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University of Michigan ultra fan reveals his personal "M Den."
BY JUDITH DONER BERNE I PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGIE BAAN
U-M memorabilia surrounds Ira and Brenda Jaffe in the
lower-level "M Den" of their Farmington Hills home.
As you enter his Farmington Hills house, the only hint of
Ira Jaffe's passion for University of Michigan football is a
doorbell that plays "The Victors," a song even run-of-the
mill U-M fans choose for their cell-phone ring tone.
Inside the Jaffe home, as far as the eye can see, is a
sleek decor: white walls, contemporary furniture, modern
paintings and well-placed objets d'art without a hint of
maize and blue.
But Jaffe, who for more than 30 years treated thou-
sands of friends, family, team trainers, student managers,
—
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NOVEMBER 2008 •
JN platinum
ushers — even strangers — to a food tailgate extraordi-
naire before home games in Ann Arbor, cannot be denied
his personal "M Den."
His wife, Brenda, a graduate of Wayne State
University in Detroit, has relegated his obsession to
the basement, which exists in stark contrast to the cool,
uncluttered upstairs.
Bright maize walls, vivid blue carpeting and U-M
paraphernalia from wall to wall and floor to ceiling rush
the room's visitors — much like new U-M coach Rich
Rodriguez would wish for his offensive line.
The original inspiration for the Jaffe basement renova-
tion project was simple: "We wanted our kids to bring
their friends to our house," says Ira Jaffe, who graduated
from U-M Law School and is founding partner of Jaffe,
Raitt, Heuer &Weiss P.C. in Southfield.
So when West Bloomfield architect and friend Arnold
Serlin asked him what colors he should use, Jaffe said:
"Make it maize and blue."
It was then that his search for collectibles began in
earnest. "I go to Ann Arbor before the season starts and
see what's new," says Jaffe. And people who came to the
tailgates, co-hosted by Dr. Mel Lester of Franklin and
which fell victim to stadium construction, added to Jaffe's
collection.
Photos of Tom Harmon, Desmond Howard and
Charles Woodson — Michigan's Heisman Trophy win-
ners — are personally autographed to Jaffe.
Another cherished photograph is of Anthony Carter
floating on his back in the Jaffe's backyard swimming
pool — taken in the days before it became illegal for
players to visit the homes of boosters.
Assorted Michigan hats are displayed on an overhang
that runs the width of the basement, while U-M blankets
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of various designs
cover the sofas. A
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Collections of
blue and yellow
birdhouses, football
helmets, children's
toys, old tickets
and programs and
Michigan-inspired
puzzles and games
are among hundreds
of items. "I have
every book or video-
tape on or about Michigan ever made," Jaffe says.
He is particularly proud of a 1997 National
Champions jacket; a quilt that his children gave him on
his60th birthday, with a different U-M memory dis-
played on each of its 20 squares; and a non-football item
— the shoe that Rumeal Robinson wore when he made
the two free throws that sealed the 1989 U-M National
Basketball Championship.
But perhaps the piece de resistance is the bathroom,
where visitors have no choice but to "Go Blue" beneath
the U-M toilet seat, flanked by a shower door covered
with U-M bumper stickers.
Although both his own children, David and Sherri,
attended the University of Wisconsin, Jaffe has already
converted the oldest of his four grandchildren to his
maize and blue ways. "The others are not fully nutty, but
they have potential," he says.
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