"4 for 40" - #4 BYU @ Michigan

This was to be the "Piece De Resistance", the "Culmenation", the best way to cap off an amazing month of of Cougar football. BYU was going to be 3-1 after a month where many expected 0-4, maybe 1-3. We all know how that went, so my emphasis will be on my amazing week.



Leaving Mesa



This time we left on Tuesday. We had a lot of golf planned (90 holes that turned into 108 after we arrived). After a plane change in Chicago we arrived fairly late, but I had to take my buddy and FIL out for Coney Dogs (Detroit style). Steamed bun, the kind of dog that pops when you bite, chili sauce, onion & mustard. I was in my element. No wife to not kiss me for several days. I ate two!


Coney's.jpg

Golf



Michigan is one of the most beautiful places this time of year, and the weather didn't disappoint. In fact, I was shocked that we weren't rained on!



Our golf extravaganza started at Plum Hollow in Southfield Michigan. Plum Hollow is a private Donald Ross course that we were treated to by my Awesome BIL, and it was a treat, and a challenge.


Plum Hollow.jpg

After our round (scoring unimportant here) I met this guy (Matt Rosetti)


Matt Rosetti.jpg

Matt Rosetti is the architect who designed the Smith Fieldhouse and the Marriott Center re-design. He is currently working on designs for the Lavell Edwards Stadium expansion, which includes filling in the corners for additional seating capacity. His work is very preliminary and still in the proposal stages. I would guess that the BOT doesn't pull the trigger on expansion until we are invited to a P5 conference.



Beacon Hill



My buddy is the CEO of Dixon Golf, and to make my "4 for 40" more memorable he made custom logo balls to commemorate the occasion.


Ball.jpg

After losing several balls on Plum Hollow and Beacon Hill (including 4 on one hole), I decided that I would stick to only playing what was in my bag. I wanted to save these logo balls so that I could keep a sleeve on my office shelf next to my "Yolanda Ball".

Tree Tops - Gaylord, Michigan



I hadn't played 36 holes in a day since I was engaged to Melanie. She was in Michigan working, and I was in Washington working at a golf course. I would start work mowing aprons and tee blocks every day at 4:00 am till 12:00 pm. After I finished working, I would play 36 holes every day (Free). I was a 6 handicap when we got married.



6 is way back in the review mirror! Thursday morning 4:30 am and we pile in the Expedition for the 3+ hr trip north to Gaylord. I'm tired, can barely move and I can't pull my wedding ring off because my hands are so hurt / swollen.


Tree tops 1.jpg

Tree Tops 2.jpg

The pinnacle of our entire trip had to be Friday mornings round. Did you hear about the golfer who was stung to death by bees in northern Michigan a few weeks ago? It happened on the second hole of the Signature course at Tree Tops (the course we are now playing). On the 149 yard par 3 4th hole, with a 9-iron, my buddy Will hit his first hole-in-one! It was the first time that I had witnessed another man's Ace! It was Awesome!


Ace.jpg

We played Masterpiece Thursday Morning (Awesome!), Tradition Thursday afternoon (Cool, but not as Awesome), Signature on Friday morning (Awesome!), and Fazio Premier Friday afternoon (Awesome!). We played best team score wins, and of course Team Coug (me & Will) won it all!



Surprisingly after 108 holes I could still walk.



We missed the fireside as we were more that 4 hrs. away at the time. My FIL is Patriarch of the Westland Stake. I remember sitting about 5 rows center in that chapel as a missionary, about 4 rows behind Stuart Eyring (Henry B's son) and his family when his father was announced to be a member of the Quorum of the 12. I can still see the shock and awe on his face, because he found out at the same time we all did! Good times, great memories!

Thanks for sharing. The game wasn't much to write about, but your trip sure was. And thanks for throwing in that tidbit about filling in the corners at LES. The prospects are exciting to think about, if nothing else.

Ann Arbor



The first time I visited Ann Arbor was as a missionary. I was a traveling assistant called a "Rod of Iron" elder, and I was working with Elder Michael Taylor. Elder Taylor was a gifted pianist / musician. 15 years before, as a 5 year old, a man and woman brought a bomb into his elementary school in Cokeville, Wyoming and took it hostage. It was the first such time that had ever happened, and it made national news.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cokeville_Elementary_School_hostage_crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



In 1995 Elder Taylor and I walked right up to the "Big House" gates, opened them up, and let ourselves into the stadium. After that we went to the library archive and borrowed the original copy of the Book of Mormon that they have there.



I'm sure we did missionary work that day too, but I don't have any pictures.


Elder Taylor.jpg

Book of Mormon.jpg

Cougarfan87 wrote:
Thanks for sharing. The game wasn't much to write about, but your trip sure was. And thanks for throwing in that tidbit about filling in the corners at LES. The prospects are exciting to think about, if nothing else.

Thanks! I'm really focusing on trying to find the silver linings, as the game wasn't one.

Game Day - "The Big House"



Ann Arbor is amazing on Game Day. There are so many people there! We left Commerce (normally 30-40 minutes away) at 8:30, and didn't get to the stadium until 11:40 am, because of traffic and having to park more than a mile away.



We received some razzing from the frat parties along the way, but the fans were nice for the most part. Not Nebraska or Notre Dame nice, but nice enough.



We caught the band march into the stadium on the way in which was cool.


Band March.jpg

The stadium was amazing! The brick work was classic! This is the M Den. Melanie worked there in high school.


M Den.jpg

Have you ever heard of the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"? It's the theory that there is at most, six degrees of separation between you and every other person on the planet. Enter the guy sitting next to me at the game. This guy.


Mark Richins.jpg

I swear that in the Mormon church and BYU fandom it is like 2 or 3 tops. He is a total stranger to me until we start chatting. Turns out he's related to my wife's family.

The Game



The team looked like they felt the way I did after 108 holes of golf. They were really disappointing. Silver linings - 1. TM didn't throw a pick, 2. Defense pitched a shut out in the second half, 3. That dumpster fire can't take anything away from the best wife in the world, good friends and 4 amazing trips!


Great Seats.jpg

sad face.jpg

Met some great friends who left us in Mesa this summer for a new adventure in Philadelphia. He drove over with his two boys. He's an ASU grad / fan, but this summer before he left he said "I might have to convert. I can watch all the BYU games, and I'll never see ASU when I'm in Philly". He's right. He asked me to get him a BYU shirt.


Friends.jpg

After the game



We needed to wash away our sorrows. There isn't a better way to cheer up than hot cinnamon and sugar doughnuts and fresh apple cider compliments of Longs Orchard in Commerce, Michigan. After 350 grams of sugar, just look at us in that giant rocking chair!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goXpf_FuJ08&feature=youtu.be

In the famous words of...oh some movie I can't remember(Bill Murray?)... "I want to party with you."

Sheesh, forget football. What a golf extravaganza. After that many holes, I would have to be on some sort of pain killer and hopefully that could have helped with the total embarrassment of a game.

Thanks for sharing.

And if I can determine that we are related, can I go on your next Suare? :-)

Looks like you had a great time. I think a lot of people who haven't travelled to a number of away games in historic places don't realize how much fun the trip can be, even during a devastating loss.



Great time, great write up. We'll have to go to a game together some time. Maybe meet up at the game in Phoenix next year.

Cougs_Rule wrote:
In the famous words of...oh some movie I can't remember(Bill Murray?)... "I want to party with you."

Sheesh, forget football. What a golf extravaganza. After that many holes, I would have to be on some sort of pain killer and hopefully that could have helped with the total embarrassment of a game.

Thanks for sharing.

And if I can determine that we are related, can I go on your next Suare? :-)

I'm sure we are related, maybe back to Noah. You are welcome to party with us at any time. If you can tolerate lots of burps and farts then you will fit right in. We are already looking ahead to MSU next fall in Lansing. We are thinking wives head to Mackinaw Island while the boys play tons of golf.

hawkwing wrote:
Looks like you had a great time. I think a lot of people who haven't travelled to a number of away games in historic places don't realize how much fun the trip can be, even during a devastating loss.



Great time, great write up. We'll have to go to a game together some time. Maybe meet up at the game in Phoenix next year.

You bet Hawk. I am thinking of putting together a pre-game Cougar Town of my own in Mesa next fall. I might get Will to organize a golf event of some sort. I'll make sure he brings Don Chedle or Samuel L. Jackson (two of Dixon's celebrity spokesmen)

Outside of seeing another mans ace tis sounds sweet :skeptic:



I've been to probably 100+ home games but the only road games I've been to are utah and utah state. Would love to go to a historic college game experience



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Stirfry wrote:
Outside of seeing another mans ace tis sounds sweet :skeptic:



I've been to probably 100+ home games but the only road games I've been to our utah and utah state. Would love to go to a historic college game experience

http://cougarcorner.com/images/mobile.png" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

It's well worth it.

MesaCougFan wrote:

In the famous words of...oh some movie I can't remember(Bill Murray?)... "I want to party with you."

Sheesh, forget football. What a golf extravaganza. After that many holes, I would have to be on some sort of pain killer and hopefully that could have helped with the total embarrassment of a game.

Thanks for sharing.

And if I can determine that we are related, can I go on your next Suare? :-)

I'm sure we are related, maybe back to Noah. You are welcome to party with us at any time. If you can tolerate lots of burps and farts then you will fit right in. We are already looking ahead to MSU next fall in Lansing. We are thinking wives head to Mackinaw Island while the boys play tons of golf.

What an awesome September for you Mesa. I agree road games are a great experience. I was in The Big House on Saturday, and right now I am sitting in The Pink Pony restaurant on Mackinac Island having lunch. I haven't played 108 holes of golf on this trip, but I have squeezed in a couple of rounds and even saw a Broncos win Sunday night agains the Lions (eased some of the pain from Saturday). I am also considering the game with Sparty next year. As well. Might need to crash your foursome.



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Wolverine wrote:

Cougs_Rule wrote:
In the famous words of...oh some movie I can't remember(Bill Murray?)... "I want to party with you."

Sheesh, forget football. What a golf extravaganza. After that many holes, I would have to be on some sort of pain killer and hopefully that could have helped with the total embarrassment of a game.

Thanks for sharing.

And if I can determine that we are related, can I go on your next Suare? :-)

I'm sure we are related, maybe back to Noah. You are welcome to party with us at any time. If you can tolerate lots of burps and farts then you will fit right in. We are already looking ahead to MSU next fall in Lansing. We are thinking wives head to Mackinaw Island while the boys play tons of golf.

What an awesome September for you Mesa. I agree road games are a great experience. I was in The Big House on Saturday, and right now I am sitting in The Pink Pony restaurant on Mackinac Island having lunch. I haven't played 108 holes of golf on this trip, but I have squeezed in a couple of rounds and even saw a Broncos win Sunday night agains the Lions (eased some of the pain from Saturday). I am also considering the game with Sparty next year. As well. Might need to crash your foursome.



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You are welcome to crash. As details emerge, I will let you know. I am certain that I can pull something together for the BYU vs. Arizona game at Cardinals stadium. I bet I can get Spencer Larsen there to participate as well. I used to HT with his sister's husband. Did you know that he was the last NFLer to start on both sides of the ball? (Linebacker & Fullback)

MesaCougFan wrote:

MesaCougFan wrote:

In the famous words of...oh some movie I can't remember(Bill Murray?)... "I want to party with you."

Sheesh, forget football. What a golf extravaganza. After that many holes, I would have to be on some sort of pain killer and hopefully that could have helped with the total embarrassment of a game.

Thanks for sharing.

And if I can determine that we are related, can I go on your next Suare? :-)

I'm sure we are related, maybe back to Noah. You are welcome to party with us at any time. If you can tolerate lots of burps and farts then you will fit right in. We are already looking ahead to MSU next fall in Lansing. We are thinking wives head to Mackinaw Island while the boys play tons of golf.

What an awesome September for you Mesa. I agree road games are a great experience. I was in The Big House on Saturday, and right now I am sitting in The Pink Pony restaurant on Mackinac Island having lunch. I haven't played 108 holes of golf on this trip, but I have squeezed in a couple of rounds and even saw a Broncos win Sunday night agains the Lions (eased some of the pain from Saturday). I am also considering the game with Sparty next year. As well. Might need to crash your foursome.



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You are welcome to crash. As details emerge, I will let you know. I am certain that I can pull something together for the BYU vs. Arizona game at Cardinals stadium. I bet I can get Spencer Larsen there to participate as well. I used to HT with his sister's husband. Did you know that he was the last NFLer to start on both sides of the ball? (Linebacker & Fullback)

That would be awesome. I am a huge Bronco fan as well and I remember him playing on both sides of the ball. Didn't realize he was the last to do so.



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Wolverine wrote:

Wolverine wrote:

Cougs_Rule wrote:
In the famous words of...oh some movie I can't remember(Bill Murray?)... "I want to party with you."

Sheesh, forget football. What a golf extravaganza. After that many holes, I would have to be on some sort of pain killer and hopefully that could have helped with the total embarrassment of a game.

Thanks for sharing.

And if I can determine that we are related, can I go on your next Suare? :-)

I'm sure we are related, maybe back to Noah. You are welcome to party with us at any time. If you can tolerate lots of burps and farts then you will fit right in. We are already looking ahead to MSU next fall in Lansing. We are thinking wives head to Mackinaw Island while the boys play tons of golf.

What an awesome September for you Mesa. I agree road games are a great experience. I was in The Big House on Saturday, and right now I am sitting in The Pink Pony restaurant on Mackinac Island having lunch. I haven't played 108 holes of golf on this trip, but I have squeezed in a couple of rounds and even saw a Broncos win Sunday night agains the Lions (eased some of the pain from Saturday). I am also considering the game with Sparty next year. As well. Might need to crash your foursome.



[ Post made via Mobile Device ] http://cougarcorner.com/images/mobile.png" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

You are welcome to crash. As details emerge, I will let you know. I am certain that I can pull something together for the BYU vs. Arizona game at Cardinals stadium. I bet I can get Spencer Larsen there to participate as well. I used to HT with his sister's husband. Did you know that he was the last NFLer to start on both sides of the ball? (Linebacker & Fullback)

That would be awesome. I am a huge Bronco fan as well and I remember him playing on both sides of the ball. Didn't realize he was the last to do so.



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I gathered that you were a Broncos fan, that's what made me think of Spencer. I Cliff Clavined that random bit of sports trivia when he did it. I haven't followed up to see if anyone else has. I bet JJ Watt has since?



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