Let me start out by saying I am an avid sports fan. I have to admit I am interested in some sports more than others. How many of you can remember back to when you first became interested in something sports related. Think about the thought process you go through trying pin down your age at that time. In my case I have determined I was 10 when I first became acquainted with Michigan Football. I remember watching Bob Timberlake lead Michigan to a Rose Bowl victory over Oregon State in 1965.

Those definitely were simpler times back then. Picture a kid playing football with his friends across the front lawns of his neighborhood. Dropping back to pass, I always liked being the quarterback, the voice inside my head saying “Timberlake back to throw…..Touchdown!!” That is how I tie my earliest memory to that time.

This is not a story about any great exploits on my part. Truth be told I only played Parks and Recreation football for a year then on to CYO football for 7th and 8th grade. By the time I got into high school my personal endeavors had switched to hockey and baseball. Still I followed Michigan Football.

Saying I was not interested when Michigan State played Notre Dame to that famous 10-10 game in 1966 would be a lie. I will be honest with you I watched it with great interest. The real interest though was Michigan. By 1968 that kid was thinking he was Ron Johnson in the game that played out in his mind. High school memories were of Bo Schembechler coming and beating Ohio State in his first year. I had not attended a game yet at the ‘Big House’. I only remember high school friends going and telling me how cool it was. Can you picture that kid knowing at that time he was missing something special.

By 1974 I was out of high school and had become acquainted with a great group of guys I met through hockey and softball. We were all Michigan fans and decided at that time to purchase season tickets. Our purchase located us in Sections 8 and 11. There were 12 of us; 6 in each section. I spent probably the next 16 years going to games. During this time that kid from neighborhood lawn football grew into a man throwing the ball around the golf course where we tailgated before games.

He would probably be thinking of names from Rob Lytle, Rick Leach, and Anthony Carter to Jim Harbaugh, John Kolesar, and Jamie Morris. But as one ages times sometime change. Other things like raising a family now come into the picture. The interest does not diminish. It just comes with a different perspective. That kid from back then now wishes to watch Michigan football vicariously through the children of today.

This past year, 2008, was a difficult year to watch Michigan play. It was hopeful at the start but the season just did not pan out. Through my life I know there are always hills after valleys. I know those kids of today, on the neighborhood lawns or schoolyards, will soon be picturing the successful Michigan football players of tomorrow.

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is a stadium located in Oakland, California, United States that is used for baseball, football, and soccer games. Commonly referred to as The Oakland Coliseum, or simply The Coliseum. It was formerly known as Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (1966-1998, 2008-Present), Network Associates Coliseum (1998-2004) and McAfee Coliseum (2004-2008).

The Coliseum is currently home to the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball and the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. The Coliseum is also home to the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer, who use the stadium for several larger attendance games. It will also be a host stadium of the 2009 Gold Cup.

The Coliseum is part of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex, which consists of the stadium and neighboring Oracle Arena.

On August 12, 2005, the A’s new owner Lewis Wolff made the A’s first official proposal for a new ballpark in Oakland to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority. The new stadium would have been located across 66th Avenue from the Coliseum in what is currently an industrial area north of the Coliseum. The park would hold 35,000 fans, making it the smallest park in the major leagues. Plans for the Oakland location fell through in early 2006 when several of the owners of the land proposed for the new ballpark made known their wish to not sell.

Throughout 2006 the Athletics continued to search for a ballpark site within their designated territory of Alameda County. Late in 2006 rumors began to circulate regarding a 143-acre (0.58 km2) parcel of land in Fremont, California being the new site. These rumors were confirmed by the Fremont city council on November 8 of that year. Wolff met with the council that day to present his plan to move the A’s to Fremont into a soon to be built ballpark named Cisco Field. Wolff and Cisco Systems conducted a Press Conference at the San Jose-based headquarters of Cisco Systems on November 14, 2006 to confirm the deal, and showcase some details of the future plan. However, on February 24, 2009, after delays and increased public opposition, the Athletics officially ended their search for a stadium site in Fremont. Speculation was raised as to whether or not the Athletics franchise would remain in Northern California in the long term as a result of the termination of the Cisco Field plan.

Under any such replacement proposals, the Oakland Raiders would presumably continue to play football in the Coliseum, although there have been recent proposals for a new football-only stadium in the Bay Area which the Raiders could share with the San Francisco 49ers.