Page 12-The Michigan Daily -Wednesday, January 17,1990
Wolverine swimmer Ann Colloton races to victory in the 200 -yard breaststroke before a standing-room-only crowd at Canham Natatorium.
A MEET TO REMEMBER AS...
Fans push M swimmers to win
by Douglas Donaldson
Daily Sports Writer
"It was a great meet!"
"Very exciting, and great for the
spectators."
"The most exciting dual meet
that Ann Arbor has ever seen."
"It just doesn't get any better
than this!"
In talking with the Michigan
swimmers and coaches after this
weekend's co-ed confrontation with
No. 1 Stanford, it became obvious
what made the meet such a huge
success: The Crowd.
Up until this weekend, it didn't
seem as if the student body could get
worked up about a swim meet. It
didn't seem to matter that the
university had two programs ranked
among the top ten in the country.
During the past few months, the
stands at Canham Natatorium have
been, except for parents and a few
diehard swim fans, empty.
Saturday's meet, however, proved
to be a complete turnaround from
that scenario. Anyone who says the
Stanford meet wasn't absolutely
electrifying, wasn't there.
The large crowd resulted from a
massive advertising campaign by the
athletic department. For the past
week, fliers hawking the meet could
be seen throughout the campus.
Word-of-mouth seemed to be at work
as well. Unlike previous meets, an
astounding number of people
actually knew the meet was taking
place. They also knew what made it
so important. That's the mark of
good public relations, the results of
which were quickly evident.
Even as Saturday afternoon rolled
in, the plugs weren't finished. The
sellout crowd watching Michigan
play basketball at Crisler Arena was
repeatedly informed of the impending
meet by the PA announcer and
flashy scoreboard messages. Then, as
if on cue, the basketball game
reached its conclusion around 5:15,
fifteen minutes before the scheduled
start of the swim meet.
Due to the perfect timing, a
steady stream of people flowed from
Crisler to Canham. When the
bleachers filled almost immediately,
the capacity crowd of over 3,000
people moved towards the standing-
only balcony overlooking the pool.
Even that became overpopulated, as
the remaining fans filled in any
empty spaces, including aisles,
stairs, railings, and rafters, before the
ticket office posted a SOLD-OUT
sign on their window. That's when
you knew this would be something
big. A Michigan swim meet, and
they had to turn people away!
With twenty-two events in all
(eleven events for both men and
women), Saturday's meet took
almost three hours to complete. The
excitement never left, though, even
during the longer races. Chanting on
the Michigan bench led to cheering
in the stands, and the crowd reaction
certainly had an effect on the
Wolverines. Men'shcoach Jon
Urbanchek credited the fans with
"elevating our performance," while
his assistant Mark Noetzel said the
large turnout "gives swimming a lot
of promise for the future at
Michigan."
The Michigan band lent what the
PA announcer called "moral
support." Whenever the crowd
seemed to be drifting away from the
action, a rous-ing chorus of "The
Victors" was all that was needed to
get them back on their feet again -
those who weren't already on their
feet, of course.
The format of the meet,
alternating between men's and
women's events, also seemed to help
keep people interested. Even though
the women were beaten soundly,
there were exciting moments, such
as when Wolverines Gwen DeMaat
and Kathy Diebler held Stanford's
Olympic star, Janet Evans, to a third
place finish in the 200-yard freestyle.
The first event of the evening,
the 400-yd. medley relay, set the
tone for the men's performance.
Michigan's own All-World
Olympian, Mike Barrowman, swam
second. As he entered the water for
his leg of the race, the Wolverines
trailed by almost half a length of the
pool.
Amidst deafening encouragement
from teammates and fans,
Barrowman not only caught up to
his Cardinal opponent, he overtook
him. The Wol-verines then held on
to win the event, giving them the
confidence they needed to control the
rest of the meet.
Men's senior co-captain Brent
Lang summed the meet best by
saying, "Some people say that
swimming is not a spectator sport,
but I think we proved them wrong."
As shown on Saturday,
swimming can be exciting for all
involved, fans included. Keep in
mind that here in Ann Arbor are two
teams aiming for NCAA
Championships this year, and
student support is just what they
need to push them over the top.
Let's hope that large and
boisterous crowds will soon become
standard fare at Canham in the
coming months.
A sad song for Bo
The crack sports staff at the Michigan Daily offer Bo
Schembechler our condolences over receiving a reprimand from
the Big Ten for his comments on "incompetent" referees.
However Bo, grab your record player and find "Battle Hymn of the
Republic." Maybe our famed Michigan Marching Band has recorded
it sometime in their distant past.
Dee-Dee Worthington of Ann Arbor wrote us to share us her
friend's impressions of officials calls when it comes to playing the
University of Southern Cal. David R. Hancock of Duarte, California
first wrote verses to the melody of "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
concerning the Bruins 10-10 tie with USC. Then, after watching the
Rose Bowl, he wrote a version for Michigan fans.
Okay Bo, put the needle on the record.
First for UCLA"
"Ode (Owed) to the Bruins"
(To the tune of "Battle Hymn of the
Republic")
1. Mine eyes just watched the Bruins tie another
lousy game,
The played their gutty hearts out but the outcome
was the same,
Everytime they play the Trojans, referees must take
the blame,
They're partial to SC.
2. They gave a guy a touchdown when he landed out
of bounds,
We breathe upon Marinovich, two flags thrown by
those clowns,
They penalize us 30 yards because we show some
frowns,
They're partial to SC.
3. If it happened just this year I really wouldn't cry,
But every year's the same, my friend, and so I simply
sigh,
It's not just my dear Bruins, every team is doomed to
die,
They're partial to SC.
CHORUS
LET THE GAMES GO ONE WITHOUT THEM,
USC WON'T WIN WITHOUT THEM,
WE CAN SIMPLY LIVE WITHOUT THEM,
THEY'RE PARTIAL TO SC.
Now, here's your song Bo:
"Ode (Owed) to the Wolverines"
(To the Tune of "Battle Hymn of the
Republic")
1. We sat and watched the Rose Bowl game t
simply find out how
The referees would throw the game (to USC they
bow);
They chose a different course this game, no phantom
scores for now,
They're partial to SC.
h,
P
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2. Fourth quarter late - the score is tied
Michigan, the ball;
They fake a punt, run 20 yards, SC's about to
But zebra throws his hanky for a phantom
call;
They're partial to SC.
- and
fall;
holding
CHORUS
LET THE GAMES GO ON WITHOUT THEM,
USC CAN'T SIMPLY WIN WITHOUT THEM,
WE CAN SIMPLY LIVE WITHOUT THEM,
THEY'RE PARTIAL TO SC.
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