Michigan vs. UConn: Reliving An Insider's Saturday at Michigan Stadium

Fandom is an irrational endeavor. It demands sacrifice for a meaningless cause, and it requires an annual trip to the school’s sacred ground under threat of intemperate weather and the kinds of embarrassing losses that are almost derogatory to your sense of self-worth and esteem. If not for a random quirk of circumstance, you might not even be a fan of your particular team at all.

But the reason why I found myself at Michigan Stadium on Saturday is nostalgia. As always, Mad Men has the perfect angle on the situation. This quote comes from my favorite episode, "The Wheel": nostalgia is a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. Our technological devices let us travel the way a child travels: around and around and back home again to a place where we know we are loved. Nostalgia is how I will always remember the home opener against Connecticut.

Renovations

There was some skepticism amongst fans when the renovations were announced, but the new brick façade adds extra integrity to the stadium. Its architecture is so classical that it immediately blends in with the rest of the building. Unfortunately, I got to Michigan Stadium a little late; the two A-10 Warthogs from the Selfridge Air National Guard flew directly overhead just as I was entering the tunnel to my seat. I saw the planes emerge from over the scoreboard and pass into the Ann Arbor skyline. Once I was inside the stadium, I reached my seat near the tail end of the introductions and rededication. You can watch the full rededication video here.

Michigan Stadium Sets an Attendance Record

Since its inception America has been a country that has celebrated and valued individualism, but sports is something that has always inspired mass conformity; it beckons you to get lost in the euphoria of victory with nearly 113,090 other fans. You may be witness to greater pyrotechnics if you remain at home in front of your HDTV and surround sound, but the in-stadium experience is the higher ambition.

Denard Robinson Leads The Offense

When Denard Robinson went out of the game momentarily in the third quarter with a small injury, a feeling of tightness coiled through the crowd, and Gardner’s subsequent emergence into the game definitely inspired a quizzical murmur amongst fans. Everybody expected Tate Forcier to play in Robinson’s absence. A full narrative will probably emerge eventually, but in the moment it felt as if Rodriguez had cut ties with the old offense and by extension Forcier.

But Robinson's improvements were definitely not exaggerated; he looked like he was in complete control. Even though he ran a simplified pass offense, Robinson finished with 29 carries for 197 yards on the ground. The only way Connecticut could stop Robinson was to steal his shoes. For my part I’m glad I hedged my bets and bought a Robinson jersey just before the game.

Michigan Wins

The Michigan defense is clearly improved, but there were still opportunities to exploit it. If Zach Frazer had been a little more accurate, then he might have been able to take advantage of these moments. As it is, there were two moments that balanced each other out: a good break—the fumble near the endzone—and a bad break—the juggling 47 yard catch by Michael Smith. I would have been less stunned with that play had Smith dribbled the ball all the way down the field with his feet. But despite the one moment of panic near the beginning of the third quarter relieved by the fumble, Michigan won by a comfortable margin of 30-10.

Beat the Irish

After the victory the players congregated in the corner of the endzone to celebrate with the fans. Rich Rodriguez was allowed to feel a moment of triumph, but sports fans are always restless: as we looked forward to the next game, a chant of “Beat the Irish” began permeating through the crowd. Rich Rod’s work may still be unfinished, but we believed more passionately than ever that what we were chanting was possible.