schadenfreude sucks
This NCAA tournament run has brought my level of distaste over schadenfreude to new heights. Do we really need to mock VCU, Kansas, Florida, and Syracuse fans at their moment of despondency? I thought the Kansas fans in particular came off as good people and good sports, while M fans came off a RCMB wannabees, and very poor winners. I hope this board trends away from laughing at the misery of every opponent we beat. Schadenfreude is pretty trendy but I dislike it immensely coming from Michigan fans in general, and this board in particular. I'm somewhat ok with it directed at MSU, or Ohio State, or Notre Dame, though I could easily do without it. but see no reason to start a thread, laughing at the misfortune of every team we defeat. Overall, from what I've seen, I would rate Kansas basketball fans, and Nebraska football fans as much classier in defeat or victory than what Michigan has to offer.
I don't remember many people mocking VCU, Kansas, Florida, or Syracuse fans. What are you talking about Willis?
There was some. Not a lot but I do agree with Gordie that people taking shots at Kansas fans reactions were a bit silly and they made me uncomforable as well.
Well when you talk poop all week about how your team is going to dominate inside and win by 15+ points, you deserve to have a little of said poop thrown back at your ugly Kansan face.
But that was like one guy. I criticized the post about a guy who started to break down on the radio becaus of the game. There was a post linking to Kansas' fans comments, but most of the comments on this board were along the lines of "Oh. They're not really going nuts about things. They seem like good, rational fans."
Also, ripping on Syracuse or Kansas after the game for talking about their decided advantages isn't Schadenfreude. That's just them getting what they deserve.
"I dislike it immensely coming from Michigan fans in general, and this board in particular." From this board in particular? Isn't Brian the Schadenfreude guy at sbnation or something? You might be taking it a bit too seriously. Brian has run a Schadenfreude column on there about Michigan fans even.
In all fairness, if the guy who broke the TV with a hat had been a Wichita State fan I wouldn't have been surprised if it made the front page. Why? Because HE BROKE HIS TV WITH A HAT!
Come on, man. The guy turned his Syracuse hat into a martial arts star, and we weren't supposed to say anything about it? I agree with pfholland.
I wanted to just stay sad about Monday this entire week and then you go and create a thread that I agree with and can smile about due to your frankness and overall disgust with parts of the fanbase. Damn you for making me smile and nod in any affirmative manner this week
I think the fanbase can sometimes be a bit hypocritical, after all there were fires in Ann Arbor monday night....(which did make me sad)
I don't know, I thought the post that had the Syracuse guy breaking his LED TV with his baseball cap was pretty funny.
Overall, I think our fanbase and our community here in particular is way more gracious in victory and magnanimous in defeat than almost any other fanbase I've ever encountered.
Good post. I felt no malice toward any of the fanbases we played over the past few weeks. But my living room is relatively isolated from opposing fans.
Nope. Relishing the tears of the vanquished is just part of sports. It's no big deal, it's not like you're celebrating a person losing their job or falling ill. It's just sports. This is what we do - everyone wins & loses. You feel good, you feel bad. You get to dole out some pride in victory, you gotta take your medicine in defeat. You can't be too sensitive about everybody's feelings, because it's honestly not that important. It's just sports. It's better to not be a bunch of assholes, but it doesn't mean you have to carefully navigate the minefield of human emotion to avoid offending the enemy.
People reacting emotionally to sporting events, which in the grand scheme of things are quite trivial, is ironic and thus often amusing. We are not laughing at serious human suffering, after all.
If you can't laugh a bit at sports-induced sadness (including your own), then you might be taking it all too seriously.
I can vividly imagine you as a red-faced eight year old, steam figuratively expelling from each ear like the exhaust of a freight train, reddened eye sockets, loudly proclaiming your intention to take your ball and go home...
I don't think this fan base mocks any other teams in defeat except ND, MSU, and to a certain extent OSU (there's a certian amount of respect there that prevents us from using full scorn). Those are really the only teams who's schadenfreude I enjoy. I don't get any enjoyment out of other team's disappointment. I don't remember any of this happening to our other tourney opponents except for a few funny posts by SU fans. And even then, I don't think it was full schadenfreude.
I for one, am capable of full scorn for OSU.
Hey, just because we happen to be on the short end of the schadenfreude stick this time, doesn't mean it's not worth having.
To know happiness, you must occasionally experience sorrow. It's the double-edged sword that makes sports so great.
Also, I think there are different levels of schadenfreude, and hopefully we as a fan base, do it without being too disrespectful to other teams.
I can't stand Kansas fans. I find them completely infuriating in all instances. But the only schadenfreude thread that I felt was going too far was the one with the guy who was crying on the radio after the loss. That just felt pathetic and not something I could laugh at.
April 10th, 2013 at 11:45 PM ^
"Any SEC team is fair game"
Particularly Florida ... particularly Florida football.
One of my good buddies is a Florida fan. Insufferable bastard. :-)
Enough with trying to out-class everyone. Clainess is overrated. Stop trying to come up with arbitrary rules for what makes you a "true fan."
As someone who had Michigan winning my entire bracket, I see what you're saying but disagree with the header. I got to rub it in my fellow Michigan fans in my bracket group after VCU and Kansas and Florida and Syracuse and definitely think it has its place
Read plenty of "fuck louisville" and the pictures mocking michael carter-williams after the cuse loss ('thats why you watch film lolz!!") also stood out.
Ace made a GIF after the Florida game of the Gator mascot looking up toward the rafters in disappointment. I thought it was a funny moment and not in poor taste to tweak the Florida fans a little bit.
However, after the Syracuse game he made a GIF of the Brandon Triche charge that he called, "RIP Otto the Orange". That was obviously a huge play and it's nice to have it in GIF form but it was just a 50/50 call that went our way and didn't have anything to do with Otto. I just thought the title was unnecessary and a little inflammatory.
It took me a couple viewings myself to see what Ace was referring to so I get why you did not understand. He was referring to the Syracuse mascot, who flopped over after the play.
Ohh ok I didn't notice that until now. That is pretty funny.
My wife has been going to Syracuse games for 30 years. That's a pretty typical Otto move according to her.
I apologize for being obvious if you were being sarcastic, but if not...that GIF had everything to do with Otto falling over backward in the background of the shot.
don't know what you are referring to. Like the Billy Donovan gif and the Kansas "fuck no" to the Trey Burke shot. None of that stuff is mean spirited and it is never meant to be. I think that most on this blog have more fun at our own expense than target opposing fans. This board is nothing like RCMB. Nothing at all.
And really, Otto the Orange gif "distasteful?" It is a GIGANTIC ORANGE with facial features and legs that fell backwards into cheerleaders!! It was hilarious and Syracuse fans probably can get a chuckle out of it. Come on.
We are a fanbase who's favorite gif is of our own punter dropping the ball during the game with our biggest rival. We definitely can laugh at our own expense.
that gif with McGary trying ridiculously to chase the ball down against Northwestern. It is just funny stuff, not funny just because it happened to them. Most on this blog have a good perspective on things and can have fun with how idiodic sports can be. If you want to see venom and distaste, visit the RCMB, that place is a cesspool of distaste.
I don't know why everybody is down on this board right now, this is still as fun of a place as ever.
Maybe it's the fact that there is nothing to look forward to for 142 days :'(
No way. The Schade is wayyy too awesome. Give it and take it. Stay away from the internet for a few days after a loss if you can't.
Also, apparently some of you don't really get schadenfeude. Talking shit to the losing side is not the same thing as gaining enjoyment out of the misfortune of others.
Gordie, I agree that the schadenfreude is irritating, but trust me, the grass isn't greener. Internet fandom always contains plenty of people who write mean things behind the veil of anonymity. It would be nice if everyone acted like they would in polite company, but they just won't.
Here's a happy picture:
He looks happy to you?
If ninja penguins aren't happy, then I want to be sad.
April 10th, 2013 at 10:12 PM ^
is in the reactions of fans who take all of this sports stuff a little bit too close to the heart- i.e., the very basis of their self-esteem is directly in correlation with the fortunes of their team. There is nothing wrong with laughing at the more outlandish examples, as long as we keep perspective and remember to laugh at ourselves- or at the very least win or lose magnaimously. In our current situation, just a few weeks ago we would have been very satisfied with making the Sweet Sixteen, and everything else since then should be taken as a glorious ride that came this close to ending in relative ecstacy. Not to mention boding well for the future- one day soon our preseason expectations will be to make the Final Four, with a strong possiblity of winning the whole thing. We have wandered in the wilderness a long time...
"TWIS" probably isn't a good idea if you hate that kind of thing.
of the tournament run to be appropriate and acceptable, to me anyway. Sure there were posts that bordered on unacceptable but none were offensive and if they were the mods took them down. Seriously, this is what sports fandom is all about Gordie. I see the downvotes on this post are winning 22-3 right now and that seems about right.
I think if your feelings get extremely hurt about someone making fun of you for your team losing a sporting event you need to step back and take a breath. It's just sports. Making fun of the losing fans, especially rivals, is half the fun of winning? No one means any harm, because it's just sports, not life. It's not like you're laughing at someone for getting fired. Relax.