UM vs. Northwestern 11/15/08

Today is the last home game. We are still in shock over the loss of our friend and fellow tailgater, Dennis. We spoke with Dennis Jr. during our tailgate, and he wanted us to do some jagerbombs for his family. Done. Also had to give the "Call to Jager" which made him laugh. Hang in there. We're here for you.

Today's weather report - CRAP. And cold. What ridiculous conditions for spending the day in the great outdoors. Today is the first day of deer gun season in Michigan - I'm sure many fans would bail to go hunting - not that the weather was better for that either. We set up our gear - both tents on our tarp. One problem - the wind was so bad that it kept picking up the tent. We took down the smaller one (our 10x15) and confined ourselves to the 10x20 with walls. Reggie did the best he could with cooking - it was really hard to keep anything dry. Our generator had sat out last night (as we load up the car on Friday nights) and did us the courtesy of not starting. Thank goodness that our heater is propane fueled.

As it turns out, Laura and Lora would head to the mall during the game since we didn't have a TV. We made the decision to break down the tailgate and would go back to the house for our post-game meal. So...before heading to the game we did just that. It was probably 35 out, with a constant steady downpour which only worsened and windy. What a lovely day. Did I mention we were soaked? We broke down, the girls went to Briarwood, we headed to the game. We missed most of pre-game because it took so long to break down. We endured the first quarter and the weather continued to get worse. We were soaked through 4-5 layers each - some of which included Goretex and "waterproof" pants. About halfway through the 2nd quarter we considered leaving the game at the half. I vetoed the idea. Then it got colder and colder. And colder and colder. I spent part of the first quarter in the bathroom trying to get my electronics (camera, Blackberry) situated into the closest layer of my person to keep them as dry as possible. We called the girls and they met us back at the tailgate at the half. We sat through the NU game 2 years ago in weather very similar to this. But this was just too much. As we were pulling out of our lot, the thermostat in the car said 35. It began to snow as we were leaving. We could have tolerated plain snow, but not that much rain. It was ridiculous.

We arrived home, unloaded the cars - why not, we were already soaked. Then we had to load up the dryer with our clothes, coats, gloves, socks, etc. We enjoyed the rest of the game with the food Reggie had prepared - all comfort foods. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, chicken, veggies. YUM! At least we were dry. Attendance for the game: 107,856. Yeah, right.

We ended up losing the game 21-14. Surprise, surprise. Nothing at this point surprises us. We're just glad we didn't sit there in misery until the end.

Next up - the Bucknuts of Ohio State. Will we tailgate in C-bus for the game. Uh, hell no. We're heading to Chris & Laura's for the game. More dance lessons for their wedding reception will be practiced - it was highly entertaining. Learned how to do the Cupid Shuffle today - and we'll work on some more surprises next week. Oh yeah - and we'll watch a game as well. It is a sad state of affairs when the marquee Big Ten game next week isn't The Game, but the MSU vs. PSU game. Hmm....how far we've fallen. I'm sure next year will be better. Hells bells, it can't get any worse.