It is nice to win, but when you get as drunk as I do it tends to be more hazy. The pain sets in on Sunday morning.
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This is a great time to stop for a moment and think about the legacy we are passing on to our children. Those of us that grew up listening to Tiger's baseball games late into summer evenings with our fathers and grandfathers are feeling a little like graduating seniors right now. In part celebrating the memories of a cherished part of our lives, and in part mourning the end of an era. I was never on the field for a single pitch of major league baseball. I have never felt the crack of the bat nor the grass in the outfield as I dove for a catch. Instead, my experience was that of a spectator in the bleachers at Tiger's stadium with my dad and uncles and brother. I remember hot dogs and wondering why everyone was booing Lou Whitaker. I remember keeping score in a program and how green the grass looked in comparison to the blue steel of the stadium. I also remember sitting in the yard by the lake and listening to Erie as the chicken cooked on the grill.
This year I took my two boys (5 and 3) to the Michigan spring game. It was their first trip to the big house and I was way more excited than they were. I thought of my first trip to a spring game and how Jim Harbaugh high fived us on the field after the game and gave his wristbands to my cousin. I remember crisp saturday mornings that fall playing football un the leaves in our yard and pretending I was Harbaugh. I cheered for him not because I remembered following him through recruiting or because I thought that he was a better pro style QB than his predecessor. I cheered for him because he wore a Michigan helmet and that was who my dad rooted for.
However this season goes, winning record or not, I hope that I will cheer proudly for my alma mater and my children will be able to look back when they are adults with their own children and not have their memories tarnished by complaining about coaches and yelling at 18 year old quarterbacks. I hope they remember loving football saturdays, maybe a little more when we won, but loving them even when we lost. I am quickly realizing that the time I get to spend with my kids and my grandfather and dad are fleeting and I would rather spend them cheering our team than complaining about it.
May 7th, 2010 at 3:09 PM
#2
It is nice to win, but when
May 7th, 2010 at 3:36 PM
#3
Mgo
I go, you go, we all go Mgo
May 7th, 2010 at 3:41 PM
#4
Good words........
I kept thinking......."Pure Michigan"
May 7th, 2010 at 3:42 PM
#5
My 3 year old son
watches games with me on occasion. He doesn't think Obi Ezeh sucks, he doesn't think Justin Turner is a bust because he isn't starting in spring ball, he has never been offended that Will Campbell wasn't a freshman All-American, and he really doesn't care about wins and losses.
What he does do, however, is call every football team "Michigan," even though he knows the Michigan helmet is "the one with wings," because he knows Michigan's my favorite team.
So yeah, I wish we all had the innocent fandom of a 3-year-old. At least it'd make the CILs more bearable for the mods.
May 7th, 2010 at 3:57 PM
#6
Michigan Fans
I remember when I was younger when a Michigan player could never do wrong. Those were the days.
May 7th, 2010 at 4:32 PM
#7
tempus fugit, like crazy
tempus does fugit, like crazy, but like um dad, my wife and i hope to enjoy many more michigan games and lots of other things with our three michigan grad sons, two michigan grad daughters-in-law, and the third's girlfriend [comes from a michigan grad family].
May 7th, 2010 at 4:32 PM
#8
my son...
always asks, "which team is michigan?" when any team sport game is on television. it is the families ties in both directions that make being a fan a family event.
May 8th, 2010 at 12:44 PM
#9
That's too funny; my kids do
That's too funny; my kids do that too. Whether it's NFL or college, they go bonkers when they see someone wearing #4 because they think it's Brandon Minor, and after taking my son to the spring game, no one is as fast as Shoelace. My daughter looks for RR on the sidelines whenever I watch football no matter who's playing. Also, whenever somebody coughs or sneezes, she tells them to cover their mouth like "Rich Rod-Wee-Gez" does.
May 7th, 2010 at 5:11 PM
#10
Not a father yet
but can't wait to indoctrinate/brain wash my children into following the leaders and best. Go Blue!
May 8th, 2010 at 12:25 AM
#11
My first is due in October,
My first is due in October, and I already have his/her first M gear.
I can't wait for the OSU game--he/she is going to be pumped.
May 8th, 2010 at 1:54 PM
#12
Congratulations on your
Congratulations on your upcoming birth. Based on quick math, your newborn will be what, no more than 8 weeks old or so at the time of the Ohio State game?
Rest assured, whatever your newborn is "pumped" full of, you'll be changing a diaper full of it at least once during that game.
May 8th, 2010 at 5:18 PM
#13
The baby will be around 4-5
The baby will be around 4-5 weeks. I may remove some "pump," but there will be a Michigan hat on it and I'll be teaching the Victors.
May 8th, 2010 at 5:35 PM
#14
Congratulations
You know, a good book to start off your child right is "Let's Go Blue"
http://www.wolverineplanet.com/wstore/WStoreProductInfo.aspx?product_id=...
My daughter's favorite character is Coach Carr. When I ask who they want to see at the Big House they always say "Coach Carr" which I find pretty cool.
May 8th, 2010 at 6:42 PM
#15
My dad ordered a bear with a
My dad ordered a bear with a varsity jacket on it that had my last name embroidered on the front. He took the jacket off of it and it fit the baby perfectly. We used that as his 'coming home' outfit. We used it again for my second son and my brothers boy.
May 7th, 2010 at 6:29 PM
#16
My daughter can recite the
My daughter can recite the full version of The Victors.
/the bragging
May 7th, 2010 at 6:46 PM
#17
Those were the days, UMdad. I
Those were the days, UMdad. I remember them as well and they were great.
I still get to the Big House with my dad at least once every year or so and it is heaven. (we both miss Tiger Stadium) Now we are doing whole family trips with our kids along as well.
While some things might not ever be the same, ( like when you could only hear games on the radio..) The spirit of the game is still alive and strong and lives inside each of us.
Your boys will look back on these experiences with the same wonderment and awe as you do - that is what I also think about when people talk about Tradition.
May 8th, 2010 at 1:42 AM
#18
TOO LONG; DID NOT READ.
TOO LONG; DID NOT READ. SORRY, I'M DRINK, FOOL. M GO BLUE!!!!! VICTORY IN 2010!!!!!!!!!!!! NATIONAL CHAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!! H AHA HA AH AHA AH AHA A AA HAHA HA HA HA HAHAHHAHAHAH A HA HA HAH AHAHAH HA HA HA HA
May 8th, 2010 at 9:21 AM
#19
That's why they call this
A diary.
May 8th, 2010 at 11:32 AM
#20
Yeah, I honestly don't
Yeah, I honestly don't remember writing that. That's what 4 Loko does to you. The devil's drink.
May 9th, 2010 at 3:06 PM
#21
ah 4 loko
so great until you wake up not knowing where you are
May 8th, 2010 at 9:07 AM
#22
The Boo for Whitaker that he heard
was the fans chanting "Lou, Lou, Lou"
This reminds me of how some youngsters use to wonder why Ernie called a certain player
"A really old Rodriguez"
May 8th, 2010 at 12:12 PM
#23
wel played
"not have their memories tarnished by complaining about coaches and yelling at 18 year old quarterbacks"
Well played. I don't need my 2 and 3 year olds enjoying some drunken ass hat complaining at some random 18 year old either.
May 8th, 2010 at 2:25 PM
#24
I'm sorry
I wasn't drunk, but I do generally act like an ass hat while watching Michigan. My little cousin is going to think football is a four letter word.
May 8th, 2010 at 1:41 PM
#25
I completely agree...
I distinctly remember being 10 years old and locking myself in the bathroom after Kordell's hail mary. I wasn't mad at our defensive backs for not knocking the ball down or the defensive coordinator for not sending enough rushers, all I knew was that Michigan had lost in such heartbreaking fashion that I didn't want anybody to see me cry. Those were definitely the days. No anger or resentment, just pure fandom.
May 10th, 2010 at 1:53 PM
#26
+1 for your profile quote.
+1 for your profile quote.
May 10th, 2010 at 1:47 PM
#27
Every Saturday in the fall
Every Saturday in the fall was a holiday for me growing up. It's the only real quality time I ever spent with my father. It's the time I tried my first beer (guiness of course) and the only time I've seen my dad so happy he welled up and shed a single tear (1997). UM football is my religion and the Big House my cathedral. I can't wait to have kids of my own so I can share it with them the way my father shared it with me.
May 10th, 2010 at 3:13 PM
#28
My son was born in 2007
My son was born in 2007 before the "Horror." I remember not being able to see the game because I didn't have cable at the time. I had a Michigan shirt on as usual and my newborn son had his Michigan onesie. By the end of the game my son had spit up all over my shirt and the "Horror" had happened. I'm surprised I'm still around.
May 11th, 2010 at 10:56 AM
#29
Fleeting indeed
My wife and I had quadruplets 22 months ago. We had three boys and a girl and they have proven to be quite a handful.
My parents live about a 2 minute drive from my house and have been a huge help with them. My father was the best a boy could have. We did everything together and he was an amazing grandfather as well.
As hobbies he kept heavy machinery around the house (backhoe's, tractors, dump trucks etc etc etc) that all the grandchildren loved. He always took them down in the woods for bonfires and tractor rides.
We lost him in January and it has been killing me ever since. He was only 64 and my kids will likely never remember much about him. He was a hands-on father and grandfather. He changed diapers, got up at night when the kids would wake up when they stayed over and helped in every way.
It tears me apart knowing they will never be able to remember all those things or how much he loved them. Take full advantage of the time you are given with your family, we never know when it will end.
May 11th, 2010 at 5:24 PM
#30
I have 2 kids
Boy, 5 and girl 2. They are already aware that they may go to any college on this planet aside from Notre Dame and Ohio State.
What I look forward to most is instilling in them the tradition that is Michigan.
June 5th, 2010 at 1:43 AM
#31
My wife gave birth to our
My wife gave birth to our first, a daughter, in March. When she is able (Mother willing) she will make the trek to my alma mater and take in one of the most beautiful Saturday afternoons the world has to offer. I hope to take her to the field after a spring game, where my father took me in 1998 to meet the likes of Dhani Jones/Sam Sword/James Hall(also my fathers name)/ect. For these reasons (and more) is why Michigan football is a family.
