My “Go Blue” shout-outs in the UK
When I’m out-and-about far from Ann Arbor and see people with Michigan hats/shirts, my “Go Blue” greeting is met with a similar reply as we pass by each other. I’m sure this is typical. But, on my recent trip to the UK, I had interactions that were pleasantly personal.
While at the Churchill Arms pub in Kensington (https://www.churchillarmskensington.co.uk/), I tipped my cap and said “Go Blue” to a rather tall dude. He stopped and asked if I watched The Game and then we shared some joy at the outcome. Turns out, he’s the father of Andrew Stueber, (here) #71, an O-lineman for Michigan, and recent draft pick of the New England Patriots. I know this because pops was beaming as he told me!
Sidebar – while in the area, we also met and got pictures with ‘Dani Rojas’ of “Futbol is Life” fame in the Ted Lasso series.
While at the Blarney Castle in Ireland, I saw a new grad wearing a Michigan Engineering 2022 shirt. I launched the “Go Blue” greeting, which lead to chatting with his pops about Bursley Hall and Engineering classes on Central Campus when I was there.
What pleasant exchanges have you experienced with other random Michigan fans you’ve met in your travels?
I was just in Yellowstone National Park last week. We probably saw about 15 people wearing Michigan gear. The next closest school was Wyoming with maybe five (makes sense geographically), and Alabama had a few. Other than that, no other school had more than a few. I made sure to wear my 2021 Big Ten champions shirt since that thing has a shelf life and it is nice for everyone to get a eyeful of that one. Lots of ‘go blues’ and high fives - Michigan is everywhere!
Just got back from Jasper, Banff, Glacier and Badlands. Got the familiar greeting at each. Got it in Scotland when I went there in the spring too. We're everywhere.
We leave Thursday for 3 weeks of the same destinations in the opposite order. Any tips?
Seeing Lake Louise is on my bucket list. Swing by when you hit Banff.
You taking an RV? Are you set up for boondocking? Whenever my brother in law and I take the RVs through the badlands, we always boondock in the dispersed camping area on the wall. Your best stargazing will be there with clear views of the milky way compared to the other destinations on your trip (the days will be longer further north and you get cloudier weather).
Downtown Banff is great. Plenty of shopping and dining options if that's your thing. We ate at the 3 bears brewery a couple of times because we liked it a lot. Had great ramen and other food downtown though so it's a good place to scratch the ethnic food itch during your trip. Great for walking around.
Jasper was the highlight for us as far as seeing wildlife. The KOA in Hinton kinda sucks, particularly since we couldn't have a camp fire and feel like we were camping properly.
The drive between Banff and Jasper is otherworldly. Enjoy. You may want to do the Columbia ice field excursion for the novelty of it. It's likely not going to be there in a generation. We saw grizzly bears on the gondola trip in lake Louise and they have a cool wildlife center at the top where you can touch a bunch of stuffed local wildlife, including our favorite mascot. Both lakes are worth visiting if you're doing a day trip there.
Glacier was a bit of a let down for us as it was our second time there with the going to the sun road being closed. Honestly though, if I do the trip again. I'll probably skip glacier altogether and spend more time on the Canadian side.
Plenty more to report on if you have specific questions.
Thanks!
We are doing cabins just outside of the parks at all destinations except badlands which is more of just a passthrough on the drive out. We have the most time in glacier and the least in Jasper. When I booked I knew the least about the Canadian stops but after a few months of research I realized it should have been scheduled the other way around but oh-well. Luckily the GTTS road just opened a few days ago.
We have younger kids and will mainly just be hiking with with occasional town stroll and restaurants.
I'd recommend the Columbia icefield excursion and the sky lift/gondola at lake louise. We did the valley of the five lakes trail and the Maligne canyon hike with kids as young as 4 with no problems. Maligne canyon was the easier of the two and more scenic imho. No real need to go beyond the 4th bridge if you want to keep the hike short. Plenty of wildlife on the way.
Regarding badlands, if you're just driving through from West to East, then be sure to enter the park at the pinnacles entrance and drive through the park before exiting through the NE entrance.
did you get a 'go blue!' bugle from that 8x8 (guessing) bull?
that has to be the biggest elk rack i have ever seen. people are proud of a 5x5, and this guy's got'em all beat.
I honeymooned in Banff/Jasper/ Lake Louise staying at the old railroad hotels /lodges. Also end of May/ early June, when hiking one quickly gets to know what charging elk season is and how to hide behind a sturdy tree.
Has anyone done the train from Banff to Kamloops? That looks really amazing too.
How was Yellowstone? We have preliminary plans to go there next summer for a family vacation, but heard some horror stories about how long it would take to repair all the flood damage, especially at the north end. Was it mostly in good shape?
Yellowstone was fantastic. We approached it from the south, starting in Jackson Hole, WY. We were able to see everything in the park without any restrictions. There are some areas where the road is temporary down to one lane with orange flag guys. We had a couple of those with a delay of maybe 15 minutes at each of them. All of the awesome geyser basins were open, as well as the incredible areas around the Grand Canyon. Locals told us the crowds were down about 30% because of people canceling travel related to the flooding, but you can go and see everything with less crowds if you don’t need to use the north entrance. I understand that they are making progress there, but since we did not use that entrance I cannot give you any further information then you can probably get from the NPS website.
While you are there, I would definitely recommend that you spend at least a day in the Grand Tetons National park if you can as well. Take the boat shuttle across Jenny Lake and hike up to inspiration point and then into Cascade Canyon, and you can walk several miles around the lake back or take the boat back. Jackson Hole has lots of fun restaurants and shopping for wife/ kids.
Thanks for the reply! That is good to hear and all very helpful, thank you.
I'm excited that you mentioned Jackson Hole, which is one of my favorite places in the world - we've gone there a few times now, and enjoyed it so much we haven't even gone up to Yellowstone, we just stay in the Teton area. But we want to take the kids up there this time, so we plan to use the south entrance - sounds like that is all good for the most part.
That Cascade Canyon hike is one of my favorites, it's fantastic up there. A long day of hiking the Canyon followed by pizza & beer at the Dornan's rooftop at sunset is a very happy day.
No Northwest College, from Powell, Wyoming?
Not that I saw BlueVet - but admittedly, it might not have registered if I saw that one
Ran into Darren Criss at a show in LA a few years ago and had a really fun chat about Michigan. Very cool guy.
Cristo Fernandez (Dani Rojas) was out watching the filming of another Netflix series, talking to the production guys and just having fun. He was more than happy to chat and pose for pictures.
Finished s2 of Ted Lasso this weekend, just such a fantastic watch. I'm gonna start calling my fur babies Diamond Dogs.
Getting back on topic, I've talked to M fans in Greece, London, and France, though as far as I could tell they were also Americans. Also talked to a Colombian dude in Minca with a Seahawks hat who I'm pretty sure had no clue who they were (and no it wasn't from either of the Super Bowls Seattle lost)
Our Teams chat name for the group of sales and sales engineers is Diamond Dogs!
My most memorable was skiing at Beaver Creek. We were putting our boots on for the upcoming day and my son noticed this older gentleman wearing a Michigan shirt. My son was around 6 at the time and a HUGE fan. I told him to go over and say Go Blue. Now my son is super shy and gave me this, "are you sure?" look and I said yeah. I didn't think he'd actually do it (and was so hoping that if he mustered the courage that his efforts wouldn't go unrewarded). Well, he did it, and the older gentleman's eyes lit up and he returned the greeting in a really warm and genuine way (I think he saw how nervous he was). He then walked over to me and said, "You're raising him right." My son was thrilled. The whole interaction couldn't have lasted more than 20 seconds but is still meaningful to this day.
Have always done the same thing with my kids and it generally plays out more or less how you described it.
Lots of "Go Blues" at Beaver Creek on any given day and really at any of the mountain resorts/towns!
Love me some Beaver Creek. Upper President Fords and Centennial Willys face are two of the best runs cuz they’re groomed blacks.
always a few M hats around whenever I go.
After a long bit of travel, the MGoWife and I get off the train having arrived in Rome. Like 15 seconds after disembarking, pass another dude wearing a Michigan shirt and exchange “Go Blue” as proper manners require. Not the craziest exchange, but the eye roll I got from my wife was the icing on the cake. She’s an alum of another Big Ten institution and she was quickly growing tired of me counting all the Michigan folks we ran into (contrasting that with an absolute paucity of her alma mater).
MGoWife & kids are always quick with the eye rolls!
I remember wearing my Worst State Ever shirt on my 8th grade's trip to DC in spring of 2012 (Michigan beat Fickell that previous fall), and there was an OSU biker gang. I can't remember what they said; something about hating Michigan but nothing explicit.
I do recall wearing my WSE shirt to the grocery store once, and the cashier quizzically inquired, "so what state is that?" She thought it was Wisconsin.
When wearing mine I've gotten Connecticut, South Carolina and Arkansas, along with plenty of "what state is that" questions. Funny but a bit sad too
I wore my Worst State Ever shirt in the Marriott in Cleveland and then all over the casino downtown Cleveland. Screw Ohio people if they don’t like it.
Just wore it on a trip to San Diego and someone yelled out, “Ohio is not the worst state.” I replied, “Yes, it is.”
That has to be the shirt that gets the most reactions from people.
Nobody from Ohio ever recognizes that it’s…Ohio: best troll ever.
I travel a lot, so I have many good "Go Blue" moments (including one just a month ago in Amsterdam).
But my favorite experience of all time - which I have probably told on here before - was getting in a cab in Nairobi, Kenya in 2008 to be greeted by a driver wearing a nice leather 2006 OSU BCS National Championship jacket. We chatted on my long ride to the hotel and I told him how his jacket was a celebration of a championship that never happened. He was a Rastafarian (the Bob Marley clued me in), he was quite high, and he got a good laugh out of the story.
I remember you were telling me about Colombia before my trip there! (I spent the 62-39 debacle in Cartagena trying not to check the score... probably shoulda just tried cocaine that morning if I'd known how the game would go)
Anyways your story reminded me of a few days before when we were in Salento/Cocora Valley, where our driver was similarly quite high and was (as far as I could make out) telling us about how indigenous Ecuadorian women had a magical seduction/fertilization power over Dutch men
Ha, I vaguely remember that discussion. I watched the Michigan-Georgia game from my father-in-law's house in the Simon Bolivar neighborhood of Barranquilla, Colombia in January. They're all dancing and happy and celebrating NYE, while my son and I were in misery.
You driver may have been warning you about Colombian Devil's Breath. Look it up. It's a real thing and is scary as hell.
If I'm reading Google maps right I might a breezed by that neighborhood via Berlinastur (from Tayrona to Cartegena), but sadly missed out on the Shakira statue
Ah yes, those lovely white 12-seater busses with green interior driving at unreasonably high speeds as they pass 3 people riding a single motorcycle... :-) There is a bus station really close to Simon in the deep south of B'quilla.
Not very fond of the Dutch or intolerant people.
And carnies... small hands; smell like cabbage.
I was in Amsterdam a month ago and remember saying Go Blue to someone! Perhaps it was you?? You likely weren't in your sewer form, so no way I would have known it was you.
I was in the Rembrandtplein. It was early afternoon. I had already had several Heinekens... :-)
I was walking with my wife in a remote, mountainous village on an obscure Greek island, feeling a million miles away from civilization, when we passed an old, hunched-over, traditionally-dressed woman chatting a mile-a-minute in Greek with a friend. She must have spotted us out of the corner of her eye because she suddenly turned to me, mid-sentence, pointed at my t-shirt and delivered a guttural, heavily accented, and entirely shocking, "goh...blooh."
That’s fucking awesome! Yia Yia’s are hip.
If any of you ever get a Go Blue from a bearded old fossil in Seattle, be kind, it's probably me.
I live in Atlanta; a former work colleague/good friend of mine lives in northern Alabama. He accompanied me to the 2nd Under the Lights game and came away with a love of Michigan and lots of gear (he's still a dyed-in-the-wool Auburn fan but follows UM now). A few years back he was helping at a Halloween function near his house in Alabama; and was sporting a block "M" hat. A litte boy maybe 5 years old walks up to him. His mother, trying to prompt him to say "trick or treat", says to her son, "What do you say to the nice man?". And the little boy looks up and says "Go Blue".
Hope that counts.
That is an awesome story.
Maybe it's visual bias, but I swear Michigan fans wear more gear than other schools while traveling.
My sense is that in the 20C, college "gear" amounted to little more than sweatshirts, and were primarily worn by recent grads.
Nothing like the current trove of things to buy, and the wide age range of those wearing the stuff.
A young man working at the local grocery store saw my hat the other day and started telling me about his friend who just committed to the hockey team. He was quite excited to chat about his buddy. I let him know that I watch hockey and would be pulling for him. Apparently he is friends with this guy:
https://www.wenatcheewildhockey.com/news/wild-alum-goalie-shea-commits-to-michigan/
Honeymoon in Bora Bora and the wife of another honeymooning couple also went to Michigan. Turns out that we had the same major, graduated a year apart, and probably had a couple of classes together.
Not my story directly, but a buddy of mine (Minnesota guy) was on a business trip last fall and struck up a conversation with a guy in the hotel bar. He mentioned that his son plays for Michigan and mentioned his name. My buddy was clueless, but texted me when the guy went to the bathroom to ask if I knew some kid named AJ Henning. They tried to make it work for me and him to get out to a game, but couldn't find a weekend that made sense, unfortunately. We're in a similar industry, though, so we are now connected in LinkedIn, fwiw.
There’s nothing pleasant about chatting about Bursley! I kid, I kid. I was banished there as an LSA freshman for unknown crimes against the student housing office. Made great friends and memories but those bus rides were a pain in the ass!
Don’t wear any Michigan gear very often these days. But wore my Michigan block M hat in Manhattan Beach over the 4th and promptly got a fuck Michigan from a terrible msu girl, that was fun.
Must have been TPC's sparty crush....
While in the UK, we stopped in Edinburgh. There was a guy with a B1G Basketball tournament shirt, which was odd for that part of the world, so I asked him where he was from. He said his wife went to State and I said that I went to Michigan. She walked up to us, smiling, and her disposition quickly turned to disgust when he told her I went to Michigan. One look at that face and I just turned and walked away.