Fan Appreciation

Yesterday, my family and I all went up to Ann Arbor for the fan appreciation day at “The Big House”. I had purchased 3 different magazines with Denard Robinson’s picture on the front so myself and my 2 kids could get his autograph. The Athletic Department had a huge garage sale, it started at 8:30 but we didn’t get there till 10am. If was pretty picked through by the time we got there but I still managed to get 4 or 5 T-shirts at $5/each. I also had previously contacted Dennis from “Too Many Grandersons” and he had said he was going to be there so we decided to hook up at the garage sale and bring each other some cards. He had met up with Dustin from “No Relics Pulled” before I had gotten there and they waited for me at the entrance. It was great to finally meet some fellow bloggers and fellow Michigan fans. Dustin had to be somewhere so I didn’t get to talk to him much but Dennis and I got together for a trade. I’ll have a trade post at a later date so I can showcase some of the great cards he brought for me. Dennis had a post here about his day, and his great baseball jersey he purchased there. Next year, I’m definitely getting there earlier and getting at least one if not a couple of those. I’ve wanted a Michigan baseball jersey for awhile. I’m jealous of your jerseys, Dennis.

We left the garage sale, and Dennis, and headed for the stadium. We had packed our lunches and sat in the parking lot and ate real quick then hopped in line to get in the stadium. Dennis had sent me a text saying that he had bought a football to get some signatures with so I told him where we were so he could hop in line with us. At this point, we weren’t in bad position as far as being close to the stadium. By the time the gates opened, it was huge, all the way around the parking lot and down a couple of aisles. Gates opened, we all got inside, and went straight for the line for Denard’s autograph. After standing in this line for about 2 hours, and only moving maybe 50 feet. They cut off the line to where nobody else could get auto’s. This sucked, not because we didn’t get an autograph but because the line went nowhere. I’m sure all kinds of people just walked up towards the front and just entered the line. There was no kind of security anywhere to prevent this, and the line was probably 7 or 8 wide all the way up. It should have been roped off and some security. I don’t think they had a clue what they were in for. By the time they cut us off, it was too late to get anybody else’s autographs. Dennis hit a couple of the other lines and said he got nowhere in any of them. My family and I all decided to head into the stadium. We went down to the field where they were having field goal demonstrations. I hope it was practice because after last year, they need to practice 24 hrs. a day. We also went over and saw Brady Hoke at his signing. On the way out we happen to be where the buses were and saw a bunch of them hop on.

As much as we were disappointed in the whole autograph fiasco and standing in line for about 5 hours, I had a great time. Considering I live in Notre Dame country, it’s just nice to be around all those Michigan fans and to be on the campus. Got to talk baseball and Michigan football with Dennis, compared Notre Dame fans to Ohio State fans with some young women behind us that live in Ohio. Just the atmosphere alone was awesome. Great time with family and friends in a whole day about Michigan football, could it really be that bad? Below are a bunch of pics taken by my mom and I. throughout the day.

My brother, his wife and I in line outside the stadium.

The rest of the line in front of us. It goes as far as you can see, then hooks back around to the left on the other side of the trees.

Denard Robinson. All smiles as usual.

Brady Hoke

A bunch of players.

The new HD screen of the scoreboards.

50 yard line, under all those peeps!

My daughter was a little upset we couldn’t get Denard’s autograph.

And finally….

Yes, they are real. The cheerleaders, I mean, real Michigan cheerleaders. Although I look a little creepy next to them, but it was all in fun.

Like I said, I had a great time despite the few disappointments. My kids absolutely loved it, it was their first time in any stadium that huge. I was glad we went and will definitely be back next year.

Thanks again for the trade, Dennis. I’ll be looking for some more stuff to send your way since ours was so lopsided. FYI – I love the Beckham, I showed it off in the car when everyone got back.

For those of you who didn’t like this post, because it was all about Michigan.