If only I had the confidence of Tate Forcier, who strutted into Michigan Stadium and played like a man who ate breakfast every morning in front of 109,000 maize-clad lunatics. His freshman counterpart, Denard Robinson, showed a few jitters, but any butterflies camping out in his stomach looked for a new home after he picked up a botched snap, sprinted right, then cut upfield and melted turf for an electrifying 42-yard touchdown.

Me? I was a nervous wreck from the moment I woke up until Robinson made it very clear that, yes, Michigan is in fact a much better team than Western Michigan. My pre-game nerves don’t often interfere with my ability to enjoy a good ol’ college tailgate, especially for a game against a MAC squad, but Saturday was different. In the months since the 2008 season, and especially the last two weeks, this game took on a significance far greater than what was happening on the field.

Mark Snyder and Michael Rosenberg probably weren’t thinking about this when they wrote their little exposé, but they made the game personal for a lot of Michigan fans. They made the playful “Three and Nine” or “Appalachian State” or “Toledo” from an opposing fan go from mildly aggravating to blood-boiling.

Some friends came down from Western to watch the game; what was odd was that when I started talking football with them, it turned out I knew more about the Broncos than they did. When they started talking smack, I didn’t show any outward anger, but inside I was seething. What they don’t understand, and what few teams in the country can fully understand, is just how much we care. If Western loses, for them, it’s no big deal. If Michigan loses, my week is ruined, at the very least. I got frustrated when I couldn’t identify one player on a friend’s “All In For Michigan” poster (it was #89, a walk-on DL named Tim North). I got much more frustrated when I had to identify Western’s All-Conference quarterback to guys wearing Western Michigan Football gear.

As a fanbase, we deserved this. I can’t even imagine how much more the team did.

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