The first time you walk into Michigan Stadium packed to the rafters with enthusiastic fans the enormity of the place escapes you. But first looks are deceiving. Glance left and right and people look normal-sized. But look down, row upon row of fans, and you become overwhelmed by the rising horizon of maize and blue, and the air vibrating with the brassy sound of the marching band.

In truth, other stadiums are more imposing. Yankee Stadium, the Sky Dome, and L.A. Coliseum, to name just three.

Yet there is only one Michigan Stadium.

It truly is the "Big House." To me, Michigan Stadium is less about size than it is about memory. It is where:

• Tom Harmon ran into the record books and Heisman history;
• Jerry Ford played on national championship teams and learned lessons that would serve him well in his Presidency;
• Desmond Howard caught a pass to beat Notre Dame and win a Heisman;
• Coaches such as Yost, Crisler, and Schembechler created legacies;
• Bob Chapius quarterbacked his team to a national championship in 1947; and…
• Fifty years later Brian Griese and Charles Woodson led a uniquely-focused team to repeat the feat.

And, it is where one of most enthusiastic radio voices of all-time—Bob Ufer--educated a generation of broadcasters as well as cheered along generations of "Meechigan" fans.

Yet, if memories are to continue, they must be renewed. The new construction at the stadium reminds us that life does go on. New memories will be made on the field, just as old friendships will be renewed in the stands.

For me, I am part of an informal group that gathers every halftime on a slope in the southeast corner of the stadium we have named "Nelson’s Knoll" in honor of one our friends.

We meet to laud great plays, question coaching decisions, and predict the outcome of the game at hand. Interspersed amongst our commentaries are notes about our jobs, our careers, our friends, and our families. Our gathering is central to the experience of the game itself. It is our little piece of the "Big House."

We will add "partitions" to include new memories, new experiences, and even new acquaintances. Yet no one, save our children—maybe--will ever recall anything we said or did on "Nelson’s Knoll"; but none of us will forget our being there.

And I suspect our group is not alone. Among the crowd of 110,000+ at Michigan Stadium there are many hundreds, may be thousands, of such groupings of friends, who gather a few times a year to rejoice in the spirit of something greater than themselves.

That’s the Big House I know. Long may she stand.