Anyone over 67 years old can probably tell you exactly where they were around 1:00 PM on this date, Friday, November 22, 1963 when the world learned of the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy while driving in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas.
I was in Mr. Irwin’s 7th grade class when we were first notified that he was shot. I was in Ms. Walton’s class an hour later when we were notified that he had died. I remember Ms. Walton breaking down in tears in front of the class. Her tears told us that the president had died. No words were necessary. The next five days were a blur. On Saturday we were glued to the TV as we learned about the arrest and capture of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin. Then on Sunday morning we watched in horror as Oswald was shot and killed on live TV by Jack Ruby as Oswald was being taken to a more secure jail facility. Over the next few days we watched a nation mourn as Kennedy layed in state at the Capitol Building and then the unforgettable funeral procession down Pennsylvania Avenue as he was carried in a horse drawn carriage, without a driver. When the casket passed by his family of Jackie, Caroline, and little John Boy, the world was brought to tears by little John Boy’s salute to the casket as he was standing on the sidewalk.
On a happier note, this is also the birhday of my six year old grandson, Nolan Thomas Krieg. Inspite of Covid-19, we will be celebrating his birthday while wearing masks and social distancing.
Rutgers University has successfully made U of M and MSU football irrelevant on the national scene. With Rutger’s victory over MSU earlier in the year and triple overtime loss to Michigan yesterday, it is proof of how fall Michigan and MSU have fallen. Prior to beating MSU in its first game of the season, Rutgers had lost 21 straight B!G games dating back to 2017. After beating MSU, Rutgers has now lost 4 games in a row. At Jim Harbough’s press conference following the game, he talked about how proud he was of his team for fighting back from a 17 point deficit to take the lead and then giving the lead up in the last 30 seconds of regulation to a touchdown and a two point conversion only to fight back again to win in triple overtime. Think about that for a minute and let it sink in.
If Michigan is idown 17 to 0 against Rutgers and down 24-7 against Indiana, and 28-0 against Wisconsin early in the second quarter of the games, what does that tell you about how prepared the players are to begin the game? Michigan football has been deteriorating since Lloyd Carr announced his retirement. It continued with Rich Rod and got worse under Hoke. Jim Harbough has now officially made U of M’s football program irrelevant on the national scene.