Guys like JJ and Dylan are the rule, not the exception when it comes to excelling at multiple sports. As I mentioned in a completely unrelated thread about a year ago, I recall that my IM basketball teams in the mid-80s would inevitably lose out to the teams with football players as those guys were amazing basketball players as well. Seems nuts now that those guys were allowed to play IM basketball...
Logged in to second the recommendation for Antietam. I had the opportunity to visit that site on a cool blustery Fall weekday, was one of only a handful of people at the entire site, and it felt like I could see back in time. Almost a spiritual experience knowing what happened there.
Me too - especially since he mentioned the APBA baseball simulation game (which, by the way, is pronounced as a word, and not individual letters as Craig did...). Those of us old enough to grow up in the pre-video game era spent a lot of time with such old-fashioned sports games, and loved every minute of it regardless of the low-tech approach.
It sure did - but a big part of that is because my 19-20 year old self didn't wear a hat (can't mess the hair!), probably didn't have gloves, and certainly wasn't wearing long underwear.
Its a lot easier to take as a middle-aged dude with no fashion sense and decent cold-weather gear.
Only thing to add, since I didn't see it mentioned, is that if you value convenient airport access (and you might, if you have to get back to NYC or elsewhere) that will limit your choices to Metro Detroit, Traverse City area, and the Grand Rapids / Holland / Muskegon area.
Others have already addressed my views on schools, housing costs, etc. I wouldn't worry about the weather, in my opinion the weather across the lower peninsula is more or less the same (news flash: it ain't Florida).
Was also in the band for that game. One quirky memory is that after the long and exhausting parade, we got rehydrated with that disgusting McDonald's Orange drink, that was the only option. I assume McDonald's was a major sponsor.
You were sitting near the band; I was in the band at that game. Because MMB members in Columbus attract a lot of negative attention, the band officials were trying to hustle us out of the stadium and on to the busses well before the game was over - in fact, just as OSU was finishing that drive and getting set up for the field goal. But we came a long way to see a Michigan win and weren't going to be shooed out easily - we stopped in our tracks to watch. When they missed the FG, we also exploded and started to run - and did make it to the buses before anyone got injured from flying debris or had uniform parts pilfered.
Exiting Columbus on the busses was uneventful - we must have had tinted windows so the marauding hordes couldn't see who we were.
Did something change with the way the video was posted to Twitter? This is the first time ever that Twitter has tried to force me to log in or create an account to watch the video.
I know that there are a lot of Michigan Marching Band alumni on this site, so I'll take the opportunity to promote Taps Across America and the National Moment of Remembrance. Too late for this year, but dust off your horns for next year.
I also remember decades ago when the football players were still allowed to play IM basketball. My teams could never get past those guys but it was amazing to be on the same court with athletes of that caliber.
Like most of us here who grew up in the newspaper age, the sports section was by far my favorite read. That said, I can't let nostalgia get in the way of objectivity when it comes to Joe Falls. I found his columns to be self-centered, poorly written, and generally created on autopilot. I didn't read him until the 70s, perhaps he was a different writer in the 60s.
I always enjoy the work that Brian (and Google) do to unearth those ridiculous historical images of our opponent's mascots - this one was one of the all-time best (worst?) IMO.
About 1:20 in to the podcast, Brian speculates that might have been the best weather ever for a UM/OSU game.
My one trip to the Horseshoe was the 1986 game (the Harbaugh guaranteed win) which we won 26-24.
It was absolutely beautiful weather that day, even warmer than this year's game (I checked the weather records). Didn't help the Buckeyes then, didn't help them now.
Like Brian, I was also disappointed that we didn't go for it on 4th-and-3 late, to give Brad Robbins a 2nd consecutive puntless game. What I haven't seen mentioned is that with Rutgers on tap for this weekend, there's a good chance it could have been THREE puntless games in a row!
Logged in to say the same thing. A response like this on top of the already prolific amount of amazing content this time of year, well wow.
Maybe more time to write during bye week. (And, is it OK to call it bye week now, or are we still supposed to call it "improvement week" or whatever...?)
Spent a day in Iowa City this summer. Nice town, seems like a smaller version of Ann Arbor, especially if UM main campus were on the Huron River. The couple of places we stopped in for food/drinks were great. I'm sure it's crazy on game day, but if the weather's good I'd take a walking tour of campus and along the river. Don't get freaked out by the building with the golden dome, you're not in South Bend - that is the old state capitol building. One disappointment during the summer at least was no decent ice cream place in the downtown/campus area.
Glad your lifelong dream was fulfilled and even exceeded expectations! And glad your son experienced it as well.
My children grew up spitting distance from the stadium, and the full Saturday experience (traffic, helicopters, airplanes, scalpers, tailgates, music, crowds, noise, and FOOTBALL) has unfortunately become blase for them. If they move away from Ann Arbor some day, their fall Saturdays will seem oddly quiet.
Regarding sunscreen: yeah, a lot of people in the South (not accusing you) think there's snow on the ground 11 months out of the year up here. But, no. Summers in southeast Michigan are overheated and the sun will toast you, just like most of the country.
Agree with the general sentiment here - they did a very nice debut job with room to grow and polish. My preference is announcers who aren't rabid homers, so I wasn't too concerned with their emotions.
I used to really enjoy a crisp fall Saturday doing yardwork and listening to the radio broadcast, but that treat disappeared when Frank Beckmann retired. Looking forward to that again this fall!
Logged in to upvote this one. Those Aries K-cars didn't get any better by 1989 - that was my wife's first car ever, bought it brand new, and within the first year the front passenger door literally fell completely off the car (fortunately while I was opening it, not while driving).
Coupled with the uncomfortable bench seats, engine I could outrun on foot, and the general shoddiness of everything in or on the vehicle, this was easily the all time worst.
32 years later and I have never spent another cent on any product from that company (changed names many times but now Stellantis)
Even if Wynton was 21 instead of 61, he would be crazy to subject his magic chops to the torture of jamming and pounding a small metal mouthpiece (which is often icy cold) against his lips while high-stepping down the field. Can't wait to hear him play while standing still, though!
Worst car we ever owned BY FAR was a 1989 Dodge K-car. Never had any damp start problems but even though bought brand new, the front door broke off of its hinges within 2 years. Fortunately we were home when that happened.
Haven't spent a dime on vehicles from that company since, and no plans to do so in the future.
Pretty sure that show was called Sports Wrap. In any event, a buddy and I were reminiscing about that show and how good Frank was. I had to listen to it on the sly, since at that time of the night lights were out and we were supposed to be sleeping.
While not quite in the same class as most of the guys you've listed, I think Dan Dickerson (current Tigers radio) is excellent. I also really enjoyed George Kell and Al Kaline on the 70s/80s Tigers TV broadcasts.
While Dierdorf is not the problem, Brandy is, I did think that Jon Jansen did a great job subbing in for him and I look forward to hearing more of him (beyond his podcasts etc).
Anyone interested in the Detroit Lions during the 1950s would enjoy this book, When Lions Were Kings.
Very well written and fascinating to learn about the guys who my father and his generation idolized. Doesn't shy away from the toll the game took on these guys, and also includes historical tidbits I never knew, such as the use of silver-white painted footballs during the early night game TV broadcasts (so that the ball was visible). Highly recommend.
I just got back from a jog on a route that took me along the pathway between the football practice field and the railroad tracks. There on the path by the practice field was a half-consumed bottle of Pepto-Bismol. Having already read Brian's post before I went jogging, the scene captured in the most perfect way possible our collective disquiet.
Went on a LOT of college tours in the last few years for the kids. So many factors played in to whether the tour was a hit or not. Weather, time of the school year (hubbub on campus or not), mood of my kid on that day, but in my mind it was the student guides that would make or break the tour. Enthusiastic and knowledgeable (but not over-enthused or pointless trivia-spouting!) guides would outshine a crappy tour program, and lackluster guides would make a great campus or tour program unappealing.
But yes, our UM tour experiences were disappointing...
Appreciate your work on this series. This ticket stub is an artistic embarrassment compared to some of the gems you've shared in previous posts. I guess it has been a long time since much thought or care has been put in to designing memorable paper tickets. Are the stubs all in your personal collection?
Congrats! There are many MMB alumnae on this site, and occasionally stories pop up in various threads.
I'm enjoying your work on this series, I admit it surprises me to think of you as college-aged rather than an established alum.
Unless you're the next Howard Gourwitz, the tenor sax player who returned for his 4th year of band in 1998, at the age of 50! I tried to find a good article to link to because I know a lot was written at the time, but that was just prior to "everything's on the Internet". Here's a summary version of his story: http://legalnews.com/detroit/1493676
Hi Seth, I really enjoy these historical podcasts. A couple of comments:
The correct pronunciation of the band director who chased the protestor, William Revelli, is "re-VELL-i". Your pronunciation was that of the bugle call "reveille" which is the early morning wake-up call.
You mentioned the unfortunate history of the Michigan Marching Band's acceptance of women members. Embarrassingly, it wasn't until the 1972 season that women marched with the band. There are several good articles online about this, including this one: https://michigantoday.umich.edu/2015/01/21/women-take-the-field/
Not only still in town, but there are 2-3 of them. You can feast for a week on one of those pizzas! Delicious, and a totally different pizza experience than your typical Cottage Inn, Domino's, Pizza House, etc.
Thanks! Maybe an interesting off-season piece could be an insiders view of what goes on at Schembechler Hall, given that most of us are probably never going to see that.
Enjoyed the writeup. Seth makes ample use of the metaphors "the QB room", "the receivers room", the RB room", etc.
I've never set foot inside of Schembechler Hall. Are these rooms literally true? Is there a space in the building dedicated to the QBs, and what is it like - a classroom, a standard office conference room, some larger space with some workout equipment?
Thanks, Don, looks interesting, will order it tonight and I notice that there is a 45% off promotion right now.
If your interests are generally about the intersection of Detroit's history and its sports, rather than the Lions in particular, I really enjoyed this book and you may, too: "Terror in the City of Champions: Murder, Baseball, and the Secret Society that Shocked Depression-era Detroit"
The child plays a musical instrument, and you raise a great point that there was nearly nothing objective about the audition process. Even if you survive the audition, the prospective student also needs to be comfortable with the faculty who specialize in that instrument. Is there a good fit between teacher-student? My own application process was far more conventional and I certainly didn't meet any faculty as part of selecting my school (undergraduate, anyway).
What further contributed to the child's experience being complicated is that on the academic side, there are more options than there were in my day - such as "early decision" - where you improve your odds of acceptance if you are willing to roll the dice and go exclusive.
Fortunately it worked out in the end and all parties involved seemed happy with the outcome.
Big fan of your recruiting insights, fascinating to hear the family perspective firsthand, much better than the nonsense from the pundits and their crystal balls.
While my experience as a parent was nothing like yours, I did have a child in the performing arts who had to navigate auditions: a highly stressful addition to the academic application process. That was already so much different than my own experience.
Congratulations to your family and best wishes to your son. When the avatar twins hit the big time it will much harder to keep all your secrets since they'll be a story...
My memory of this game: a buddy of mine who was in town from Europe wanted to attend a Michigan football game, and he had no problem getting a single ticket at game time. Couldn't get anyone to go with him.
After the game and a close brush with hypothermia, he retreated to my family room for a couple of beers, some hot soup, and a lengthy nap to recover in front of the fireplace.
I haven't even mentioned a very important bit of offseason movement: Minnesota lost Fleck's longtime offensive coordinator, Kirk Ciarrocca, to the same position at Penn State.
I have no idea what football impact this may have, but unless he's getting a serious raise in pay, not sure why someone would leave a program on the rise (and a young head coach on the rise) and life in a vibrant metropolis for the backwater of State College and the baggage of Penn State.
Love Casey's! It was a favorite spot after softball and years later I was fortunate to work within a short walk and enjoyed many a lunch or happy hour there. I think they may be completely closed waiting for the pandemic to pass. I hope they re-open.
Recent Comments
Guys like JJ and Dylan are the rule, not the exception when it comes to excelling at multiple sports. As I mentioned in a completely unrelated thread about a year ago, I recall that my IM basketball teams in the mid-80s would inevitably lose out to the teams with football players as those guys were amazing basketball players as well. Seems nuts now that those guys were allowed to play IM basketball...
Logged in to second the recommendation for Antietam. I had the opportunity to visit that site on a cool blustery Fall weekday, was one of only a handful of people at the entire site, and it felt like I could see back in time. Almost a spiritual experience knowing what happened there.
Me too - especially since he mentioned the APBA baseball simulation game (which, by the way, is pronounced as a word, and not individual letters as Craig did...). Those of us old enough to grow up in the pre-video game era spent a lot of time with such old-fashioned sports games, and loved every minute of it regardless of the low-tech approach.
One notable exception: Carol Hutchins Stadium
Hope he's getting his PhD, MD, and JD!
It sure did - but a big part of that is because my 19-20 year old self didn't wear a hat (can't mess the hair!), probably didn't have gloves, and certainly wasn't wearing long underwear.
Its a lot easier to take as a middle-aged dude with no fashion sense and decent cold-weather gear.
Only thing to add, since I didn't see it mentioned, is that if you value convenient airport access (and you might, if you have to get back to NYC or elsewhere) that will limit your choices to Metro Detroit, Traverse City area, and the Grand Rapids / Holland / Muskegon area.
Others have already addressed my views on schools, housing costs, etc. I wouldn't worry about the weather, in my opinion the weather across the lower peninsula is more or less the same (news flash: it ain't Florida).
Was also in the band for that game. One quirky memory is that after the long and exhausting parade, we got rehydrated with that disgusting McDonald's Orange drink, that was the only option. I assume McDonald's was a major sponsor.
Logged in to upvote because of your profile pic. Many hours spent exercising my thumbs on that device!
You were sitting near the band; I was in the band at that game. Because MMB members in Columbus attract a lot of negative attention, the band officials were trying to hustle us out of the stadium and on to the busses well before the game was over - in fact, just as OSU was finishing that drive and getting set up for the field goal. But we came a long way to see a Michigan win and weren't going to be shooed out easily - we stopped in our tracks to watch. When they missed the FG, we also exploded and started to run - and did make it to the buses before anyone got injured from flying debris or had uniform parts pilfered.
Exiting Columbus on the busses was uneventful - we must have had tinted windows so the marauding hordes couldn't see who we were.
Did something change with the way the video was posted to Twitter? This is the first time ever that Twitter has tried to force me to log in or create an account to watch the video.
I…
Thanks for this post.
I know that there are a lot of Michigan Marching Band alumni on this site, so I'll take the opportunity to promote Taps Across America and the National Moment of Remembrance. Too late for this year, but dust off your horns for next year.
Well-written, great clips, and an enjoyable 30 minutes of my life. Thank you and please keep these coming.
I also remember decades ago when the football players were still allowed to play IM basketball. My teams could never get past those guys but it was amazing to be on the same court with athletes of that caliber.
Like most of us here who grew up in the newspaper age, the sports section was by far my favorite read. That said, I can't let nostalgia get in the way of objectivity when it comes to Joe Falls. I found his columns to be self-centered, poorly written, and generally created on autopilot. I didn't read him until the 70s, perhaps he was a different writer in the 60s.
I always enjoy the work that Brian (and Google) do to unearth those ridiculous historical images of our opponent's mascots - this one was one of the all-time best (worst?) IMO.
I took great satisfaction in pressing the MUTE button to get rid of both Urban Meyer and Nick Saban at the same time!
About 1:20 in to the podcast, Brian speculates that might have been the best weather ever for a UM/OSU game.
My one trip to the Horseshoe was the 1986 game (the Harbaugh guaranteed win) which we won 26-24.
It was absolutely beautiful weather that day, even warmer than this year's game (I checked the weather records). Didn't help the Buckeyes then, didn't help them now.
Like Brian, I was also disappointed that we didn't go for it on 4th-and-3 late, to give Brad Robbins a 2nd consecutive puntless game. What I haven't seen mentioned is that with Rutgers on tap for this weekend, there's a good chance it could have been THREE puntless games in a row!
Logged in to say the same thing. A response like this on top of the already prolific amount of amazing content this time of year, well wow.
Maybe more time to write during bye week. (And, is it OK to call it bye week now, or are we still supposed to call it "improvement week" or whatever...?)
Spent a day in Iowa City this summer. Nice town, seems like a smaller version of Ann Arbor, especially if UM main campus were on the Huron River. The couple of places we stopped in for food/drinks were great. I'm sure it's crazy on game day, but if the weather's good I'd take a walking tour of campus and along the river. Don't get freaked out by the building with the golden dome, you're not in South Bend - that is the old state capitol building. One disappointment during the summer at least was no decent ice cream place in the downtown/campus area.
That's great! Would also have been something to see if Michigan did this up in EL rather than pounding a stake in to the turf.
Glad your lifelong dream was fulfilled and even exceeded expectations! And glad your son experienced it as well.
My children grew up spitting distance from the stadium, and the full Saturday experience (traffic, helicopters, airplanes, scalpers, tailgates, music, crowds, noise, and FOOTBALL) has unfortunately become blase for them. If they move away from Ann Arbor some day, their fall Saturdays will seem oddly quiet.
Regarding sunscreen: yeah, a lot of people in the South (not accusing you) think there's snow on the ground 11 months out of the year up here. But, no. Summers in southeast Michigan are overheated and the sun will toast you, just like most of the country.
Had to log in to upvote one of the most entertaining comments I've ever read on this blog!
Residence Inn is right in downtown Ann Arbor (park once and walk everywhere!) and just a couple of years old.
Agree with the general sentiment here - they did a very nice debut job with room to grow and polish. My preference is announcers who aren't rabid homers, so I wasn't too concerned with their emotions.
I used to really enjoy a crisp fall Saturday doing yardwork and listening to the radio broadcast, but that treat disappeared when Frank Beckmann retired. Looking forward to that again this fall!
Logged in to upvote this one. Those Aries K-cars didn't get any better by 1989 - that was my wife's first car ever, bought it brand new, and within the first year the front passenger door literally fell completely off the car (fortunately while I was opening it, not while driving).
Coupled with the uncomfortable bench seats, engine I could outrun on foot, and the general shoddiness of everything in or on the vehicle, this was easily the all time worst.
32 years later and I have never spent another cent on any product from that company (changed names many times but now Stellantis)
Even if Wynton was 21 instead of 61, he would be crazy to subject his magic chops to the torture of jamming and pounding a small metal mouthpiece (which is often icy cold) against his lips while high-stepping down the field. Can't wait to hear him play while standing still, though!
Worst car we ever owned BY FAR was a 1989 Dodge K-car. Never had any damp start problems but even though bought brand new, the front door broke off of its hinges within 2 years. Fortunately we were home when that happened.
Haven't spent a dime on vehicles from that company since, and no plans to do so in the future.
Appreciate the correction! I don't recall being old enough to listen to the Sports Final variation, only Sports Wrap after Frank took over.
No radio or TV during dinner at our house, either, a rule I carried over to my own parenthood, and added the "no phones" clause.
Pretty sure that show was called Sports Wrap. In any event, a buddy and I were reminiscing about that show and how good Frank was. I had to listen to it on the sly, since at that time of the night lights were out and we were supposed to be sleeping.
While not quite in the same class as most of the guys you've listed, I think Dan Dickerson (current Tigers radio) is excellent. I also really enjoyed George Kell and Al Kaline on the 70s/80s Tigers TV broadcasts.
While Dierdorf is not the problem, Brandy is, I did think that Jon Jansen did a great job subbing in for him and I look forward to hearing more of him (beyond his podcasts etc).
Anyone interested in the Detroit Lions during the 1950s would enjoy this book, When Lions Were Kings.
Very well written and fascinating to learn about the guys who my father and his generation idolized. Doesn't shy away from the toll the game took on these guys, and also includes historical tidbits I never knew, such as the use of silver-white painted footballs during the early night game TV broadcasts (so that the ball was visible). Highly recommend.
I just got back from a jog on a route that took me along the pathway between the football practice field and the railroad tracks. There on the path by the practice field was a half-consumed bottle of Pepto-Bismol. Having already read Brian's post before I went jogging, the scene captured in the most perfect way possible our collective disquiet.
Went on a LOT of college tours in the last few years for the kids. So many factors played in to whether the tour was a hit or not. Weather, time of the school year (hubbub on campus or not), mood of my kid on that day, but in my mind it was the student guides that would make or break the tour. Enthusiastic and knowledgeable (but not over-enthused or pointless trivia-spouting!) guides would outshine a crappy tour program, and lackluster guides would make a great campus or tour program unappealing.
But yes, our UM tour experiences were disappointing...
Appreciate your work on this series. This ticket stub is an artistic embarrassment compared to some of the gems you've shared in previous posts. I guess it has been a long time since much thought or care has been put in to designing memorable paper tickets. Are the stubs all in your personal collection?
Congrats! There are many MMB alumnae on this site, and occasionally stories pop up in various threads.
I'm enjoying your work on this series, I admit it surprises me to think of you as college-aged rather than an established alum.
Unless you're the next Howard Gourwitz, the tenor sax player who returned for his 4th year of band in 1998, at the age of 50! I tried to find a good article to link to because I know a lot was written at the time, but that was just prior to "everything's on the Internet". Here's a summary version of his story: http://legalnews.com/detroit/1493676
Hi Seth, I really enjoy these historical podcasts. A couple of comments:
Not only still in town, but there are 2-3 of them. You can feast for a week on one of those pizzas! Delicious, and a totally different pizza experience than your typical Cottage Inn, Domino's, Pizza House, etc.
Thanks! Maybe an interesting off-season piece could be an insiders view of what goes on at Schembechler Hall, given that most of us are probably never going to see that.
Enjoyed the writeup. Seth makes ample use of the metaphors "the QB room", "the receivers room", the RB room", etc.
I've never set foot inside of Schembechler Hall. Are these rooms literally true? Is there a space in the building dedicated to the QBs, and what is it like - a classroom, a standard office conference room, some larger space with some workout equipment?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Fantastic! And thanks for posting the lyrics so we can see the full extent of the hilarity.
And I have no idea why the formatting of my reply spills over the edges but happy to fix it if there is a way to do so...
Thanks, Don, looks interesting, will order it tonight and I notice that there is a 45% off promotion right now.
If your interests are generally about the intersection of Detroit's history and its sports, rather than the Lions in particular, I really enjoyed this book and you may, too: "Terror in the City of Champions: Murder, Baseball, and the Secret Society that Shocked Depression-era Detroit"
https://www.amazon.com/Terror-City-Champions-Baseball-Depression-era/dp/1493030582/ref=sr_1_3?crid=OS3THLT42VPI&dchild=1&keywords=detroit+city+of+champions&qid=1609121460&sprefix=detroit+city+of+%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-3
The child plays a musical instrument, and you raise a great point that there was nearly nothing objective about the audition process. Even if you survive the audition, the prospective student also needs to be comfortable with the faculty who specialize in that instrument. Is there a good fit between teacher-student? My own application process was far more conventional and I certainly didn't meet any faculty as part of selecting my school (undergraduate, anyway).
What further contributed to the child's experience being complicated is that on the academic side, there are more options than there were in my day - such as "early decision" - where you improve your odds of acceptance if you are willing to roll the dice and go exclusive.
Fortunately it worked out in the end and all parties involved seemed happy with the outcome.
Big fan of your recruiting insights, fascinating to hear the family perspective firsthand, much better than the nonsense from the pundits and their crystal balls.
While my experience as a parent was nothing like yours, I did have a child in the performing arts who had to navigate auditions: a highly stressful addition to the academic application process. That was already so much different than my own experience.
Congratulations to your family and best wishes to your son. When the avatar twins hit the big time it will much harder to keep all your secrets since they'll be a story...
My memory of this game: a buddy of mine who was in town from Europe wanted to attend a Michigan football game, and he had no problem getting a single ticket at game time. Couldn't get anyone to go with him.
After the game and a close brush with hypothermia, he retreated to my family room for a couple of beers, some hot soup, and a lengthy nap to recover in front of the fireplace.
I haven't even mentioned a very important bit of offseason movement: Minnesota lost Fleck's longtime offensive coordinator, Kirk Ciarrocca, to the same position at Penn State.
I have no idea what football impact this may have, but unless he's getting a serious raise in pay, not sure why someone would leave a program on the rise (and a young head coach on the rise) and life in a vibrant metropolis for the backwater of State College and the baggage of Penn State.
As a former band person, I especially liked his putdown of the Purdue bass drum - one of the least-inspiring conference traditions to my mind.
Love Casey's! It was a favorite spot after softball and years later I was fortunate to work within a short walk and enjoyed many a lunch or happy hour there. I think they may be completely closed waiting for the pandemic to pass. I hope they re-open.