest, are as follows:

SCORE, followed by DESIGN
3.47 - SHIRT 11 – THE RETRO (Great news, sis!)
3.20 - SHIRT 01 – THE FORCIER
3.08 - SHIRT 05 – OL’ 98
2.84 - SHIRT 10 – THE NEW NEW MATH
2.82 - SHIRT 02 – SLOT NINJA
2.82 - SHIRT 04 – FAT CHARLIE
2.72 - SHIRT 09 – FORCIER/TACOPANTS 
2.67 - SHIRT 13 – CHE ROD
2.20 - SHIRT 06 – QUIERO TACOPANTS
2.05 - SHIRT 08 – BARWIS HELL
2.01 - SHIRT 03 – THE PACK/THE WOLF

There you have it, people.  I would like to again thank everyone for taking part, for sharing their thoughts and reactions, for the kind words and appreciation, and for just helping build up anticipation day in and day out.  And I'll see you Monday when we unveil the final winner of-- THE 2009 MGOSHIRT ALERT!