A Journey to the Big House
Against my better judgement, I said yes to my sons Kelly and Bryce when they asked if I wanted to travel to Ann Arbor and see our Washington Huskies play in the Big House. How can you say no to experiencing the best in college football traditions in the biggest of all American football stadiums? I thought about it for a minute and decided I had to go. Was I probably going to pay dearly for hanging out with three 20- and 30-somethings for three days in a great college town? Yeah, no doubt. Was I ever going to regret it? Absolutely not.
So off we went, catching a Thursday night flight to Chicago (because the airfare was half of going to Detroit – the airlines know you’re coming) and making the 4-hour drive to Ann Arbor. We left Bryce to plan the whole thing; I helped by finding a deal on a room. He even figured we could get in a round of golf on Friday morning. When we got off the plane in Chicago, however, we collectively realized that was probably not going to happen – it was already 11:30 and we still had that drive ahead of us plus another time zone change. That meant getting to bed at 5 am. It was unanimously decided no one was really interested in golf after 3 hours sleep. Besides we had plenty of exploring to do.
We were up by 11 am on Friday and immediately headed downtown for breakfast. After a round of Bloody Mary’s at the sidewalk café of Knights Steakhouse, we paraded down Liberty St and around the corner to Sava’s for breakfast. The two block walk was filled with greeting other Husky fans in their finest purple regalia and having lots of fun with the friendly Wolverine faithful, who were extraordinarily welcoming. A wonderful brunch of chorizo hash, big challah french toast and smoked bacon was accompanied by a constant flow of mimosas and yes, much-needed coffee.
With the advice of our now Wolverine friends, from Sava’s we headed to Dominick’s, a local hangout full of history, energy and atmosphere just across the street from the University’s Law Quadrangle. Along the way we also run across a fine piece of modern architecture, the Ross School of Business. What an engaging, well done piece of exterior work. It’s beautifully divided with well thought out spaces, and the gorgeous oak tree on the corner provides a great contrasting touch.
We reach Dominick’s and are immediately led to consider ordering a “Constant Buzz.” But we’ve been forewarned about this infamous 50 oz. concoction of Tequila, Vodka, Rum, Gin and Triple Sec, strawberries, lime juice, and pineapple. Having to function about town at least until near midnight, we opt for something less lethal and equally iconic, Dominick’s Sangria. We are told it is second to none. We aren’t necessarily big Sangria drinkers, but when in Rome… so, Kelly and I order a half gallon while Bryce and his pal Matt stick with local beers. In truth, we have to admit the Sangria is pretty good, and the atmosphere of the back open patio is totally cool. Dominick’s is an old repurposed house, so it’s full of nooks and crannies, old wood, scads of memorabilia everywhere and an outdoor area that’s really a large back yard with various-sized tables scattered about among a porch, a lawn, patios and a few well-placed trees. This is a U of M institution, so if you’re ever here this is a must stop.
Dominick’s is followed by roughly a 12 block walk to The Grotto, another long-time Ann Arbor watering hole. We are supposed to meet my new boss here around 4 pm, so I warn the boys we have to at least be able to introduce ourselves without slobbering. After that, we can do whatever we want; just don’t immediately embarrass dad. There’ll be plenty of time for that later. We wander around town a little and eventually get there. My boss, Hal, shows up a few minutes after we do, but we’ve already hooked up with a Husky Dad and his lovely daughter, to whom the boys immediately take a liking. It’s a college town, and so there’s no shortage of cute and beautiful women of all ages to enjoy. Since Hal has invited us to his tailgate Saturday, we also invite our fellow Huskies to join us there. I then head off to socialize with Hal, his lovely wife Kim and their friends while the boys continue trying to impress the eligible young lady.
We end up whiling away several hours there as I have a great time meeting and talking with Hal, Kim and their friends Kevin, Debbie, Ryan and others. It makes me feel even better about my decision a couple months before to join Hal at Raisbeck Engineering. I think this is going to be a good thing. Then someone, I think Kevin, clues me in to a dangerous place a block or so up the road – a martini specialty house ominously named the Black Pearl. I can’t resist, so with the boys we head for the Pearl and a Vesper martini which, I might add, they do very well. By this time its heading towards (or is it past?) eleven o’clock and I’m feeling no pain. Bryce, as he always seems primed to do, tells me I need to try some nicotine chew pouch. I trust him, so hey, what could go wrong? It takes all of about five minutes for that thing to do its dirty deed and hit the coordination of my locomotion like a ton of bricks. Pretty soon, I’m at the mercy of my two boys to help me back to the car while Matt, our some time ago designated driver, chauffeurs us back to our room and seven hours of bliss before we attempt to do this all over again.
Saturday dawns with sun and some wind. Like yesterday, it will be mid-80s with a touch of that typical mid-west humidity. We’re all pretty rough around the edges and in need of water, a little hair of the dog and a good breakfast. So we head to town and, at Hal’s advice, park on a neighborhood side street a few blocks north of the stadium. Then we hoof it back to downtown for breakfast. By the time we get to Knights Steakhouse its essentially lunchtime. Mixed with Husky and Wolverine fans, we sit and watch our respective rivals, Oregon and Ohio State, bludgeon each other on TV. Man, it just seems like we Dawgs and Wolvs have a lot in common. Michigan fans cheer when Oregon scores; we cheer when OSU scores. To our cheers the room fills with WTH? looks of puzzlement until we explain we HATE Oregon. Then they laugh. We compare notes about how bad Oregon and OSU fans are, and that fuels the fire. In the end, Michigan fans get satisfaction when Oregon prevails, 35-28.
It’s getting on to four o’clock now, about the time we are allowed to appear at Hal’s tailgate, so we head that way. We run across numerous fans already hard at it in their yards and on their porches, and the number of homes painted in the Michigan colors of Blue and Maize (don’t ever say gold or yellow) is an indicator of the dedication to the “Go Blue” that permeates this town.
We make the tailgate on the grass grounds of Pioneer High School southwest of the stadium and are immediately welcomed by half the people there. Hal and Kim lead us around to food and drink. We offer our 24-pack of Coors and our half dozen quarts of Pedialyte (if you’re an athlete or a serious imbiber you’ll know what that means) that we’ve hucked all the way from the Walgreen’s on State Street. A stout gentleman about my age strikes up a conversation with us. We begin talking football, and soon he’s telling us stories from his various experiences as an offensive coordinator at places like Oregon, UCLA, California, Boise State, Auburn and yes, Michigan. I introduce myself and he reciprocates, “Al Borges,” he says. I put two and two together and realize I know his name from his coaching days in the Pac-10. Auburn coach Pat Dye once called him one of the best offensive coordinators he had ever seen. That’s high praise from a Hall of Fame head coach. Al actually has to leave early to join the radio broadcast for some pre-game commentary. Hal and Kim’s golden retrievers, Ollie and Oslo, are also there. Three BBQs are spilling out chicken shish kabobs, mini cheeseburger patties, brats and more. There’s plenty to eat.
Seven pm comes around and it’s finally time to think about rolling up the carpet and heading to the game. Bryce strategically stuffs a couple of Coors in his shorts, we grab a few more kabobs and head out. The crowds are huge. And why not. After all, this is the largest stadium in America. What did we expect? Yellow, I mean Maize, is everywhere. At the gate we run into a 5′ 4″, 95 lb female security staff sergeant with an attitude and mouth to match. She begins with an insult then tells us to take off our hats and undo our (mine anyway) long-sleeved pullovers from around our waist with a “real guys don’t wear stuff like that” challenge. I’m inclined to respond with a nastier insult in return, but think better of it. From a people perspective, she’s pretty much the only low-light of this trip.
Bryce has successfully smuggled his beer, so it’s off to find our seats in time to witness the Washington guest of honor, former AD Mike Lude and grandfather to Bryce’s good friend Mike Nelson, take part in the coin toss. Mike N. is on the field to take pictures while his grandfather, all of 99 years old, walks to midfield.
Pre-game ceremonies over, a crescendo of all 108,000 Michigan fans waves through the stadium as the Wolverines take the field. On this 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, an American flag covers the entire field as the Goodyear blimp hovers motionlessly overhead and a Navy F-16 Hornet executes a low level pass over the stadium with its afterburners on.
While the game is nothing to write home about for Washington fans, the fan experience in the Big House is unlike just about any other. During TV timeouts classic rock tunes blare from the loudspeakers and the stadium rocks with fans singing along! They know every word and sing so in unison it’s possible to understand all 100,000+ singing the lyrics. Really, really fun!
At halftime a special ceremony commemorating the heroes of 9/11 is performed completely on field by the Michigan band, drill and cheer squads. A truly excellent and inspiring show.
Kelly and Bryce both said more than once if they were ever to go back to school, they would come to Michigan. Even though, when we asked about the winters, an alum said, “They’re bullshit.” They both said the town and the people were so fantastic they would come here in a heartbeat. They also said from now on, unless Michigan was playing Washington, they were rooting for the Wolverines.
I have to agree. This is a fantastic college experience for a football game. The town, it’s people and the Michigan fans are wonderful. We were treated with respect and had a lot of fun interacting with them. Why can’t other college fan bases behave like this? It’s better for everyone. We want to come back.
