The Shock

September 1st, 2007. Opening Game. Michigan Stadium.
The University of Michigan Wolverines versus the Appalachian State University Mountaineers.

Standing in my seat with the rest of the Michigan Marching Band in Michigan Stadium, I struggled to comprehend exactly what was happening in front of my eyes. Appalachian State was leading Michigan 31-26 at the beginning of the fourth quarter during the opening game of the 2007 season. That’s right…Division I-AA Appalachian State was winning. That’s like a minor league team outplaying a major leaguer.

The 110,000 fans in the Big House all experienced a collective state of shock. How was Michigan going to escape this mess? Who would be the hero? I thought the answer was clear when Mike Hart, in a phenomenal effort, single-handedly willed a spectacular 54-yard touchdown run into the end zone with 4:36 left in the game, putting Michigan up 32-31.

Still, Appalachian State roared back with a 24-yard field goal with 26 seconds left to lead 34-32. Twenty-Six seconds left. Who would be the hero for Michigan? Chad Henne launched a ballsy 46-yard pass to Mario Manningham, putting Michigan back into field goal range with time left for one play. All that stood in the way of an extraordinary win for Michigan was a 37-yard field goal by kicker Jason Gingell as time expired. Crossing my fingers and holding hands with my fellow section members, I watched the final play unfold. The ball was snapped. My heart was racing. 110,000 people looked on as Gingell’s foot hit the pigskin, and…

Flashback: Three Days Earlier. Just a few weeks after returning to the U.S., I was already deeply immersed in the world of marching band. As a rank leader candidate, my “Band Week” was particularly long and strenuous, but certainly rewarding. My fellow rank leader candidates and I were delighted to see such improvement among the freshmen, and were expecting another awesome year. After practice one day, Alan and I ordered some Chinese food complete with tasty fortune cookies! I cracked mine open, and the fortune read:

“Your road to glory will be rocky, but fulfilling.”

So, of course, at first glance, I basically read it as “your road to glory will be blah blah trite cliché blah blah blah.” Then I thought about the football season ahead, and all the work I was putting into the Michigan Marching Band, and all the expectations for a championship. The road to glory will be rocky? Uh…not too rocky, I hope. Whatever…fortune cookies don’t mean much anyway.

Back to the game. Jason Gingell’s foot hit the ball. I could barely keep my eyes open. My fellow band members and I were petrified. Then it happened. Blocked. My heart immediately sank. The 110,000 fans that had been so vocal a few seconds earlier were now silent. In one of the biggest upsets in college football history, the hot, Hot, HOT Appalachian State Mountaineers did the unexpected.
Final Score: ASU 34, Michigan 32.

“Shock” is still the best word to describe my reaction. However, other Michigan fans embraced emotions of anger and frustration. It seemed as if within seconds, people were already calling for Coach Lloyd Carr’s head. Who should be blamed for this disaster?

So what happens now? How do we pick up the pieces? Do we continue to play the blame game, or do we rise back up and see what we’re made of? Many thought this would be the year Michigan would finally achieve greatness and make it to the National Championship Game. Now that’s impossible, but that doesn’t mean the road to glory is no longer traversable. Forget who should be blamed. Forget the anger. Forget the frustration. While the entire world writes Michigan off, there’s only one thing the Maize and Blue can do. Get back up. Show the world how good Michigan is. Be so good…so good that you can’t possibly be ignored.

Maybe Coach Taylor expressed this situation the best in NBC’s overly romanticized football show, Friday Night Lights:

“We will all, at some point in our lives, fall. We will all fall. We must keep this in our hearts. That what we have is special. That it can be taken from us. And when it is taken from us, we will be tested. We will be tested to our very souls.”

And now Michigan will be tested. Ladies and Gentlemen, how can you not wonder how this story will unfold?