Goosebumps

I was in Guatemala earlier this summer and of course sporting my burnt orange. In downtown Guatemala City, a Michigan fan SPRINTED across four lanes of traffic and flagged me down because he wanted to talk to me about the 2005 Rose Bowl and what I thought about Colt McCoy.  His seat was about 10 rows down from mine.

Another sort of related aside, our tour guide in Antigua barely spoke any English. In Spanish, he asked where we were from, and I said "Texas." His immediate response, in perfect English, "Do you know Vince Young?"

I love being a Longhorn.

I have it on DVD and I've watched it a couple of times in the past few years.  While nothing will ever match the Rose Bowl against USC (which I of course also have on DVD) in terms of meaning, importance, and instant-historical grandeur, the performance that Vince put on against Michigan was, if not as impressive in virtuosity, was perhaps more impressive than his performance against USC in awe-inspiring, myth-making grandiosity.  Some of the runs he made were just the stuff of legend.  "I tell ya, he was 10 feet tall if he was an inch.  With eyes on the back and sides of his head.  And his skin was made of crisco so that everyone who touched him slid right off." Except that's the way it really was that night - Michigan could do absolutely nothing to stop him.  And at some point, they realized it too - a full year before the rest of the country did.

We forget now, but before that Michigan game, the Vince legend hadn't been born.  He was a good, often times great player who had shown mere flashes of infallibility at that point.  He had turned the proverbial corner earlier that year.  Vince was Vince.  But he wasn't VINCE.  Yet.  We knew what we had was special.  But we didn't know how special.  The rest of the country didn't know at all.  But that night, Vince showed them.  And us.  He still wasn't a great passer and his inclination was to run at the first sight of trouble.  But it didn't matter.  That would come.  That night he showed us what was possible: anything we ever dreamed.

...I can't wait to yell my lungs out cheering for Vince when he comes back to DKR during his off-week from the Titans.

The highlight package they put together for his return will also whip the crowd into a frenzy...and, when he comes out to midfield, the noise will probably deafen any home play for the entire season.

moves the needle on the sick-juke meter in that game. Michigan was bringing the house on at least 50% of their plays in the 2nd half and Vince leaves them lunging and clutching clean air.
It reminds me of those kung-fu movies when the hero fights like 40 guys. On some plays 5-6 Wolvies would be coming at Vince and he'd make them all look like stunt doubles.
If VY gets his own line of shoes they should be kung-fu sandals.  

He does some things I don't know if he'll ever duplicate.

The 360 twist for a TD is my favorite.

can't believe Texas won this. All hail Vince.

I know the song sucks, but I remember reading something shortly after the game that Mangum was humming that song while waiting during the timeout before he kicked the winning field goal.  Cool story, doesnt make for good highlight video music though.

make it look like we won that game easily. For every great VY and Texas play, there was a great Michigan play (well, maybe not quite as great as VY). Remember, we couldn't stop their offense either.

One of the best games I've ever seen. We should pay property tax in Pasadena.