Brian is Like a Terrorist, According to David A. Brandon

Submitted by State Street on

From Brandon's Lasting Lessons:

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Bodogblog

August 21st, 2015 at 11:08 PM ^

There's plenty of that in this thread, but not in my post. What I'm saying to you above is not an argument, it's a comment that how you've interpreted what I've said is lazy. And it's ironic that you're upset because you feel I'm trying to discredit you to further my argument. Is your original post to me not a sarcastic attack. You field both a strawman and an ad hominem up there.

MGoOhNo

August 21st, 2015 at 11:56 PM ^

What's clear is that Brandon was about his brand first and everything else second. Do you think any coach or athlete would dare say anything negative? Christ, the trainers had to take a concussed player aside to warn him about interaction with Brandon and the 17 hour meeting was a direct result of people necessarily covering their own ass because of Brandon's mode of operation. Ends don't justify means and most of the facility upgrades were the brainchild of the prior AD. Brandon was a caretaker that forgot to take care. If it isn't broken, break it. And he certainly did. It's not group think it's solid deduction based on available fact. I'm sure you also believe we'll eventually find massive stores of WMD in Iraq. For as smart as we like to believe this board is, we really have some idiotic posts and it's embarrassing that UM grads (huge assumption) engage in this witless banter.

mtzlblk

August 21st, 2015 at 11:58 PM ^

I don't ever remember anyone accusing him off taking/making money for himself. That was never the issue. He treated fans and alums like morons and pimped what was a special and traditional experienced in sports for a fast buck, he cut a wide swath in the AD and forced out several longtime and dedicated employees there, he hired Brady Hoke, he lied, he manipulated and....to put it bluntly.....he sucked at his job.

klctlc

August 22nd, 2015 at 12:24 AM ^

But...... He was a terrible AD, By Most measures, most importantly the won loss record of the cash cow, football. He probably did work hard, he had good intentions he also probably donated to many fine charities. But he pissed off a lot of people and he did not win. This is Brian's blog, most come here for strong opinions that validate what we see. Nobody agrees with brian all of the time, but unlike all of us he puts his heart out there every friggin week. He does not respond to posts he puts his opinion out there. It is easy for me and you to question him and even attack. Maybe you have inside knowledge, maybe you don't. But at last admit that brian has backed up his posts with fact. Jub has also validated most of his comments. Yes brian appears to personaly dislike brandon, which may not be fair. But I also believe brian knows even more than he has posted. Plus we know who brian is, who are you why the brandon love fest?

Bodogblog

August 22nd, 2015 at 1:21 AM ^

I dislike the work Brandon did, he was incompetent and failed and deserved to be fired. I'm glad he's gone. The vitriol here and the assignment of ill intent seems entirely unbalanced, and I see it as unreasonable. I like to attack unreasonable. I love Brian and his writing, believe he's an immense talent. Just like you. But that doesn't mean I don't point out what I believe to be flaws. I don't read Terry Foster or Drew Sharp, don't listen to Valenti, I can't understand why anyone would. The nonsense they spew is irrelevant to me because I don't respect their work, don't care what they say, and therefore wouldn't try to point out any of their flaws or errors. This is not the case with Brian and many on this blog.

UMForLife

August 21st, 2015 at 11:09 PM ^

I am late to this discussion, but I got to say it. Brian did not create this thread. He did not create an article that revealed what Brandon called him. He left it at that. Now, you are questioning his rebuttal. What would you have done? I am sure you would have said, "That is just your opinion Brandon and walked off into the sunset." You are being so critical of Brian and calling our opinions a GroupThink. We all are not idiots. If JUB does not write a book about this, no one would have known. That is not Brian's fault. So, cut him some slack and stop being a contrarian, just so you can feel good about yourself. Your OP idea is just taking this too far. Just chill.

Bodogblog

August 21st, 2015 at 11:44 PM ^

No, I would have said "I would have loved to talk to Brandon, because it would have made a fantastic interview for the blog, and I could have challenged him on all the things I thought he was doing wrong. It would have been a long discussion." And the groupthink here is not the disapproval of Brandon, it's the lose-their-shit-for-eight-months nature of the discourse. The demonization, the crazy extension of incompetence and failure into evil intent. The revelry in the failure. It's very reminiscent of the reaction of many to RichRod's firing. I see it as beneath this blog.

dnak438

August 22nd, 2015 at 1:09 AM ^

not to get involved in serious discussions with people who are not serious. It's good advice, which I don't follow as often as I should.

And my father would have advised Brian not to engage in a serious discussion with Brandon. Why? Because Brandon, at least in Brian's view and in many of ours, was not a serious interlocutor at the best of times (I got one of his bizarro e-mails that was clearly not written by a serious person in command of his senses) and certainly wouldn't have been if he were just talking to Brian to gain something (which is the only reason he would talk to Brian in the first place).

Blue Durham

August 22nd, 2015 at 8:40 PM ^

From the time that Brian started this blog he has had a policy of keeping the athletic department at arm's length. He doesn't do interviews, doesn't (or at least didn't) have a press pass (although a few that work for the blog do), doesn't accept any favors or access from it. This is all to keep the blog independent from the athletic department so that his writing is as impartial (in regards to being free from the AD's influence) as possible. Brian has and did challenge many things that Brandon did on this public blog. Brandon could have responded in several ways, but chose not to and obviously considered Brian an enemy by labeling him a terrorist. Brian's response was equivocal, I really don't see the problem you have with both of them acknowledging reality.

Reader71

August 21st, 2015 at 8:27 PM ^

No offense to Brian or the blog, but is Bacon suggesting that the AD try to lobby a blog for friendly coverage? I dont want my athletic department to be beholden to any media outlet. Nor do I want this blog beholden to the department, leat the coverage go soft. Brandon might have been a jerk off who banned Bacon, but he was also a no nonsense Michigan man who took the Freep to task.

Reader71

August 21st, 2015 at 10:52 PM ^

Yeah, that's not a defense of Brandon. My last sentence was to illustrate the changing mentality of this blog regarding Brandon -- a correct change that might not have happened if the blog had gotten too friendly or become too personally close with the administration. Its a good thing for the writers on this blog not to become beat writers. And of course, its good that a blog doesn't run our athletic department.

Pit2047

August 22nd, 2015 at 3:14 AM ^

I always took the "Michigan Man" moniker to be less about having attended the University of Michigan and more about holding up the ideals that Michigan stands for which I always assumed was being not only being the best at your craft but a leader in your field and conducting yourself with honor, class and humility. I could be wrong though.

kurpit

August 22nd, 2015 at 12:01 AM ^

The difference is that in case of Harbaugh, he was the best possible hire regardless of his relation to Michigan. He wasn't the best Michigan man to hire. He was the best man to hire, period. The fact that he comes from a background in Michigan is just a bonus.

Ronnie Kaye

August 21st, 2015 at 11:45 PM ^

If the "Michigan Man" mentality was not prevelant, the Hoke hire never happens (and the one before it almost surely goes smoother). 

And Harbaugh is a Michigan alum. His alma mater has a lot of money to make coming back worth his while in addition to offering him the power he wants and deserves. The dimwitted overuse of that term has nothing to do with him being back here. Jim Hackett would agree with me.

Reader71

August 22nd, 2015 at 12:11 AM ^

I don't care to discuss the merits of your argument, although I disagree. No one is changing anyone else's mind. I would suggest you rethink your use of 'dimwitted'. Whatever your thoughts, the term means a certain thing to a large group of men who played for the team we all love.

Gulogulo37

August 22nd, 2015 at 9:35 AM ^

"If the "Michigan Man" mentality was not prevelant, the Hoke hire never happens"


What makes you think that? Other schools don't make dumb hires? According to Brandon's Lasting Lessons, hiring Hoke was all DB. There were plenty of other "Michigan men" who wanted to go in another direction.

The term got a bad rap because some ex-players used it in a moronic manner, but I'm more for reclaiming the term than giving up on it altogether.

Rupertus

August 21st, 2015 at 10:43 PM ^

One thing I hope we've learned through all of this is that it's the "Man" that's more important than the "Michigan". The mistake that some people made, in my view, was to assume that having attended or worked at Michigan was enough to make someone a Michigan man. But part of having an ideal is recognizing that not everyone can live up to it.

mtzlblk

August 22nd, 2015 at 12:05 AM ^

he managed the process with the NCAA in a forthright and cooperative way and got us through that just fine, but I don't ever remember him going after the paper for anything. And just for the record, I don't think it would have been a wise move to do that, so he was right not to.

Sam1863

August 21st, 2015 at 8:29 PM ^

Something I remember reading a long time ago about the Irish "troubles", but it seems appropriate:

One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.

jace owen

August 21st, 2015 at 8:41 PM ^

DB said like negotiating with a terrorist. DB obviously knew the populace wanted him gone. Who was the head of this movement? MGOBLOG. To DB we were the number one threat. I see that quote from both viewpoints and read more sarcasm from Brian. I get the post about Brian taking the high road. However, was there even a road to take that didn't have every bridge blown out in the wake of DB's attack mode and subsequent retreat to the great land of giraffes and toys?

Ronnie Kaye

August 21st, 2015 at 9:52 PM ^

It depends when that comment was made. The heat didn't turn way up on Brandon until his last month or so and he didn't have to start worrying about the mob until late in the 2013 season. You also may be overstating this blog's scope. Big as it is, a miniscule percentage of the fanbases reads it regularly.

Hotel Putingrad

August 21st, 2015 at 9:14 PM ^

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