Today was awesome! I’m on a peaceful plane now, headed back
to Baltimore — and, eventually, DC, where the real world is ready to welcome me
back with District traffic, more winter, and hopefully not another flat tire
for my bike.
However, for now, I prefer to think abut the confines of
Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, where this afternoon I joined 12,000-plus rowdy
Michigan fans for a 79-70 victory over in-state rival Michigan State.
I had never been to a Michigan State-Michigan game (at least
as far as I can remember), and this past fall I decided I was going to do it
this year. I knew it wouldn’t be cheap. But with both teams at the top of the
Big Ten standings — at least I thought that would be the case when I bought the
plane ticket — I figured this could be as good as it gets.
Michigan went through a tough stretch during the
nonconference, fell out of the rankings, lost preseason All-American Mitch
McGary, and people gave up on the team. I never lost hope. They bounced back in
a big way, winning 10 straight games spanning late December and January —
including three consecutive victories over top 10 teams (one at the Breslin
Center against the Spartans).
Despite recent struggles, they were tied in the loss column
with Michigan State entering Sunday. But first, back to the ticket purchase. I
decided I was all in last week — the day before a big Michigan win at Ohio
State, which surely pushed prices up. I bought a pair off Craigslist from a
student for $125 each. Not cheap, by any means, but much more affordable than
the average $269 regular tickets were going for on the secondary market the
week leading up to the game.
(Side note: While students I’ve talked to have some issues
with Michigan’s complicated ticket policy, one cool thing is that you can
transfer student tickets to people like me without a fee — the student just transfers
them online to you, and then you can print them.)
Here’s my game day journal (times are approximate):
9:43 — It’s time to go! I take a final sip of my morning coffee,
say adios to the Dad and Pomeranian Charlie, and head out the door of my
parents’ Spring Street house into the 20-degree weather. I’m bundled up —
T-shirt, fleece, hoodie, Michigan basketball maize-colored long sleeve, and
Bernard Robinson Jr. No. 21 blue jersey … all under my coat. I don’t want to be
cold while waiting.
10:14 — I’m in line! The drive toward the Crisler Center was
uneventful, as was parking in the dentist lot off Stadium Boulevard. There were
no signs anywhere that a big game was imminent. This is a far cry from a
football Saturday in Ann Arbor. Even as I crossed Main Street and walked toward
the arena, there were but a few early scalpers out (who were asking for tickets
rather than selling). But once I circled around the arena to its back parking
lot, I started hearing noise and spotted the line. I kept walking, and walking,
and walking … until I finally reach its end. I turned around and looked toward
Crisler. It was a ways off. But so was tipoff.
10:44 — “You should run,” I tell Justen on the phone. My
companion for the game had to work in the morning, so he couldn’t join me super
early. And now my portion of the line — including the group of girls behind me
that has grown during the past half hour and has kept me entertained with talk
of their Saturday night adventures on campus — is walking up the steps toward
the gated student entrance. If Justen doesn’t make it soon, we’ll have to back
up in the line.
10:48 — Justen arrives, and we’re in! Our printed tickets
are scanned, we’re handed new tickets for Section 232, and we’re ready for
action. Just over an hour until tipoff! Upon arriving at the section and
walking up the stairs, we’re informed that it’s first come, first served. We
grab seats maybe 12 rows up. Not bad.
(Side note: The students who stand in the “Maize Rage”
section that you see on TV have to get in line ridiculously early. Apparently,
even some students who arrived at 5AM — whoa! — were turned away and told to
retreat to the back of the line. After the “Made for TV” fans are seated, the
next section is in the lower bowl but behind the basket. Then the rest of the
3,000 students with ticket fill up about four sections in the upper level
behind the basket; that’s where we were. But as Justen remarked to me, and I
agreed, there’s really not a bad seat in the house at Crisler. It’s not that
huge.)
11:56 — Everyone’s standing. Everyone’s waving their yellow
pompoms. Crisler is loud. Crisler is boisterous. I can’t spot an empty seat in
the house. The national anthem is sung. Then it’s introductions. Now, finally,
game time! I stand with Justen on my left, an older man on my right who must be
the father of the student next to him, and hundreds of rabid Wolverines fans
all around us. Green is hard to spot except behind the Spartans bench.
12:22 — Denzel freakin’ Valentine is killing us. The last
guy you would expect to go off from 3-point land is doing just that for the
Spartans, boosting them to a 22-11 lead. We’re still trying to bring the noise.
We’re still standing for each possession. But it’s hard, at this point, to be
too optimistic.
12:23 — Well, at least the scoreboard guy is trying to keep
the Wolverines close. In a ridiculous, hilarious, and pretty excellent
demonstration of sleeping at the job, the guy keeping score inside Crisler has
made two early errors. First, he failed to count an Adreian Payne free throw,
leaving the Spartans short a point. Then he counted a Caris Lavert made shot
that was clearly a two — as indicated by the refs — a three. He didn’t correct
either mistake for a good five minutes. He’s having about as rough of a day as
the Wolverines…
12:36 — But not for long! Zak Irvin throws down a one-handed
breakaway dunk, and Michigan is back in it. Despite getting thoroughly
outplayed, we’ve got a two-point basketball game. I can’t remember the last
time I was in such a loud environment. As we sit down during a Michigan State
timeout, I marvel at the atmosphere. This is fun.
12:56 — Great way to end the half. After a Michigan State
basket, the Wolverines quickly inbound, a pass is fired up the sideline to Lavert
— who is in the corner directly below us and in front of the Michigan State
bench — and the sophomore perfectly sets his feet and releases the shot. Before
it’s even swished through the net, cutting the Wolverines’ halftime deficit to
a very manageable 36-34 score, he’s running back down the court. That’s
confidence, he is the main reason Michigan is in the game, and Crisler is
rockin’.
1:04 — “I’m mesmerized, but…” the guy next to me says as he
motions to be let out of his seat to the aisle. Yeah, the magician’s halftime
show is OK, but my expectations haven’t been met. The woman-in-a-box trick just
isn’t cutting it for me. Hopefully the best magic will come in the second half…
1:25 — Stauskas! Just when it looks like the Spartans are
threatening to create a little separation, Michigan’s sharp-shooting sophomore
— the guy who owned the team in green in East Lansing, blowing the fans a kiss
as the Wolverines completed the 80-75 victory — is coming alive. We have a
great vantage point from our seats behind the basket that you don’t get on TV.
Every shot Stauskas takes is either just left of the top of the key or from
dead-on. And every one looks good. They almost all fall. His 3 cuts MSU’s
deficit to 48-46. Moments later, Michigan takes its first lead in forever at
50-48. Crisler is deafening!
1:38 — “Shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, EVERYBODY!” As my
man Justen will recall later, the joint was never more hype. A run made up
almost entirely of Stauskas and Lavert baskets has given the Wolverines a 64-52
lead on a Lavert two-handed slam. Timeout Tom Izzo and the Spartans. And we’re
all singing “Shots, shots…” because Michigan’s hitting all of them. We’re
engulfed by a sea of pompoms. I’m starting to lose my voice. This is what a
big-time basketball game in February should feel like!
1:53 — “OHHHHHHH!!!” And that’s the exclamation point. Many
free throws will follow, to officially seal the deal, but Glenn Robinson III,
the much-maligned sophomore, has just thrown down an alley-oop pass from
Stauskas that the disher will later admit was not his best. Robinson seemed to
hang in the air for a full second and adjusted his body accordingly to throw
down the dunk, which sent us all into delirium. Oh, what a moment. Michigan is
up double figures and en route to sweeping the Spartans and taking control of
first place, by itself, in the Big Ten.
2:02 — And that’s a wrap. Once more, we pump our fists,
and/or pompoms to “Hail to the Victors,” and the friendly usher provides high
fives as we walk down the steps of the section, adding, “You’ll be telling your
kids about this one.” Michigan 79, Michigan State 70.
What will I remember most about this afternoon? The
atmosphere. The emotion. Stauskas doing not one, but two huge fist pumps after
a Michigan run in the second half. Beilein getting as animated as you’ll ever
see the mostly calm Wolverines coach after a blocking foul on senior Jordan
Morgan. The players continuously encouraging the fans to get loud throughout
the game. Sweating through my many layers. And, of course, how it all started
with the line.
Obviously, we live in the moment — now more than ever with
social media. But when Beilein and many of the players Tweeted afterward about
Crisler being about as loud as they’d ever experienced it, I believe them — or
at least I like to. And I fondly think I was a part of something special.
That maybe, just maybe, will result in Michigan’s first
outright Big Ten title since 1985-86 — when I was crawling on the floor in
diapers and didn’t know the difference between a basketball and a pumpkin.
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