Drifting from dreams to drowsy consciousness on Michigan-Ohio State Saturday once involved a surreal, magical sensation. For Wolverines fans young and old, realization suddenly overcame sleepiness.

This is it. This is That Day. This is The Game.

The feeling mirrored the childlike elation of waking up on Christmas morning, knowing there were presents to be opened and endless fun to be shared.

It was a thrill proving almost irrepressible. The sheer joy and frenzied excitement spilled into a leap from the bed, and an ecstatic energy shared with others in the household.

A generation grew up without that feeling. Michigan fans in their mid-20s know little to nothing of the boundless anticipation over the titanic clash, the greatest rivalry in sport, The Ten-Year War, Bo and Woody, 10-2-1, Woodson and ’97 perfection, etc.

They know this is the big game Michigan loses. It’s been so since they were 10 years old. They hope, they watch and then they dream about what it used to be like, from the tales their parents tell them.