Michigan Football Heading to S. Africa in May
UM Football will not be practicing during their trip to S. Africa in May.
February 19th, 2019 at 5:21 PM ^
From the Idaho Statesman:
Jim Harbaugh is taking Michigan's football team to South Africa in May.
Director of football operations Mark Taurisani tweeted about the trip Tuesday.
Like last year's visit to France , the Wolverines will not practice in South Africa. Harbaugh did have practices in Italy in 2017.
Michigan alumni Bobby Kotick and Don Graham funded last year's trip, and Kotick paid for the visit to Italy. Harbaugh has said Kotick will pay for the tours as long as the coach wants to do them. Harbaugh has mentioned Greece, Spain and Cuba as possible destinations for the annual opportunities for his players to learn and bond.
February 19th, 2019 at 7:52 PM ^
Does Mr. Kotick get to join the team on the trip?
February 19th, 2019 at 7:57 PM ^
Can I go with you? Haha
February 19th, 2019 at 8:15 PM ^
I have spent time living in South Africa so would happily be the tour guide!
February 19th, 2019 at 11:15 PM ^
I highly recommend Cuba and its warm comradeship.
February 20th, 2019 at 12:12 AM ^
And the world class medical system.
February 20th, 2019 at 4:04 AM ^
And it's world class dictatorship. You forgot to mention that.
February 20th, 2019 at 8:44 AM ^
Great stogies too.
February 20th, 2019 at 1:48 PM ^
That is as fake news as there is. There are a ton of government forced trained doctors, but no one would go there for any specialty medicine at all.
February 21st, 2019 at 9:25 AM ^
you might want to have your sarcasm gland checked, if you have one.
February 20th, 2019 at 2:21 PM ^
The Cuba trip is the one that makes absolutely no sense. I know it's all trendy now since the travel ban was lifted but people I know who have been there say it is basically just a poor country. In France and Italy the kids had amazing educational and sight-seeing opportunities. Cuba not so much. Even South Africa seems somewhat dubious with such a long flight there and back. I know that some players opted out of the last couple trips and I wouldn't be surprised if lots more back out of this one, especially since for many of them they can just go home for a week instead.
February 20th, 2019 at 5:01 AM ^
Wow, I had no idea the CEO of Activision Blizzard went to the University of Michigan. He doesn't have a very good image in the gaming community but this is an amazing thing he is offering our team.
February 19th, 2019 at 5:23 PM ^
Awesome stuff. These athletes work so hard to field a competitive football team, and they are bringing so much money to the university. This is a wonderful way for our program to give back to these athletes who give so much. I hope that these trips are life-changing experiences for these young men.
Edit: also, beat ohio state
February 19th, 2019 at 5:23 PM ^
Beat ohio state
February 19th, 2019 at 5:35 PM ^
We really need an ignore/mute feature!
February 19th, 2019 at 8:26 PM ^
See that little carat near the time stamp on each post? Click it and you will mute that post.
You’re welcome. The more you know...
February 20th, 2019 at 11:47 AM ^
unfortunately, i can't also double-click on the carat to up-up-vote YOUR comment. my god, i wish i'd noticed that before.
February 19th, 2019 at 6:06 PM ^
Helping young men become better human beings by learning about and experiencing the cultures of countries around the world (especially when it involves a country with a history such as South Africa) >>> Beating Ohio State in Football
February 19th, 2019 at 6:38 PM ^
Is it selfish for me to say I'd rather they take a World History class and beat OSU instead? I'd prefer they go overseas AND beat OSU, but we can't seem to have all the nice things.
February 19th, 2019 at 7:36 PM ^
You do realize one thing has nothing to do with the other.
February 19th, 2019 at 10:41 PM ^
I realize that if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
February 20th, 2019 at 7:23 AM ^
But do you realize that time flies like an arrow, and fruit flies like a banana?
February 20th, 2019 at 7:25 AM ^
And the wise man sayeth, never use the back button to edit thy post.
February 19th, 2019 at 6:54 PM ^
We can still go overseas and do trips and beat them.
Michigan Basketball manages just fine.
February 19th, 2019 at 7:51 PM ^
They do need to beat OSU but this has nothing to do with that, this trip won’t effect the play on the field. The trip is made for experiences in life more than football. Don’t be such a tool
February 20th, 2019 at 12:43 AM ^
or maybe Michigan Basketball has a better Xs and Os coach.
February 20th, 2019 at 1:51 PM ^
What do you care, WD? You're not paying for it.
If the overly generous alums who are funding these trips don't want to do that anymore, then they're entirely within their rights to stop cutting checks. But this is a once in a lifetime experience for these kids, and they have every right to take advantage of the situation when it is offered to them. Many of these guys would otherwise never have the financial means to take a trip to the next state over. MUCH LESS take a trip to another continent in the opposite hemisphere.
I think Harbaugh recognizes that life extends far beyond the football field. This is a reflection of that.
February 21st, 2019 at 9:21 AM ^
it kinda is.
February 21st, 2019 at 8:36 PM ^
I promise you OSU players would rather beat Michigan’s ass than take a sight seeing trip to South Africa.
February 19th, 2019 at 7:31 PM ^
Dude.... chill out. The shtick is getting old. Young men (many from very unfortunate circumstances who have never left the US) getting the cultural and intellectual experience of a lifetime >>> some random fan’s (you) desire to win a game. JH isn’t doing this to beat OSU. And he doesn’t care what you think either.
February 19th, 2019 at 11:27 PM ^
obligatory: sparty and dantonio are heading to gary, indiana, in may. on a bus. planning drive-through at the A & W right off the I-80.
February 20th, 2019 at 10:08 AM ^
Oh wow, quite the change from their trip to Akron, OH last May. Heard they stopped at a Cracker Barrel on the way there
February 20th, 2019 at 12:23 PM ^
surprisingly they were unaware that JH is rather fond of cracker barrell. once known, they vowed never to return. builds sparty team solidarity.
February 21st, 2019 at 9:27 AM ^
they don't drink milk, either, and they LOVE chicken.
February 20th, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
What's the connection?
February 20th, 2019 at 11:30 AM ^
Shut up.... this is so fucking tired.
February 21st, 2019 at 10:53 AM ^
They can’t make it to Indy so they shouldn’t be allowed to go abroad either? The team loses zero practice time, takes $0 out of the athletic budget, so what part of this is a negative? It’s better to not win the conference and make an international trip than it is to not win the conference and not make the trip. They are not related so why conflate the two?
February 19th, 2019 at 5:27 PM ^
Hoping for a safe trip. South Africa is immensely beautiful, but also quite dangerous
February 19th, 2019 at 7:10 PM ^
My first night in Jo-burg about 10 years ago, I grabbed a taxi from the airport to my hotel in Sun City. it's 10:30 or 11:00 at night. The cabbie is running all the red lights. I mean, just slightly slowing down, enough to see if traffic is coming, then blazing right through. No shame. After running 4 or 5 lights, I finally (politely) ask why he is so brazenly ignoring traffic laws. He tells me that at night everyone does it and the cops don't care, as in some neighborhoods the odds of getting carjacked at a red light are higher than 50-50. Yikes...
February 19th, 2019 at 8:17 PM ^
The red light running thing is very true. But danger might be over stated. I lived in Joburg within the past 5 years (granted in a very nice are, but did plenty of exploring there and across the country).
February 19th, 2019 at 8:32 PM ^
Did you out late at night on foot?
February 19th, 2019 at 8:49 PM ^
....well that is a sure fire way to not get carjacked!!!
February 20th, 2019 at 12:17 PM ^
Don't recommend SA for your grandma, but it's not that unsafe if you are a Michigan football player, or a buss full of them. The world outside our borders is not all that unsafe, and most people are decent.
February 20th, 2019 at 12:51 PM ^
I found the people in South Africa to be extremely friendly, almost across the board. The assholes I encountered there were mostly Americans.
February 20th, 2019 at 2:50 PM ^
I have not been to SA, but I sail with a bunch of former South Africans who left in the last 10 years.
I'll just say they tell a VERY different story than you.
The theft, violence and general racism sound awful.
February 19th, 2019 at 5:29 PM ^
This continues to be the best thing Michigan does as a football program.
An actual, educational/cultural/fun experience for these young men who work so hard for our university.
In many ways, it is more important than the results of a single game in November.
It brings me much pride in my alma mater
February 20th, 2019 at 8:21 AM ^
How exciting! This is the best place Coach could take the team. I hope they do at least the following things:
1. Visit to Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years.
2. Visit the slums of Soweto to understand the terrifying poverty that still exists in the world.
3. Take a photo safari to Kruger National Park, one of the best places in the world to view wildlife.
4. Take in a Springboks rugby game -- and maybe even have a mock practice with the national team. But be careful, they might decide to sign Ben Mason.
This will be an awesome experience for the team and for many may be a life-changing event.
February 21st, 2019 at 11:47 AM ^
Love the recommendations! Bad news is the Boks will not be active yet until our summer / their winter. Super Rugby will be in full swing. Boks will start up The Rugby Championship and a bit of World Cup prep in July timeframe.
February 19th, 2019 at 5:31 PM ^
Love it! Leaders and Best! Coach Harbaugh is not just molding football players, he is developing well rounded Michigan Men!
Go Blue!
February 19th, 2019 at 5:47 PM ^
Love it, the history of apartheid and story of Mandela alone are reasons for these young men of different backgrounds to visit South Africa and truly dive into the culture.
Last year watching them visit the beaches of Normandy raised the hairs on the arms, the level of appreciation when you're actually there...incredible.