Marquette, Michigan – October 27, 2016 – At this time last year I was an intern at WXMI, a TV station known as “Fox 17” in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was a sports videographer there, which means I shot sports games, and converted the footage into highlights that were shown on the news broadcasts. I mainly worked high school football, but I was offered to work the Michigan – Michigan State game, and I jumped on it immediately.
I have always been a big Michigan Wolverine fan. My sister, who is 9 years older than I, went to school at the University of Michigan. She took me to a couple games there, both football and basketball, growing up and I’ve been a die-hard fan ever since. So to be able to be on the sidelines and work the Michigan – Michigan State game, which had a ton of hype going into it, I was ecstatic.
The first time I walked out of the tunnel and onto the field, it was an experience unlike anything I’ve experienced before. The stadium, full of people, seemed larger than life. It was a beautiful October day, and it was a great football game. The crowd was so loud and energetic (anyone who tells you it’s not loud on the field at the Big House is lying to your face).
In a hard fought game, it looked as if Michigan was ready to defeat the Spartans for only the 2nd time in their previous 8 meetings. With just 10 seconds left, and a 2-point lead, Michigan had the ball on 4th down and just needed to get a punt off to secure the win.
During the timeout, just before the 4th down play, I asked the security guard that was by me what to do when Michigan won and the students inevitably rush the field. He told me to just stay against the wall, as he was also preparing for what was coming.
It turns out no one in that stadium was prepared for what was coming next.
Punting is a fairly routine play in the game of football. It is most often times executed easily, and a play the Wolverines executed many times easily in this game. This time, it didn’t go as planned. Michigan punter Blake O’Neill, lined up 16 yards behind the line of scrimmage, was sent a perfect snap, and dropped it.
Instead of falling on the ball, which would have given Michigan State a shot at a last gasp Hail Mary, attempted to pick up the ball and kick it. This proved to be a poor choice. He got hit from behind on the attempt, the ball miraculously found it’s way into Michigan State’s Jalen Watts-Jackson, and he took it to the end zone as time expired. The Spartans left Ann Arbor with one of the most improbable wins in college football history.
I was standing in the opposite end zone on this play, with my camera beginning the play focused on Blake Oneill’s face. When the play happened, I was forced to watch the ensuing chaos on the video board opposite of me. I was hoping, praying, that he had stepped out of bounds somewhere on the run back. He did not.
I cannot accurately describe the scene in Michigan Stadium at the conclusion of that play. Words do not do it justice. One might say the air was taken out of the stadium, but this… this was different. This was a fan base that was collectively demoralized. This went from the extreme of joy, to the extreme of immense sadness in the matter of 10 seconds. Even Spartan fans in the stadium didn’t quite know how to react. It was that shocking.
On a day that was 10 seconds away from being my ultimate sports memory, it instantly became my most infamous. The Wolverines take on the Spartans this Saturday at noon, and I will be tuning in hoping for a small taste at redemption.
