Most unusual place you ran into a Michigan fan

While hiking to the top of Mount Olympus; about 100 yards below the peak.

for business a few years back.  I went to the Warsaw Ghetto for some  history and saw a guy with an M hat.  We chatted and then went to the bar to have one.

It was weird to me at the time, as a drunk 18 year old recent high school grad, to have a stranger walk up up and say, "Go Blue."

so i was in this band and we sold these shirts that said "Michigan Rockstar" on the front like all the shirts that you can buy with your department etc.   well apparently someone was wearing one of these in south africa and somebody actually knew what it was.  kind of a big moment for my band although it was basically a testament for michigan.  

Tazmania. at a farmer's market.

Columbus, Ohio.

I've met a fellow grad in one of the libraries there.  We're both taking classes to get ready for the next steps in our respective careers.

During my tour of the Sam Adams Brewery in Boston, I was wearing a Tom Brady Michigan jersey, he was a student there on spring break. Probably not that uncommon in Boston, but still was nice to see.

Van Vien in Laos.... actually I've ran into Michigan fans all over the world.

I was visiting family in Syria three summers ago and our plane initially landed in Lebanon. It turned out that an entire middle eastern family that lived in Michigan were in the airport and were coming back to the states. It was a pleasant surpirse.

The father was a business graduate from Ross.

With Darmok and Jalad, at Tanagra.

We were all introducing ourselves within our small section. I was slightly nervous and expecting everyone to be from Texas since I'm at UT-Austin and everyone I had met so far was from Dallas or Houston.

The girl next to me was the first to introduce herself, and after clearing her throat said that she had graduated the University of Michigan. Not only that, but she had graduated my year!

We're now very good friends, and it turns out we shared numerous mutual friends back in undergrad despite never meeting. Whenever Michigan wins a game, we exchange a fist-bump on the following Monday morning.

Best icebreaker ever.

for a little embezzlement and ran into a fellow grad. it was very chummy!

from acrss the block, every now and then,  we would sing a slow, mournful, version of the Victors, and in our hearts we would yearn

Was at a bar in Kampala, Uganda and ran across a local with a Michigan t shirt, turns out he graduated from law school there and works for the government, liked American football, but said had trouble adjusting to the cold and snow.

I was waiting for a friend at the international airport in Delhi wearing the student shirt from the '06 season. Guy came up to me looking extremely relived, apparently he was an M fan feeling a little lost since it was his first time in India. We exchanged Go Blues and I helped him get his bearings. I hope he had a good trip.

I captured a terrorist in Iraq who was a Michigan fan...or his family Dearborn sent him some "American" clothes. At the time time I didn't care he had a UM shirt on but all my guys made sure to rub it in.

The Oldest Synagogue in Budpest -We meet Dad and Son (Alumni) and daughter current student from Chicago and us living in CT.  As it turned out we were all going to the first game of the 2010 season the bashing of Uconn.

scuba in the gulf of mexico, I saw a baracuda wearing a block M.... I may have been high.

I can think of 2:

1. Moscow, on the Metro, saw and conversed in mediocre Russian with a Ukrainian national wearing a block-M hat.

2. Not entirely unusual, but I watched The Game in 2006 in a sports bar in Seville, Spain with a host of UM grads and a smattering of Buckeyes.

Walking into a beach at the Dead Sea in the West Bank.  I'm wearing an M shirt and hat, guy walking in the opposite direction is rocking a maize Michigan Basketball tee.

High fives were exchanged.

PhD in some engineering/ aero space something or other. And was currently a law prof at Houston. 

At the Florida/South Carolina game this year, in a sea of blue and orange, I met a former player for Moeller.

Strangest place to see OSU: in Japan, in a 400 year old castle overlooking the Pacific Ocean on one side and the East China Sea on the other, I saw spray painted on a wall- Michigan sucks, Go Buckeyes
:/ Man I was pissed.

This thread would be funny to see on a Michigan State blog. "What's the craziest and farthest place you have ever ran into a fellow MSU fan?" Ohio? Get past Illinois and nobody knows what that block S stands for.

Ran into one at a dive bar on a back alley in Osaka Japan.

I ran into a few of them in Climax.  But I live there.

On the great wall of China.

I visited the Golden Spike National Historic Site in Utah which is in the middle of freakin' nowhere and I got a hearty "Go Blue!" from an old and very bearded Park Ranger who graduated in the early '60s. He said I had made his day since he didn't see much Michigan apparel in that neck of the woods.

I ran into a Michigan alum when I was in Thailand playing ping-pong in Ding-Dang. A high stakes game in some opium den.

Many from our tour had stopped at one of the large towers on top of the wall and were trying to take pictures.  A young woman asked if we would like her to take pictures of everyone.  We gave her about a dozen cameras and she proceeded to snap away.  As she returned my camera, she recognized that I was wearing an alumni watch.  She was alumna as well.

When I lived in southern CA, I had vanity plates MGOBLO.  I got lots of honks and waves on the freeways!

......but appropriate for me, on a tour of a Belgian brewery. 

The most unusual place I've ever met a Buckeye fan was in church

I was really surprised to see a Michigan shirt in Dublin, Ireland this summer (and no, they don't really root for Notre Dame...or any American team). I will say, however, that if you happen to meet some staff in the Dublin City Public Library who care about Michigan football...that is totally my doing. :-D

What was weirder was that I actually found a Buckeye first, at a pub in Temple Bar (I know, I know, but I was staying just a few blocks away and it was early days). I was wearing a Michigan hoodie and I heard, out of nowhere, "F*** Michigan!" She was a Buckeye, but we hung out for the night and I think really impressed the Irish guy with how much we got into it over sports. It's weird, but like onelise14 said, it really makes you feel at home to find even Buckeyes abroad. I try to explain it like Manchester United v. Liverpool or Cork v. Kerry but it's a bit different yet.

Good to see we're all over!

The day we were playing OSU - got a "Go Blue, good luck against the buckeyes".

Pegasus Airfield Antarctica....Balad AB Iraq....Mosul,Iraq....Ali Al Salem AB Kuwait....Baghram AB Afganistan....Kandahar AB Afganistan....etc. Had my block M flag flying in the back of C130 cargo plane and was greeted with either a "GO BLUE" or anti-blue talk. You'd be pleasently surprised how many of our Armed Forces are Michigan fans!!

This thread demonstrates how far and wide Michigan fans and alumni are dispersed. It's amazing sometimes.

I want to illustrate this a different way. I spent Christmas break with the family in Disney World in 2009. Michigan was not playing in a bowl that year, but Wisconsin, Penn State, Iowa and Northwestern were all playing in bowl games in Florida that year. I predictably saw a lot of fans of those schools, including members of PSU's marching band. However, I still saw more shirts, hats, and sweatshirts that said Michigan than any other school. Not only are Michigan fans everywhere, they are proud to wear their stuff when they are out.

Long Beach, MS. Not as cool as some of the others, but I was shocked. I was in "A" school at NAS Pensacola, and two of my friends were from Long Beach. We would drive there on weekends and hang out. It was cool to get off base for a bit. Anywho, I was wearing my M hat and this guy comes up and starts talking about the '97 season. (It was in 1999) He lived his whole life in Mississippi, but always liked Michigan. I was shocked to find a fellow fan in SEC country.

(Insert Cool Story Bro here)

Well I am one of those weird fans....¬¬

Im an airline pilot and I see the Block M everywhere...it really surprises me when you go into some of these dives and see someone sportin the M...as always, "Go Blues" are mandatory greetings

I was wearing my Jalen Rose jersey on the beach in Costa Rica last month and got a Go Blue as well from a local Costa Rican. I usually run into a few Michigan fans everytime I'm down there but they are usually just Americans on vacation. Either way I always find it really cool to run into fellow fans in other countries. 

What really grinds my gears is when you see someone wearing aome sort of Michigan attire and you ask them if they're a M fan and they reply with "no, i got this at the thrift store"...i throw up in my mouth a little bit each time

Every time I see a Michigan fan in Columbus (surprisingly a lot!)

That's where you can find me, and occasionally a couple of others when they dare to visit!!

Playing a tourney in California at Huntington Beach had a bunch of Go Blue's and talked to a couple fans

When I was working in Manila.At one point something like 1/4th of the Senators there were UM Law grads. Turns out that there is a special scholarship at the Law School for Philippine students, set up more than 100 years ago by the UM-grad American governor.

I was on a beach in Miami when somebody noticed my Block M tattoo. We started to talk about the Final Four since it was the Day before the infamous timeout game. On the beach from Miami is not that unusual unless you consider that we were both from Montreal. I've never seen him before or since.

Went on a fishing trip there with 3 buddies of mine.   2 of them are Spartans.  Literally got off the plane and the 4 guys getting on were all Michigan grads.  Had time to talk for about 5 minutes.

Standing on a dock in Northern Ontario waiting to leave for a fly-out fishing trip, wearing my usual block M hat. I was waiting for the group from the previous week to unload the seaplane and as they got off I got a big "GO BLUE!" from all of the guys in the group. Turns out they lived about 10 minutes away from me. Random!

Yea how about Alabama...yea yea yea i know its in the US but this is Roll Tide/War Eagle country where they look down upon the B10 so u kind of wonder where a Michigan fan comes from

I was eating breakfast in the hotel one morning and a guy noticed my sweater with a "M" logo. He asked if I was an alum, and I responded that I was. He told me that he was an adjunct professor and was visiting KUL.

To be fair, Cape Town is a very cosmopolitan city. And this was at the airport. Still, I saw this teny ear old wearing a Michigan 2004 Rose Bowl sweatshirt, and hollered out a hearty "GO BLUE!" That kid's big wide smile was priceless.

Sallalah, Oman

He said he was a grad.

And the guy who had the M hat on (I was the guy who said, "Go Blue" in this story) turned out to be the husband of Congresswoman Blanche Lincoln, later Senator Blanche Linclon.  He's a U-M M.D.

While studying abroad in Europe, I spent a weekend in Zurich, Switzerland. They have this tall clocktower/restaurant where you can see the entire city. On my way up wearing a Michigan hat I got a "Go Blue" from an old man that could barely walk. We ended up having a short conversation about the state of Michigan athletics (It was 2008, so.... yeah....)

Being in my mid twenties, I have plenty of time for this to change, but so far my most unusual place isn't that unusual I guess.  When I started a new job out  in Phoenix a few years ago, on my first day, my cubicle ended up being right next to a fellow Ann Arbor native and U of M fan.  Again, since Phoenix has one of the largest number of Michigan alums this side of the country, it isn't too rare, but its the most unusual place I've met a fellow Wolverine.

My dad's most unusual place for meeting a fellow fan makes for a much better story than mine however.  When he went to China about 10 years back, his tour guide ended up being an avid and knowledgeable Michigan (and bad boys era Pistons) fan. 

Go Blue!

Munich, Germany.  2006, day after we beat down ND.  I was walking through Munich, wearing Mich gear, and got a GO BLUE randomly.  Cool guy, ended up drinking together the rest of the day in celebration.

I was at the base of a gigantic Buddha statue wearing my Mike Hart #20 away jersey and two Chinese guys in their late 20's walked up and asked if it was a Michigan jersey. When I said yes they replied "Go Blue", fist pump and all. They knew of Michigan through a friend who did a semester in Ann Arbor and traveled to the Flint campus as well. They said he brought back video of football, hockey and basketball gmaes and they thought they were amazing.

It wasn't actually a run; more of a planned out, half trotting effort.  We were both pleased with the final score.

On the tube in London when I was on a backpacking trip (decked out in my maize student section t-shirt), I heard two dudes humming the Victors and spun around to receive a resounding "Go Blue!" 

Also met an ex-MMB member on a boat heading to a small island (Vieques) in Puerto Rico.  Proceeded to have an half hour discussion on Michigan Football. 

Never fails to make my day to meet great Wolverine fans around the world

The most unusual place I ran into a Michigan fan was a a soccer game in Switzerland, although the guy probably and rightfully thinks I'm the weird and obscure Michigan fan ;-) I'm from the Prinicipality of Liechtenstein and in 2008 the local soccer club I follow  (FC Vaduz) managed to advance to the highest Swiss soccer league. The first game took place in Lucerne and in the guest sector I came across a Michigan student travelling through Europe who was really amazed to meet  guy who had "The Victor" as a ring tone ;-)

Jogging near the Waterfront shopping area.  It's always nice to hear the "Go Blue".

Young guy working behind the check-in gate pulls me out of line as we are about to enter the plane and upgrades us from coach to first-class because I am wearing my "M" hat.  Says he is a huge M fan and hates Buckeyes loud enough for all to hear.  Classic.

I had a near death experience.... God loves rocking the maize and blue (though he seems to have a thing against our DBs)... He also said the devil always wears red.

Maui coast got a Go Blue and in Delhi India!

My brother and I were buying a memory card at some camera shop in Beijing, and the cashier asked us where we were from.  We said "Michigan," and from the back of the store, an old man yelled, "University of Michigan- many great champion!"  He turned out to be the owner.  This was 2006, and he really really wanted to talk about the Pistons and their great champions as well.  Awesome.

Mosul, Iraq... There were a couple of contracters that always rocked the Michigan gear... Off subject but I also have seen this iraqie kid with a red wing shirt on

thread get so far along without anyone saying they got a "GO BLUE" while vacationing in Bolivian?

On the crowded Market streets nicknamed "Balad" (a district) of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia I once saw a kid wearing a University of Michigan shirt. I highly doubted that he knew what U of M was (or spoke English) but it made my day.

I was in a market getting harassed by a couple of locals for handouts and all of a sudden I hear a "Go Blue" and was saved. Turns out he and I were both treating patients abroad and was very ironic.

Great thread, I love the idea and it has been fun reading everyone's stories. I thought I'd post mine...

I worked at a bilingual school in Honduras for 6 months last year. I arrived to teach the second half of the year and found out that of the 6 other Americans teaching at this school, one of them was also a Michigan grad.

Later during a weekend trip to Honduras' largest lake, I was checking into the hotel and I came across a girl who was wearing a Michigan shirt. A hearty "Go Blue" was exchanged. Turned out she was not alum, she and her boyfriend had both gone to North Carolina, but she grew up in Ann Arbor and went to Pioneer, thus was a big fan. 

We are all over. Go Blue!

as a lot of the others, but I was in a bar in Seattle to watch the '92 Rose Bowl and sat next to four guys from Saginaw, my home town. Brutal during the game, but a lot of UW fans bought us drinks after the game.

I was wearing my M cap to a Napa Valley winery and I ran into another alum who was wearing a Michigan jacket.  We talked and both said we did not have to worry about Michigan this weekend since they were on a bye week.  The week before was that crushing loss to IA last season.  I found out he was Bo's original cardiologist before he retired in the late 90s. It was great to meet both him and his wife (his wife was a Michigan alum as well). They both are retired and live in AZ now.

It is always great to meet fellow wolverines on the road!

Ulan Bator, Mongolia.  One of the customs agents has a child going here for grad work.  He saw my hoodie and told me "Hail To the Victors".

My favorite experience was running into a tOSU fan in Seoul who was trash talking at the bar. The bar owner, who did not speak English, asked me what he was saying since the guy's mouth was moving pretty much constantly.  I told the owner the Bucknut was making rude comments about one of the girls there and Mr. Bucknut was promptly ejected.  

Iraq

in space

in solitary confinement:

But it was an Xbox voice message from a fellow Black Op's player saying "Go Blue"...

Does that count?

P.S. my gamer account is 'M GO BLUE 90, and as I tell my wife, I only play to get quality time with my kids...  who sometimes also play.

Probably last Monday. I live in Seoul right now, and I'm applying for graduate schools here. I research all the people I needed to talk to, but no one had a Michigan connection.

I got an interview last Monday and afterwards, I got a call saying that a previous dean of the school wanted to meet me. 

He closes the door, and said, so... Michigan eh? I'm like yes sir... and he's like well, Go Blue. Turns out, his daughter and son are alumns there, and he guest-taught there for a year or so. And he introduced me to like 3-4 professors that were from Michigan and were pushing for me to get in. 

Actually the day I received my acceptance letter, I was wearing a Michigan shirt as I walked up to the front steps of the American Club in Singapore. As I walked in, a man and a little boy about the age of 8 walked past me and the Dad said, "see son, you should be proud that you're from Michigan, and it's a great school too." I responded with, "best school in the world, just received my acceptance letter today." He congratulated me and we parted ways.

While on a roadtrip we stopped in the small village of Pine Haven, Wyoming. I would guess 200 people live there tops. While camping one night it snowed around 16 inches (in May) so we visited the local bar/grocery/bait shop to stay warm and have a few. I had my usual M hat on and the couple who owned the bar were born and raised in Ann Arbor and were huge fans. We drank late into the night and they let us sleep in the bar (-5 and snowing outside), gave us bedding and cooked breakfest in the morning. I still talk about it to this day.

I was at a medical conference in Digby Nova Scotia (a small fishing vilage with a beautiful golf resort for some reason) and after playing in a charity golf tournament that coincided with the conference.

As a charity event the prizes were quite small so as to keep the majoirty of the profits for the charity (local hospital foundation) and my team came in thrid place. One of the prizes in the basket was a hat and I had been sweating profusely and had a bad case of hat head so I took off my sweat soaked hat in favor of something more dry.

To my shagrin, the hat was an MSU hat, but I figured being where I was, no one would even know what team it was depicting nor that I was an M fan so I reluctantly decided to wear it back to my hotel room until I got a shower.

On my way there I passed an elderly couple out for an evening stroll and the lady looked at me as I walked by with a bit of an evil stare and shook her fist while saying "Go Blue". I was confused when she said it. I wondered "How did she know I was a UM fan, and why was she looking at me shaking her fist while saying go blue?". After wondering for a few seconds I realized she had seen the MSU hat and thought I was a fan of MSU.

I turned quickly and ran down the elderly couple. I explained what had happened and let them know that I was in fact a fan of UM, not MSU. After the two quized me on some UM hhistory and I came up aces, they finally believed me and made me promise to throw the hat away when I got to my room. I was so ashamed I went straight to the nearest trash can and threw it in, bad hair be damed.