Go Blue!

I don't usually indulge in getting worked up over college sports, though I do remember when it mattered to me in my late teens and possibly early 20s.  After that, my interest waned a lot.  Nonetheless, I was fortunate that the Michigan Wolverines were quite good at football and basketball.  1989 was one of the all-time great years, starting off by winning the Rose Bowl and then also winning the men's basketball championship!!!  (As mentioned elsewhere, I am so glad that the recruitment scandals and subsequent wiping away of the team's accomplishments didn't touch the championship title.)

Anyway, lately Michigan athletics are again on an upturn, becoming national football champions for 2023 (winning this at the Rose Bowl, no less) and just over a week ago winning the men's basketball championship.  So cool.

(And it was also cool to be a grad student at Northwestern the year they ran the table on the Big Ten and made it to the Rose Bowl, losing unfortunately.) 

I'm not even sure if I still have any U Michigan gear (or anything that fits still) whereas I have a few Northwestern shirts and a UToronto shirt and sweatshirt.  So I decided I would break down and buy a shirt to show my (very faint) school spirit.  I just ordered it.  It should look a lot like this, though without the little Jordan silhouette.  (They also had it in black, which looked cool, but this is so much better, being close to the school colors.)

It's not the best time in the world to proclaim any sort of allegiance to a US university, but I'll risk it anyway.  Most people that know me will understand, and I can't worry about people who don't know me, can I?  Perhaps the more interesting question is how many of these players, assembled from a lot of transfer schools will stick around another year.  Not that many would be my guess, and some may not even have any years of eligibility left.  They made their mark and now have dramatically improved their odds in the NBA lottery.  College sports fans (and I don't even consider myself within their ranks) can't really ask for anything more than that these days.