Sorry guys.  I couldn't hold it back, but it's kind of hard for me to
believe that a full week has gone by since leaving with the Michigan hockey
team for Providence and watching Jordan's 55-point game in the hotel
room.  My hands are shaking from feeling so nostalgic, and wishing I had
a longer vacation. =)
 
Whoever it was that brought up how cool the Providence police was, I have
to second that.  They gave us a police escort to the hotel.  Nice first
impression of the city.
 
I feel pretty safe in saying the team and the band were feeling pretty
loose, confident but not overconfident, but on the back of everyone's
mind lay the stigma of not having won it all in 31 years.  So I could
expect us jumping out in front two goals and proceeding to sit on our
heels and allow three unanswered. Then Knuble tied it up with five
minutes left and the rest is history.
 
So after being expected to play my horn, cheer, and scream at the top of
my lungs for 4 1/2 hours our season ended on a play Maine took from our
playbook.  As we sang the Alma Mater and played *one more* Victors' trio
I couldn't help but feel proud of the team, and for the 500-or-so other
pro-Michiganders that stuck it out (but then they had to stick a TV
camera in my face and ask how it felt to come all the way down here and
lose like that and bitterness set in) =)  After the game the team cried
and we silently packed our things and left.
 
And I missed dinner with Ron and the Hansons.  Oh wah.
 
I'm convinced more than ever that our hockey team is one of the classiest
organizations out there.  Our plane was delayed two hours and the team
came on the band bus and talked to us (one of them is going out with a
percussionist).  They had a box lunch waiting for us- mind you they
haven't had a chance to eat since that morning- and they were just joking
around, though Red looked *really* peeved. I saw Marty Turco kind of
break down for a second and Al Loges hugged him.  This was a special
group.  Even the Wisconsin fans rooting against us at the game have to
admit that. =)
 
Well, thanks for the disk space.  Hope to meet you at a pub in Cincinnati.
Rob
 
 
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LET     SGO     ROBERT E. WALKER, JR.          | Boy, I know that you know,
 B L   U E      UM-Electrical Engineering '97  | that I know, that you know
 O  S U  M      Michigan Hockey Band           | what I'm thinking....meow,
 S       U      [log in to unmask]          | meow, meow, meow, meow.
GOA     WAY                                    | - Homer Simpson
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