Not quite. I'm not really gonna look back, except when I predicted this team would go 11-1 and end up in the Rose Bowl. Heh. I'm also the guy who argues that the Tigers will be a better team next year mere days beforeDave Dombrowski went completetely Florida-schizophrenic with the Fister deal dump. Ah, well.
Michigan's season can be summed up thusly:
;
No, wait, that's not right. There's a better one. Hmm. Seven wins, a losing record in conference play, barely winning against Akron and UConn, seeing an incredibly talented quarterback have his ribs turned into cheese on a weekly basis, wait, there's gotta be a better one.
Yep. That's gotta be it.
My obligatory comment on last weekend's Game: holy shit. That was incredible. We had a thread back and forth after the game among the MnB staffraging beerhounds and it was unanimous - you go for it. With that OSU offense, a hobbled Gardner, and Wile kicking, you go for it. Being in the stadium for the comeback and the attempt was insane. Many of you can attest how batshit bonkers the 70,000 Michigan fans (yikes, there was tons of red)went during the latter stages of the second half - seventeen point spread be damned.
So, we're at kind of a weird place today. Both teams can't lose the B1G championship game, leaving Michigan fans with very few options tonight that don't involve self-mutilation. I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I'm going to have to root for Mark Dantonio's smirking bitchface. I still might not. Skip to 3:15 or so for the point:
So here we are. Stuck watching one of these teams going to the Rose Bowl is the nighmare scenario. But it doesn't have to be all bad. MnB's official recommendation to survive the evening: drink, and drink up.
It's Christmas beer season, which is good news for beer fans - most breweries come out with a winter seasonal that's eminently drinkable - not too wheaty, not too hoppy, and always a little different. This year's trend (as it has been in the past) seems to be toward plenty of nutmeg and clove in sweeter ales. It's ok for a meal with a turkey, but not really your everyday drinker. Definitely not what you'd want for heavy drinking tonight. Escape the Winter Lagers and Winter Warmers of the world and go with a local beer - give Frankenmuth Brewery's excellent Winter Town Ale. I had quite a bit of this after last week's loss and it is fantastic - using a fair amount of hops and plenty of dark malt brings out flavors that most wintry beers achieve with extra spices added after the brewing process. It's dark and spicy without being, you know, dark and spicy. Whatever. It's awesome. Give it a shot.
If that's a little too hard to find, or you want to start drinking NOW (if you haven't already, give it a shot) to get ready for three hours of head-banging tonight, Red Hook's winter lineup is great - and their current tagline is something like "the right playlist leads to something. Usually breakfast" or something fantastically edgy like that. Their Winterhook beer is similar to the Frankenmuth offering, but cheaper and easier to find/drink quickly - it's dry hopped to minimze the overall sweetness while still having that dark taste that a winter beer has.
I can't shake the feeling of ooginess this game is giving me. Good for both teams for having terrific seasons*, but I can't figure out which team is Pete Campbell here.
Whatever. Enjoy your weekends, Michigan Faithful. Go watch some basketball or hockey or something. Until next time, cheers!
*This comment was of course insincere