Give me a P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C!

The vision for this blog when it first came to fruition was to be about football from a woman's perspective, with an occasional rant and rave.  I never thought my first football season as a blogger would be as tumultuous as it has been. I haven't written in quite some time and I'm not exactly sure why. One day I think it's because there is nothing worthy of writing about, because the team is so bad. Then, the next day I feel like there is so much to write about because there are so many things that need to be fixed, on and off the field

So, in order to focus my thoughts. I guess I'll just stick to writing about the on-field performance, or lack of, for now.

Call me hopelessly optimistic, or maybe I'm just delusional, but I actually thought Michigan had a chance to win the game yesterday.  And to some degree, I was right. Had they put all of the pieces together at the same time, they could have had a chance at the end to make a game of it.  That, however, didn't happen. I should have expected this, given their past performance.  Chris Spielman pegged it when he said, "Michigan is a team of almosts......almost made that tackle, almost broke for a long run, almost made the catch, almost got the sack." Almost, doesn't cut it. Not for me.

The O-line looked as pathetic in the first half as I've ever seen them, but came out in the second half and actually gave Gardner some time.

Gardner looked like, well, Gardner. Scared. He made poor decision after poor decision and turned the ball over like only he can do.  I'm not exactly sure what he saw with that shovel pass that resulted in a Pick 6, because I saw nothing. It's pathetic that I watch a game just waiting for the turnover(s).

The receivers: They just plain didn't show up. Dropped pass after dropped pass. Funchess needs to return the coveted #1 jersey to the equipment manager. He doesn't deserve it. He played yesterday like a half-hearted goat. It was awful. Then Darboh got in on the action too.

The defense played average, they gave up some big plays and missed some key tackles, but when you've been on the field as much and as often as they were yesterday, it wears you down.  I haven't seen a ToP (Time of Possession) stat yet, but it would be scary, I'm sure. If the offense was even close to average, the defense keeps them in the game enough that it could have been a game at the end.

I'm not sure where they go from here. By all accounts, Hoke will be the coach until the end of the season, so I guess my only hope for them is that no one suffers a career ending injury at the hands of a staff that clearly can't prepare them to play.

Ugh! Just plain, Ugh! Never felt so hopeless about a team in all my years as a fan. It's so difficult to watch and root for a team that has so much undeveloped talent. They are just plain bad with a capital B-A-D.

If I were queen of Michigan football here are my Pick 6 things to fix to get them back:
1. The Athletic Director---because the type of head coach we need, won't come with Brandon at the helm
2. The Head coach---Brady is a nice guy, not a good coach
3. The O-Line coach---no comment needed
4. Attitude---everyone's attitude, from the top down, is not focused
5. The Michigan Man mantra----this may be my next blog
6. Strength and Conditioning---these guys get man-handled in the trenches

Go Blue!
~Bekki

The Day Michigan Football Changed

The day started like any other day for me.  I went to work and was going about my day with 12 preschoolers, and then there was a knock on my door.  It was a paraeducator from an upstairs classroom. I was a bit confused as to why she was at my door during the mid-morning. I had no idea that what she was about to ask, and then subsequently tell me, would change the course of my day and the following 8 years as dramatically as it did.

Lady from upstairs, "Do you know who Bo Schem...?

"Schembechler? Yes, I know who he is. Why?"

"Well, my husband just told me that he died."

Me, completely in shock with a lump in my throat "What?!?! You've got to be kidding me?"

The Game was only a couple days away and had been built up with as much anticipation as a National Championship game.  Michigan and Ohio State were the two top ranked teams in the country, the biggest rivals in all of sports, and now this.  How could this be happening?

I immediately went to the phone to call my dad the first moment I had a chance.

"Dad, is it true?" I said with tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Yeah, Bek. It's true.  He was doing what he loved. Talking about Michigan. No better way for him to go."

"I'm so sorry Dad. I don't know what to say. I know how much you loved him. I can't believe this is happening right now. He won't be able to see the game."

"Yeah he will. He's gonna have the best seat in the house to watch our guys beat the Buckeyes."

"Ok, Dad. I gotta go. I'll come over after school."

Bo Schembechler was my Dad's idol. He looked up to him for so many reasons. He was firey. He was honest. He was intelligent. He was a motivator. He operated with integrity. He was successful. But most importantly, he loved Michigan. He would do anything and everything to make sure they were successful, the right way.  He never compromised that. Never.

November 17, 2006 is the day things changed in Ann Arbor. And they have never been the same since.  Michigan didn't win The Game and it has been a downward spiral ever since that day. I realize there will never be another Bo Schembechler. How could there be? But I honestly believe, if he were still alive, things in Ann Arbor, in Schembechler Hall, on State Street, and the surrounding areas, would not be the way they are today.  Bo wouldn't have allowed it to get to this point.

It seems inevitable that Michigan, once again, will be conducting a coaching search and possibly an Athletic Director search, too. I hope that the people who control this search, do a little soul searching for themselves.  And during this search, the first question they should ask themselves should be, "What would Bo do?"

My Pick 6 criteria for a new coach
1. integrity
2. passion
3. winning record
4. honesty
5. love for student-athletes
6. great motivator

~Bekki
Go Blue!