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Family traditions are so important.  They bring different generations together and form lifelong memories.   Last weekend I was able to pass my love of Michigan football on to my grandson, Cole Daniel, as we set off for his Michigan football game in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  It was a weekend that neither of us will ever forget.

Our journey began early Friday, September 19^th when I picked up my daughter, Kirstyn (Cole’s mom), and Cole on our way to the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania airport.  We flew to Detroit, Michigan where my brother-in-law, George, picked us up.  George is married to my older sister, Margie Lou, and he is the reason I am lifelong fan of the Michigan Wolverines.  I grew up in St. Joe, Michigan which is located on Lake Michigan in the southwest corner of the state.  George had me watching their games on television when I was a young boy. When I was a teenager he took me to my first game at the University of Michigan. Kirstyn started watching Michigan football games with me from the time she was a little girl.  I took her to the Big House in Ann Arbor for her first Michigan football game during her sophomore year of college. So, George passed the tradition to me; I passed it on to Kirstyn and now Kirstyn and I are passing it down to Cole. 

After we checked into our hotel rooms, we drove into downtown Ann Arbor and visited the University of Michigan campus.  We were able to see the entry area of the Chrysler Arena where the Michigan basketball team plays its home games.  

Then we were off to Schembechler Hall where we parked in Coach Brady Hoke’s parking place (we had permission from the campus police) and then took pictures with the statue of Michigan’s legendary football coach, Bo Schembechler. 

The M Den was a “must stop” for us as we had to load up on Michigan gear and buy Christmas gifts for the family.  I bought Cole a high tech Michigan Football Player toy that he loves.  The M Den is a Michigan fan’s dream.  It houses three floors of maize and blue gear! 

After shopping, we were hungry so we found a cute restaurant in the downtown area and enjoyed a wonderful meal.  By the time we got back to our hotel we were exhausted so we got to bed early to be ready for Saturday’s big game.  Since we had two adjoining rooms, Cole was able to come over and hang out with the guys when he needed a little break from mom.

Saturday morning we were up and ready!  After a hearty breakfast, we drove into Ann Arbor to get a good, affordable parking spot.  After walking around and enjoying lots of camaraderie with fellow Michigan fans, we arrived at the Big House (I had to explain to Cole why they call a football stadium the Big House.)  Michigan’s football stadium is the biggest in the country and, on this day, there were 103,000 fans on hand for the game against the Utah Utes.

When we went inside the stadium little Cole’s eyes were the size of quarters!  He couldn’t believe how HUGE the stadium is!  We lunched on stadium Brats, chips and salsa.  There was tons of entertainment from the music, the cheerleaders, the band and the players.  One of the coolest (and most entertaining for Cole) was the pre-game tribute to aviation where fifteen different airplanes, helicopters and jets flew over the stadium.  As soon as we sang the last word of the national anthem, fighter jets roared over the stadium and kicked in the afterburners.  Cole thought it was cooler than any movie he had ever seen!  

Michigan’s football stadium features two, HUGE, high definition video screens on both ends of the stadium.  Videos, replays and pictures are constantly running.  Guess whose picture made it up onto the Big Screen?  Kirstyn took Cole’s picture down by the field and texted it to the number on the screen.  All of a sudden they put Cole’s picture up and I was able to capture the shot with my phone.  He couldn’t believe he was up on those huge screens! Talk about a lifetime memory!!! 

I decided since I have only been to the Big House a handful of times in my life, that I would get the best seats I could find, so we were in row 51 on the Michigan 45 yard line!  Cole really got into singing the fight song and shouting “M Go Blue!” along with his mom, his papa, his uncle George and about 100,000 other Michigan fans.

Unfortunately, our Michigan Wolverines lost that day. But it wasn’t about winning or losing for us. It was about four generations coming together and enjoying a lifelong tradition.  I will never, EVER forget this amazing trip.  Kirstyn and I took tons of great photos that she is going to turn into a scrapbook.  We had the time of our lives.  Our Michigan football tradition is strong and our support will last all of our lives.  No matter who your team is, I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventure. Cheer for your team in good times and bad times.  And - one more thing - 

“M Go Blue!!!!!”  

-Dan