What will it take to get you enthusiastic about this season?

Ohio State not being able to field a team for the next 5 years.

I kid(well, half kidding anyway)

Pretty much what most have said: A competitive team that has promise moving forward.

I would like to see 7-8 wins this year. If this team can do that, I will have some good expectations going into 2022 season. I love college football and I look forward to it every year.

Go Blue!

august.

Students first, athletes second. No special treatment from the rest of the student body.

Salary cap for coaches.

In short, return college athletics to amateur status.

I'm foaming at the mouth with anticipation and excitement. 

Everyday, 10x a day I'm checking mgoblog and Google looking for any dropling of football material. 

Bart Scott voice - "CAN'T. WAIT"

A team that clicks in ways we haven't seen for years. I'm still going to watch like I always do but I'd be a fool not to be skeptical. We'll see what happens. 

Beating Washington convincingly would probably be what I need. For the first year in a while I’m not yet committed to subordinating the rest of my life almost every Saturday to watch. 

A big ol fat W against OSU. 

Jk. I'm sure I'll get hype as soon as opening kickoff. 

My eyebrows will be raised in game 2 (Washington) if the DL can get to the QB without blitzing, tackles well overall, and looks competent in the back 7, my eyebrows will be raised.

My heart will beat a little faster with anticipation if we can pull off a road win at Camp Randall.

I'll be jumping up and down if we can beat the crap out of MSU.

And I'll be over the moon ecstatic if we go on the road and beat PSU.

If I get to that last stage of enthusiasm then I will be happy with the season and it *almost* doesn't matter if we lose to OSU.  The only thing that would destroy all of my enthusiasm is getting badly beaten by OSU like the last couple years.

EDIT - just re-read that first paragraph and I am calling the grammar police on myself.

The worst stretch of Michigan football history has been my adult life. From 18 to 38, wamp wamp. Haven't gave up on them yet and won't. 

Meth

There is no gratification outside of reality.  And the reality is that Harbaugh is a top coach and made a good run with Hokes Ohio players, and got screwed by refs, and whiffed at QB a few times.  And his Brown hire wasn't a good one, a bad fit like RR was...the personnel is poor, and Harbaugh didn't go into Ohio at all....  he is now is unwinding the Brown hire.... but he is a top coach and it'll show again going forward. And Cade is a gamer and we are looking good this season.  I'm enthused.

This question has multiple answers for me, pre-season and in-season. I really don’t think there’s anything that could get me above a lukewarm level of enthusiasm before any games are played. I can’t recall the last time the pre-season hype lived up to it, so there’s nothing that could possibly come out of camp that would spark any enthusiasm.

Once the season starts, I’d be enthusiastic if Michigan could win a game I don’t expect them to. This would be one (just one!) of at Wisconsin, at Penn St, or Ohio St. No other wins would be exciting; they’d just avoid disappointment by not losing them. Maybe that bar is too high, but if it is that’s a pretty strong indictment on how far the program has fallen. 

Basic professional competence? The talent at multiple positions is questionable to bad because recruiting and development have been atrocious, but what’s done is done; we’re stuck with this roster. On the other hand, whatever talent you have, it’s the coaches’ job to make the most of.  As Brian once said, he expects millionaire coaches to be smarter than him.  So do I.

So when they shit the bed against MSU in ways that make it apparent they not only didn’t watch a single second of film, but forgot everything about a program that religiously hates Michigan. . . Well, they’re going to have to stop running the program like a trust fund baby’s tax shelter nonprofit. Unfortunately, that’s the starting point right now: “Show up for work.”

I'm with you, and hope, as I always hope, this year will be entertaining and successful. And hell, I'd love it if that happened with Harbaugh -- I certainly have nothing invested in seeing him leave. If he can get the job done, fantastic!

I would only object that those of us who are lukewarm in their optimism are -- well, if they're like me, they are -- not basing their pessimism only on last year. Had last year come directly after 2016, we would of course find it easier to write off. But it followed a year with those miserable Army, Wisconsin, and Iowa games, plus the second straight shellacking by Ohio State. Indeed, we were already starting to grumble even before last year. In fact, for many of us, last year was the year Harbaugh should have been on the hot seat to turn this thing around. The fact that, despite that urgency, he absolutely failed -- no excuses, that was a disaster -- is what's so incredibly frustrating.

So, sure, I'm hopeful. I would love this season to be something we'll be talking about for the few decades: A season of vindication and triumph. But ... I'm skeptical, man. I'm skeptical.

Drugs

I have the choice of going to my high school reunion or going to the Washington game. Either way I have the suspicion I’m gonna get kicked in the balls. 

I'm already oddly enthused. A new QB, be it Cade or JJ, has me excited because it seems like whoever starts has won a legit QB battle. Either way it can be a launching pad towards 2022. I guess my expectations are low but ?.

I’m already excited for the season, but to sustain it, I’m counting on them being 4-0 going into the showdown with Wisconsin. They don’t have to win that game. As long as it’s competitive and the offense is showing signs of life, I’ll be thrilled with the direction of the season.

I'm excited because I generally think the team will be good and competitive.  People expecting them to compete for a title are going to be disappointed, most likely.

One thing I am happy about is that the near-constant drumbeat of "can't wait to fire Harbaugh so we can replace him with this other guy", whether that be Fickell, Campbell, or whomever, has died down.  I assume it'll pick up in the season but at least it feels a bit less ever-present.

Just Win, Baby!

I can't wait. My prediction is 10-3

I doubt I can be enthusiastic about this season. My disappointment with Michigan football is more than one season worth so even if they would "break out" and have a great season,  my thoughts on the program probably wouldn't change much. Part of this is probably related to the fact that I just generally have zero fucks for major college football anymore. 

In all honesty, I obviously am hopeful...but my expectations couldn't be lower and I refuse to get my hopes up.

It's going to take 9-0 before I start believing. 

I'm still enthusiastic about the season. I just want to see the team improve through the season even if we get off to a rough start and only win 6 or 7 games. The big test for me would be to beat Washington. On paper Washington seems to have more talent on both offense and defense and if we can defeat them, then I think we could have a much better season than the projected 7 win season. If we get blown out at home against WA, bpone would be on the rise. 

A game

I’m always enthusiastic for Michigan football. However, it took me a good many years to figure out that enthusiasm and expectations are two different things.

Maize & Blue forever and ever, amen.

Is it time to start calling him, Mazi “Hodor” Smith?

It’s Michigan football. Of course there may be many kinds of emotions, but I just need football in fall. Heartbreak be damned.

(Maybe just a mental self-defense mechanism but…) win or lose, just getting through all the September games without Michigan or any other team having to deal with Covid-19 clusters would be meaningful to me. 

Oh, and a competent, balanced offense in the Washington game with accuracy in both the short and deep passing games. 

Reports that the D looks surprisingly good, the OL solid, game-ready and that Cade and JJ are having strong camps

The starting QB set in place for months already is creating some enthusiasm for me.

Seeing how many great WRs there are is helping!

If I was to hear Matt Weiss has a significant role in running the passing game, and is not just coaching QBs, would help.

To hear Sherrone Moore is turning out to be a good O Line coach would help.

If I heard the interior D Line is a world better than last year would help.

Seeing Jim Harbaugh open and animated on media has helped a lot.

Winning by 40+ over Western, with the EDGE defenders playing a huge, exciting role in the win, would do wonders.

A curb stomping opener would make a world of difference for me, even knowing it may not say much at the end of the day. Seeing some positives help knock off the negativity rust that gathers in the off-season after a poopy season.

First of all no matter how I feel about the state of the football program, I do get excited about the football season. That said, results are what discourage or encourage me. But based on the past 12 years or so, I'm realizing early season excitement is not so lasting deep into conference play. I will get very excited if this team can beat or be competitive against teams like Wisconsin and PSU, if so I may think we have a chance this year against OSU even deep down I know they won't.

What I would like to see before B1G play is an offense that is cohesive and seems to know what it wants to do and do it. I'd like to see some plays downfield, I'd like to see a good running game and speed in space (whatever that really means). On defense I'd like to see them not getting toasted through the air or run over on the ground. I don't expect the defense to be great, but if the offense can get its head out of the sand and the defense can be serviceable I think we could stand a chance, show progress and have something to be excited about.

Any kind of belief that we could beat Ohio State or win the B1G.

When/If Michigan loses a football game this season, I'll be torqued with enthusiasm if our fanbase supports the players AND coaches and the media eats a log of shit. 

Go Blue. 

Beating OSU would be nice. Not playing to the level of weak competition would be nice. Not getting curb stomped by Wisconsin would be nice. A coaching staff that generated some confidence would be nice. 

Carl fuckin’ Grapentine saying “ladies and gentlemen…”

In the end it is only partly what they do on the field and partly not.  

I love MI Saturdays in the fall.  The tailgating, the games, the good times.  The team's constant disappointment (CoViD notwithstanding, the abysmal performance in 2020 and the opt-outs of key personnel when other teams' key personnel didn't speaks volumes) didn't help but having to deal with real issues beyond a game (caring for a sick parent who now has a compromised immune system) has pretty much killed enthusiasm for most things.

So what do I need?  Some normalcy to finally return and getting back to doing everything we used to do in 2019 safely again without worry of bringing something home.   Also if the team would finally get its act together and create that swagger that everyone inside and outside the program could feel.  They had it in the aughts.  They had it in the 90s.  Now?  Gone - long gone.  It needs to be resurrected.  The closest was the Revenge Tour until they laid a stadium-sized egg.