Interesting article about Michigan and OSU football making a case we are both bad guys but for different reasons
December 6th, 2019 at 7:12 PM ^
Uh... No. They’re the bad guys.
December 6th, 2019 at 8:46 PM ^
The system is bad, and Michigan upholds it.
The narrative of moral superiority should never rear its obnoxious head on these boards again. If the NCAA is an exploitative scheme, then Michigan is its direct beneficiary.
Thought: For all some 500 words Brian wrote following the OSU loss, he fatalized his conclusion: "We'll just never win like they do until we prioritize it like they do." That's not true. We can even the playing field by changing the rules. Let players collect on the massive cash cow they're generating. That will even it out substantially.
December 6th, 2019 at 8:55 PM ^
Eat more glue
December 6th, 2019 at 9:18 PM ^
Fuckin' mint, my dude.
December 6th, 2019 at 9:31 PM ^
Sounds painful.
December 6th, 2019 at 9:33 PM ^
Mint condition, baby.
December 6th, 2019 at 11:24 PM ^
No? Why do you think legions of players choose Bama and OSU over Michigan? Michigan sells itself as a pristine program where you can get a killer degree. OSU and Bama are just honest: You're coming here to play football. To borrow a phrase, they didn't come to "play school."
December 7th, 2019 at 8:39 AM ^
ieatglue’s take us 100% correct and he’s getting begged. Most of posters here are having a psychotic break since the OSU game which no one expected us to win all year. This board pretty much sucks now, and this article is 100% on point.
December 7th, 2019 at 11:27 AM ^
It still comes down to execution, preparation, and game planning. Giving money to players doesn't make them better. If OSU players are getting paid then why do some transfer out?
If Michigan paid players, how does that make them catch balls? How does that make them cover receivers vs staring in the offensive backfield? How does that make the players stop from trying to take off shoes?
There is so much that goes into winning. It's not giving money to 20 year olds.
When you get the good recruits, it's what you do with them. Look at Miami. They have had really good recruiting classes but they shit the bed on development, team cohesion and bad play calls.
December 7th, 2019 at 4:39 PM ^
Maybe the players who execute would come if they could receive the same benefits.
December 7th, 2019 at 9:50 AM ^
Wow they’re paying athlete’s parents rents! Giving them a car and some cash! Pure evil.
Lol the Zach Smith thing is something else, but come on. I hate people who think things are morally right just because they are the rules or law. I’m sure you can think of many of the biggest events in human history where the two don’t coincide. Just pay the players already.
December 6th, 2019 at 7:25 PM ^
A dollar says the author is an MgoBlog community member.
December 6th, 2019 at 7:37 PM ^
He is. Ben Mathis-Lilley is from Bay City I think. Big Michigan fan, though he decided to go to Harvard for college.
I thought the article was great. He basically made exactly the same point that Brian did in the post-game column. Ohio State has abandoned every human value in the name of winning football games.
By contrast, he noted that Michigan really does have higher standards, academically and otherwise, than the other big football schools. His main criticism of Michigan was that we're smug, self-important, and obsessed with our own superiority, which is kind of true.
December 6th, 2019 at 7:46 PM ^
His main criticism of Michigan was that we're smug, self-important, and obsessed with our own superiority
/looks in mirror
CHECK! All there.
December 6th, 2019 at 8:01 PM ^
It is true and may make us insufferable and unpleasant but not bad. What a false equivalency with OSU if that is the comparison.
December 7th, 2019 at 10:20 AM ^
What do people expect, I'm just so fucking phenomenal. I could probably engineer a cooler that turns OSU fecal matter into Freon.
December 6th, 2019 at 8:27 PM ^
Actually, his main criticism is that we don’t share the wealth and thereby screw our players over also.
Hard to argue, but Ohio State still cheats and gets rewarded for it.
December 6th, 2019 at 9:18 PM ^
It's all of one piece I think. He's saying that a major part of our self-righteousness stems from the fact that we believe we are the only major program that actually follows the rules. Which may actually be true! But because the rules themselves are bad, our following them has the effect of causing an unequal distribution of the wealth generated by the sport.
He wants Michigan to lead college football into a new era, but to do that, we're going to have to give up one of the things that we're smug about. When paying the players is legal, Michigan can no longer claim the mantle of the assiduous rule follower, the only program that follows the rules, the program that refuses to act in its own self-interest. Fortunately for us, we have a ton of other things to be smug about, so I don't think it'll be that big a deal.
December 7th, 2019 at 7:38 AM ^
I agree completely with your comment.
And leading a self-righteous charge to change the system could also make us smug.
I still don’t understand why he makes it purely Harbaugh’s responsibility and how this is uniquely a UM OSU issue.
In the end he is attacking the NCAA and its member institutions. There are more than two of those.
Any “badness” we have is in no way different than anything at OSU and they have additional badness.
December 6th, 2019 at 9:14 PM ^
How does being smug, self important and obsessed with our own superiority prevent us from being good at football?
December 6th, 2019 at 9:26 PM ^
Because part of our sense of superiority comes from our refusal to engage in tactics that the competition engages in. You may or may not agree with that, but that's his argument.
We don't pay recruits, we have very high academic standards, and we stubbornly refuse to change either of these things because our image of ourselves will never allow us to do so.
The result is that we don't recruit as well as Ohio State.
(He mentions a fascinating anecdote from John Bacon's book. Did you know Harbaugh and the other coaches make a long list of players to target in each recruiting cycle, and then cut the list in half after they receive transcripts? In half! That floored me, and it's such a good illustration of the argument. Anyway, people should read the article. It's interesting.)
December 6th, 2019 at 10:19 PM ^
That's me—different one of the tri-cities (Midland, not Bay City) but otherwise, yep. Good Midland High contingent around here, led by BryMac.
December 6th, 2019 at 7:26 PM ^
What a load of garbage penned by someone who thinks they're way smarter than they actually are.
December 6th, 2019 at 7:27 PM ^
That could describe literally anything posted on Reddit, but I don't think that is where the article originated.
December 6th, 2019 at 7:58 PM ^
Care elaborating on why it's a load of garbage? I think it makes a lot of sense, and honestly is the stance of a lot of people, including this blog's staff.
It's completely absurd how many of these players get short ended on their compensation. Yes, room, board, tuition, networking, etc have a real value, but for a Denard type player it's nothing. They have to subsidize all the other players and athletes, or worse, stupid admin / bloated coaching roles. What makes it absurd is that this is happening in caricature capitalism America.
Players can be compensated without breaking college athletics. I wish Michigan would lead the charge for change, Leaders and Best.
December 6th, 2019 at 9:00 PM ^
Because at that point the argument is that literally every program who doesn't commit sepukku is the bad guy, therefore everyone is a bad guy, which is ridiculous.
December 7th, 2019 at 2:37 AM ^
No, the argument is that the system itself is unjust. Therefore, anyone who participates perpetuates that injustice. Those things are true.
Michigan can view itself as above other schools (which may be true), but that doesn't necessarily make them good.
That's the argument. It's a reasonable one.
December 7th, 2019 at 2:37 AM ^
No, the argument is that the system itself is unjust. Therefore, anyone who participates perpetuates that injustice. Those things are true.
Michigan can view itself as above other schools (which may be true), but that doesn't necessarily make them good.
That's the argument. It's a reasonable one.
December 7th, 2019 at 7:43 AM ^
No. The article boils down to all member institutions are bad because the system is bad but it is wrapped in a bunch of unrelated claims that are meant to equate Harbaugh with Urban as equally corrupt.
It’s fucking stoopid.
December 6th, 2019 at 7:42 PM ^
After spending numerous paragraphs detailing the extensive moral and ethical corruption within the OSU program over the last two decades, the asshat author then essentially goes on to say that Michigan is just as bad for not aggressively breaking NCAA rules against compensating players.
December 6th, 2019 at 8:42 PM ^
Well, that's one (obscene) way to miss the point.
Here it is, distilled down:
NCAA rules are bad. When OSU is caught breaking them, it throws players under the bus. And even when Michigan follows the rules, we also exploit and discard our players.
So, who always seems to lose in college athletics? The players. Shame you can't see that these are indeed two sides of the same coin.
December 6th, 2019 at 9:35 PM ^
Found the article's author!
r/iamverysmart
December 6th, 2019 at 11:01 PM ^
I was going more for /r/explainlikeimfive.
December 6th, 2019 at 7:43 PM ^
This is cuz of James Earl Jones isn't it?
Man, it was just a character.
December 6th, 2019 at 7:47 PM ^
All facts.
December 6th, 2019 at 7:52 PM ^
This article was good until it blamed Michigan for not cheating
December 6th, 2019 at 8:01 PM ^
Blamed Michigan for not being vocal about an unfair system. You migh not agree with it, but it's not a bar or incorrect posture.
December 6th, 2019 at 8:22 PM ^
I see that. I just don't think it's wise to argue for a "better system that rewards players" without having a specific one in mind that helps everyone. The new legislation will help players make money off their likeness which is a good solution but an overhaul of the amateur status could potentially harm smaller schools who don't make much money. Then you might have fewer schools with football teams which means fewer opportunities for recruits. If there's no solution that can address these issues, it's fair to not argue for one.
December 6th, 2019 at 8:26 PM ^
As best I can tell, UM and OSU both officially take the same position: We play by the rules set before us. I don’t recall OSU administration openly advocating for wholesale changes to the system. I don’t recall UM administration actively fighting changes. Harbaugh, in fact, is one of the few on record for wanting transfers to have no wait period.
December 6th, 2019 at 9:48 PM ^
A+ for you in reading comprehension. You are the first post in this thread to actually understand the author's criticism of Michigan.
December 6th, 2019 at 8:29 PM ^
Scheiße, das.
Go Blue.
December 6th, 2019 at 10:39 PM ^
Ja, das stimmt.
Geh Blau!
December 6th, 2019 at 11:43 PM ^
Gloobin gleebin glaabin glowbin
December 6th, 2019 at 8:30 PM ^
Here is the key to happiness... Ignore crap published by rags like Slate.com.
December 6th, 2019 at 9:12 PM ^
"rags"
And where do you get your news?
The only people that I've seen frequently and derisively refer to The New York Times or The Economist of similarly liberal institutions as "rags" are usually getting news from conservative sources and only conservative sources. Some of those same people frequent white supremacist websites and subscribe to David Duke's newsletters.
December 6th, 2019 at 9:34 PM ^
ironically, I’ve heard Americans call the Economist a socialist publication, while most of my European friends say it’s quite conservative.
December 6th, 2019 at 9:57 PM ^
Yeah, liberal vs conservative is on a different tier/spectrum over in Europe.
What's considered "liberal" here in America is considered relatively conservative over in Europe.
December 6th, 2019 at 10:19 PM ^
Awe, did someone have the nerve to shit your favorite propaganda vehicle? Well, I guess we will just have to add that to the list of things you are wrong about.
December 6th, 2019 at 11:02 PM ^
You might break the record for shortest tenure on mgoblog after this little string of nonsense.
December 7th, 2019 at 8:13 AM ^
Awe? Jabroni would do well to learn a little... like how to recognize propaganda before falling for it.