Biggest day in Michigan football since...

Submitted by fitty88 on
With 5-6 hours to kill to the event, thought it would be interesting to answer this question. Not to over-hype it (too late), and all "have to win football games" disclaimers apply, but how do folks finish that sentence? Ironically, as I thought about this, I think it is 2006 1 versus 2 Michigan-OSU. The stakes there, the exposure, the death of an iconic coach, it's really the last time Michigan Football was relevant in a real way. Anxious to see others thoughts...
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unadulterated joy

xtramelanin

December 30th, 2014 at 7:51 AM ^

because of the perspective we all had at that time, that it would be something to wonderfully echo for years to come.   by that i mean you can sit here today, like you could lo those many years ago, and not only enjoy the moment, but also think 'man, it's gonna be good, it's gonna be real good, for quite a while'.  i think this JH hire has the true and objective potential to rocket michigan right back up to the top, tons of fun, great games and grit.   we might go 7 or 8 wins next year, so be it, but does anyone really think we'll be less than double digit wins by the 2016 season?   the cupboard is not bare, and JH can coach like a madman.   go blue!

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bluelaw2013

December 30th, 2014 at 8:11 AM ^

A "biggest since" analysis requires the comparative event to be as big or bigger than the baseline event. Hiring the #1 winningest NFL coach of the modern (post-1970s) era is a big deal. This is bigger than losing to Ohio State in 2006. You have to go back to our last NC to start sniffing around in the same ballpark. Would anyone trade the 2006 game for Harbaugh? Hell no. But would someone trade the NC for Harbaugh? Maybe so, maybe not, depending on your expectations for the future. The NC is at least close enough to make you think about it.

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Ghost of Fritz…

December 30th, 2014 at 8:22 AM ^

...in Michigan football since the day Bo died.  

On another related note, the New York Times did a good article on Michigan's hire of Harbaugh. The article is worth reading.  It is mostly balanced and puts the hire in a larger context for those who don't follow Michigan closely.  It is a decent review, especially for reporters who are far removed from the situation. 

Here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/30/sports/football/jim-harbaugh-said-to-…

The comments section for the article is also worth a look.  There are the usual comments about how the high salaries of coaches are 'costing the students and taxpayers' etc., etc., blah, blah, blah. 

A big shout out to R.Will (an MGoBlog reader?) and his excellent work rebutting the uniformed commenters by pointing out in great detail and with a suerb command of the facts how these predictable criticisms are ignorant and make no sense.

R.Will's rebuttals alone make reading he commnents section worthwhile.

If R.Will is not already workng in the University's PR department, they should hire him. 

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APMGoBlue

December 30th, 2014 at 8:33 AM ^

Feels like the biggest day for UM football since my grandpa died 10 years ago (tomorrow).  He introduced me to Michigan football.  If he was my age he would definitely have been one of us... he never shut up about Michigan football :D.  

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flashOverride

December 30th, 2014 at 8:38 AM ^

I've long felt the day Drew Henson decided to head for the ball diamond was the day The Long, Slow Slide began. I know, I know, there were still a few fun seasons after that, but that's why it's The Long, Slow Slide and not The Drop Off a Cliff. And I know it seems crazy to point to the loss of one player, but to me, something happened during that 2001 offseason that changed things. Maybe Lloyd just suddenly got old, I don't know. All I know is prior to that offseason he was 5-1 against Ohio State and 4-2 in bowl games, and after he was 1-6 against OSU and 2-5 in bowls. The Tressel hire certainly looms but that doesn't explain the bowl losses. If Henson had stayed on, Michigan would have been in the Top 5 and the MNC discussion going into the 2001 season, I seem to remember the announcers at the end of the bowl win over Auburn that January saying words to that effect. Instead it was gone and it seemed like it took a few seasons to recover, during which time Michigan's national stock seemed to dip quite a bit. 

But, I guess this is about a particular date and not a sequence of events, so I too will have to look to the weekend before Thanksgiving, 2006. 

I know one thing: whenever I have to sit and wait to meet a client, I always have my Kindle with me, and I read a chapter from a book I've already read (that way it's easier to put down, as opposed to one I haven't read). Since September that book has always been Three and Out. Even though I could already practically recite the thing, I keep rereading it out of this strange urge to repeatedly analyze, "Just how the hell did we get here? Why has all this happened?" Yesterday I pulled it out and started to read again, and after about a paragraph, I thought, "Um...I don't feel the need to do this anymore." For the first time in years, I'm more excited about the future of Michigan football than I am saddened by its past. DAMN that feels great!

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MGo Victors Valiant

December 30th, 2014 at 8:46 AM ^

I was thinking about it and does anyone else think this is one of those remember where you were moments? Maybe not this press conference on Harbaugh Day but the moment you were finally convinced it was happening? Is it just me?

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billygoblue

December 30th, 2014 at 8:56 AM ^

Biggest day since -- can't remember the year - Bo turned down a large pile of money from Texas A&M to stay at Michigan

 

also, if Mo had listened to Bo and waited till he got back in town, he would have remained as the coach & I believe he would have stayed in the job for a long time.  Believe he is 73 now & who knows who would be coach now.

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soniktoothe

December 30th, 2014 at 9:08 AM ^

The Game in 2006 was a change for me as well. I grew up taking M football for granted. In 2006 I was living on the edge of Buckeye country and was getting more interested in sports. That Game was the first that I wanted to watch on my own volition. So basically the beginning of my personal fandom started at the beginning of the shitstorm. Sorry TL.

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megaswami

December 30th, 2014 at 9:13 AM ^

BIGGEST DAY IN MICHIGAN FOOTBALL HISTORY...PERIOD! Michigan makes their money back they are spending on Harbaugh within weeks. Wait List is back. Recruits will be lining up for visits. And if he goes out and gets 9-10 wins in year 1, with a big win, WATCH OUT! This move is beyond what any of us can comprehend.



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CJRockford

December 30th, 2014 at 9:13 AM ^

Gotta think it's the most important day since January 1st, 1998.  The only other day that I can remember that comes close to the excitement of today would be the Ohio State game in 2006 when we were #2 vs. #1

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Njia

December 30th, 2014 at 9:19 AM ^

No doubt about it. Since that day, the whole program seemed morally and spirituality adrift. Not that we didn't have good men, but even after his retirement, Bo loomed very large. In my mind no one else, no matter how qualified or successful as a coach elsewhere could finally throw open the dark heavy shades over Michigan Football like Harbaugh can and will. But as Churchill said, "This is not the end. This is not the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

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nmajali

December 30th, 2014 at 9:29 AM ^

If the outcome of this hire is positive then I belive that the road we travelled since the Horror (my homecoming game at the time!) would've been exactly what this program and its fans needed. Our expectations of our players, coaches and the program as a whole have become so high that nothing short of a NC would be enough to satisfy our thirst! Winning over any MAC team is a forgone conclusion, beating up on most Big Ten teams is a no brainer and beating our rivals is expected 75% of the time (if not more). We stopped celebrating wins, we only celebrated monumental wins! Honestly, if JH does what we expect him to do in Ann Arbor, we would come out with a stronger team and with a better spirit and I belive we would go back to enjoying a trip to the Rose Bowl and a Big Ten Championship.. We wouldn't take things for granted anymore. So the Horror in 2might have been one hell of an important day in Michigan Football history that made us who we are today and paved the road for this hire be a much more special hire than it would've been 7 or 3 years ago.. Dreaming of those better days.. Go blue

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Muttley

December 30th, 2014 at 9:55 AM ^

this is the biggest since the day Bo was hired.  Because none of the stuff that happened since  would have been on the scale of what came to pass.

Bo.  Moeller.  Carr.  All the great things that happened under those coaches started with the hiring of Bo.

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phjhu89

December 30th, 2014 at 9:55 AM ^

Completely agree with those citing Bo's death. On that day Michigan lost its cultural framework - its moral center, for lack of a better term. All of the "Michigan Man" nonsense since then has been a desperate attempt to hold onto Bo and the culture he built.



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uminks

December 30th, 2014 at 10:02 AM ^

When Bo was hired. Though Canham probably did not know how great of a hire he had made. I'm sure there were quite a few Michigan Men upset that day!

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