|
Home | Medical-Newswire.Com:
|
(EMAILWIRE.COM, September 14, 2007 ) Hickory, NC -- To be one of just 4,000 Appalachian State Mountaineer fans in the upper rows of fabled Michigan Stadium was truly amazing. We were lucky that Michigan invited us to play, as it was the first time they had invited a division 1-AA team into their stadium. Teams like ours typically play these games for a good beating and a really big check generated from the high volume gate profits at a stadium six times the size of our own. Appalachian State's football team had other ideas than collecting a memorable experience and a check however.The University of Michigan was founded in 1817 and first played football in 1879. They have won 11 national titles, 42 Big Ten Conference titles and are the winningest team in college football with 860 victories and now 283 losses. They play in the largest stadium in America, the Big House, a place where they just don’t lose. The funny thing is, for a big house, it’s hard to spot because 70% of the stadium is underground. It is a single tier monstrosity; its upper deck was added in 1949 and expanded in 1956 to hold 100,000. On game day there are only three Michigan cities larger than the crowd at the Big House.According to the Michigan program, their famous winged helmet design has nothing to do with a Wolverine, their mascot, but was designed in 1938 by an artist named Fritz Crisler who thought the distinctive design would help receivers be seen easier by the quarterback. Indeed the first year the helmets were utilized, passing percentage doubled and interceptions diminished.I won’t kid you, as a fan of football and a good time, I was perfectly happy to sit in the fabled Big House at Michigan with 105,000 of the best fans in the world without much hope of seeing a close game, never mind a win! They would be too big, too strong, the stadium too loud - rocking the stadium with over 100,000 voices as close as five feet to the corner of the end zone. I did allow myself to daydream about a win and how that would feel, but thankfully didn’t make any announcements like the fan I sat with in the airport who told a friend he would tattoo the score on his rear if we won. Or the friend of the guy behind me who boasted “If App wins, I’ll streak from Wilkesboro to Boone!”, who by the way, when called in the second quarter as ASU exploded with a 21 point offensive assault and a 14 point lead said, “I better get my running shoes ready!”.Michigan was very welcoming; their dedicated fans greeted us warmly and didn’t resort to any juvenile behavior at any point. They were all class, all the time. The 4,000 Appalachian State fans who made the trip knew our team would fight. After all, this team’s senior class had never lost a game at home and recently won back to back championships in the division under Michigan, 1-AA. We expected a battle and were all curious to see just how good Appalachian State’s defending championship team was. As the game began, we all sat in shock as Michigan promptly took the opening kickoff down the field pounding through our defense in two and a half minutes. I felt sure there was a long, ugly day in store.App State’s quarterback, Armanti Edwards, is a lightning quick runner and accurate passer who has not lost a game as a starter. He also possesses the demeanor of an assassin; he was calm and calculating as he moved the ASU offensive squad down the field amidst the backdrop of deafening noise. In one shocking moment, a long pass was thrown down the center of the field, and our receiver was flying toward the end zone, Michigan tacklers in his wake. The outpost of the stadium we were relegated to, the last 15 rows at the top of the corner of the stadium, exploded with joy. Our team had answered just one minute and 30 seconds after the initial Michigan score. The Mountaineers team developed a visible swagger and the Michigan fans understood that this might not have been the cupcake they expected.I was pleased that the game wasn’t a shutout and that we had tied the number five team in the nation. Everyone with a digital camera in the ASU section shot a picture of the scoreboard as a keepsake. After all, we were even with Michigan! As the game turned into a high scoring shootout, the Mountaineer faithful left Michigan with cameras full of scoreboard shots!In the end, the game was won due to our team’s preparation, conditioning, and sheer will to win. They refused to let the huge Michigan crowd or history affect them. The Michigan defense had adjusted at halftime and was unyielding in the second half, keeping our tired and worn defense on the field the majority of the time. The game came down to Appalachian moving the ball all the way down the field in 1 minute 37 seconds, a seemingly impossible task given Michigan’s shutdown defense performance in the 2nd half. Our quarterback, Armanti “The Assassin” Edwards ran for 20 yards and completed four passes in a row to put us in position to hit a chip shot kick with 30 seconds on the clock. Once the kick sailed through the uprights, the ASU faithful erupted with elation. We were about to take this mighty giant down! Two plays later we stood in stunned silence as Michigan completed a long bomb to set the stage for an easy field goal to win the game by a point. The entire game was an emotional roller coaster and this was to be the cruelest of twists, to lead the majority of the game and lose it on the last play. The crowd fell silent, the ball was snapped and time seemed to stop. In a blur, the ball was blocked by ASU safety Corey Lynch and caromed past the kicker. He stuck the bouncing football with one hand and ran with all the strength that he had left until the Michigan scoreboard clock read “zero”.Way up in the sky, Appalachian fans celebrated mightily. Bodies banged in to each other, high fives and hugs were exchanged; it was like being in a human blender. We were lucky that we didn’t all fall like dominoes to the bottom of the stadium.Many of the Michigan fans sat in their seats long after the teams had left the field in stunned silence, disbelieving what had just unfolded. We all stood at the top of the stands soaking up the intense euphoria that comes from bearing witness to a miracle. Postgame, Michigan fans were gracious and classy, they refused to make excuses or whine in disappointment. They understood what too many of us forget from our youth sports days, good sportsmanship. Michigan fans commended us for the victory and let us know that ASU deserved to prevail on this day.I am immensely proud of my alma mater, Appalachian State. Our team was given the opportunity to make history and tackled it with all the heart they could muster. In four hours Appalachian (not Appa -“lay” -chian) and Boone, North Carolina went from unknown, to the tip of the nation’s tongue as the ultimate underdog had its day.Appalachian State will probably always be undefeated in the Big House, since its not likely we will be invited back. As we like to say in Boone, North Carolina, “ It’s great to be a Mountaineer!”.Woody Stoudemire, alumnus Appalachian State University class of 1988Contact:Richard Averitterichard@gothamimages.comTel: 828 327 8099
Richard Averitte
richard@gothamimages.com 
Source: EmailWire.com
|
|
|
|
