The father of 2 of my best friends passed away Monday evening. It's been a hard week for the family, who currently live out in Arizona (for the most part) but during my formative years lived 2 doors down from me. There are many things I'll remember about Larry Betz, but 3 of biggest would be his corny (but very enjoyable) sense of humor, his nicknaming me "the iceman" back when he drove us all to school back when our middle school canceled its busing (it was a particularly cold & snowy winter and often I'd be covered in snow by the time I got to their house, hence, "the iceman cometh"), and his roll in converting me as a Michigan fan. Since this is a blog about sports, I'll spend a little time on that last one.
My dad went to MSU and was (and is) a State fan through and through. So naturally I was a State fan. When I was about 9 or so, I started going over to the Betz's to watch the M&M game (Michigan v. Michigan State, for the unschooled). It was a little rough, mainly because it was 1989 and MSU was still running Duffy Daugherty's offense from 1960, and Michigan had guys like Desmond Howard, Elvis Grbac and Chris Calloway. It became a yearly tradition for me to go over to the Betz's for the M&M game, and by 1991 I was rooting for the maize & blue.
The conversion is pretty easy to understand, looking back. The rooting experience was a lot more enjoyable (hanging with friends vs. my dad getting yelling at the TV), even in losses (in 1990 Michigan DID lose, thanks to one of the more blatant no-calls I've ever seen on a pass interference in the end zone). Also, even in 1991 I had no intention of attending Michigan State. Nothing against the education they provide (always thought they were underrated in that sense), but I didn't want to go to school in the same town where I grew up. When I finally decided I wanted to study art, MSU was ruled out for good (they have many quality programs, art NOT being one of them). Anyway, I came home from the 1991 M&M game (State got handled, 45-28, but I had made my decision before kickoff) and announced to my dad that I was officially a Michigan fan.
How did Mr. Betz contribute to my conversion? Well, for starters, he went to U of M & raised a couple of my best friends to be Michigan fans. He also expressed a somewhat understated fandom, very different from most of the MSU fans I knew (who were more like THIS GUY). He also made sure the boys' U of M rooting didn't get out of hand when I was still an MSU fan. Later on after my Wolverine fan-ness was more established, he took the boys & I to my first hockey experience at The Joe. It was the CCHA Tournament Finals, and I want to say it was the 1994 version (when Turco had the shutout). We went to Nikki's and had one of the best pizza's ever, took the people mover to the Joe, and watched a great game unfold.
It's strange that a guy who wasn't really an athlete or even a die-hard sports fan would have such an impact, but he did. It was fun reminiscing, and that CCHA Tourney game remains one of my favorite stadium experiences so far.
you should definitely share this with the Betz family. I'm sure they would appreciate your reminiscings.
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