A day behind the scenes with Michigan football at Busch Gardens

Posted by Admin December 29, 2024 Football

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TAMPA, Fla. — Every now and then it’s nice to remember that even with the NIL deals and championship praise, the private flights and free gear, Michigan football players are people, just like the rest of us.

Spending the afternoon with the Wolverines at Tampa amusement park Busch Gardens served as a reminder of that.

That’s where the defending national champions hung out on Saturday following their practice, riding roller coasters, enjoying a safari ride and interacting with dozens of fans throughout the park by posing for pictures and signing autographs.

The Free Press was one of a few outlets allowed to tag along with the Wolverines as they explored the park and even got to join them on some rides. Let’s just say this: Anybody who hasn’t watched Ernest Hausmann feed lettuce to a giraffe really hasn’t seen it all.

“That was way more gnarly than I expected,” quarterback Davis Warren said after he finished a ride called the Serengeti Flyer — a catapult-like contraption that sends riders whizzing through the air at 68 miles per hour.

Junior edge rusher Derrick Moore had a more visceral reaction to the ride.

“Get me out of here,” Moore said when the Flyer came to a halt. “Get me to the hotel.”

While it was certainly terrifying in its own right — Moore and Warren were joined by Hausmann, TJ Guy and Max Bredeson while Gio El-Hadi opted out, citing a traumatizing experience at Cedar Point as a freshman — it paled in comparison to the Busch Gardens ride known as ‘Falcon’s Fury’.

It is similar to Cedar Point’s “Power Tower” — a single column surrounded by seats that are slowly lifted more than 335 feet — but instead of immediately dropping straight down, the seats first rotate 90 degrees, so the rider is facing directly at the ground, held up by just a harness.

“Hey, can you check my seat, my belt,” wide receiver Kendrick Bell asked the closest attendant before the ride began. “I need that triple-check.”

Once the coaster rises so high that the entire Tampa skyline comes into view, it stops for 5-10 seconds (though it feels more like 5-10 minutes) before whizzing back to the ground.

Other than U-M’s trip to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, ahead of last year’s Rose Bowl, Bell said he couldn’t remember the last time he was at an amusement park, though, he added, he loved them as a child.

From there, U-M made its way to the Serengeti Safari, where two trucks carried the Wolverines (the maize-and-blue type, that is) into the open land that had ostriches, zebras and gazelles.

But it was the giraffes that many players got to hand-feed lettuce.

The Wolverines drew plenty of reactions, with most fans either crying out “Go Blue” or trying to stop players for pictures. When one bold OSU fan decided to proclaim “Go Bucks!” as the Wolverines waited for one ride, defensive back Zeke Berry turned to him and asked: “What was the score?”

The Wolverines are in town for Tuesday’s ReliaQuest Bowl against No. 11 Alabama (noon, ESPN) and members of the Crimson Tide — including superstar freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams — also walked around the park during the afternoon.

Michigan beat Alabama in OT, 27-20, in last season’s Rose Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal, on Jan. 1, 2024. With the ReliaQuest Bowl kicking off at Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 31, the Wolverines now have a chance to become the first program to beat the Tide twice in one calendar year.

“That would be pretty cool,” Hausmann said while laughing Saturday morning.

But before then, they were happy to hit a few rides.

Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.