Athletic article on toxicity of UM-MSU rivalry
Tries hard to be fair and balanced, but of course one school did the tunnel attack, one school's coach was fired for toss'n off on a call with an anti-rape activist, etc. Dinging UM for trash-talk and correctly spelled Disrespekt.
https://theathletic.com/4968580/2023/10/18/michigan-michigan-state-rivalry-college-football/
October 18th, 2023 at 12:20 PM ^
Sorry, didn't realize it was paywalled and my NYTimes subscription was my pathway.
October 18th, 2023 at 1:08 PM ^
Fucking Bushwood. Go yank it on your yacht you country club toss pot.
(Sorry I gotta foil you, Bushwood)
October 18th, 2023 at 1:17 PM ^
I've sentenced men younger than you to the electric chair.
October 18th, 2023 at 3:29 PM ^
thought you...owed it to them.
October 18th, 2023 at 3:30 PM ^
You owed it to them.
October 18th, 2023 at 1:26 PM ^
Easy workaround - go to news.google.com and search the article title. click the result that matches the link OP provided, and most of the time you can read the article without a subscription, at least for The Athletic.
Try it here: https://news.google.com/search?q=michigan-michigan-state-rivalry-college-football%2F&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen
October 18th, 2023 at 11:41 AM ^
What is neglected is that Mike Hart's post-game trashtalk of little brother was in direct reference to MSU's pregame trashtalk by their 2 running backs that year where they say via the State News that UofM players are arrogant and full of themselves where the players think MSU are little brothers.
Hart literally says in his trashtalk that he is only saying that because they think that.
MSU talked trash before the game and then lost their mind when it was thrown back in their face afterwards.
October 18th, 2023 at 11:44 AM ^
What Hart said wasn't really a big deal. It was literally just banter. I don't think anybody expected Dantonio to respond the way he did. When Dantonio responded in his press conference everybody was like "wow he really does not like Michigan."
October 18th, 2023 at 11:54 AM ^
Didn’t Dantonio make fun of Hart’s height?
Think about that for a minute. A grown man and head coach trash talking a 21 year old player….after your team just folded.
Dantonio is a flaming fuck wad.
October 18th, 2023 at 12:43 PM ^
I fucking loath that guy.
October 18th, 2023 at 2:26 PM ^
My dream on Saturday is to see Kenneth Grant intercept a Sparty pass and when knocked out of bounds, land on top of Dantonio's head.
October 18th, 2023 at 3:16 PM ^
You're such a well-spoken and polite person of reason on this board that I couldn't help but laugh with such a matter of fact statement, Wendy. I couldn't agree more though. He is the embodiment of douchery.
October 18th, 2023 at 12:56 PM ^
I'd unplug his life support to charge my phone.
October 18th, 2023 at 1:07 PM ^
Thanks. I had to close the door of my office because I was laughing so hard at your comment. Makes me realize I probably hate him a little TOO much.
October 18th, 2023 at 3:23 PM ^
Yossarian, that post is gold my man!
October 18th, 2023 at 7:37 PM ^
Gold!
October 18th, 2023 at 1:45 PM ^
Yeah, this is the crux of it for me. A grown man and authority figure mocking a college student.
Of course, to be fair, Mark Dork probably never regarded his players as college students, so he had no frame of reference for acting responsibly.
October 18th, 2023 at 3:29 PM ^
He's not exactly tall either. I met him several years ago at a charity fundraiser where he was the speaker. I'm 5'7". He was maybe 5'9".
October 18th, 2023 at 12:18 PM ^
This. I remember Spurrier's "You can't spell Citrus (Bowl) without UT". Little brother is a nothing burger.
October 18th, 2023 at 12:31 PM ^
To Spurrier's credit - he did come up with a number of memorable one liners. Here are a few more:
- “In 12 years at Florida, I don’t think we ever signed a kid from the state of Alabama. Of course, we found out later that the scholarships they were giving out at Alabama were worth a whole lot more than ours.”
- “You know what FSU stands for, don’t you? Free Shoes University.”
- “Most of our guys have never been to Death Valley. LSU’s stadium is the Death Valley, isn’t it? Or is there another one? There’s two of them. That’s right. There’s two Death Valleys.”
- “I know why Peyton came back for his senior year. He wanted to be a three-time star of the Citrus Bowl.”
- “I’m not one to say ‘no comment’ whether I am right or wrong, but especially if I am right.”
- “There are no Vanderbilts in the NFL.”
- “I don’t really believe that how many years you’ve had in the league determines how well your players play. Coaching is coaching.”
- “He’s (Danny Wuerffel) like a New Testament person. He gets slapped upside the face and turns the other cheek and says, ‘Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they’re doing.’ I’m probably more of an Old Testament guy. You spear our guy in the earhole, we think we’re supposed to spear you in the earhole. That’s kind of where we’re a little different.”
- “You can’t spell Citrus without U-T.”
- “A few fans might want to yell some insults at me, which is fine. I’ve heard it all before. Hurl insults. Just don’t hurl bottles, and I’ll be fine.”
- “It is embarrassing, and I apologize because this is a guy we recruited. When you recruit one and they are troublemakers, or appear to be, it makes you feel bad. So we have to do a better job of recruiting the right kind of kids. We’re going to mess up occasionally, like we did with this one guy.”
- “I forgot to get fired, and I’m not gonna cheat. That’s the way you lose your job: You get fired for losing, or you cheat.”
- “Will be the 14th time I’ve coached in Neyland Stadium. I’ve coached there more than some of their head coaches."
- “All I can say is that I’m going to try to coach the way I’ve coached in the past. And if it ends up not being good enough, then so be it.”
October 18th, 2023 at 12:39 PM ^
He also probably said this:
- "I could never spell Deion correctly until I remembered there's no "I" in team but there is an "I" in Deion."
October 18th, 2023 at 12:39 PM ^
Had some gems in Washington as well. My personal favorite:
“Hindsight’s always 50-50.”
October 18th, 2023 at 1:14 PM ^
I miss the Ol' Ball Coach and the breed of coaches who were less zipped up. Same with baseball managers like Sparky, Earl Weaver and Billy Martin. It's entertainment in the end. Let it rip.
"I've coached there more than most of their head coaches."
October 18th, 2023 at 3:13 PM ^
Always loved Hatin' Ass Spurrier on Everyday should be Saturday.
October 18th, 2023 at 4:27 PM ^
Stealing a line from EDSBS 9 years ago:
If Michigan State is the little brother, why didn't he use his family connections to get into a better school?
October 18th, 2023 at 3:41 PM ^
You forgot when someone asked if they were gonna beat Georgia again, he said "Well, is Ray Goff still coaching there?".
October 18th, 2023 at 3:46 PM ^
My favorite of his was on a fire that burned 20 books at auburn university. He said, “The real tragedy was that 15 of them hadn’t been colored yet.
October 18th, 2023 at 5:00 PM ^
Bingo. Dantonio is the sole reason that the rivalry has supposedly turned toxic. When coaches act like players, this is what you get.
October 18th, 2023 at 6:04 PM ^
I date the start of the downward spiral to Darryl Rogers' "Arrogant Asses", but to be fair, the Sparties date it to the Big 10 admission vote and the '47 game in Biggie Munn's first game, when the toilets in their locker room at Michigan Stadium backed up and filled it with sewage, and he vowed eternal revenge. Not that Fritz would ever do that on purpose.
October 18th, 2023 at 11:45 AM ^
Javon Ringer said "they treat us like their little brother", none of them remember that though
October 18th, 2023 at 12:00 PM ^
If I had one wish, it would be that everyone understood this and also understood that "little brother" existed before Hart was even born.
If you ever saw the movie "Yesterday" (SPOILER ALERT! not that it really matters about spoiling that movie) I feel like those of us who remember the context of the Hart quote are like the small number of people who remembered The Beatles existed.
October 18th, 2023 at 12:23 PM ^
It is a very old idea, and was a common expression on both sides.
For example, on September 25, 1948, Michigan beat Michigan State, 13-7. In a "Defeated With Dignity" moment, MSU President John Hannah wrote "Our boys at least deglamorized them, and from now on out instead of being the great Rose Bowl team of 1947 they will be a team that was almost matched by the little stepbrothers from East Lansing." (Emphasis Added).
Michigan went on to win the national championship.
October 18th, 2023 at 1:48 PM ^
So MSU literally started it!
October 18th, 2023 at 2:40 PM ^
Maybe. I found a Michigan Daily letter to the editor on February 2, 1936, where the letter writer refers to Michigan State College repeatedly as "little brother" before making fun of MSU's dependence on the Michigan game to define--and fund--their season.
The State News archives are not easily searchable so I can't tell you if there is an earlier reference from MSU.
October 18th, 2023 at 12:33 PM ^
Also Dantonio’s “moment of silence” following THE HORROR.
To paraphrase John Rambo, “they threw first shade, not me.” (John Rambo standing in for Mike Hart in this context)
October 18th, 2023 at 3:29 PM ^
MSU/Dantonio also made fun of Michigan losing to App State that year, calling it "two wins" for MSU in one day.
October 18th, 2023 at 10:55 PM ^
And a moment of silence.
He quit of cowardice to save his legacy because Harbaugh was owning him.
October 18th, 2023 at 5:43 PM ^
What's also neglected is that Dantonio's post-game hissy fit was also about the Michigan players silently praying on the Spartan logo at the 50. This was to mock him for his mocking "moment of silence" comment after Appalachian State. They threw his mockery back in his face after they beat him, he threw a temper tantrum. That, more than anything, is why I will always despise that "man," I hate people who constantly make themselves victims. And this extends way beyond sports, to drama queens who act like everyone is out to get them, to a certain former President who thinks he is a victim of literally everything. But also, yes, definitely, professional victim Mark Dantonio.
Which reminds me, in the run-up to the Michigan-Ohio State game this year, are we going to hear ESPN blabbing endlessly about how Ohio State hasn't beaten Michigan ever since Day threatened to "hang a hundred" on them? Because I'm pretty sure it only took a loss or two to MSU before we had to hear in perpetuity about how Michigan hasn't beaten MSU since the "Little Brother" comment. Hell, that rivalry has long since been stabilized and hasn't been tilted in MSU's favor in nearly a decade and there will STILL be a dumb blurb about it every year during the game. 16 years and I guarantee it will still be mentioned at some point Saturday.
October 19th, 2023 at 12:02 PM ^
Pretty pathetic to have to go out of your way to get a shot in on a guy that isn't in office anymore while the current guy, whom I presume you support, is on the verge of mismanaging this country into WWIII. It's funny how politics is supposed to be off limits on this board but no one really gets their panties in a bunch about it on here unless the preferred party is criticized. Please let's talk sports. No one is here to engage in politics, no matter how small the comment was.
October 18th, 2023 at 11:43 AM ^
Paywalled
October 18th, 2023 at 11:58 AM ^
try printfriendly.com , worked for me.
October 18th, 2023 at 12:20 PM ^
Click the link to view it on your cellphone and open the Reader Version.
You have to be quick to click on the reader icon (looks like a piece of paper with lines) on the left side in the address bar immediately when the site begins loading or the icon seems to disappear.
If you miss it, hit the back arrow to go back and try again, keep trying, I don't think there is a limit on the number of attempts you make.
October 18th, 2023 at 11:46 AM ^
I didn't realize the newspaper game was so one-sided. I guess they only want to write about defeat with dignity, not live it.
October 18th, 2023 at 11:48 AM ^
Shouting disrespekt is for losers.
October 18th, 2023 at 12:34 PM ^
To paraphrase Sean Connery’s character in “The Rock”: “losers whine about being disrespekted. Winners go home and boink the prom queen!”
October 18th, 2023 at 11:48 AM ^
Paraphrasing - A Michigan player was restrained by MSU players - who then struck the Michigan player with their helmet.
That seems to succinctly capture the scenario...
October 18th, 2023 at 12:16 PM ^
Was reading Pat Forde earlier this week and he still refers to the incident as a "brawl"... first class journalism there.
October 18th, 2023 at 11:49 AM ^
You need to note that this is paywalled. I read it, bc I have a NY Times sub, but it's always a jolt to get interested in something like this and then not be able to get at it. People can see if this works:
Logged in to say, though, that my feeling about all this might be a little more like that of a lot of people who don't care that much about football, care more about the institution(s): Stuff this bullshit in the trash. I do have disparaging feelings about MSU at this stage--that's a school in deep trouble on many fronts, in steep decline. But more than that, I just don't want to be associated. Run away from this level of stupid. Stop playing them. Shitcan this crap for a decade, then decide if you're going back. When a situation is toxic; when a family member is toxic, you remove yourself, very consciously, from interaction. See a damned shrink, Michigan, get clear and move on.
October 18th, 2023 at 12:58 PM ^
Thanks for the link.
To you and everyone else saying "stop playing them..." football only? Football/basketball? FB/BB/hockey? All sports? The odds become increasingly unlikely as that list goes on.
Focusing only on football, the article notes that Warde Manuel fought to keep MSU on the schedule. Highly doubtful that he made that decision unilaterally.