Do you have the same emotional investment in M Football you once did?

I will always love Michigan football

But

Im really starting to HATE recruiting!!! People get our hopes up about recruits (that are nearly locks,according to experts) ,then at the last possible second the kid goes somewhere else,usually a lesser program

Some of these experts are great,but i feel most of these "crystal ball" guys dont do anything,beside read other people comments on social media and never know anything about a recruit.Its obvious after the past 5-6 years,that most of these "experts" are piggie-backers ,because they dont know some of the major details about a recruit,at times.

Right now college football is dominated by 4-5 schools.,Michigan is in that next 8-12 teams (which is very good)  but in todays climate thats not good enough .... we need an 8 team playoff badly

When the season starts, I get excited. The second half of July going into August is like the month leading up to Christmas, with the release of all the primer magazines. But it’s less exciting year-round. I used to be into recruiting, but after enough cycles, it feels like a waste of time  I’m still aware of it when we get a new commit, but it doesn’t fill me with enthusiasm as it once did. Recruitin’ posts would be something I’d savor with a beer. I don’t even read them anymore due to apathy. I’d bet a B1G title or a CFB appearance might jolt some enthusiasm, but my battery is empty. 

No, and honestly I'm glad I live 2300 miles away from Ann Arbor in terms of this discussion. Why? Because I'm an older fan (in my 60s) who dates back to being a student at UM in the mid-70s, when Bo was the coach and the program had only recently reemerged as a national power (1969). And so my fandom rode the upward trajectory with lots of Rose Bowl appearances and some memorable wins in Pasadena, culminating in the 1997 (split) national championship with Lloyd Carr. And no, Bo wasn't a world-beater in the bowl games, but the program was head and shoulders above almost all in the Midwest region, and those truly were the days of the Big Two and Little Eight (or more as the league expanded). Then came the 2000's, and by then the B1G had much more parity, a two-division system, and Lloyd was fading as an effective recruiter and coach, and we fans could see the program starting to slip. But who would have guessed back then that fifteen years and three head coaches later that the program would have failed to win a B1G Championship or even a division championship, and have zero Rose Bowl appearances? And that despite having hired the dream coach for Michigan football on December 30, 2014, that five seasons later the program was only the fourth best team in its own division during that tenure, including having endured the two biggest ass-kickings by Ohio State in our history? So living far away from AA has the benefit of not being in the Michigan "bubble", where the local media coverage of our perpetual on-field disappointments, especially in games against any team with a winning record, is an ongoing gut-wrenching downer for old-timers like me. 

No. And it's sad. 

No.

Yes -- it has been at the same level for many years.

Older people on this board (like me) have a longer perspective and can appreciate the '97 season for the lightning-in-a-bottle experience it was. The stars were well-aligned that year and Michigan didn't have a strong Pac-10 opponent. They also had an abundance of NFL-level talent all over the field.

Most other years there were talent gaps on the team. A few people here can probably remember the Florida State game in the early '90s. That showed pretty clearly where Michigan was relative to the top tier. As well, there were many years with a single pooch-screw game (e.g., Minnesota in '86).

I could go on and on. (I already have.) Rocket Ismail kick-off returns, anyone?

Back in 2015 I guessed that Harbaugh would do better than he has. One, maybe two wins over OSU. (No more than that given where they were in terms of coaching and talent.) Dominance over the rest of the conference.

It has been more of the same, though, which is fine. It's the circus after all. My degrees haven't been tarnished.

No.

I think Michigan tries to hard to hold onto (and worship) the past.  The past, the past, the past. 

I'm hoping paying the players brings Michigan to elite level.  And with so many schools doing it already, I don't care if it's cheating or not.  Do it.

No.  I attribute it to age and one win against OSU in the last 16 years.

No, and I attribute it to two things: 

1) The disappointment made it not worth it. There's been so much of it in the past ten years. Yes, there have been great moments, too, but when I watch a game, I don't have the confidence I used to. I have a sinking feeling we're going to lose, which is a conditioned response now. Don't like it. 

2) I really love baseball. My husband is an all-around sports lover, but baseball is his first love. He retired from his career and got a job working security at Wrigley -- that's how much he loves baseball. My son plays at the college level, so you can imagine how many games I've been to in the past 15 years, from t-ball to travel to now college. My daughter plays softball at the travel level in high school, so I have been immersed in it for a long time now. Even with the losses -- and there were a lot between t-ball and varsity -- I developed a deep love for the game. I was ecstatic when Michigan made their run last year. I watched all the games. 

It's been quite the wild ride. Getting shellacked by Oregon in 2007 was a low point. I was underwhelmed by the Rich Rod hire, but then the Hoke hire taught me the true definition of underwhelming.

My hopes soared a bit with Harbaugh until the MSU O'Korn game. I knew then he had made a mistake coming back and would never find success here.

Best thing that could happen is for 2020 to be cancelled so that he could save a measure of face and go back to the NFL where he belongs.

Don't misunderstand me. I think the world of Jim Harbaugh as a person and role model for young men. But he is absolutely not going to find the ultimate success coaching Michigan football. The sport has changed. We need a whippersnapper with fire in his belly. Only then will we start recruiting better and beating OSU.

Tom Wolfe was right, Jim. 

I go back a looooong way.  Became a huge fan in 1945 at age 11.  The high point for me was 1947-49 with the “Mag Magicians.”  Have remained a fan all my life.  Suffered through the Bennie O years.  Had my hopes dashed by Bump.  Loved the Bo era, except most bowl games were a bust.  Went to see the game in Eugene in 2006, first game I attended since leaving Michigan in 1963.  What a disappointment.  Next year Oregon slaughted M in Ann Arbor and my kids teased me for months.  What ended my blind devotion to M football was last years Wisconsin game.  I expected them to lose, but that they didn’t even play with any heart did it for me.  Didn’t watch another M game the rest of the year.  Still proud of my M degrees but no longer have any expectation that M teams will win the must win games to be champions.  I think M should either join the crowd and pay the soon to be professional athletes, forget academics for the pros in waiting, or leave the B1G and join the Ivy League in order to maintain their academic reputation.  Of the two I prefer the Ivy League so we could again support student athletes and let academic dumps like OSU and MSU be in thrall to semi-pro athletes who 
“Didn’t come here to play school.”

Until we beat Ohio state I will continue to feel dejected and uninspired. I don’t understand how anyone can look forward to a sport where you have a one percent chance of winning your conference and a lower chance of winning the national championship meanwhile you get some of the most elite athletes in the country

Unfortunately, yes, I still have the same level of emotional investment. I could frame it better by saying that if we are not at a game, if we are watching at home, the dog goes upstairs because of my yelling and jumping around. 8~)

You guys are all engaging in sad sack defense mechanisms. If you don't care, why are you on this site? For the basketball content?

Nope. Used to follow recruiting and live and die on Michigan football. Not worth it. Program just can’t get out of its own way.  I watch the games every Saturday but even that is becoming a chore with 4 hour games. 
 

Michigan basketball has my full attention now. Football is just a passing point until Basketball. 
 

I recalibrated my fandom during the richrod years and am glad I did. It also sort of castrated my fandom as well. Here are some details.

1. I pretty much turn off games when we are behind and things look bleak. I'll track it online and if things don't turn around I don't turn it back on. I think of this castrated technique as avoiding an unpleasant experience and adding years to my life. I also do this for basketball games.

2. I plan out a few fun non-michigan game trips  every fall. Living far from Ann Arbor is part of the reason. But I also like to experience other campuses, experiences, etc. It's also refreshing to be one of the few in the stadium that really doesn't care who wins. So enjoyable from that standpoint.

3. Because of #1 and also just being able to take a step back the losses don't bother me nearly as much. In fact when an opposing fan talks shit I either brush it off or basically make fun of them for taking credit for something that they had no control over. 

4. I am firmly in the camp that we will never beat OSU again in my lifetime. So I have pivoted to #2 to find true enjoyment in college football. 

No. Haven't attended a game since UM vs MSU in 2012. Usually watch the game but if something else is going on, no big deal. DVR and watch later.

My interest has not waned at all. My  reaction to defeats has become far more mature (it only took me until middle age to get to that point). I now talk younger Mich fans who are like I used to be, off the cliff.

I became a fan in 1962. We went 2-7 and followed that up with 3-4-2 in 1963. I listened to every game on the radio (and watched whatever games were on TV (I think only one game each year). I enjoyed every touchdown, every good game that a back, receiver or QB had.

Then the glorious year of 1964 and a once defeated, Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl championship, which I appreciated all the more because of the two previous seasons. 1965-1967, we were disappointing 14-16 overall but still very competitive with many fine individual performances (Jack Clancy!) 1968 was a very good team but for being crushed by OSU.

1969 the Bo era began and with it, an era of raised expectations that have persisted arguably to this day. The Bowl losses were crushing (this board would have crucified Bo), but we got to a ton of big games and if we lost many of them, wasn't that better than never getting there? This also coincided with my first attending games, and a year later attending UM.

There was essentially an unbroken run of success, eventually I got to introduce my son to Michigan and Michigan sports and that was wonderful to share. I lived in many different places but no matter how far away I made it to at least one game a year.

RichRod and Hoke happened (though I thoroughly enjoyed 2011). The difference is that I had my formative years of 1962-63 and 1965-1967 to fall back on and still find a ton of things to cheer about. I kinda feel sorry for those whose Michigan fandom came of age in or around 1997, because that year was an outlier after the mid to late 1940s.

Yes, my interest has not waned and though I am an optimistic pessimist, I still think the next championship is coming this year or next year. I do not lose hope. Less talented teams do beat more talented teams even if that may not be the way to bet. The only thing that would hurt is if I knew I was terminal in the middle of a tough season as a friend (and great Michigan fan), of mine was in RR's first season. I couldn't tell him, "it's going to be better next year." 

Short of that, I am still "all in."

I grew up in the 70s/80s and graduated UofM in 1991, one year early. All I knew about Michigan football and basketball was excellence and success. When I was young, I could tell certain teams were intimidated playing UofM in the big house. After The Horror and Rich Rod my expectations are lower and therefore my emotional ties to the team are measurably lower than 30 years ago, unfortunately. 

I lowered expectations, however I still do not sit for 90 percent of the game. It doesn't matter if I'm at home or at The Big House, I still get yelled at to sit down.

I wish they would have a real spring game, though. That was super fun and it got the hype going. It is a lot of fun changing NCAA 14 rosters and stuff.

I graduated back in 2002 and it seems like my college roommates have lost some of their emotional investment as they have made comments at times about it not being worth watching anymore as they could enjoy their day doing things rather than be disappointed.

I am still emotionally invested and watch every game. 

However, for the first time ever at the half of the Penn State game this year I went on an hour long run in a rain storm while listening to the radio broadcast.  I often go on a short 10 minute jog, but I purposefully went out for an hour.  It was therapeutic as it is hard for me to be stressed when I am jogging...and we started to play better while I was jogging.  I came back in time to watch most of the 4th Quarter.

I go on a very long slow paced run every Sunday...usually for 2 hours.  I only get TV to watch football.  Part of me thinks I should just plan my weekend run around football...extend the run to 3 hours - or hike part of it...while listening to the game on the radio.  It would relieve stress exercising during it and it would save money and time as I would be killing two birds with one stone.

It goes up and down. 

When I moved away for a time, it went down, and there were only a few games I would see each year.

But as I got into middle age, I got to reconnect. 2006 helped, what a season (until it wasn't).

I suspect it comes and goes depending on what else is going on in your life.

Last season I got outside on Saturdays, especially the beautiful ones we get in September and October.  

I felt completely renewed not being so invested in the team.  

I'll always root for Michigan.  In every sport.  Things are just different now knowing/acknowledging we're just a stadium, a helmet, and a song.

For me nothing has drastically changed. I became a fan in the early 00s so failure vs OSU is more or less within the framework of expectations. Its not like 2019 was the worst season Ive seen as a fan. Far from it. The time to "quit" would have been 2009 ish. 
 

But to put that in context, I barely follow recruiting, I barely think about football during the off season. My fandom really activates in mid August, peaks between mid October and mid November then gradually fades. Now that the draft is done, my interest level will go down to near zero for the next 3 months.

I had been a fan since the late 60's, when older siblings went to UM; got to see as a student the tail end of the Ten Year War, went to all of the Rose Bowls since '78 (including '98 MNC), traveled to Homecoming and multiple occasions to play in the MMB Alumni Band, hunted down sports bars in far-flung places to see The Game (Rome 2011 will always be the favorite, for obvious reasons). But over the last several years I have only watched football games on DVR, and have come to despair that it seems for UM to beat OSU, we would have to pursue a philosophy and recruiting strategy that I just can't get on board with, as already stated OSU is playing an entirely different game. I guess after nearly a half-century of rabid, devoted fandom I am just reaching that point...

As Richard Pryor once said,

https://youtu.be/xr7o6hRFaJk

Nope. 2017 vs MSU diminished my faith in Harbaugh considerably. We had no business losing that game at home at night. By the end of 2018 after getting destroyed by OSU my faith was completely gone. 

I'll still root for them but I really hate what the football program has become, which like FrankMurphy already said in this thread "seems full of itself and stuck in its own world where catch phrases and an obsession with tradition are acceptable substitutes for winning when it matters the most" and I don't think those in charge at the moment have any interest in fixing that.

The 2016 Ohio game killed me.  It has not been the same since for me.  I don’t expect them to win anything anymore and don’t get as upset let down as I used to.  I’ve realized that Ohio is just flat out better at all levels and although sad it is what it is.  I’ve realized that you need a running qb since Troy Smith to win big games and third and longs and we have not had one since denard and guess what that is the last time we won.  They will not win next year either because Ohio has that guy and we still don’t that I’m aware of until we see more out of mcaffrey or Milton no clue, but I’m going to go ahead and assume fields is better then both of them 

Apathy has definitely set in. Much like with all of Detroit sports. 

No, of course not. Doesn't hurt that the team has let us down so much recently, but even if they didn't I wouldn't. There is far too much that is too important. 

In the 90s a loss was devastating. Now it is still very disappointing--let's not kid ourselves, it's a gut-punch to lose a college football game, especially when it's to that same team every year--but give me half an hour or so and I'm fine. It IS just a game, after all. Meanwhile I have a wife and four wonderful, healthy kids, and a life that is a gift from God. I've got nothing to to be upset about.

I remember as a kid living through absolute misery not beating OSU for 4 straight years from 72-75.

I can’t even fathom being a Michigan fan who is say 27 and has enjoyed ONE WIN in the game.