Come to the Altar Again, All Ye True (Blue) Believers
It is September 4. Once again Michigan fans are primed for great college football. Once again, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame are the opening opponent. And once again, the Irish have “cheated” by squeezing in a game before the Michigan game. But Kansas didn’t give Jarious Jackson and company much more than a scrimmage as the Irish romped. Remembering last year’s victory over the Wolverines and high off their win (they thought it was Kansas STATE), the Irish invade the largest football arena in the land over-confident.
One hundred and twelve thousand screaming fans stand in anticipation to see who will be the starting QB for Michigan. But the fans’ screaming turn to unmitigated joy as Michigan returns the kick-off 99 yards for a TD! Jackson can’t get his plays called as Michigan fans, rabid with excitement, keep screaming. The Irish may have won in South Bend last year, but this is OUR house! Three and out!
By the time Tom Brady takes the first snap, Michigan leads 7-0 and the fans are in a frenzy. Notre Dame expects Michigan to use their huge front line and the A-Train so they stack up against the run on the first play. But Brady, using fifth year senior experience, see the stack and audibles a pass to Marcus Knight. Seventy-seven yards later, it is 14-0 Michigan and the Woverines never look back.
DO YOU BELIEVE?
A week later a few Owls fly into Ann Arbor. The stadium is full again and the Wolverines celebrate the game like a wedding – they throw Rice. Brady starts, but Henson plays most of the game as Michigan rolls by 35. You can image the plays – Thomas gains 200; Brady and Henson combine for 250 yards passing; and Henson even boots a 65 yard punt! Michigan is now 2-0. Time for some more revenge.
DO YOU BELIEVE?
September 18. A night game. In the Carrier Dome. Doesn’t Carrier make air conditioners? Then why is the dome so hot tonight? No efforts to double up Michigan with Central Michigan in ticket sales can keep the Michigan faithful from tossing in some blue among the sea of Orange. The Chippewas even put a scare into the Orangemen the week before.
There is no Donovan McNabb to save the Syracuse team this year. Their attempt at rebuilding fails to bring the bricks. Michigan sees them as a house of straw. Once again, Michigan goes to the air – and huffs and puffs – and down comes Syracuse. Once again, Brady starts and Henson mops up. Brady give Michigan the lead – Henson gives Michigan the large margin of victory. Michigan is 3-0. Even Sports Illustrated elevates them to the top 10.
DO YOU BELIEVE?
It is always tough to visit the County Stadium in Wisconsin. It is normally cold and the fans are rabid. This time it isn’t cold. But when Wolverines and Badgers meet on that field, it is two mean cousins who will tear at each other for four quarters.
Ron Dayne is relentless. With a veteran OL, he plugs and plows his way down the field. Michigan counters with AT and the veteran passing of Tom Brady. This is a war. This is a slugfest. One team scores and the other answers. But by the fourth quarter, the experience of Michigan’s general begins to shine while the lack of experience at QB for the badgers leads to critical erros. When the gun sounds, it is Michigan still standing with a 28-27 victory. 4-0
DO YOU BELIEVE?
It is October. The leaves are changing. Fall and football are back in the air in Ann Arbor. And who should “Brees” into town but that nemesis, Purdue. Memories don’t have to go back to the seventies to remember when a favored Michigan team was taken down by the spoilermakers. Purdue has the air game. They have the offense to score. But they can’t stop Michigan’s OL and AT. The Michigan running game takes apart the Boilermakers time and time again. And just when they seem to have Michigan stopped, Brady connects with a speedy receiver: now Knight, now Terrell, now Johnson and Walker – dash away, dash away, dash away all for TDs. The nation sits up and takes notice. Michigan is 5-0 and has victories over 3 ranked teams.
DO YOU BELIEVE?
East Lansing. Green and White. The forsaken siblings. Michigan State is aiming for this game. They want Michigan. They want a bowl and Michigan is in the way. A huge early upset over Oregon and a surprise victory over the disappointing Fighting Irish has left the Spartans undefeated – can you believe it? (Well Eastern Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa sure aren’t going to challenge them.) They are home, so the Spartans are cocky and confident. Michigan is calm and steady – veterans under pressure.
Somewhere along the Cedar River, trees are dropping their leaves into the stream. Somewhere bands are playing. Somewhere passes are dropping. Somewhere the bands are playing – the Victors. Michigan State can’t hang onto the ball. Costly turnovers and another workman like performance by – Aaron Shea! – bring victory number 6 to the Michigan team. Confidence is growing to match the talent. Brady and Henson are getting to share a lot of time. Brady is the Master, Henson, the pupil. The result is glorious.
DO YOU BELIEVE?
Having made it to 6-0, it is inevitable that Michigan moves to 9-0. Illinois offers less challenge to Michigan than they did to the Spartans. Michigan rolls 38-0.
Indiana has Randall El, but little else. They score, but can’t keep up with the Michigan juggernaut. The Wolverines roll again, 42-17.
Northwestern is Northwestern again. No Gary Barnett – he is losing game in Colorado now. No offense. No defense. These Wildcats have been declawed and sent to the litterbox. Michigan rolls for the third straight week. Henson gets the start and proves his mettle. Michigan is 9-0, healthy, and headed to happy Valley. The Grand Finale comes in two parts.
DO YOU BELIEVE??
The Nittany Lions have plowed through their season, beefing up on easy opponents like Akron, Iowa, and Pittsburgh. A huge opening game victory over Arizona left them in the driver’s seat for a super season. A follow-up win over highly touted Miami, FL moved them to the #3 ranking in the country where they stayed until – Ohio State upset (if you can call it that) JoePa and company 19-17. One loss. Now the Lions need help. They must beat Michigan and Michigan must beat Ohio State….
Michigan rolls into town through the snow. The stadium is filled with 90,000+ fans and 100,000+ snowballs. The old man paces the sideline. The last time Michigan visited here, they handed him the worst defeat in his career. He wants revenge – but he won’t say it.
Oh, the skies are gray and the air is cold. It is a day for hopes to be shattered, a day for dreams to end. It is a day that fans dread when their hopes and lives ride with their team, heart and soul.
Two teams muscle each other all day. No one can score. The defenses hit like snowplows. The running backs fall like flakes from the sky. The game is late. It is 0-0. And then the clouds break. And as they do, a kid becomes a man. Scrambling free of a sure sack, Hanson lofts a 43 yard pass to the corner of the end zone where Terrell dives towards the snow bank.
The sun shines bright and yellow. The skies turn blue. There is no joy for Happy Valley, for they are Mudville. Michigan has won again, 7-0. We are 10-0. WE are 10-0.
DO YOU BELIEVE?? Say yes. You must say yes.
November 20. THE Game. Always THE game. Bo and Woody. Big Ten Championships. National Championships. Now we have the Game of the Week. Maybe of the year. Ohio State, undefeated with impressive wins over Miami, UCLA, Wisconsin, and Penn State, looks for their fifth win over a ranked opponent. The Buckeyes are 11-0. Michigan is 10-0. Ohio State is ranked #2 in the country. Michigan is #3 after their win over Penn State. Only Florida State is higher.
Words cannot explain the emotion of this day. You sit bundled in your seat, the cold breeze trying to cut through you. Your hat and coat are blue. They match your lips. You shake and tremble, but not from the cold. The anticipation of this, the greatest event in college football, fills you with excitement, joy, fear, and a million other emotions. Can they do it again. Can Michigan win like they did just 2 years ago?
The game is typical Michigan-Ohio State. It starts slowly. Emotions are high. A few mistakes on each side. No big plays. Feeling each other out. The first quarter ends 0-0.
Ohio State has a running game. They chew the clock. They move relentlessly down the field, only to be stopped by a holding call, a poor execution, a dropped pass.
Michigan runs Shea and AT, AT and Shea. A few short passes to the tight end. Only two long passes the whole first half and they both fall incomplete. The half ends with the Buckeyes up 3-0. You shiver.
The second half starts much the same. The difference is that Michigan seems to be moving the ball better. They made good adjustments at half time. Cooper made none, claiming that “we are doing fine.”
The third quarter ends. TOSU 6, Michigan 0.
The fans are restless. The stadium is quiet. The Buckeyes are confident.
Have you watched the 1985 Michigan-Ohio State game? Have you seen the 77 yard pass from Harbaugh? Shut your eyes. You can see it. Harbaugh is being hit as he releases the ball. It flies straight and true, perfect to its goal. Touchdown! The pass broke Ohio State’s spirit as the #6 Wolverines bested the #12 Buckeyes that year.
Well, shut your eyes again. You can see it again. This time it is Hensen to Knight. This time it is to come from behind. This time, like last, it breaks the spirit of the Buckeyes. They fade in the final 4 minutes as Michigan scores again to win 14-6.
Undefeated. Big Ten Champs. And headed to new Orleans to play FSU.
DO YOU BELIEVE? DO YOU? C’MON, SAY IT! DO YOU BELIEVE!
Belief becomes reality. Affirmations can change tomorrow. You CAN make a difference. BELIEVE in this team. BELIEVE!