The Clan, McSpencer!
The 2017 edition of the Quicklane Bowl introduced Mike’s two son-in-law’s, Kyle and Jake to a Mike and Bone Deeetroit winter-bration!
The Spencer clan showed up at Bonacello around 1:00, with plenty of time to make and eat a “Sila-Style” pizza that Mike and Bone used to make and have a few cocktails of beers and shots the 6 year old, very German Slyrs Whiskey in the recently finished Mike and Bone Pub. About 3:00 the Boys Ubered Downtown for a few beers before the intriguing ACC / MAC matchup.
Pre-Game Warm-ups!
It was freaking cold and snow down, ain't no better way to warm one self up than with a shot of Bushmill's and Guinness at the Old Shillelagh, where Jake and Bone decided to turn it into a Drinking competition!
The Crew strategically hit every bar down the road on the way to Ford's Field to ensure that they did not become to cold nor dehydrated. Fortunately for their heads, they made it to the Stadium around 4:00 for Pre-Game.
Team Background: Duke
Duke (6-6, 3-5 in ACC) had the best bowl-eligibility celebration in the country. When the Blue Devils beat Wake Forest in their regular season finale to punch a postseason ticket, one player rolled his helmet into the midst of a bunch of teammates who were lined up and fell down like bowling pins. That alone makes it cool that Duke’s back bowling for the first time since 2015. The Blue Devils were pretty good on defence and quite boring on offense. Which put them in league with dozens of other bowl teams this year!
Team Background: NIU
NIU (8-4, 6-2 in MAC) The national highlight of the Huskies’ season was an upset of Nebraska in Lincoln in September, when they pick-sixed Huskers QB Tanner Lee twice to hand Nebraska its first loss ever to a MAC team. That was quite a day. But the Huskies are a good team, and it was nice to see their bounce back after a one-year decline to 5-7 in 2016. NIU’s returned to the bowl slate this year makes nine appearances in 10 years.
Mike, Bone, Jake, and Kyle
Typical Ford Mediocrity
No Pin's !! Now Mike and Bone have been attending the Michigan Bowl religiously since the first Motor City Bowl in 1997 where Chad Pennington and Randy Moss of Marshal beat Steve Avery and Ole Miss. With the takeover by the Ford's of the Bowl, typical things one would expect, like hats and pin's are no longer sold. Now they have 50-50 raffles and stupid stunts (shown below)
The NIU "Husky Marching Band!"
One of the great traditions of College Football vs. Pro is the Marching Bands and nooobody (channeling Harbaugh) has it better than Michigan with the "Victors!" However, it is great to hear the other traditions such as NIU's. In 1899, fourteen men at the Northern Illinois State Normal School (teachers college) gathered under the direction of Mr. Calvin Dart with horns and drums in hand to form the Northern Illinois University Huskie Marching Band. The history of the Huskie Marching Band reflects both the growth of the university as well as the changes in student lifestyles and fashion. Very little is known about the first band of 1899. We do know that there were football and basketball games held that year. However, the first public mention of the band performing was not until April 12, 1900. We do not know if the band presented a concert that day, or if the band had played at the “Blue-Red” basketball game that afternoon. Aside from a photograph, the only other record about the band was this cryptic message in the 1899-1900 yearbook: The Norther wonders why the band didn’t follow Miss Williamson’s advice and take Mrs. Winslow’s soothing syrup? -----1900 Norther It is doubtful that this first band ever marched. It likely performed at not only athletic events, but pep rallies and socials as well. Not until the 1930’s do we find substantial records about the band at Northern. Like so many other colleges across the nation, the decade of the 30’s marked the emergence of marching band programs that resemble our notion of the modern marching band. While not executing fanciful maneuvers at halftimes like bands of today, the marching band did take the field in parade formation during the 1930’s, performing traditional marches as the mainstay of its musical repertoire
Among the many accomplishments of Northern’s marching band program was the progressive attitude regarding the membership of women. Unlike most college marching bands in the United States, the Northern band had welcomed women into its ranks since the 1930’s. No doubt, in the early years this was out of necessity as women students completely outnumbered men in the first several decades of the schools’ history. But long before the passage of the 1972 federal law Title IX, which mandated that all public universities allow women into their band programs, women marched alongside men at Northern ---not only as baton twirlers, but as musicians --- which leads to an interesting but brief period in the history of the Northern marching band when women were excluded.
Now, The Duke University Marching Band!
Now a little history on the Dukie’s Band: What would become the Duke University Marching Band was founded in 1906 at Trinity College (Trinity College was renamed Duke University in 1924). The history of the band over its first decade and a half remain rather spotty, though an article in the 1914 edition of the Chanticleer, the university's student newspaper at the time, made mentions of a "college military band". In the 1920s, the band switched gears and became an "entertainment jazz band", which performed at football games and other various events. The band dwindled in size during the 1930s, most likely due to the ongoing Great Depression. In 1935, director Robert B. Fearing divided the band into two units: a military unit (the marching band) and a concert unit. The military unit was given uniforms modeled after those used by the West Point Band, and women were granted membership into the band in 1943. Much of the evolution of the band program at Duke University occurred under the leadership of Paul Bryan who was hired as the new director of bands, who then hired Jim Henry to be the exclusive marching band director nine years later in 1960. Under their tenure, the band also started to play at Blue Devil basketball games and became one of the first modern pep bands in the country. The structure of the pep band remains much the same to this day. In 1976, the marching band took a much different and nontraditional approach to its field shows as it experimented with becoming a scramble band, much like those found at Stanford University and all but one Ivy League institution. However, the band quickly reverted to a traditional corps-style marching band in 1977. The band continues to grow steadily and size and gain recognition throughout the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Here Comes the Blue Devils!!
Now, The Huskies !
Kick Off!
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A Few Beers and Football is NOT a bad Day After Christmas !!
Northern Illinois (8-5) fell behind, 14-0, in the first quarter but rallied to tie the game at 14-14 with 12:22 left in the second quarter on a 25-yard touchdown run by running back Tre Harbison and a 67-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Marcus Childers to wideout Jauan Wesley. The Blue Devils racked up 466 yards of offense and scored four touchdowns in the first half to take a 26-14 lead.
A Second Half "Finish-em up" for Duke
From there, it was all Duke, which scored the next 22 points of the game and finished the season on a three-game winning streak. “The First Half definitely was frustrating,” Duke quarterback and Quick Lane Bowl MVP Daniel Jones said. “But I thought we used that emotion and frustration to motivate us. We came short throughout that stretch. Jones went 27 of 40 passing for two touchdowns and rushed for his 86 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries for Duke (7-6).
Post Game: Pounding the Pub's!!
The Boys left with a few minutes to go planning to prune the locals of their beers. First stop was the very cool Checkers Bar, which is a kitschy 1950's looking Bar that is now a Millennial Bar with great beers. The Boys all had a shot and a Beer then headed to Foran's Grand Trunk for another (couple of rounds) of beers and shots. They wrapped up the evening at the venerable Jacoby's for the final round of beers and shots.
Puking and Pies
In the 35+ years of Mike and Bone, Bone has never blown chunks, on the Uber Ride back, they had to pull off of I-75 and let Bone outta back to feed the fishes (yep Jakie won [this round!]) On return to Beserkley, the Boys made more Pizza's so everyone else wouldn't feed the fishes then they all passed out. A typical Mike and Bone Deetroit Bowl Game now experienced by the men-folk in the Clan McSpencer!!!!