UMTailgate.com Featured on AnnArbor.com

Thanks to James Dickson of AnnArbor.com (the artist formerly known as the Ann Arbor News) for a great article that appeared online last night and on the cover of the Sunday paper this morning.  We've found ourselves the subject of a newspaper article or two in our tenure as UMTailgate.com, but Dickson's article captured the essence of what we do in a way the others didn't.

And perhaps the ultimate compliment is that AnnArbor.com photographer Angela Cesere took a break from shooting video and photos...and from a diet that does not include meat...to sample the ribs.

Ahhhh UMTailgate.com, converting vegetarians one game at a time.

Trying To Look Forward

So, I've watched Michigan vs. Western Michigan like five times.  Which is to say I've watched the first half like ten times, Denard's run about 20 times, and that perfect pass from Tate to Junior about 25 times.  The importance of that game, at the time it took place, was so paramount.  I can only hope that it becomes the opening act on something amazing... something that shocks the world of college football.  Because that's why we tailgate, that's why I'll be up until 3am tonight starting 12 racks of baby backs, that's why we follow this team with such passion.  We want our expectations exceeded. It's something so rare for a program of our stature, that I can only think of one time that it happened.  But if it ever were to happen again, it's in this season, where our expectations are so low that we are hoping to break even, or to just make a bowl.

But after one game, that's not enough anymore.  We have one game to challenge us in the month of September.  One game that will change everything.  One game in which we find ourselves as the underdog.  One game in which we can truly exceed expectations.  And that game is this Saturday.  If Michigan beats Notre Dame, a team that is as overhyped as it has ever been (and that's saying something), the Wolverines will effectively have three weeks of bliss before going into East Lansing.  They will be ranked.  They will be on the tips of the tongues of every talking head in the business.  They will be 4-0.

It is then that they will then have to live up to new expectations.

Let's enjoy this time, while we are still unsure, while we still have no expectations, while we still have questions.  Was Western just that bad?  Was the way things clicked so well just a fluke?  How will this very young team respond to adversity?

If Michigan loses, will you still be ALL-IN?

Notre Dame brings a portly coach and a fruity quarterback into Ann Arbor, with a supporting cast that is a year older and wiser than the team we faced last year.  We, for all intents and purposes, are a year or two younger and dumber.  If the past wasn't the past, if Notre Dame wasn't returning to glory, and Michigan wasn't coming off of a 3-9 season, Notre Dame on paper, from man to man, is more talented and more experienced.  But on Saturday, Notre Dame is bringing with it the weight of the complete demise of a program, and the weight of Charlie Weis, who will probably never hear his home crowd chant his name.  We'd like to think we've exercised our demons, that the one year was a fluke, that we will get better every week, that Rich Rodriguez's system will work.  And it's because we believe...because we will be behind our team at home, and because our guys are just young enough not to understand the gravity of the matchup and just want to play football...that we are in a better position to win.

To hell with Notre Dame.

F@$% the Irish

​by Tuba

It's confusing to a lot of people, how I can say openly and willingly that I'm a Notre Dame hater. So much so, and much to the chagrin of most at our tailgate, that I loathe them more than Ohio State. There's slight hypocrisy involved considering the uppity nature and high brow fandom that our University has been known to pump out, but I find the Irish intolerable, snobby, pretentious, egomaniacal, smell of their own shit loving, my religion is better than yours claiming, douche bags.

I generally like the Irish as a nationality. They enjoy what I enjoy. Being loud and drinking. They have marvelous poems, songs and limericks and they're a humorous bunch. But not when they're the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. It seems so incredibly contradictory to what I know the Irish to be. First and foremost, the school is founded on the basis of one religion. The Irish, traditionally have two, Catholic and Protestant (just don't bring it up in conversation and most certainly don't order the wrong kind of whiskey!) In order to be fair and not single out Notre Dame for their promotion of homogeny, let me say that I tend to be fanatical about not be fanatical (unless of course its about Michigan football). So to promote one ideology as the best ideology bothers me.

Second, they're a private institution. Private funding equals agendas. Whoa, whoa, whoa you say. Every higher institution, in some way or another is agenda driven. And public schools get plenty of private funding. However, when you get taxpayer dollars involved, the institution immediately becomes a natural part of the community. What?!? the Notre Dame alum exclaims. We're South Bend and South Bend is us. And I say, "Yes, my point exactly."

Frankly, by writing this column I am contradicting the very essence of my hatred for Notre Dame. I am being completely condescending and pretentious. I can't deny this. Sadly, Michigan maintains some of the same attributes that Notre Dame does. A majority of our fan base enjoys a fine Riesling or Chenin Blanc with their Roquefort but alas, we have diversity. We also have our fair share of beer drinkers, whiskey swillers, Boone's Farm lovers and certainly non-believers. But what really gets me, what truly breaks my fricking hump is the contract extension given to Charlie Weis; the absolutely obnoxious handling of their coaching situation after the brief and swift dismissal of Coach Willingham.

Was Tyrone a good coach? Eh, I'm not sure; they only gave him three years. Is Charlie Weis a good coach? Eh, I'm not sure but he's gotten five. Their winning percentages are separated by 5 thousandth of a point. Coach Willingham's best year came with Coach Davie's players. Coach Weis's best years came with Coach Willingham's players. To compare them on this page is futile. Neither are world beaters. But one is rich beyond belief and the other is bouncing around college football (despite the one with the job being the actual man that can physically bounce.) My beef is with the contract extension. I heard it from all directions and from every Notre Dame fan I encountered: Charlie has NFL experience! He made Tom Brady the quarterback he is today! He deserves the 10 year contract!

10 year contract?! Did you just hear the record skip?! They gave Charlie Weis a 10 year fucking contract halfway through his first season with Tyrone Willingham's players. Here's the opening line from the AP article:

SOUTH BEND, Indiana -- It took Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis only seven games to earn a new contract.

SERIOUSLY?! Now they're stuck. They gave him a ridiculously irresponsible contract and if there really is a fair and honest god, he should be punished for stealing. However, had Charlie Weis been black he wouldn't have been in this position. How do I know? Because Tyrone Willingham was in the same position. In fact, Tyrone lead the Irish to a #4 ranking including an 8-0 start in his first year with wins over #7 Michigan and #11 Florida State! Weis was 5-2 through his first seven games! I mean, where do you come up with the logic to even start explaining this rationality?! Absurd. Absolutely absurd. They deserve everything they have coming to them. Including another ass whopping at the hands of Michigan.

Midweek Roundup: Bacon is Good For You Edition, 9/9/09

This kid doesn't like a strange woman taking away his bacon! Viewers should also pause at 00:32 This is from an episode of the show "Wife Swap" on ABC (season 5, episode 18) Here's what he says between 0:57 - 1:05 : "I had a very calm day till this.

*Angel discusses focusing following a marquis victory.  From Brandon Graham...

"This is just step one," Graham said. "We've got to get ready for Notre Dame."

*Rittenburg discusses Michigan moving past the drama.  From Obi...

"We worked hard over the summer, and this is the outcome," Ezeh said. "You don't need to hear it from us. You don't need to ask any more questions. Just watch the game."

*In former Sparty news, the Lions have sued Charles Rogers for $6.1 million

 in signing bonuses now that he will forever be known as the second biggest bust in NFL draft history behind Ryan Leaf.

*Manny Harris has been named to Fox's All-American second team according to AnnArbor.com.

*If KFC's double down sandwich is not enough for you, you should try the quadruple down sandwich.

*You too can play Michigan Football.  Rich Rodriguez is holding open tryouts on Sept 16th.

*More poetic ramblings from RBUAS.

*The Wall Street Journal discusses the predictable unpredictability of the Michigan-Notre Dame matchup.

It's so unpredictable it's actually predictable: Expect the favorite to struggle. Over the last 20 matchups, the favorite in the Notre Dame-Michigan game is 8-11-1. Against the point spread, the favorite is 3-17, meaning it failed to win by the margin set by Las Vegas oddsmakers almost every time.

*A Sporting News preview of Michigan - Notre Dame.

Michigan leads the series 20-15-1 and has an 11-7 edge in Ann Arbor, including 38-0 victories in 2003 and 2007. The Irish have lost nine of their last 12 road openers.

We Got Fun and Games: Michigan 31, Western Michigan 7

A new dawn.

After a tumultuous Friday that had me freaking out due to poor tailgate preparation, I was awakened from my "evening nap" and popped up off the couch to the alarm on my new cell phone, a simultaneous phone call from an online wake up service, and eventually the alarm on Tuba's phone. I gave him the obligatory "I'm good," showered, shaved, put on my morning load-the-car clothes, and took off in Johnny Cleveland's truck on a mission to get a propane exchange from a gas station in Ypsi. I had already made arrangements to get the exchange with the clerk back at 2am the previous evening. It was now 6am. He remembered me, and he apologized for not being able to attend to me earlier in the evening, which to him was "earlier in his shift," but for me was "last night." I wondered what this guy must be thinking. Probably not that I was helping to host 100+ at a party that was to start in 90 minutes in the shadows of the largest college football stadium in the world. I added two bags of ice to my order, one to freshen the beer cooler, and one for the 100 kabobs and 8 pounds of bacon in the food cooler.

A new day.

Parking wasn't perfect at our new home, but given the circumstances, it went pretty smoothly. From the time the fires were lit on the grill and stove, I remember very few details of the 8-hour marathon tailgate. There were a lot of hugs, a lot of food, and a whole lot of people. Perhaps the smaller venue contributed to how crowded things were, but there's no doubt people came out of the woodwork to see where the group who spent 15 years on the 7th green of Ann Arbor Golf and Outing had moved, and how we would adjust. In short, we did well...maybe even very well. I even managed to drink a little.

We did a half pack up of loose equipment at around 3pm, and I left the tailgate at 3:10pm. I arrived at my gate at 3:20pm, high fived the fine event staff as I jumped the line, and was in my seat by 3:25pm. Ya, the tailgate is that close. After another round of hello-how-ya-been hugs with the section regulars, it was time to put the gameface on.

A new life.

Three-and-out. Forcier to Hemmingway. 7-0. Denard on a broken play, laces dangling, 14-0. Forcier to a wide open Koger, 21-0. I'd like to say that I remember how it used to feel, but I don't. This was different. We hadn't had our backs against the wall in this manner since before I cared this much...before National Championships were considered the goal, before the BCS, and before Lloyd Carr was beloved. A losing season does something to a fan, to a man. Especially when you've NEVER had one. When you long for victory, ANY victory, putting a team away before halftime is such a relief, such bliss, that you're not sure what to do. At 21-0, with the student section leading 100,000 in a chant of Rich-Rod-ri-guez, it was all I could do to hold back tears of joy. Michigan still has a long way to go to get to where they want to go. That won't happen this year. But it might be sooner than later that they make their way back to where they were. What was considered the ceiling on Friday night, might have become the floor on Sunday morning.

A rousing chorus of The Victors, a piped in Welcome to the Jungle, a well executed wave, and a group of men that are probably too young to realize that they changed our lives, if only for a week.