A year ago a moving van pulled our possessions off our driveway and moved them 550 miles southeast into Maryland. It's been a long, strange journey filled with some heartache, struggles and some incredible experiences, too.
So as I type this, it occurred to me I'm pining a bit nostalgic for my Michigan roots. Football season is ramping up here, but the fervor, anticipation and general excitement isn't the same. For those reasons and a few others, here's the Top 10 things I miss from Michigan.
10. Cool nights. Jesus, as if 80 inches of snow packaged in three storms of 20+ inches wasn't enough, we're already at 45 days above 90 degrees. I've worked two plate games where it was warmer that 105 when I took the lineups, over 95 when the game ended and still above 90 when I got home in the late evening. I had heard the Mid-Atlantic was hot; I didn't realize that was merely code for living in the doorway of a blast furnace.
9. Sports Town Tradition. Look, Baltimore and D.C. are great cities with their own distinct energy and passion, but like Chicago, New York and L.A., they pale in comparison to the passion that oozes from The D. That's just fact.
8. Nicknames. OK, the Baltimore Dunbar High Poets is cool, but the winningest Maryland basketball school this side of De Matha High is the overwhelming exception. We're overloaded by Cougars, Falcons, Lions, Tigers, Eagles and Patriots in Maryland. By comparison, Detroit's got Doughboys, Tars, Tractors, Thunderbirds, Maples and River Rats. We lost the Oaks and Chiefs but you can still find Shamrocks, Saddelites and Pilots, too.
7. Opinion. The local Baltimore sports media probably wouldn't look very dignified in cheerleader outfits, but if it sounds like a cheerleader and squeals like a cheerleader, why not just finish the look? I think this town is still scared to say anything that will make the owner pack up this toys and go elsewhere. The Tigers had 12 losings seasons in a row and there were songs and shirts chiding the team, and I think the Matt Millen era of Detroit Lions football -- if that's what you call that regular season scrimmage schedule-- speaks for itself. Try saying something negative about the Ravens here, and it's the media, not the fans, who shoot your argument down.
6. Driving Seven Over The Speed Limit. Note to everyone from Maryland: Driving 45 mph in the far left lane is pathetic. So is entering the freeway at 25 mph, scared to death of pushing your way into a moving lane of traffic. Slowing down to a crawl on the freeway for no absolute reason is also a swell Blue Crab state tradition. Jesus, people, we drive 45 mph in our Michigan neighborhoods, just not the nice ones, right? Get moving!
5. Football Fever. Before I chide the Navy gameday experience, I need to omit the games the Mids play Notre Dame, Air Force and Army. Those are exceptional spectacles, but your garden-variety Navy football game looks great from afar, but when you actually go to a game, you realize it's a lot of retired brass sitting on their hands awash in the three scotch n' sodas they put down in the parking lot. The 3,800 Midshipmen in the stands are into it for sure, but it's no Spartan Stadium or Big House, where each school's band thunders into the stadium and the rest of the day just gets crazier from there.
The University of Maryland? Yeah, fear the turtle...if you're trying to stay awake.
4. The Big Ten. If I had a dollar for every transposed Big 10 fan I've met from Michigan, Ohio or Penn State who is secretly rooting for Maryland to be the surprise addition to the Big 10 so they can see their favorite school once a year, I wouldn't have to look for work. If you ask the Maryland fans, they oppose joining the Big 10, but a lot of Big Ten'rs think this is fear. They know the Terrapins would struggle mightily in football and they know it; can you say Indiana East?
Marylanders also point to the ACC and their rivalry with Duke or North Carolina on the hardwood. Well, it's only a big deal when they play Duke or UNC to Maryland, because the rest of the country doesn't care. Being a Big 10 school hasn't hurt Tom Izzo's Spartans from getting to six Final Fours in 12 years either.
3. Fight Songs. Anchors Aweigh is a stirring march to be sure, but fight songs like the Buckeye Battle Cry, On Wisconsin and The Victors, not to mention Falcone Fight (Michigan State), and Hail! Purdue are just amazing. A handful of the Big 10 fight songs are derived from Civil War hymns. How cool is that?
2. High School Football Scores. I so miss ripping open the paper or going online and pouring over the scores. Of course, before they closed, my first glance pointed to Royal Oak. Did Kimball win? How did Dondero do? The upsets. Walled Lake Western got beat by who? Farmington Hills Harrison. Dearborn Fordson. The PSL. King, Southeastern, Pershing and Denby. The trio of schools in Livonia and Plymouth. The Catholic League. Who did CC play? Did the Cubs win? Where is Brother Rice today?
By comparison, here in Anne Arundel County, which is about the size and population of Oakland County, we have 12 public schools and six private schools, and the JV plays at 4:00 on Friday before the varsity game at 6:30. Hardly the stuff of Friday Night Lights, let alone Ampipe High in All The Right Moves. Tell Bosco I'll be seeing him around!
1. Coney Dogs, Apple Cider, Sweet Corn & Driving Down The Lodge Listening To "It's The Same Old Song". Don't get wrong, Maryland Blue Crabs and cold beer is a beautiful thing, but every time I'm back in The D, I hit a coney and grab two with everything. Greek salads, too. It's just part of Detroit that I've never seen replicated. Washington D.C. has Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street (a must-see when you're in The District, btw), but it's not a true Detroit coney. And good luck finding a cider mill or a sweet corn stand on the side of the road. That truly is Pure Michigan.
~ T.C. Cameron is the author of Metro Detroit's High School Football Rivalries, Metro Detroit's High School Basketball Rivalries and writes sports for The Capital-Gazette newspaper in Annapolis.
