Team 133 And Senior Day

This Saturday will be my last game in the Big House as a student.  It's shocking to write and even more shocking to think about.  After four years of making the trek to the Big House, my journey as a student will end with a game against Iowa.  It's been an interesting 4 years to say the least.  When I arrived on campus, Michigan was trying to recover from a 3-9 season and accusations of NCAA violations.  I can clearly remember being heckled by many people in the weeks prior to my freshman year about these facts.

Things of course got better.  Michigan limped to a 5-7 record in my freshman year, but they improved to 7-6 in 2010, won the Sugar Bowl in 2011, and still have the slight potential for a Big Ten Championship game this year.  To say I've grown with the football program would be cliche  but to an extent, it's probably true.  With Senior Day this Saturday, one can't help but looking back at how this team has went from offseason disaster to legitimate conference and national contender.

What's been even better have been the incredible moments that have came along the way.  My first game in the Big House was the Western Michigan game in 2009 when everybody got to see the first game of the high profile Tate Forcier and the incredible first play of Denard Robinson.  The next week we got to see an exciting upset of Notre Dame.  Sure, there were some depressing times later in the year, but I had the pleasure to come back for the re-dedication of the Big House for the opening game of 2010 along with the record-breaking performances of Denard in 2010.  Add in the 2010 Illinois game and there was more than enough excitement from most fans.

Monday Musings

Last Thursday, Bob Chappuis left us at the age of 89. Bob was a halfback at at Michigan, and left after his sophomore season to help in World War II. When he came back, he resumed his career at Michigan, leading them to an undefeated 1947 season, runner-up in the Heisman voting, number 1 ranking to end the season, and the Rose Bowl Championship. He was part of a backfield that included Bump Elliot (don't think I need to remind everyone of his status) and that's also part of how this blog is named. The 1947 Wolverines were nicknamed the 'Mad Magicians' because of what Crisler would do out of his single wing offense and Elliot and Chappuis were a big part of that.

However, that is not the biggest impact Chappuis has made, or left behind. When he was in the war, his bomber was shot down. Anti-Nazi supporters discovered him and two of his crewmen and kept them hidden. This house was just a short ways down from the local Germany military headquarters and they were holed up in a small room for three months. Not many Michigan Men can say that they've gone through something that profound and impactful.  Now, after his career at Michigan, he did not play much in the pros and settled down in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Bob was diagnosed with Parkinson's, and passed away from complications due to a fall.

Tate Forcier Becomes A Tiger-Cat

Who knew that I might have a chance to write about Tate Forcier? I mean, really? Wasn't he the kid who wasn't content with being Denard's backup?

In 2009, Tate became the third true freshman to start at quarterback for Michigan. Given the state of the roster back then, in Rich Rod's second season as head coach, and having to live with Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan the previous season; there wasn't much of a choice for the coaching staff and team. Tate started out his career going 4-0, but finished the season with a 5-7 record largely involving shoulder injuries and concussions. Also, remember Tate is the guy who played second string in the 2010 spring game, and sulked after the home opener to Connecticut in the fall.

So why am I writing about him now? Yesterday, it was announced that he was drafted the the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Now, as much as I know about football, college or pro, that's how little I know of the CFL. Henry Burris is currently the starter in Hamilton (Burris used to play in the NFL, for the Packers and Bears before being transferred to NFL Europe before that league dissipated).

After Tate left Michigan, there were widespread rumors as to where he might go. Miami was a primary choice, but others pointed to Hawaii, San Diego State, and Washington as viable options.  However, due to academic concerns, he never got the chance to transfer to any of these schools.  He ended up at San Jose State, but after more troubles, he was forced to leave college football.

So again, Tate is now in the CFL. Not exactly the ideal career path for a a high-profile college athlete. History is littered with the names of great college stars, men and women alike, whose careers took a fast downhill slide. Remember Jeff Smoker? Every State fan thought he was the greatest thing they've ever seen since sliced bread, yet he never won them a title. Along comes Cousins and boom, that's their new greatest of all time (short list, I know). Plenty of athletes have been forced to go down this road, not because of their choices (well, sort of, I guess), but primarily because they don't have any other choice.  That's what happened with once bright star Forcier.

Don't get me wrong, I liked Tate when he played for us. I didn't think he'd be in our history books as a legend, but I was happy at the beginning. Yet when it came time that he was benched, he was a bad sportsman, and that will be forever etched into my memory. Hopefully, Tate has conquered his demons and will be able to be productive in the CFL, but this is certainly a tale that should be used to warn kids entering college.  Make the right choices and this won't happen.  Forcier is a classic cause of wasted potential, but hopefully he'll be able to turn his path around in the CFL.