Tuesday, September 13, 2011

This is Michigan.

Talk about standing up and believing... On Saturday, September 10, a team of dedicated and committed individuals stood up and believed. They believed they could win; they believed they deserved to win; they believed they could make history. And they did.


In front of a record-breaking crowd of 114,801 in the first-ever night game at Michigan Stadium, the University of Michigan stood up, and believed. In what had been a poor performance, the University of Notre Dame almost tripled Michigan's offensive yardage in the first half. By the end of the third quarter, Notre Dame was leading 24-7, and they looked unbeatable. We had packed into the Big House excited and expectant; there was no way we were going to lose against one of our biggest rivals. However, after two interceptions from Denard Robinson and a series of horribly botched defensive plays, a loss seemed inevitable. 


Somehow, for the third year in a row, Michigan decided to step up its game in the fourth quarter. Within ten minutes, Denard Robinson had orchestrated two touchdowns, making the score 24-21. With four minutes left and Michigan within field goal range, however, Denard then threw an interception that made the comeback seem impossible. Then the miracles started. Michigan's usually unreliable defense forced Notre Dame into a three-and-out, and Denard marched down the field and threw a touchdown pass with 1:12 left, making the score 28-24. At this point, the Big House was exploding with noise and celebrations - the comeback was complete. With only a minute left, we had fought back from three touchdowns behind and are beating Notre Dame. I couldn't believe what had happened, but little did I know, there was more to come.


After that imperious fourth quarter performance, it was Michigan's turn to look unbeatable. There was no way Notre Dame was marching down 80 yards in one minute to win the game. But they did. With 30 seconds left, Tommy Rees threw a touchdown pass to a totally unmarked receiver, and Michigan Stadium was silenced. Our hearts sank, and the comeback that took 15 minutes to complete took merely 30 seconds to defeat. Again, I couldn't believe what happened. 30 seconds was definitely not enough for us to score a touchdown. But of course, we had Denard Robinson. Only three plays later, Michigan was at Notre Dame's 16-yard line. With 8 seconds left, we could have gone for the field goal to tie it, or risk going over time and try to win it. At this point, Brady Hoke stood up and believed. He believed in his team and his quarterback. With only 2 seconds left, Denard threw a touchdown pass to Roy Roundtree and FINALLY completed the comeback. The stadium erupted, and I just stood there, with my hands stretched into the air, in disbelief. I couldn't even cheer or celebrate. I was just in sheer disbelief. Three touchdowns in one minute. We did it, in front of the nation, against Notre Dame, in the first night game at the Big House. I just stood there and stared onto the field. I was speechless. Yes, it happened.


I had never seen Michigan Stadium that loud, and had never seen that many people stay after the game. We were just there, dancing and singing to our team. This win wasn't significant just because it was the first night game, or because we beat Notre Dame, or even because we came from behind. But it was because it gave us hope as Michigan fans. We had been through so much; so much pain and despair. But this showed us how the team still had the fight in them. Brady Hoke showed that he believes in Michigan. This win was so significant because we never gave up; with 30 seconds to march down the field, the team kept fighting and fighting. They never gave up, but they marched down that field, determined they were going to win the game. 


This game was nothing short of amazing. From the flyover to parachuters from the 101st Airborne parachuting into the stadium; from the rave during the halftime show to seeing Michigan Stadium under the lights, it was a special day in Michigan Football history. More importantly, however, we saw a team that never gave up. We saw a team that, despite having gone through tough times, came out even tougher. We saw a team that stood up and believed. This is Michigan.


It's Great to Be a Michigan Wolverine.
Michigan 35-31 Notre Dame








Forever and ever, Go Blue.

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