My 3-year old son's observations about Denard
So some of you may remember the story that I posted about 2 weeks ago, where my 3 year old son (without any prompting from me) explained to my father-in-law that the Giants were losing because they didn't have Denard Robinson, and that if they did have him they would win, because he is "really fast with hair in the back of his helmet."
Over this season, my son has expressed a love of Denard equalled only by his love of Elmo and Thomas the Tank Engine. Anytime any football is on the TV, he instantly asks if he can watch Denard, instead. (I am proud).
Well, while watching the replay of this week's game, during Denard's first TD run, my son asked "why are the other players running so slow? How come they aren't as fast as Denard?" I thought that was awesome.
Fast forward a few series to one of Denard's other impressive runs, and my son summed up our whole offense in a few words: "See daddy, Denard is really fast and nobody can catch him."
October 4th, 2010 at 11:10 AM ^
to top that story.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:26 AM ^
It was a dark and stormy night. Brenda sat on a futon and ate a cupcake.....
October 4th, 2010 at 11:31 AM ^
was named Denard, then you're already way behind.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:46 AM ^
October 4th, 2010 at 11:49 AM ^
October 4th, 2010 at 1:27 PM ^
have dreads?
October 4th, 2010 at 11:26 AM ^
First, I am a father of 2 boys (one is 10 the other is 3)
Just like noted, we watch all the Michigan games together (I have them all DVR to watch whenever as well...good for downtime)
My 10 year old wants to be Denard at Halloween (Dreads and all)
and my 3 year old, during the games, puts on his Michigan helmet...insists that I "hike him the ball" and runs around the family room "just like Denard..."
Completely awsome. For all us Dads, this is very special bonding.....For everyone else looking forward to it.....
you can't beat it.....
October 4th, 2010 at 11:58 AM ^
But still pretty funny. My buddy has a large black Standard Poodle named "Tonto." When they showed the replay of Vincent Smith running down the sideline from behind, dreads flying, his son said: "He looks like Tonto!"
October 4th, 2010 at 12:11 PM ^
I'm watching Saturday's game, Denard just breaks his 72 yd run, my wife walks in the room sees the play and says, "Wow, that new video game has unbelievably real graphics. Wait, that was for real?"
October 4th, 2010 at 12:28 PM ^
It may be get a bit lost in this threat filled with cute kid stories but you and your wife totally deserve some credit (and an MGoPoint from me) for that one. It made me LOL -- people walking by my office stopped to look at me. Also an HT to whoever it was on the CIL on Saturday who pointed out that the difference between M's offence and Playstation is that the blocking on Playstation isn't as good.
October 4th, 2010 at 1:34 PM ^
.....loved your story
October 4th, 2010 at 11:12 AM ^
Freakin Awsome Kid!
October 4th, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^
I agree...when my kids were three, I couldn't get them to sit still long enough to watch a game, but I tried.
They both did go to Michigan, so that was a victory.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:14 AM ^
that's fresh! are you gonna let him get dreads?
October 4th, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^
Also, does he know anything about Denard's shoes being untied at all times? That could be kinda dangerous for a little kid, but nonetheless Denard managed to do it and maybe your son could be a track star in the making with this addition.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:41 AM ^
When he plays in his league and the shoes do become untied, he just tucks them in on the side of his shoes and leaves them untied. Unfortunately, I can scientific data that prove untied shoelaces does not correlate to speed. My son has more LB type speed.....
October 4th, 2010 at 11:57 AM ^
Maybe you can't have the untied shoe laces without the dreads and vice versa?
October 4th, 2010 at 11:37 AM ^
Can't grow dreads like that in a month.... But we will get Dreads for him....
October 4th, 2010 at 11:48 PM ^
Holy shit, when did it become 1996.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:14 AM ^
While I am yet to be a father, I hope my son (and even daughter) are as awesome as yours. That is great that your son is such a huge Denard fan and especially Michigan fan at 3 years old. Thanks for sharing this story.
October 4th, 2010 at 7:34 PM ^
When we were kids and Desmond Howard played for the Packers (I grew up in Wisky), it was me, not my brother, that tore his poster - and all the other Packers' - out of the paper and taped them up all over my bedroom.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:15 AM ^
or best kid of all-time? Discuss.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:15 AM ^
I'm teaching my 2-year-old son about Denard as well. He now knows how to say "Denard" and yells "touchdown" and throws his hands in the air every time Denard touches the ball.
Sure is different than being in college and throwing marshmallows during the games! But good times nonetheless.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:27 AM ^
I''ve never heard of anyone throwing marshmallows at the game, why'd you do that? Couldn't wait for the winter time and wanted to make it snow?
October 4th, 2010 at 11:31 AM ^
You must be a student or recent grad, eh? Back in the mid- to late-90s throwing marshmallows was the thing to do. Check out some footage from games back then and you'll see the corner of the endzone closest to the student section littered with them. We used to pelt each other and also the TV cameramen with them. By OSU game time, those babies would freeze up solid and hurt like hell. Good times!
October 4th, 2010 at 11:36 AM ^
haha wow that sounds pretty legit, and yeah I'm still a student thankfully. Maybe I could start the marshmallow tradition back up this weekend if security lets me bring in a bag full of them.
October 4th, 2010 at 6:10 PM ^
The tradition died after we switched to FieldTurf in '03. The marshmallows can stick and melt on the turf, so Carr gave a PSA urging people to stop throwing them. The ushers used to look the other way but they cracked down completely after that.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:38 AM ^
I think you're also revealing your whipper-snappery ;) Marshmallows have been around almost as long as Slippery Rock, I would bet. The school made its first attempt at banning the practice in 1989.
October 4th, 2010 at 2:05 PM ^
Does anyone remember the huge marshmallow fight during the 1994 season? It broke out in Section 30 and involved several rows. One had the advantage of being on the high ground (Row 30?) while the other had the advantage of being comprised by several former HS baseball players (Row 20?). Everyone in the 10 or so rows inbetween ducked and covered their heads to avoid being pelted in the melee. Marshmallows were flying around like bullets. Does anyone remember it like I do? Anyone participate in that epic battle like I did? I'd be interested in hearing different recollections, if any . . .
October 4th, 2010 at 2:07 PM ^
I was a student from 1985-89 and do not remember a time when marshmallows were not thrown.
Have to admit, I hated it. Of course that may have had to do with someone mashing an entire bag of them together into one big, gloppy mess and heaving it from the upper reaches of the bowl to the lower, smashing a friend of mine in the back. It did take away from the experience of being at the game.
October 4th, 2010 at 6:12 PM ^
And there was always the one jerk who put pennies inside the marshmallows before he threw them.
October 4th, 2010 at 6:38 PM ^
Hated that too.
October 4th, 2010 at 8:14 PM ^
There's always one (or, in this case, many) guy that has to escalate it and ruin it for everyone. Once the pennies came out it stopped being fun. But I did love throwing marshmallows. I prided myself on my sniping abilities rather than machine gunning. There was less collateral damage that way.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:42 AM ^
when i was younger i thought those marshmallows were the greatest thing I had ever seen. Woe unto the opposing mascot or male cheerleader with an oversized flag traipsing about the north endzone.
that is until my boy scout troop decided to raise money by cleaning up the field after home games. have you ever tried picking up 1,000,000 wet marshmallows out of the mud? I'm going to assume no and tell you that it is not fun.
when the turf went in, Lloyd made an impassioned plea to the students to end the soft white hailstorm because apparently the 'mallows get ground into the turf and screw everything up. the students complied.
on a related note, does anyone know when and how the practice of throwing toilet paper streams around ended? you can see a lot of that in the old clips. maybe the dorms were complaining they got cleaned out on game days?
October 4th, 2010 at 11:51 AM ^
Not to be "that guy" but I think I can top the marshmallow story: raising money for the troop by collecting cans at the Grand Prix on Belle Isle. After the race. Beer cans, mostly. Many of which weren't quite empty. That had been sitting out aaaallllll day, in the 90-degree July heat. Mingling with other nasty, sticky, beer and pop cans. And the beer cans had to be sorted from the pop cans and all of the bags had to have non-aluminum-can detritus removed, because let's face it, 25,000 drunk people don't sort the garbage very well.
October 4th, 2010 at 12:46 PM ^
Or how about late in games, if we were winning, the cheerleaders would grab the opposing team mascot and run it into the goalpost. As a kid that was one of my favorite Michigan Stadium "extra-cirriculars".
October 4th, 2010 at 12:23 PM ^
Toilet paper streamers were in vogue well before Marshmallows. Once they stopped that mallows moved in. What did they throw in the 40's and 50's?
October 4th, 2010 at 11:15 AM ^
Your son's analysis is spot on. Even the very young and very old recognize how talented Denard is. He is a cult hero, and much of it has to do with the fact that he is just faster than the rest.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:16 AM ^
That's amazing. My son is coming up on two years old and I can really appreciate what this means being a dad. I can't wait for mine to start saying awesome things like that.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:17 AM ^
your son knows his stuff.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^
but what does he think about Gerg and his soft coverage?
October 4th, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^
I can only hope my unborn children are this awesome some day. If they aren't, I will disown them.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:24 AM ^
Your son is probably more qualified then most ESPN analysts
October 4th, 2010 at 11:35 AM ^
Eyebrowse's unborn children are more insightful than most ESPN analysts
October 4th, 2010 at 11:58 AM ^
True Statement. Although it would be nice if MichGoBlue's son replaced Pam Ward next time she has to call a game for us. Maybe Eybrowse's unborn can do the insightful commentary?
October 4th, 2010 at 12:04 PM ^
Unborn mini-Eyebrowse is the best color guy in the biz.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:24 AM ^
and in fact, it scares me little bit. My 3 year old son has been watching the games with me, and what with the Block M hat and other gear sent to him by his grandma, he's well on his way to becoming a fan.
But the other day we hit a snag: anytime he sees any football players on TV, he asks, "Is that Mitch-again?" He's beginning to recognize the helmets, but he asks anyway. But at one point, Ohio State came on the screen, and I took that as an opportunity to explain to him that these were the Ohio State Buckeyes, and we do not like them at all, they are not a good team, we root against them. I sealed the deal by saying, "Buckeyes, Boo" and giving a thumbs-down (which is the phrase/motion he reserves for foods he dislikes). He repeated this and agreed with me.
But later, as a way to get under my skin, he said, "Hey Daddy, Yeah, Buckeyes!" (with a big thumbs-up). I seriously had a hard time thinking this was funny or cute. Unfortunately, he knows this, he's now perfectly willing to needle me by fiendishly smiling and giving the Buckeyes a thumbs-up.
But I think his allegiance is secure: if he ever thinks I'm mad at him, or if he wants me to play with him, he says, "Hey, Dad? Boo, Buckeyes."
October 4th, 2010 at 11:45 AM ^
...is quite the rebel. Have fun with him when he's a teenager.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:30 AM ^
Your son >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Pam Ward
Now if we could only get those action figures from the wallpaper produced (one can dream, right?), you would have the perfect christmas present for the little guy.