From doubter to believer - it's been one hell of a ride for a true Wolverine

Before coming to Ann Arbor, I had never followed college sports with any sort of regularity. I was familiar with Michigan through the same images most of us out-of-staters were - the Fab Five strutting their stuff in the NCAA Tournament, legendary football coach Bo Schembechler manning the sidelines and Desmond Howard flaunting the Heisman pose in the back of the end zone.

So on that day, less than a month into my freshman year, I approached my second Michigan football game - against Colorado - with some reserved excitement, but that's about all.

Michigan had already won its first two games of the season, including an upset of Notre Dame on Remy Hamilton's last-second field goal in South Bend. While the win was a thrilling episode in a storied rivalry, I still didn't quite understand what the big deal was.

All the hoopla on the way to the Colorado game was curious to me - the die-hard fans, the painted faces, the devoted alumni. Everywhere I looked was maize and blue. Sweatshirts, T-shirts, hats - I had never seen so many block Ms in my life. With music blaring from the fraternity houses and fans chanting "Let's go Blue," this wasn't just a city-wide pregame party.

This was a phenomenon.

And to me - this was overboard.

Dan Stillman Still the Man

Once the game itself got underway, Michigan led for most of the afternoon. But the Wolverines faltered late in the game and the Buffaloes managed to put themselves in position for a last-second desperation heave - a Hail Mary. Trailing 26-21, Colorado quarterback Kordell Stewart took the snap from his own 36-yard line, backed up a few steps, and launched the ball down the field as if it were shot out of a cannon.

The suspense grew as the ball began its descent. Everyone - players, coaches, fans, ushers - was craning their necks to find a line of sight into the end zone. The ball came spiraling down toward the back of the end zone and was tipped once, twice, and then disappeared.

Suddenly, the unthinkable - an ecstatic roar from the lone Colorado section in the stadium, which happened to be right behind the play. Somehow, some way, Colorado's Michael Westbrook had come down with the ball. The game was over. Michigan had lost, 27-26.

The Buffaloes charged the field in celebration while the Wolverines, and more than 100,000 of their fans, stared in disbelief for what seemed like an eternity. The silence of one can be peaceful. The silence of thousands is downright deafening.

"The Catch" will forever be regarded as one of the most memorable plays in college football history. What I did not realize at the time was the impact that moment would have on my future as a Michigan fan.

The Wolverines would go on to lose four games that season, and in each of the next two seasons as well. With one of the nation's most difficult schedules looming, the outlook for this past season was bleaker than ever. But as the season unfolded, the Wolverines surprised everyone, suddenly finding themselves undefeated after seven games. The Wolverines would then take down the top-ranked team in the nation, Penn State, in shocking fashion as they won 38-0 and took over the No. 1 ranking.

Although Michigan would go on to finish the season undefeated and win its first football national championship in 50 years with a victory over Washington State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, it was back on Nov. 22 that I first understood why Michigan fans become just that.

It was a football Saturday in Ann Arbor, similar to the one on Sept. 24, 1994, and all the rest in between. Michigan was to play its most hated rival, Ohio State, but this time with a trip to the Rose Bowl and a shot at the national championship on the line for the Wolverines.

Leading 7-0 late in the first half, Michigan forced the Ohio State to punt. Charles Woodson was back to receive the kick for the Wolverines, which was a high, booming one that pushed Woodson back to his own 22-yard line where he caught the ball.

Weaving his way up the field, the speedy Woodson juked would-be tacklers left and right. Suddenly, he broke free to the outside and raced

down the sideline.

To the 40, the 30, the 20.

The roar in the stadium grew louder and louder until it reached a pulsating tone, as the crowd of 100,000 plus seemed to jump and scream as one.

The 10, the five - Touchdown!

It was a moment dreams are made of. It was also the moment that I finally understood what it meant to be a Wolverine. I realized that it's not just the moments of glory that make one a true fan. Rather, it's the times of struggle that make the triumphs so glorious.

Brendan Morrison's overtime, game-winning goal in the 1996 hockey national championship game would not have felt so vindicating had Michigan not lost a heartbreaking, triple-overtime marathon to Maine in the semifinals a year earlier.

The scene inside Crisler Arena this past Dec. 13 was that much sweeter in the wake of the events preceding the basketball season. Two months after allegations and controversy culminated in the firing of coach Steve Fisher and cast a shadow over the program, Michigan was about to shock a top-ranked and heavily favored Duke team. The usually indifferent home crowd rose to its feet in euphoria, primed to rush the court in victory. All the while, tears of joy streamed down from one fan in the stands - Steve Fisher.

And this past season's Michigan hockey team's surprising NCAA run, capped off by Josh Langfeld's overtime winner against Boston College in the national championship game, may not have been quite as special had the underdog Wolverines not been clobbered by Boston University in the semifinals and lost nine seniors to graduation the year before.

This has been a year to remember for all Michigan fans. But it's been especially sweet for those of us who witnessed the events in Michigan Stadium that autumn afternoon, Sept. 24, 1994.

Four years later, it all makes sense -the pregame parties, the maize and blue bodies and the dedicated alumni who follow Michigan teams all over the country.

Finally, I too am hooked.

It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine - now and forever.

- This is Dan Stillman's final column. He can be reached via e-mail at dns@umich.edu.

04-20-98