Football Frenzy

On Saturday, Adam planned to come by the house to do laundry and clean out some junk from his old bedroom. He was up late on Friday night, so he intended to sleep until afternoon, then slip out of Ann Arbor after the Wolverines football game began at 3:30 p.m. Since his apartment is only a few blocks from the stadium, he assumed that traffic would be lighter once the game was underway. What he didn't count on was the die-hard enthusiasm of 100,000 tail-gaters many, many hours before kickoff. Adam says that when he peeked out his window at 10:30 a.m., his street was fairly quiet. At 12:30 p.m., the crowds were growing. At 2:00 p.m., when he finally dragged himself out of bed for the day, he saw throngs of people swarming outside. Fans were moseying right down the middle of the street, as it had apparently been closed to vehicles, which Adam's roommate discovered the hard way. Mike - who has probably not been at the apartment during too many football games because he used to be in the marching band and was most likely at the games in years past - had been at the store when the road closed down. He was forced to drive the wrong way down a one-way street in order to maneuver back into the apartment lot. I also found it amusing when Adam told me that cars were parked all over the front lawn of his building. He doesn't know if the apartment management company actually turned the grass into a paid parking area, or if some enterprising young resident just waved people onto the lawn, charged them $50 each, and smiled all the way to the bank. By the way, Adam did manage to sneak out of Ann Arbor around 4:00 p.m. without too much difficulty. He waited until long after the game was over to drive back to the apartment.

It has been a long time since I have attended a college football game, but it seems as if the whole rip-roaring, fun-loving atmosphere lives on. I hope to at least go tail-gating in Adam's parking lot some Saturday this season. I wonder if he'd lend me his parking pass?