The author on Staff Appreciation Night / photo by Dave Piwowar

On Saturday, the University of Michigan women’s gymnastics team (and I, by association) won the program’s fourth-straight Big Ten title at the Big Ten Championships held in Columbus, Ohio. 

This isn’t anything new for me or for Michigan. They’ve won the Big Ten Championship in five of the six years I’ve been with the team. It’s not anything I did. Michigan’s won 17 of the last 19 titles, which is astonishing since the Big Ten Championship is decided by 24 gymnastics routines, where one small slip can be the difference between first place and fourth. On the big stage, the Wolverines just don’t slip.

When people meet me and I tell them I work with women’s gymnastics, they give me a weird look. Maybe I look more like a field hockey guy. Maybe they don’t like my hoodie. Who knows? I work as the program's media relations director, pitching stories to local news outlets, fielding interview requests and promoting the team in print, on the Web, on the radio and on TV. I also write my own features on gymnasts for our official web site, MGoBlue.com, and produce the official Michigan women's gymnastics podcast - The All-Around. It's a job with many hats and it requires a lot of communication with the gymnasts, their coaches and support staff.

There are stereotypes involved in working with women’s gymnastics. Yes, there’s glitter, spandex and face decals, and some teams do a lot of rah-rah cheering. But, until you’ve seen a gymnastics meet in person, you don’t think of the incredible athleticism, talent and heart involved in the sport. I’ve had a handful of friends come to meets at Crisler Arena, and everyone leaves having had a good time. They usually come back.

When I interviewed for this job at Michigan, I was told my portfolio would include volleyball, women’s track and field, women’s cross country and women’s gymnastics. I wasn’t concerned about working with volleyball and track and field, both of which I had experience with, but women’s gymnastics was completely foreign to me. I’d done public relations work for a sailing team, field hockey, rowing and lacrosse, but never gymnastics. I learned I was going to be working with a team that had dominated the sport - a sport I knew from casual Olympic viewing and the movie Gymkata.

I won't lie - I may have pooped my pants a little during the team's annual intrasquad. I really had no idea what was going on. The learning curve was steep. I still don’t know a lot about the technical side of the sport. I know what a Tkatchev is, but don’t ask me to judge it. Ditto for most gymnastics skills. But I do know the gymnasts pretty well.

Being around three full classes of graduating athletes, I’ve spent a lot of time around these young women. It’s one of the most taxing sports on its athletes, with the majority of college gymnasts graduating with at least one surgery under their belts. I‘ve witnessed a few horrible injuries that made my stomach turn. I’ve also watched many athletes work back into competition shape and compete for a number of years afterward. Two of Michigan’s current seniors will return for a fifth year after suffering season-ending injuries as freshmen. These young women earn every trophy and honor that’s coming to them.

It’s a unique feeling being the favorite. I’ve worked with a lot of sports, but nowhere else is the pressure to live up to expectations bigger than with Michigan women’s gymnastics. Michigan women’s gymnastics has a giant target on its back in the Big Ten Conference. As I mentioned earlier, the program has won 17 of the last 19 titles, with stretches of six, seven and now four consecutive years with titles. Only one other school has been on top of the Big Ten podium since 1990 (Minnesota). It’s a poorly kept secret that no one, except for Michigan fans, wants to see Michigan do well at Big Tens. The relationship between many of the coaches and athletes is friendly, but there are undercurrents. Lots of history.

For the athletes, winning never gets old. Every Big Ten title is special. They hold the trophy with white knuckles, hoist it in the air, pose for thousands of pictures and wear their championship T-shirts and hats with pride. During the week of Big Tens, the upperclassmen lend each of the freshmen a Big Ten ring so they’ll know what it feels like to wear one. Many of those same freshmen will graduate with four rings of their own. Eight full classes of Wolverines have graduated with four Big Ten rings.

After each Big Ten championship, the team piles on the bus and sings The Victors, loud and proud. They take pictures, call friends and family and when we arrive at whatever restaurant we’re eating at, parents, family, friends and fans always greet the girls with cheers when they step out of the bus. Even I get a high five or two.

There are a lot of little moments that I'm privy to being a part of the gymnastics program. Gymnasts making signs to hang on the room doors in hotels we're staying at. Athletes making goody bags of treats for road trips. Watching terrible movies on long bus rides or gathering in a clump at gates at the airport being mistaken for the women's basketball team, despite no gymnasts being taller than 5-6. I also get to see these young women grow from wide-eyed freshmen to engineers, programmers, doctors and nurses. There are a few future lawyers on this team alone, so I'm pretty set for medical and litigation emergencies.

It feels good to be part of a winning team, but even better to be proud of the way they do it. This year at the team’s year-end banquet, three seniors will give speeches about their time at Michigan. Their experiences will include losing a father to cancer, overcoming serious injury to work back into championship form and working from a walk-on to a scholarship athlete through tireless training and dedication. I’m proud to be associated with such strong individuals.

Here’s to the Michigan women’s gymnastics team. Congratulations on Michigan's first Big Ten title of the year and thanks for making my job fun.

(Richard Retyi normally doesn’t write about feelings. His column, “Lie to Your Cats About Santa” comes out bi-weekly-ish. Read more of Rich’s stuff HERE and HERE or e-mail your best five-layer dip recipes to richretyi@gmail.com)