Stunned Michigan fan Chris Baldwin cant get away f
Chris Baldwin finds himself in an interesting predicament. Anywhere the lifelong Michigan fan goes, hes stopped by complete strangers and eagerly asked to relive one of the most traumatic experiences of his life, at least as far as football is concerned
Sergio Romo Jersey .Baldwin doesnt seem tomind too much; hes got a reputation to live up to as the stunned Michigan fan.MORE: Its been an interesting year for Baldwin, who 10 months ago became the face of a stunning finish in a thrilling game between Michigan and Michigan State.His face was plastered on nearly every sports news outlet acro s the country following the game, but he never expected people would still be reacting to him today.I thought (the play) might be around a couple of weeks, maybe even until the end of the season, Baldwin told Sporting News. I thought, Well see it come up again, like, at the end of the season, theyll do recaps, and thatll be the highlight theyll play. And I dont even know if my image will be part of that.Definitely did not expect that in August of next year we would still be talking about it.BENDER: Baldwins fame comes at the expense of his beloved Wolverines. Michigan, which had led the Spartans all night in that fated game, literally gave the ball away on the final play to hand the Spartans the 27-23 win.Baldwin could only watch in shock as MSU sophomore Jalen Watts-Jackson raced toward him in the corner of the stadium where
Cameron Maybin Jersey he sat, stealing victory in the final seconds.He still defends punting the ball: Michigan State had lined up all its defenders in an attempt to block the punt, so even a pooch punt from punter Blake ONeill should have been enough to win. The redshirt senior had punted seven times for an average of 45.7 yards, three times downing the Spartans inside their own 10 yard line.Then, it happened.I was just in shock. How often do you ever see a punt bobbled like that, in any time in any game anywhere? Baldwin said. It happened right then, in the biggest moment of a huge game that had national title implications.Everything after that was just chaos.MORE: Baldwinleft the stadium well after the game had ended heand his friends were still wrapping their heads around the game 15 minutes after the fact. But onceheleft,
Bryan Holaday Jersey he saw his phone had been going off. He a sumed people wanted to talk about the crazy finish.It was only when he saw his face on TV, Twitter and Facebook that he realized his image was as much a part of the story as the finish.Baldwin admits it was weird initially when people asked him if he was the same guy on TV. But it hasnt been all bad.Baldwinwas able to go to the College Football Awards show in Atlanta, where he presented Spartans coach Mark Dantonio with the award for Best Play of the Year. Hes had more than a dozen interviews with reporters ranging from ESPN to local news stations, and nearly got to record an ESPN commercial before plans fell through.And hes become something of an on-campus celebrity. His roommate, Tim Worley, can confirm that.MORE: Worley, who sat beside him at the game (hes on Baldwins right, in the Michigan toboggan), also got some attention for his brief moment on air. But nothing like what his roommate has received. And thats fine with him.Im not too jealous (of him)," Worley said, laughing. Sometimes its frustrating for us, were just trying to have a normal meal, people kind of interrupt us.Say were walking through campus or something like that, and the typical line is, theyll come up and say, I bet you get this a thousand times, but are you the guy from the Michigan-Michigan State game? Of
Sandy Alcantara Jersey course hell say yeah, and theyll ask for a picture, and then they ask if they can do the pose and hell put his hands on his head.BENDER: Baldwin has been a great sport about the whole situation, and understands his has been an incredible experience. But like any college football fan, hes ready for the season to start, especially with the fervor coach Jim Harbaugh has whipped up in Ann Arbor.I dont want to make any bold predictions or anything, (but) I like our chances, Baldwin said. Even a 10-win season like we had last season would be great, to beat the two big rivals in Ohio State and Michigan State, and then to go on and win the Big Ten Championship game anything beyond that would be great of course, but
J. T. Realmuto Jersey Id be very very happy if we could get to that point."Really, thats all Baldwin wants for his team to win. Even more than all the experiences hes had since that fated game.I know hes a huge Michigan football fan. I know he hated losing that game, Worley said of Baldwin. I dont want to try and speak for him, but I think he would trade it for a win.