Slow day, funny story
I was at a Medical Conference on the weekend in Digby Nova Scotia (a very small fishing village with a beautiful golf course). We stayed at the Resort and played in a charity golf event that was put on after the conference for the local hospital.
At the conclusion of the tournament our team finished third and we were given a "prize package" that consisted of many things, one being an MSU baseball cap.....Can you believe that? An MSU cap. I was in shock that such a hat would make it in any prize pack especially one in Nova Scotia Canada.
Anyway, it was a hot day and my hat was soaked with perspiration so I committed the unthinkable and put on the MSU hat so I would look more presentable (if that is even possible with an MSU hat). I know it sounds horrible but I really had no alternative as I had "hat head" and so it couldn't be helped.
As we were returning to the hotel a group of seniors from a tour bus were getting ready to leave. I wasn't taking any notice of them since they weren't young and in a skirt. As I approached one couple heading for the bus I hear "GO BLUE" in a womans voice and I look up to see an elderly lady shaking her fist at me with a grin.
For a moment I couldn't figure out what had transpired. How did she know I was a UM fan? Why was she shaking her fist at me? Then it hit me.....the MSU hat.
I couldn't let her get on the bus without explaining myself. I chased them down (a dangerous thing given that she had just shaken her fist at me and the recent exploits of MSU football players one could get the wrong impression) to have a word before getting on the bus.
I told her how it came to be that I was wearing an MSU hat and that I was actually a die hard UM fan. She looked skeptical and took some convincing. Her husband simply looked on with a grin as I emphatically tried to convince her of my UM loyalty.
I was at a loss as to how I could convince her when it hit me, show her the history on my blackberry browser. I was impressed at how internet savy she was for her age. Once she saw that she was convinced at long last and simply said, "OK, I'll let you off the hook this time, but remember, there is never an excuse for wearing an MSU hat, or any other teams hat from now on."
She, her husband and I shared a good laugh and they entered the bus. I learned my lesson and tossed the hat immediately in the first garbage can I saw (hat head and all). So, my question to you all is where is the oddest place you ran into a UM fan/Alum? Digby Nova Scotia??? I would have never guessed.
P.S. Her fandom and pride in her university were amazing to me. GO BLUE!
Hope you had some good seafood while you were there. Summer in a place like Halifax is my idea of paradise.
Exactly how hot was it?? I looked at the weather for Digby and they have it peaking in the 70s this week. It's 57 and raining right now.
It was probably no warmer than 26 degrees celcius (I am not good at F as we don't use it in Canada). The trouble with NS is the humidity and it was very humid both days.
As to the seafood question, we had lots but since I live in NS I get it all the time(which is nice).
Halifax is a nice spot. Small city with a nice climate. I am there at least monthly for various things and went to University there. It is a nice spot to live, especially for young adults.
Not so much a "fan" encounter, but I was standing in line for tickets to a Boca Juniors (Argentina...shout out to Tevez!) soccer match in 2003 and told the guy in front of me that I was from Michigan and he knew about our football team and liked them because we had the same colors which, to be honest, was one of the deciding factors for me in choosing to root for Boca in the first place (their arch-rivals are red/white, so like, duh).
I think the moral of the story is that the old lady had more common sense than you.
But between us, I would, under no circumstance, be caught dead in an MSU hat. Give me hat head for an eternity. I have short hair so it would not matter.
it was a horrible mistake and I felt dirty with it on. Seriously, I was rushing to get into the hotel so I could buy anything else to put over my head (maybe a paper bag was in order after another UM fan saw me with an MSU hat on). It won't happen again!
Not an exotic place, but when my wife and I lived in Boston it was always great when we wore our Michigan gear because we would have random people yell "Go Blue!" to us. And we'd get excited and do the same when we saw others wearing our colors. When we moved back to Michigan it was weird, because we'd get excited and yell "Go Blue" to people wearing Michigan, only to get weird looks, because, frankly, a lot of people wear Michigan here and its not that special. Its definately something that I miss about being out of state. Running into those die hards and seeing how true fans support the team and school. Amen to that old lady.
When we moved back to Michigan it was weird, because we'd get excited and yell "Go Blue" to people wearing Michigan, only to get weird looks
I'm a little put off by that too. Whenever I would see someone in Michigan gear, I would say "Go Blue" to them. It wouldn't be anything loud, just a nice friendly "Go Blue." During these trying times, I do it more often than I had in the past. Some people are receptive; along with the "Go Blue" in return, I'll get a "Hell Yeah" or "Damn Right!". Most people look at me like I just kicked their dog. Strange.
I think it really has to do with whether or not someone is an alum or just wearing the shirt/ hat as a non-alum.
I always respond with a healthy 'Go Blue'
I was in Ft. Lauderdale for spring break my freshman year of college (05-06). I was wearing some michigan gear and was walking down A1A past some nice restaurants when some guy who was eating outside at one of these restaurants flagged me and my friends down. I noticed he was wearing an M hat and when I told them that we all went to school there he bought us lunch.
Nothing beats a good spring break story.
"Remember the one time that old guy bought us all lunch on spring break? That was great!"
It was the first mountain I had ever hiked. We had just finished a very demanding set of switchbacks, and I was literally laying down in the dirt trying to regain feeling in my legs. We still had a little bit of ways to reach the summit and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. As I sat up, a man was approaching on his way back down from the summit. As he got closer, he looked right at me and simply said, "Go Blue." I was so exhausted that I didn't understand what he said at that moment until I looked at him once he was past me and saw a block M patch on his backpack. I then realized that he saw my filthy Michigan hat that I was clutching with my hand. That was all I needed. I sat there for a couple more minutes and then made my way to the summit. It was beautiful.
You multiply the centigrade temp by 1.8 and add 32 to convert it. So, 26 C is 78 F. The highs for me this weekend were 102 with maximum humdity (I don't think 100 degree heat can hold more than about 50%). The high today is going to be 96, so I will resist the urge to give you the finger. :-)
Back when I was 16, I sailed from Southern Maine up into those waters. Some of the most gorgeous coastline (and very, very different from what I'm used to) that I could imagine. Every night, it felt like we'd pull into some magical little cove with a picture-book town huddled around the harbor.
That was 1989. I am told that during the boom-economy of the 1990s, plenty of those towns have basically been transformed from fishing villages into vacation spots by wealthy investors. In Maine, a lot of lobstermen have had to form co-ops just to be able to afford dock space. Has Nova Scotia seen that type of transformation?
Chester Basin is a beautiful spot that, until the 90's, was just a nice little village with average homes for average prices. You couldn't get a parcel of land there an acre large for under 600,000 dollars now from what I have been told. No fishing goes on there anymore, or very little from what I can tell.
Lots of these communities still exist in NS but have turned into vacation spots as well. You still have the small fishing villages with numerous B&Bs for travellers to stay in while enjoying the scenery.
while hiking Waimea Canyon in Kauai, HI. I was wearing an orange tigers hat and this young family walked by, the dad wearing a big block M on his hat. I said "Go Blue!" and they were clearly caught by surprise as they stared at me, chuckled nervously, and kept walking. Honestly it was a little bizarre.
Hurray for awkward people!
My wife and I went to Aruba a couple years ago and we saw several people wearing Michigan gear, and unfortunately some weird people with OSU gear on.
This weekend there was a softball clinic behing held our school that was being run by players from Liberty University. One of the girls came up to me because I was wearing a Michigan hat and she told me that she was sorry that I was a Michigan fan. Turns out she was from a high school 5 minutes from MSU. She also told me she verballed to Liberty at the softball game a few years ago when Liberty beat UM.
Considering that we have won an NCAA National Championship and competed at a high level in softball every year since then.
Wonder how that Liberty diploma is going to hold up in the job market?
What kids need to realize is that a decision to attend a college is not a four year decision - it is a forty year decision.
"She coulda been a contender"
Go Blue!
She's doomed to a life of snake-handling and close-mindedness.
That's right, the South Pacific, French Polynesia, Tahiti. My wife (an Illinois gal) and I were on our honeymoon back in '03. We were lounging by the pool at our resort on Bora Bora (actually one of the motus surrounding the main island) and got to talking to some of the other honeymooning couples. As it happened, one of the girls graduated with me in economics from UM back in '99! We didn't actually know each other, although we had some mutual friends and had apparently taken a couple of classes together. a guy from another couple, upon hearing our conversation, mentioned that he had also graduated from UM a couple years earlier and that he actually had The Victors play at his reception when the wedding party was introduced. We all ended up going together to Bloody Mary's bar that evening.
Not an odd place, necessarily, but certainly the most far-flung for me.
Somebody yelled "Go Blue" to me at a Rays game this year at Tropicana Field; I had been wearing the basketball student section shirt and he saw me from across a lobby so that was pretty cool.
Does the field have fountains gushing with freshly squeezed orange juice? If not I'll be disappointed.
No orange juice fountains. But it does have a water tank with a couple real life sting rays.
I just did a trip up the california coast. When I was at the beach in San Diego I cut my foot and it turned out I stepped on a Stingray and it stung me. I was suprised, but I guess this happens a lot. I suggest avoiding it if possible though.
Saw a guy in Germany rocking a 15 year old Michigan starter jacket. He also had big moustache with a bunch of crumbs in it and was laboring pretty hard getting up some stairs. I did not say anything to him, since i was being all "cool johnny blue jeans" with some euro-girls.
I seem to have bad karma on international flights. Twice I have been seated next to elderly OSU fans. Once on a flight from Moscow to London and once on a flight from Houston to Vancouver. In each situation, as soon as we discovered each others affiliation the conversations came to a screeching halt.
I was hiking in a backwoods trail in Zion National Park, probably a mile or so away from the road. My buddy was wearing a M shirt and we heard a 'Go Blue.' Turns out the guy was some type of space engin doctor that was presently a law prof at the University of Houston.
Anytime you leave the state and wear something with a block M, rarely do you not run into an alum on the street.
One time I was running in a marathon in London England (haven't heard of it?... run it!) and as I was trotting past mile 18 I heard a faint noise. It got louder and I realized somebody was whispering "Go Blue" in my ear even louder than the other one. I am proud to be a Michigan supporter my whole life! :) :) :)
My then pregnant wife and I climbed the mountain and were standing on the top. I turned to a couple and asked if they could take our picture. They turned around, both wearing Michigan t-shirts. I was wearing my student t-shirt from '03. We all just kind of chuckled. The woman was a current law student, the guy was a former B-student.
It's not exotic, just felt pretty cool to be up on a mountain, looking across an expansive desert and still finding other Michigan supporters.
... most living alumni.
Take 460,000 in 2007, multiply by family and friends, and there you go. Millions of possibilities for a "Go Blue!" anywhere in the world.
It wasn't a far flung location, it just took me by surprise. On a Saturday night during the '06 season, my wife and I went out for drinks and dancing at Roxy's in Lansing. Every Saturday during football season, I wear either one of my numerous Michigan shirts, or my Woodson jersey. I had worn jersey during the day while watching the game, and when we went out, I put on my Michigan polo shirt. My wife and I got there kind of early, so a lot of the people that were there were older couples that would clear out as soon the dj would start spinning. An elderly couple were making their way towards the exit when I heard the wife shout above the din, "Go Blue!" My wife looks at me and says "I think she's talking to you." I look up and sure thing, she's pointing at the block M on my shirt, and shakes her fist triumphantly. I return her Go Blue with one of my own, and she say laughs and says "I like that young man!" I thought that was really cute.
I was walking around in China once, and decieded to get a ride in a rickshaw because my feet were very tired from walking long distances, including the Great Wall (It did not help that I forgot my custom made walking shoes, and had to settle for some store bought Adidas ones). So I was wearing my very expensive UofM fedora, and the driver of the aforementioned rickshaw said Go Blue! Turns out his son went there!!!! Small world, huh? So the guy gave me a free ride in his rickshaw, and it was a very nice ride.
was the fact that it was an elderly lady. Forget the fact that we were in Digby Nova Scotia which is essentially the middle of nowhere. In Canada in general you don't see a lot of M fans or alum's in (short of my uncle who is an alum, I don't know any personally).
It wasn't a young man or even an older man who was a fan/alum. This was a 80+ year old woman who not only hade enough pride in UM to voice it, but did so to a 35 year old man (who apparently must look rather menacing since I got searched by airport security everytime I fly anywhere) wearing a rivals gear. She thought I was a rival and gave me a good fist shake and an emphatic GO BLUE! To me that is pure awesome.
If our guys can show as much pride and spunk this year as that old gal did, our season will be a success!
GO BLUE!
To be honest I anticipated running into Michigan fans at the Olympics since we have such a large alumni and fan base. But I never expected to be waiting in a gigantic line to get onto the subway, and running into someone I played broomball with in College at UofM....
THAT was bizarre. Out of thousands and thousands of people, dozens of event locations, to be standing in the same line next to one another. Bizarre.
Good story. I have one that's much worse, though.
My mom was cleaning out the attic last year and told me she found an old photo of me wearing a, *gulp*, Notre Dame Fighting Irish t-shirt. I couldn't have been more than 5 years old in it.
I was horrified. I told her to give me the picture so I could burn it but she refused.
me and my cousin were watching home videos from when we were probably 1 or 2 years old. He was wearing a Michigan State shirt. That made him gag. Luckily he had some Michigan clothes he could quickly throw on to feel less dirty.
a girl from aa
My wife and I were on our honeymoon and were in Ketchikan, Alaska on the day of the 2007 ND game. We skipped the shore excursion and found the nearest bar (home of the happy bears) in order to watch the game. The only other person in the bar watching the game turned out to be an alum of the SNRE. That was neat. A couple of irish fans came in near the end of the third, saw the score, and asked us if we wanted to drink away the year's football sorrows. We may have stumbled back to the ship.