Week 8 took the crew to Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Originally we planned to take a day off of work, but unfortunately we waited until about 4 PM on Friday and the drive took a lot longer than we expected.  Of course, the length was increased by a stop at Quaker Steak & Lube but we eventually got into town at approximately 2 AM.

When we got to Michigan Stadium, we were interviewed by Jeff Arnold of AnnArbor.com.  While reseaching some of the sights of Michigan, I (Drew) stumbled upon this sight and was quite impressed as the content keeps updating all day long.  There is a variety of writers that contribute to the sight and on a Michigan gameday, a reader can expect multiple stories leading up to, during, and after the game.  To view our story on AnnArbor.com, please visit our trophy case link.

We also received some unprecedented treatment from the Michigan front office.  They approached us with some great enthusiasm & actually provided us with tickets to be part of the block "M" in the stadium.  Of course they also provided us with some Michigan gear so that we wouldn't be confused on which shade of blue to wear on gameday.

Week 8 brought our first round of serious precipitation as the rain showed up occasionally all day.  This made it a little more challenging to get involved in some of the typical tailgating activities, but with 5 hours to tailgate before gametime, we definitely made the most of it.  Read about our tailgating experience in Ann Arbor HERE!

Michigan had just thumped Delaware State by over 50 points.  Penn State was on a bit of a roll and looking for their first win at Michigan Stadium in over a decade.  Read about our time in the "Big House" HERE!

Ann Arbor is often overlooked by the larger Detroit, which is less than an hour away.  The home of the Wolverines does have its interesting share of sights however.  There wasn't much time to see all of the sights because of an unforunate decision to leave early, but you can see some interesting spots HERE!

Some of the Michigan fans that contacted me told me to make sure I visit both Krazy Jim's and Zingerman's before leaving town. $25 and a very full stomach later, I take a few photos and say a few words about both HERE!

There were several competitors this week for the best fan honor, but I'm going to go with Hollywood Hulk Michigan fan because not only did he look like Mr. Hogan, but he did a phenomenal impersonation as well. 

The next two "superfans" had some seriously contrasting styles.  One dressed up in a full-blown Michigan outfit, shoulder pads and all.  The other dressed in a teletubby costume which definitely fit in with the "maize-out," but really didn't have any Michigan-feel to it other than the color.  That aside, to dress up in a teletubby costume takes some serious guts.  The costume reminded us of just one week prior when we visited the Breakfast Club in Purdue.

Our final fan of the game is yet another canine that tolerates its owner making it wear a jersey.

Despite the cold/rainy weather that has prevented me from spotting great shirts in weeks past, I somehow stumbled upon many, many great shirts. 

Although I'll probably receive a lot of flak for it, I'm going with the Star Wars/Tate Forcier hybrid shirt.  Namely because someone is probably selling with shirt without approval from Lucas Arts.

Some other great shirts included some anti-Buckeye shirts & one that is like the 12 Days of Christmas, only it counts down from 400,000 to 1 and skips a few numbers.

I would say that the "Big House" did indeed live up to its hype.  Sure, I could have focused on the weather or the lack of a competitive ball game being played on the field, but being a part of this place was really something special. 

Sitting among the largest crowd I've ever been a part of and watching the fans continue to cheer their team on despite getting pretty handily beaten is a great testament to the Wolverine fans.  Hopefully I can see the stadium again when the pressbox/suite renovations are complete the the capacity becomes even higher. 

I was disappointed that there was not a ferocius Wolverine mascot, but also understand why historic teams such as the Lakers & Knicks (pre-Isiah) do not use mascots.

For the 2nd straight weekend, my time was cut short because I wasn't the driver and although I was promised that we wouldn't leave town before I got to see everything I wanted to, we did in the name of saving a few bucks.   How do I resolve such a problem? Visit Ann Arbor again next year of course!

Abramson, Joe - ruffling some features
Arnold, Jeff - reporting on our story for AnnArbor.com
Michigan Front Office - namely Dave, Mark, & Dewey.  For the tickets, the gear, and the very unique idea.  Oh yeah, the cart ride back to the tailgate helped too!
O'Connor, Matthew - info of the Mudbowl and Krazy Jim's
Wilson, Gary - lots of helpful insight on gameday