Hey Cuse fans, I'm Seth from MGoBlog, and the editor of our print annual Hail to the Victors. We are running an article in this year's book by Michigan historian Dr. Sap on the theft of the banner before the '98 Syracuse game (my first as a U-M student) and plan to use information from this thread. Any further information would be most welcome as we try to portray the story as accurately as possible.
Bygones are bygones, and my own meager trophy collection (suck it, Ohio!) attests to the respect I have for the tradition of stealing other schools' traditions (and the lengths Princeton went to in order to stop Rutgers from taking theirs).
By the way, from our research we discovered the banner taken by the Syracuse Six was the longest-serving of several Michigan's deployed since the tradition began in 1962. I've attached a photo of its first game in 1976. Though the banner isn't technically owned by the athletic department (the M Club is a lettermen's alumni club not officially affiliated with the school), the morning after the theft Michigan's equipment manager had a makeshift banner made by a local tent & awning company. A few players told us they fell down trying to touch it because it was too high. The new one they ordered arrived in early October but Michigan had two road games and a bye week before it could debut. That one lasted through 2011, and there have been two since; Nike provided the current one in 2016.
If the banner of '76 is still around, we would like to offer the opportunity to return it in person to longtime Michigan equipment manager Jon Falk, who if you're a college football fan is definitely one of the few people you would most enjoy meeting (three Syracuse head coaches were assistants in his locker rooms). With 20 years passed, the time of any potential repercussions is long over, and though I don't have any pull in this department, knowing who does, such a gesture could have the possibility of generating a future home-and-home series between our two schools, which I would very much be in favor of. This is a bona fide college football legend, and those who pulled it off should take their place in that history proudly now that there's no more reason to hide in the shadows and leave the banner collecting dust. If you'd like to reach out to me, I can respect whatever level of privacy you require: seth at mgoblog.com, or twitter @Misopogon.
Thanks! And thank you for this thread!!!
P.S. Also for knocking MSU out of the dance this year. Highly, entertaining, highly appreciated.
