Under The Lights

Backblip.

It was one of the most legendary nights in UM football history. It was perhaps the most legendary night of 2011 so far.

The tailgating began long before the actual game. The streets of Ann Arbor were flooded in streams of maize and blue all morning, afternoon, and evening. We gathered on Hoover street and walked, for the first time ever, into the sunset as a united body of UM football fans. The beauty of sport is that, unlike anything else, it brings people of all races, religions, and backgrounds together. We may all be different, but we cheer for the same Wolverines.

It started with poor offense and even poorer defense. Denard was throwing INTs like the Irish were also wearing maize and blue. Cierre Woods (of all people) was running through and around every UM defender. It was 7-24 at the end of the 3rd quarter. I saw empty seats around me, seats that had been occupied at the beginning of the game, seats that students left because they had given up on the Wolverines.

But what those students, the Notre Dame fans, and the rest of the nation didn't understand was that "Those who stay will be champions." And we were not about to go down so easily. Capitalizing on Denard's fire and Notre Dame's errors, we took the lead for the first time, 28-24, with a minute and a half in the game. All we needed was to stop the Irish one more time, but Tommy Rees kept connecting with Michael Floyd, and they scored in less than a minute.

0:30 left and 80 yards of field to cover. It was a seemingly impossible task. Even Drew Brees couldn't finish a similar drive in the NFL season opener. Yet, Denard is a magician again and again. Despite having thrown three INTs already, he kept airing it out, and this time, Junior Hemingway and Roy Roundtree were making all the catches. With two seconds left, Roundtree caught the pass from Denard and ran into the end zone, into UM football history.

Indeed, there is nothing quite like under the lights, especially if you're in Ann Arbor, home of the Wolverines. Go Blue.

Peace.