thank you Fielding Yost!
for that one … looking down from …
football Valhalla
I grew up in a Michigan Football family.
My text messaging has been blowing up the last few hours just with texts from family let alone friends.
But I did NOT grow up in a Bob Ufer family.
There were two radio stations that broadcast Michigan football when I was growing up.
In the beginning there were a lot more as there was no Michigan radio network and every little two bit radio station in Michigan that could afford a telephone hookup sent there local guy to broadcast the game.
I can remember when the Michigan Press Box would be covered with Radio Station call sign banners.
One of those stations was always the University of Michigan station, WUOM (WVGR in Grand Rapids where we lived) and deep calm voice of Tom Hemingway.
This was the voice of my fall memories as my Dad would tune in the game and play it over his super HiFi sound system every Saturday.
Then in Ann Arbor there was WPAG with local hero, Bob Ufer who had a different style of broadcasting altogether.
The main Michigan commercial broadcast was over station CKLW in Windsor, Canada.
Some folks thought this was just crazy.
Until it was explained that Michigan’s Athletics’ Director Don Canham had picked CKLW BECAUSE it was outside the USA and not controlled by the FCC and had a broadcast wattage that let fans listen to Michigan football games .. in GUAM.
Yep, Canham was crazy.
Then in 1976, Michigan signed an agreement in WJR in Detroit, another huge station and announced that Bob Ufer would be the lead announcer.
My Dad couldn’t believe it.
The rule of thumb was that there were two games.
The game as it was played.
And the game as Ufer described it.
Ufer had an old air horn with a rubber bulb that he claimed he took of the jeep if General George Patton.
When Michigan scored a touchdown, he would honk the horn announcing another march down the field to victory just the way Patton scored those victories over those nazi’s in World War 2.
Truly the guy had to heard to be believed.
Here is one game.
The goofy thing is … I was there … and that is just how I remember it.
According to legend, Ufer was asked to speak at a banquet before one of the Rose Bowl Games.
Dandy Don Meredith was the scheduled main speaker and the organizers thought Ufer would be good to warm up the crowd before Don took the podium.
Ufer spoke and he spoke like Ufer.
Don got up, went to the podium and said, “How can I follow that guy?” and sat down.
ANYWAY, in reembrace of Ufe, who cares?
Who gives a damn?
I have never been so happy in all my life.
No Haiku For You 