Kicking things off with Corso (“ahh, fuck it”):
I can’t decide which is funnier: Fowler’s shock and disappointment or Herbsteit’s little boy giggling. I’ve watched this clip at least 25 times trying to figure out, and now my stomach hurts. Thanks Coach!
Related bonus material: Corso is a penis, ESPN logo penis sign
Michigan Stadium Card Stunt
We arrived to our seats yesterday to find colored paper ‘cards’ wrapped in plastic, taped to the bleachers with two pieces of wide blue painter’s tape per sign, one sign per seat. So much for “Don’t trash The Big House” and all the green efforts they’ve made over the last few years; the stadium was a total pit as we left yesterday.
Even worse was what the cards were for: a ‘card stunt’ to honor former coach Lloyd Carr’s induction into the college football hall of fame. I’m all for honoring Lloyd, but really, Dave Brandon, we don’t need ‘stunts’ at Michigan Stafium. The stunt required the crowd to be seated (way to fire up he crowd ten minutes before a huge game – genius!) and hold the card in from of our faces, looking through a small slot cut into the card. Pretty lame.
But wait. It got worse. There was a second card stunt, during the National Anthem. Seriously, Dave? Is that an appropriate way to respect the flag on a day we’re honoring our active duty and armed forces veterans? It was embarrassing. I’m far from a traditionalist, but this amateur move certainly did not improve the Michigan Stadium gameday experience, and I hope it never happens again. It reminded me of something from the pregame show at a crappy bowl game; I felt like I was in Up With People.
Michigan Marching Band halftime show = fail
The MMB halftime show for this game tried to use viral Internet videos as their theme, and it made for an incredibly awkward 10 minutes. 95% of the crowd had no idea who AutoTune Antoine is, nor the Double Rainbow guy. The student sections, who usually love MMB attempts at humor, had no reaction at all; the stadium was almost silent throughout the performance. Part of my job is social media marketing, and I didn’t find it amusing at all, so understand the bewildered silence from the crowd that is generally a lot older than I am. Only one of the video boards was working, and I suspect that the other one got wind of what was planned, and didn’t want to be associated with that. Evidence
Anybody seen my flag?
After calling a roughing the kicker penalty against Nebraska when Michigan punted from deep within their own territory, the referee forgot to pick up his flag, and it remained on the field for several plays as Michigan moved upfield. We waited anxiously for him to make a penalty call, and, sure enough, a few plays later, he reached fruitlessly, reached further, and then even further. After a while, he figured out that he didn’t have it, and a bit later, he realized that the backup official on the sideline had picked it up. An injury timeout a few plays later gave him the chance to make the long walk to reclaim his flag, which elicited a large cheer from the crowd, many of whom had been laughing for several minutes as the comedy unfolded. A grin crossed his face as he turned back to walk towards the line of scrimmage.
Dominic Raiola, helping kids expand the vocabularies
Former Huskers and current Detroit Lions Dominic Raiola and Ndamukong Suh were on the Nebraska sideline right in front of us, leading to calls of “suuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh” from Michigan and Nebraska fans alike. Suh turned around to show his appreciation and made the arms-crossed symbol that drives Huskers fan wild. Some guy in about the fifth row shouted something at them, and Raiola suddenly looked angry, started pointing at the crowd, repeatedly yelling “Fuck You!” at the guy who said something. This is not new behavior for Raiola, but I don’t get why he’d act like that while watching a college football game; walking off the field after an intense NFL game, I can see having an emotional reaction there, but during the first quarter of a college football game that you’re just watching? Stay classy, Dom, stay classy.
