What Michigan moments have brought you to tears?

Submitted by The King In Yellow on

Sorry, this is not for the manly men.  This is for those who are not ashamed to shed a tear, good or bad, over Michigan athletics.  

The reason I am asking is because of some weird youtube hole I found myself watching Brock Mealer videos and found myself tearing up.  What are some of your Michigan moments that got you the most emotional?  I'm sorry if this has been covered before, BUT I'M EMOTIONAL! 

As I ponder right now I think my top 3 (other than Brock) are:

  • Michigan beating OSU in 2011.   It was my senior year and kind of in a weird way meant the end of my college life at UM and the fact that all of my friends and football players would almost certainly be in a different place a year from then. 
  • Michigan beating ND in 2011.  Ok so some of these might just be based around my senior year, but this day was one of the best of my entire life.  I will never forget this day.  
  • I realize as I'm writing this that i'm very focused the last 3-5 years, but regardless, I think that MBB game against Kansas made me cry my last, truly suprising tears of joy.  My friends and I were punching each other because we had no other way to express the joy of that shot.  Oh man.  

Anyways I know my choices have are all fairly recent.  I'd love to hear some other emotional memories.  i'm sure it will make me cry.  CUZ I'M SENSITIVE, OK?

evenyoubrutus

August 20th, 2014 at 6:22 AM ^

Twice.  Beating ND in 2006 (remember all the crap we had to take that offseason? That was sweet vindication right there) and beating ND in 2011- the latter is because the game was literally <24 hours after my son was born and I was going on like one hour of sleep in the last two days (FTR before you kill me MgoBrewMom, my wife INSISTED I go).

Strangely, I care far less about ND than our other two rivals in terms of "hate."

acnumber1

August 20th, 2014 at 6:25 AM ^

Keith Jackson quoting Fritz Crisler in the waning moments of the January 1998 Rose Bowl.

The blue in our victory ribbons may fade,

trophies may become tarnished,

the gleam of our medals lose luster.



But the emotional experiences of joy and elation,

heartaches and disappointments,

can never be shared by others.




-Fritz Crisler, 1948

NCMtnBlue

August 20th, 2014 at 6:27 AM ^

  1. Brock Mealer - every time.
  2. The end of Jordan Morgan's last game.
  3. Almost every Senior day when proud parents get to stand with their children at the end of their Michigan athletic careers.
  4. Stephen Loszewski - especially when they showed his father in the locker room.
  5. Every time they show the players and coaches having visits/impacts at Motts
  6. StephenRKass # 2.  I hope to have those moments when my son is older.

jmdblue

August 20th, 2014 at 9:33 AM ^

I was there as a teen who didn't cry, but most of the stadium was having a tough time. Also the first game after 9/11.. No years there, but highly emotional before the game. As a child listening to a 16-14 loss to Purdue in '76 and a 16-0 shutout to Minnie the following year. The worst though was sitting with my mom in my parent's seats our first game back after dad died in '89. She loved M football, but never went back to the stadium.

turd ferguson

August 20th, 2014 at 9:30 AM ^

This is the only one I remember getting choked up about.  For me it was his press conference after the game when he talked about telling all of his players that he loved them and thanking them because that's what leaders do.

victors2000

August 20th, 2014 at 10:03 AM ^

in the mouth. In the weeks preceding the game all the talk was about how the game had passed Coach Carr by and most of the smart money was hoping Florida wouldn't pour it on and embarrass him in his final game. That there was Michigan Football! Well, except for all the fumbles, lol.

Oh, and Jordan's slam against the Orange, and his Senior day moments were pretty cool as well.

Class of 1817

August 20th, 2014 at 6:54 AM ^

Yeah....I was 14 years old, high atop section 17 when no flag was thrown as Desmond was pulled to the ground against MSU.

First game I ever saw Michigan ranked #1...and then it was gone.

I cried. WHUT?!

I probably bawled when I saw Webber call TO, too but part of me still tries to block that out.


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chomz14

August 20th, 2014 at 7:11 AM ^

Not sure if I actually cried. But my first ever big house experience was
The pigskin classic against the Barber brothers and Virginia. The last second TD pass from Driesbach to Hayes. I was 15 years old and I thought that was the coolest thing I ever saw.

Dunn thing is the first college football game I ever went to was with my uncle a few years before in east Lansing. Sparty lost to Central I think it was and I just remember the drive home and my uncle being so pissed off.

DC Wolverine

August 20th, 2014 at 7:15 AM ^

Sept., 1988.  I was 12 years old.  Michigan vs. Miami (YTM).  We had the defending national champions on the ropes, up 17 points with less than 6 mins to play.  Miami recovers an onsides kick after we stopped them going for 2 pts.  They go down and kick the FG to win.  I remember crying my eyes out in my parents' bedroom after that - just sobbing.  As I look back, it was that moment when I realized life as a Michigan fan was not going to be fair.        

Relive the horror here if you dare:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLNnzLpAPwM

 

SWFLWolverine

August 20th, 2014 at 8:56 AM ^

that one did it for me. I was a freshman in high school....in Florida. It went from I can't wait until Monday to unbelief and dread. Come Monday morning I made sure I was decked out in Michigan gear and took my lumps. Also Kordel.

Wide Open

August 20th, 2014 at 7:27 AM ^

I'll get this one out of the way: I was in Providence in 1995 for the Frozen Four, where we lost  to Maine in triple-overtime off a faceoff.  I was in the Hockey Band and we were all still shocked at what just happened, and in the middle of playing Yellow and Blue I lost it. It was the culmination of coming so close with so many great teams only to see it end just like that.

...Which made what happened the next year in Cincinnati that much sweeter. I might have been too busy hugging everybody around me and screaming HOLY SH**!! to cry.

UMMAN83

August 20th, 2014 at 7:54 AM ^

only supporting the team when they are winning.  The sell off for the ohio game last year was pitiful and made me cry for true Michigan fans.

Yo_Blue

August 20th, 2014 at 8:00 AM ^

We did the Sr./Grad show after the postgame concert and I was incredibly emotional afterwards.  We still had the Rose Bowl game to come, but the last home game (a victory over Ohio) was special.  You don't realize at the time how fast everything is moving until it's over.

Sllepy81

August 20th, 2014 at 8:07 AM ^

never cried for Michigan sports. I almost did going to the last game I went to with my dad at the thought that this was our last game together but thats just because I live in VA and he's in CA so we might go again in a few years when my wife is making doctor money.

Johnny Blood

August 20th, 2014 at 8:08 AM ^

When we finally beat them in triple overtime to guarantee a bowl berth for the first time since Lloyd retired.... I'll admit it was a pretty emotional moment because at the time I felt like we finally had turned a corner and put everything behind us.  Little did I know then...

kzooblue2016

August 20th, 2014 at 8:15 AM ^

National championship game had me pretty close. I couldn't believe the run was going to end that way. I was at the game, and watching Trey walk off as the confetti fell was tough. That dude deserved to go off a champion, and that team was just so memorable. 

MGoManBall

August 20th, 2014 at 8:18 AM ^

When Michigan beat OSU in 2011. See Denard and Co. sprint towards the students with a huge smile on his face to celebrate that long time coming. 

I'm glad Denard got a win over OSU. He probably deserved one more than anybody I can remember.

ilah17

August 20th, 2014 at 8:19 AM ^

I'm really emotional. I've teared up at a game too many times to count. But the only time I remember full-out crying was 2005 Notre Dame.

cincygoblue

August 20th, 2014 at 8:28 AM ^

Don't post here often, but take it for what it's worth

I was brought to tears yesterday when I got a call from my buddy when he was at the Nike Town in Chicago - he was wearing UM gear and some Nike execs told him he wouldn't be wearing Adidas after 2017. 

IndyBlue90

August 20th, 2014 at 8:31 AM ^

How has no one said Junior Hemingway's speech after the Sugar bowl yet? For me, that was one of the times when I had started to think of football as a burden and viewed it very negatively. But, that moment showed me how football can change someone's life and how that team had persevered. 



The other for me is the Michigan-Louisville game in the national championship. It wasn't really sadness or happiness, but rather longing. Like, this isn't supposed to be the end, there's supposed to be a little more, there's supposed to be closure. 

WFDEric

August 20th, 2014 at 8:55 AM ^

This was the moment for me too. I was at the game. I was in the end zone where Junior caught his TD pass and Gibby's FG in OT to win. Seemed at the time we were back to being "Miccccchigan Forgotsakes!" Then Juniors speech and knowing what those kids went though with coaching changes, losing seasons, and fan backlash. They stayed and became Sugar Bowl Champions for doing so. It was a great night on Burbon Street afterwards too! 

JHendo

August 20th, 2014 at 8:37 AM ^

1.  I was the ball boy for a bunch of home games during the second season of the Fab Five, so while I was still fairly young, I was about as invested in a particular team as I ever have been.  Needless to say, while watching the Michigan/UNC game on TV, as soon as the technical was called after CWebb's infamous timeout, the waterworks got turned on.

2.  Michigan vs. OSU - 2006.  With Bo's passing, it's fair to say that every Michigan fan was already a bit emotional.  To top that off, a trip to the championship game was in our grasp and it was an intense game.  I couldn't handle losing that game.  As soon as it ended, I decided to walk home the few miles from the bar rather than drive back and may have shed a few tears out of frustration.

3.  Michigan vs.  Western - 2011.  I had just moved back to Ann Arbor the Thursday before this game after living in Arizona for 5 years and hadn't been to a Michigan football in 7+ years.  A friend got my wife and I tickets to the game as a homecoming present. While I'm not sure tears were literally shed, while I was I sitting in my seat, my lip was certainly quivering as I watched the Wolverines run out on the field and touch the banner.  It was like being at my first Michigan football game all over again.

4.  "You have left and wonderful legacy for every team that ever follows you.  You just won the National Championship." - Lloyd Carr.  C'mon, any Michigan fan watching Lloyd Carr talk to his players after that Rose Bowl, no matter how manly, started bawling tears of happiness as soon as he said those words.

WMU81

August 20th, 2014 at 8:36 AM ^

I felt Ill after Michigan lost National Title game against Louisville. No tears, just straight depression.. For football, all the Rose Bowl loses. The Vince Young game sticks out the most.

Real Tackles Wear 77

August 20th, 2014 at 8:44 AM ^

Lloyd carried off the field after the 08 Capital One Bowl...non-athletic edition: Mary Sue's "for today..." line at graduation...future edition: Austin Hatch checks into his first game at Crisler

Michigasling

August 20th, 2014 at 10:12 AM ^

A preview moment that worked for me (twice): video of Austin checking into his first game with the team in Italy, and the description of the moment in team manager Devon Mulry's blog report:

Mulry was sitting next to Jim Hatch, Austin's grandfather, when a buzz started spreading in the crowd:

It seemed the only one who had not yet noticed who was checking in was Jim Hatch, himself. As Muhammad shot his first free throw I pointed to the scorer's table and said "Austin's checking in!" Jim looked at me, looked back to the scorer's table and said just barely loud enough for me to hear, "oh my god." After the free throw Austin checked in with a standing ovation from the crowd and a look on his grandfather's face that I'll never forget.

TdK71

August 20th, 2014 at 9:02 AM ^

The first time was when Bo retired, my feelings were that the foundation of Michigan football had been torn away from me.

The second, was when Bo died, I was such an emotional wreck I had to leave work and then I went home and wept all the rest of the day.

Now, tears of pride and joy, that's a different story entirely, many times, too many to count, hell, I get a little choked up when the team charges out of the tunnel.

Did I mention that I love Michigan football almost as much as my wife of 27 years, and the only reason that she rates higher is because she is the one that suggested that we try to get on the waiting list for season tickets back in 1992.