Bob Ufer and The Michigan Spirit
I have posted this prior to the season opener every year since 2008. So here it is again for your reading pleasure! Go Blue!
"There run em' through the core of all Michigan activities both on and off this campus, a certain intangible thing. We call it "The Michigan Spirit". Maybe you can relate to it. It's the atmosphere that permeates that stadium every Saturday afternoon in the fall where over a hundred thousand fans patiently wait to see whether Bo Schembechler is going to continue his winning ways. You know what I mean! You can feel the tension, the excitement, the charisma that surrounds that stadium every Saturday afternoon. Especially ten to fourteen minutes before kickoff. When a hush settles over that stadium and we all anxiously wait for that simple 4 word command to eminate out of the P.A. system. I can hear it now! "Band take the field!" and out of that eastern tunnel pour 215 well drilled, well disciplined Michigan bandsmen. They pour over the Eastern sideline and they form the big block M and they play the greatest college fight song ever written! The Michigan Victors!! That's when the chills go up and down your spine! You get goose pimples all over, your blood turns maize and blue and everyone out there becomes part of the winningest tradition in the history of Big Ten football as well as the winningest tradition in the history of Big Ten athletics. Folks lets join in and sing the song that the late and great John Phillip Sousa claimed was the greatest college fight song ever written. The Michigan Victors!!!"
August 29th, 2013 at 9:07 AM ^
is and will always be THE voice of Michigan Football. Those of us who were lucky enough to grow up listening to Bob are in a position to pass some of his passion on to the next generation. GO BLUE. See you Saturday EU.
August 29th, 2013 at 9:12 AM ^
Yes sir, I'll see you there!
August 29th, 2013 at 10:17 AM ^
August 29th, 2013 at 9:17 AM ^
I'm putting together a hype video with the audio of this speech in it. I'm finishing it up this evening and will post it tomorrow.
August 29th, 2013 at 9:24 AM ^
August 29th, 2013 at 10:02 AM ^
And this year we have the Falk Factor - he's going to bring some good juju to the team in his last season.
Go Blue! National Championship game here we come!
August 29th, 2013 at 9:25 AM ^
For posting this every year. I always enjoy reading the passage and thinking "It's time for some Football" - Thank you.
August 29th, 2013 at 10:48 AM ^
I used to be able to find the audio that accompanies this text, but I have no idea where to find it anymore. Does anyone know?
August 29th, 2013 at 10:56 AM ^
I literally hear his voice whenever I read any of his quotes. It was so great growing up being able to hear him and the horn off from Pattons jeep.
August 29th, 2013 at 1:16 PM ^
Great stuff. Thank you for posting.
August 29th, 2013 at 4:05 PM ^
was Ufer's speech to the football team, December 31, 1980. Many people have credited Ufer and his fiery oration for Bo's first Bowl victory. I will NEVER forget that day. What a man, what a speech, what a passion for all things Michigan.
"And WHEN you win it, not IF you win it, you're going to be able to say something no Schembechler team has ever been able to say in the past. No Schembechler team will ever say in the future. You're going to be able to say that you gave one of the greatest coaches in the history of intercollegiate football his first bowl victory. You're gonna win that ball game tomorrow. You're gonna win it for Bo. You're gonna win it for the team with the winningest tradition in the history of the Big Ten. You're gonna win it for the prestige of the Big Ten. you're also gonna win it for the school with the largest living alumni in the world, over 300,000 of them and they're all gonna be behind you tomorrow.
"And you know most of all? You're gonna win it for yourselves. You're gonna prove to yourselves that Notre Dame and South Carolina were flukes. And when you walk out of that stadium tomorrow afternoon, with victory ringing in your ears, you're going to know you could've been 12-0 for the season. And better yet, you're going to know darn best because you will have just shown 45 million on TV along with 100,000 over there that YOU are indeed the finest football team in America today!
"Fellas, I ask you from this point on: Think Victory! Beat Washington! you've got 60 minutes of football, and a lifetime to remember it. And believe me, you will remember tomorrow's game!"
August 29th, 2013 at 5:22 PM ^