Sideline Diaries

A New Season - A New Stadium - Everything but shoelaces!

2010-09-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for some football? (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

U-Conned Me Into Thinking These Guys Were Good! 9-4-10

Ah, fall - or at late summer as the case may be – a time to put away thoughts of swimming pools, sun tans and days at the beach, and replace them instead with dreams of tailgating, pigskins, and big, smelly dudes in pads trying to rip each other’s heads off. Yes, it’s officially football season once again - a time that seems to carry more importance for American males than the right to vote. Everyone is an expert, and best of all they’re not afraid to share that expertise!

Michigan fans, oh how I miss thee. (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

Sports radio talk shows are loaded with people sharing their bloated opinions, and the Internet is even worse. So once again, I thought I’d join in the fray and share my unique perspective on the game of football from my ever-changing perspective along the sidelines, in the tunnel, from the press box, and anywhere else I might venture during the course of a Michigan football game.

So here we go – year number two of “The Sideline Diaries.”

Here come the 2010 Wolverines. (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

This year should prove to be a pivotal one for the Michigan. After two, let’s face it, rather crappy seasons under Rich Rodriguez, it’s time for the experiment that is “small and fast” football to take hold, or else the folks around here will be demanding a return to the “big, powerful, smash-mouth, Big-Ten-style football” that makes Bo Schembechler disciples pee in their pants.

A lot of things have happened since last season. Michigan has a new Athletic Director (Dave Brandon), a newly renovated stadium, new field turf, and a new starting quarterback, now it’s time to do something old –win enough ball games to go to a bowl game! First test; the UConn Huskies.

• Finally, all the years of tearing the hell out of the Big House have come to fruition. The place is officially finished. New suites, new club seats, new press box, and a new low for the treatment of photographers. Our once semi-convenient press parking lot has been given to the rich folk who will inhabit the luxury suites on game days, lest they get tired hauling their heavy wallets any further than 100-yards from the stadium. We photographers, on the other hand, now are parking next to the tennis courts at Pioneer High School, which, I’m not sure, but I think is in a different zip code. No matter, it’s only a half-day hike and it’s not like camera gear is heavy or anything!

The Big House's new press box - my last view of seeing the place before being banished to the field for the rest of the season. (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• Normally it’s hotter than hell for the first few games of the season, but a cold front blew in for the opener, and when I say blow, I mean 30-35 mph winds, making it feel a lot more like October than early September. Overhead, a skywriter was doing his best to scribe “Go Blue” in the sky, but the wind kept blowing the word “Go” well out of sight before he even started the word “Blue.” Maybe he should have changed it to “Go Blew!” or better yet, “Surrender Dorothy!”

"Go ... Blew?" (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• Of course, you can’t have a newly renovated stadium without a bunch of hullabaloo before the game to appease the half-million in attendance. There was a ribbon cutting, a passing of the torch from the old AD to the new, and a couple of flyovers (at least I think they were flyovers, the B-25 was flying so low it almost became a fly into!) before the coin was even tossed.

"This is B-25 niner-niner, do I have permission to land?" (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• The best part of the pre-game, and I mean this in all seriousness, was seeing Brock Mealer walk across the field to touch the M-Go Blue Banner at the 50-yard. Mealer’s brother, Elliott, who walked with him, is an offensive lineman for the Wolverines. Last year Mealer’s father, and Elliott’s girlfriend, were killed in a car accident that also severely injured Brock. Brock was so severely injured in the crash, doctors gave him a 1% chance he’d ever walk again. After several months working out with the Michigan football team’s strength and conditioning coach, Brock Mealer defied the odds and walked across the field. It truly was an emotional moment.

Brock Mealer walks to the center of the field with his mom and brother. (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• The other best part about all the pre-game hype was the fact I wasn’t actually on the field for any of it. Instead, I was one of two photographers given the opportunity (and from what I was told, this would be the last chance for the rest of the season) to shoot the proceedings from the TV platform above the press box. It’s nice up there, I must say – no event staff yelling at you to stay behind the line, no cables to trip over, and no trombone slides whacking you in the back of the head.

• After months of speculation, I think a lot of folks were surprised to see Denard Robinson head out to the field as the starting quarterback in place of Tate Forcier. Last year, Robinson certainly was spectacular when he played, but not always in a good way. He ran like a rabbit, often eluding what looked to be sure tackles, but he threw like one too. For every good play he made, he often turned around and made three bad ones. But this year something was different. Denard looked smarter, and threw the ball much better. Before the game was over, he turned the UConn defense into mincemeat and the crowd had a new hero. Everyone seemed happy … everyone, that is, except Tate Forcier.

A star is born? (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• As often happens during a post-game celebration, things get a little crazy and it’s hard to tell what the hell is going on exactly. So, as a photographer, the best thing to do is pick a player, or the coach, and never let them out of your sight as the last seconds tick off the clock. Then, when the game is over, get your ass on the field before any other photographer, or the dreaded television cameras, and start making pictures. Sometimes you get lucky; sometimes you don’t. This time I got lucky and got both the coach, and the star player from the game, in the same shot without anything between them and me. One game down, 11 more to go.

"Hail to the Vic ... what the hell are the words to this song again?" (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• One other side note from the game. The new suites were designed to try and maximize the volume in what often is considered one of the quietist stadiums in college football (given the size of the crowd, that is). I was very aware of this the entire game and I kept asking myself if it was, in fact, any louder. I’m no sound technician, but my honest opinion from the field is that it is no louder, just more annoying because the flat, slightly inward slant to the suite walls aren’t acting so much as a way to amplify, and keep the sound on the field, as they are echo chambers, bouncing around drum beats from the marching bands in a seemingly endless sonic volley, until it’s hard to tell what song the band is even playing.

Tate who? (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

"Jesus, Can I Get a Touchdown?" Notre Dame, 9-11-10

• This was my fourth trip to the hallowed grounds of Notre Dame Stadium. As much as they may hate to hear this, both Michigan and Notre Dame fan bases are a lot alike; very passionate, very steeped in tradition, and very wealthy. The biggest difference between the two is the insanely loud student section at Notre Dame, their crazy, little, Leprechaun dude, and the fact that they have God on their side. (Not to mention Rudy!)

• The last time I shot a game at Notre Dame, the remnants of Hurricane Ike passed through and dumped three inches of rain on the stadium in the third quarter. It was the most rain I’d ever seen in my life. This game looked to be no different, but what had been an all-day rain somehow blew out of South Bend right before kickoff, leaving behind a perfectly cloudy and cool day for a game of football between the two winningest programs in all of college football.

• The biggest pre-game story centered around Denard Robinson and Tate Forcier. Rumors were circling all week that Tate was pissed he didn’t start, and was pouting at the end of the Wolverine’s win over UConn to the point where he was thought to be ready to transfer. His demeanor during pre-game didn’t do much to dissuade those rumors, but who knows, he is just a kid, and people are probably making much to do over nothing.

"I could of been a contender!" (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• There is little, or no room on the sidelines at a Notre Dame game. Couple that with the “Lucky Charms” guy nervously pacing back and forth in front of me the entire game, and it makes for one trying afternoon. For the record, the last Leprechaun Notre Dame had actually looked Irish – pale, red hair, freckly – but this cat looks more Latino. Oh well, I suppose it’s good to be diverse. Besides, aren’t most Latinos Catholic anyhow? “El Luchador Irish!”

"Andale! Andale! - Arriba! Arriba!" (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• It just so happens that the game was played on 9-11, so there was plenty of pre-game activity devoted to the memory of the terrorist attacks, and since the day now has been proclaimed "Patriot Day" both teams and their coaches, had American flags inside the letters of their block M’s and block ND’s on their hats. It was pretty cool, I must admit, but not as cool as the dude who brought his fireman’s helmet to the game and held it up during the moment of silence before the game. No flyover though – I was told the cloud ceiling was too low (they should have called up the B-25 pilot from Michigan, it didn’t seem to bother him to strafe the top row of a stadium.)

A nice salute. (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• Denard was up to his old tricks again. The dude piled up five football fields worth of yardage to break the record he’d set the week before. Unfortunately for me, I was in the press box sending photos back to Ann Arbor when he busted off his longest run, an 85-yarder for a touchdown near the end of the half. I was there, however, for his game-winning touchdown with less than a minute left on the clock. Now they’re starting to toss around Heisman talk. That’s hard to believe; one year he pretty much sucks, the next year - Heisman Trophy talk. Go figure?

"Catch me if you can!" (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• How any football player makes it through a season unscathed is beyond me (I’m not sure any of them actually do). Notre Dame Stadium doesn’t have the luxury of a video screen on their scoreboard, so fans, and photographers, have to take official’s word for it on close calls, and we never get to see a replay of great, or controversial plays. Two plays, however, I did catch with my camera enabling me instantly to see that Notre Dame’s T.J. Jones had let go of the football before he actually crossed the goal line on what officials had called a touchdown. I also was able to see why Michigan’s Brandon Herron was writhing in pain following what looked to be an innocent play, but turned out to be a leg-twisting catch of the cleat in the stadium turf – legs aren’t supposed to bend that way - OUCH!

Ummm ... dude? You're supposed to hang on to the ball until "after" you cross the goal line. (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

One word - OUCCHHH!!!! (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• Notre Dame’s starting quarterback left the game after the first series and was replaced by the back up - who basically sucked - and then by their third stringer, who just so happens to be Joe Montana’s kid. Holy crap, talk about a spittin’ image of his old man. But then he actually played football and that’s where the similarities came grinding to a halt.

"Hey Joe, whaddaya know?" (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• After a super long day (Notre Dame home games are typically four hours plus because of NBC’s notoriously lengthy TV-timeouts) I walked back to my car parked behind the campus library – the same library emblazoned with a huge mosaic of Jesus on one side of it. In Notre Dame Stadium, the mosaic can be seen looming over one of the end zones, and given Christ’s arm gesture in the mosaic, it’s been nicknamed “Touchdown Jesus.” Whether this is sacrilegious or not is a great source of debate, but not nearly as controversial as poor, old “Incomplete Mary” and “Point-After Paul” located in other less-desirable spots on campus.

And Jesus said unto them "Let them score six." (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

UMass; No Mas! - 9-18-10

• Like a lot of other folks, I skipped this game. Turned out to be a pretty good one though, unless you were looking to see some of the backups playing.

Bowling Green Around The Gills - 9-25-10

• Following three straight impressive offensive outbursts, quarterback Denard Robinson now is reaching rock-star status on campus, and even nationally. ESPN paid a visit to UM to film a live Sports Nation show on Wednesday to fawn over Robinson and his trademark of not tying his shoes. This habit of running for several thousand yards on the football field with his shoes apparently attached to his feet by nothing more than centrifugal force has earned Robinson the nickname “Shoelace” which, talk has it, also may be trademarked soon by either Adidas or the University of Michigan (the same university who is making sure that nobody, and I mean nobody, will profit off of Robinson’s untied shoes, except, of course, them.)

Any reproduction, rebroadcast, use of this picture or the word shoelace, without the express written consent of Adidas or the University of Michigan is strictly prohibited. (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• I like Bowling Green - my sister went to school there and they have the same color scheme as my favorite NFL team, the Cleveland Browns. Unfortunately, the color scheme isn’t the only thing they have in common with the Browns – playing bad football is another. The Wolverines thumped Bowling Green, 65-21, leaving me to shoot little more than file photos of second and third stringers. The only interesting part of the game came in the first quarter when “Shoelace” was tackled near the Michigan sideline and hurt his left knee. Now as a photographer, when the star player – a potential Heisman Trophy candidate at that – gets hurt, you probably ought to abandon the game action and get a shot of said star player receiving treatment on the bench. Sounds easy, and it probably would have been in the UConn game before Robinson became bigger than the President, but this game was different. As soon as he came off the field, he knelt down by the bench grimacing in pain. I shot a few pictures of Denard at that point, but once the event staff saw what I was doing, they started calling over assistants, water boys, and anyone else without a camera, to form a human shield around Robinson and block my view. Apparently, an injured star player is none of my business, at least according to the bench personnel. Had he been lying on the field with half a lung coming out of his mouth and a ruptured spleen spewing out onto the field, that would have been just fine, but a strained knee on the sideline is strictly classified.

Injured star = taboo picture. (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• As near as I can tell, high-fiving has transformed into mid-level-fiving, and even low-fiving. Everywhere in the stadium hands were being extended at, or below shoulder level for an appropriate smack from anyone who wanted to smack it – little kids, mascots, band members - hell, even players on occasion. The only thing being done above the shoulders these days seems to be the “jump and bump” (a sort of variation of the chest bump, only with a half turn at the apex of the leap) and the “Look-at-me-daddy-I-can-fly” lift, also known as the “Dancing with the Stars” clean and jerk. It all leaves me to wonder whatever happened to the old “Good job!” smack on the ass?

"Gimmee five ... 10 ... 15 ... 20?" (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

"Look at me Daddy, I can fly!" (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• Another observation about the modern-day football player. Apparently, it now is mandatory, or at least highly suggested, that every 300-pound-plus offensive lineman must adorn one, or preferably both meaty arms, with an impossible to remove, and later to be regretted, tattoo of something so trendy it will have them dousing their arms in battery acid, or using acetylene torches to try and rid themselves of said tattoos before they hit the age of 50.

"Ink - it's not just for sailors anymore!" (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• The ever-popular “toss-a-relatively-light-female-student-into-the-air” ritual after scoring a touchdown (once for every point) seemed all fun and good in the first half of the game, but once UM hit 65 points, it started to look as if the girls being tossed might do a little tossing themselves - as in “tossing their cookies.” Imagine a repetitive motion ride at Cedar Point that makes you a little queasy after only a few minutes, then multiply that several times by increments of seven. For the record, every girl who participated in the “up you go, down you go” ritual got pumped into the air 360 times before the game was over. Couple that with a morning full of drinking games before arriving at the stadium and … well, you get the picture.

... 51, 52, 53, 54, 55... blecchhhhh!!!! (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

• After Robinson went down with his knee injury, Tate Forcier, who didn’t transfer after all, came in and did a respectable job, going 12 for 12 on passing attempts, while regaining a little more swagger with a lot less pout. Of course, by the end of the game I’m pretty sure I could have gone in and thrown a completion against Bowling Green’s defense, but it was nice to see that UM might have some depth at quarterback. Hopefully enough to get them, and me, to a bowl game again.

Tate Forcier back in action. (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

That’s it for now. A third of the way through the season and Michigan is 4-0. Of course, they were 4-0 last year through the same stretch and finished … ahem … 5-7.

Praying for good health ... and a better finish than last year. (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

I’ll be heading to Bloomington on Friday. It’s one of two Big Ten towns I’ve never visited. Then it’s back home for Sparty and Iowa. We should know more about the Wolverines after that three-game stretch, and I’ll have my next installment posted during the bye-week.

Red, white, maize and the blues!

2009-11-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

"You guys (fill in expletive here)!"

• I might be the only one who thinks this, but Michigan losing to Ohio State this past Saturday actually was a good thing for Wolverine fans – at least as far as the rivalry is concerned. When Michigan was beating up on Ohio State during the Buckeye’s John Cooper-era, the vile and hatred spewing from OSU fans was at an all-time high. This may never be the case with Wolverine fans, but I started seeing a little more frustration starting to seep out of the maize and blue faithful on Saturday. When one team dominates for a while, it just makes it that much sweeter when you finally turn the tables back the other way.

"I feel the need ... the need for speed!"

• I’ve seen plenty of flyovers in my days as a photographer, but they always amaze me – give me goose pimples even. Saturday’s was no exception. A few weeks ago they had a flyover at cruising speed, but this time they roared over the Big House with the afterburners glowing – awesome! After the flyover, I turned to my brother Duke, a former Army Ranger who was assisting me at the game, and said, “They sure make you realize how little chance you have (if you’re a soldier) if they decide to call in an airstrike on your position.” “Yeah,” he replied, “it sort of takes the fun out of combat.”

Is this Columbus, or Ann Arbor?

• A lot of folks complained about the amount of red in Michigan Stadium on Saturday. Personally, I don’t think there was any more than usual, except maybe in the student section. It wasn’t that long ago when all the visiting fans were clumped together in the south end zone. I vaguely remember Michigan changing that policy because the Buckeyes always brought so many, and they wanted to spread them out so they would be less vocal. The problem is, the color red really stands out, so rather than one big clump of red in the endzone, there are pockets of red all throughout the stadium.

Can you imagine this lot in 1954?

• Maybe the Buckeyes caught wind that Michigan was celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Bo Schembechler’s legendary (at least to Wolverine fans) 1969 24-12 upset, of then #1 ranked Ohio State, by honoring members of the that team prior to the game. Whatever the reason, the Buckeyes arrived in Ann Arbor wearing throwback uniforms honoring their 1954 National Championship team (except with facemasks). I liked the uniforms, I only wish Michigan would have worn throwbacks as well … ummm, wait … I guess they were wearing throwbacks since they’ve never changed their look.

Reggie McKenzie sheds a tear or two for his beloved Wolverines ... and that was before the game!

• Speaking of the ’69 team, it was cool to see a bunch of former players still getting choked up at memories they had as kids four decades ago. Cooler still was the fact that I remembered a lot of the players myself, even though I was only a 4 year-old in 1969, and I’m from Ohio. Several members of that team went on to NFL careers (including Thom Darden, my all-time favorite Cleveland Brown) and I still have a lot of their football cards.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me!"

• It’s rare that an offensive lineman makes headlines, but Ohio State’s Justin Boren did just that by having the audacity to transfer from Michigan to the hated Buckeyes two years ago. Me personally? I could care less. If it’s a better fit for a kid to go somewhere else, so be it. But judging by the amount of insults hurled this kid’s way during warmups, I’m guessing most Wolverine fans don’t feel the same way. I heard words I’m pretty sure aren’t even in the English dictionary!

My press box buddies, Don Lund, left, and Art Holst, telling stories of days before even my parents were born!

• Saturday marked the last game for the old press box at Michigan Stadium. Even though I spend most of my time on the sidelines, I still spend a fair amount of the pregame in the press box. As press boxes go, it wasn’t the best. But I’m a sucker for history and tradition, so I always liked it. I especially enjoyed my time chatting with Don Lund, a Michigan legend, who, at 86, tells great stories that could only be matched by his buddy Art Holst, also 86, a former NFL official who still scouts NCAA officials for the NFL. Between the two, I have a hard time pulling myself away to head down to the field for the opening kickoff.

"Now take this ball and head for left tackle!"

• I know this is a great rivalry and all, but when was the last real good game between these two teams? Saturday’s game could have been called the “Boring Bowl” due to the lack of anything remotely resembling a big play. The Buckeye’s vanilla-encrusted head coach Jim Tressel decision to run off tackle 1,347 times didn’t exactly showcase Terrelle Pryor, the highly sought after quarterback that Michigan was hoping to land. I guess the bright spot might be the fact Wolverine fans didn’t feel so bad they didn’t land Pryor after watching him do “pretty-much-nothing” on Saturday.

"Dad gummit! I told you not to throw the ball to the guys in red!"

• As vanilla-smooth as Jim Tressel is, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has let his frustration show more and more as the second half of this 5-7 season turned sour. Saturday he looked more like an active volcano than a head coach at times, but that’s cool, I like passion, it makes for good pictures!

"A little louder please, I can still hear out of my left ear."

• After shooting a good portion of this season’s games from the visiting team’s sideline, I’m guessing I should regain some of my hearing sometime in mid-January after being blasted time and time again by the visiting band’s trumpets, trombones, and drums at point-blank range.

"So Brandon, how do feel about the colors brown and orange?"

• Finally, after watching Michigan senior defensive end Brandon Graham’s career come to an end Saturday, all I can say is this kid is a hell of a player and a class act and I hope he ends up being a first round pick in the NFL draft. Are you listening Cleveland?

Purdue's and don'ts - beautiful day, horrible game.

2009-11-09T11:22:00.000-08:00

At least things started out on a high note.

My latest sideline observations from Michigan’s disastrous 38-36 loss to Purdue, Saturday, November 7th at Michigan Stadium, the Boilermakers first win at UM since 1966.

Cheer up, there's always the Papa Smurf Bowl.

• Sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted the Michigan Stadium crowd as they filed into the Big House the first week of November for their last realistic chance to get that coveted sixth victory of the season and a bowl trip to … Detroit? C’mon, quit your griping, sure, two years ago the Motor City Bowl was below the Wolverines, but now doesn’t any bowl game seem like an achievement? Of course, the Motor City Bowl is now the Pizza, Pizza Bowl, but the way Michigan’s been playing lately, they’ll be lucky to make the Cheesy Bread Bowl.

Umm, Tate? ... yeah, about that headwear ... you might want to lose that.

• What’s up with Tate Forcier’s new headwear? He came out for warm ups wearing some strange, blue stocking on his head. Okay, I get it; it was a bit chilly, but by game time the head sock was still in place under his helmet … and it was 60 degrees! Dude, this is Michigan, not San Diego. A 60-degree day in November is what we call a "heat wave" here in the Midwest. Losing games is one thing, but you sure aren’t making yourself look any tougher, or helping your cause with the fans, by wearing that silly head stocking on a warm day.

Bang the drum slowly, after all, it's been 43-years since you last won here - might as well make it last!

• Purdue University has a lot going for it - nice campus, great engineering school, cool uniforms … and the world’s largest drum! I’m not exactly sure how they know they have the world’s largest drum, but that’s what it says on the drumhead, so I guess we’ll have to take their word for it. At any rate, that drum got a workout following the Boilermakers 38-36 win over Michigan, as several players stood patiently in line, waiting to give the drum a whack with what I assume must be the world’s largest drum stick.

I got out of bed early for this?

• The days of the 110,000 plus crowds at Michigan Stadium seem to be dwindling. I suppose the beautiful weather had something to do with it, but Saturday’s crowd of 108,000 was very late-arriving, especially the student section, who seem to be losing patience with two sub-par seasons quicker than the alumni faithful.

Anyone need a Q-tip?

• I heard from more than one person they thought Purdue’s marching band was every bit as good, if not better than Michigan’s band – especially while doing their halftime Michael Jackson tribute. I don’t know about that, but I did like Michigan’s seldom-used Blues Brothers tribute prior to the game. Also, what the heck are those things on top of the heads of the Boilermaker band members? They look like a pack of human Q-tips.

"Dee-fense ... Dee-fense ... dee-fense? ... c'mon people ... anyone? ... anyone? ... Bueller? ... Bueller?"

• What on earth has happened to the Michigan defense? In the 15-years I’ve been shooting Wolverine football, I’ve never seen the opponent put up so many big plays on Michigan. Usually after one big play, I’ll have plenty of time to get to the other side of the field to continue shooting the action, but Purdue’s opening touchdown drive happened so fast, I was still walking behind their bench when they scored.

"I don't want it, here you take it!"

• Perhaps the most critical play of the game took place on a fourth and ten play for the Wolverines late in the fourth quarter. Trailing the Boilermakers 38-30 at the time, Rich Rod decided to go for it rather than kick a chip-shot field goal. The result was a goofy play that saw running back Carlos Brown lateral the ball to lineman Mark Huyge as he was being tackled near the sideline. At first the play appeared to be successful, but after an official review it was determined that Brown had lateraled the ball forward to Huyge. That, of course, is a no-no, and the Wolverines turned the ball over on downs. What I don’t understand is why Brown wasn’t ruled out of bounds in the first place, when, as my picture shows, he’s on top of Purdue’s Torri Williams, who is clearly out of bounds while making the tackle.

More than a Minor disappointment.

• Of all the players on Michigan's team I've come to know over the past few years, I feel worse for Brandon Minor than any other player. His bum ankle has kept him from having the kind of senior season I'm sure he envisioned. I can sense his frustration every time I see him coming off the field. Nothing against these smaller, quicker running backs that Rich Rod likes to recruit, but I like Minor's powerful running style. When he's healthy, in my opinion, he's one of the best backs in the Big Ten. Here's hoping some NFL scouts feel the same and give Minor his due come next April in the draft (are you listening Cleveland Browns?).

That’s it for this week. I’ll be staying home for the Wolverines trip to Madison this Saturday, but I’ll be back in action when they take on Ohio State for their last game of the season. Hopefully for you Go Blue faithful, the Wolverines won't be in a position where they'll have to beat the Buckeyes to go "bowling."

Bad weather, bad loss - Bad omen?

2009-10-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Here are my sideline observations from Penn State's 35-10 pasting of Michigan, Saturday, October 24th at the Big House.

"Where are we?"

• Of all the iconic college football coaches in the country, my favorite has to be Joe Paterno. The guy just cracks me up. From his oversized eyeglasses to his athletic shoes and rolled-up pants, he hasn’t changed all that much over the years. He took over as head coach of the Nittany Lions in 1965 - the same year I was born, now 82, JoePa is still going strong – doesn’t even have that much gray hair, but at his age maybe it’s time to change his nickname from JoePa to GrandPa.

Here comes Generic U.

A little color is always nice.

• Penn State is a great football program filled with a lot of pride and tradition, but what’s up with the fancy uniforms? I mean, can’t they tone it down a little? All joking aside, I actually like the generic quality to Penn State’s duds - especially the all-white road uniforms. They’re kind of like what you’d start with before adding things like logos … or colors ... or names. Luckily, the Nittany Lion players more than make up for the lack of snazzy uniforms by being the most tattooed football team I’ve ever seen.

Fall color in Michigan?

• Ahh, cold rain ... how I love thee. Seriously, does anything beat four hours in the cold, windy rain with numb fingers and a throat that feels like you swallowed a cheese grater? The only problem (other than zero dexterity and a possible case of pneumonia) was the fact I had to find someplace dry to work on my photographs at halftime. Unfortunately, the Big House’s only realistic “dry” option is in the tunnel - and the only place in the tunnel where there’s a spot to put my laptop happens to be next to the four port-o-potty’s for the marching band and game officials (although I have to admit, nothing speeds up your workflow faster than the aroma of four port-o-potty’s an arm’s length away). Actually, I was okay with it, but poor ESPN reporter Holly Rowe looked like she was going to pass out when a particularly strong wave of “port-o-stench” wafted past us.

Where did I put those earplugs?

• One of the biggest differences between a college football sideline and an NFL sideline is the amount of workable space. Aside from the fact that most college teams dress roughly 238 players (thereby eating up most of the sideline) they also toss in 80 cheerleaders, 64 dance team members and about 1.5 million marching band members, joyfully blasting their school fight song into your ears at point blank range (not that I don’t enjoy going deaf or getting smacked in the back of the head with a trombone slide). Mix in the mobile, sideline television cameramen with their assistants whipping camera cables into your shins every 15-20 seconds, as well as Michigan event staff members barking at you nonstop to “stay behind the white line” and it makes for one challenging afternoon.

Another pick for Denard ... let's see, that makes 5 interceptions in his last 20 pass attempts - ouch!

• I said it before and I’ll say it again, Tate Forcier may be the better quarterback, but my eyes light up every time Denard Robinson enters the game because I know something exciting is going to happen – good or bad. Lately there’s been a lot more bad than good, but to a photographer it’s all the same - turnovers are just as exciting as touchdowns.

Trick or Treat?

• Maybe it has something to do with the aforementioned “boring” uniforms, but those four guys who dress up in those Halloween-like costumes of JoePa and a trio of Nittany Lion players absolutely crack me up – and they can dance too!

Safety dance!

• I've seen plenty of instances where crowd noise wreaks havoc on a quarterback's ability to be heard by his offense thereby causing a false start or a bad snap, but I've never seen the opposing crowd make enough noise to screw up the home team's quarterback! That is until Saturday when the Penn State faithful were loud enough to cause a botched snap between Michigan's center and Tate Forcier. The result of the bad snap, which sailed out of the back of the endzone, was a safety for the Nittany Lions.

"Nice chatting with you son, now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and kick your team's @$$!"

• It was easy to see the amount of respect Rich Rodriguez has for Joe Paterno. The two chatted for several minutes before the game, and longer than most after. They even made eye contact and laughed from time to time! Quite unusual, given the norm so far this season.

Well, that’s it for me until the Purdue game. My cohort, Melanie Maxwell, will be making the long drive to Champaign/Urbana for the lllinois game this Saturday while I go trick-or-treating with my kids. Here’s hoping Halloween isn’t too scary for Michigan – after all, Illinois does wear orange.

Road Warrior

2009-10-19T06:46:00.000-07:00

After narrowly defeating Indiana, in a game I didn’t shoot, Michigan was off to its first road game of the season at Michigan State, followed by another road game in Iowa, then back home for Delaware State. Here are my sidleline observations from that trio of games:

Party for Sparty, 10-3-09

• Maybe it’s just me, but there is definitely more of a vibe at other Big 10 stadiums than Michigan Stadium. Spartan Stadium certainly qualifies as a place with a “vibe.” Of course a lot of that has to do with their hatred of Michigan. Regardless, it’s hard to describe the sense of excitement the players must feel when they’re playing in one of these rivalry games. I know I feel it, and I’m just down there taking pictures.

Another lovely fall day in Michigan.

• Shooting games in iffy weather is just part of the job - and the weather in East Lansing was iffy! Rain, sun, clouds, wind … rain, sun, clouds, wind … wash, rinse, repeat. Keeping expensive camera gear dry can be a challenge, especially if it’s raining and windy – which it was during the last 4 minutes of the game when Michigan was driving for the game-tying score. Want to know what makes bad weather even worse? Field turf. Sounds crazy, but if I’m shooting in rain, I’d like my photos to reflect that. Field turf eliminates any chance of getting a photo of a mud-covered player … which I like – seems more like real football.

• Watching Michigan State nearly blow a two-touchdown lead in the waning moments of a game they dominated was extremely interesting at field level. You could see it in the player’s faces – on both teams – as the momentum did a complete 180. If the Spartans had lost, I fear they would have been done for the season. But they didn’t and now they seem to be on a roll.

• I was front and center Michigan’s game-tying drive. The game should have ended on a Forcier interception the pass before he hit Roy Roundtree in the back of the endzone. The ball was deflected up in the air and seemed to hit three or four players before falling incomplete on the turf. Ironically, Forcier would be picked off in overtime on nearly the exact same play.

Tackle? ... anyone? ... anyone?

• How did the Wolverine defense not tackle Larry Caper on his game-winning touchdown run? Caper ran right at me on the play, I took several photos of him as he appeared to be stopped by Troy Woolfolk, the next thing I know he’s running past me into the endzone – game over!

Whoa ... Lookout! ... Paul Bunyan almost hits the turf - or worse, me!

• What’s up with the Paul Bunyan trophy? The Spartans treated that thing as if it were the Holy Grail. At least until one of the Spartan players nearly clocked me with old Paul as it slipped from the player’s one-handed grip while parading it around the field. I wonder if it would have busted into pieces had he bounced it off the turf?

"Tate, this is your father ... give in to the dark side Tate."

• NCAA football games are starting to look more and more like Star Wars conventions. Everywhere I look I see Storm Troopers and Darth Vaders invading stadium student sections, not to mention all the marching bands seem to play Vader’s theme song on every third down play.

IOWA – Field of Nightmares, 10-10-09

• Iowa City is a lot like Ann Arbor. But then so is West Lafayette, Bloomington, Madison, etc, etc. - still, it was my first trip to Kinnick Stadium and Michigan’s first night game of the year. I always enjoy shooting night games, but this one was more challenging than most for a couple of reasons.

1) They didn’t bring in enough lights.

2) Iowa ordered a “Black Out” for the game, meaning all the fans dressed in black. Not exactly the most reflective color.

Back in Black!

• What’s up with mid-October road games? For the third time in four years I’ve gone to road games in the middle of October that featured record-setting low temperatures, Penn State in ’06 and ’08 - and now Iowa this year. It snowed the morning of the game, and it didn’t get much better the rest of the day! With temps in the low 30’s at kickoff and in the mid-20’s by the end of the game, it was the second straight week where weather made it difficult to get good shots. Rain wasn’t the problem, numb fingers were. It’s hard to take pictures when the dexterity is gone from your fingers.

Dazed and confused.

• I was surprised to hear all the controversy over pulling Tate Forcier late in the game. I knew he had a concussion on his last play from scrimmage when he got absolutely tattooed by a pair of Iowa lineman. When he got up, he was staggering like a prizefighter that just pulled himself off the canvas. I remember turning to the photographer next to me and saying, “he’s done.” Then I went to the Michigan bench to see if I could get some shots of Forcier receiving medical attention. He was there, all right; parka on, eyes dazed – looked a lot like Sam McGuffie from last year’s team. To hear that Rich Rod had no idea that his starting quarterback was hurt was kind of startling.

• It was nice to shoot a game where no goofy trophies were at stake. No Brown Jugs, no Paul Bunyans, just a win or a loss.

• Vader and the Storm Troopers made their way to Iowa, this time with the flying wing on their respective battle helmets.

May the Forcier not be with you?

• One thing no one other than a photographer ever sees - the bowels of a Big 10 stadium. A lot of stadiums let the photographers use the press box as their working space once the game is over – not so with Kinnick Stadium (and a few others). I like the stadium, but the photographers are penned into a pair of internal storage rooms under the concourse for their workstations. No windows, no bathrooms - no time to get gas from the lousy food you ate on the way to the game! At any rate, if you weren’t friendly with your fellow shooters before the game, you will be before you leave.

• I’ve shot a lot of Michigan wins over the years, and, to be honest, a fair amount of losses. Michigan looks like every other team when they win - they do what you’d expect … almost a canned emotion. But when they lose they are the most boring team in the world to photograph. No emotion – I mean none! It’s okay to look depressed when you lose a close game. You fought hard, you came up short, go ahead and wear your emotions on your sleeve. It will make you feel better, or at the very least, it will make for better pictures!

Delaware State of disbelief! 10-17-09

A storm of controversy?

• What can you say about this non-game? Both teams should be ashamed of themselves - Michigan for scheduling such a tomato can, and Delaware State for accepting the $550K for playing in the game, thereby forfeiting one of their own conference games in the process.

This game should be nothing but a blur!

• Oddly enough, before any ball was snapped, kicked, handed off , or thrown, both teams looked the same. There were guys in pads wearing red and white who were just as big and looked just as fast as the guys in pads wearing maize and blue. They looked like athletes, they dressed like athletes – how could they be so bad? And they were bad. In my 15-years of walking the sidelines with a camera at Michigan Stadium, I’ve never seen a worse game.

Where is everybody?

• Where were the students? Apparently the game was so bad, a third of the students decided to stay home and sleep off their hangovers rather than show up at the Big House. I felt sorry for any fan who paid good money to come and see this game.

• I will give kudos to the students who did attend the game. As they always do, they take even the must mundane of contests and turn it into something halfway interesting with “the wave.” Other Big 10 venues may have more of a vibe than the Big House, but nobody, and I mean nobody, does the wave better than Michigan Stadium. The place was practically invented for such a feat. Seeing it done to perfection from the field - in the round - is a thing of beauty. I especially enjoy the slow-motion version. I was behind the Delaware State bench when the wave started and even their players stopped watching the game and started watching the crowd.

At least their band was good.

That’s it for this batch of games. Michigan now stands at 5-2, about what I expected at the beginning of the season. Now, of course, they run into some actual competition with Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State remaining on their schedule. I guess we’ll see how far they’ve come from last year in the next few weeks.

Observations from the field: Michigan football up close

2009-09-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

People often say I’m lucky because for the past 15 years I’ve been on the sidelines at Michigan Stadium photographing Wolverine football games.

It’s true, I am lucky, but don’t think for a moment it’s all glamour and fun. Humping camera gear up and down the sidelines while fighting for field position with other photographers, both television and still, can be frustrating to say the least.

Still, the vision from field level is a unique experience. One shared by coaches and players, officials and media members (and at the University of Michigan, just about anyone with a connection) but no one else.

So to give you an idea of what it’s like to be on the sidelines during football Saturday’s, I’d like to share some of my unique sideline perspective from the first three games.

Western Michigan, September 5th

• Ah man, I hate these early season games when it’s sunny and warm. Even though it’s only in the 70’s, the artificial turf makes it feel much warmer on the field. In fact, days like this make it impossible to shoot downfield very far because of the heat waves coming off the turf. Anything past 25-yards and it looks more like a Salvador Dali painting than a picture of Darryl Stonum making a diving catch.

Can you feel the heat waves?

• Tate Forcier may be Michigan’s main man at quarterback, but ask any photographer on the field and they’ll take Denard Robinson any day – at least from a photographic standpoint. He’s way more animated, always seems to get into open space, has his braids flying out of his helmet, and has an uncanny knack for making big plays when the light is in his face.

Off to the races!

• I don’t know why everyone was whining about this new addition to the Big House (by the way, where I come from the Big House means prison - the slammer - the joint; certainly not a venue to play football) I can’t say for sure if it makes the place any louder, but it sure does make it look a heck-of-a lot more like a stadium -especially from the field. Nothing against tradition, but come on people, the place looked like a big can of tuna before the addition.

Notre Dame, September 12th

• Another warm day with heat waves coming off the field - not that Notre Dame’s honor guard guys mind. For the record, at field level they don’t leave much to the imagination when they spin around in formation, kilts-a-flying, butt cheeks-a-showing!

• Up close, Jimmy Clauson and Charlie Weiss both look like they’re about 12 - kind of like River Phoenix and the chubby kid from Stand By Me, all grown up.

Blueberry pie anyone?

• Late-afternoon starts mean plenty of drunks in the stands … and on the field. One drunk, in particular, decided to dance around on the field after Greg Matthews scored the game-winning touchdown, thereby blocking my view of most of the play. No big deal really, unless you’re a photographer getting paid to document the game!

Portrait of a drunk (or at least his elbow).

• Am I the only one who wondered what the heck they were going to do if Michigan had kicked a field goal instead of scoring the game-winning touchdown? I mean it was getting dark on that field. Realistically, they had maybe 15 more minutes of daylight left and UM, or TV, or whoever, decided not to bring in lights for the game. So what would have happened if the game had gone into overtime?

"Shhh, don't tell anyone we don't have lights!"

(One possible solution, they could have announced over the PA “The first 4,000 fans to get to Pioneer High School’s football field can watch the end of the game.” Or better yet, they could just bring lights to 3:30 games).

• I don’t dislike Notre Dame as much as most of you, but if you need another reason to hate the Irish, let me offer up the student Leprechaun dude who prances up and down the sidelines. Looking as if he’s just been peeled off a box of Lucky Charms, he reminds me of yippy, little dog – you know, one of those annoying ankle biters that’s always under your feet and never shuts up.

Stay away Lucky!

Eastern Michigan, September 19th

• It’s always a weird site to see more Eastern fans attend a game at UM than at their own stadium. My guess is they probably come to UM games rather than their own on most Saturday’s anyhow. It just so happens their team was playing at UM that particular day.

• I knew Andy Schmitt was done for the season (and so did he) long before they ever put him in an MRI tube. To see him go down untouched, dropping the ball and grabbing his knee, was not a good omen for Schmitt. To see him on the bench being consoled by the trainer was even worse.

Tough luck for Andy.

• Trust me when I say, while screaming at his players, EMU head coach Ron English uses words you’ll never find in an English dictionary.

• It was another warm day, but it got plenty cold when English and Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez “kind of” shook hands at midfield following the game – Brrrrr!!!

Rich Rodriguez and Ron English exchange pleasantries (sort of).

• Speaking of Rodriguez, I like the guy, he’s very media friendly (at least to this point) but Rich, can’t you wear a different colored wristband? That bright red one you wear just doesn’t jive too well among all the maize and blue. I know you use it for signaling from the sidelines, but couldn’t you take it off once the game ends? Every time I take a picture of you singing “Hail to the Victors” in front of the student section, it looks as if a Buckeye fan somehow snuck into the frame and thrust his fist in the air.

Change the wristband, please!

• One last thing, why do the fans who line the tunnel beg for players gloves, wristbands, bandages, etc., when they're walking through the tunnel back to the locker room. People, this is extremely gross. Think about the amount of body fluids (perspiration and otherwise) that have been absorbed by the garb you're begging to have tossed your way.

That’s it for the first three games. I won’t be on the sidelines for this Saturday’s Homecoming game against Indiana (which may be a good thing since it’s supposed to rain - nothing worse than a field full of rain-soaked cheerleaders who've been roaming the sidelines at every Homecoming since 1922). But I’ll be back in action for the first two road games of the season, MSU and Iowa, to happily give you my perspective from the road where the Wolverines are far from loved.