20 years ago this week

Submitted by WolverineHistorian on

Somehow I missed this (we may have to remove the 'historian' from my name) but this past Wednesday was the 20 year anniversary of Dreisbach to Hayes against Virginia...

Yes, I'm sure you have the same reaction as me.  How the hell has it been 20 years? 

ElBictors

August 29th, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^

That day was the day I packed the car and left A2 with my degree in hand. Was living near Yost, just off S State on McKinley and could hear the band and crowd as we packed. Hit 94 West to beat game traffic with the game on the radio and heard the Hayes play somewhere just past Jackson. GoBlue!

ElBictors

August 29th, 2015 at 12:29 PM ^

I definitely wasn't as into football at that age having been on campus four years and all. You develop an appreciation over time and after doing things like chasing chicks and just beginning adulthood. Can't wait for SLC! I am feeling better about things and don't know what to expect when I see Harbaugh lead the team on the field and the first few possessions. We're prob cabbing it to the stadium neighborhood and looking for any M pre-game bars/etc before heading in.

WolvinLA2

August 29th, 2015 at 12:34 PM ^

I'm actually more into M football now than I was in college too.  Has a lot to do with the other cool stuff going on in your life at that time.  

We're going to do the same pre-game.  No real plan, just get close to the stadium and see what's what.  Find some people with maize and blue and offer beer in exchange for a place to drink it.

WolvinLA2

August 29th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^

Maybe, but despite this, I never missed a game in the 4 years I was in school (and the year after before I moved to CA).  I wasn't as die hard as I am now in terms of following in the off season and knowing every freaking player's name, but I would never want to not be in the stadium when they were playing a home game, nor would any of the people I knew.  

I do think the current TVs and crazy HD has something to do with it.  Our fraternity had one of the old school tube big screens which we thought was awesome but was nothing like there is today.  We would never miss a game in person to watch it on that.

ElBictors

August 29th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^

Pretty much same thing here. I might have skipped one or two games and/or left early but usually only for weather. Oddly enough and sort of just coincidental, I never made it back to A2 during the RR era. Young kids, other transitional elements of life ...just didn't happen. Been back for 2-4 games/yr since the first night game vs ND

Avant's Hands

August 29th, 2015 at 11:36 AM ^

I was 11. Like others have said this is my first real memory of Michigan football. I went out in the back yard and threw my Michigan football to myself for hours after this game.

Blue Durham

August 29th, 2015 at 11:40 AM ^

I was in Ann Arbor, watching the game on TV while on the phone with my Virginia born-and-bred future wife (she was also watching the game) who was, at the time, living in Charlottesville. Fun times.

jmblue

August 29th, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^

This game was weird because it was added late to the schedule, being the Pigskin Classic, so it wasn't part of the ticket package.  It was sold as a one-off game and still pretty much filled the place up - a sign of how large the ticket-buying public was.  (I think the attendance ended up being announced as 101K and change, but if you look at the crowd shots it looks pretty much full.)

IIRC, Biakabutka was injured early in this game, which left us with a freshman QB and untested RBs (as Tyrone Wheatley had just graduated).  The first three quarters were rough and there were calls to put in Brian Griese at QB, but Dreisbach got it done when it mattered.

 

 

Bando Calrissian

August 29th, 2015 at 5:33 PM ^

Well, it was part of the ticket package in that season ticket holders were given the opportunity to buy their seats. It was just like any other normal home game in our neck of the woods. May not have been part of the student package, as they weren't on campus yet.

Which reminds me of one of the best parts of that day. There was an old, crotchety guy with an old-school can-style radio headset sitting about five rows behind us, just railing on Lloyd for the entire first half. He was going absolutely apeshit. "Don't count on an extended contract!" I wish I'd been there for the end just to see how he handled the comeback.

DrAwkward

August 29th, 2015 at 11:55 AM ^

That game was a few weeks after my elder son was born. I had seen more my share of last second defeats while I was a student in the 1980s, so that game gave me some hope that the karma pendulum was swinging in the other direction. 

Or maybe my newborn son was a good luck charm ...

denardogasm

August 29th, 2015 at 12:01 PM ^

17 points was the biggest comeback in Michigan history?  That's not even that much.  I feel like we must have had several bigger comebacks since then.

snarling wolverine

August 29th, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^

Part of it was that we rarely faced large deficits under Bo.  But also, football in general has opened up in the passing game considerably since that time, and teams now can put up a lot of points more quickly.  No-huddle offenses were rare back then.

The record comeback is now 21 points, from 2003 Minnesota.

Naked Bootlegger

August 29th, 2015 at 12:10 PM ^

The dramatic ending of this game prompted me to jump up with arms extended in unadultered joy, only to have my hand get mauled by a low ceiling fan the was lazily spinning in the living room.   No harm was done, but Dreisbach to Hayes memories always make my right hand ache a bit. 

 

 

the Glove

August 29th, 2015 at 12:15 PM ^

I was 12 years old and watched this happen live in my friends room. I was the only Michigan fan they're out of the four of us but everybody jumped up in amazement of what just happened.

litwild

August 29th, 2015 at 1:01 PM ^

I was about a month into my interenship at the Yacht Club Resort at WDW in Orlando. I was on break in the cast member cafeteria, watching the end of the game. When the ref signaled touchdown, the whole place erupted. I would have thought more UVA fans down there. It was the first time I truly witnessed Michigan's national reach.

FrontRowIn97

August 29th, 2015 at 1:32 PM ^

Great memory. I was working my high school summer job so I had to tape the game. When I got home my friends from across the street came running over shouting about the game. My mom shot out of the house yelling at me to "Get in the house! Get in the house!" She didn't want them to ruin it for me. While I knew that something good must have happened I still couldn't believe that finish. Great game.

flashOverride

August 29th, 2015 at 2:18 PM ^

Still such a fresh memory. I was 13, 8th Grade was about to start. My Dad and stepmom went, they said that while the game itself was obviously amazing (4th Quarter, anyway), the experience kind of sucked. 95F with nasty humidity and by the 3rd Quarter all the vendors were out of water. I was watching it back home with my stepdad. We were both going nuts on that final drive. I can still remember the phone ringing a play or two before the TD, he wanted to ignore it but thought it could be important and just picked it up without going into the other room to look at the caller ID (yes, in 1995 it wasn't always just part of the handset, kids). Sure enough, it was a telemarketer. "Are you fuckin' kidding me, lady, the game's on!" - CLICK. That was really funny to me because he's always been a very mild-mannered guy and rarely curses.

Bluetotheday

August 29th, 2015 at 3:06 PM ^

Playing in a soccer tournament in munchie, IN. I was in goal and my dad parked the car behind the goal, with the radio cranked...he Layed on the horn, yelling out the window. Mind you, this is during the game. I turn and yell...Go Blue

KzooRick

August 29th, 2015 at 4:15 PM ^

This is also the first game in which a certain celebrated defensive back was on the field for Michigan and made a subtle but important impact as I remember.

Chitown Kev

August 29th, 2015 at 5:43 PM ^

but there was ALSO Virginia coach George Welsh deciding not to make Michigan try an extra point.

 

By thiis time, I believe, if Virginia had gotten the ball and ran it into the endzone, Virginia would have scored two points and won the game but Welsh was clearly too flustered by the turn of events.

The FannMan

August 29th, 2015 at 6:00 PM ^

I missed that game entirely.  My then-girlfriend and I had planned a trip to visit her family in England.  They added the game after we got our tickets and made plans.  So, yeah.  I had a choice to make and I chose the girl and the trip to Europe.  I found out what happened the next day when I called home.

On the one-hand I missed an ionic TD, on the other I did marry the girl and we have three lovely kids.   (Our 18th anniversary is tomorrow, in fact.)  

By the way, was it really necessary to point out that 20 years ago?

 

 

SaigonBlue

August 29th, 2015 at 9:32 PM ^

An unbelievable come from behind victory on a blistering hot day, made even more sweet for me personally as I was able to attend the tailgate party celebrating the 15th anniversary of the 1980 Big Ten Champion/1981 Rose Bowl Champion Team.

MMB95

August 29th, 2015 at 9:54 PM ^

This was my first game as a member of the MMB and my first on the field (made block my first game!). The temperature was the hottest that I would ever experience in my four years in the band. I remember a piccolo player had to receive medical attention because of the heat. The catch happened right in front of me. Even though the heat was miserable it was still a great first game and intro to my MMB experience.

Megatron

August 30th, 2015 at 12:09 AM ^

WOW been 20 years ago how time fly's by and also 1ST year with Nike as well. Great that this time next year Michigan will be back with Nike/Jordan Brand.