Despite living my entire life in Michigan, I hit a deer with my car for the first time. It wasn't a hard hit. The only thing on my car that was smashed was the grill (made of plastic) and the deer ran off into the woods, with probably little more than a bruise. This has been one of the warmest winters on record (thankfully) and the deer seem particularly active and I find myself driving to work before sunrise, so probability finally caught up with me. Sixty-three plus years without a deer hit is a pretty good record for anyone in the Great Lakes region. I am blessed.
The other Michigan story is football. My alma mater, the University of Michigan Wolverines took the National title. The Wolverines are traditionally in the conversation of the top teams. Usually what happens is that we beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten, but don't get invited to the championship bracket, instead going to one of the top level bowl games and generally losing. If we lose to Ohio State we don't win the Big Ten and so get invited to a second tier bowl game and generally lose. Not this time, this was a charmed year -- undefeated all the way to the National Championship. Winning National Championships in college is doubly great because it positions you to get the best recruits in the upcoming years. Of course, in Michigan's case, as soon as we won the championship, the coach defected to the NFL thereby significantly reducing our recruiting power. Sigh. I hate to say it, but my prediction is that Michigan drifts back into the position it was before, rather than kicking off a dynasty. I hope I'm wrong.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, the Detroit Lions hosted a home playoff game for the first time in 30 years, won a playoff game for the first time in 32 years, and made it to the Conference Championship for the first time. It was a great run for the Lions who were a perpetual punching bag and optimism reigns because the team is young and their very popular coach is coming back.
So yes, it's been a memorable fall and winter in The Glove, but spring can't come soon enough for me.
