Hard to believe, with so much family history in Michigan, this was my first time in Ann Arbor. I was very happy when Sportvision asked me to work the opening game of the season at the University of Michigan. It is the biggest stadium in the country holding a capacity of over 109,000. It also has an amazing football program and legacy. I was very excited to finally get the chance to witness this massive stadium known as "The Big House" with my own eyes...
The drive there was somewhat rushed, late in the evening, following my last day at the BACA. On the way up north on I-69 I stopped in at home, for a quick dinner. I then continued the long drive across the state of Michigan and to Ypsilanti, where the hotel was located. The next morning I met up with Eric Miller, a person I had worked with before. The set-up was slow throughout the first day, yet everything came right back to me...
The town of Ann Arbor was happening, like most college towns are, most notably a European-styled strip of fancy restaurants and pubs... We went to a Brewery on our first day for lunch, and to Jimmy Johns on the second day. I found the people there to be very friendly. Yet Ypsilanti was another story, especially when Eric and I dropped in on a grease pit called Abe's. The diner was located in the ghetto, yet we just wanted to pick up some gyros and be gone. In the back corner of the restaurant, was an extremely angry Navajo person, screaming intense profanities into his phone. For the 15 minutes that we awaited for our food, he did not stop his angry rant into his phone, looking for some kind of a fix. It reminded me of my experiences with random hobos and drunkards on the "L" in Chicago. Very sad to see people at such a low. Yet to be fair, the greasy food at Abe's Diner wasn't half-bad.
On game-day, the site of U of M football came to full magnitude. It began around 9am for us, when we parked in the tailgate fields, and got to walk through the fields of morning drunkenness.. It looked like so much fun, and reminded me of the good-times tailgating at IU.
Yet the best site of the day came when I actually got to walk into the stadium, towards the end of the game and witness the full attendance. That day there was a record-setting attendance of 113,000 people. Never have I witnessed so many people at once, sitting in a giant bowl, which truly deserves it's title of the Big House...
The drive home early Sunday morning, was quite enjoyable, on Highway 12, a country road across Michigan. For nearly 50 miles I took in some good Michigan culture, through small towns, farms, rivers, lakes, and so forth... I'd say it was my first taste of the year of the Fall Season. Tomorrow I set off for Iowa, an 8 hour cross-country drive, which I'm very excited for!
The drive there was somewhat rushed, late in the evening, following my last day at the BACA. On the way up north on I-69 I stopped in at home, for a quick dinner. I then continued the long drive across the state of Michigan and to Ypsilanti, where the hotel was located. The next morning I met up with Eric Miller, a person I had worked with before. The set-up was slow throughout the first day, yet everything came right back to me...The town of Ann Arbor was happening, like most college towns are, most notably a European-styled strip of fancy restaurants and pubs... We went to a Brewery on our first day for lunch, and to Jimmy Johns on the second day. I found the people there to be very friendly. Yet Ypsilanti was another story, especially when Eric and I dropped in on a grease pit called Abe's. The diner was located in the ghetto, yet we just wanted to pick up some gyros and be gone. In the back corner of the restaurant, was an extremely angry Navajo person, screaming intense profanities into his phone. For the 15 minutes that we awaited for our food, he did not stop his angry rant into his phone, looking for some kind of a fix. It reminded me of my experiences with random hobos and drunkards on the "L" in Chicago. Very sad to see people at such a low. Yet to be fair, the greasy food at Abe's Diner wasn't half-bad.
On game-day, the site of U of M football came to full magnitude. It began around 9am for us, when we parked in the tailgate fields, and got to walk through the fields of morning drunkenness.. It looked like so much fun, and reminded me of the good-times tailgating at IU.Yet the best site of the day came when I actually got to walk into the stadium, towards the end of the game and witness the full attendance. That day there was a record-setting attendance of 113,000 people. Never have I witnessed so many people at once, sitting in a giant bowl, which truly deserves it's title of the Big House...
The drive home early Sunday morning, was quite enjoyable, on Highway 12, a country road across Michigan. For nearly 50 miles I took in some good Michigan culture, through small towns, farms, rivers, lakes, and so forth... I'd say it was my first taste of the year of the Fall Season. Tomorrow I set off for Iowa, an 8 hour cross-country drive, which I'm very excited for!
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