Notre Dame: Two Videos

The first video from my trip to South Bend: Dave Brandon on the MMB and amplification. Trust, but verify: The second: Celebration in the concourses.

Excelsior

(photo credit: Michigan Daily)

I just don't know what to say. I've never seen a player account for more than 500 yards of total offense for his team outside of a video game. I've never seen a player take a team on his back with such ease. I've never heard a player who had such an amazing stats day say that he had no idea what his stats were, that he's a team player.

It's very simple. We know it's just two games. We know we spent too many words last year thinking that Tate Forcier was the solution to all of Michigan's problems only to find out that he was not. We know that we have learned that September means nothing without October and November. We know that Notre Dame might not be a very good team. We know that we need more evidence and that the next two weeks may not provide very much in the way of evidence. But for now, Denard Robinson feels very special, and this is a feeling that we have not known, perhaps not ever in our lives as Michigan fans.

One game at a time. One play at a time. Fix that which can be fixed. Improve that which can be improved. Everything will spill out from there.

Farewell Mr. Kramer

Jerry Green did this about a million times better than I ever could, but I wanted to share my Ron Kramer story.

Last year, my college roommate and longtime Michigan football seatmate Dave talked me into going to a local card show because Al "Ox" Wistert was signing and so was Ron Kramer, meaning two of Michigan's retired numbers would be there, and well, they're both older and we don't know how much longer they'll be around.  So we go to the Livonia Elks club, and we wait in line, and we get a chance to talk to Mr. Wistert, and we then make our way down to Ron Kramer.  He's wearing a cowboy hat, shooting the breeze with the gentleman sitting next to him, signing autographs with his huge hands, and being just an overall good guy.  So Dave says "Mr. Kramer, would it be possible for us to get a picture with you?" and instantly Kramer says "Go f*ck yourself."  Dave turns as white as a ghost, I don't know what to do and then Kramer just bursts into the biggest smile and starts laughing his ass off and says "That was hilarious!  You made my day kid."  Dave and I got our picture and a story that we will never forget about a Michigan legend.

Thank you Ron for everything you did for the Maize and Blue and thank you for being a man who loved every second he was here on this earth.

Damn Lies: Connecticut

[Author's note: I'm going to try this year, in the vein of statistical analysis, to try and find things that struck my from the Michigan box score after each game. However, because I do not have as much time as I used to to write meaningful things, this analysis will be limited to 120 seconds of looking at the box score and attempting to find something. Sometimes it will build off something that struck me while watching the game, other times it will just be something that stands out. My impressions could be wholly and completely incorrect, my conclusions could be completely wrong, but this is why I am calling this feature "Damn Lies", because well, we're looking at statistics.]

1). Michigan was 15 for 19 on third down, and 1 for 2 on fourth down yesterday.

Michigan needed an average of six yards yesterday on those 19 third downs. Their average game on those third downs was 7.3 yards. Of the 14 conversions, Denard Robinson ran for 7 of them himself, and passed for six of them. Michael Shaw's two yard run in the first quarter was the only third down conversion for which Denard was not partially or wholly responsible. More amazingly, of the four failed third down conversions, none were the result of an incomplete pass. Which is why Michigan likely only needed to punt once.

2). Michigan had drives of 96 yards (5:57), 77 yards (2:35), 75 yards (8:05), 96 yards (4:22) and 51 yards (7:59).

If you're convinced that Rich Rodriguez's up-tempo style does not protect leads (or by extension, the defense), look at those drive totals. While Michigan did have some short drives, Michigan ate up the clock with a long early TD drive, a long TD drive to start the third quarter, and a long drive late that came up short, but left Connecticut without much time to do anything.

3). Denard Robinson targeted 8 different players yesterday, but a running back scored the only receiving touchdown of the day.

I thought that Stonum and Roundtree came up on the short end of the stick yesterday, and I was partially right, Roundtree was targeted once, the first play of the second half, and lost one yard on his catch. Stonum actually caught five balls, so my bad on that one.

[Author's addition (Monday): So, missed this initially, but Roundtree was hurt during the game, which would further explain this. Sorry Shaft!]

4). The officials called a total of three penalties in the game. Two false starts on the Connecticut offense, one personal foul on the Michigan offense.

I am not saying this is the most penalty free game I have ever seen, but I would be hard pressed to remember a game where there was a gap between penalties from the second drive of the game to the final drive of the game. Whether this was an effect of coaching, officiating, or a combination thereof remains to be seen.

5). Denard Robinson was 19 of 22 passing yesterday, after being 14 of 31 passing...for all of 2009.

Robinson's Quarterback Rating was 188% higher than his average QB rating for all of last season. More impressively, his 197 yards are 56.12% of his rushing total from last season. I have no idea what this means, it's just what it is.

The First Heroes

This past winter, I read a book by Craig Nelson entitled The First Heroes. I had picked it up because Geoff suggested Nelson's book Rocket Men to me, which was essentially a biography of the Apollo project, and always one to go on the premise when you find a history writer you like, read all of his stuff, I read his Thomas Paine biography (which is really bringing this full circle) and then First Heroes.

The First Heroes is the story of the Doolittle Raid and more importantly, the story of the Doolittle Raiders themselves. In the book, Nelson makes the case, like so many World War II histories, that these were essentially ordinary men placed in extraordinary circumstances and that the stories that came from the Doolittle Raid were just that, extraordinary circumstances.

The B-25 Mitchell bomber that flew over Michigan Stadium Saturday as a part of the rededication ceremonies was a similar model to the one flown over Tokyo by the Doolittle Raiders. The Doolittle Raid was an audacious plan by an unconventional man who felt a strong sense that, in the wake of Pearl Harbor, America had to do something to strike at the heart of the Empire of Japan, so what better than to design a crazy, shouldn't work on paper, never been tested plan that would break the Japanese of their long-held belief of invincibility, and boost American morale...

If it worked.

Doolittle knew that there was a huge chance that for all of the planning, all of the training, the raid still had a very small chance of success. Even if the planes were successful in their mission, there was still no guarantee that any of them would come home. Doolittle himself loved to point out that the raid only meant something in retrospect, that because of what happened after the Raid, including the Japanese decision to attack Midway and the decisive American victory there. Most of the Raiders themselves would not even know what the raid meant for many months afterward because of the nature of what happened to their planes after the mission.

Which brings us to a football game.

Rich Rodriguez may not count Jimmy Doolittle among his heroes, but it would not surprise me if he did. Doolittle was an innovator, someone who saw possibilities born of necessity, who met with resistance among the traditionalists who could not see what he was seeing, who would get in trouble just to show his bosses he was right, and who was willing to take risks where others worried about their career track. Doolittle's development of instrument flying was to give the pilot complete operational freedom, and his efforts to convince Shell to develop 100 octane aviation fuel allowed planes to run faster, fly longer, and do more. In 1932, he won the three major air racing trophies of the time by flying faster than any one ever had. Most importantly, Doolittle knew that a pilot was only as good as his plane.

And in the spread offense, a coach is only as good as his quarterback.

Denard Robinson is not, even metaphorically, a B-25 Mitchell bomber. He is a quarterback, but he is also an evolutionary improvement, something better than it was because the opposition compelled improvement in the machines given to the planners. In a way, Rich Rodriguez looked at his Michigan teams, and he looked at his quarterback position and what he wanted to do with what he had. Metaphorically, Nick Sheridan was a Brewster F2A Buffalo, Steven Threet was a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. They were equipment he inherited who were designed before the rules changed. He needed something more, and so he went out and got Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson. Tate is a Grumman F6F Hellcat, taking the lessons of battle and applying them, getting something much quicker than its predecessors and effective in getting the job done. But Denard is a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, as fast as anything built to that point, different than anything people had seen. When you watch him, he's more a fork-tailed devil, a dual threat who does things that the opposition has never seen before this point. (By the way, to painfully conclude this metaphor, there is part of me that wants to believe that Devin Gardner is a North American P-51 Mustang, the evolutionary conclusion of the lessons learned, just as fast as the Lightning, but more robust and able to handle a greater variety of missions. Time will tell on that front. For now, this is Denard's day.)

If the lesson of last September is that September means nothing without knowing how October and November will play out, then we cannot get too excited about one game, no matter how good it feels. This is the larger working thesis of several prominent national writers and they are correct. In the end, only time will tell what today meant. Was it the start of something that has been longed for by Michigan fans for the last two seasons? Was it part of a roller coaster ride of good days and bad days which will tease us for weeks with its absence? Was it the high point that marked the beginning of the end of an era? We don't know today, and we cannot know today.

When word of the Doolittle Raid got back to America, it felt good; it was necessary relief and release for a people both stunned and angry at something that happened to them that they never saw coming until they were in the middle of it. But Doolittle himself noted in his autobiography (entitled I Could Never Be So Lucky Again) that it would have been a footnote, a blip, if the war had gone differently; that without planning, preparation, dedication, and no small amount of luck, the Raid would have just been a hill of beans. But with the success of the Raid, America once again believed that it could win, that it may take longer than they thought, but that victory was possible, even against long odds and monomaniacal opposition.

It's one victory. It feels really good in the moment. It may end up meaning nothing, and the next test of our resolve is right over the horizon. But for now, let us believe again that victory is possible, but we cannot presume it will be there. We must earn it.

To begin the world over again

"We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now. The birthday of a new world is at hand."

--Thomas Paine, "Common Sense", 1776

I cannot write anything better than FOOTBALL SEASON IS OVER. FOOTBALL SEASON HAS BEGUN., really few among us could. In the end, what struck me was simply this, every September brings us the chance for renewal. Every September will be someone's first Michigan football season. It may be your first season you cared about the team, it may be your first as a student, it may be your first under any number of different circumstances, but even for someone who has been a lifelong Michigan fan, tomorrow is the first day of another first season. Because, before that first game, every season is your first season, every season holds the promise of what could be. Because hope is born again every September, and hope dies last.

Enjoy tomorrow, and enjoy the season, because, really, what is the alternative?

Geoff's MGoMix 2010

1. Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out

"Dig me out, dig me in / Outta this mess, baby, outta my head" is an apt description of how much of the summer, and the past three years, has gone. We're hoping and pleading for better things, but it's not in our hands.

2. Tegan and Sara - The Con
Yes I'm guilty of this
You should know this
I broke down and wrote you back
Before you had a chance to
Forget forgotten
I am moving past this giving notice

The allegations leveled against the Michigan football program were true - practices ran long by an average of 15 minutes, which rises to the level of a major violation. More embarrassing was the record-keeping fiasco and the grad assistant who lied to NCAA investigators, not to mention the miserable battle with the Freep. Now is the time to start putting the past in the past.

3. The Thermals - I Let It Go
I looked my fear in the eyes!
Looked at the water below!
I knew I could love or live!
I let it go!

There's been a point in 3, maybe 4 of the last 5 seasons where I've had to pull back from how much I put into the Michigan football team, how much I live and die with wins and losses. Losses have traditionally been such a painful thing for this team, and learning how to want them to win so badly without getting too crushed by a defeat has been a difficult process. But that's just it: Wins are so precious and so sweet, and we need to celebrate them that way. Let go of unrealistic expectations and media hype and watch Denard find his passing game or an unheralded Carvin Johnson grab a starting spot as a true freshman. There's joy to be found in that.

4. The Replacements - Can't Hardly Wait

Such a great song. And I can never wait for the season to start. We're just a few days away.

5. Rilo Kiley - With Arms Outstretched
It's sixteen miles
To the promised land
And I promise you, I'm doing the best I can

Everyone involved in this team is doing their damnedest to get to that promised land. The coaching staff's jobs probably depend on making a bowl game, and any kid that's stuck it out is playing for more than just his own pride.

6. Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town
Guess who just got back today?
Them wild-eyed boys that had been away

Mike Martin wrecking fools. Tay Odoms blocking some dude who's got 50 pounds on him. Tate Forcier juking a Notre Dame safety out of his jock and taking it to the house. Denard dropping the snap, picking it up, and scoring a ridiculous 40+ yard TD on his first touch as a college player. Goosebumps.

7. Stars - Take Me To The Riot

I've only watched one Michigan home game on TV since I became a student -- I had enough time to watch the first half of EMU last year before my cousin's wedding, and I just wanted to be there, to here the crash of the helmets and the thud of a good hit.

8. The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
One foot in and one foot back
But it don't pay to live like that
So I cut the ties and I jumped the tracks
For never to return

It feels like this team can never get moving in the right direction, whether it's a great non-conference followed by a disastrous Big Ten season, or an offseason of progress derailed by a key injury, or any of the countless PR contrivoversies. But we're doing our best to make a clean break with all of that, to do the difficult thing and to trust in the future.

9. The Gaslight Anthem - Meet Me By The River's Edge
See I've been here for 28 years.
Pounding sweat beneath these wheels.
We tattooed lines beneath our skin.
No surrender, my Bobby Jean.

NO RETREAT, NO REGRETS.

10. Warren Zevon - Lawyers, Guns and Money
Send lawyers, guns and money
The shit has hit the fan

Barwis will handle THE GUN SHOW, Bill Martin already sent the lawyers in, and David Brandon can take care of the money. But man, it's a deep pile we're standing in.

11. The Pixies - UMass
It's educational!

Such an obvious choice. So unlikely that the MMB does a Pixies tribute. What a waste. (NSWF language)

12. PJ Harvey - Victory

I love the bass line in this song

13. Gnarls Barkley - Going On
And you can stand right there if you want
But I’m going on
And I’m prepared to go it alone
I’m going on

The Puma campaign that used this song as the soundtrack for their World Cup spot was pretty good, but I like the original video better. And my fundamental belief is that Rodriguez didn't forget how to coach and will eventually successful again. I hope it's at Michigan.

14. The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio
I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees

I would like that "swarm of bees" to be half a dozen Michigan helmets and the "I" to be "Terrell Pryor's spleen"

15. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Bad Reputation
An' everyone can say
What they want to say
It never gets better anyway
So why should I care
'Bout a bad reputation anyway

The media story on Rich Rodriguez hasn't varied from the same basic template ever since he decided to leave West Virginia - He turned his back on his home, he's engaged in various shady activities, he's no MICHIGAN MAN. Rodriguez can't do a lot to change opinions on this. He can only coach football. So suit up and get to work.

16. Drive-By Truckers - Never Gonna Change
Mean and strong like liquor.
Mean and strong like fear.
Strong like the people from South Alabama and mean like the people from here.

The DBT's are Alabaman to the core, so no use transplanting this to Michigan, but you want your football team to hit like a truck and run twice as fast, and there's a lot of that toughness in this song.

17. Silversun Pickups - Future Foe Scenarios

The Big Ten has now released their 2011 and 2012 schedules. Now you just have to find a way to beat them.

18. Guided By Voices - Teenage FBI
Someone tell me why I do the things
That I don't wanna do
When you're around me I'm somebody else

Sometimes it really does feel like "Michigan Football" died when Bo did. I know this is ridiculous, and there have been some bright spots, but sometimes you feel like you're watching a different school, one that just can't get it right, but one that has the potential to put it all together.

19. Barenaked Ladies - The Old Apartment

Sometimes the urge to compare the way things are versus the way they were is overwhelming.

20. Josh Ritter - Empty Hearts
Singing don't let me into this year with an empty heart
With an empty heart
Don't let me into this year with an empty heart

Don't let this team go out without a bowl game to reward them for the last few years of disappointment. Get them over the hump and back in the postseason. A win over OSU is probably too much to ask for, but a man can dream...

Like a fiddle

We doubted Dave Brandon. We knew better and yet, we doubted him nevertheless. The storm clouds were gathering, we quaked with fear that all that we cherished, that all we held dear, was being rent asunder.

We said that they were wrong, that they would sell their souls and screw it up.

And it was a smoke screen. It was a head fake and we bought it hook, line, and sinker.

We must trust Dave Brandon. Trust, but verify.

It is wholly possible that Michigan is one of the biggest winners in the Big Ten divisional alignment. I see the downsides, but here's what I see as the upsides for Michigan: You now get a major annual game against Nebraska, a traditional power with over 800 wins and a built in animosity between the 1997 National Championship issue, and the 2005 Alamo Bowl. It will not be an instant rivalry, but it will hit the ground running. A bonus is that Michigan and Nebraska will face off in the game before The Game, at least for 2011.

Michigan State is a divisional rival, meaning that Michigan's two protected rivalries will be preserved. It means that the Michigan/Michigan State game means something beyond bragging rights and the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Also, Michigan State is not the last game of the season. I was genuinely dreading that possibility. They'll now close at Northwestern in 2011 and at Minnesota in 2012.

You now get the annual playing of the Little Brown Jug game against Minnesota, improving that situation from the old schedule where it occurred eight out of every 12 seasons. The Little Brown Jug's history is full and rich and is the essence of the Big Ten Trophy game. This is a very unexpected perk of this division.

An annual game against Iowa, which just feels right. 1939 Heisman winner Nile Kinnick vs. 1940 Heisman winner Tom Harmon. Forest Evashevski and Bump Elliot as Venn overlap!

An annual game against Northwestern, meaning every other year, Michigan plays in Chicago, where it has a ton of alums. Also, the battle of the two biggest university endowments in the Big Ten.

Michigan and Ohio State playing The Game on the last weekend, even if in opposite divisions, with the potential rematch in the championship game if someone [glares at someone] can ever get their act together.

The downsides:

The biggest loss is going from playing Penn State 10 years on, 2 years off to playing Penn State 2 years on, four years off. I hope that the nine conference game potential change in 2015 will help that. Jim Delany even acknowledged that Michigan and Michigan State both "gave up" playing Penn State every year, or almost every year as one of the losses in the new configuration.

No Indiana and Purdue annually, well...Michigan frequently didn't play Indiana every year during the ten team era of the Big Ten, so that's not that surprising (similarly, they were frequently off the schedule in the rotation in the Penn State era of scheduling.) I lament losing Purdue, as that is quickly becoming a heated rivalry, what with wizard hats and such, but they are on the schedule for 2011-12, so, there's that.

No Wisconsin or Illinois annually, well, Wisconsin was also frequently off the schedule in the old ten team era. Plus, we'll still, hopefully, play them in hockey every year with the Big Ten's effort to make the CCHA and WCHA Big Ten teams play one another.

As for Illinois, I am sure they are bummed as they consider Michigan one of their arch rivals, but again, each of the five teams Michigan does not face every year previously rotated off the schedule at some point.

So yes, there are down sides, but I think the upside is better for Michigan.

A couple of other notes. Jim Delany says that he "doesn't do trial balloons." I am pretty sure that he believes that, but consider, the last three weeks of the run up to college football, pretty much since after Michigan went to Seattle, have been discussions about the Big Ten's divisional alignment, and then about possibly moving "The Game". It has kept the Big Ten in the media spotlight for the last three weeks, and now tomorrow night Ohio State and Marshall play on the Big Ten Network. This is about building the brand. Similarly, Jim Delany targeted hopefully 90 days from now, or December 1, oh yeah, the week of the Conference Championship games for the Big XII, SEC, and ACC. Jim Delany keeps the Big Ten in the discussion for another week and reminds people that next year, the Big Ten will be playing one of these as well. This is brand management and it's pretty darn slick.

Is it the best of all possible worlds? No. But honestly, if you're a Michigan fan, there's a lot to like here. Now to work with Nebraska to create the "We call it Maize, you call it Corn" Trophy.

Craig's MGoMix 2010

[Author's note: Today, I'll be breaking down the songs that I put on this year’s MGoMix, the "mix tape" that I make for driving to Michigan football games. It should be noted that this is not a hype mix, it’s more in line with Will Ferrell's character in The Other Guys having Little River Band on as they drive to the call, these are songs which reflect where I am right now as a Michigan football fan. As is the rule, until Michigan wins a Big Ten title, no repeat non-Michigan songs from the previous year’s MGoMix. Also, this entire endeavor owes a debt of gratitude to Geoff for giving me the idea to do it in the first place.]

1). "L'estasi dell'oro (The Ecstasy of Gold)" by Ennio Morricone (from the soundtrack to the 1966 film The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.)

Metallica has used this as their introductory music for every concert since 1983, and it is a perfect mood setter for wanting to get something done.  The Red Wings also used it as part of their pre-game video this past season.
In the film, this track plays while Tuco is frantically searching a graveyard for the grave that holds $200,000 in gold coins.  Which is sort of an apt parallel for Michigan fans the last two seasons when you think about it.  Searching through a graveyard, looking for something shiny and beautiful.

2). "Duck and Cover" by Glen Phillips (from his 2005 album Winter Pays for Summer)

I've always been a huge Toad the Wet Sprocket fan since I was in high school, and so when this track from Glen's solo album came up on Pandora, I was immediately drawn to it.  The lyrics are simply amazing and speak deeply to the Michigan fan experience of the last couple of seasons.  To wit:

Everybody here's got a story to tell
Everybody's been through their own hell
There's nothing too special about getting hurt
Getting over it, that takes the work

Or...

Cause one way or another
One way or another
You won't get what you wanted
You'll get enough, for sure
One way or another
Winter pays for the summer
Won't get what you wanted
What you got'll be good

It is my hope that this is pretty much what will happen this season.  You won't get what you wanted, but what you got will be good.

3). "19th Nervous Breakdown" by the Rolling Stones (from the 1966 single "As Tears Go By/19th Nervous Breakdown")

When I was making the mix this year, I had it down to this track or "The Last Time" and I took it to Dave, my college roommate and longtime Michigan football partner in crime to make the decision.  He chose "19th Nervous Breakdown", not simply because it represented how we both feel about the Michigan secondary this season, but also because of the line "Well, nothing I do don't seem to work / It only seems to make the matters worse."  That's the last two seasons in a nutshell.

4). "Don't Let Me Down" by the Beatles (from the 1969 single "Get Back/Don't Let Me Down")

What is an anguished love song/plea from John Lennon to Yoko doing on a college football mix?  Because as a Michigan football fan, you're not rooting for victories, you're rooting not to be disappointed, or to have your heart ripped out in memorable fashion.  "Don't let me down" is the perfect sentiment for this.  It's trust, but verify, at its finest.

5). "Don't Let Go" by Weezer (from the band's 2001 album Weezer (Green Album)

This is the flip side of the "Don't Let Me Down" coin, not letting go.  It would be so easy to give up right now, wait for another losing season, and a new head coach and say "I never liked him, he didn't feel right."  It would be easy, but it doesn't make you a good fan.  Anyone can do that.  You picked the team for a reason, you don't just get up and leave in the middle of it because it's not going the way it had for so long.  Loyalty is a two-way street.  "Confrontations in my mind / Got me running out of time."

6). "Crossfire" by Brandon Flowers (from his forthcoming 2010 debut solo album Flamingo)
As many of you know, I am a huge fan of the Killers.  So when this rotated in on my Pandora in May 2010, I knew this was going to end up being in this year's MGoMix.  Why?
"And we're caught up in the crossfire / of heaven and hell / And were searching for shelter."  Yep, Michigan football for the last two years.

7). "Radiation Vibe" by Fountains of Wayne (from the band's 1996 self-titled album)

I was going to try and connect this to the "I went to Pittsburgh / and joined a pro team / What a bad dream / I broke a knee." but the reality is, I just really like this song and wanted to include it in the mix.  It's that simple.

8). "Reptilia" by The Strokes (from the band's 2003 album Room on Fire.)

This is where we enter the "need to get pumped" section of the MGoMix.  It's upbeat, it's guitar driven, and "I said please don't slow me down / If I'm going too fast / You're in a strange part of our town...", well, that's the Rodriguez offense for you...

9). "Let's Go Blue" by the Michigan Marching Band (from the 1993 album A Saturday Tradition)

Think of it as an interlude, a little intermission before moving on to other things.  Worth noting, "Joe Carl, a tuba player from 1973 to 1976, and Albert Ahronheim, a drum major from 1972 to 1974. It originated as a cheer at Michigan hockey games before moving to the Big House."  I can't verify this with a second source, but it sounds reasonable to me.

10). "Not Afraid" by Eminem (from his 2010 album Recovery)

I am fully and wholly expecting this will show up in a Michigan hype video for 2010, official or otherwise.  Let's run down why:

Chorus that is essentially defiant and calls for a return to previous glory?  Check.
Michigan born and raised product?  Check.
#1 song at some point during 2010? Check.

So yeah, I'm totally going cliche here and I know it.

We'll walk this road together, through the storm
Whatever weather, cold or warm
Just lettin you know that, you're not alone
Holla if you feel like you've been down the same road (same road)

11). “Time Won't Let Me Go" by The Bravery (from their 2007 album The Sun and the Moon)

"Whenever I look back / On the best days of my life / I think I saw them all on T.V."
If I had to figure out a way to describe so much of my early Michigan fandom, this would be it.  Desmond's catch against Notre Dame in 1991, "Hello Heisman", Biakabutuka's 313 yards against Ohio State, Woodson's interception against Michigan State, Navarre's rumble against Minnesota, the Trick Play in Champaign...all of them on TV.  (Yes, I realize that I have also been there for many great moments, Braylonfest, The comeback against Wisconsin, Forcier to Matthews, but it's just still what stuck with me.)

"I am so homesick now for / Someone that I never knew / I am so homesick now for / Someplace I will never be."
(aka The Carr Years)

12). “Show Me What I'm Looking For” by Carolina Liar (from the band’s 2008 album Coming to Terms)

Of any song on here, I think the lyrics for this track best represent Michigan football 2008-09:

Don't let go / I've wanted this far too long / Mistakes become regrets / I've learned to love abuse / Please show me what I'm looking for

Save me, I'm lost / Oh lord, I've been waiting for you / I'll pay any cost / Save me from being confused / Show me what I'm looking for / Show me what I'm looking for…oh lord.

13). “Twilight Zone” by CSS (from the 2009 Lincoln ad campaign.)

Somewhere in a lonely hotel room there's a guy starting to realize that eternal fate has turned its back on him. It's 2 AM.
And then discussing the Michigan fan civil war:

Help, I'm stepping into the Twilight Zone
The place is a mad-house, feels like being cloned
My beacon's been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go now that I've gone too far


Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone

14). “Singular Girl” by Old 97s (a bonus track from the band's 2001 album Satellite Rides)

You've got the teeth of the hyrda upon you.  I love the T.Rex reference.  Plus, Old 97s is one off from Old 98 and Old 97 is a pretty good year in Michigan football history.  Plus, I frequently used "Murder or a H(e)art Attack" to reference Mike Hart runs during his Michigan tenure.  Oh, also:

"I've been trying to find you / May I remind you, I'm under oath now / I've been trying to see you / 'cause I can see you, want the truth now."

15). “In Hiding” by Pearl Jam (from the band's 1998 album Yield)

It's been about three days now
Since I've been aground
No longer overwhelmed and it seems so simple now
It's funny when things change so much
It's all state of mind

It's all State of Mind.  If you believe that there's something good to be seen, we can find it.  Otherwise, we're just doing to keep seeing the bad things, finding fault, and hating life.

16). "A Better Son/Daughter" by Rilo Kiley (from the band's 2002 album The Execution of All Things)

It's highlights set to a waltz!  It makes sense.  Because sometimes when you're on, you're really fucking on and your friends they sing along, and they love you!   But the lows are so extreme, that the good seems fucking cheap! And it teases you for weeks in its absence!
I know it didn't work out last year, but I still believe this to be true.

17). "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" by Mike and the Mechanics (from the band's 1985 self-titled album.)

OK, so it's a song about a country being over run by a war, civil or otherwise.  Instructions are being giving to someone who is caught in the middle of it.  It's not hopeful, it's practical, and honest.  If I were making a Michigan hype video for this season, it would be to this song (save the fact that you would need to find six minutes of highlights from last season.  Perhaps it's best not to think about it too much...)

Swear allegiance to the flag
Whatever flag they offer
Never hint at what you really feel
Teach the children quietly
For some day sons and daughters
Will rise up and fight while we stood still

The mix then finishes with the Michigan songs run:

18). "Across 110th Street" by J.J. Johnson & His Orchestra
(aka the Michigan Replay theme.  Plus, a bonus Yaphet Kotto reset!)

19). "I Can't Turn You Loose" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)
(aka the Blues Brothers theme, but more importantly, sometimes there is cake.  You need to get a chance to hear master bluesmen practicing their craft.)

20). "The Hoover Street Rag" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)
(yeah, like I couldn't have the HSR on this.  The ragtime arraignment of "The Victors." Worth noting, the 1993 album A Saturday Tradition was picked this year in part because it is the album that my brother-in-law was a member of the band for.)

21). "Temptation" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)
(I have no idea how a standard, made popular by Perry Como, became one of the most beloved songs in the MMB arsenal, but there it is.)

22). "Hawaiian War Chant" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)
(because you can't have one without the other.)

23). "M Fanfare" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)

24). "The Victors" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)
(the standard full version of the Victors.)

25). "The Yellow and Blue" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)
Closing with the alma mater.  Hoorah for the yellow and blue.  Hail! [small fist raise])

So that's it, that's the list, 78 1/2 minutes of mix.  Probably a bit too depressed for it's own good, but who knows?  Comments, concerns, questions, you know where to find me.  Go Blue!

"Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong."

Yeah, so about that trial balloon. Consider that the optimist in me, and a naive one at best.

So, where does that leave us?

Brian has the roundup of everything you need to get caught up to speed on this matter (the Bucknuts piece is very much worth the read), but as I read, my mind wandered and I was struck by this (slightly modified) notion:

"We of the [Big Ten] administration who participated in the decisions on [divisional alignment] acted according to what we thought were the principles and traditions of this [conference]. We made our decisions in light of those values. Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why."

That is a modified version of the opening of former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's 1995 book In Retrospect where he examined the decision making that went on during the Vietnam War in the highest levels of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. What has always struck me about this (and McNamara's later comments in The Fog of War) is that rarely do people who are making decisions think "I am making a terrible decision, but I am going to continue to do so, because I love making terrible decisions." There are reasons, and people believe they are good reasons, and it is sometimes only when it is too late to see the folly.

I guess what makes me sad is that there's no good way to do this, when you think about it:

1). Michigan and Ohio State in the same division

Pro: They would still play at the end of the season. In 9 of the last 13 seasons, it is likely that the outcome of the Game would have decided the division winner.

Con: They would not still play for the right to go to the Rose Bowl/BCS/What have you.

2). Michigan and Ohio State in different divisions, play the last game of the regular season.

Pro: They would still play at the end of the season.

Con: The game might have little to no impact on who plays in the Championship game, and if it does, it sets up a potential rematch the next week, which diminishes the value of the product.

3). Michigan and Ohio State in different divisions, play at some other point in the season.

Pro: Makes a potential Big Ten championship game between Michigan and Ohio State more appealing to television. Con: Ends 75 years of tradition. Diminishes the meaning of "The Game".

So, they'll, of course, do #3, because they'll see the revenue projections and they'll say "We'd be stupid NOT to do this. Look at the money." Meanwhile, a little part of the soul of every Big Ten fan dies. They try to make it better by introducing new rivalries, or convincing you that it's better this way, but you're not stupid, you know better. You know that playing Michigan State on Thanksgiving weekend is not only wrong, but that it actually benefits Michigan State because they actually get their Michigan obsessed existence justified. Ohio State, meanwhile, is playing Penn State or Nebraska in the final game of the season, and it's a good game, and people are interested, but it's not the same. It's like Coca-Cola Classic. Because you no longer have the real thing, you now have to accept the imitation that's close to the original, but just doesn't taste the same.

In other places, there are people who don't get it, who don't understand why this matters, and why we're making such a big deal about it. The rest of college football has changed, the Big Ten should be no different. But please be understanding if some of us feel like something that matters to us is dying. And life will go on, and we'll get through, but we will miss it, and we will be sad when we look back on what once was and what went away because of decision makers who thought they were doing what was in the best interest of the conference. And perhaps down the line some say, Jim Delany, or someone of his ilk, will come back and say "We were wrong, terribly wrong" or something similar, and it won't make us feel better, because it won't bring back what we have lost.

There's still time, there's still a chance, there's still ways to make your voice heard. I encourage you to do what you need to do to make yourself feel like you have made a difference. Even if it doesn't end up making a difference in the end. You'll be like General Winfield Scott Hancock in Gods and Generals, reviewing General Burnside's plan for the assault on Mayre's Heights behind Fredricksburg in 1862 via pontoon boat.

"No, general, we'll meet them head on. And it will be a bloody mess. We'll march up to that hill there, and we'll eat their artillery fire all the way across this field. And when it's over, we'll be able to look at ourselves and say: "We're good soldiers. We did what we were told." If we're not successful, we can say it was a good plan, but there were contingencies. You can go back to your hometown and tell the families of your men they died doing their duty."

"It's a damn trial balloon, Kenny!"

So, this happened.

David Brandon went on the radio this morning and cautioned Michigan football fans that it may be the end of the (football) world as they know it, and they should feel fine. Michigan fans, being Michigan fans, did, well pretty much the exact opposite.

As I stated over at MVictors.com, and will expand upon here, I have a theory, for what it is worth.

Consider whom were dealing with here. David Brandon. The guy who Michigan fans have been resoundingly praising as a savior for the Michigan Athletic Department, a man who exudes strength, leadership, confidence, and charisma from the Athletic Department offices. A guy who spent a long time in the business world and who played football at Michigan during the Ten Year War. He is pretty much the wish list of what Michigan fans, old school, new school, and every school in between, could ask for in an AD. This is why I firmly believe that David Brandon is test marketing this idea, just like he and his leadership team at Domino's test marketed the new Domino's Pizza. He's getting critical feedback on what matters to Michigan fans (and Ohio State fans. As I said, this may be the first thing that Michigan and Ohio State fans have ever agreed upon. Seriously, Michigan fans could say the sky is blue, and Ohio State fans would say that the sky is "OH-IO." But this, this we agree upon. "Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!"). He can then take it back to the other ADs and to Jim Delany and say "Look, this is a dumb idea. Here's WHY it's a dumb idea." He may be "the new guy", but when you're a smart guy, when you do your homework, when you show up with the data, people will listen. They may not agree with you, but they will listen. It's the James Madison theory of committee meetings.

Because it's not just Michigan fans and Ohio State fans who feel this way. This is becoming an MSM thing and it is being picked up by national writers. This is why I am convinced that it's a trial balloon and it's savvy business. This is the worst case scenario for Michigan and Ohio State fans, right? So anything else they come up with will seem better by comparison. But more importantly, there's still time to fix this and to placate the masses by saying "We heard you! The traditions of the Big Ten mean something to our fans and our alumni and we want to do what we can to preserve them."

Notice that no one is rolling out the old chestnuts about how Michigan and Ohio State didn't start playing until the last game of the season since 1935, about how Michigan and Ohio State have both gone to Hawaii in some years, about how the Big Ten Championship game between Michigan and Ohio State would be huge? No, because they know that they won't hold water. Eyeballs are eyeballs, but Michigan and Ohio State is about emotion, it's as close as anything in the Big Ten comes to pure SEC fan insanity (meant in the most respectful and awestruck way possible SEC fans.) On Eight Simple Rules, John Ritter's character Paul said "For Michigan fans, football is a religion. And the Ohio State game is Easter." He was right. It's a religious thing. To do this would be to tell Michigan and Ohio State fans that Easter is now in August and well, get over it.

There is also an additional benefit. With David Brandon discussing this situation in this manner, it frames Michigan in a very positive long-time, big picture light. Michigan may be down at the moment, The Game may not have gone Michigan's way during the last decade, but it still matters. David Brandon is focusing attention right now on Michigan, the brand, Michigan, the all-time winningest program in Division I football history, not Michigan, the 2010 football team, not Michigan, the house divided. Given everything that has happened this week when the focus has been on the 2010 team and how it's been Panic! in the Disco, and fire at the Taco bell, this, to me, feels like a smart CEO protecting his flagship brand by talking about changing it. Plus, in discussing changing it, doesn't it focus on what makes Big Ten football great, focusing on what many consider to be the greatest rivalry in all of North American sports? This is not just Michigan, this is Michigan and Ohio State, the yin and yang of a spiritual battle for the soul of Midwestern football. Blue versus red. The Victors versus Carmen Ohio. Touching the Banner versus Script Ohio. Winged Helmets versus Buckeye stickers and gold pants. Bo vs. Woody. Good versus evil (your side may vary).

What if this is the Big Ten football equivalent of New Coke? What if we're being played exactly like the very smart men in charge of multi-million dollar enterprises want us to be played? What if this is nothing more than a trial balloon?

That is, at least, my hope. Because otherwise, it will be the end of the football world as we know it, and I'll be very sad.

Michigan logos, a primer

The inspiration for this post comes from this post by Greg Dooley at MVictors. (If you don't already check out Greg on a daily basis, you should do so. He's exceptional at what he does.)
I also want to tip my hat to this MGoBoard thread which brought me to this place.

One of the things that has always fascinated me about Michigan is that it has had a variety of logos through the years, and even the Block M has had variations within any given space or time.   When I got the banner seen below for Christmas a couple of years ago, I became even more fascinated by the variations.

So, with this in mind, I am going to post several Michigan logos below, with captions. I will then discuss them below.

Earning your wings

Five thoughts on the contrivoversy* about certain Michigan football players not having the traditional wings on the helmet during fall practices:

1). AP teachers often discuss among themselves the idea that one of the hardest types of students to deal with is the student who has never known failure before. You've made it through to a point where you think that you're invincible, and then you're faced with a challenge where you, despite your talent, do not succeed against an objective standard. At this divergence point, some students will buckle down, redouble their efforts, and figure it out, but others will have a complete meltdown and just start to act out, like it's not worth their time, like that if they can't do it, it's not worth it. So, when faced with a talented student who does not know how to handle the situation in front of them, motivational ploys can be employed. Sometimes is the carrot, sometimes it's the stick; sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

2). This is a classic case of people seeing what the want to see. Some will see it as a great motivational ploy by a coach trying to get the most out of his players. Others will see it as a signal of a desperate coach who has lost his team and is now playing games to try and look like he still knows what he's doing.

3). One thing that confuses me about the haters on this one is, if one of the arguments against Coach Rodriguez is that he doesn't "get" Michigan, he doesn't understand the traditions and the things that mean the most to Michigan fans, wouldn't taking away the wings from a players helmet show that they are something important, something that is earned, not given? Wouldn't this go into the "getting it" side of the ledger?

4). Bill Bradley once said that "Becoming number one is easier than remaining number one." Because behind you is someone talented, someone motivated by the fact that they are being told, through empirical means, that they are not as good as someone else. Some will not rise to the challenge, but others will. In this case, it is entirely possible that we have a quarterback who has been groomed to be a quarterback his whole life who has the academic side of the game down, but is perhaps lacking in the physical tools (allowing for an injury which limited his mobility and development.) On the other side, we have a spectacularly talented player, one who has shown flashes of brilliance, but is exceedingly raw, in part because he has only had limited training on the academic side of the game, and one, who by all accounts, has taken to the training with vigor and earnestness. If that means that #2 is coming up fast on #1, well, maybe #1 needs to think about staying #1 rather than relinquishing it.

5). The season cannot get here soon enough. Seriously.

*-contrivoversy--A word coined by my quiz bowl friend and Red Sox beat writing pal Jon Couture to describe a media invented, fan fueled controversy which really isn't that big a deal in the end.

First MMB Shows of 2010

This is what we know so far:

9/4: Blues Brothers (feat. "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love," "Gimme Some Lovin'," "Minnie the Moocher," "Peter Gunn," "Think," "Shake a Tail Feather," and of course, "Can't Turn You Loose.")

9/11: Assume a repeat of the "Blues Brothers" show at Notre Dame.

9/18: Lady Gaga

No details are known yet, but Ms. Gaga is performing at the Palace on September 4th. Like how Patrick Stewart conducted the MMB while he was in town, perhaps she could stick around and make a weirdly relevant appearance.

Anyway, this is a very strong start to the 2010 season!

Divide and Conquer

When I was in high school, nigh on 15 years ago, I would frequently kill time in class by designing divisional alignments for a Big Ten that would add a twelfth team and thus a championship game. That 12th team was always Notre Dame and I would always end up frustrated that the divisions would never ever seem to work out right.

Fast forward to the Brave New World of Conference Realignment and the one simple fact that on June 11, 2010, the Big Ten welcomed the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as the conference's 12th member. The Big Ten will now fully welcome the cash cow that is a championship game and will need, under NCAA rules, to figure out how to split into divisions to make that happen.

So, what will these divisions look like, and how does the Big Ten try to make the fairest, most logical, most cost effective divisions possible. (Please note: Only football needs to be in divisions. Every other sport can just be one nice big 12 team division.) Below, some thoughts, rocking out to R.E.M.'s Monster to get me back into the old high school mindset.

Before I reinvent the wheel, MaizeandBlueWahoo did some nice ground work on the topic as an MGoBlog diary, covering the classic "East/West" and "North/South" divisions.

One of the fundamental questions the league will need to answer is, what do you want to do about Michigan/Ohio State. As Michigan-centric as that question might seem, the rivalry, even if one sided of late, is still the rivalry, and knowing that it is the centerpiece of much of the tradition of the Big Ten, the rivalry must be preserved. I know that Michigan and Ohio State will not approve any divisional scheme that fails to make sure that The Game is played every year come November and this means you need to look into one of three things (as brilliantly stated and shamelessly stolen from Twitter friend Rebecca Stanek:

1. Michigan and Ohio State are in the same division. They’re guaranteed to play each other every season, but then can never play against each other in the Big Ten Championship game.

2. Michigan and Ohio State are in different divisions. Some years they meet in the Big Ten Championship game.

3. Michigan and Ohio State are in different divisions, but are guaranteed to face each other every year. And if there’s a rematch in the championship game, so be it. This is maybe the best solution, although it’s probably unfair to be locked in to the same team year after year for one of the (few) out-of-division, in-conference games. (It would work better in a 12-team conference than in a 16-team conference, for sure.)

This also applies to other major Big Ten rivalries (as defined by their permanent status in the current Big Ten schedule): Iowa/Minnesota, Minnesota/Wisconsin, Iowa/Wisconsin, Illinois/Northwestern, Illinois/Indiana, Indiana/Purdue, Purdue/Northwestern, Penn State/Ohio State, Michigan/Michigan State, and Michigan State/Penn State. Nebraska should also figure in to this mix and I suspect that Iowa will be the first permanent rival and Wisconsin the second (dropping the Wisconsin/Iowa game as a permanent rival and making a four way quadumverate of hate on the western edge.) Jim Delany stated that rivalries are important, but not all rivalries are created equally.

One of the other issues is, does having two major rivals in the same division diminish the importance of the rivalry if they could not meet in the championship game? I think that divisional rivalries are important. Consider: Texas/Oklahoma, Auburn/Alabama, Florida/Georgia, Florida/Tennessee, Alabama/LSU, Nebraska/Colorado, Kansas/Missouri, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State, North Carolina/Duke, and Virginia/Virginia Tech are all major rivalry games that are/were contained within the same division. The ACC and SEC have a "permanent rival" model for cross-divisional games, and it looks like of the 12 permanent rivalry games, the only ones that "wow" are Florida State/Miami, Auburn/Georgia ("The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry"), Alabama/Tennessee (The Third Saturday in October), NC State/North Carolina (important, but not the NC/Duke game), LSU/Florida. Everything else feels "compelled". So does that mean anything?

Now that we have all of this down, here are some of my proposed notions:

Alternating Alphabetical Triads

One and Three:

Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Nebraska
Northwestern
Ohio State

Two and Four:

Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Penn State
Purdue
Wisconsin

All I did in this one is take the 12 schools by their common name, sort them alphabetically, and divide them into four groups of three. I then took the groups and alternated them, leaving us with the grouping above.

Why is this one compelling? Because it balances the "Big Four" problem (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Nebraska are four of the seven programs in Division I-A with the most all-time victories. Balancing them 2 and 2 is likely important.) It shows that divisions need not be based on geography where football is involved. From a Michigan-centric perspective, it would ensure that Michigan would play for Penn State every year, Michigan State every year, and for the Jug every year (not important to every one, important to me.) The permanent rivals could be:

Michigan-Ohio State
Purdue-Indiana
Minnesota-Iowa
Wisconsin-Nebraska
Michigan State-Northwestern
Penn State-Illinois

I feel a little bit bad about the last two, because they feel compelled (even Wisconsin/Nebraska feels a little forced, but I already dealt with that above.)

Not bad, but can we do better.

Inside/Outside Alphabetical Triads

One and Four:

Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Penn State
Purdue
Wisconsin

Two and Four:

Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Nebraska
Northwestern
Ohio State

This one isn't as good as the model above, in part because it leaves a three/one split for the Big Four. I do think the one advantage is the permanent rivalries feel a little more "real". To wit:

Michigan-Penn State
Michigan State-Indiana
Minnesota-Wisconsin
Nebraska-Iowa
Northwestern-Purdue
Ohio State-Illinois

With the exception of the Michigan-Penn State and Nebraska-Iowa games, each of these games is a trophy game. The Big Ten would probably be pretty happy about Michigan against Ohio State, Nebraska, and Penn State every year. Honestly, of the models, this one is the most favorable to preserving Michigan's rivalries, but the divisions don't feel balanced.

The reality is that Mark Rudner and Mike McComiskey at the Big Ten office probably have dozens of magnet schedule versions of this kind of thing and are consulting with the 12 athletic departments of the conference to figure out the best possible configuration. I wish them well. For now, it's fun to speculate.

Quick note: The Big Ten now breaks readily down into three longitudinal triads:

West:

Iowa
Minnesota
Nebraska
Wisconsin

Central:

Illinois
Indiana
Northwestern
Purdue

East:

Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Penn State

If were a way to guarantee that each of these teams could play each other annually in a two division format, I think everyone would be happy (OK, Nebraska would be happiest, because that east is an absolute nightmare.) (By the way, doing four longitudinal groups of three is even worse, because it's Michigan/Ohio State and Penn State on the far east side.)

One more completely insane one: The Rich/Poor Divisions, based on the school's endowment:

* Michigan - $6.00 billion
* Northwestern - $5.45 billion
* Minnesota - $2.07 billion
* Ohio State - $1.65 billion
* Purdue - $1.46 billion
* Wisconsin - $1.37 billion

* Indiana - $1.23 billion
* Penn State - $1.23 billion
* Nebraska - $1.15 billion
* Illinois - $1.11 billion
* Michigan State - $1.05 billion
* Iowa - $766 million

Permanent rival games:

Michigan-Michigan State
Northwestern-Illinois
Minnesota-Iowa
Ohio State-Penn State
Purdue-Indiana
Wisconsin-Nebraska

Am I crazy, or does that work out pretty darn well?