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Yeah, its me, the guy who started the thread about what row is best to sit in in the Big House. I need MGoBlog's input on another topic: If you were to plan out a perfect Saturday gameday experience in Ann Arbor what would it be like?
Where would you eat besides a tailgate? What sights would you see (the drumline show? the team arriving at the stadium, if you even are allowed to see that?)
You guys are a rich source of knowledge, so, in the words of Les Miles, let 'er rip!
Anything with a 3:30 kickoff
/trollface.jpg
for each tailgate.
1997 vs. Ohio State.
(Though UTL was close)
That was my senior year and to this day, that game goes down as by far the single best sporting event I have ever been to. For comparison sake, I have been to Yankee stadium to watch the Yankees in the world series and I was at the first of the giants' recent Superbowl wins. Neither comes close. When Woodson and Boston went at it in front of the endzone the big house was insane.
UTL was better than Braylon-fest and touchdown Manningham. Unfortunately I didn't have tix in 1997.
Did you go see Adam Sandler the Friday night before? He came out at midnight and while we were waiting in Hill Auditorium we were screaming football cheers.
Then after we won I think everyone partied till monday night...
jdon
I remember that sandler was about 2 hours late and for the whole 2-hour delay, the entire crowd of hill auditorium just kept singing the victors over and over and over. Then when sandler finally arrived, the lights went down and before he stepped onto the stage, sandler sang (to the tune of his turkey song) "love to eat turkey, 'cause it's great; hope you kick the shit out of Ohio state". The crowd went wild and it took another 10 minutes before the crowd stopped singing the victors and sandler could start the show.
To this day, one of the best memories of my college years.
I remember hearing that Sandler had went to a couple frat houses after the show and hung out with students.... pretty cool guy that Sandler
Braylon-fest 2004. For pure, unexpected, unbridled joy nothing will surpass that game for me (and I was there for all the one's listed so far). And it's the loudest I've EVER heard to Big House - place was absolutely shaking........
That fact that Sparty sucked it made it even sweeter.
Under the LIghts
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Kate Upton yet.
It woulda happened if you waited 5 seconds :D
this was my first thought.
kate upton
(not even sure what that means.)
IT GETS THE PEOPLE GOING
UTL /w Ohio State instad.
Oh wow...let's see...clearly I've thought about this before:
I think that covers it all...
You want to do that again?
* donuts from washtenaw dairy essential to pregame
* stadium walk with the band highly recommended
* try not to miss the pregame band show, but even if you do, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES MISS THE TEAM RUNNING OUT ONTO THE FIELD.
* best food after the game may be the roadhouse, but you'd do just as well to hit the main st. area for dinner and save the roadhouse for sunday brunch
Sit in the 4th floor suites and meet Lloyd Carr. Nevermind, that happened to me last week!
But anways, my full dream day experience would be:
-Somehow fall asleep early the Friday night before being sober and be able to wake up early on Saturday ready to go:
-Start boozing and grilling out at 9:30 AM out in front of an RV in the Ann Arbor Pioneer Parking Lot, while playing bags and testicle toss for a couple hours. Listening to tunes and fight music the entire time.
-Meet someone famous that stops by my tailgate.
-Go to game at 3:30pm and watch Michigan win.
-Party afterwards
Yeah....that's pretty much it. If I have some booze, food, fight music, and with Michigan fans before going to the game, I consider it a successful gameday experience. Michigan must win of course. I don't have an RV, usually don't park in a good tailgating lot, am usually hung over, I got a rare opportunity to sit in a suite level last Saturday that probably won't happen for a long time, but I still have a blast usually.
Caveat: My wife (not alum but insane fan) comes with me when I go to AA so less binge drinking than most posts in this thread.
Stay in campus inn.
Breakfast at Angelo's.
Spend a few hours walking the campus and stock up on some new Michigan hear from mgoblog approved moe's.
Stop off at mr spots on the way to the game because in the 15 years since I graduated, I still can't find comparable wings.
Do the stadium walk with 110,000 like minded fans.
Find way way to my seats - row 35 on the 50 yard line where, shockingly, the entire section is filled with raucous fans (you said ideal).
Watch M pummel #3 ranked Ohio en route to a 1-loss season. Denard throws for 325, 3 Tds, no picks and runs for another 225 and 2 Tds to cap a heisman season. The win seals michigan's place in the MNC game where we get a rematch with consense #1 bama (we win, by the way).
I get back to my hotel room and as a present for my bday, my wife brought me Kate upton.
The sad thing is that I may actually be more excited for the second to last paragraph than the last.
You win.
...Michigan has more points than the other team when the clock hits 0, my day is pretty complete, regardless of any other activities.
Two chicks at the same time
Haha yes....simple tastes. Excellent.
.....yeah....
My new husband (3 months!) is aHUGE Michigan fan, i come from the SEC, BUT have turned into a Big 10, Hoke, Michigan, Beat Alabama, love them fan! He has never been to the Big House! What are yalls recommendations on hotels? I have a discount at the Hampton Inn-South but wanted to get some feedback?!
To the good guys.
...would be as good as any. Stayed there in the past. No complaints. Just a short drive from campus and the stadium. Good location near I-94, assuming that you'd be heading in/out from that way (Metro?).
Wake up and hit Afternoon Delight for a breakfast burrito or a muffin as big as my head.
Walk back towards campus, stopping at Moe's or MDen. I cave and buy my son the most expensive jersey in the store. Afterall, he is my only son, and what's $90 for a jersey?
The temp is 64 degrees. The leaves are in full fall colors. It's perfectly sunny.
Play football with my husband and kids for a while, then realize it's time to eat again.
Blimpyburger. The line moves supersonically fast. We do not get yelled at.
Head down State St. towards Hoover with 110,000 fans. By the time we get to Revelli Hall, the step show is just starting. We manage to get a front row seat. This time, my kids do not think it's boring.
After, we walk in with the band. Our seats are in Section 23, the 24th row.
For the next three hours, we beat up on Michigan State. Le'Veon Bell gets 20 yards rushing. Denard gets 200, Fitz another 130. The two Devins each get 2 TD's a piece. William Gholston is knocked out of the game early with concussion-like symptoms after a "tussle" with Taylor Lewan.
After the game, we hit Middle Kingdom for some old school Chinese and then Stucchi's for old time's sake.
Final score: 35 - 3.
I don't have it all figured out but if we could do the impossible:
1. Wake up w gf at my parents house where Dad and sister have made the special maize & blue pancakes with numbers in the middle my next-door neighbors join us and we caravan to the game.
-Pre-game meal at Crazy Jim's where I eat massive Blimpy burger
2. Sit in sec 2 row 81 with my immediate family + gf w uncles, cousins, and grandpa w both great-uncles. As well as dad's w. quad roommate and his family in the row in front of us and next door neighbors sitting, well, next to us.
3. As Denard breaks one 100 yards against Ohio (striking the much deserved pose in the endzone) I get to hear my Grandpa and his brothers argue how, now that they have seen him up close, whether Denard could have beaten Jesse Owens in a sprint which leads to my great-uncle telling the story of competing against Owens at the BTC when he was setting world records. My father, gf, uncles and I have to settle for debating/pontificating on who did the best pose before being mobbed by teammates of the 3.
4. Mich shuts out Ohio, to clinch trip to BTC only this time we all do run on the field (unlike 97 when I didn't), including my Dad and great uncle, neither of whom needs cane/wheelchair. Don Canham walks by and he and my grandpa yell their usual greeting to each other, "Hell I thought you were dead!" -only this time, they are both right, at least other than this day.
5. Canham then gets us back to the locker room to watch the interviews live. My great uncle sees Brock Mealer and they compare notes on how to walk again after a wheelchair, while my grandfather yells at him to stop listening to a Buckeye! Arguments ensue and they are hilarious.
-post game dinner at the Gandy Dancer where all of the 3 generations of great family M stories are told over again, climaxing with my Grandpa telling his crystal-clear recollection of the great coaching search that brought Crisler to Michigan. There is enough Bo and Woodson wine that the night never ends.
Can anyone talk a little about the stadium walk with the band? I'm going later in November to Iowa with my mom and I'd love to get the whole experience. How long before kickoff does it start?
I had my dream experience last year. We flew up for The Game for my first ever game at the Big House. We got to the golf course for tailgating a little after 8. Met up with some awesome fans and drank and ate with them until game time. Headed over to the stadium around 11. Had great seats to watch us finally put down OSU and took the field after the game to celebrate. Decades of dreaming about being there finally came true and I got to hit the field too. It was surreal. I'll never forget it, especially the view when first walking into the stadium.
Of hearing from everyone about their first time in the Big House and how it happened. Such cool stuff! I really admire the fandom of people who do not get to go very often.
It was easily one of the best days of my life, just a great day. I was lucky enough to also get to watch them at the Sugar Bowl (another awesome experience but nothing like the Big House) and the opener this year in Dallas too. That experience was good too right up until kickoff lol. I can't wait to get back to the Big House next year though!
as entertaining as some of the hypotheticals are, it would help someone like me (who has never been to Michigan Stadium) if someone were to post a realistic itinerary with realistic do-not-miss happenings and realistic places to visit while in Ann Arbor.
I have been a Wolverine fan for the majority of my life, but growing up in the south without any connection to Michigan, it was never feasible for me to make the trip.
This changes on October 20th (my birthday). My gf and I are making the trip and aside from going to places like The Maize and Blue Deli and Zingerman's, I have absolutely no clue on what to do. I want to know when/where to meet for the bands entrance. I want to know where to walk hours before the game. I want to know where to tailgame near the stadium.
Hypotheticals are cute - but I want some substance.
And stuff even appears in odd places sometimes. Tangent just last week on where to take his sons for the game here-
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/twis-posted-guessing-its-mostly-us
Obviously it is two girls at one time!
#peterman!
- Rent the entire house with MGoPatio for the whole weekend.
- Invite my brother, a few close family members and old college buddies to stay there.
- Wake up with no hangover despite all sorts of untold revelry from Friday night partying.
- Uncle has been up for 2 hours prepping a huge breakfast spread and a full Bloody Mary bar.
- Friends I haven't seen in years come by the tailgate an party all morning.
- Drive to pick up food at Mr Spots for lunch. No traffic. Perfect parking spot waiting for me on State St.
- Stop into Campus Corner to say what's up to the brothers. They still remember me by name despite graduating 10 years ago. Give me a bag full of airplane bottle liquor for free.
- Swing by my soph year house at 931 S State. Tell the kids living there I'm a former resident. They don't think I'm a creepy old douche. We all bong beers and sing the victors before heading back to Main St house.
- Warch noon games on the MGoPatio with multiple HD tvs.
- Walk to the Champions lot at 2:00 and tailgate with a bunch of players from the '97 team who are there because they are being honored at halftime.
- Hold the M Club Banner as the team takes the field.
- Take a picture with Woodson and Lloyd Carr on the field.
- Walk up to seats in Section 24 row 30.
- Kate Upton is sitting next to me with 5 VS models. They think I'm the funniest guy they've ever met.
- M beats OSU in a hard fought game that is sealed by a 4th qtr punt return for TD.
- Return to the house. Relax for a few, with our new friends from the game.
- Steak dinner on Main St. Crush a salty bone in ribeye cooked to perfection.
* I know Ohio is on the road this year but this is supposed to be a dream right?
