Off-List Item #4: Rush the Field at the Big House

What has 2 thumbs and loves Fitzgerald Toussaint?

I love sports rivalries. 


I talk about the movie Miracle more than any normal human being should. Plus, I'm a Red Sox fan. I'm a UNC fan. And I'm a Michigan fan. As such, the Yankees, Duke and Ohio State rank among my more disliked sports teams; that said, I have many friends who fall on the opposite side of this rivalry, and I like to think it gives our friendship an edge. Spice. Flavor. Okay, now I'm just getting hungry.


Anyway, this past Saturday not only marked the last of my home games as a Michigan student, but arguably the biggest game I've attended yet: Michigan vs. Ohio State, at the Big House. Michigan hadn't beaten OSU since 2003, and on top of that, I had done a LOT of shit talking to my Ohio State friends in the previous weeks. We needed this win.


And we got it! With 114,132 people in attendance, Michigan beat Ohio State 40-34. The Michigan-Notre Dame night game this past September had a vibe I'd never experienced before, but this game definitely topped it...the feeling was just electric. I know that sounds super corny, but it's true. And best of all, there were no overt acts of violence (at least that I saw). Despite the fact that we'd booed and heckled every stranger in scarlet since 8am that morning, overall it was a good-natured, exciting and ridiculously fun experience.


Without a doubt, the most memorable part was after the game ended. From our rows in the high 60s, we saw people moving out onto the field after the game. At first we thought it was just everyone on the team, but then we realized it was everyone. And if you can't rush the field after a win like this, then when can you? So Kate, Renee and I pushed forward...

That's a lot of Wolverines, yo.

I use the term "rush the field" really, REALLY loosely. It was more like a slow trudging down the steps, stopping to high five random strangers, then moving a little more slowly as you tried not to get trampled and/or jammed in the leg by bleachers. The people moving in the opposite direction, trying to get out of the stadium, also really cramped our style.


Finally we made it to the field, where a lot of general revelry occurred. I'm pretty sure just about the second we got down to the field was when the announcer started first suggesting, then asking, then outright demanding that we all remove ourselves from the stadium. We took a ton of pictures first, and laid down on the turf, and I harassed a trombone player for a photograph (the Michigan Marching Band ranks very high on my "things I'm obsessed with" list). The only thing that could have made it better is if Denard himself had set us up a picnic of cold beer and hot dogs on the 50 yard line right after the big win.


I'm sure I'll come back for at least a game next year, and probably (hopefully) many, many years beyond that. But I really don't know if anything could top this. What a truly fantastic way to end a fantastic season. GO BLUE!


Oh, and as a side note: Michigan totally won the Blood Battle too. BOOM.

Friends on the field.