Profiles in Fandom: Section 36, Row 57, Seats 15-16
11/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
During Michigan football's final home game of the season on Nov. 22 against Maryland, Michigan Athletics will salute its football seniors during the annual Senior Day ceremony before the game. Fan Appreciation Day will coincide with Senior Day, as many parts of the gameday experience will be designed to thank fans for their continued support of Michigan Athletics. Leading up to Saturday's game, MGoBlue.com will recognize some of U-M's most passionate fans.
About Don: Don Wurtzel arrived in Ann Arbor in 1974 to finish off his undergraduate degree. He ended up staying in school until 1981, graduating from Michigan's dental school. The Saginaw native stuck around, practicing dentistry in the Ann Arbor area and raising his family with his wife Terry. They have three children, two of whom joined the family practice over the last few years.
Q. What was your first game like at Michigan Stadium?
A. My first game would've come in 1974, and I was working for the athletic department. I came to school and ended up living with a bunch of guys who all worked there on the grounds crew, so I joined them. I don't remember my actual first game, but I was in the game for free and then we had to clean up after the game. Every week we were (at the stadium) early on Saturday to take the tarp off of the field and then stayed for the game. Then we came back on Sunday to clean up.
What I remember from those early years is the intensity of Bo and Woody. But Woody would come up and joke around with us. We'd wait around on Friday for the visiting team's practice to end to put the tarp on the field, and Woody would talk to us. I remember those games clearly. Woody was extremely nice to us. But when the game started, it was a different story. Bo was more intense than Woody -- he was so serious (at Friday practice). One thing I remember, we were there on Friday to do the tarp, and he actually kicked us out of the stadium. I don't know if he was working on a trick play or what, but he made sure we didn't see part of the practice. We'd have to go outside and then we came back in when they were done.
Q. What do you enjoy about coming to games at Michigan Stadium?
A. I just think the stadium is beautiful -- I think it's nicer than the Rose Bowl. It's gorgeous, a spectacular stadium. People who have never been here don't realize that it is down in the ground. I think it's the best stadium in the country. And I think -- for the most part -- our fans are great, we treat opposing fans well. I hear that all the time.
Terry (left) and Don Wurtzel
Q. Where do you tailgate?
A. Right now, my son (Donnie) lives three blocks from the stadium -- it's perfect. The whole family gathers there for the tailgate and we stick around there for a while. Then we go to three or four other tailgates that we'll stop by and visit. We always see our good friends in the blue lot.
Q. Who has been your favorite Michigan player over the years?
A. An easy one is Tom Brady, of course. I'm a New England fan because of Tom Brady. And then Mike Hart and Tyrone Wheatley. I really liked Mark Messner -- he was undersized but he was phenomenal. You could go on and on with all the great players. You look at that 1997 national championship team, so many of those guys went to the NFL. And then, of course, Charles Woodson. He took away half the field (on defense). I'm sure there are more that I'm not thinking of -- we've had our fair share.
Q. Who do you attend games with?
A. Between my daughter Lindsey and her husband (Nick), and then my son Ben and his girlfriend (Caroline), they have four tickets. Then my son Donnie and his wife (Veronica) and my wife and I have four tickets nearby. We are in the same section, but we are working on getting all the seats together. We are about 15 rows apart. I'd like to get the seats together to get the family together. We all go to the games and we all live and die with Michigan.
From left, Caroline Wolfe, Ben Wurtzel, Terry and Don Wurtzel, Nick and Lindsey Douville (holding son Charlie), Veronica and Donnie Wurtzel
Q. What games at Michigan Stadium stick out in your memory:
A. I'm sure this one comes up a lot, but I was in the stadium when Anthony Carter made the great catch for the touchdown with no time left. That was great -- everybody went crazy. Down where my seats are, Desmond Howard caught a punt in the northeast end zone (against Notre Dame in 1991) at the three- or four-yard line and ran it back for a touchdown, and then did the Heisman pose. The night game with Notre Dame (in 2011), that finish -- that was the loudest and the best I've ever seen the crowd in my life. We didn't leave the stadium until about an hour after the game -- and no one wanted to leave!
The 1997 championship team -- I kept telling the kids that if we went undefeated, I'd take them to the Rose Bowl. They were pretty young, but we kept winning. And they did go undefeated. Tickets were almost impossible to get, but I asked my friend, former coach Stan Parrish, to help me out. He was able to come through, and that trip was about as good as it gets. We had a wonderful time.
Q. Why do you attend Michigan football games?
A. My dad loved Michigan. I grew up sitting on his lap watching Michigan. I put the 1997 national championship baseball hat in his casket when he died. I remember in 1966 -- going way back now to Cazzie Russell. My mom woke me up to listen to that championship game because they were playing out west. We listened on the radio to hear that great basketball team.
You know what? I've been a Michigan fan my whole life. Now my kids are Maize and Blue all the way -- it's ingrained in us.
• Big House, Big Thanks: Fan Appreciation Day Set for Nov. 22
• Profiles in Fandom: Section 316, Row 8, Seats 1-4
• Profiles in Fandom: Section 306, Row 1, Seats 11-12
• Profiles in Fandom: Section 415, Row 1, Seats 7-8
• Profiles in Fandom: Section 44, Row 30, Seats 7-10
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