The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/201975
michigan football "Any time you beat Ohio State, every time you beat Michigan State, those are vivid memories. We're going back to Michigan State this year, and of course, the most vivid memory is Charles Woodson intercepting that pass and getting his toe inside the sideline. What a great play. "You know another one? It was 2003, and John Navarre was the quarterback. We had won a great game, 27-20 at Michigan State. We went into the locker room after the game, and John Navarre … what a great guy. It's a tight, dark locker room at Michigan State, and he stood up in front of all those players. "He says, 'Men, we're in a position here to win the Big Ten championship. I'm going to do everything I can to help this Michigan team win the championship, and I'm asking you just to play two more weeks of your best football. I promise you, I will. We can beat Ohio State, and we can win the Big Ten championship and go to the Rose Bowl.' "What a great, emotional thing. What a leader John Navarre was. I remember that vividly." The Wolverine: How about your greatest heartbreak? Falk: "Losing to Ohio State in 2006, after Bo had passed away, was hard. That was a good team. There were a couple of calls that went against us that really hurt us bad. Those kids played hard that day. That was a heartbreak. "Losing to Miami, when we were up 30-14, in the fourth period, and got beat, 31-30. Those were tough games, but the Ohio State games are always the tough games." The Wolverine: What's the craziest thing that ever happened to you in this job? Falk: "In 1986, after Jimmy [Harbaugh] had guaranteed that we were going to beat Ohio State, we were in a smaller truck. Not a semi, at the time, but a smaller vehicle. We were driving down on Friday morning, going down a hill, getting ready to go onto Lane Avenue to turn to the stadium. "The brakes went out on the truck. All of a sudden, I looked over at the truck driver, and he was scared to death. He says, 'I've got no brakes!' "On Lane Avenue was a semi going right in front of the intersection. I'm sitting there in the passenger's side, saying, 'Oh, please Lord, let the semi get into the middle of the intersection, so we just hit the side of the truck. We don't want to hit the truck broadside. Just let us hit the side of it.' "Well, that's what happened. We hit the side of the semi. He went on, and our truck moved to the right a little bit, but it stopped. We had to call the police, and the Columbus police came over. "The Columbus policeman goes, 'What do you have in the back of that truck?' I had my Michigan gear on, of course, and I said, 'I've got Michigan football