14 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 13, 2001 .. ... The Gospel of Father Predicting priest Haldane a web favorite By Steve Jackson u Daily Sports Editor . any Michigan fans have doubts love for the Wolverines is infectious. He wrote his first Altar Call in 1997. about this upcoming football Every year my visitors and I look for- "I wrote it because of the Michi season. The Wolverines gradu- ward to his Altar Calls." fans' disappointment with the (No. ated three NFL-quality offensive line- Here is his description of this year's preseason ranking," Haldane said f men and both its all-time rusher and star Michigan State game. his Mesa, Ariz. home. "There was a wide-out from last season are now with of criticism of Michigan and fearc the Chicago Bears. To make matters "And I saw the Lloyd appear poor season. I wrote this to stir tl worse, the man they expected to be their beside the TEAA; And the maize blood." quarterback is currently hitting .201 for glow of the sun was upon him; And In addition to predicting the Wol the Colubus Clippers. the TEAM was singing the Victors; ines' first National Championship ie After the exodus of all this offensive And the Green Giants trembled. years, Haldane also foresaw a num firepower, Michigan fans needed some- And the sky grew dark and the of other less-than-likely events. one to give them hope for this year. acclamations and shouts of the He correctly anticipated that Mi Fortunately, the Wolverines have a Giants turned to great bellowings gan State would visit Ann Arbor a faith-giving prophet, Father John Hal- as of calves before the slaughter losing to lowly Northwestern. HeI dane and his " Altar Call," which pre- And before them were four beasts dicted that the Wolverines would me dicts a 12-0 National Championship anchoring a line of warriors. And Penn State team, with its only loss c season in the literary style of the Bible's those beasts gave glory and hon- ing against Ohio State. He even na Revelations. our and thanks to him that stood the exact date that Michigan wouldI "Football is a religion and Saturday is on the sidelines; to him that lead- be voted No. 1 in the country before the Holy Day of obligation," Father John eth, and was reviled by Brent. And season started. said. then the two and twenty giants fell "It was almost spooky," Haldane s The Altar Call has become an annual down be/o'e him that stood on the "All those things that I said came tru staple on a number of Michigan football sidelines, and they cast their He did everything but predict websites including: The Victors Valiant, crowns b/ore him, saying, 'Weie Nebraska vs. Missouri kicked ball i The Wolverine Den, The Workman Poll, not eorths, we 're not s orthy; 'And dent that vaulted the Wolverines to Jag's Top 25, and UMGoBlue.com. the ictey was complete that day top of the poll. "I've been entertained by Father and the Red Cedar ran Blue. And And he punctuated his vision int John's writings for several years now," so it was, and so it shall be. 8-0." matic fashion: said Phil Callihan, who works as the "DO YOU BELIEVE? SAY YE webmaster for UMGoBlue.com. "He's is But this is not the first time that Hal- Amen." a true 'Michigan Man.' His spirit and dane has seen a perfect season coming. gan 14) rom slot of a heir iver- n 49 nber chi- after pre- et a om- med first the aid. the nci- the dra- S!!! MEDIA Continued from Page 13 and I like them all," Carr sail going to try to be fair and give tI an opportunity. John Navarre h advantage in that he's been her been in games, all of those things Carr was also high on transfer terback Spencer Brinton, w- spent the past two years on a mis South Africa. "You sense immediately thai a maturity about him," Carr sail kid has had some experiences tb tainly I've never had, and most haven't had - experiences th mature you in a hurry." FILLING IN: Carr expects Marquise Walker and sophomore Perry to step into the voids 1 David Terrell and Anthony Thom "Marquise came in here with Terrell as the two most highly- receivers in the nation, and I th' a guy that needs to have a go for us," Carr said. "I expect Chris Perry to be a standing tailback," Carr said. Haldane predictable in his predictions. and we have a young but experienced defense that could really carry them a long way." Haldane pointed to three games that could be problematic for the Wolver- ines: Washington, Ohio State and Michigan State. "Traveling all the way to Seattle could be difficult on the players. Remember Miami (Fla.) lost up there last season," he said. "There is going to be a lot of hype for that game, too." Haldane is confident that Ohio State's new coach Jim Tressel will revitalize that program and the rivalry with Michi- gan, but his successes against the Wolverines are still a few years away. "I'm also a little concerned about the Michigan State game," Father John said. "That team is loaded with talent, but the question is: Will they be able to perform at their top level against Michigan? I don't think so." ALTAR CALL FUTURES All of Father John's fans can breathe easier knowing that the 2001 Altar Call - the fifth time in a row he has predict- ed an undefeated season for Michigan -will not be his last. "I'm going to do this every year," Haldane said. "Every season the fans start off with anxiety, and its my job to pump them up and get them to believe." Father John will continue to take his football gospel to the fans for as long as he can write. "Stand and cheer for your team with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind,"he said. "Believe!" Furniture! Furniture! Furniture! For All Students - New Furniture at the Cost of Used All About Furniture 1621 S. State St. (behind Produce Station) Ann Arbor 734-395-6695 - allaboutfurnitur@aol.com t J1~4.5 I4 A ttSt 3ft t A%5A C 5 s "200f Tits YEAR -Tiiis TEAM Today, he will answer the call of the Michigan faithful once again. After opening the season at No. 10 in the Coaches' Poll, the Wolverines are cer- tainly not the favorites to take home the Sears Trophy - but neither was the 1997 team. That year, the Wolverines started three new offensive linemen, the quar- terback situation was unresolved in the summer, the running game had no big- name tailback and the defense was the strength of the team. Sound familiar? It does to Father John. "Not much is being ekpected of this team," he said. "I have a lot of confi- dence in (quarterback) John Navarre, on your next haircut (Regular $12.00). Simply bring this coupon to Supercuts. As usual, no appointments are necessary. 715 N. University " 668-8488 But come in soon, this offer ends 8/11/01. Good at participating shops, Not valid with any other offer. One coupon per customer. SUPERCUTS Account Executive The Michigan Daily wuld like to thank their supporters Senior linebacker Larry Foote tai time to sign a 2001 media guide 12-year-old Matt Craig of Milan, GOALIE Continued from Page 13 best in the nation that year. But sometimes the road to s can be a bit bumpier. Turco g- seven goals in his first Blue- game. "Everyone looked around as. 'Gee, that is going to be our s goalie,"' Berenson said. "Butt lot of confidence in Marty t would do fine, and he did." Turco sat for the first two that year, but that didn't s from becoming one of the m cessful goalies in the history lege hockey. He finished his as the all-time record hol NCAA wins (127) and CCII' (82). As of last week, Berenso neither found a walk-on third for next year nor identified I candidate to be'Michigan's a the future. 1 "If I were a top goalie, I love to come to Michigan," I son said. "I'm sure that we'll great goalie. Ins not worried that."