I wasn't there so can't help in that way but a tip - it might be helpful for you to at least mention a few lyrics you heard to help narrow down the song.
In an ideal world I want to see exactly what it brings to mind when thinking of a team like Michigan playing a team like Western - a complete blow out that you don't even have to watch because the results are so expected that it'll be boring.
What I want to see from the current bizzaro world we live in are very small victories: our QB doesn't get sacked (and I'll accept close calls), an O-Line that looks hungry and can move the ball (but I'll accept just not losing yardage more often than gaining it), and a coach that doesn't look like he just took lithium before he was carted out onto the field. lol
Beyond that, yes, I get that it sounds like a smartass comment but I really mean it sincerely, I just hope we win, because frankly, these days, I'm never confident that that is a given.
I really don't understand all the anger on this post. I am a M fan AND I'm disappointed in JH, and that doesn't make me some kind of troll for saying so "out loud" does it?
I admit, I never saw JH as anything spectacular at all, and found it ridiculous that we had to work SO hard to get him, but I was willing to accept that many knew a whole lot more about his ability and career than I did so if they thought he was the best, I'd at least wait and see.
Now, see a coach that has no better a record than Hoke. I see constant excuses for his poor results. First it wasn't his team, then he was rebuilding, then he was still rebuilding, and now what's the excuse? He's in year four. What does he need? 8, 10, 12 years before we should expect improvement?? He doesn't do a great job of recruiting. He doesn't do a great job of play calling. He doens't do a great job of clock management. And even though I see random sparks of fight from each team over the last four years, overall I still see the same mostly tired and defeated energy that we have seen since before JH got here, so I'd say motivation is a questionable talent as well.
All we can do is accept our reality and discuss it. We can't even really improve it because those decisions don't involve us.
I don't watch a win and immediately see some great team of the past. Sure, winning ugly is still a win and I'll still take it but that doesn't mean I delude myself that Michigan is magically on top again.
And the same is true for losing. Losing against good play by the other team while we too play well, okay. Losses happen. But losing ugly shows that the team isn't in great shape and losing ugly against another team who didn't play some great game either is a very ominous sign for the season.
We couldn't ever get him now anyway, I wouldn't think. It was a bad decision not to consider him, but you can't "date" brothers. Once we married Jim, John was off the table.
I honestly think some of that apathy is already here.
I work at UofM, and that last year under Hoke for "staff appreciation" they sold football tickets at a discounted rate to us. It was that game that Morris fainted on field. They never offered anything but gymnastic tickets to staff prior to that, at least in my 13 years there. We all knew it was because they couldn't fill the stadium.
This year they are again offering football tickets. They are $20 more than they were under Hoke but they are for a conference game and Harbaugh is far more hyped (and still loved) than Hoke at the time. I have no delusions about Umich's care about "staff appreciation". I am proud to work there, but I don't need rose colored glasses to accept reality. They again can't sell these tickets so they are passing them off as a perk to us to salvage their own image on TV.
Agreed. And while I don't know if it was the first offer or the forty-fifth, it seemed like, from the 'surface-view', they had to work real hard behind the scenes to actually get him here. I don't blame him. I wouldn't leave the climate of California for Ann Arbor's arctic hell either, but if someone is that resistant to come here then maybe they should have been left alone.
Back when we still had Hoke someone on this board floated the idea of John instead of Jim. I admit I only did a very small amount of inquiry, but what little I read, my gut said that was a good suggestion; that he would be a better fit than Jim, would be more passionate about the program and wanting them to do well instead of just expecting it to happen because of his mere presence. I dunno. I was never a fan of Jim Harbaugh almost entirely because it seemed to take so much effort to get him here and I have no interest in a coach that is solely, finally, lured by the cash because it's so much you just can't possibly turn it down. I want a coach that sure, we pay well, but their heart was in it from the second they were being considered.
Agreed - about JH. I actually said to a PSU friend "JH's strategy seems to always be to cry about bad refs cheating him out of something instead of the bad plays and bad coaching being to blame." She then sent a gif of him screaming about who knows what that time, from a "bad" ref call, and I replied "#harbawl"
I feel like that has been his goto for the last three seasons - that the refs are cheating him, and it isn't the fault of him, his team, or his coaching staff for the mediocrity that they wallow in year after year. According to that same PSU friend, big ten forums all over are asking why Michigan is even ranked at this point and calling this program the most over-hyped in the game. OSU is literally asking if they can get a different rival yet or if they have to defeat us yet again before people stop calling us their "rivals". To be a rival you actually have to win sometimes against said rival.
We really have become a joke and it's painful!! When you've got OSU saying things like "can we get a new rival?" and the game itself has become one worth missing, we've hit the bottom of the barrel. Even today's bowl game I only watched randomly to check the score because I knew eventaully we'd lose it. It seems the team only has motivation while they are on top and the millisecond the other team goes even one point ahead of them they lose all motivation and drive and just immediately accept defeat - even if there's still over half the game to go! I feel like that's on the environment the coaching staff creates but there are obviosuly additional issues beyond just defeatist attitudes in the program right now.
Literally been saying this since they hired him and he has proven it season after season. The huge praise for his coaching ability seems to come exclusively from some nice immediate results but then nothing to show he can sustain those results over time. His record is identical to Hoke's but somehow people were calling for Hoke's head (myself included) while dismissing Harbaugh's failures as just a "rebuilding year" or "young team". Yeah, yeah.... funny how other coaches can turn those short comings around and begin to show positive results by 2nd season, 3rd if it's real bad.
I don't know what the answer is. Ultimately these are just college kids in their early 20s doing their best. I wouldn't want Michigan to resort to lowering itself to recruit meatheads that can throw a ball but can't spell their own name like you see from Alabama and other lesser schools of that ilk, so I dont' know how to solve the problem. And clearly our coaching situation has been horrible ever since Carr decided it was best practice to leave a program only after you've sucked it dry of every last drop of talent and left the next coach with nothing than to leave a program on top so it can move forward successfully in the transition to a new staff. Sadly I feel like this is going to be our reality for several more years at least.
It DOES make it a little less interesting though. It's OUR job to smack down our rival's undefeated season, not State's. I used to give no thought to State at all; even while they've been winning I've just shrugged; they'll always just be State. But now... just like all little brothers, it seems they are trying to BE us, take everything that's ours... I am truly feeling the "rivalry" for the first time. Right this minute I think I loath them even more than Ohio State, because at least OSU is OSU, Michigan State thinks they are Michigan. We need to change that real quick.
Agreed, and that includes that OSU game a few years back when we almost had it.
For me, it's because for the first time ever, I finally have to conceded that MSU has made it to real "rivalry" status. This long string of losses to them previously, I could always chalk up to 'well, of course they are going to win when Michigan is doing so terribly over all anyway' and have repeatedly told my Sparty friends, "MSU is only a 'rival' to MSU. It's not that Michigan doesn't consider them a rival; it's that Michigan doesn't consider them. Michigan has one equal (on the field), one true rival, and that's Ohio State. MSU will always be just another game we have to get through to get to the real game."
But now... last night Sparty changed that. Michigan ISN'T in a bad place anymore. Michigan might not be up to full 'top notch' status, but it isn't down in the dregs either, and for Sparty to come out and play like that, and for Michigan fans everywhere wanting to win SO badly against them (including myself), they have clearly raised themselves from 'only a rival to MSU' to true rival status. Now the only smack talk I have left for my Spraty friends is "oh how the mighty have fallen when even MSU is your rival." :(
No they hadn't. If they had "done enough" it would have been enough. They actively tried to run down the clock instead of score and it was THAT that cost them the game, not one guy. I personally blame their leader for that decision - Coach HOKE... oh, I mean Harbaugh. Playing it safe is never a good tactic against a team like MSU. We did well, they did better. We wanted to win in spirit, but they wanted to win in actions.
I did not see a team playing scared the entire game, but what I did see, what I was shouting at the TV about in that last 1:40, was Harbaugh's choice to just try to run down the clock. I KNEW MSU wasn't going to give up. Now obviously that last play was freakish, but still, I never once felt it was out of the realm of possiblity - even in that ten seconds!! - for MSU to try their damnest to score one more. I kept saying "you HAVE to score here!! You HAVE to! Shut them down!" Instead, Harbaugh had them dick around with a ball for two minutes and figured that'd be good enough. I saw Hoke out there, not Harbaugh: the coach that never goes for it; the coach that plays it so safe that his team comes up short for it. Michigan didn't run plays to actively try to score there; they ran plays to just get by until they could -safely- be in a place where (they thought) MSU couldn't possibly score again, and even having that mentality against a team like MSU was the deathnell for Michigan. I hope Harbaugh learns from this and corrects, unlike what we saw of Hoke.
Is this game really not going to be on a local channel in MICHIGAN??
I have to pay cable to see two schools that take my tax money and suck up my police and emergency resources (at least this year - here in A2)? I'm pretty disgusted with this turn of events.
I thought this would be on 'ESPN on ABC' but apparently it's only on ESPN's actual channel.
Super happy to hear about this change. I don't care who's the best in the athletic branding ranks, but Adidas hoodies suck; the necks are way too small, and the hoods too bulky. Nike makes the perfect hoody (hoody hole to hood thickness ratio = non-strangling perfection lol) and my two old Nike Michigan hoodies are about to completely disinegrate at this point so it's nice to know I'll finally be able to replace them.
I feel the same about MIssion though. Camacho brand = #1 (family lives in Adrian, Michigan and their factory is in Toledo, Ohio) or Don Marcos = #2 are the only acceptable "pre fab" tortillas in my grocery store brands world.
It's not really about who isn't there anymore. I can tell you from experience that there is something about this (and maybe all) University environemnt that lends itself to a feeling of superiority the second someone gets in a position of even the most limited power, and they seem to immediatley attempt to weild that power. I don't know if that's to prove how "important" they are or ?? but it happens constantly and from what I hear our department is the norm rather than the exception in that respect so I'd expect the Athletic dept. to be no different. In my own dept. someone - who is a UofM alum - was very shadily (yes, I made that up) fired, and then, seemingly just to give a final FU, chose to do this thing depts can do to former employees banning them from coming back to the U to work - anywhere else, not jsut in that department. IMO this was because the bosses in my particular dept. are from Eastern and MSU and they felt that UofM degree just pissed them off, but that's just my opinion on the matter - that I of course keep to myself at work. ;)
Point is - cronyism seems to just be business as usual at UofM.
Yes, that. No one has faulted Brady Home with not trying. Now, if (as it seems) he's taken some of the criticism, buckled down, and figured out what to do to be a better coach to these players then great. We have no idea if we're really gonna get a new coach or not so better to have Hoke doing well in case he's still here next year than to have him just proving his lack of coaching skill endlessly at the expense of the program.
Yes, that. No one has faulted Brady Home with not trying. Now, if (as it seems) he's taken some of the criticism, buckled down, and figured out what to do to be a better coach to these players then great. We have no idea if we're really gonna get a new coach or not so better to have Hoke doing well in case he's still here next year than to have him just proving his lack of coaching skill endlessly at the expense of the program.
Right, but literally just being pushed around like a ragdoll without so much as even a glare or verbal retort shows a serious lack of pride and spirit. The team is just plain broken in every way.
The conjecture about Hoke's character and what Dantonio thinks of him aside, what suprised me in the OP is the idea that this team "continues to play hard".
Don't get me wrong, I think they are playing as well as they can under their current coaching regime, but that doesn't happen to be "playing hard", IMO, or maybe I just watched the game from a different angle than the OP did. What I saw was our players very literally getting pushed around on the field. On almost every play some burly MSU meat and potatoes farm boy would shove our boys off the huddle, away from them, or just for the hell of it as they walked past each other. And our boys just stumbled away. Now, I'm not saying I want to see a brawl on the field; no one enjoys the idea of getting punched; but I would have liked to see even the smallest amount of 'fire' there. The smallest incling of pride instead of just a stumble and lowered head would have went a long way in turning me to the OP's opinion of a "hard playing" team, but that's not what I saw. I saw a team defeated. In every way. Broken spirits that MSU took full advantage of by whipping them even further while they were already down. To me, that is the most incredulous and damaging part of Brady's tenure here. He's taken the fight and the bite out of his/OUR team, and that is unacceptable.
Were they relevant to the kids on the field playing against them? Yeah, sure. But until recently Michigan never went into that game even really considering we'd lose to them. That's what made them an after-thought. They were nicknamed "little brother" for a reason - because they lacked any real significance. When all these Sparty alums I work with (ironically, AT UofM) talk trash about Michigan, they always have very specific things to talk about - like mentioning Hoke or a specific player, etc. yet when a Michigan fan razzes a Spartan (at least that I've both seen and done myself) it's very generalized, and that, IMO, is because while Sparty pays very close attention to what's going on at Michigan, the same can not be said in reverse (until recently). When a Sparty fan calls themselves a rival and I disagree, it usually goes something like "It's not that we don't consider you a rival, it's that we don't consider you," and I think that pretty much sums up what MSU has been to Michigan for many, many, years. Not significant; not important; just a game to 'get through' with a fun party mid-season before we meet our real rival. Kinda like 'okay, if you wanna say you're our rvial we'll play along. We'll have some parties and get a little amped up, and then we'll pat you on the head when you lose and go back to our regularly scheduled goal of beating OSU'. I hope we go back to that real soon.
Whether this was the case or not, it couldn't have looked more like a little girl scared of getting knocked down if he'd have actually screamed and ran away. Craziness.
Whether this was the case or not, it couldn't have looked more like a little girl scared of getting knocked down if he'd have actually screamed and ran away. Craziness.
If State is now "our biggest rival", Michigan has fallen much farther than I thought. I remember when State wasn't even an after-thought. It was just another game to get through to get to our real rival - OSU. Yeah, it was fun for an in-state party, but otherwise it meant pretty much nothing. I work with many State fans and I remember when they first started winning; they'd say this or that, something about RR, or now, about Hoke, and I could always retort with, "I don't even know your coach's name; that's how low you rate on UofM's radar." Now on MGoBlog they are being called "our biggest rival"?? What the hell happened? :(
The one and only positive thing I can say about them is that they may have contributed to the boost the players seemed to feel, that ultimately led to some fight in their step and a victory. New unis, new team, kinda deal.
Agreed. Especially since there has been a lot of the "would anyone be mad at all if they were winning?" talk, as well as the "they shouldn't take it out on the players" talk, when neither of those things are the reason behind the outrage with DB.
I seem to be the minority but I completely hated everything about them.
1. They looked like Oregon's Unis; which I don't mind at all for Oregon because that's a signature look for them (those neon green shoes that stand out in stark contrast to their all-black unis), but for Michigan we aren't copycats and we wear blue and MAIZE
2. the stripes were ridiculous
3. the shirts all looked slightly too small (which is an Adidas thing - even their hoodies have too-small hoody holes). I want Nike back!
4. The waistline of the pants had a weird, slight, bagginess to them, making them look like sweats instead of football pants
Yeah... I all-around hated them.
I feel like this every time the game is on the BTN. I don't think anyone who's taxes go to the public schools in their area should have to pay to watch the games on TV (I have limited cable but I don't think you should need anything other than an antenna - it's called a "public" school for a reason, because we pay for it out of every paycheck!)
This is the first time I noticed them. Are they just for night games? These are NOT Michigan uniforms! Going from the most distinct uniform to looking like every other team. Ugh!!!
I'm actually wondering about the reporters' seemingly lack of follow-ups. I don't know any of them; I've never followed pressers as closely as I do this season, I think because, like everyone else, I'm just looking for a few crumbs of info on the directional shift this program may take down the road; but there seems to be no 'hard hitting questions', and I'm curious as to why?
Is it because even the reporters have given up on getting anything out of Hoke so it's just a waste of their time? Is it because there is some kind of social contract there, where it is unacceptable to push/ask something like "you've been saying we need to 'do better', so exactly what actions do you plan to take to make those improvements?" Is it not okay to put a coach on the spot like that? I'm asking sincerely, because in real life I am a blunt (many times too blunt) person so I surely would fail miserably at the finesse a reporter has to sometimes use to get the answers they are looking for, but based on what I just read, it seems those questions aren't even being asked.
I noticed that too and was scrolling through these comments to see if anyone else read what I read or at least interpreted that as another lapse in communication at the sidelines, as I did.
At this point I don't know if a headset would be totally helpful just because Hoke seems to show (me) that there is more stubbornness in his personality than rationality. I don't know that he'd even pay attention to what anyone was communicating to him through his headset with regard to a player that looks wobbly or changing up a play, etc. but at least I think it would help with things like "hey coach, you only have ten guys on the field - again."
Yes, that. I believe first and foremost at southern schools is "can they play", while first and foremost at a school like Michigan is "can they get in/succeed here". According to 'Three and Out' (for whatever you think that's worth), Michigan will allow a certain amount of academic leniency, but not to the point of total failure at academics, and even that leniency has an actual number limit (I think it was 5 or 6 recruits max - according to the book).
If there were no injuries but W-L record was the same = Yes, I would want Hoke replaced as HC, and want Brandon gone.
If we were 5-0 and there were no injuries = I'd be cheering on Hoke, and I'd want Brandon gone.
A friend of mine (IMO) perfectly summed up the football experience from a fan's perspective: "Pro fans cheer for the name on the back of the jersey; college fans cheer for the name on the front of it."
And that's the bottom line.
If you're asking me if I am concerned with the way injuries have been handled in this current program; of course, it's been disturbing and wrong, and I would still want it addressed and corrected immediately. But if you're asking me if my concern regarding Brandon is about the current students and players that will be gone in a few years, no. My concern is for the health of the program, because it's the name on the front of the jersey that has my love and commitment.
Honestly it seems like, at this point he'd have been better off just to continue hiding out to ride out the storm. As much as I loath that man, people's attention spans, even when it comes to something they feel passionately about, tend to wane very quickly. If there are no further 'fire Dave' rallies and no further incidents in the up-coming game against Rutgers, Dave Brandon could have likely went right back to business as usual with fans having nothing but impotent rage to show for all their earlier vigor towards the goal of his termination. If anything, this only solidifies that who ever is making PR decisions for Brandon is either purposely trying to fuel the fire, or takes top prize as the 'worst ever at your job.'
While I can accept that Hoke didn't realize the severity of the medical problem with Shane on Saturday, I actually can't accept that Hoke was completely oblivious and I don't feel the issue lies with the medical staff.
We are all aware of Hoke's "you gotta be tough" mentality towards his players when they are injured. From his own mouth he has told us that when Gardner was limping Hoke's 'pep talk' to him was "everybody is hurt, everybody could limp, now get out ther eand play." Well, Gardner had a broken foot. I can't even imgine how painful that must have been.
And so, to me, the idea that your OC is on the sidelines telling a player to "lay down" - so obviously saw SOMEthing - and yet didn't say a single word to his boss, is an idea that just isn't plausible. He MUST have some SOMEthing to Hoke, even if it was just "Hey, Shane looks pretty rattled." So the reality in my eyes is that Hoke again took on the "these boys need to stop being such pansies and play through the pain" mentality and blew off Shane's condition. Did he KNOW how bad it was? No. ~shrug~ But it's that it didn't even cross his mind that it could be anything other than his players being "soft" and that therefore they needed to "stop whining" that is exaclty what the problem is, and why that whole situation happened on Saturday. Having deniablity (in KNOWING that Shane had a concussion) is not an 'out' for Hoke in my mind, it instead only serves to show how lacking in awareness he is of every aspect of football, well beyond just the 'playing with a ball' part.
He could win every game until December and I'd be happy he went OUT on a high note. But in reality, what I see is 8 straight losses leading into December. And at this point I'd RATHER see the situation amplified because I think HOke is done regardless, but I think Brandon is going no where unless the situation gets even worse, and it's him that really needs to go!
You know what... that's all a lie.
I tried to delete that comment right after I posted it because honestly it's just not true at all (but I can't figure out how to delete, hence the "reply" instead).
I discovered this song about three years ago and immediately bought it. A year later I heard it piped in to the Big House during the first night game against ND. I'm sure you've all heard it, but THIS is actually how I view the Michigan football team, past, present, and future. No matter our record, this is what I see, and feel, each time Michigan takes the field.
http://youtu.be/P6RK-dCniHw
Some good - and interesting - song choices listed.
I don't have ONE song, but instead, one that I think of when I think of Dave Brandon and the other regarding the Team.
Regarding Dave Brandon = TV on the Radio by DLZ
Congratulations on the mess you've made of things.
On tryin' to reconstruct the air and all that brings.
And oxidation is the compromise you own.
But this is beginning to feel like the dog wants a bone.
You force your fire and then you falsify your deeds.
You methods dot the disconnect from all your creeds.
Your fortune strives to fill the vacuum that it feeds.
But this is beginning to feel like the dog's lost his lead.
This is beginning to feel like the long-winded blues of the Never.
This is beginning to feel like it's curling up slowly and finding a throat to choke.
This is beginning to feel like the long-winded blues of the Never.
A barely controlled locomotive consuming the pictures and blowing the crows to smoke.
If you'd like to hear it -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N31oFeinFY
------------------------
But regarding the TEAM, this is the song buzzing in my head as they come out each game (I replace "Africa" with "Michigan" in my head lol) = Waka Waka by Shakira
You're a good soldier,
Choosing your battles.
Pick yourself up and dust yourself off,
Get back in the saddle.
You're on the front line,
Everyone's watchin'.
You know it's serious.
We're getting closer.
This isn't over.
The pressure 's on,
You feel it.
But you've got it all.
Believe it.
When you fall, get up Oh oh
If you fall, get up, Eh eh
(something Latin)
This time for Africa 'Michigan'.
Listen to your guide.
This is our motto.
Your time to shine.
Don't wait in line.
Y vamos por toda.
People are raisin'
Their expectations.
Go on and feed 'em.
This is your moment.
No hesitation.
Today's your day.
I feel it.
You've paved the way.
Believe it.
When you fall, get up...
And that one you can listen to here if you'd like -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRpeEdMmmQ0
1. I have absolutely no problem with umich students/alums being elitists. You went to Michigan; you have earned the right to brag!! I am NOT one of those people who believes all schools are created equal (and I've come to the conclusion, now that I'm out in the "professional" world, that the people who DO think that... went to a shitty school). ;)
But 2. When it comes to the football program it really is all about the fans. You could have a fantastic football team but if it doesn't have a following it becomes one of those 'if no one sees it, it didn't happen' situations. And Michigan fans are passionate so I, as someone who also grew up in that culture, can't begrudge them that passion.
And 3. Frankly, anyone who'd be willing to DRIVE to downtown Ann Arbor deserves some kind of recognition for their dedication to this Program. The only thing worse in A2 than the current state of Michigan's football program is the reigning-champ shit show that is Ann Arbor parking!
EDIT: but I will admit that what you're saying isn't lost on me. I was just raised in a 'border town' where Michigan-love peaks out at full blown 'crazy', so I guess I can understand those people, even if I wouldn't drive down/do that myself.
Recent Comments
I wasn't there so can't help in that way but a tip - it might be helpful for you to at least mention a few lyrics you heard to help narrow down the song.
In an ideal world I want to see exactly what it brings to mind when thinking of a team like Michigan playing a team like Western - a complete blow out that you don't even have to watch because the results are so expected that it'll be boring.
What I want to see from the current bizzaro world we live in are very small victories: our QB doesn't get sacked (and I'll accept close calls), an O-Line that looks hungry and can move the ball (but I'll accept just not losing yardage more often than gaining it), and a coach that doesn't look like he just took lithium before he was carted out onto the field. lol
Beyond that, yes, I get that it sounds like a smartass comment but I really mean it sincerely, I just hope we win, because frankly, these days, I'm never confident that that is a given.
I really don't understand all the anger on this post. I am a M fan AND I'm disappointed in JH, and that doesn't make me some kind of troll for saying so "out loud" does it?
I admit, I never saw JH as anything spectacular at all, and found it ridiculous that we had to work SO hard to get him, but I was willing to accept that many knew a whole lot more about his ability and career than I did so if they thought he was the best, I'd at least wait and see.
Now, see a coach that has no better a record than Hoke. I see constant excuses for his poor results. First it wasn't his team, then he was rebuilding, then he was still rebuilding, and now what's the excuse? He's in year four. What does he need? 8, 10, 12 years before we should expect improvement?? He doesn't do a great job of recruiting. He doesn't do a great job of play calling. He doens't do a great job of clock management. And even though I see random sparks of fight from each team over the last four years, overall I still see the same mostly tired and defeated energy that we have seen since before JH got here, so I'd say motivation is a questionable talent as well.
All we can do is accept our reality and discuss it. We can't even really improve it because those decisions don't involve us.
I don't watch a win…
Agreed.
I don't watch a win and immediately see some great team of the past. Sure, winning ugly is still a win and I'll still take it but that doesn't mean I delude myself that Michigan is magically on top again.
And the same is true for losing. Losing against good play by the other team while we too play well, okay. Losses happen. But losing ugly shows that the team isn't in great shape and losing ugly against another team who didn't play some great game either is a very ominous sign for the season.
We couldn't ever get him now anyway, I wouldn't think. It was a bad decision not to consider him, but you can't "date" brothers. Once we married Jim, John was off the table.
I honestly think some of that apathy is already here.
I work at UofM, and that last year under Hoke for "staff appreciation" they sold football tickets at a discounted rate to us. It was that game that Morris fainted on field. They never offered anything but gymnastic tickets to staff prior to that, at least in my 13 years there. We all knew it was because they couldn't fill the stadium.
This year they are again offering football tickets. They are $20 more than they were under Hoke but they are for a conference game and Harbaugh is far more hyped (and still loved) than Hoke at the time. I have no delusions about Umich's care about "staff appreciation". I am proud to work there, but I don't need rose colored glasses to accept reality. They again can't sell these tickets so they are passing them off as a perk to us to salvage their own image on TV.
Agreed. And while I don't know if it was the first offer or the forty-fifth, it seemed like, from the 'surface-view', they had to work real hard behind the scenes to actually get him here. I don't blame him. I wouldn't leave the climate of California for Ann Arbor's arctic hell either, but if someone is that resistant to come here then maybe they should have been left alone.
Back when we still had Hoke someone on this board floated the idea of John instead of Jim. I admit I only did a very small amount of inquiry, but what little I read, my gut said that was a good suggestion; that he would be a better fit than Jim, would be more passionate about the program and wanting them to do well instead of just expecting it to happen because of his mere presence. I dunno. I was never a fan of Jim Harbaugh almost entirely because it seemed to take so much effort to get him here and I have no interest in a coach that is solely, finally, lured by the cash because it's so much you just can't possibly turn it down. I want a coach that sure, we pay well, but their heart was in it from the second they were being considered.
Agreed - about JH. I actually said to a PSU friend "JH's strategy seems to always be to cry about bad refs cheating him out of something instead of the bad plays and bad coaching being to blame." She then sent a gif of him screaming about who knows what that time, from a "bad" ref call, and I replied "#harbawl"
I feel like that has been his goto for the last three seasons - that the refs are cheating him, and it isn't the fault of him, his team, or his coaching staff for the mediocrity that they wallow in year after year. According to that same PSU friend, big ten forums all over are asking why Michigan is even ranked at this point and calling this program the most over-hyped in the game. OSU is literally asking if they can get a different rival yet or if they have to defeat us yet again before people stop calling us their "rivals". To be a rival you actually have to win sometimes against said rival.
We really have become a joke and it's painful!! When you've got OSU saying things like "can we get a new rival?" and the game itself has become one worth missing, we've hit the bottom of the barrel. Even today's bowl game I only watched randomly to check the score because I knew eventaully we'd lose it. It seems the team only has motivation while they are on top and the millisecond the other team goes even one point ahead of them they lose all motivation and drive and just immediately accept defeat - even if there's still over half the game to go! I feel like that's on the environment the coaching staff creates but there are obviosuly additional issues beyond just defeatist attitudes in the program right now.
Literally been saying this since they hired him and he has proven it season after season. The huge praise for his coaching ability seems to come exclusively from some nice immediate results but then nothing to show he can sustain those results over time. His record is identical to Hoke's but somehow people were calling for Hoke's head (myself included) while dismissing Harbaugh's failures as just a "rebuilding year" or "young team". Yeah, yeah.... funny how other coaches can turn those short comings around and begin to show positive results by 2nd season, 3rd if it's real bad.
I don't know what the answer is. Ultimately these are just college kids in their early 20s doing their best. I wouldn't want Michigan to resort to lowering itself to recruit meatheads that can throw a ball but can't spell their own name like you see from Alabama and other lesser schools of that ilk, so I dont' know how to solve the problem. And clearly our coaching situation has been horrible ever since Carr decided it was best practice to leave a program only after you've sucked it dry of every last drop of talent and left the next coach with nothing than to leave a program on top so it can move forward successfully in the transition to a new staff. Sadly I feel like this is going to be our reality for several more years at least.
It DOES make it a little less interesting though. It's OUR job to smack down our rival's undefeated season, not State's. I used to give no thought to State at all; even while they've been winning I've just shrugged; they'll always just be State. But now... just like all little brothers, it seems they are trying to BE us, take everything that's ours... I am truly feeling the "rivalry" for the first time. Right this minute I think I loath them even more than Ohio State, because at least OSU is OSU, Michigan State thinks they are Michigan. We need to change that real quick.
Agreed, and that includes that OSU game a few years back when we almost had it.
For me, it's because for the first time ever, I finally have to conceded that MSU has made it to real "rivalry" status. This long string of losses to them previously, I could always chalk up to 'well, of course they are going to win when Michigan is doing so terribly over all anyway' and have repeatedly told my Sparty friends, "MSU is only a 'rival' to MSU. It's not that Michigan doesn't consider them a rival; it's that Michigan doesn't consider them. Michigan has one equal (on the field), one true rival, and that's Ohio State. MSU will always be just another game we have to get through to get to the real game."
But now... last night Sparty changed that. Michigan ISN'T in a bad place anymore. Michigan might not be up to full 'top notch' status, but it isn't down in the dregs either, and for Sparty to come out and play like that, and for Michigan fans everywhere wanting to win SO badly against them (including myself), they have clearly raised themselves from 'only a rival to MSU' to true rival status. Now the only smack talk I have left for my Spraty friends is "oh how the mighty have fallen when even MSU is your rival." :(
No they hadn't. If they had "done enough" it would have been enough. They actively tried to run down the clock instead of score and it was THAT that cost them the game, not one guy. I personally blame their leader for that decision - Coach HOKE... oh, I mean Harbaugh. Playing it safe is never a good tactic against a team like MSU. We did well, they did better. We wanted to win in spirit, but they wanted to win in actions.
I agree ALMOST-completely with MGoTyronne.
I did not see a team playing scared the entire game, but what I did see, what I was shouting at the TV about in that last 1:40, was Harbaugh's choice to just try to run down the clock. I KNEW MSU wasn't going to give up. Now obviously that last play was freakish, but still, I never once felt it was out of the realm of possiblity - even in that ten seconds!! - for MSU to try their damnest to score one more. I kept saying "you HAVE to score here!! You HAVE to! Shut them down!" Instead, Harbaugh had them dick around with a ball for two minutes and figured that'd be good enough. I saw Hoke out there, not Harbaugh: the coach that never goes for it; the coach that plays it so safe that his team comes up short for it. Michigan didn't run plays to actively try to score there; they ran plays to just get by until they could -safely- be in a place where (they thought) MSU couldn't possibly score again, and even having that mentality against a team like MSU was the deathnell for Michigan. I hope Harbaugh learns from this and corrects, unlike what we saw of Hoke.
Remedied that situation. Watching the game now. Life is good. :)
Is this game really not going to be on a local channel in MICHIGAN??
I have to pay cable to see two schools that take my tax money and suck up my police and emergency resources (at least this year - here in A2)? I'm pretty disgusted with this turn of events.
I thought this would be on 'ESPN on ABC' but apparently it's only on ESPN's actual channel.
Super happy to hear about this change. I don't care who's the best in the athletic branding ranks, but Adidas hoodies suck; the necks are way too small, and the hoods too bulky. Nike makes the perfect hoody (hoody hole to hood thickness ratio = non-strangling perfection lol) and my two old Nike Michigan hoodies are about to completely disinegrate at this point so it's nice to know I'll finally be able to replace them.
I feel the same about MIssion though. Camacho brand = #1 (family lives in Adrian, Michigan and their factory is in Toledo, Ohio) or Don Marcos = #2 are the only acceptable "pre fab" tortillas in my grocery store brands world.
It's not really about who isn't there anymore. I can tell you from experience that there is something about this (and maybe all) University environemnt that lends itself to a feeling of superiority the second someone gets in a position of even the most limited power, and they seem to immediatley attempt to weild that power. I don't know if that's to prove how "important" they are or ?? but it happens constantly and from what I hear our department is the norm rather than the exception in that respect so I'd expect the Athletic dept. to be no different. In my own dept. someone - who is a UofM alum - was very shadily (yes, I made that up) fired, and then, seemingly just to give a final FU, chose to do this thing depts can do to former employees banning them from coming back to the U to work - anywhere else, not jsut in that department. IMO this was because the bosses in my particular dept. are from Eastern and MSU and they felt that UofM degree just pissed them off, but that's just my opinion on the matter - that I of course keep to myself at work. ;)
Point is - cronyism seems to just be business as usual at UofM.
Okay. Good job boys.
Fuck
Yes, that. No one has faulted Brady Home with not trying. Now, if (as it seems) he's taken some of the criticism, buckled down, and figured out what to do to be a better coach to these players then great. We have no idea if we're really gonna get a new coach or not so better to have Hoke doing well in case he's still here next year than to have him just proving his lack of coaching skill endlessly at the expense of the program.
Yes, that. No one has faulted Brady Home with not trying. Now, if (as it seems) he's taken some of the criticism, buckled down, and figured out what to do to be a better coach to these players then great. We have no idea if we're really gonna get a new coach or not so better to have Hoke doing well in case he's still here next year than to have him just proving his lack of coaching skill endlessly at the expense of the program.
No, he IS a Wide Receiver.
Right, but literally just being pushed around like a ragdoll without so much as even a glare or verbal retort shows a serious lack of pride and spirit. The team is just plain broken in every way.
The conjecture about Hoke's character and what Dantonio thinks of him aside, what suprised me in the OP is the idea that this team "continues to play hard".
Don't get me wrong, I think they are playing as well as they can under their current coaching regime, but that doesn't happen to be "playing hard", IMO, or maybe I just watched the game from a different angle than the OP did. What I saw was our players very literally getting pushed around on the field. On almost every play some burly MSU meat and potatoes farm boy would shove our boys off the huddle, away from them, or just for the hell of it as they walked past each other. And our boys just stumbled away. Now, I'm not saying I want to see a brawl on the field; no one enjoys the idea of getting punched; but I would have liked to see even the smallest amount of 'fire' there. The smallest incling of pride instead of just a stumble and lowered head would have went a long way in turning me to the OP's opinion of a "hard playing" team, but that's not what I saw. I saw a team defeated. In every way. Broken spirits that MSU took full advantage of by whipping them even further while they were already down. To me, that is the most incredulous and damaging part of Brady's tenure here. He's taken the fight and the bite out of his/OUR team, and that is unacceptable.
Connection issues - double post
double post
Were they relevant to the kids on the field playing against them? Yeah, sure. But until recently Michigan never went into that game even really considering we'd lose to them. That's what made them an after-thought. They were nicknamed "little brother" for a reason - because they lacked any real significance. When all these Sparty alums I work with (ironically, AT UofM) talk trash about Michigan, they always have very specific things to talk about - like mentioning Hoke or a specific player, etc. yet when a Michigan fan razzes a Spartan (at least that I've both seen and done myself) it's very generalized, and that, IMO, is because while Sparty pays very close attention to what's going on at Michigan, the same can not be said in reverse (until recently). When a Sparty fan calls themselves a rival and I disagree, it usually goes something like "It's not that we don't consider you a rival, it's that we don't consider you," and I think that pretty much sums up what MSU has been to Michigan for many, many, years. Not significant; not important; just a game to 'get through' with a fun party mid-season before we meet our real rival. Kinda like 'okay, if you wanna say you're our rvial we'll play along. We'll have some parties and get a little amped up, and then we'll pat you on the head when you lose and go back to our regularly scheduled goal of beating OSU'. I hope we go back to that real soon.
I have to disagree with the comments and agree with the Commentators. IRS not MSUs job to stop MSU; It's Michigan's job to do so.
Thinking the same thing. When did a TD to LOSE become something to elicit so much joy?
~sigh ~Go Blue.
The only thing to enjoy at this point is knowing those asshats in Lansing will celebrate by burning their own damn city down.
Whether this was the case or not, it couldn't have looked more like a little girl scared of getting knocked down if he'd have actually screamed and ran away. Craziness.
Whether this was the case or not, it couldn't have looked more like a little girl scared of getting knocked down if he'd have actually screamed and ran away. Craziness.
If State is now "our biggest rival", Michigan has fallen much farther than I thought. I remember when State wasn't even an after-thought. It was just another game to get through to get to our real rival - OSU. Yeah, it was fun for an in-state party, but otherwise it meant pretty much nothing. I work with many State fans and I remember when they first started winning; they'd say this or that, something about RR, or now, about Hoke, and I could always retort with, "I don't even know your coach's name; that's how low you rate on UofM's radar." Now on MGoBlog they are being called "our biggest rival"?? What the hell happened? :(
The one and only positive thing I can say about them is that they may have contributed to the boost the players seemed to feel, that ultimately led to some fight in their step and a victory. New unis, new team, kinda deal.
Agreed. Especially since there has been a lot of the "would anyone be mad at all if they were winning?" talk, as well as the "they shouldn't take it out on the players" talk, when neither of those things are the reason behind the outrage with DB.
I feel like this every time the game is on the BTN. I don't think anyone who's taxes go to the public schools in their area should have to pay to watch the games on TV (I have limited cable but I don't think you should need anything other than an antenna - it's called a "public" school for a reason, because we pay for it out of every paycheck!)
This is the first time I noticed them. Are they just for night games? These are NOT Michigan uniforms! Going from the most distinct uniform to looking like every other team. Ugh!!!
While I can accept that Hoke didn't realize the severity of the medical problem with Shane on Saturday, I actually can't accept that Hoke was completely oblivious and I don't feel the issue lies with the medical staff.
We are all aware of Hoke's "you gotta be tough" mentality towards his players when they are injured. From his own mouth he has told us that when Gardner was limping Hoke's 'pep talk' to him was "everybody is hurt, everybody could limp, now get out ther eand play." Well, Gardner had a broken foot. I can't even imgine how painful that must have been.
And so, to me, the idea that your OC is on the sidelines telling a player to "lay down" - so obviously saw SOMEthing - and yet didn't say a single word to his boss, is an idea that just isn't plausible. He MUST have some SOMEthing to Hoke, even if it was just "Hey, Shane looks pretty rattled." So the reality in my eyes is that Hoke again took on the "these boys need to stop being such pansies and play through the pain" mentality and blew off Shane's condition. Did he KNOW how bad it was? No. ~shrug~ But it's that it didn't even cross his mind that it could be anything other than his players being "soft" and that therefore they needed to "stop whining" that is exaclty what the problem is, and why that whole situation happened on Saturday. Having deniablity (in KNOWING that Shane had a concussion) is not an 'out' for Hoke in my mind, it instead only serves to show how lacking in awareness he is of every aspect of football, well beyond just the 'playing with a ball' part.
He could win every game until December and I'd be happy he went OUT on a high note. But in reality, what I see is 8 straight losses leading into December. And at this point I'd RATHER see the situation amplified because I think HOke is done regardless, but I think Brandon is going no where unless the situation gets even worse, and it's him that really needs to go!
Africa'Michigan'. Listen to your guide. This is our motto. Your time to shine. Don't wait in line. Y vamos por toda. People are raisin' Their expectations. Go on and feed 'em. This is your moment. No hesitation. Today's your day. I feel it. You've paved the way. Believe it. When you fall, get up... And that one you can listen to here if you'd like -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRpeEdMmmQ0