More special moments as Michigan football hits New York City
NEW YORK CITY — Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has made good on his promise to make the world his team’s classroom, taking his squad overseas to Rome, Paris, and South Africa over the last several years in addition to a more local trip around the state last season. Several of the team’s leaders approached him this year asking him to keep the tradition alive, and he obliged with yet another itinerary of fun and learning.
RELATED: Louisville transfer kicker James Turner commits to Michigan football
This year’s trip started Friday with most of the team touching down in New York City, where they quickly found the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. That was only the beginning of an outstanding day. From there, they got off the boat and headed to a private event hosed by Michigan booster Stephen M. Ross at Hudson Yards. The players had their choice after that of several different learning activities including former U-M players.
One group chose to spend time with the former head of the FBI, a man with Michigan ties. Former Wolverine lineman Dave Pearson, a financier in New York City and Executive Vice President at Related Affordable, was tabbed to host another to talk about his ventures and answer questions for those who might be interested.
On the real estate side, two more former Wolverines — early 2000s safety Jamar Adams and receiver Antonio Bass, whose career was tragically cut short by a gruesome knee injury — were to meet with others about their successful real estate careers in the city.
Bass has proven to be the perfect example of why the Michigan degree matters so much. He put his efforts into his education when his career was cut short and has become a huge success.
“When you think about these teams trips, it always goes back to one of the things coach [Jim] Harbaugh said a long time ago when we started doing them — not all learning is done a classroom,” associate athletic director David Ablauf said before the trip. “I think that’s where his emphasis has been from the start.
“This year, specifically … he’s had great ideas. We started talking about it in November and December.”
And now it’s begun.
Several tourists did double takes, some even stopping for pictures of the Michigan team on the island of the Statue of Liberty. One father explained to his son who they were while his kid marveled at the size of many in the Michigan contingent. The captain of the ferry ‘Miss New York’ gave introduced them with a “Welcome, special guest Michigan Wolverines, to New York City” when they boarded to head back to Battery Park from the island.
Many of the Michigan players responded with hearty ‘Go Blue!’s and ‘thank you’s when they interacted.
Through it all, Harbaugh — as he always does on these trips — appeared to be in his element, taking pride in his group and excited for the learning experiences to come.
Friday night, the team was set to have a team dinner at a nice restaurant in Times Square before splitting up again. Some were headed to Broadway shows … others were going sightseeing, some to the Empire State building. Tomorrow, they’ll see more landmarks before taking a train to Washington D.C., where they’ll visit museums and other landmarks before heading off to Gettysburg in Pa. and then Canton and Cleveland.
While some have questioned the motivation behind the trips, it’s clear Harbaugh’s is to expand his players’ horizons and provide more team bonding.
Judging by day one, this is yet another successful installment on the Michigan football spring tour list.
