My sons are avid football fans, primarily because University of Michigan football games allow them to pick up a few extra dollars by parking cars on the lawn. I'm not sure that either of them know many details of the game. We generally listen to it on the radio on a Saturday outing during the season, and more than once I've had to correct my kindergartner, who will charmingly confuse the score with the time left on the clock or some other essentially random number provided during the broadcast.

Before the memories of the season go away and are replaced by snow shoveling and sledding, here are some notes on this year's football season.

Two seasons ago, it was novel to get news of Michigan football as it was happening just by tracking details online. I recall being slightly amazed that with a clever set of filters and by following people who were actually in the stadium with smart phones I could follow along with game scores and not need to tune in on the radio.

Last season, the overwhelming sense of Michigan football was that there was no way to get a good cell phone signal at the stadium. More people wanted to go online from inside the stadium than there was available cell phone service to accommodate them.

This year, the airwaves are completely saturated with Michigan football on game day. My Twitter and Facebook feeds are full of real time game news, not only coming from friends and fellow fans but also from news organizations, current and former Michigan players, and Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon. It was hard not to find someone making a comment about The Game anywhere I turned online on Saturday.

Trenchant commentary came from Bo Biafra, front man for Columbus, Ohio-based Wolverine hatecore punk band the Dead Schembechlers. His commentary included helpful rivalry notes about distinguished Michigan graduate (and serial killer) Herman Mudgett. It's actually a little sad to see Buckeye fans wishing that Michigan had a stronger football team.

I am reminded of a story, the source for which I unfortunately cannot correctly cite , of a scholar who noted that it is hard to understand mass movements until you have been in the middle of a stadium with more than 100,000 fans all sharing the same emotion. A bit of that feeling leaked out onto the Internet last weekend, with the combined force of miserable Michigan fans and jubiliant Ohio State fans all quite visible online.

Links

For a time on Saturday afternoon, Twitter trending topics included both #goblue and Rich Rod.

A 2009 Michigan Daily cartoon, Michigan football wins, cell phones lose, noted coverage problems last year.

DaveBrandonAD is the Twitter account for the Michigan athletic director. He took to the net with this announcement: Heard about a "rumor" re: some "big announcement" on Monday regarding M-Football. Add it to the rumor rubbish pile! Happy Thanksgiving!

Follow Bo Biafra, "Defender of the Holy Rivalry", from the Dead Schembechlers if you want the view from Columbus. Warning: not safe for work, hide the children, and avoid if you have sensitive eyes.

Biafra was kind enough to point out Herman Mudgett, a. k. a. Dr. H. H. Holmes, as a notorious Michigan graduate. Mudgett, one of the first serial killers, left a gruesome trail of bodies behind during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. A story in the 1999 Michigan Today magazine, U-M's Most Murderous Alumnus, provides a brief account of his sordid life. "The Devil in the White City," a 2004 novel by Erik Larson, is a fictionalized account of his life.

Edward Vielmetti can't help following Michigan football for AnnArbor.com.