Preview 2014: Wrap, Hype, Hope Comment Count

Brian

Hello. You have made it to the end. This year's edition checks in at 43,424 words.

THE STORY

Memories Of Butter. Let's punch a cow until it gives us butter, because it's hard to remember the right way to do it.

OFFENSE

Quarterback. Protect this man for great profit.

Running back. Emerge from the swamp and claim your birthright.

Wide Receiver. I will not compare Devin Funchess to Megatron… okay maybe just a little.

Tight End And Friends. Waiting for Budot.

Offensive Line. The catch.

5Q5A, Offense. The madness of last year and leaving it behind.

DEFENSE

Defensive End. Secret Agent Clark is the key to the whole thing.

Defensive Tackle. We have the meat. We have the ogre. Unleash the meatogre.

Linebacker. Four starters for two and a half spots. I like 'em both.

Cornerback. In ur face jammin ur doodz

Safety. In this solitary case, Nickelback does not suck.

5Q5A, Defense. Making the case that this is the year to kick ass.

MISCELLANEOUS

Special Teams. Hagerup leg cannon returns.

Podcast 6.0. We may still be recording this, it's that long.

Heuristics and Stupid Prediction. I say 9-3.

THE HORROR II

Previewed by Ace.

ELSEWHERE

MGoVideo on the Salvadorean marching band that saved the 1998 Rose Bowl.

One of my favorite annual pieces is always Orson's season kickoff post. He outdid himself this year. I had the fortune to read it in my feed reader, which meant the GIFs embedded in the post just ran; on SBN their normally very wise GIF-handling software only runs them when you mouseover the image. This is unfortunate, as the gifs give the piece a wonderfully haunted air.

I wasn't really prepared for the last one.

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Oof.

I know I've been pissed off you guys about the increasingly aggressive moneychangers in the temple, but goddamn that is heartstopping. I want to go there again. I want to see the mountains in the background as the sun sets in the third quarter and feel that awe and privilege that this place exists and I have a reason to be here.

And now I feel like there is still something sacred out there, and that is why we all gravitated to this thing in the first place. The bowl goes up and up and it is just impossibly full of people. The thing in front of us is happening right now and I will remember this as glory or death until I've forgotten my own name. The thing is still in there. You just have to look a little harder these days. Rummage around. You'll find it.

Go Blue.

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[Eric Upchurch]

Comments

LJ

August 29th, 2014 at 4:46 PM ^

Brian, near the top of the many reasons I am happy that I'm a Michigan fan is that no matter how many disappointing seasons we have, we always get to have this blog.  Truly, there is no other place like this one, and it makes fandom significantly more fun.  Thank you.

aiglick

August 29th, 2014 at 9:51 PM ^

I second this. Brian and company put up with a lot of crap both within and outside the blog. This is our team and program even if sometimes the ones running it forget about us and treat us like poo.

Thank you for all this wonderful content. I'm ready to watch Peppers own some dudes and for this offensive line to, hopefully, improve before our eyes as the season progresses.

I'm actually in LA visiting right now to start the season. If this team reaches the potential I think it has maybe I'll have the opportunity to make it out here. I sincerely hope that happens and this staff makes it happen.

uniqenam

August 29th, 2014 at 4:47 PM ^

Every year, I'm brought to literal tears by the wrap-up of the preview; not, like, gushing-down-my-face tears, but,  "my eyes feel full, man" tears. I don't know what it is, maybe it's the mad-dash season preview followed by Brian's amazing ability to pack so much punch into a two paragraph conclusion. I don't know. Whatever it is, despite telling myself not to every year, I am inevitably, woefully overinvested in the one damn thing in my life that I have no control over.

Let's Go Blue.

JeepinBen

August 29th, 2014 at 4:54 PM ^

I'm ready to run through a wall and I've never played football. There will be a couple times this year I can make it to a game and I can't wait to walk through the aisle, and see that bowl that Brian so eloquently described, it takes my breath away each time.

College football is the best. That thing is still there.

Go Blue.

Schembo

August 29th, 2014 at 4:56 PM ^

Big thanks to Brian and everyone else contributing on the front page. It's my favorite week on the blog. If there's a better sports blog on the net, I haven't seen it. Mgoblog is the standard.


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Six Zero

August 29th, 2014 at 5:08 PM ^

I think this is the first time in all my MGoYears I've actually read, heard, or otherwise found an acknowledgement of Brian saying "Go Blue." Hope is awesome.

Schembo

August 29th, 2014 at 5:35 PM ^

I think Hokes the real deal, and I think Brian thinks so too. He's just waiting for the evidence on the field. Its all up from here. It's all down for MSU. I'm not convinced Urban is a superior coach. I'm not convinced any head coach is, even Saban.


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Boom Goes the …

August 29th, 2014 at 5:59 PM ^

excellent stuff all week.  Very much appreciated.  Now do us all a favor and relax and enjoy the game Saturday

Gulo Gulo Luscus

August 29th, 2014 at 6:16 PM ^

sounds like deep down brian still has a little feelingsball left, in the most basic sense of the word.  we care about sports.  a lot.  bravo on the excellent 2014 preview and thanks to the whole mgoteam!

Zarniwoop

August 29th, 2014 at 6:30 PM ^

I used to follow Michigan football on the internet like a fiend back in the late 90s. Back then, Rivals was free, Scout was free, etc....

Then the paywalls went up. And while Michigan football is part of me regardless of the internet, having this site makes it a lot more enjoyable whether we're up or down. Camaraderie is irreplaceable.

Okay, okay, we've only been down since I found this site. I'll leave...

Thanks to Brian for this ABSOLUTELY INSANE explosion of words in the last 24 hours. It's just awesome.

Thanks to the rest of the staff for your content also. You all provide something unique and I couldn't pick a favorite if I had to.

In case this comes off as too ass-kissy - insert random insult here.

MizzouWolverine

August 30th, 2014 at 1:44 AM ^

Savor it: there's nothing better than watching a game with your dad. I lost my dad late last year, and while Christmas was tough and Thanksgiving was tougher, I think the toughest moment was this afternoon when I realized that college football was starting tomorrow and I won't be able to call my dad to talk about it. I've always felt that the greatest thing about sports is how they influence our relationships with our families and the past, and in my opinion that connection is strongest with college football... even though I root for a different team than the rest of my family. So just this once: ILL-INI, but if by some miracle Illinois makes the B1G championship game I hope Michigan wipes the floor with them, and I know dad would understand.



tl;dr: college football is great, enjoy watching the game with your dad!

tylawyer

August 29th, 2014 at 6:42 PM ^

"Elsewhere" = why I've been reading this blog more closely than just about anything else for the last seven bizarre-assed years. So, so good. 

jsquigg

August 29th, 2014 at 6:52 PM ^

The job you and the others do on this site is irreplaceable.  No one else in the blogosphere is even close.  No matter what happens this year, never get down about how this site is run.  Yes, there have been many faction battles over the years, but it is a sad day when I don't check mgoblog half a dozen times for new content, often sadly refreshing until the early morning hours, waiting for new articles the next day.

Bravo.

The FannMan

August 29th, 2014 at 7:05 PM ^

Thank God.  I was beginning to wonder if you had really, truly come to dispise the whole damn thing.  Nothing is perfect, and the NCAA is so very less perfect than most.  But fuck it.  Tomorrow is football, tomorrow we go home.