Page Four

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Sundoy, September 17, 1972

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THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, September 17, 1972


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Saturday:

The

Rites

of

Fall


If Spring is for lovers then Autumn is for football. By the thousands
they come, surging into the stadium until there are more people inside the oval
than in the rest of Ann Arbor.
For most, the game itself is secondary-if noticed at all. More import-
ant are the good vibes picked up, the energy released by 80,000 bodies getting
back into the swing of things after an eight-month hiatus. Soaking up the rays
from above and lapping up the spirits from below.
The scene rarely changes from week to week or even year to year; new
faces look like old faces and old faces look just a little older. And no matter
how long you wait in line your seats are still in the endzone.
But even the fans in the nost distant corners of the stadium feel a rush
of emotion when the band, the '200-plus ":Marching Men, and Women, of Mi-
chigan!" charge onto the field. And then "The Kickoff"-22 men rush head-
long at each other, not to be disengaged until the last play is run, the last whis-
tle blown.
Ann Arbor is not Columbus, and the action on the field cannot keep up

with the energy in the stands which seeks its release elsewhere. Liquor is a tra-
ditional outlet as students and alumni alike celebrate the rites of Autumn, from
Schlitz and Boone's Farm to Southern Comfort and Johnny Walker. And in re-
cent years a new sin has caressed lips in the stadium. If the modern world has
banished grass from the gridiron, its, peace and freshness are brought to the
stands.
As pungent mist rises above young people's heads, the ubiquitous joint
is passed as commonly as a cigarette.
And students too are passed as the cry "pass 'em up!" rings out. Bodies
by the dozen follow the call, moving precariously up the rows as hundreds strain
to lend a hand. Cheers too are part of the scene, many led by the pep band, but
some, such as the infamous "Aaaaawwww sshhhiitt!!" produced, conducted and
chanted spontaneously by the laughing celebrants.
' At halftime Whiskey makes her appearance-though a four year veter-
an, still as frisky as ever.
And so it goes for a Saturday afternoon--a bit of madness in a world
of madness.

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Photographs by
DAVID MARGOLICK
Text by
WILLIAM ALTERMAN

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