I stumbled upon an amazing highlight reel from one of my all-time favorite Michigan Football games, played August 31, 2002, when UofM faced the Washington Huskies at The Big House on opening day in front of 111,000+ people. The clip itself is fantastic because it does a great job of telling the story of that game--rather than just showcasing all the Michigan touchdowns in biased fashion. I will remember that day for the rest of my life, and here are some notable reasons why (as well as a few interesting things to look for in the clip):
- My first ever game at The Big House; my parents, who were in town to help me move in to my freshman dorm, came with me to the game.
- It was about 90 degrees and humid as hell.
- Chris Perry ripped off a 60+ yard touchdown run on the second play of the season.
- Braylon Edwards was still wearing #80, a year away from putting on the #1 and never looking back.
- I only disliked John Navarre at this point, and was still a few weeks away from learning to completely loathe him with every fiber of my being.
- It was still the Neuheisel Era at U-Dub.
- Michigan and Washington came in to the game ranked #8 and #9 in the country, respectively.
- It was a flat-out incredible game and had one of those tense, dramatic endings... Michigan was down 28-29 when Philip Brabbs connected on a 44-yard field goal with time expiring to give the Wolverines the victory. Great sidenote: Brabbs was benched earlier in the game after two misses, then Troy Nienberg came in and missed a field goal, so Lloyd Carr put Brabbs back in and he nailed the game-winner.
Here's the footage, courtesy of Wolverine Historian:
Goosebumps. Every damn time. It's weird, but watching those highlights stirs up every conceivable emotion and leaves me not knowing whether to cheer, cry, smile, scream, laugh, faint, or simply call my buddy Joncheeeler to reminisce. That game basically set the tone for the greatest four years of my life.
