University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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The smell of barbeque and the sound of laughter fills the air as people flock to Ann Arbor to tailgate before the game. From lawn chairs to tor- tilla chips shaped like footballs, there was nothing you could not get in maize and blue. photo by Shelley Skopit This fan chose a custom made t-shirt to wear on football Saturdays. Week after week, the Big House was trans- formed into a sea of maize and blue. The University leads the nation in sales of school related paraphernalia. photo by Heather Cadell I Wolverine faithfuls are not afraid to show their spirit. While some loyal fans decorated their cars with flags and window stickers, others chose a custom paint job. photo by Heather Caddell BUJi- 14 Football Sat

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3 plashing through piuldks .it -. iciHs .uioni I hnn blue body paint, wir. clotliiiu; wtTL 1 common apparel on football Sat u i l. r. phoni l y Kriiitn St ICHIGAN LIFE Another year passed us by. We still walked to the stadium among the masses of people and cheered for the football team each Saturday morn- ing. We thought of that failed exam every time we walked over the M in the Diag. We partied like it was 1999. And we ordered Pizza House when we came home at 3:30 in the morning. We kept Michi- gan traditions alive amidst all the changes. And through it all, we created memories to last another millennium. e ome doszs ,1 ball Saturdays. Many dc };(m nci s their pels in football }cr- the Npirn i ' l (lie mai L-and blur. This cluj; was .1 hui.y Ian oh Miili. Stonci ru cs Vakan Michigan Life 13

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Students living near the stadium take advantage of limited parking places to make an easy buck. Few cars ventured too close to the Big House as streets were turned into sidewalks for the tens of thousands of spectators who walked to the game. photo by Heather Caddell I hey were only six fall Saturdays, but they stood out from the others. Everyone knew about them, everyone talked about them. The six football Saturdays. Bringing together much of the University community, they offered a multitude of experiences as students turned a three-hour football game into a reason for a day ' s worth of activities. For many students, the games allowed them to get together with friends. I have tickets with friends I don ' t always get to see during the week, when we ' re all busy with classes. So we meet before the game, all walk to the stadium together, and then we stay to the bitter end, no matter what. Afterwards, we ' ll go to dinner and maybe to a party, but it ' s just a time for us to all see each other, said sophomore Inteflex student Andrew Shuman. Other students met before the game for tailgating parties. We get the grill and all the stuff together and head down to where the band practices. We eat and visit and then march in with the band. Depending on how the game goes, sometimes the tailgating is better than the football, said first-year industrial engineering student Matthew Neidlinger. With the percussion section ' s Step Show in front of Revelli Hall and the subsequent march to the stadium, the marching band played a big role in the spectators ' day, as many students and alumni followed the band down Hoover Street and up Greene Street to the stadium. Our day starts really early and we ' re all sleepy, but practice and the Step Show and the march to the stadium gradually get you more and more pumped up, until that point when you step out on the field. And you realize that 111 ,000 people are cheering for you, too, and not just the team, and that we ' re a big part of their experience, said first-year LSA student Austin Kirksey, a tuba player in the marching band. Not all students with tickets attended the games. Because of the demand for tickets, some students decided to earn a profit and turned to scalping their student tickets. I scalp my tickets out of greed, said an anonymous sopho- more. Sometimes I ' ll sell them to other students, but if I can get more from the guys buying them on State Street, I ' ll go there. Regardless of each individual ' s experience, many students recognized their part in the crowd. I ' ve only been to one game so far as a student, but the entire time, I just felt like such a proud member of a proud group. It ' s thrilling and exciting, with the entire stadium cheering for our team, said David Thurman, a first-year engineering student. For much of campus, the football Saturdays were more than just any other day. They were more than just a football game. They were an entire event. by Caelan Jordan Michigan Life +15