The Ten BEST Michigan Items you own
In response to Brian's post on the most embarassing Michigan items one can own, I was curious what the BEST items out there are? Also, if available, a link to where the item can be purchased.
While my collection is paltry, the pride of my collection is still my Desmond Howard Beckett magazine that is in mint condition. I hope to one day track him down to have it autographed.This item obviously is a tad dated and will only be available through ebay / resellers.
There is also a soft spot in my heart for the Bo & Woody Commemorative coin for The Game in 2007. If you want to read about the coin, MLive did an article on it before The Game. Only 25,000 were minted, and is only available via resellers.
It has to be the football Block M that I keep in my office here at UW-Madison to piss off all the natives. That and the Michigan sticker on the outside of my laptop.
Question: Could you list in order the top 5 B1G teams that Wisconsin fans hate? I've never had a handle on that.
Ok long post time!
I've lived amongst the Badgers for two years now & I'm still not sure I have a handle on this topic. They claim to hate everybody, so it's a tough job. I can't speak for the undergrads, who I spend next to zero time with, but I've put some effort into breaking down the Badger psyche based on my young alumni friends / fellow grad students. The best I can do is organize their opponents into tiers of hatred & discuss exactly why they despise each one.
Tier 1 - I'm going to drop MSU solidly into tier 1 after last season. Losing to Sparty on a final play hail mary drove the city of Madison into an alcoholic tailspin for at least two consecutive nights. That loss pretty much buried Wisconsin's national title hopes. When the Badgers realized they may very likely face MSU for a 2nd time in the B1G championship game, they could nearly taste the sweet blood of revenge between their sharper teeth. As a result, we got weeks of non-stop cursing directed towards the goons of East Lansing. That one really had time to simmer last season.
Wisconsin hates Ohio. They have a jealous rage towards both Ohio & Michigan, but I honestly believe they have less respect for Ohio (who can blame them?). You can buy t-shirts on State St. mocking tatgate & the Vest, which was surprisingly comforting to me. Wisconsin fans do have a sense of righteousness, as if doing things the right way makes them feel better about not historically achieving the level of success that Ohio has.
Michigan absolutely makes tier 1. They hate us for the typical reasons - we are arrogant & successful. I don't go out of my way to kick up dust because I like the Badgers, but when they inevitably give me shit for being from "mainland" Michigan (seriously, they are familiar with the UP but they can't figure out what the lower peninsula is meant to be called), I like to reinforce the stereotype by reminding them with facts & figures why we are better than them. It's not hard to do when you can cite 11 national titles to zero & call it a day. But honestly, I cheer right along with them for Bucky so long as it doesn't conflict with my Maize & Blue interests.
(Side note: You know that t-shirt about water covering 70% of the earth & Charles Woodson covering the rest? They have that here, but it's in green & yellow.)
Tier 2 - Nebraska earns high tier 2 honors as the new kid on the block with an ego problem. Badger fans everywhere delighted in welcoming Bo Pelini's squad to the B1G by taking them out back & thrashing them in a humbling massacre equal in magnitude to the one put on them in the Big House later on in the season. Badger fans have a lot of pride, & their blood boils when the opposition's talk reaches a certain level. Nebraska definitely reached that level before coming to Madison. That being said, the Friday night prior to the game was truly incredible as far as the sheer number of Cornhusker fans that invaded downtown & drank their asses off with the Sconnies. It was a pretty great night of posturing & predictions by both sides, so this one is a healthy part hype with a slightly smaller emphasis on hate.
Minnesota. They are supposed to be more hated than they are, but the rivalry has been too one-sided recently to really stir up those old feelings. A Badger fan will never miss the opportunity to smack talk the Gophers, but at this point it's kind of like going through the motions out of a sense of duty. The disdain is still there, but the Badgers don't feel threatened enough by the inferior mammals to the North to really embrace the dark side.
Tier 3 - Illinois gets the top of tier 3 because Wisconsin doesn't like that Illinois thinks they are such a great state. They think Chicago is overrated.
Tier 4 - Everyone else.
You'll notice that four out of the five teams comprising my first two tiers are actually not even in Wisconsin's division (the exception being Ohio) ... They do get the cross-divisional game with Minnesota every year I think, and both MSU & Nebraska are on the schedule for 2012.
So yeah, that's my best guess. But I'll bet if you ask another Badger, they might give you a totally different run-down. I suspect the Badger brain is 70% blind rage, 20% drunk, & 10% reason. So each individual fan could have their own unique set of grudges based on whatever seasons their brandy-pickled minds can remember, limited further by which of those seasons Wisconsin was actually good, & determined largely by whatever isolated instances triggered apoplectic fits of cheese-flinging & bouts of amusingly-accented shouting.
Was the omission of Iowa an oversight or do they really not care about Iowa? I was under the impression that was a pretty important game to Wisconsin, but I could be mistaken I guess.
I think this could be an oversight on my part ... I've only experienced the last two seasons here. In 2010, Wisconsin defeated Iowa in a very close 31-30 game, but I can't seem to remember it! Last year, the two schools didn't face off. There may very well be a history there that I'm missing.
1. Diploma - unframed in a drawer somewhere
2. Extra goalie stick with Marty Turko's name on it but no autograph, yet.
3. Red Berrinson autographed hockey stick
4. Lloyd Carr autographed football helmet
5. Many game worn Shawn Peach hockey helmet after a concussion caused a helmet replacement.
6. Autographed (by) Bo book.
7. And my favorite is the Michigan football helmet that has been to every game since I purchased it for an anniversary present for my wife probably 16+ years ago, including at PSU and the Rose Bowl the year of the NC. No autographs on this one. BTW, the Shawn Peach hockey helmet was also an anniversary present to her. She still wants a catcher helmet and a lacross helmet. She's a big fan.
[Edit] How could I forget the autographed Marty Turko Jersey?!?
Who are Marty Turko and Red Berrinson?
They must be lineman. I can never remember linemen's names.
One of my many weaknesses...and maybe spelling...
I forgot my diploma!
is the knit cap I got for Christmas when I was 8. I still have it, and it still fits, 26 years later.
My next favorite item is the Michigan Basketball clock my sister found at a garage sale in Grand Blanc. I'm not sure exactly how old it is, but we still have the box and I'm guessing mid-70's (but could be older, has the "bear" in a sailor cap completing a layup on it.
And I know I'm not to ten, but my final item(s) includes all the Michigan swag in and on my golf bag (headcovers, towel, ball mark) that helps me make friends as I play the local courses down here in the Columbus area. People like to run their yaps until I outdrive them on the first tee and ask them if they'd like to wear the Michigan skirt I have in my bag. I love screwing with Buckeye fans.
"Michigan Memories", on which my GF's dog chewed the corner a couple years ago. Rick Leach signed football.
I think it's funny that the commemorative coin is limited to 25000, but the serial number on the picture you have implies 50000 were made.
I'll have to go home and check out my coin and authenticity statement. Never really looked that close.
Edit - My coin says 15,xxx of 25,000, not 50,000.
old champion tshirts. Blue with real Maize lettering. Simply says MICHIGAN. One may be OEM (i.e., from 1987), the other is from 1998 (when I went to an executive ed Marketing program at Ross).
These are heavy, thick tshirts. Sure the lettering is a little cracked, but they are like an old, favorite baseball glove.
#3 Reverse weave sweatshirt with sewn on letters (just says MICHIGAN)
#4 The various block M hats I have owned until they get so dog eared and sweat stain faded that my wife forces me to part with them.
Simple and timeless ...
Tim Hardaway Jr. was headed into the PDC as I was walking to my car from the spring game.
Matchbook that is shaped like a helmet and has the 1981 schedule on it.
Don't really have much else other than clothes and newspapers and lots of books.
I made my own homemade "shrine" of the UTL game. It's basically a felt bulletin board that has my ticket from the game, a panorama shot of the stadium, a picture of Denard making the throw to Hemingway with the ND player around his ankle, the game-winner to Roundtree, the box score to highlight the 4th quarter comeback, and a picture of the team celebrating in the student section.
I'd post a picture but I'm in Nashville for six weeks and all this stuff is in my apartment in Ann Arbor.
I would say my #16 UTL jersey. Yeah I know most people didn't like them...but I did.
Edit: Oh and my Michigan football helmet desktop pen holder thingy.
memories of my 5 years there
I'll second that. I don't think I'll treasure anything like I do those years.
Game worn 87 Rose Bowl jersey
Game worn 86 Fiesta Bowl jersey
Game worm helmet
Picture of Bo and me, signed
And a hundred other items.
I win.
HALOL
You cant just go buy one of those....
Juwan and Chris were my neighbors in Woodbury Gardens in Ann Arbor...don't care what people say, those guys will always be my favorite.
Football wise it's my Woodson jersey or my memories/tickets at Michigan Stadium from BraylonFest vs. MSU or "Touchdown Manningham" vs. Penn St.
I also have a pretty sweet Michigan flag that has been in my room ever since I was a kid...it's now in the man cave room.
1) Laminated plastic sign (one of several that were posted in Michigan Stadium during the '97 OSU game) begging students not to storm the field in the event that Michigan won and completed our undefeated regular season. We did, and we did. Love that sign.
2) Blue OSHA/ANSI certified construction helmet.....with wings. I work in Arizona in the architecture field and spend a decent amount of time on construction sites and this thing always gets a reaction, usually a mix of "Go Blue!" and "Go Bucks", lol.
3) Original 1998 Rose Bowl poster, purchased at the game, framed with my ticket stub to the game. Besides looking beautiful, it's all about the memories...
4) Picture of Anthony Thomas and Maurice Williams in my South Quad dorm room (Adams House, bitches) engaged in a wild game of NBA Live on the Playstation (PS1 if you will).
5) My diploma, of course.
6-1000) Everything else
My degree from the College of Engineeering
M football season tickets
M hockey season tickets
Maize hockey sweater
White hockey sweater
Commemorative Michigan Stadium seat
Framed picture of Desmond Howard catching a touchdown
Hockey banner listing all the M National Championships
My copy of "Blue Ice"
My copy of "Natural Enemies"
Nobody has listed their copy of "Three and Out"? Crazy!!
I guess we just don't obsess about that like you do.
I'd rate my diploma (I note that the first mention of "my diploma" was about 13 posts down) and my annual season ticket renewal letter above my signed copy of Three and Out. "To Section 1; a true blue Michigan Man."
I have a couple of personal favorites. My Bo-era New Era fitted M cap (green underbrim) from the old Moe's Sport Shop on S. State St. The exact same-model hat worn in this picture:
And this print with the autographs of Bo and Don Canham:
I imagine your copy to be in one of these, only three times thicker and with 2 armed security guards stationed outside at all times:
That safe is where the Athletic Department tried to lock the book away so that nobody would find out what's in it.
You realize of course that nobody brought up this topic until you did. I wouldn't have done it; but since you did, I suppose it gives me the chance to say that I will be happily at the games this year in Ann Arbor and Columbus, while you will apparently be in Arizona. That's not just a good state of affairs in my view; it is a poetic one.
Why so personal? I was genuinely surprised nobody listed the book as one of their prized possessions. I guess I'm not the only one who thinks it isn't a masterpiece worth treasuring. I should have figured you'd troll in....
And thank goodness that over a century ago these two guys invented what we now call an airplane which makes it quite easy to travel to and fro from PHX to DTW in a relatively short time frame. So I'll be at a handful of home games, and also in Dallas and the Horseshoe this fall. Good state of affairs indeed.
So many to choose from, but here are the best/most sentimental - framed photo of Bo (signed), Michigan Memories book (signed by Bo), framed photo of Ufer (signed), framed photo of AC (signed) and framed 1998 Rose Bowl photo with my game tickets on each side
framed pic of UM outhouse on top of nd outhouse (cracks me up every time)
UM wooden jewelry case that plays The Victors
UM leather jacket
SI leather bound NC edition from '97
custom made steel block M (1 of a kind)
crushed glass and wood block M (also 1 of a kind)
Michigan bowling ball (never used or even drilled)
Michigan helmet
personalized Bo autograph from a fundraiser in TC
MY DIPLOMA
besides my degree, one of these jackets:
2. Team Signed 1997 Football.
3. Team Signed 1997 Jersey.
4. Charles Woodson Signed Rose Bowl Jersey
5. Tom Brady Signed Helmet
6. All my stuff from the 97 championship team (game) tix,program, etc
7. Baseball Jersey signed by the football team vs Texas Rose Nowl
8. My lithograph that hangs in my sons Bedroom above his bed signed by Bo, UM vs OSU
9. My Rose Bowl Jersey #2
10. The email from a very very prominent Washington St. Alumni on Jan 1 1998 offering me $15,000 for my (2) Rose Bowl Tickets to the game that year. I could never sell those seats even though I was a broke guy in his mid 20's.....best decision I ever made. I will never ever forget that game or the experience.
A photo of me as a kid with grinning, freshman Desmond Howard.
A UM hockey puck from a failed score-o shot at Yost.
Dozens of ticket stubs of football, bball, and hockey games.
Laminated pages from the Detroit News on the 89 bball championship.
Autographs from mid-80s spring football games (including Bo, J. Kolesar, Mark Messner, etc.).
10. Bo Schembechler bobblehead
9. Red Berenson bobblehead
8. 2010 commemorative Michigan edition of SI signed by both Steve Breaston and Mike Hart
7. All of my tickets from throughout the years, with plans to eventually frame them
6. Cold War puck
5. Big Chill ticket
4. Signed and laminated photo of Mike Hart
3. Game-used footballs from 2005 Rose Bowl; 2010 UConn; and 1997 National Championship commemorative
2. Signed stick and puck by Red Berenson
1. Signed photo of Tom Brady when he and some of the 1996 team came and visited me after surgery in the Hospital.
etc etc: ALL of my memories from undergrad, and practically every moment inside Yost!
Now I don't have to search for the old ones anymore.
I really should update, because this thread made me realize I haven't put in any shirts, ticket stubs, signed Big Chill puck, or books and the like, but for simplicity's sake-
I got this autographed football in 2005 at a Silent Auction benfitting Special Days Camps and the baseball stuff is from when I played. It's my glove, a fungo that says Wolverines Baseball and a Big Ten baseball. Makes a nice collection in my office.
will always cherish time spent on campus, along with the athletics obsession that developed as a result. But by far my degree has been the most important thing that M has contributed to my life.
This.
My wife and two of my kids also have M degrees. My third kid has one from U of California, which, OK, I get that.
/thread
- Signed Charles Woodson Jersey from when I knew him at school
- What it Means to Be a Wolverine Book (highly recommended Read)
- Ticket STubs from last years OSU Game
- Picture of my wife and I storming the field from last years OSU game
- Pom Pom from last years OSU game
- "The BIg House" and 11 Time National Champions commerative football
- My Michigan Varsity Track Jacket
- New Bright Yellow MIchigan Football Jacket
- Old Michigan Crew Tshirt
- Michigan Football Coozies
A pair of pom poms from the ND night game, one was mine and one was my dads. A great piece of memorabelia from the best game I've ever seen. Honorable mentions: A Brady Hoke signed helmet, and my acceptance letter (will be replaced in 4 years of course).
1. My grandfather's track letter blanket with stars still attached from 1939
2. My season tickets - in the family since the 1930's
3. The memoir my grandfather wrote about the hiring of Crisler and his role in the coaching search (complete w Flight Tracker /s)