The Big House - Best Venue to Experience a College Football Game. No arguments.
i've been waiting to see a game in Ann Arbor for 45 years.
Rarely in life does the reality exceed the expectation. Cherish it when it happens. (Kicking their ass right out of the gate certainly helped.)
My hosts gave me their UM parking pass on campus, and I walked down frat/sorority row to the tailgate. The boys in groups, behind the fences, were rowdy, but tame. Lots of good natured trash talking, and lots of girls in boots and skirts. Guess that is a more universal thing now.
Other than "Michigan" sprinkled in a few places, the scoreboard was the only "advertising" in the stadium. Nothing resembling a 360 degree facade with as many words and numbers as it takes to fill the space. Simplicity of design --> compact, but not crowded -- > Not a bad seat in the house (How would I know? I only had 1 seat).
There were a lot of Texas fans there, all over the place. I saw Texas people everywhere I went for 5 days.
The amount of Burnt Orange was masked by the home crowd in Maize. Blue and Orange would have made a great contrast, but Michigan has some smart people. You could clearly see their student section.
The tunnels are at ground level, with the field ~ 50 rows below. Left my seat, walked up 10 rows, through the tunnel, concessions to the right, bathrooms on the left (long lines for mens, no lines for women, WTF?), This is the first game they started selling beer.
Beer line in my area mid 3rd quarter, before they ran out. Every body in line was from Texas.
The little caboose in the white boots ... was a stark contrast to the 7,000 HP Steam Locomotive at The Henry Ford Museum.
1, x. You're just gonna have to take my word. I took her picture with her camera, and she took my picture with mine. Dumb ass!!!
@immamac , you Fucking Rock!!! Tailgate was off the charts. Good time!!! I went to the adjacent Michigan tailgate when I saw the open liquor table in the middle. Hannah was a Michigan 10, (Surly 9, she was with her Michigan boyfriend), tan legs for miles. I tried to pace myself, still had 3 beers and 3 whiskeys, before the game.
Tailgate pig.MP4
Ann Arbor reminded of the Austin I grew up in; everybody was in town for the football game. Texas fans and friendly people everywhere. Met a lot of cuties 😋... and later, their boyfriends and husbands 🙁.
Michigan Stadium in the background, behind the scoreboard.
You know how to get a smile like that after 3 hours of getting your spirit crushed?
Motown Musuem. Already knew the story, just had to see the Icon. (HBO's "Hitsville: The Making of Motown" is a must watch for anybody who likes music.)
More Henry Ford Museum. 1956 Thunderbird, my birth year.
To summarize, visited Michigan*(45 down, 5 to go). got to sing The Eyes of Texas, in The Big House, after crushing the Defending National Champions ; legally acquired 1/2 oz. of "All Gas" Cannabis Flower from The Flower Bowl Dispensary ($21); toured The Henry Ford Museum (kinda like Mecca for Mechanical Engineers), the Motown Museum, not just timeless, great music, but a pivotable piece in the changing cultural fabric of the USA.
* Interesting fact I learned in a bar at 1 am. There is no South Detroit (sorry Steve Perry). South of Detroit is the Detroit River, and Windsor, Canada.