Current QB's Thoughts on UM Fans
Brian Cleary, walk on RS Soph QB, has a Hot Take on the UM fans (via his twitter):
Easiest thing in the world is to abandon others and tell the world how much better youwould be in their situation. It takes courage to stand by someone and remain loyal because you believe in them regardless of the popular opinion. I know you think your history as a Michigan fan somehow makes your opinion relevant, but it doesn't. I love Coach Hoke, Dave Brandon, DG, and the rest of my teammates, and I'll stand with them until the end.
I understand you get frustrated with fan criticism. But goodness gracious. Once again, the people who pay hard earned money, invest thier time and emotion into the supporting the program are not cash dispensing robots. They are people. People who don't like to be treated like cash dispensing robots. When you treat them as such, they will walk away and spend that time and emotion with people who treat them like people and not robots. Their opinions are most definitely important.
Maybe I've been missing this kind of thing in the past, but between former players and now current players, there's a serious disconnect between the program, the athletic department, and fans. I mean none of the current vitrol is directed at the players. Yet somehow they think that whatever the AD does to fans is good. I don't get it, but it makes me feel even less a part of the UM community which was the source of my fandom in the first place.
EDIT: I should clarify: when it comes to things like player performance, no the fans' opinions don't really matter. But when it comes to how the AD presents the university to the world, or the policies that directly affect the fans, then yes, the fans' opinons are probably the most important.
UPDATE: Cleary seems to have clarified with the following statement in response to a fan asking if he didn't want the fan to show up for games anymore:
no sir. Passion from the fans is great, but your opinion on who is or isn't doing their job won't change how I feel about my team
Which, great, I'm glad that no matter what is happening you're staying with your team; I don't think anybody is going to be angry about that. I still have to say that fans' opinions on whether Brandon is doing his job is still very relevent.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:19 PM ^
We, as fans, should organize public demonstrations calling out the coaches and AD, but players should just keep their opinions relative to the fans to themselves.
October 3rd, 2014 at 1:38 PM ^
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:23 PM ^
You know what comes with the territory of being a high level athlete? Expectations and criticism. I'm not saying it's right, and I've never attacked any of the players personally; I think that's uncalled for college kids. But it's going to happen because some people are douchebags. Lashing out at the fanbase is not a way to solve that.
But that's besides the point. The fans' opinions should always matter when it comes to certain aspects of the program. And the program has more aspects than just the players playing the game. I'll take it a step further even. When it comes to things like ticket prices, seating arrangements, consessions, restrictions on what you can take into the stadium, and general atmosphere for the spectators, I say it's the player's opinions that are irrelevent and the fans' opinions are the only ones that matter.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^
I guess I will take my opinion, and more importantly my money, elsewhere from Ann Arbor this season.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^
I hate seeing this type of thing. As fans we don't have the same bond with the coaches as the players do, and sometimes they don't understand that we just want them all to do well, and that's why we want change. The real losers in this situation are the players. This kind of response alienates the fan base more than it does any good. I wish they wouldn't say anything on social media about this.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^
The whole atmosphere is so poisonous right now. Players calling out fans (and in particular their fellow students who are paying to watch them play) for their anger at being mistreated by the AD is not helpful.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
The 100,000+ attendance streak has to break. It's a crutch that the AD has been leaning on. Once that sours, maybe they'll start thinking about the fans.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:48 AM ^
doesn't know what the AD has done to fans. He only knows how the AD treats him.
And I bet the AD treats him and his teammates better than many fans have been treating them the last two years.
That said, this sort of thing doesn't do any good. In about 10 years Cleary will understand that.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:15 PM ^
will be creating such a long season ticket waitlist that Cleary will have to watch on TV?
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:48 AM ^
about time somebody on this team stood up and said enough. I'm cool with it. Now hopefully they can do it on the field.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:35 PM ^
You and I know they probably won't, though.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:42 PM ^
All we can do is hope!
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:48 AM ^
I can understand the frustration of players, who are in a terrible situation right now. And I'm sure it's difficult to separate the vitriol against coaches from that against players--if you look outside this site, you'll see that there is a lot of negative discussion of players. It sucks for them.
That said, it's hard to put much weight in the players' assessment of the coaching staff and administration. Soliders tend to love their generals--it's part of the unifying process of being a team.
I do think it would be helpful for everyone to take a step back and realize that every argument made about the quality of Hoke's/Brandon's work is done with extremely limited information. For the most part, we have no idea what goes on in the AD, what causes the bad results on the field, etc. So we have to speculate based on that limited information, and that's fine. When it becomes not so fine is when we make outrageous assumptions (e.g., Hoke doesn't wear a headset and thus doesn't know what's going on; Brandon sits in on film sessions and must be running the show) and act as if we know with certainty who is responsible. The reality is, we don't--there are tons of variables and lots of luck involved with the quality of the results on the field. Hoke and Brandon are probably not doing their jobs well. That does not make them the second coming of Hitler as people have been portraying.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:19 PM ^
as people have been portraying"
Are you the bizarro-world Fred Jackson?
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:48 AM ^
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October 3rd, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^
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October 3rd, 2014 at 12:01 PM ^
coaches and ADs, but players better not bash us fans because we are Michigan. Really?
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:11 PM ^
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October 3rd, 2014 at 12:43 PM ^
Players can bash anyone they'd like... but sometimes "biting the hand that feeds" isn't the best choice.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:45 PM ^
But it goes both ways, DB and Hoke can come out and tell us fans to stop being so whiny and fair weather (let's imagine how that would go!) but the players really shouldn't venture into that territory. We don't understand their situation, they don't understand ours.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^
I would have the same tune too if I had a potential scholarship to a top academic school, with boundless amounts of cash flow for facilities, a patsy for a coach, an AD who cares not for anyone else other than the athletes, god social status on campus, "tutors" out the wazzoo for all my classes, and oh did I mention the free clothes every week?
But I don't get those amenities, so I don't tute the same horn along with millions of other Michigan fans across the globe. Too bad Cleary.
The funniest part of all of this is when Jay Feely compared tuition to season ticket prices and then insinuated that if we could pay tuition we could afford season tickets while he got a free ride for kicking a stupid football. Sorry Jay, I happen to live in the real world with loans and 300 dollars is a lot of disposable income.
Yeah, perspective is mind boggling.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:49 AM ^
thinks he knows more football than somebody like Brian Cook (who has literally spent 100s of hours breaking down film) is ridiculous.
Dave Brandon is NOT your teammate, IDIOT.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^
Cleary has actually played football before...Cook not so much. And I would guess Cleary has seen more film too.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:01 PM ^
evaluating RPS or coaching competence.
Cook would wipe the floor with Cleary in a discussion of Football game theory or RPS.
Take one look at Kelly, does he looks like an all pro to you? Who would you think would fare better in *coaching*, Kelly or Hoke? Having *physical* attributes to play football means nothing when it comes to comparing football acumen.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^
Brian actually looks like he could have played football, he's like 6'2", he's a big dude. What do physical attributes have at all to do with this conversation? I'm pretty sure you have to be joking right now to say such an inane thing and keep digging.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:13 PM ^
Jake Long or Calvin Johnson, I could have played D1 ball too. How is that not relevant here?
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:24 PM ^
You're the one that brought it up.
Take one look at Kelly, does he looks like an all pro to you? Who would you think would fare better in *coaching*, Kelly or Hoke? Having *physical* attributes to play football means nothing when it comes to comparing football acumen.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:33 PM ^
You said something stupid, and you keep on digging.
I respect what Brian does, he looks at a lot of film and gives it his best go with what he has. I started coming to MGoBlog for the UFRs and it's a big reason I come back. But Brian didn't recognize a standard cover 4 when Michigan ran it the majority of the time against Miami. Nothing against him, he's correct more often than not, but I'm pretty sure Cleary can recognize a Cover 4. I'm pretty sure Cleary watches about as much football film - as in studies it - in about two or three weeks time than Brian does all year.
Maybe you were speaking hyperbolically, maybe you're trolling or joking, or maybe you really think what you're saying. But what you're saying is not correct, I'm sorry. Brian does a good job with what he has available to make a nice fan breakdown of the game, but that doesn't compare to what the players are doing as far as film study, technique study, etc. I don't think Brian would say any different.
October 3rd, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^
This must be a joke. This guy needs to be banned.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^
Um, I think Brian himself would absolutely grant that a division 1 college football player has more football knowledge than him. That doesn't change the fact that football players are not the best assessors of the quality of their own coaches.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:57 AM ^
The other is a blogger with a passion for football, but as far as I know has never played organized football
Makes sense that the blogger knows more
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:02 PM ^
Im still pretty sure there have been successful football coaches who were nobodies when they played themselves..
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^
There is a huge difference between a sports blogger who watches film and a player or coach who watches more film and also needs to strategize, coach, and plan for an opponent.
Edit: You changed your text after I posted this to something less rediculous.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:01 PM ^
I promise you Brian Cleary has spent many more hours actually breaking down real film than Brian Cook has, by a long shot. He also actually plays, and practices football. Your comment is inane, and also insane.
Cleary should've kept his mouth shut, but your comment is just dumb.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:49 AM ^
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^
But when you boo in the stands, you may think it's targeted at the coaches but the players feel it's at them and they hurt just as bad.
October 3rd, 2014 at 1:53 PM ^
Sometimes yes, but when fans start booing because a coach doesn't go for it on 4th-and-1 or other specific strategic choices, the players realize why they're booing.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^
This is out of line. Cleary works as hard as everybody else on the team and has certainly done more for the University than you have. Don't stoop to that level and start being a dick.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^
Really? Because he's on the football team and what else?
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:01 PM ^
This kid will represent the university passionately forever. We lose 1 game and half the people on here are contemplating jumping ship. We have a large chunk of fans who are just simply fairweather. But that might be beside the point, I don't know that dude but I'd say that being on the football team and being a part of the AD and wearing the wings every day gives you a certain perspective on things that people bitching on a website just won't understand. He's a part of a Michigan family that is broken right now and it's just sad to say that. These are dark times, no need to make them darker by jumping all over the only people who could truly turn us around.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:31 PM ^
I think we lost more than one game.
October 3rd, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^
I hear you, but at the end of the day I just tend to agree with Cleary. A fan's opinion really is irrelevant in my (irrelevant) opinion, and if you find that disrespectful that's fine I hope you find some good endeavours to spend time and money on, but I'd hope you ride this storm out with us.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:18 PM ^
Don't get me wrong, I understand what you're saying. I'm hoping these players realize that most of us are genuinely concerned with the well-being of the players and the University right now, beyond a wins and losses standpoint. As fans, the only way we can vote or influence anything is by not going to games, buying merchandise, etc.
I can handle watching Michigan lose, it's just a game and I'm not going to go jump off a bridge because we lost to OSU or MSU. But when there's a chance that a player could literally be killed on the field by second-impact syndrome because the coaches "didn't see the hit" and then our AD just blatantly tries to cover it up or toss away blame, then I can't deal with that.
I understand the "us against the world" mentality that grows on a football team, but I wish people like Cleary would understand that we're on their side, and that if we all go away, there won't be a football program left for him.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^
during our time there...you know the things that our world class university is known for. But wait, Brian Cleary taking 4th strings reps at a practice and standing around during games is so much more of a contribution to the university.
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:20 PM ^
October 3rd, 2014 at 12:33 PM ^
Of course, those papers and hypothetical Nobel Prizes would be more valuable to the University as a whole. Whether we like it or not, some day in the not too distant future, college football is going to be dead. The recent awareness of head injuries and the corruption/exploitation of athletes debate is going to kill it. Once it's gone, the actual academic stuff will be what keeps the University alive and thriving. Imagine that.
October 3rd, 2014 at 1:00 PM ^