football

Ripped from retirement to speak upon a sin. Worry not, my friends - my source to confidential chats will resume. I, Ace Williams JaJaJa23, will bring the truth soon. For now, I must speak out on a very important topic: Spartan Trolls.

Everywhere you turn, now, the argument is being made by Spartan fans: Dantonio is in Michigan's heads. This is the explanation for everything. MSU kid cuts off a Michigan fan driving, UM fan gives him the finger - Dantonio. MSU fan gets cut off from drinking and burns a couch and gets arrested - cop must be a Michigan fan and is taking Dantonio frustrations out on him. Presumably this Diary will be used to prove Dantonio is, in fact, in my head. The same way if you're called a racist and try to deny it, you're just in denial or scared of the truth. 

1) MSU fans: you have a polarizing coach who settles for grumbles and pontificated language. He carries a holier than thou approach where he will say one thing and then get pissy when it blows up in his face (moment of silence). No other coach that UM fans have been regularly exposed to has acted as if they were above the media roar and then dropped sensationalist quotes to see what happens. Dantonio is the equivalent of a pissed spouse who insists he/she's not going to argue, lets you yell, acts above the fray and then tells you she's always thought your mom was a bitch before getting in the car to go away for a weekend. Your coach comes off as a smug asshole, before he even beat Michigan. His victories cannot further something people already thought before Game One: he's a douche. He's a hell of a coach and has helped MSU perform at a level no coach they have had for 2-3 decades have at least. Yet he can't just be a coach. He has to be the band leader. If I were an MSU fan, I'd wonder at what point does Dantonio act like he's been there.

2) Dantonio has led MSU to 4 impressive matchups against UM, winning 3. Arrogance or not, a wide variety of the fanbase believes two, possibly all three, wins were marred by UM fielding a poor team. MSU fans cite this as delusional. Yet you cannot claim that the UM fanbase is delusional in their beliefs that Dantonio really didn't beat UM (Michigan beat themselves) yet also claim that Dantonio is in their heads - said delusion would PREVENT taking Dantonio seriously. The fact is the wins count and Dantonio has won, again, 3 of 4. Yet when did Michigan fans claim Lloyd was in MSU fans' heads when they called him Llllloyd, celebrating a record that's not even theirs. Was Lloyd in MSU fans' heads when App State won and E Lansing went crazy, despite later losing to this 'sad team'? Simply because your team has performed at a level and you have a dislike for the coach of said team does not mean he has overwhelmed your senses. Maybe he's just a jackoff. Saban must be in all of our heads.

3) Michigan fans comprehend games outside of their own program. This blog has showcased 'lucky' seasons from other schools and their performance. Yet labeling last year's season for MSU as one of luck, despite two trick-play wins, is not a consistent message following how other school's efforts have been labeled. Instead, it's Michigan fans taking out their jealousy that they wish they had Dantonio. Sorry but a lot of detractors of Hoke, and even some supporters, would say they possibly see the same ceiling for both coaches. Grinding out solid seasons is great but that makes you a grinder, not the blue chip other teams wish they had. Would we love the seasons? Probably/yes (especially the .333 Big Ten Title - lovin' our .5 MNC!). But would he be the coach Michigan fans would look at hoping to replace RR if he was the coach at Clemson instead of MSU? Probably not/no.

4) Whether obvious or not, there are a lot of similarities between RR and Dantonio in how they approach the media and expectations. Dantonio has deferred all responsibility for anything he has said or is said about him as an unknowing, clueless base. Only he understands. Only he can judge what should and shouldn't be done. Rodriguez refused criticism on his defense and programs, citing people did not know what they were doing. Rather than openly admitting flaws and showing a willingness to divert path to make things easier, opening the process so to speak, RR stuck to his guns and got fired for the performance of one coach. Similarly, Dantonio has been destroyed repeatedly for his chances offered while refusing to acknowledge the standards are only in place because he chose to pontificate at how things were done differently at MSU with chances. It doesn't matter if Hoke boots Stonum - he never said to expect a higher standard.

5) Our fanbase is amused by the words of college athletes who mouth off about rivalries or games. They are not amused by the words of professionals or adults who mouth off about rivalries or games. It was hilarious for Mike Hart to call MSU "Little Brother" because a cocky, rude 21 year old said it. It would not be hilarious, nor acceptable, for a coach to do so. Calls for a sense of maturity or decorum would emerge, not a campaign of chanting and mantras tattooed on Bro Biceps. Your coach runs his mouth while smirking that the talking will be done on the field. The fact remains Dantonio has talked more shit about Michigan in each individual year of his tenure than likely any coach for Michigan has in a decade. He represents your Spartan hypocrisy: it's hilarious and amazing for your running back to trot into the endzone with a finger to his lips on a score but it's unacceptable for Morris to tell your guard to gtfo his court. You can plant flags but will fight if anyone tries to do it to you. Dantonio's comments do not rattle in our brains like a cancer - they represent the juvenile hyprocrisy of too much of your fanbase that receives an eyeroll and a call for reason. 

UM fans made fun of every MSU coach they've had when they did something stupid. If Bobby Williams made the comment about Tressel, it'd have received the same reaction. Your coach slapped himself and it was ridiculed for months - it was mocked not because he had been losing games. Or that he was MSU's coach. It was mocked because he was an arrogant idiot (I perceive a trend). Dantonio's comments came out as sloppy and unnecessary, no matter its literary history and value. The number of Spartan fans who can suddenly quote Aristotle or support Dantonio's critical literary knowledge is astounding. Undoubtedly Dantonio could vouch for the value of SkyNet and their impending control as proof positive of moralistic consistency and 90% of the MSU fanbase would declare it a sound theory backed by years of Christian and Democratic dogma. Anything positive that implies, in some way, Tressel is in a way blameless is a joke. We theorize that perhaps your coach cares more about OSU than your own school. Naturally, Brandstatter, who questioned the comment in a gut (lulz hes fan guys /rcmb) reaction on Twitter is the new Satan. 

Well. I guess that's fair. Brandy's gotten to call a lot of UM/MSU Wolverine victories.

He must be in your head.