Full Album Links:

Michigan Football vs Michigan State 2022 (Patrick Barron) | Flickr

Michigan Football vs Michigan State 2022 (Bryan Fuller) | Flickr

Well, that was an event.

I will retell the post-game as best as I can recall from my perspective. I wasn't in the tunnel during the incident (I was mostly on the field) but I entered the tunnel shortly after it happened.

This game was about 20 minutes away from being among the less dramatic Michigan vs Michigan State games of the last decade or so. I really didn't get the impression that there was much chirping or shoving throughout most of the game itself (no more than a typical rivalry game). Maybe others saw stuff on tv I didn't notice. There was no major on-field scuffle like in the Ohio State game. There were some personal foul calls here and there, which, ok. With about a minute left I secured all my loose items to get ready for post-game celebrations. Shortly after the clock hit zero the shoving began on the field.

There was chirping, players being held back, Michigan players bid them adieu. Without knowing how bad it could've gotten I may or may not have had a Ralph Wiggum I'm in Danger! moment. Jim Harbaugh was there, looking both excited, anxious, and a little nervous. 

Jim stayed on the field much longer than a usual game - I heard him shout many times at players to go celebrate with Paul. This game means a lot to him and he wants it to mean a lot to his players. He also looked nervous that there were some rivalry shenanigans taking place. It felt similar to the scuffle against Ohio State, that "don't ruin a good thing" body language he was displaying. 

He found JJ and shouted "JJ. GET OUTTA HERE."

JJ looked like a kid who just got in trouble but wasn't sure what for. We shared a shrug. Looking back it was great advice. Players brought Paul to the student section.

I headed up the tunnel with the players. Michigan State had already gone through and were nowhere to be seen by the time I got there. Michigan players trickling in had no idea what was going on in the tunnel, they were just excited to go celebrate. I was sad that I missed Paul during all this (Bryan got us covered, though!).

There was a big wait to get into the locker room, police were standing around. Players still trickling in from the field were confused at what the hold-up was. Rod Moore just strolled in, Buffs still on, like nothing happened.

I saw Isaiah who was talking to a staff member that had seen the incident. I knew something was up. I heard a basic description but I almost didn't believe it at first. The video has been viewed >10 million times but here's the link anyways. Also the second incident... 

The Michigan photo editing room is adjacent to the tunnel, it's close enough that we could hear when the teams were shouting at each other against Penn State and Ohio State. The actual editing room is a bit small and sometimes runs out of space so this time I just sat in the room next door, which also happens to be the away team press conference room. Michigan State media folk were buzzing about something that had happened. I think the video found it's way to Twitter by then, some of them may have seen it.

Mel Tucker arrived. The next 5-10 minutes were... awkward. He was asked about the incident multiple times, but gave no final word or answer about it because he says he didn't see what happened. There appears to be a video of him smacking a door after everything went down. The press conferences went on like normal but you could tell Michigan State knew there was trouble in the near future.

This is probably the strangest post-game atmosphere I've ever encountered. LOOKING BACK I COULD HAVE PICKED A BETTER DAY TO WEAR THIS SHIRT. I proceeded to spend the night in the airport. I'm back home in Colorado now and will go into my day job tomorrow where most people at the office are vaguely aware of anything that happened. It's a weird time of year for me.

I'm not sure I have much more to add to what happened at the game. We've seen the video. Here are some pictures. We'll get answers in the coming days. Welcome home, Paul.

Sponsor Note: Ok, well we don't have a sponsor. 

BUT

If you'd like to support us, one of the simplest things you can do is follow us on social media (links just below) where we post way more photos than here. In the offseason I also do a LOT of wildlife/national park photography. While we're not allowed to sell any of our sports photos per our credential agreement (sorry to anyone who reached out asking about one), I sell prints from my adventures which I sell on FineArtAmerica. You can buy prints (or just look at some pretty pictures) here: Patrick Barron Art Collections

Social Media Accounts:

Patrick Barron:
Twitter: @BlueBarronPhoto
Instagram: @BlueBarronPhoto
Instagram (BUT WITH BEARS): @BlueBarronPhoto_Wild 

Bryan Fuller
Twitter: @FullOfTwitt
Instagram: @BryanFullerPhotography

Full Album Links:

Michigan Football vs Michigan State 2022 (Patrick Barron) | Flickr

Michigan Football vs Michigan State 2022 (Bryan Fuller) | Flickr

[WE ALSO PHOTOGRAPHED A FOOTBALL GAME after THE JUMP]

ANYWAYS thank you for making it this far, there was also a football game! Here are photos

 

Next week, LET'S JUST HAVE A FUN, RELAXING, MINIMAL DRAMA GAME AGAINST RUTGERS OK? Let's make fun of their cannon again. Let's sing Kumbaya at midfield at post-game. Let's go through the same tunnel holding hands.