By: Greg Nicholson (umich1 in the forum)
Three years ago, a part of me would die with every loss. "Who are they to think they could beat a Michigan team," Fielding Yost once quipped, and that was the way I approached it. Every game Michigan played, I expected victory. Every game. There was one exception, the Rose Bowl vs. Vince Young. Michigan exceeded my expectations that day. 
Other than that, when Michigan took the field, I expected the scoreboard to proudly display a Michigan lead. When Michigan lost to Appalachian State, I didn’t leave my bed in my dorm room the next day. It was miserable. When they lost to Oregon in horrific fashion a week later, I sat in that stadium, after almost all had left, confused and wondering if it was time to leave my seat. Losses stung. You didn’t get cuddly sympathy from Buckeyes, you got raw hate. I miss the day when people feared the M.
Fast forward to today, I am numb, and I hate it. Losing like we did yesterday, if that had happened three years ago, how would you have reacted? 10 minutes after the game was over, I was like "well, lets see how the Rose Bowl game is going to shake out, that should be a good one." Absolutely numb. A loss is no longer what it used to be.
When I was younger, I got 4 teeth pulled, and the dentist gassed me and shot countless doses of Novocain into my gums. I literally couldn’t feel my face. It was such an entertaining sensation, I proceeded to slap myself across the face a couple times in amusement of how something that normally hurts didn’t even sting.
It’s like a Michigan loss no longer stings. My body has formed this psychological defense where it can no longer invest energy into the football team. Wins are good…for about 5 minutes. Losses suck…for about 60 seconds. Absolutely numb.
The scariest part is, I don’t think it will ever come back. Never again will Michigan winning on Saturday launch me into continuous joy the following week. I don’t know if this is a good thing or bad, but I’ll miss it.
spot in the Rose Bowl.