Drop the tailgate, pour the drinks and fire up the grill.
It's time for Football Saturday.
For seven Saturdays this fall, the golf courses will be covered with cars and the stands will overflow with fans - students, alumni and those who just plain admire the maize and blue.
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| Deano Cook, an Ypsilanti resident, simmers chili on a grill before the game against Baylor last weekend. Cook, who has been attending Michigan football games for the past 17 years, usually prepares breakfasts before the games and cooks a large dinner immediately after the contests finish. |
Molin said tailgating is part of the ambiance of football Saturdays.
"We've been playing football since 1879. That's 118 years that traditions have been established," he said. "Each year adds to the lure of Michigan football. It is intricately linked to the University's history."
Tailgating memories run the gamut: from wedding proposals to naked shenanigans to alumni reunions.
Helen Peters, assistant executive director of the Alumni Association, said "the Alumni Association acts as a tickets broker for a ton of reunion groups."
"Today, nearly everybody does reunions by colleges and groups," Peters said.
There are fraternity, sorority, school, college, classes and club reunions - even some dorm groups, Peters said
"There's anywhere between 10 and 50 groups back in Ann Arbor every Saturday for reunions," she said. "We've had reunions as long as we've had a football team. The 11 graduates of the first class agreed to all come back for graduation."
Peters said the draw for reunions held on Football Saturday is in part due to nostalgic yearnings.
"Fall is a nostalgic time. No matter where you were on campus - if you were studying or at the game - football games where often a unifying activity for being in school," Peters said.
Although the Alumni Association has no official stance on tailgating, they are "in favor of any time alumnus get together," Peters said.
Many alumni have been returning to Ann Arbor for more years than first-year students have been alive.
Richard Booth, alum '55, has held season tickets for 27 years and said "it's the only way to spend a Saturday."
Along with his wife, son and other family members, Booth arrives three hours before the game and often stays as long as an hour and a half after it ends.
"Tailgating is nothing but fun," said Booth's son Jim. "The game is only the icing on the cake."
With 27 years of game days under his belt, Booth has his own collection of tailgating stories.
"One time, when I was not in a condition to drive, we were going home the back way. I asked my wife to pull over, because I had to go the bathroom," Booth said. "I got out of the car and disappeared down a six-foot ditch. She thought it was funny. At the time, I didn't think so."
Steve Meads, like many fans, is not an alum, but attends the games because of a family connection.
"My dad was a captain in 1955," Meads said. "I've been attending games since I was this high," Meads said, lowering a hand to knee level.
Meads said his grandfather started the family tailgating tradition, which has continued ever since.
"My grandfather used to have a little barbecue ... he would open the outing setting up his tables," Meads said. "He would stand over the barbecue cooking for everyone and their friends - probably 50 plus burgers a day."
Not all alumni family are as excited by game-day fanatics.
"I have to listen to old broadcasts of U of M sportscasters the whole way here," complained Julie Tyrna, whose husband is an alum. "On a good morning, we get here at 7 or 8. We bull, cook, walk around and see other people's set-ups."
Tyrna said a big problem with tailgating is the lack of rest rooms.
"The porta-johns (on the golf course) have a long line and people use the groups of trees instead. We call it using the 'natural rest room.'"
Greg Green, an '87 alum enjoys the chance to return to Ann Arbor.
"I get to relax and enjoy myself and realize I'm getting old," said Green, who feels game day is a way to stay connected with the University.
Green said he arrives early "so we can get the same spot every time. People can find us. We have breakfast, talk and catch up."
Green, like many spectators, does not see a large problem with alcohol consumption. "People don't drink excessively in the morning," Green said. "They have to stop drinking during the game, too."
Green remembered his own porta-john story from the late '80s, when a man who was harassing two female spectators returned the favor on a trip to the restroom.
"He went into the porta-john and they started knocking it back and forth and tipped it over," Green said.
For many dedicated tailgaters, like Business senior William Fundaro, nothing but rising with the sun will do.
"Football Saturday means skipping breakfast and going right to dogs and beers," said Fundaro, who arrives at the stadium several hours before game time.
Fundaro remembered a tailgate when man and tree became one.
"My friend was running on the golf course and we decided to tape him to a tree," he said. "My friends taped him to the tree with duct tape and a sign saying 'slap my belly' - everyone slapped his stomach, like a Buddha for luck."
Fundaro's Buddha is only one of many golf course tailgating shenanigans that have taken place: '89 alum Amy King has been attending pre-game celebrations with friends since she was a student.
"I got really drunk before the game and I stripped down to my underwear," King said. "I ran across the golf course shouting 'Go Blue.'"
Although many tailgaters have spent a few hours in after-game celebration, '89 alumnus David Dameron and friends took the cake by spending the night on the football field. "After a game ... at 3 a.m. we went down to the stadium," he said. "This is when the field was still Astroturf. ... We passed out on the 'M.'
"Stadium workers woke us up at first light and said, 'You have to go.' They weren't mad, so long as we cleaned up," Dameron said.
Sometimes, true love is even found amidst cheers and bratwursts. While the occasional marriage proposal flies behind a plane inside the stadium, some take place while tailgating.
"I knew I found a keeper in my wife when she passed out under a tree during the '94 Michigan vs. Colorado game," said Dental third-year student James Peters. "I proposed when she came to."
Besides helping Peters find a wife, he said football Saturday is a big stress reliever. "Football Saturday is six weeks of the year that takes six years off of life," said Peters who arrives as early as 7:30 a.m. to "sing the glory of Michigan football."
Dental third-year student Mike "Smiley" Carlson is a member of Peters tailgating assembly, and radiates the spirits of Football Saturday.
"Football Saturday is all about celebrating before the game and getting loaded," Carlson said. "I only get six Saturdays a year, and I live it up."
Carlson noted his group had been discussing plans since June. He said he doesn't see alcohol consumption as a danger to stadium goers.
"We're here to celebrate for maize and blue. We're not getting in our cars and driving," Carlson said. "Everyone walks to the game, and there is no harm done."
Carlson did warn against the dangers of kegs, however. One unfortunate passerby paid a heavy price when attempting to do "a keg stand."
"He knocked out his two front teeth," Carlson said. "Luckily, he was in the care of Dental students. We put the teeth in milk and sent him to the hospital."
Carlson's efforts resulted in a happy ending: "The teeth are still in," he said.
Ann Arbor becomes a gathering place for friends stretched across the country.
Frank Martilotti and Dreis Landuyt, '88 alumni, and '86 alumnus Louie Theros have managed to return to Ann Arbor for game days for many years.
Theros said alcohol awareness is much higher than when the three friends were undergraduates.
"We used to be able to go out at half-time and get beer to bring back into the stadium with us," said Theros, who has been attending games for more than 16 years.
Martilotti added they have acquired wisdom with age. "We don't drink and drive. That's why we stay three hours after the game," he said.
Football Saturday has become a connecting hub for the three friends and their tailgate group. "We've all been high school friends or fraternity brothers since 1980," Theros said. "People bring their kids here, and we have friends who bike from Birmingham to Ann Arbor for the first game of every year."
When it came time to decide between a wedding date and a game day, the choice was clear for Theros - the game took precedence.
"I planned my wedding around a Michigan football game," Theros said. He moved his wedding back a week after noticing a conflict of interests.
While the maize and blue fans celebrate before, during and after the game, someone has to keep an eye on them.
The Department of Public Safety and Ann Arbor police officers keep the peace in and out of the stadium.
DPS doesn't see many problems with tailgating celebrations outside the stadium, said DPS spokesperson Elizabeth Hall.
"There is a special ordinance that allows for alcohol in parking lots near the stadium," Hall said. "The permits are given to people with parking lots, not the tailgaters."
Parking permits are handled through the Athletic Department, Hall said.
"We step in when public safety is at stake," Hall said. "Football Saturdays are fun events in the life of a University - we support that."
While all activities inside the stadium are controlled by DPS officials, Ann Arbor Police Department officers keep an eye on traffic and crowd control outside.
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| An inflatable toy is decked out in traditional maize and blue football garb before the game against Baylor last Saturday. |
"There is a group that targets specifically scalping, selling of tickets," Jerue said. "The parking lot patrol officers are busy during the game keeping an eye on the vehicles."
AAPD officers also keep an eye on fans who may have had to much too drink and may potentially start fights.
"The officers are paying attention to the climate or mood of the crowd," Jerue said. Officers look for fans upset by a team's loss or elated fans who egg on the losers, he added.
For many years, AAPD officers have been escorting the home and away teams from their busses into the stadium.
"We make sure there is no vandalism done to the buses by over zealous fans," Jerue said. "It's an escort much like what is done for any dignitary. It also has to do with pomp and circumstance."
At the end of the game, AAPD officers' main concerns are crowd control and traffic control.
"The traffic point officers are looking for vehicles operated by people who have had too much to drink," Jerue said. "There's not one particular type of incident that's going to occur."
Over the years, game day has seen its share of hooligans.
"In years gone by, we've had a guy streak the stadium. An Ohio State fan urinated on the field and was arrested," Jerue said. "Occasionally there is an intoxicated subject who wants to do something for memories sake."
Hall said one of the biggest problems during the game is fans being "ejected for throwing projectiles."
During the Baylor game last Saturday, 19 of 44 ejections from the game were the cause of projectiles.
"People will load marshmallows with batteries and coins," Hall said. "If there's anything we can do to raise awareness of the dangers involved, it helps. A little boy had his face cut last year."
Hall said she is concerned with the lack of seriousness fans give this issue.
"People don't realize there is more than a fluffy marshmallow being thrown," Hall said.
Not all marshmallow throwers are out to hurt someone.
LSA senior James Winschel said most people who throw marshmallows are doing it for entertainment.
"I learned about (throwing marshmallows) when I got here as a freshman," Winschel said. "I've brought a bag to games. It's something to do in between plays. It keeps you occupied."
Winschel said he has never heard of people loading marshmallows with batteries, however.
"I've heard of pennying marshmallows ... I think people who do that are (wrong)," he said. "As long as people aren't loading them with something hard or solid, there's nothing wrong with it."
Winshcel was once accused of throwing marshmallows.
"I almost got thrown out once, but I ducked through the crowd," he said.
Complaints about projectiles are on the rise from previous years, Hall said.
"There are complaints from down on the field. The staff on the field complains," she said. "A camera man was hit with a nine volt battery last year."
There is a fine of up to $50 for throwing objects in the stadium, but if anyone is injured, "you could be charged with assault," Hall said.
Hall said DPS officials locate the alleged marshmallow-launching students by interviewing people in the area of the complaint. DPS officials also keep a camera in the press box that helps them keep an eye of spectators.
"We're able to monitor what's going on," Hall said. "We can point out to people that we have their actions on tape. People tend to leave more peaceably if they know they are on film."
Hall said DPS officials do not use the camera to inflict feelings of 'Big Brother.'
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