Beilein’s Response to Crowd chant at OSU game

Submitted by GoBluePhil on January 31st, 2019 at 3:05 PM

John Beilein was asked about the student section chants of F_ _ _ Ohio after the Wesson players mother posted a scathing social media report regarding the conduct.  Ms. Wesson said the student section was the worst she has ever experienced.  When Beilein was asked about the student section chant he stated he didn’t pay much attention to the crowd but added that if in fact the students were chanting what was reported “We have to clean that up”.  I watched the game on Television and agree that it was not a good look for the University.  Freedom of speech is one thing but a BTN audience doesn’t need to hear Michigan students chant like this.  I’m almost 70 years old so my perspective is probably outdated.  I’ve been told that the F word is an accepted word in the millennial language.  Not sure I agree but I’m curious what the board thinks.  I hate OSU but would never berate them like that.  But like I stated, I’m a lot older.

viciousid

January 31st, 2019 at 3:09 PM ^

On one hand, I take pride in representing my University in a manner that reflects the high-minded ideals and benevolent intentions of the great men who founded it 200 years ago.

On the other hand, Fuck Ohio

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707oxford

January 31st, 2019 at 4:29 PM ^

I wouldn't want to have to ear-muff my kids at a home game...reflects poorly on the school we're there to cheer for.  

That said, students being rowdy and having fun lends to a tougher environment for the opposing team. Seems we could borrow some of Yost's chants and modify for hoops as needed.  Yes, some are vulgar in their own way, but they're often more palatable and more insulting at the same time.  "Ug-ly Par-ent" would certainly still apply in Ms. Wesson's case.

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FatGuyTouchdown

February 1st, 2019 at 2:49 AM ^

My thought with kids: If they're 9 or younger, they're too young to even understand the word is inappropriate. So you're good there. If they're 10 or older, they already know the word and use it at recess on a daily basis. So even better. 

Also, theres a certain level of irony about people complaining about student section language at a football game (I know you're talking about basketball, not specifying you) while bringing their kids to watch grown men give each other brain damage. 

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W.W.A.

January 31st, 2019 at 6:35 PM ^

I agree with the Dr. on this.  Kind of what happens when you follow a sport played by 18-22 year olds.  I remember Red hating the hockey "send off" so we added "We love you, Red" at the end because we weren't going to change it.  Did it make the University look bad? I guess, but when you're 19 and intoxicated, your brain isn't really looking for clever ways to tell the opposing team you think they suck.

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dcmaizeandblue

January 31st, 2019 at 3:09 PM ^

I'm not aghast at a bad word but the chant itself lacks imagination. I believe this is basically what Craig Ross said this morning and I agree.

And none of the students being referred to are millenials so better let that one go.

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TrueBlue2003

January 31st, 2019 at 11:17 PM ^

Yeah, these kinds of takes are always insane to me.  It's not a generational thing to behave this way.  It's an age thing. Young kids did dumb shit back then too.  It just wasn't broadcast on twitter and youtube and memorialized for all time. The same things and some things FAAAAAAR worse were being chanted 50 years ago when this guy was college aged.

The revisionist history that old people perpetuate is so annoying.  Hey, people you either 1) don't remember what things were like or 2) were so in a bubble that you were simply not aware of all the things that were happening when you were younger (or both, almost certainly both).

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Honker Burger

January 31st, 2019 at 3:47 PM ^

That was a little different situation.

Michigan had beaten MSU 4 times already that season and were closing out a 5th victory. Steve Kampfer had just returned from a concussion. He delivered a big, clean, hit on Corey Tropp and then Tropp retaliated by slashing him in the neck/head area. The crowd was very aware of the prior injury and the number of games he missed that season, so that chant was much more of a heat of the moment thing.

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Honker Burger

January 31st, 2019 at 4:56 PM ^

Conboy definitely retaliated against the hit and checked from behind/punched Kampfer, but that is not all that unusual in hockey, as you obviously know being one of the bigger hockey fans on the site. Clean hits are 'retaliated' against all the time and MSU was pissed about losing 5 times in the same season (doesn't make it right--but I'm just saying people generally don't react favorably to being hit, whether legal or not).

The slash by Tropp was completely inexcusable. Even Conboy pushed him away in the video after he did that.

Comley did kick both players off the team for the rest of the season, but Tropp returned the next year.

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mfan_in_ohio

January 31st, 2019 at 3:50 PM ^

Yeah, but their players committed what was basically a felonious assault against one of our players on the ice, so profanity was warranted.  We have those words in our language for a reason.  It's probably about time to let that chant go, though, since it's been ten years since the original incident.  I don't think "the other team is our rival" is reason enough for a profanity-laden chant.  

Of course, I'm also one of the people that hates the "you suck" at the end of Temptation, so it's not much of a surprise that I didn't like the "Fuck Ohio" chant.  

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bluesparkhitsy…

January 31st, 2019 at 3:11 PM ^

Yes, the word is more acceptable now than it once was, but Beilein is right.  I'd like to be able to bring my young kids to a basketball game (for example) and don't want to have to deal with that.  I also generally agree that it doesn't reflect incredibly positively on Michigan.  So I'm with you, GoBluePhil.

That said, Ms. Wesson's complaints were obviously exaggerated and ring false, so we can consider our issues entirely apart from whatever she's spouting off about.

 

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