I The Michigan Daily - SPORTSTuesday - January 20, 1998 - 3B BrnSS I t Brandstatter Michigan announcer speaks on 'M' legacy When Jim Brandstatter was grow- ing up in East Lansing, it seemed all ° roads led to one day wearing the green and white. In fact, his older brother played football at Michigan State, the same school where his father was on the faculty. But when he grew up and was a senior in high school, he made a decision that changed the rest of his life. Ar lie chose to go to school in Ann rbor And ever since that day, Brandstatter has worn the maize and blue proudly on his chest and has loved Michigan football dearl y. After a career on the Michigan *playing field, where he most/y " layed behind All-America and NFL l~l of Famer Dan Dierdorf Brandstatter now finds himself behind the microphone at Michigan *Stadium, broadcasting games Jor WJR. Despite his family s preference of schools, it would be an understate- ment to say Jim Brandstatter is a Michigan man. The Daily's Jordan Field sat down with Brandstatter in the booth before the Michigan-Ohio State game to talk about his career Michigan foot- ball and the greatest players he 's ever seen play football at Michigan. Daily: Do you still get as excited about the game and Michigan foot- ball from up here in the booth com- pared to when you were on the play- m ing field? Brandstatter: Once you are a Wolverine and you've played in a game like this that has the implica- tions that it has, you never lose the butterflies, you never lose the excite- ment, you never lose the anticipa- tion. This game is just so special and y -such a great event, that I think my playing days help me relax and in a lot of ways help me for my job up here. In many ways, the team's prepara- tion throughout the week is similar .to mine - the way I learn about a team - and it's still very exciting. D: You are originally from East Lansing. Was it a hard decision way back, to choose Michigan for col- lege? B: No, not at all. I had some green and white in me. My brother played football there, my father was on the faculty, but when I was a senior in high school, I really wanted to go else. kM Part of the reason was that when my broth- er was at MSU he did not have a great football experience there. So as a 10- year-old watching my hero -my brother -not love it there, it kind of sours you to go there. The coach who was there for my brother was still there when I was coming out, so I decided between Dayton, Wyoming and the University of Michigan. Dayton was being a big fish in a little pond, Wyoming was way away from home and Michigan was play- ing with the big boys. And I've always been a Big Ten man, and I always asked myself if I could play with the big boys. If I hadn't taken the opportunity to play here, I would have always questioned myself. I figured even if I came here and didn't play, it was still a win-win sit- uation. D: What kind of rivalry do you have with your brother and father? B: My mom and dad both believe I made the absolute best decision. As a matter of fact, my mother wrote me a note this week because she was in town and on the note it said, "Thanks for the visit - Go Blue!" She may be a Spartan mom, but after I graduated from here and she and my dad saw the people I met and the friends I made, they would be the first to tell you coming here was the best decision I °.> ever made. My bro-ther Art would tell you the same thing, but he is still a very staunch M S U supporter and a good Spartan all the way. We definitely have a good healthy rivalry in my family. D: flow would you compare the Michigan- Michigan State rivalry to the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry? B: Well, Jordan, you and I both being in-staters realize the impor- tance of the M i e hi g an - M S U game, but that's exactly the thing. Michigan-MSU is more of a region- al thing of back- yard brawl, and you always want to beat your neighbor. But this game with Ohio State takes on national implica- tions, everybody grows up watching this game on televi- sion, and a lot of times when I grew up the Michigan - State game was- n't on television, but every year, this game is. Seemingly enough, this game is on TV, and is always important. It's who goes to the Rose Bowl. I think a lot of fans from all over, whether it's Idaho, Montana or any- where, want to watch the Michigan- Ohio State game because it gets more hype and it's just bigger. D: Is it tough for you on the air not to sound biased? I know no matter what you say on the air, you want Michigan to win. B: You just learn how to do it. Today's broadcast has to be some- what objective. But let me make this clear. We broadcast Michigan football to Michigan fans, so we certainly slant the broadcast slightly, but for Frank Beckmann and I, we've been in the business a long time, and this is a career for me, so we need to be pro- fessional about it. We handle the job for Michigan people, but if OSU does something good, then we are going to say it. There are other good football teams, and there are other great foot- ball players, but when you do II games in a season, the Michigan faithful are probably listening and we want them to know how their team is doing. D: What is your relationship with Bo Schembechler, or the other coaches that have been through here? B: I'm really lucky to have the relationship with Bo that I do. The fact that I played here, all the coaches realize that when I come in to do things, as a reporter or with Michigan Replay, they all respect and trust me. They know they can tell me things as a friend that I won't exploit as a journalist. And I feel there is a solemn trust between myself and the coaches and players. I have tremendous respect for football coaches, I see them in the wee hours recruiting, making phone calls or taking care of the guys. Now with coach Carr and this crew of people I really think we have the best group of people in here pos- sible. I'm lucky to have the relationship with these guys as I do. D: Either as a player or from the booth, what have been the best Michigan games that you can remember? B: I have not seen a performance of a good team get dominated by Michigan like it was at Penn State this year. That's as good a game as I've seen. There have been some great plays, with Anthony Carter, in our game against OSU when I was a senior we beat them, 10-7. All the Notre Dame battles that came down to a field goal, there have been so many, that they all run together. The Hail Mary against Colorado - there have just been so many great moments, especially in this sta- dium. I feel like this is just a great ride that I'm on, seeing all these games, and I can't wait for the next thrill. D: For you, who was the most exciting player you've seen in the maize and blue? B: Hard to beat Desmond (Howard) or Anthony Carter. On defense, Andy Cannavino was one outstanding player, so is Woodson. The '85 team defense lead by Mike Hammerstien and that group was truly amazing. But if we are just looking at one year, where things happen and the guy just seemed destined for great- ness, it was Desmond the year he won the Heisman. D: I know you said it's important to be professional and that this is your job, but do you still manage to be a fan and love Michigan football. It seems like you sure do. B: Oh yeah. I couldn't do this job if I wasn't a fan and if I didn't love what I was doing. I love the kids, I love the staff, I love what this all stands for and I love the tradition. I would hate to think that one day I won't be at Michigan Stadium on fall Saturdays. It's a way of life and I am very, very lucky. - For questions or suggestions about past or future Q&As, get in touch with The Michigan Daily ' Jordan Field via e-mail at jmfield@umich.edu. SPORTSTuesday Column ALAN GOLDEN BACH The Bronx Bomber The dream Reese di d for s/houldn 't die wftk kimn f there is one circumstance for which standard protocol should be bypassed. then death would certainly fit that bill. Take your rules, regulations and procedures, and throw them in the gutter. Death creates its own margins and even goes out- side of them occasionally. Those margins widened last month with the sudden passing of Michigan - wrestler Jefferey Reese. With the exception of those close to the Michigan athletic department - in that case a large part of this University - very few of us under- stand the implications of Reese's death. There is something deeper here, making this loss even more painful than usual: the loss of a teammate. Once again, the margins have been extended further. I have only been to two funerals in my life, the last one eight years ago. Death is something I can't fully comprehend. But anyone who has played a sport at any time in their lives, be it Pee Wee League baseball or NFL football, understands the loss of a teammate. We all know the bond that's formed among teammates during a sea- son or a career spent together in uniform. Take, for example, Joe McFarland, one of Michigan's assistant wrestling coach- es. McFarland, a man who has been receiving mounds of flak in the public eye for his apparent "carelessness" regarding Reese's training habits in his final hours; is someone for whom this team bond is as strong as anyone's. McFarland was not even supposed to be with Reese during the Michigan junir's final and fateful workout. Michigan's second-winningest wrestler of all-time; McFarland's dedication to the Wolverines is almost as difficult to put into words as it is to give Reese's obituary its proper justice. After completing his eligibility at Michigan in 1985, McFarland tuned to eoach- ing. He served as an assistant at Indiana from 1987-89 before taking the head coaching reins for the next three seasons. Under McFarland's leadership, Indiana produced three All-Americas, an NCAA champion and conference titles each of his three seasons. He was also named Big Ten Coach of the Year his rookie season. Then this Michigan man tightened his affinity for this school. He took hierarchi- cal demotion from his previous job to become an assistant to his former mentor Dale Bahr at Michigan. But in his mind, returning to Michigan was a promotirt that far exceeded any gain in power. McFarland is not married. His family is Michigan wrestling. The night Reese - died, McFarland was just hanging around with part of his family. The team had just finished working out for the day and all of the wrestlers, except Reese, had weighed in for their upcoming match. When McFarland found out that Reese hadn't weighed in yet, he just decided to hang around, to keep the young wrestler company while he was working out. He could have gone home and left Reese --who would've died alone-but lie didn't. Reese was family to McFarland, and staying around to provide a little con- versation for his relative was almost instinctive for the Michigan wrestling legend. Imagine the horror Reese's teammates would have encountered, coming into-the weight room the following morning and seeing their teammate lying dead, drained of the energy that forms the bond between teammates. Conceiving of that sight is almost as difficult as imagining anyone losing their life doing what they loved most, doing what they had committed their life to perfecting. The only thing comparable to losing a life in pursuit of a dream is losing contfol of that dream altogether. The pursuit of a dream is what gives life its vigor. The puf- suit of a dream is what pushed Jefferey Reese to ridiculous treatment of his body. University Athletic Director Tom Goss flirted with destroying that dream for the Michigan wrestling team. He threatened to eliminate the wrestling program alto- gether, thus stopping the dreams of the Wolverines in progress. "If we could not make the sport safe," Goss said, "we would have ended the pro- gram." Fortunately for the Wolverines, as well as wrestlers everywhere, the NCAA passed new rules regarding the conditioning standards and weigh-in schedules of wrestlers. The dreams of established All-Americas such as Jeff Catrabone and Airron Richardson, as well as precocious freshmen were kept alive. So were those of Joe McFarland. Goss cannot allow fatal conditions to persist for his athletes, but he also mut remember that this is college--where dreams are supposed to be fulfilled, not destroyed. --Alan Goldenbach can be reached via e-mail at agold(a4umici.edu. vAuft Daily Sports. 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