The title of the previous post was only a partial joke. My voice is just now getting back to normal.

But that’s not the only part of me that needed to recover from Saturday’s classic, an up-and-down afternoon that left Uncle Crappy and the rest of tailgating crew gasping. Here’s a rundown of the day.

• The party was outstanding. My father and I made meatball subs for the main course and those were preceded by minestrone and some of Fred’s Beat Michigan sausage, which he is apparently stuck making for the rest of his life. Lots of yummy beer, including Barley’s Christmas Ale and St. Joan’s Revenge, their barleywine – had to go easy on that one. Fred and I presented my father with a flask of his own, and both of my folks received buckeye leaves — really nice enamel pins in this case — from The Wife for their outstanding performance over the years.
• While we were lubricating, I noticed a Michigan fan, with a walking cast and a crutch, hobbling through the parking lot at the College of Pharmacy. I walked up and handed him a buckeye, explaining that it had magical healing powers. I told him that if he put it in the pocket on the side of his injured leg, he wouldn’t need the cast or the crutch by gametime. He and his buddies — one Ohio State fan and one Michigan fan — thought it was so funny that they made me repeat the presentation so they could videotape it.
• We did the toast a little early, to make sure we all got inside the stadium in time to catch all the pregame hoopla. As always, I was at the end of the circle, and I might have been a little over-the-top with my pep talk.
• I have never seen the stadium fill as quickly as it did on Saturday. We were inside in time to see the full team come out for warm ups, and the ovation for that was thunderous. And that was the quietest point of the day.
• Introductions of the team’s seniors. I’m a sucker for stuff like this, but on Saturday I wasn’t alone. When Troy Smith was introduced, the building shook.
• The tribute to Bo was well-done and well-received, and I think the plan for it changed sometime Saturday morning. When I watched the band warming up on the practice field south of the stadium, Dr. Woods told the band that there would be a 10-second moment of silence in Schembechler’s honor preceding the national anthem. But when we got to that point during the pregame, the moment of silence had changed to an announced tribute, accompanied by scoreboard video. Everyone got quiet during, and cheered — politely and respectfully — at its end. Even the worst yahoos played along. Apparently someone was concerned that a silent tribute wouldn’t work well and made a change to the program. I thought it was the right way to go.
• The game itself? What can you say? After Michigan’s first drive, there were 100,000 people inside that building thinking that Schembechler’s ghost was going to bite us in the ass. And then Troy and the boys cut through Michigan’s defense with similar ease. You know the rest. I will say that I’ve never heard that building as loud as it was on Saturday — not for Texas, not for Michigan or Penn State in 2002 — and I’ve been going to games since I was 8 years old. I know for sure it made a difference on at least one play, and I know Michigan’s players talked about how loud it was afterwards. I know my throat — as well as The Wife’s — is slowly getting back to normal. We did our part.
• They should have just given the Heisman to Troy immediately after the game. Maybe Chris Perry could have driven up from Cincinnati to make the presentation.
• After? Exhaustion, mostly. We hung out for a bit, and then headed over to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Coochie Doctor, who had a post-game open house, complete with this roast-pork-and-apple stew made by the doctor herself, perfect for warming up after being outside since 8 that morning. We wrapped it up with a couple of beers around their fire pit in the backyard.
• I should point out that I did hear from Carolina Boy several times last weekend. He called on Friday, claiming that computer difficulties kept him from posting anything here. We had a good conversation Friday, but I missed him when he called pre and postgame on Saturday, mostly because I forgot to bring my cell charger with me and my poor phone was hovering near death all weekend. Sorry about that, CB. I really did appreciate the calls. The same problem kept me from calling HP and DD, who were off riding their bicycles through the Arizona desert, and giving them updates. Uh, guys? We won.

There’s lots more to digest — possible opponents in Glendale, the mildly irritating prospect of a rematch with UM, Troy Smith’s place in the pantheon, how much Big Ten championship gear I’m planning on buying between now and the title game, the countdown to which is available for your viewing pleasure right up there – and I’ll get to it all eventually. For now, I’m basking. In the glory. Of another. Perfect. Season.