We go to the University of Michigan, arguably the best place to spend your four college years. We live in a diverse college town (Ann Arbor), we have access to widely acclaimed professors, there are bars to go to every night of the week (Sundays at the Brown Jug?), we have multiple libraries open till the wee hours of the morning (the Ugli), we have delicious restaurants to choose from (No Thai) and we have the privilege of attending games at the Big House, whether it’s sunny and warm, crisp and windy or frigid and almost unbearable, and proudly yelling “LET’S GO BLUE!”
First downs, safeties, play-action passes, two-point conversions, roughing the passer penalties and touchdowns: whether you know what all or none of those terms mean, you probably at least know that they relate to football. And if you follow football to any degree, you most likely watched the Michigan vs. That Other School game today or heard the devastating news that we did indeed lose. I’m here to tell you not to fret, no matter how upset you are about the game (as I am!), I want you to remember that we go to the University of Michigan, the best school in the world.
Our season is not over. We will soon be assigned a bowl game (predictions are that we will go to the Capital One bowl game in Orlando) and we will cheer for our team no matter where we might be watching the game. We won’t forget the lyrics to our fight song and we will root for the team that gave us two undefeated seasons in the Big House. Now is the time to capitalize on our school spirit and join together with our fellow Wolverines to give our support to the Michigan football team. And for those of you that need a mini football lesson, here are very basic definitions to help you out:
1. First down: a gain of 10 or more yards on the field to give the offensive team an opportunity to attempt a new series of downs.
2. Safety: occurs when a defensive player tackles an offensive player with the ball in his own end zone. The defensive team gets 2 points.
3. Play-action pass: occurs when the quarterback pretends to hand the ball to a running back but then throws the ball.
4. Two-point conversion: instead of kicking the ball after a touchdown to get one-point, a team can choose to do a two-point conversion where the offense must run a play to get the ball past the goal line as if they were scoring another touchdown. If they succeed, they gain two-points.
5. Roughing the passer penalty: occurs when a player makes contact with the passer after the ball has already left his hands.
Hail! To the victors valiant
Hail! To the conquering heroes
Hail! Hail! To Michigan
The leaders and best!
Hail! To the victors valiant
Hail! To the conquering heroes
Hail! Hail! To Michigan,
The champions of the West!
Forever go blue!