First Live Football Match

Michigan Wolverines v San Diego Aztecs

Wolverines Helmet

Aztecs Helmet

Saturday 24th September we made the long trek to Ann Arbor in Michigan to see my first ever live American Football match.

We had to leave home at 4am on Saturday morning, and then drive from Illinois State, through Indiana State, and on to Michigan State. The drive took 8 hours, with several stops for caffine (Coffee), and myself and my friend Tim taking it in turns to the the driving. Silvia and her friend Carrie had the best of the deal. The put the back seats of the car down and made a bed in the back using a duvet, pillows etc, they then proceeded to sleep all the way to Ann Arbor.

We only had 2 tickets, so Tim and myself went to the game while Silvia and Carrie went shopping.

Ann Arbor City

Ann Arbor is in the State of Michigan and has a population of around 113,950. It was founded in 1824, and was originally known as Annsarbour. The early settlers to the city were British, however later settlers arrived from Germany, Ireland, and African Americans.

As you can see from the down-town picture above, Ann Arbor could be any city in England (Except they drive on the other side of the road).

Stadium

View inside the Stadium

Ann Arbor is a major City for college sports notably at the University of Michigan; a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Michigan Stadium is the biggest American Football Stadium in the world, and is known as the "Big House".

When we arrived the stadium was already full. We had seats on the half way line and had a great view of the whole stadium. The atmosphere in side the stadium was electric, and  many events were taking place, marching bands, gymnastics, banners, all manner of entertainment. The crowd was officially confirmed as 110,707. This is almost the population of Ann Arbour, and the whole population of Peoria City.

The game started and Michigan soon had the upper hand with Denard Robinson getting the first touch-down in around 5 minutes, he again had a 2nd and 3rd touch-down before half time. Eventually San Diego got one touch-down, but Vincent Smith wrapped up the day with a 4th touch-down for Michigan making it a 28 to 7 victory on the day.

All during the play there was coordinated chanting, clapping, and Mexican waves. The atmosphere was so different to an English Soccer game which I had been used to in the past. It was a wonderful experience, and great family fun.  Behind me was a Canadian who was also at his first game, and I was very happy to hear his friends explaining the rules. By the end of the game I knew most of the rules, but have to admit I still had big problems with violations and penalties. Not only did I have a great day, I also visited 2 new states in the US, Michigan and Indiana, bringing my total to date of 8 states.

Below is some of the action from the game including a picture of the 1st try by Robinson.

1st touch-down by Denard Robinson