Sunday, September 02, 2007

What a week for Appalachian State

Sometimes when you're under pressure, ranked in the top five in a national competition, you melt in the heat of the spotlight. Even when asked to perform a simple task. No one knows that better than Lauren Caitlin Upton, Miss Teen South Carolina. Her on-stage, on-screen, impromptu response to a question in the Miss Teen USA competition has gone viral on YouTube.

She has since had ample opportunity to explain herself to the media throngs eager to give her the chance. She seems nice enough. And drawing a blank could happen to anyone. Then again, she did put herself in that situation. Among the outlets that gave her a second chance was NBC's Today Show.

It was on that clip that I learned she was on her way to college. At Appalachian State. The same school that went to the Big House in Ann Arbor and pulled off the biggest upset in NCAA football history. The Wolverines were ranked fifth in the nation. And they were asked to complete the seemingly simple task of defeating a Division I-AA school from North Carolina in a tune-up match.

What a week for Appalachian State.

The only thing that eased the pain for Michigan fans was the stinger that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets sunk deep into the flesh of Notre Dame's Fighting Irish.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's enough to give a Big Blue alum THE BLUES! Just be thankful you're not a Leprechaun Groupie.

Dean Baird said...

The Irish ain't much for fightin' these days. No doubt they'll be back, but Michigan fans hardly shed a tear with each week's story of ND's decimation.

I had hoped Michigan's early implosion would teach the more rabid Maize & Blue fans (many of whom never attended the U) some manners and a touch of humility. We can only hope.