RIP Bo

We lost a great man today. I was lucky enough to meet Bo on two occasions, both through the Michigan Union Bookstore where I worked for 3 years. He came in to do a book signing for "Tradition" and I got to chat with him for a couple of minutes. It wasn't anything more than chit-chat, but for those 2 minutes or so, I had his full attention. He wasn't hurrying me through the line to sign more books. We chatted about how I worked down in Marketing for a little while, which led to a conversation about Jamie Morris ("Isn't he a peach?" quipped Bo). My boss took a picture of us together, and unfortunately that was the one picture on the roll that didn't come out. It's too bad because I would absolutely cherish that photo now.

The second time, my boss brought me along to help out getting the faculty dressed for graduation. In exchange for having to wake up balls early on a Saturday, the perks were that a) I got to help Bo out, and b) I got to go inside the new football locker room. I didn't spend too much time chatting with Coach that day, but I did notice that he was willing to chat with anyone and everyone who wanted some of his time. He would pose for pictures, even sign autographs.

They were just two minor meetings--and combined they probably didn't total more than 5 minutes. And yet, I still feel lucky to have had the opportunity to shake the hand of the person who played such a big role in making Michigan what it is today.

I was sad when I heard the news, obviously. I was working at about 10% capacity this entire week as it was, but when I read Brian's post around 10:00 or so, all work stopped. I was on The Fort hitting F5 over and over, hoping to find out good news, but having a feeling deep down that it wasn't going to be a happy ending today.

The outpouring of support from fans all across the college football world on the free board amazed me, and it spoke to how much of an impact this man had. I actually have to give credit to the Buckeye fans for showing a lot of class today. It didn't go unnoticed and it was appreciated.

I'm sure Ufer was honking his horn to greet the General, and in a way, it's kind of fitting that Bo and Woody will get to watch this game together from the best seats in the house. It had to be this way.

On thing that I was thinking about today is what if Bo didn't come to Michigan and build up this program? Would my dad have become a fan? And thus, would I have become a fan? Would I have gone to this school if I wasn't so die-hard Maize and Blue? It's possible that I wouldn't have. Which means I wouldn't know the girl I've been dating for 2 1/2 years. Just something to think about.....

Godspeed, Bo. We'll miss you. Thank you for everything.

And Michigan? I'm sure if Bo could pass along a message right now it would be simply this: Beat. The. Buckeyes.