App State Silences The Big House

No American sport combines the traditions, pageantry, and, like it or not, money, more than big-time college football. And no college football program epitomizes the sport more than Michigan and its Big House, a stadium holding 109,901 fervent Wolverine fans several Saturdays every fall.  On the flip side is Appalachian State, a small school in the mountains of North Carolina that, until September 1, 2007, was far more likely to be identified with hippie culture than football. That all changed when Appalachian State’s football team traveled to Ann Arbor to play Michigan to start the 2007 season.

Originally and exhaustively researched, Appalachian State Silences the Big House takes a deep dive into the lives of the Appalachian State players, the intense training, and the play-by-play of this truly remarkable and historic game that went down to the final, incredible, play.  With insights from the players, coaches, staff, and fans, Appalachian State Silences the Big House provides a rare look into the preparation and a field-eye-view of a football game.  Not only will you be treated to a front row stadium seat, but you’ll also get to eavesdrop in team meetings, sweat through exhaustive practices, and access the press box.

More poignant, though, are the stories of the players who grew up in a variety of circumstances, some in rural farming towns, some in inner-city projects. Their stories are replete with longing, injury, tragedy, rejection, affection, and triumph.  They crossed racial and socioeconomic lines.  But they did have some things in common.  They had developed powerful work ethics, forged by memorable and persuasive role models.  On a campus where being a football player wasn’t always glamorous or high-profile, they found strength and salvation in each other.  And they were brought together by a devoted coach who molded them into a team that believed they could accomplish the unimaginable.