2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Western Michigan
Sept. 12 Notre Dame
Sept. 19 Eastern Michigan
Sept. 26 Indiana
Oct. 3 @ Michigan State
Oct. 10 @ Iowa
Oct. 17 Delaware State
Oct. 24 Penn State
Oct. 31 @ Illinois
Nov. 7 Purdue
Nov. 14 @ Wisconsin
Nov. 21 Ohio State [The Quad Countdown: No. 57 Michigan. Paul Myerberg. The Quad. Jully 6 2009]
This does not happen all too often but accounting for Michigan’s disastrous performance last season, I am scared.
I had dinner with several alumni and professors from the University of Michigan yesterday and an economic professor recommended this article:
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan’s economy is the worst in the country, dragged down by its dependency on an ailing auto industry. But in a lab at Accio Energy in Ann Arbor, engineers Dawn White and David Carmein are driving in a different direction.
[…]
Michigan’s economic future rests on making the state look more like Ann Arbor, and less like Warren, 50 miles to the northeast, where factory buildings and warehouses built on the riches of the Big Three auto makers bear signs saying they are “priced to sell.” The latest blow came earlier this month, when Chrysler LLC shut down its two plants in Warren as part of its bankruptcy filing. [Ann Arbor And Warren: A tale of two economies. Justin Lahart. Wall Street Journal. May 26 2009]
Amid the rust belt, Ann Arbor is shining due to its highly educated labor force.
Guys, do you remember that Pfizer plant which we used to make jokes about getting free viagra while we at Michigan?
Well, the jokes just got better because Michigan is buying up that plant:
The University Board of Regents unanimously approved Thursday the purchase of a 2 million-square-foot research and development facility from Pfizer Inc., the pharmaceutical giant that announced last year it would close its Ann Arbor location. [‘U’ set to purchase sprawling, $108 million Pfizer campus. The Michigan Daily. December 18 2008]
This is truly a pleasant surprise. Michigan won against No. 9 Wisconsin!
Frankly, embarrassingly, I had expected Wisconsin to steamroll pass Michigan and take their first win in Ann Arbor for the first time since 1994. The reason is the Wolverines are in a bad shape this season, especially with the departure of key players as well as Coach Carr at the end of last season. So far, Wolverines supporters has justified the sorry state by calling this season a season of rebuilding.
And this is a shameful admission: I did not watch the game exactly because the expectation against Wisconsin was set so low. So, imagine my genuine surprise when the first message of the day I received through my cell is the word, “we won”. That two-word message brought my Sunday to a whole new ecstatic level.
However, despite the win, the game was so bad that Michigan got booed by our own supporters!
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)—Rich Rodriguez earned the right to be hailed at Michigan for the first time.
Rodriguez, in his fourth game as coach, directed the Wolverines’ biggest comeback in Big House history, helping them rally from a 19-point deficit to beat No. 9 Wisconsin 27-25 Saturday.
The first significant victory of his debut season in Ann Arbor wasn’t sealed until Allen Evridge misfired on a 2-point conversion with 13 seconds left.
“Never had a doubt,” Rodriguez joked.
It didn’t seem like the Wolverines were going to have a chance to celebrate their 500th game at Michigan Stadium when they had five turnovers, trailed 19-0 and were booed off the field at halftime. [Call it a comeback: Michigan beats Wisconsin 27-25. Larry Lage. AP via Yahoo! Sports. Saturday 27 2008]
I would have never booed my own team. Angry, yes but booing is out of the question. I am glad to say that I have never booed the team in The Big House, even when Michigan was poised to lose to Michigan State in 2005. We did not lose that one because we made the biggest come back that demanded 3 overtimes.
In the Big Ten, only Penn State and Northwestern are undefeated. Penn State is okay but Northwestern, well, no offense to Northwestern everybody knows Northwestern is a pretender. They are up there because of their unimpressive schedule. That will change next week when they meet little brother Sparties next week.
In any case, the win was really handed over to Michigan by the Badgers. But a win is still a win. And there is hope now!
Here is to Monday, for a ranked Michigan for the first time in many months.
Yeeaap. The football season is just around the corner.