Near the end and after today's Outback Bowl between South Carolina and Michigan I went through four of the five stages of grieving. "No that did not just happen" I muttered when South Carolina connected on an improbable but not entirely surprising TD pass will 11 seconds left in the game. Anger set in quickly and different people were blamed. The defensive backs that were not in the right position to stop the play. Or all the DL and LBs that missed sure sacks on previous plays that made this pass possible? Or was it Greg Mattison's fault? No way. Mattison is a great DC and had them where they were supposed to be most of the year. I decided it was the entire defense's fault. I skipped the Bargaining step since I knew that I was powerless to change the outcome. Depression arrived next. I tried finding somthing else to do around the house, but was numb for a couple of hours. I went grocery shopping and found Acceptance. It was quite simple.
I realized that over 32 years of being a Michigan fan that my perspective had changed as little as the ages of the Wolverines. When I was 8 to about 18 my favorite players like Anthony Carter, Jim Harbaugh, Jamie Morris, and Desmond Howard were grown men, and would have been 10 feet tall if I ever met them. While at UM my opinion changed briefly, having seen the players attend the first week or so of classes in the fall or winter semester and then disappear. This jaded me and I did not actively support the team during the Moellar years while at the school. That changed in the glorious 1997 campaign, and from then on I've been back to cheering for these "men", these Wolverines.
Well I'm now about 20 years older than the average player, and they're really not men to me anymore. They're college kids, just out of high school really. My kids will be as old as them in about five years. And they got beat at the end of a close, hard-fought game by the Ol' Ball Coach. They're this years version of the kids that put on the uniforms and helmets I love, and play in the stadium I love to the sounds of the fight song I love. They're probably playing video games now or on their phones. Or listening to some rap or metal music that I can't relate to. It doesn't make it hurt any less that I found acceptance, but it helped me rid of some of that numbness.
I have high hopes for 2013 as it's a season when ND and OSU visit Ann Arbor. I expect there will be more to cheer for, and that today's darkness will become a distant memory. My love will go on.
No comments:
Post a Comment