Magical night at the Big House

I love that picture of Denard and Taylor.  Totally embodies the miraculous ending to that game.

Another quote from the article, from a one Jordan Kovacs:

"A noon game, the stands are empty until the game starts. Let's be real."

Kovacs, being fooled by nobody since 1990.

Everything about that night was spectacular.  The longggg tailgate, the weather was perfect, the Big House finally lit for football, and do remember football is a 60 minute game (I was still nervous with :02 left on the clock !).   The fact that almost NO ONE left the stadium for at least 30 minutes after the game.  Then on Monday ... finding yourself on FanCam.

Truly incredible venue, tremendous victory ... and made believers out of the Team, the Coaches and the fans.   If you haven't seen the Roadtrip show for the game IT IS MUST SEE ... here's the link  -    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3mLnIJTAaQ  

Go Blue!

I remember seeing a picture of Desmond with tears in his eyes.  I can't remember if it was on the scoreboard or online somewhere the day after.  At any rate, the atmosphere on State St. in mid- to late-afternoon prior to the game was electric.  I don't know if I ever remember the fans being so alive.  There was something in the air, and you could feel it. 

When we sat there as the band came out of the tunnel, followed by the skydivers and their live video feed, it was enough to make any man well up.

The victory was icing on the cake.  I feel so blessed to have been there for that whole experience.

Go Blue!

half expecting it to be about Lloyd Brady's conception.

the vincent smith TD in the 4th quarter one of the Universtiy suites just picked up and left... since i had nothing to do (work wise) until the game was over i went into the suite to watch the end of the game. next to the suite i was in is the adidas suite and they had a few former players in there that day, when smith scored that TD i looked to my left to what the former players were doing and john wangler was sitting right next to glass, and he and i fist pounded through the glass... /coolstorybro

when roy caught the winning TD people were running down the hall way for the 5th floor suites everyone was high fiving each other... it was such a great night...

Don't miss:

• banter between Desmond and Woodson pre-game
• comments from Chief Marketing Officer Hunter Lochmann!
• Al says it was better than the SEC
• Mattison takes responsibility
• Kelly throws his coaches under the bus
• wrong formation!

This.

I get chills just reading this and remembering. What a nice way to fill in the details on what happened that night behind the scenes and on the field.

I'll be going to the ND game this Saturday. While I would love to have the same result, and crush ND's soul, it is significantly different being in South Bend rather than in Michigan Stadium. I can only imagine how wonderful it was to be at the game when our team won last year. While every win is a good win, I think I would especially enjoy attending a win by Michigan in Columbus or East Lansing. If the season goes well, I do hope to also go to the game in Columbus.

"Also the Stanford one, I remember 'The Play' very, very well. And so you have those thoughts in mind." - Jack Swarbrick, remembering UTL

At least on the Gallon reception, I am pretty sure that the Notre Dame band would have fared just as well in coverage as the backfield on that play, the resulting "illegal participation" call notwithstanding, of course. Is there a play that uses the brass section to defend against the pass?

In all seriousness, that was one of the best game experiences I have ever had, not to mention one of the best complete gameday experiences. I don't think I'll ever forget that game or how it ended.

Thanks for sharing this.

That piece brought back memories of what might have been my single best moment of Michigan football, and there have been many. As so many others have said, that night was electric and the high after that game was something that literally took a couple of days to wear off.  The emotional roller coaster of those last few exchanges were unreal.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have been there for that game.

seeing Desmond honored was an emotional sight even for me and then the crowded started chanting his name and to see the pride and emotion spill out of his eyes was just unreal. You really saw how much he loves and cares about this university. The game was so epic. it was horrific at first going into halftime and for awhile the student section got really quiet as we all thought "this isn't looking good." But like a classic Michigan ND game the Wolverines roared back and when Robinson hit Gallon for that 2nd to last play I had a feeling it was gonna be Denards time to shine once again. Then with 0:08 to go he hits Roundtree with a pass to the endzone for the TD and Michigan wins. I have never seen such a defecit overcome by victory as much as I saw that game. I was so fortunate to be there on that night and be a part of Michigan Football history. What a night that was.

I cannot add anymore except that it was the fastest drive home from AA ever, and i'm pretty sure my dad and I did not stop talking about the game until I dropped him off.  Best. Memory. Ever.

For the first half, we were pretty low in the bowl and were sitting behind the Notre Dame band, which sucked.  We were in the midst of a bunch of Med School alumni (it was their reunion weekend), most of them pretty elderly.  My short 12-yr-old son couldn't see for crap, and so he kept hopping up on the bench whenever the crowd stood.  But you know how packed everything is there; inevitably he'd step on someone's scarf or  bump someone's knee, and I was certain he was beginning to annoy the dour-looking old alum he was next to.  I was doing the nervous-mom thing every time he climbed up there, but then the old guy reached over to steady him and said, "He's just fine.  Stand up there and look.  You'll remember this night for the rest of your life."

How propethic THAT was.

In anticipation of this weekend's game, I was watching highlights of UTL '11.  I can't believe this is the first time I noticed this.  Forgive me if people have pointed this out before.  I guess Charlie just wanted to be back in the Big House so badly he'd do it even if it meant running security during the game.

He makes his appearance at about 11:02, as they're getting closer in on everyone mobbing Tree.  You can't really miss him, he looks elated.

http://youtu.be/03iHQdJATHE?t=10m45s

Great recap - brings it all back.  I like that they got both sides to participate.  Interesting that we actually lined up wrong on Smith's TD.  That probably happens a lot in last-minute situations.

It was, like, sparkles.