Your favorite piece of Michigan Memorabilia
So this is my first year since I started working here full-time when I might be able to afford things other than necessities and debt. Suck it poverty line!
As I contemplate what bit of Michigan schlock worth disposing my first disposable income (leaning toward a Jug replica) I thought about how much interesting stuff this community has probably accumulated. Share what you've got; I'll display the coolest in Dear Diary tomorrow.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:27 AM ^
from the late 50s. It's blue wool with a big maize block M sewn in the center. My mother purchased it when she was at Michigan and gave it to me when I attended in the late 70s, early 80s.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:31 AM ^
I have one of those too! It weighs about 15 pounds!
April 28th, 2016 at 11:29 AM ^
Yes it does.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:21 AM ^
A maize hoodie with a large blue "M" in the front which I wore to the 2011 Ohio State game. And the ticket stub for that game.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:24 AM ^
She better not lose it!
April 28th, 2016 at 10:25 AM ^
There are two pieces of memorabilia I no longer have but wish I had...
1979 Gator Bowl Michigan Marching Band T-shirt.
Henley T-shirt with Snoopy holding a Michigan flag. I bought this the weekend I went to orientation and saw Michigan for the first time (I had not visited the campus prior to applying and attending).
I wore the guts out of both of those shirts. Eventually they became washing casulties.
April 28th, 2016 at 11:41 AM ^
The '78 Rose Bowl was my last time in the MMB, but I went to the '79 Gator Bowl and sat on the field with the Band. That was the year Wangler tore up his knee and we lost to those academci cheaters from NC.
Were you in the band in 77?
April 28th, 2016 at 10:25 AM ^
My 1998 Michigan Rose Bown champions/ National champions sweatshirt.
Nearly 20 years later, its still in almost perfect shape and I've worn it hundreds and hundreds of times. Its the most durable piece of clothing I've ever imagined.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:28 AM ^
It was 1999 and I was working at WTKA. There was a pre-tournament event at the Michigan Theater and we brought guests on air for 5-10 minute segments. That included Harbaugh and Woodson. I took my copy of the program and asked both of them to sign it. It now hangs in my man cave.
Also, that night at Scorekeepers was amazing. Most of the participants in the tournament were there. At one point you had Woodson, Glen Steele, James Trapp (Raiders) and Ryan Leaf at a table talking. If you think he had a punchable face on TV, it's even more punchable in person. Guys from other sports were there. And for Baldwin brother fans, even Daniel Baldwin made an appearance.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:30 AM ^
April 28th, 2016 at 10:31 AM ^
I emailed Harbaugh pictures of it around Christmas last year and he actually emailed me back.... Stressing the importance of family and friends, he ended the email with " and always- go blue!"
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
April 28th, 2016 at 10:33 AM ^
April 28th, 2016 at 10:35 AM ^
April 28th, 2016 at 10:36 AM ^
April 28th, 2016 at 10:36 AM ^
First: Signed, personalized Charles Woodson interception in the Rose Bowl. "To Ray Go Blue! CWoodson #2"
Second best: signed Bo football. Isn't personalized, but I like having something directly connected to Bo.
Third (tie): Signed Jim Harbaugh football card from when he was with the Colts. Also, signed Bo card with one of his favorite plays on it.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:47 AM ^
an autographed photo of me w/ Carr
April 28th, 2016 at 10:41 AM ^
April 28th, 2016 at 10:45 AM ^
I got in a bidding war at the John and Jim Harbaugh Ann Arbor Pioneer Athletics Hall of Fame dinner a few weeks back. The bidding war was between myself and John Harbaugh, over a helmet with Jim's high school number on it, and signed by both of them. They also did a John Helmet, which Jim bid up and won.
John beat me out for $1,400 on the helmet. However, about 20 minutes later after a few more auctions (and everyone blowing their money on signed footballs) the helmets went back up for auction and my son and I walked out with the helmet.
April 28th, 2016 at 12:30 PM ^
My wife's game jerseys
My wife played basketball for Michigan under Sue Guevara, but stopped playing when she was fired and was not able to obtain her game jerseys. When Kevin Borseth was hired, I reached out to him and asked if the department still had the jerseys. Sure enough, they did and he was very generous in sending them to us. One of the game jerseys is from the 2001 season and has a US flag patch commemorating 9/11. Very special and we plan to hand down to our two girls.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:49 AM ^
one of my most prized possessions
April 28th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
April 28th, 2016 at 10:49 AM ^
from Drake's Sandwich Shop; and an old blue jersey, number 40, that I bought when the store used to be in the Yost Field House next to the hockey rink. Wish I'd bought an away jersey.
April 28th, 2016 at 12:11 PM ^
April 28th, 2016 at 10:51 AM ^
My daughter's graduation announcement.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:54 AM ^
piece of memorabilia is not anything tangible but instead a memory. Back in the day, mid 90s, Michigan stadium was not the locked and guarded cathedral that it is now. It was more like a gigantic high school stadium and at times it was relatively "open," generally speaking. A friend and I went to a meaningless Michigan basketball game in or around late October and left at halftime because Michigan was killing Central Whoever State by line 20. When we were leaving we walked by the stadium and at the end kind of cornering Crisler we noticed the isle way was completely open. Understanding that we were putting ourselves in some jeapordy, we made it all the way down to the field and just walked it. We acted out famous moments, Hayes in the corner against Virginia was earlier in the year and we went right to that corner and acted it out (immature, all of it I know, I was like 16 at the time). We didn't even consider defacing anything or taking anything(there wasn't anything to take), we didn't do anything except wonder how this was possible and wonder whether we were going to get arrested. We didn't, we just walked up and out of there. It was really cool and one of my favorite memories in my life actually.
April 28th, 2016 at 11:08 AM ^
the stadium was wide open, and we played flag football on the field, usually before or after basketball games. The turf was like concrete back then - I'm not sure anyone worried if we were going to damage it.
April 28th, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
this was a little different. While the stadium was not NFL-like as it is now, it was clear to us that the access we had to field was the result of a mistake by stadium/security personnel. What we were doing was in good fun but it was clear that it was not "allowable" and would have probably been problematic if we were seen. That being said, glad I did it, it was awesome.
I went to Michigan 2004-2010 and we played touch football in the stadium a bunch of times (either after bball games or by jumping the fence). So cool to think of all the amazing moments that have happened in different spots on the field while you're down there.
Also, when I was in high school after the 2002 Washington game, we went back to the stadium a few hours after the game and it was just open. Threw a ball around on the field and even kicked (and made) a 20 or 25 yard field goal from the exact spot that Nienberg (I think) had missed Michigan's third field goal from late in that game. We left with a Michigan white board that had been left behind by the team managers. What an amazing day.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:53 AM ^
I didn't get anything that cool while deployed, but my mother sent me a Michigan throw blanket while I was in Afghanistan. I left in on the base and used it every night that I wasn't outside the wire. While deployed, it's the small things that mean the most and are most comforting.
April 28th, 2016 at 11:02 AM ^
but I ran into Jalen quite often when he played for the Pacers. Got to the point where he knew me on a first name basis.
We shopped for CDs together in the mall quite a few times. We always went to this store called Waves because no one else would be in there to bother him.
Actual memorabilia- Autographed photo of Marcus Ray destroying David Boston.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:55 AM ^
A friend got this for me in 06 and I still have it in the box.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:56 AM ^
*random note but I was cleaning my shelf this past weekend and I accidentally knocked my Bo bobblehead down and his shoulder chipped off. Surgery was performed in a prompt manner and he is back on the shelf.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
My charles woodson signed full size replica helmet, my Tom Brady/Ty Law matching helmet and football signed by both, or the first piece of michigan gear i ever had, a #1 jersey that I had a picture with my best friend in who died almost 4years ago on a motorcycle. That has to be number one. I have it in a shadow box with the picture of us...
April 28th, 2016 at 10:56 AM ^
I have signed footballs from Bo's first Rose Bowl Win team in 81, as well as from the Big Ten Champion 1977 team, both are signed by the whole team as well as Bo. I also have one of the original "Wolverine" Prints by R. Dorman signed by Bo, Don Canham, and Dorman with Dorman's embossed seal and the athletic departments embossed seal.
April 28th, 2016 at 11:13 AM ^
are my Tom Brady autographed mini helmet and a litograph of the 69 upset signed by Bo and all of the all americans from that game and a section of the original wooden seats from 1927 from the stadium.
April 28th, 2016 at 11:07 AM ^
That I won off of him from a trivia contest at a church in Detroit. Denard secretly came towards the end of the service, and I won them. He then signed them after and we got a photo together.
Such a fan of that young man!
April 28th, 2016 at 12:13 PM ^
April 28th, 2016 at 11:13 AM ^
A friend of my dad's used to work for the city of Lansing. He took an old City of Lansing parking meter, painted it up with the Maize and Blue wings and gave it to my dad for his birthday. I inherited it when he passed away. Always thought it was cool.
April 28th, 2016 at 11:14 AM ^
All I have are my MGoPoints :(
Im there with you, friend. This thread is making me quite jealous.
April 28th, 2016 at 11:14 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
April 28th, 2016 at 11:14 AM ^
This will seem pitiful compared to the others I've seen in this thread, but I got a Bo bobblehead (BObblehead?) at the Detroit airport during one of my trips to AA, and it's still my favorite.
April 28th, 2016 at 11:15 AM ^
Either my autographed copy of "Michigan Memoires" by Bo, or my 97 Woodson Rosebowl jersey, which to this day is still in excellent condition.
April 28th, 2016 at 11:17 AM ^
My signed Zoltan jersey is definitely one of my most prized posessions and hangs above my desk at home. Also not sure if it qualifies but I am proud of the Lego football I built this winter and it is now in a display case below the Zoltan jersey.
April 28th, 2016 at 10:33 PM ^
Thank you! I am certainly happy to share them, see the links below and let me know if you'd prefer to grab them another way. You can email me at [email protected] if needed. Probably way more information than you're after but...
I did the planning in Lego Digital Designer and will readily admit that I did not build it in the most efficient way. I've tinkered with Lego my whole life but this was far and away the most ambitious project I've attempted. The final product is about 1,400 pieces (most of them small plates) and weighs about 2.5 lbs.
While the finished product turned out great some of the pieces aren't as secure as I'd like. I haven't had any issues yet with the structure weakening so I haven't been incentivized to go back and improve it but there are definitely changes that could be made for the better. As far as actual design, it is essentially a sphere with the middle portions cut out to make the oval shape. The maize M is on both sides of the top half.
It is hollow inside but the inner workings/supports are kind of a mess. I don't have pictures but if you look through the plans you'll see that it was a pretty rough approach inside. Having the M on the top half looks great but it threw a wrench in the piece arrangements since I had to switch colors. The lower half was much more simple.
I built the halves separately and then put together, mainly because I was concerned about not being able to complete the top/bottom without being able to get into certain grooves if I just built from the bottom up. Lego Digital Designer auto generates instructions (the ones linked below) but they skip around in strange ways so I didn't quite adhere to them.
Lastly, I used regular yellow Lego plates/bricks for the bottom and dark blue ones for the top, most of which were ordered from sellers on BrickLink. I didn't take price/rarity of pieces into account when designing (a mistake on my part) and had to made adjustments because of that. For example 1x6 dark blue plates sell for about $2 each, and my original plans called for 40 of those. Using traditional blue lego bricks for the top would certainly save some money. I spent about $200 on pieces for the model.
April 28th, 2016 at 11:19 AM ^
Back when they put the halo up, the gate near the backside of Crisler was open, and my friends and I played football on the field late one night. We took a parking barrier on our way out of the lot. Just a piece of wood probably about eight feet long, painted blue, with "Champions Parking" on it. Looks pretty sweet in my garage. Because I'm a champion.
April 28th, 2016 at 11:26 AM ^
I currently have a toaster, brand new in-box never opened, that toasts block M's onto your bread.
How you manage to not open that is impressive. Every guest that would come over my house would get a complimentary slice of M toast whether they want it or not.