SIAP: Santa Ono is Truly a Gift
I searched and didn't see this posted, but it appears we have a president that really "gets it" vis-a-vis the rivalry. Not outlandish and demeaning to his position, but just right. His tweet yesterday morning:
"From my days in Ohio I recall that it can - on occasion - be windy and cold in that state in late November,” Ono tweeted Sunday, with a GIF of Marvel’s Doctor Strange attached."
November 7th, 2022 at 10:28 AM ^
Cool.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:14 PM ^
Literally. I mean, physically. I mean, in the way we all used to use the word literally before we found out that it didn't mean what we thought it meant. Whatever.
November 7th, 2022 at 10:29 AM ^
I hope he can help us with future recruiting, because Michigan should be getting it's choice of recruits after a stellar last and current year.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:17 AM ^
In a positive step for the football and basketball teams, he doesn't seem to hate or resent that athletic programs exist so that's good. After the last couple decades, I'll take that.
November 7th, 2022 at 10:31 AM ^
Dude is already throwing shade at osu. He is a self-aware genius. Michigan football remains undefeated with 🧑🏽🎄
November 7th, 2022 at 10:35 AM ^
He seems to genuinely like and know football. Hell, I heard his favorite reindeer is Blitzen!
November 7th, 2022 at 10:45 AM ^
There is a rumor that he has already proposed changing Dasher’s name to Gasher as well.
November 7th, 2022 at 10:49 AM ^
Yup, and Blitzen's closest friend on the sleigh team is Donder Brown.
November 7th, 2022 at 3:53 PM ^
Donner Brown is not a reindeer. He’s a Dude.
November 7th, 2022 at 10:36 AM ^
This thread will devolve into Christmas puns, and I'm all for that, but sarcastic jabs at ohio is the true way to my heart. Santa knows me.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:21 AM ^
Yule be glad to see that I wouldn't debase myself with a lame Xmas pun
November 7th, 2022 at 1:08 PM ^
Yeah he does. After all:
- He sees you when you're sleeping.
- He knows when you're awake.
- He knows if you've been bad or good
- So be good for goodness' sake!
November 7th, 2022 at 10:36 AM ^
link to tweet directly for those that don't do the twitters
November 7th, 2022 at 11:19 AM ^
i don't do the tweets but if you hit the link in the m-live article you get his feed. go see it, there are some dandy comments in there. joe klatt has us ranked #2, some dude did the last 4 games of second half drives vs. michigan:
This is a complete list of opponents' second-half drive results in Michigan's last four games: Punt Punt Punt Punt Fumble Downs FG Downs Punt Downs Downs Punt Punt Punt Downs Pick Punt Pick Pick Six Punt Pick Punt Punt Punt Downs
good stuff
November 7th, 2022 at 10:45 AM ^
Santa...a gift...I see what you did there
November 7th, 2022 at 10:47 AM ^
The Pres throwing shade! And its far better shade than that crap OSU's Pres moaned about back in 2016 (or '17?), when he said OSU didn't need to travel - they could just go to downtown Columbus. This was back when the spring trips first became a thing.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:15 AM ^
I also recall the OSU president talking about "taking direction" from Jim Tressel.
IIRC, Jim Tressel would "rig" random drawings for Buckeye swag during their high school summer camps, so the prospects they wanted to really recruit / pursue would win those auctions for the swag.
What an exemplary institution down in Columbus.
There was a motto several years ago - "The Michigan Difference", and - the above is just another example of how the two schools differ.
November 7th, 2022 at 10:51 AM ^
So tone deaf to be making fun of crippled wizards.
November 7th, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
You know, with Ono, the more I learn about that guy, the more I care for him.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:44 AM ^
I along with most of the front row of the Maize Rage shook his hand at the Bball game on Friday. He did most of the cheers during timeouts but his rhythm seemed a little off for a former concert cello player. Needs to sit with students for a half at the Nebraska game to get some pointers. Go Blue! Go Santa!
November 7th, 2022 at 11:06 AM ^
Santa should leave some cough drops for those kids in OSU on December 24th. They are going to be suffering with cold, cough and flu starting November 26th.
Man, I love this guy.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:15 AM ^
I like the shade, but I really don’t like the amount of talk about wind and rain in November. Sure it can be bad, but it can also just be a little chilly. The narrative around implies it would be the deciding factor in the game. To me, rain or shine, our boys are going to win this game. Let the heavens do what they may.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:19 AM ^
He’s saying that the rain and wind affected osu’s passing game vs. Illinois, and implying that they could struggle against us as well if the weather is bad come time for The Game again. I don’t think he’s saying we need it to be bad weather to win, just throwing shade at OSU, which should be welcomed.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:49 PM ^
Elbel, technically - the game was played in Illinois - the opponent was Northwestern, not Illinois.
November 7th, 2022 at 2:39 PM ^
To be fair it really seemed like MSU played Northwestern and Illinois played OSU.
Strange but it works really well if that was the case.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:17 AM ^
Nice to have a president who cares about that side of the university, as opposed to having one who views it with indifference at best and at worst, looks down his nose at it with annoyance and varying degrees of contempt.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:44 AM ^
Is Ono also going back to Ufer calling Woody Hayes, "Dr. StrangeHayes'' as well?
November 7th, 2022 at 11:59 AM ^
Having a university president acting as cheerleader-in-chief is fine, but maybe we should wait a couple of years to see how he deals with actual institutional issues before we declare him a hero.
November 7th, 2022 at 4:36 PM ^
Ok. He's a "gift" for now and so long as he does well with the other elements of the job we will declare him a hero. I shall continue to celebrate him until we have more data.
November 7th, 2022 at 6:45 PM ^
You point is well taken but I think that's how low the bar is now for a university leader that even if they give the appearance they are connected to the school and/or they portray that they give a shit, that people are ready to throw rose petals at their feet.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:18 PM ^
Santa Ono is just an awesome University President where ever he's been. When I got my last degree at University of Cincinnati he was the president. You see that the man truly loves his job, and goes all in on all aspects of the universities that he leads. Hell, he even took one of the most boring 4 hours of life in college, the commencement ceremony, and made it fun. He was encouraging people to get loud, post their pics with a hashtag, dance to the band music, etc. I couldn't tell you a single detail about my other commencements that I have been a part of, but I have vivid memories of this one.
He always attended sporting events, revenue and non-revenue sports. He mingled with the students and athletes. It wasn't uncommon to get a high-five from Santa when you were walking across campus. The man just gets it. I was disappointed when he left UC, but now that he is leading Michigan it was all worth it.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:23 PM ^
Santa >>>>> Yoko
November 7th, 2022 at 5:58 PM ^
Surely he sings better
November 7th, 2022 at 12:27 PM ^
I concur, both about Ono and the weather in Columbus. Hope it looks a lot like Evanston last Saturday.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:31 PM ^
Aaaaawwwww. The dreaded double.
November 7th, 2022 at 2:15 PM ^
His public presence is astounding. He seems so enthusiastic but sincere. Such a great public representation of the university. Best choice to wash away some of our recent embarrassments. I bet he's great for fundraising too. Sure hope he's this good with ethics and education. Home Run hire
November 7th, 2022 at 3:15 PM ^
I appreciate that Dr. Ono is a very different kind of university president, but all of this stuff feels like he's trying way too hard. President Cool Sports Guy is a swing too far in the other direction.
November 7th, 2022 at 3:53 PM ^
This is true if you are only looking at it from a sports blog perspective, but he works very hard on the academic side as well. Think of it as doing all of the things for academics that previous presidents have done, but adding a master of PR using sports and any other modern tool at his disposal to promote the university as a whole. That's the vibe I got when he was president at Cincinnati.
In academics, UC is no Michigan by any stretch of the imagination, but I believe they did climb the rankings a bit during his tenure.
November 7th, 2022 at 7:44 PM ^
Just yesterday, my wife and I attended a concert of our son at Hill Auditorium. He is in one of the university bands for non-music majors. Lo and behold, sitting a few rows ahead of us is Ono, clad nearly head-to-toe in Michigan gear. My wife promptly went over and introduced herself and they had a pleasant chat.
The band director said in his 15 years as professor, not once had the university president attended a concert of these bands (for non-music majors). Ono is a great addition, indeed.