Michigan fan in a sea of Burnt Orange and Red!

So last weekend I found myself amidst a see of Ohio State Buckeye #1 and UT Longhorns #2. That’s right, I was in Austin for arguably the biggest game this season—The #1 and #2 teams rarely play each other this early in the season. The Longhorns had fans from all over Texas in for the game, while the Buckeyes brought 40,000 fans with them to Austin and rented conference rooms in the convention center and the Frank Erwin Center for their fans to watch the big game. Honestly, I didn’t care who won. I mean I am not a Longhorn fan (although I am slowly being converted); I am still bruised by our (Michigan’s) Rose Bowl loss at the hands of UT two years ago. And I am DEFINITELY not a Buckeyes fan—enough said. But as a Michigan fan, I saw the value in the Buckeyes winning, maintaining their #1 status so that we could annihilate them in November and spoil their season. Heh heh!

Well the Buckeyes won definitively and burnt orange became the new color for mourning. As the game ended, the streets became a see of red and burnt orange. The depressed UT fans looked like the world as they knew it was over. Buck up Longhorns! You are still the national champs.
And the Buckeyes were actually nicer than they have ever been in Ann Arbor. I think they realized that they were outnumbered and far from home. They kept telling every Texan they ran into how nice they were.

I seized this opportunity to have a little fun. Dressed in a peach top that Buckeyes easily mistook as burnt orange, I trotted up to Buckeyes fans and asked to take a picture with them. The Buckeyes happily obliged. As we were taking the picture, I yelled out, “1, 2, Go Blue!!” The Buckeyes looked at me perplexed. “No dear, Go Blue is University of Michigan.” Then I turned and said, “Oh, yeah, see I forgot to tell you that I am a Michigan Grad. So congrats on your win tonight, but know that we are going to get you in November.” This had the UT fans roaring and cheering as the Buckeyes grimaced and yelled, “we’ve been had!” Hee Hee, that was an absolute blast. It was proof that a Michigan Grad CAN have fun at a Longhorns/Buckeyes game.








(BTW, I am so pumped about Michigan’s victory this week. Bye Bye Notre Dame!)
Go Blue!

-RXW