WSJ: "Michigan is great. Super annoying but the truth."
Jason Gay, who some may know is the sports writer for the WSJ and a Wisconsin grad, therefore no fan of ours, wrote after the win yesterday:
"Michigan rules.
At least it rules this cold stretch of Midwest-to-East Coast tundra, from triumphant Ann Arbor to reeling Columbus and Big Ten points beyond. For the third straight year, the Wolverines have conquered their biggest rival, Ohio State, a convincing three-peat that has reset the college football power map and injected fresh confidence into a thirsty fan base dying once more to lord their dominance over us.
Michigan’s great. It’s super annoying. It’s also the truth."
He of course mentions later the alleged scandal, etc. but overall a fair article. And he hits on my own pet issue, how this is the last year that the game is do or die and means everything. Behind paywall.
https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/michigan-ohio-state-harbaugh-playoff-7d654add?mod=hp_lead_pos9
November 26th, 2023 at 9:17 AM ^
There are so many media guys who got the UM rejection letter ...
November 26th, 2023 at 10:43 AM ^
He has a great point though, that's not discussed at all (because it is essentially calling the money-grubbers out for ruining college football) that, short of a future reversion, this game will never again have the gravitas it had yesterday. Literally never. If this were 2024, all they are playing for, NFL-style (puke) is a week-1 bye in the playoff- and if they're to rematch a week later, then truly The Game on campus is nearly meaningless. Could there be anything more vacuous than The Game if both teams had already clinched a berth in the B1G Championship game? They have destroyed regular season college football drama and made it like the NFL. Twenty-five years ago, all the well-fed execs who wanted to protect their bowl games used to whine that we couldn't have a playoff because that was too many games for player safety. That was in an era of 12 games. Now a team could play 17 games, and UM and OSU could play in consecutive weeks. That is disdain for player safety and a love of money. Stepping off soap box, but just pointing out that, despite it being barely talked about, this game will never be the same again. It will never end one team's dream, and we won the final iteration motherfuckers! (final 3, but who's counting?)
November 26th, 2023 at 10:48 AM ^
It has been discussed and was mentioned a couple times during the broadcast.
Still have to beat Iowa and actually keep OSU out of the CFP though.
In the future when we face OSU in the playoffs those will be big stakes, but hard to see how we'll get this for a regular season game again.
November 26th, 2023 at 10:53 AM ^
Yes, it did get mentioned, barely. I'm sure the corporate overlords have told the Klatts of the world to keep the nostalgia talk low.
November 26th, 2023 at 11:16 AM ^
I agree. I was actually surprised when Klatt brought it up yesterday.
November 26th, 2023 at 11:09 AM ^
Truth.
November 26th, 2023 at 11:14 AM ^
Player safety
Time away from classes and exams
etc.
All of these were just old distractions to keep people from seeing how much money is going to so many people yet, the players some of whom suffer grievous permanent injury never benefitted proportionally as they should.
November 26th, 2023 at 11:25 AM ^
It's just amazing how much that BS was iterated by the well-feds in the plaid jackets in the 90's, all to protect the money of the bowl games. Now it's not a concern at all. Apparently, sign-stealing is more of a threat to safety.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:19 AM ^
"a thirsty fan base dying once more to lord their dominance over us"
Who are "us?"
It would seem difficult to write a fair article from the viewpoint of one of the downtrodden masses. And speaking personally, it's only fun to lord my dominance over Ohio.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:48 AM ^
The rest of the Big Ten. He went to Wisconsin. That’s the perspective he is writing from: a big fan of a conference foe, who gets annoyed because many of his coworkers went to Michigan and then constantly put in his face how good Michigan is. He acknowledges Michigan is great; he just doesn’t root for them.
he’s a good writer. It’s completely normal sports fan behavior to get annoyed by the fan base of successful competitor.
November 26th, 2023 at 10:13 AM ^
Yeah I'm perfectly comfortable with the stereotype. Look, we have world renowned academics AND we can kick your ass in football. Plus we have the biggest stadium, coolest helmets and the most wins all time. And for all who hate us for these reasons, there are many unassociated fans out there who admire and respect the Michigan brand.
Think of it this way, if you hate the Yankees, it's coming at us from the same place.
November 26th, 2023 at 10:14 AM ^
I would say State is worth lording it over as well but they aren't worth the energy.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:20 AM ^
The gossip girl media can't even hurt my feelings.
Michigan beat the Sucknuts in the last instance The Game actually matters - and therefore we own them for all time.
Winner takes all - and we took it.
Have fun crying in your cubicle, Mr. Gay.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:22 AM ^
Michigan beat the Sucknuts in the last regular season instance The Game actually matters
FIFY.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:39 AM ^
I honestly don't give af about The Game anymore. When you aren't eliminated from the playoffs based on its outcome it matters less.
When you can try again it matters less.
The last era of the sport as we knew it is nearly at end.
We own the Buckeyes in all time, in the last three, and in the off-field war. Simply put, we are better and always will be.
November 26th, 2023 at 10:28 AM ^
This is why the 12 team playoffs and playoffs in general are bad for college football and college football fans. Sure it is great TV to have the best teams play for three weeks at the end of the season, but you know what is substantially better? Having every game count.
1. Make the conferences small enough so that you can play every team in your conference. If you have to have mega-conferences have the divisions be the old conferences. Big Ten/Pac Ten Rose Bowl is the conference championship.
2. Have one bowl game be the national championship game after the first set of bowls. Teams get in based on their SOS. This encourages your conference to represent in bowl games and encourages you to schedule tough OoC games.
I don’t watch most regular season games in sports that have large playoffs because, to your point, the regular season doesn’t matter.
College football is supposed to be about beating your rivals, and winning your conference. If you dominate your domain you can win a national championship. The new era is bringing us crap like Petitti.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:25 AM ^
Jason Gay does tend to write good-to-brilliant sports color articles, and much of the shade he throws regarding Michigan is because he is actually surrounded by Wolverines on the WSJ staff. I generally like his stuff.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:42 AM ^
Agreed, and he actually wrote a fairly funny, creative and supportive article regarding the Stalion scandal a couple weeks ago.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:27 AM ^
The Game is bigger than the playoffs. Even last year ohio snuck in the back door and it didn't make the game smaller in an way.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:31 AM ^
Because at the time the game was played we didn't know that. All future games we will. Huge difference going into a game where you know if you lose you're still fine, and you likely will play again. huge difference.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:35 AM ^
Rematches of The Game will prove to be a farcical ceremony
November 26th, 2023 at 9:46 AM ^
As long as they're not also aquatic.
November 26th, 2023 at 11:16 AM ^
Nice, but we've always seen the violence inherent in the system.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:46 AM ^
The Game is huge all by itself. If both teams are going to the playoffs or neither team is going to the playoffs, The Game is still huge. Go Blue!
November 26th, 2023 at 9:30 AM ^
I don’t find it annoying at all.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:39 AM ^
Not a fan of his characterizing the Midwest as tundra. I’m guessing he’s never seen tundra.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:51 AM ^
Looks like tundra through the bleary, drunken eyes of a Sconnie. Lay off the brandy old-fashioneds there, Bucky.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:44 AM ^
No way I'm paying for the WSJ. It's a rag that has declined in recent years, like every other newspaper from years gone by...
November 26th, 2023 at 10:26 AM ^
Definitely don’t ever use a website archive to look behind paywalls without giving them clicks. Who would ever do such a thing.
November 26th, 2023 at 9:48 AM ^
Gay is hilarious. A lot of his schtick is to needle the 12000 Michigan grads on staff on the WSJ. This is the kind of stuff that I enjoy--a rational rival who's willing to engage in some ribbing.
November 26th, 2023 at 10:23 AM ^
Maybe because I am a Michigan fan, I don't see it, but I don't think Michigan and its fans are any more annoying or arrogant than most moderately to highly successful college programs and their fan bases.🤷🏻♂️
Certainly no more annoying than OSU and their fans.
November 26th, 2023 at 11:19 AM ^
Living in Georgia I can say UGA and Bama fans are equally annoying/arrogant.
November 26th, 2023 at 10:46 AM ^
I find all petty little haters of Michigan in the media annoying and unprofessional. At least this joker has a bit of self awareness.
November 26th, 2023 at 11:10 AM ^
This perfectly encapsulates the feeling of other fanbases toward Michigan. Someone else in the thread said it -- we are the Yankees. But college football has such rabid fanbases as compared to MLB that those kind of feelings are magnified 1000x.
Plus, with Michigan, sometimes the hatred gets paid off. We have down years. We got beat by OSU a lot. We had to get through Hoke and Rich Rod. Our own academic departments kneecap possible transfers. So, rivals get to go "Yes, that's awesome, they suck" kinda often.
But not lately.
As someone in my celebratory FB post said, "Yeah, but you're still gonna get your ass beat in the playoff, just like every year"
That's what rivals are down to -- "you're better than us, but woohoo you're gonna lose." -- and that's a pretty great place to be.
November 26th, 2023 at 11:35 AM ^
One of the biggest reasons to win The Game this year is because it was the last time it will be as meaningful as it was yesterday. There may be another year where one of the teams needs the win to get in the playoffs as a lower seed but that game has either meant the team is BCS bound or playoff bound straight into the semis. I am so glad OSU will have to endure an entire year of answering questions of how they fell short and this time without even getting in the playoffs. Go Blue!
November 26th, 2023 at 12:21 PM ^
I would rather be super annoying and great, than super annoying and 7-5 like his beloved Wisconsin.
November 26th, 2023 at 12:41 PM ^
Mr. Gay, go away (I, Duddits)