Michigan-Ohio State was one of those games that I circled at the beginning of the season as a likely Gameday game. Not only does the Big 10 always seem to come down to the winner of this game, but Kirk Herbstreit wouldn't allow the show to go anywhere else. I looked forward to this as an opportunity to not only see the Michigan Campus, but absorb the rivalry game firsthand from inside The Big House.
I flew into Detroit on Friday and took care of the usual errands - picking up a rental car, checking into my hotel, and buying the necessary supplies. I got up at 5:30 AM on Saturday knowing that the set would be packed. Sure enough, I got there before 7:00 to find myself deep in the line. They were also being Nazis about signs and poles, so I had to set up behind the bleachers around the set. Regardless, I was still able to get a decent amount of TV time, so that part of the trip was a success.
My next challenge was to find a cheap ticket to the game. I saw lots of hands raised, so I was really nervous about getting one. After negotiating with a couple of scalpers, I eventually worked a guy down to $150 and bought the ticket. I got inside the stadium midway through the first quarter because anytime you have over 100,000 people going to the same place, you're not going to go anywhere fast.
The stadium was not quite what I expected. The structure isn't nearly as big as the SEC stadiums I have seen. Instead of upper decks, luxury boxes, and concourses, it was one solid mass of people. The seats were so small that I couldn't fit in mine without turning (and I'm 5'6", 155). Despite that and the weather, it was a great experience going to that game.
One difference I noticed is the respect those two fan bases have for their bands. For the SEC schools (with the exception of LSU), the band is just there to make noise. No one really cheers for their band at halftime or marches behind them on the way to the stadium before the game. I was a little disappointed that the OSU band didn't "Dot the I" at halftime, but I guess that's reserved for home games.
The game itself was quite boring with Michigan unable to do anything on offense. You can blame some of that on the weather (35 deg and rainy), but several of the passes that Mario Manningham dropped were inexcusable. While I always prefer Michigan in this rivalry, I also knew that it would help my cause for Ohio State to finish the regular season with one loss. More one-loss teams means more controversy and website hits. Now, where am I going next week?
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