Beilein’s Response to Crowd chant at OSU game
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 I’m almost 70 years old so my perspective is probably outdated.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.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:28 PM ^
Take your kids to an Iowa or NU game. The OSU game should be nothing but piss and vinegar.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:54 PM ^
I can solve the kids problem. My kids like to tell the same stupid joke over and over again. It's not funny if they tell it 40 times a day like they want to, so they're only allowed to tell it once a day. They end up telling it about once a week and sometimes they time it right to get a laugh. So, they understand this principle, and they are only 3 and 5.
The same principle goes for bad words. It's not funny if kids say bad words, unless they time it right. So they are allowed to say "fuck" one time a year. That one time is during Christmas dinner. (The only once a year part is for their mom, the during Christmas dinner part is for me.)
January 31st, 2019 at 5:52 PM ^
You, sir, win a parenting award.
January 31st, 2019 at 6:06 PM ^
I do the same thing. Fart and butt jokes abound at my house with three young sons. I need to incorporate the Christmas dinner part though. That is pure genius.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:12 PM ^
It was a little blunt. Would like to see a O- H- N- O chant. But still Fuck Ohio.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:30 PM ^
O-H-N-O wouldn't work. It'd just sound like their cheer; especially on tv.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:12 PM ^
The Wesson mother should try being a visiting fan in that shithole of a city they call Columbus, Ohio. Chants involving a curse word are the most tame thing you'll experience there.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:19 PM ^
Absolutely. Harbaugh should give her a UofM jacket and a ticket for the game in 2 years at the shoe. Invite her to sit with our parents/fans and tweet about fan experiences.
January 31st, 2019 at 9:13 PM ^
Don't even need her to go to the game. Meet her at her tailgate, have her put on the maize and blue, and then have her walk from the parking lot to the stadium in those colors. Tell her a secret service detail is not allowed.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:15 PM ^
If it's college kids chanting it, meh. If 35 year old random fan chants it, that's lame.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:15 PM ^
Meh, no worse than I've heard at our rivals, "F*ck Jim Harbaugh," comes to mind. I feel the need to inform you that the students these days are Generation Z, not Millenials. Millenial =/= Any young person. I would also point out that every single generation has used this word in the same manner.
January 31st, 2019 at 5:01 PM ^
Being "no worse" than a rival (especially one you expect to be beneath you in terms of behavior) is not a good defense.
January 31st, 2019 at 6:31 PM ^
No worse than literally any school in the country.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:16 PM ^
Meh. Boo hoo Ms. Wesson. She also complained about the refs, too. Sounds like sour grapes to me. I would imagine she doesn't feel the same way when shes in the Horseshoe for any games...
Anyone related to OSU can pound sand on this complaint, as far as I am concerned. They are the most boorish, offensive group of fans in the B1G. For them to talk about proper behavior is laughable.
I'm glad a team from Michigan finally showed some backbone against OSU.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:17 PM ^
Poole also had a pretty obscene gesture too at the end of the game.
I'm 25 and have no children, so I personally don't care too much, but if I had children at the game I could see being upset. And as someone above said, it lacks creativity
January 31st, 2019 at 3:26 PM ^
I don't understand this desire for creativity in a chant. I mean, GO ... BLUE has zero creativity but it's still a great chant.
Probably anything chanted by a group of people automatically lacks creativity.
January 31st, 2019 at 4:23 PM ^
Probably anything chanted by a group of people automatically lacks creativity.
Absolutely disagree. I remember the article Brian wrote last year about the chants during the games at Yost. I've never been to a UM hockey game (to my regret), so it was all hilarious news to me. The entire student section chanting "Ugly goalie!" and "It's All Your Fault!" ... priceless.
I'm 58 and at times I've got a mouth like a trucker, so it's not so much the language - it's the laziness. It sounds like a cheap comedy club comedian whose every third word is "fuck" because that's the only way he can get a laugh.
Come on, guys - try harder.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:17 PM ^
I don’t give a fuck. And neither do the students.
February 3rd, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
...Got a heater in my truck...
January 31st, 2019 at 3:18 PM ^
What would Coach B prefer?
"Begone, Ohio Scallywags! May the fates be unkind to ye!
January 31st, 2019 at 3:24 PM ^
Scallywags. Yes. And reprobates as well. Such roguish scoundrels.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:46 PM ^
Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries, and : I fart in your general direction.
January 31st, 2019 at 4:02 PM ^
Mrs. Wesson: "And those fans were calling me names. Hurtful names!"
January 31st, 2019 at 5:43 PM ^
Is there anyone else up there we could talk to??
January 31st, 2019 at 3:38 PM ^
Scallywags!!!!
You made my week with an incredible word. Thank you Sir Damone.
January 31st, 2019 at 4:13 PM ^
"California oranges Texas cactus...we play your team just for practice."
January 31st, 2019 at 4:49 PM ^
No Subs For You!
January 31st, 2019 at 8:01 PM ^
I would worry that calling them Scallywags might lead to a kerfuffle in the stands.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:20 PM ^
Im 34 and not a huge fan of it either...but again fuck ohio.
Listening to Craig Ross this morning and he nailed it, he doesnt mind it, he doesnt participate..but think the students can come up with something better, more clever and a bit cleaner.
Challenge accepted?
I mean, if I heard "Cooler Poopers" clap...clap...clap,clap,clap Id be laughing my ass off
January 31st, 2019 at 3:20 PM ^
Im 59 so closer in age to the OP than most here and i too cringe when i hear cursing in public and especially when small kids are within earshot.
That being said it's always ok to say fuck Ohio because reasons.
And i live here.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:23 PM ^
On one hand, I'm not fond of having to explain to my kids what curse words people are yelling in public. On the other hand, getting super upset over random language has always seemed like a silly thing to me. As someone else said, the chant is unoriginal and rather boring, but given the state of the world it's going to take a lot more to trip the outrage meter for me.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:23 PM ^
lulz that's John Beilein being John Beilein. He heard it. He is not a swearer if I'm not mistaken but I'm sure he was half smiling inside when the crowd was audibly, on television, yelling "Fuck Ohio".
January 31st, 2019 at 3:23 PM ^
osu deserved the chants and I hope they rain down from the entire Big House on November 30.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:23 PM ^
I’ve been told that the F word is an accepted word in the millennial language
If it were truly acceptable it wouldn't have been used in the chant. The point of the chant is to offend.
I think it's lazy. We can be more creative than that.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:24 PM ^
Holy shit, it's just a fucking word. Why do people even care about completely harmless words like "fuck" or "shit" anymore? I understand words with eminently negative connotations (racial slurs, sexist terms, etc.), but what's the big fucking deal about "fuck"?
January 31st, 2019 at 3:25 PM ^
no kids?
January 31st, 2019 at 4:54 PM ^
No kids, but that's not even the point. I knew a lot of swear words when I was a kid, my parents used them, other kids used them, movies/games/whatever all used them. I became desensitized to them fairly early, even though I wouldn't swear in front of my parents.
Words only have power because we ascribe power to them. Why is "shit" a bad word but "poop" isn't, when they mean the same thing? If I stub my toe on the couch and say "fuck", is that really any different than me saying "fudge" or some other alternative? The best thing, in my opinion, is to tell kids that certain words have negative connotations and that there's situations in which it is inappropriate to use them. Sheltering kids from simple curse words is, in my opinion, the same as teaching kids abstinence-only sexual education.
January 31st, 2019 at 5:56 PM ^
decorum, dignity, class, grace, high-mindedness are at the opposite end of 'hey, who gives a [expletive} if i swear, especially in front of the kids??' you're right. your choice. good luck if/when you have kids and they respect you as much as you respect the language you teach them.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:28 PM ^
Because think of the childrennnnnnnnnnnn!
(The same children who listen to or will soon listen to modern music that frequently has "fuck" in the lyrics)
It's on parents to teach their kids not to swear. You can't shelter them forever.
You should also know what you're getting into if you're bringing children to a rivalry game at 9pm on a school night during the week.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:42 PM ^
spoken like someone who has no kids..and if you do, well thats a whole other convo.
as a person with a 6 and 3 year old...going to strongly disagree with you here. You teach your kids to respect elders, respect everyone, and damn sure swearing isnt involved in that. If it is, they turn into buckeyes.
January 31st, 2019 at 4:35 PM ^
Why is elders the one group you singled out for respect? That's so weird to me bc as a group they get some of the most respect beyond what they deserve.
January 31st, 2019 at 7:11 PM ^
Elder means someone of greater age, not specifically talking about 70+ if that's what you mean?
January 31st, 2019 at 3:50 PM ^
WD you are wrong on this one. not shelter forever =/= going to a game when they are young and have people chanting f' bomb cheers. my younger kids have never heard that word and you could use it as an noun, adjective, verb, whatever and they would have no idea what it meant until i explained it to them. my older kids only heard when they were in the teen years and that was while playing sports - other teams using that language.
January 31st, 2019 at 3:53 PM ^
I was raised a lot differently.
By age 8 I heard and knew every word and what they meant. And I knew damn well not to use them or else I'd have to deal with my dad. I still don't swear around him and I'm grown and on my own now.
January 31st, 2019 at 4:24 PM ^
Wow xtra, agree with your sentiment that chanting the F word at a game is unnecessary, but either your kids are spectacularly sheltered or they've definitely heard that word before they were teenagers.
Kids are pretty perceptive, and the F word is commonly expressed by many, many people. Do you honestly believe they've never been around someone who cursed, or saw a movie or youtube or video game where someone said the F word?
If they've ever been in a public place (mall or sporting event or construction site or any large gathering) someone has dropped an F-bomb. Heck, if they look over your shoulder while you read this blog, they've most certainly seen it many times.
Even if it were possible, what purpose would it serve to "hide" that word from them? It's just a word after all. Hearing and understanding a word is different from using it.
My folks didn't curse (mom was so prudish she considered the word "fart" off limits), but by the time I was 10 I'm sure I heard the F word hundreds of times - by other adults, by kids at school, by random passersby, and via media - and that was pre-internet.
Please understand I don't know or care how you raise your kids - I just find it hard to believe there are any middle-school age kids who haven't ever heard the F-word or don't at least know it's a curse word.
January 31st, 2019 at 6:09 PM ^
in one respect, raising kids is like farming n that timing is very important. i don't plant my crops in march, they won't have the root structure to withstand the weather. we generally calve/lamb/kid in the spring too, because if they're born in the dead of winter (this week a great example) their chances of survival are really small.
similarly, though my kids will be exposed to all that the world has to offer, and that includes foul language, i will put that off until they are older and have roots in the form of wisdom and character to gauge and appreciate if that is something they should be doing or encouraging. analogous to what we all do for our kids when it comes to things like booze, sex, money, etc.
my post above this was accurate, my younger kids don't know those words and they've never heard them. no TV/movies and no adults around my kids that would use that language. i had a college friend pop off in humor to me at one of the home football games this year and it was close to being in earshot of some of my kids - he knew without me saying a word to put a cork in it.
January 31st, 2019 at 8:26 PM ^
Honestly, I'm not trying to be snarky or combative; I just can't imagine how it's possible.
I don't know you or your kids so I can't possibly know what they've been exposed to - but your reply mentions only your younger kids - that's different from your first statement (that your older kids hadn't heard the word until high school).
To be clear, did I misunderstand or have your kids been to home football games in Ann Arbor? And they never once heard a fan blurt out an F-bomb? Is there a special "curse-free section" in Michigan Stadium? I've never attended a game where I didn't hear swearing - and I've been to a LOT of games.
The stuff you said about farming and timing is....ok, but unless you completely keep your kids from public places I don't see how that has anything to do with what they hear out in the world.
Most people swear, some swear a lot. I don't mean you, your family or even your friends - I mean people in grocery stores, at the post office, at games, at the gas station - everywhere.
I mentioned this to my sis and she burst out laughing.
She has 4 pretty darned sheltered kids, has taught school and was PTA president, so she knows lots of kids. She confirmed her kids and every kid she's ever encountered has certainly heard the F-word by middle school age, and they're keenly aware it's a curse word. Younger kids probably have a less specific idea of why it's a "bad" word, but they know it is.
I'm pretty certain I've never met a kid - ever - over the age of 10 who had never heard the F-word, with the possible exception of non-English speaking recent immigrants.
I've lived all around the country, in lots of different environments. I never lived on a farm, but my family had a cottage in very rural upper Michigan. Somehow you and your kids live in a very different world than I've encountered.
January 31st, 2019 at 10:11 PM ^
we live in a place where people behave reasonably well - far from perfect (and we sure aren't), but also far, far from your daily routine in san francisco. people don't walk around the local stores or gas stations swearing. we live outside of a little town. i'm in the township gov't for over a decade. i know the post office people by their first names. they call me for help. i do a lot of farming with one of them. installed a generator with another one of them. they are nice people and they would never think of swearing in front of my kids. the guys i coach with won't swear in front of the kids and i don't even raise my voice at them except to fire them up, never to dress them down.
to the extent that my kids have been to michigan games with me we don't sit with the students and for the few times cursing has been around its been short-lived and since my kids don't know those words, they go 'over their heads' so to speak. it might as well be in a foreign language as the kids aren't sensitized to it.
we also homeschool our kids and only co-op with the local gov't school when they get older/high school age. your sister is in a public school environment so no wonder she and her kids hear those words. of course she laughed, she has to deal with a less than ideal environment. we choose not to and the fruits of that have been manifest. i would add that a number of mgobloggers have met all of my children. ask them, see what they say.
January 31st, 2019 at 11:46 PM ^
As far as environments go, to each his own. Your little "Mayberry" works for you, and that's fine.
You seem like a devoted dad; I'm sure your kids are great.
I LOVE my environment here in SF. In my daily routine I interact with lots of people of all shapes, sizes, colors, religions and backgrounds. Almost everyone is great.
In a place with lots of people, it's inevitable to come across some folks you'd rather not interact with. A few crazies or nasty people among hundreds (thousands?) I come across every day is a tiny nuisance. For me, the richness and variety far outweighs the unpleasant few.
I don't know the people at the post office, but every day I get to see the Ethiopian Orthodox folks in their beautiful traditional clothes as they leave their services; admire the AME church on the corner serving mostly elderly Chinese people from their food pantry; watch Muslim kids joyfully running around the local playground with asian, african american, latino and white kids, their moms chatting in their hijab or chador. I have the pleasure of friends from Ireland, Thailand, England, Korea, Germany, China, Australia, France, Vietnam, India, etc. I'll happily trade a few random swear words for all that.
No question city life isn't for everyone, but neither is living on a farm.
As for sis, her environment in Evanston is fantastic IMO (and hers). She laughed because the notion that kids don't ever hear curse words is laughable to her. Her kids went to public schools, but she taught at a private school, so your comment/judgment re school environment is inaccurate.
I think she and I would counter that her children occasionally hearing words and knowing their meaning de-sensitizes, rather than sensitizes them. She's a writer and teacher and mom was a teacher/librarian; words - all words - are important to us.
She would not agree that hearing a few curse words makes her kids' environment "less than ideal", and her kids are amazing - one about to graduate with honors from UM (it's a proud uncle's prerogative to brag about his nephew, isn't it?).