The Wolverine

June-July 2017

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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JUNE/JULY 2017 THE WOLVERINE 29 The Wolverines fanned out after the trip, to Spain, to Ice- land and to a host of other venues for more educational experiences before they return home. They'll still be about winning football games come fall. But they'll be about so much more as well. ❏ Angelique Chengelis has seen plenty in her quarter century of covering Michigan football. Going to Rome to track the Wol- verines proved altogether different. From the Colosseum to the Parthenon to the paintball field, Chengelis and others covering Jim Harbaugh and his crew took it all in, and reported it all out. Here are some of her standout observations … • On Harbaugh: "He was never standoffish. One time we just happened to be walking together. It was not planned. We were just there, and he talked about this on the last day there — ev- erybody was real, everybody was just normal. "If you wanted to do something goofy, you didn't worry about it. We just had a normal conversation, walking a couple of blocks. It was different little interactions like that. "He was very outgoing, even with us … he was very acces- sible and the players were very accessible. There were four Ohio State fans in a practice, and a Michigan State reporter covering the post-Papal audience visit. He was embracing it all, and I thought that was fun to watch." • On an awe-inspiring sight: "We had an option. We could have sat down low, where the team was, for the Papal audi- ence, or you could go up top and look over St. Peter's Square. We [went up and] had quite a view of the Pope, and where Jim and Sarah Harbaugh were sitting. "He was holding the winged helmet constantly — that was kind of funny. But that was incredible. You're way above every- thing, right next to these statues, and you're looking out over this mass of people. You see the little Popemobile going by. "That view, that vantage point, was awe-inspiring. It really was neat. "And seeing [freshman center] Cesar Ruiz stuck in a kayak on the sand, unable to move, and seeing [fifth-year senior defen- sive lineman] Maurice Hurst having to wade in from the lake to push him out — that was pretty awe-inspiring, I have to say." • On other standout memories: "I enjoyed the opera. It was in a church, which was a really neat setting. They weren't going to be dressed up. It wasn't a real opera, it was an aria. It's that sampler platter for people who are not into opera. "I'm sitting in the front, and the players are to my right … some were really into it, like [redshirt junior defensive end] Chase Winovich. [Fifth-year senior linebacker] Mike McCray was documenting everything on this trip, so he was really into it. I talked to [redshirt junior quarterback] Wilton [Speight] after- wards, and he said he really enjoyed it. "Before the show, I hear this 'Aaaaaaahhh' … I looked and it's Maurice Hurst, singing. I was like, oh my gosh, and I went over and took some video of it. Someone asked for an encore, and the second one was just as bad as the first, but they had fun with it. "They went to the Cordon Blue cooking class … [defensive line coach] Greg Mattison was sweating and barking orders, getting his guys to work. Same with [defensive coordinator] Don Brown and all the coaches. "It was fun to watch, and they had a great time, and they learned some stuff. [Fifth-year senior running back] Ty Isaac likes to cook, so he picked up some tips. Those were all team- bonding experiences." — John Borton Angelique Chengelis Talks About The Wolverines In Rome Above: The Wolverines took many photos abroad, including with local law enforcement. Below: The team after touring the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica. PHOTOS COURTESY MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Right: The Wolverines dressed up to see the Pope and enjoyed quite the spread after. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN FOOTBALL

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