If that's you, two questions:
1) Where'd you get the orange bean bag?
2) Is that a pencil on your left arm?

3) Lookin' sharp!

He looks sharp except for that ugly patch that Michigan makes us wear.
(They used to change the colors every year.)

Yes, it's me on a game in the UK.

Got the orange beanbag from Honig's, a bunch of us Brits got 'em. One of his regional distributors carries them - don't recall which one it is. I seem to recall reading in REFEREE mag that it was the Supervisor of Officials for Conference USA who started his guys using them as they show up a little better on game film. Likey it is whichever of Honig's regional distributors is in the area of the country where Conf USA are.

Yes, for years I've been sewing a strip of 1" wide black elastic onto a black stripe on my sleeve and I put my bullet pencil there. It holds it in place pretty good, even if the clip is completely broken or become loose. I got fed up of losing my pencil out of my breast pocket when the clip got loose. Never lost one yet from my sleeve.

On a similar subject, you can't see it on the picture, but I also sew on a strip of black elastic to hold my game card in my breast pocket, I got fed up with the card falling out whenever I bent over. The elastic is fastened down on one end with velcro, so it is easy to open to get the card out when I need to write on it.

Yeah, that was still on my shirt from a trip to Detroit back in 2004(?). Had a game almost as soon as I arrived, so only had time to stick it on the shirt with that iron-on stuff. So it had to stay on my shirt, otherwise it leaves a mark from where the iron-on stuff was.

I'm guessing the MHSAA employee who chose red as a patch colour that year had never mistakenly put a red sock in his washing machine...

I think Indiana does the same. It would certainly get old.

They used to use the school colors of the various colleges and universities located in Michigan. They were either round, square or diamond shaped and all in my opinion were ugly as crap. Now we have a permanent patch so we don't have to change them every year.

Pretty neat McGyver!

From another WI guy....try it anyway.

I have the same set-up as the picture above, minus the pencil on the arm...I do like the idea though. I agree...the patch is a bit ugly. Is that an association patch or an additional MI tag on the left arm, or a flag..?

Yes, try it anyway. I'm ashamed I didn't say that. :(

Anyway, had a JV game today so tried the flags off the side. Not perfect, but much better. Probably just have to find the right place. But I had to move my beanbags to where the flags used to be. Only threw my beanbag by mistake once.

Thanks a lot for the hint.

Happy to license the idea ;)

That's the British Association patch.

Those MI patches were a nightmare. Odd shapes are a **** to sew for someone like me with three left thumbs. Glad to hear that they've finally switched to a permanent one, so the next one I sew on (in less than 2 weeks time!! I'm counting down the days till I fly over) could be the last.

I respectfully disagree. Beer is AN answer, but I advise after the game, not before. I'm originally from WI but now stuck in MN.

Good for you....my brother moved full time to Ham Lake (N. of Twins) about 15 years ago. Great place. Trust me...you could be "stuck" in much worse places here in the US. Unfortunately, he has taken on the local sports teams as his own, so now the Viking/Packer games have a bit more meaning to them with me...especially with Mr. Waffle Iron up there.

I want to join you in chastising your brother, but I did it with the Twins. Oh, I still like the Brewers and follow them. But I had a job with the Twins when I moved here 10 years ago, so you get kind of bonded. The wife is a die-hard Twins fan too, so it just makes sense.

Never leaving the Pack! GO PACK, GO!

Two Flakes, where will you be? If it's somewhere in the Detroit Metro area I could probably come see you work and say hello.

That would be a laugh.

Will be in Ann Arbor (staying with Dick Honig) 29th Sept thru 12th Oct, with a short trip down to Findlay,Ohio to visit with Jack Winters(MAC referee) on 4th Oct.

MSU@Michigan tickets are lined up for us (fingers crossed!).

As for games, our schedule is still being sorted out. Being "foreigners", we're just happy to take whatever slots can be found for us. My last trip in 2007, I had a terrific Thurs night JV game - a 44-50 shootout at Taylor Truman. Wyandotte were the visitors I think.
Dick Weiss of the Michigan Officials Association usually tries to sort us out with some JV games in the Metro area. He generally lets us know a day or two beforehand what he has for us.

I think some Sunday munchkin football is on the cards again. Did that for the first time back in 2004. Brilliant fun - some of those kids barely came up to my ankles :D