Ann Arbor = Titletown?

[Moodini31]

I know, the Titletown thing on ESPN is pretty gay, but I'm a little "shocked" about 2 things. First, that AA is even on the list, and second, that it was loud there.



http://media.www.michigandaily.com/m...-3390694.shtml

[Zekyl]

How the hell is AA on the list? All Ann Arbor has is UM and the Wolverines aren't winning many titles these days.

[WTFchris]

How the hell is AA on the list? All Ann Arbor has is UM and the Wolverines aren't winning many titles these days.

Well, they do have the most wins in NCAA football history. They have many football titles, a couple final four titles, and 9 frozen four titles I think. They also have a lot of titles in wrestling, baseball, swimming, etc.

I don't think they have a prayer against NY, Boston or LA...but they deserve to be on there.

[Jethro34]

Not a surprise it was loud. UM can easily turn out a few thousand loud fans. It's when those few thousand are lost among 100,000 or when they're the only ones in an old cave called Crisler - that they seem quiet.

[Jethro34]

Ann Arbor is on the list for one very simple reason that most people missed.

Go back to ESPN's coverage and look very closely, I mean with a microscope. You will see:

Titletown (sponsored by Adidas).

[Wizzle]

the search for titletown is still on the things that suck list, but this is kind of cool

Michigan fans stun ESPN crew with noise level
ESPN and its crew have witnessed some pretty crazy productions this summer during the network's newest segment, TitleTown.

There were the 2,000 Kentucky faithful that filed into Rupp Arena in Lexington. The 4,000-plus who showed up in Valdosta, Ga. to honor one of the most dominant high school football teams ever, the Valdosta Wildcats, made quite an impression on the production crew. And, of course, trips to the premier pro sports towns in the country - Detroit, Boston, Chicago and the list goes on - were a given.

But of all the places it has gone, all the people it has seen, the TitleTown crew found something it had yet to experience when it visited the Diag this afternoon:

Too much crowd noise.

Ann Arbor is the 16th town out of 20 that will be featured on the segment, and, despite the famous stereotype that Michigan fans are subdued and quiet, it's the only city so far in which the ESPN producer had to stifle the crowd noise so the anchors' voices could be heard on the microphones.

"I live in North Carolina," ESPN personality Nicole Manske said, comparing her Michigan experience to the only other TitleTown segment she's anchored, Chapel Hill, N.C. "So I'm kind of biased to North Carolina, but this is way cooler. The fans have come out here in full force, which is great, because (this competition) is not just about how many titles a town has one, but also the passion of the fans."

The fans certainly had passion. Maize-and-blue clad people started packing the Diag almost an hour before Manske even got to the set, cheering at anything even mildly exciting, including a starry-eyed group of incoming freshmen taking a campus tour during Orientation. The fans brought signs, football helmets, thunder sticks, cowbells and more collective Michigan memorabilia than even the most hardcore fan would know want to do with.

And once the cameras started rolling, not even Manske could hear what she was saying.

The anchor, who usually splits time as a color commentator for football and motor sports, threw her hands up in a playful shrug and started laughing after the second straight take that was ruined by the crowd's excessive rowdiness. From then on out producer John Fish had to give visual cues to hush the 200-to-300 spectators every time they got too excited.

"We just set the bar - it's what we do," Heisman Trophy winner, former Michigan great and guest anchor Desmond Howard said of the crowd's intensity. "We're the leaders and the best. Everyone will follow our lead from now on. They'll see what Ann Arbor did and try to imitate, cause that just what happens. "

Although Howard didn't make an appearance on the makeshift stage until the very last piece taped for the show, the fans made sure he heard them. Several times, chants of "Desmond Howard" and "We want Desmond" erupted from members of the crowd.

When he finally made his way to the stage - wearing a light yellow shirt - the crowd went berserk, jumping up and down, chanting his name and reaching for high fives.

Howard was decidedly excited to be a part of the segment, especially at the end when he led the band in a rendition of The Victors. But he wasn't the only one glad to make Michigan's case for TitleTown.

Fish, a Michigan alum who worked at the University's radio station when he was a student, ran around the Diag checking to make sure the camera shot looked good, introducing himself to passersby, inviting said passersby to the show and chatting it up with friends and acquaintances.

"I love this place," Fish said. "Coming back to Michigan, it's a school that's very important part of my life. To be able to throw a pep rally and show America what the University of Michigan is all about is very special to me."

From here, the TitleTown crew fittingly travels to the city of Michigan's fiercest rival, Columbus, home to Ohio State. The Ann Arbor TitleTown piece will air on July 20th, and fan voting will determine which town will win the TitleTown Championship, which will take place July 23-27 on espn.com. Plans to revisit the winning town are in the works, but nothing for the award ceremony is official yet.

[WTFchris]

I think NY wins this thing BTW. I'm sure it helps to have the allstar game/Yankee stadium closing during the search to remind you of their history.

[Wilfredo Ledezma]

I wonder if Pioneer HS will get love in this thing...b/c they win like 12 state titles in all sorts of different sports each year...

[Timone]

I think Boston will win it.

[Glenn]

HOW ABOUT COLUMBUS?

OR BETTER YET, BOONE, NC?