caserm10

*Disclaimer: This is not a post trying to impose one's point of view against another's. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but this is an instance to use a particular forum to issue a challenge.

NOVEMBER 21, 2008.
On this day the final brick brick in the RICH RODRIGUEZ ERA of Michigan football was laid in place.

For some Michigan fans the final seconds of a 42-7 OSU win provided them with closure and a opportunity to fully embrace the future. For others, it provided more fuel for an ever evolving fire, one that continues to grow with every objection towards a movement of CHANGE. For those people who followed this team all year and criticized every member from Head Coach to water boy, without ever focusing on any potential improvements or eluding to the positive aspects being set down for future teams....FUCK YOU!!! Leave now, because I can tell you with 100% certainty, things will never be good enough. You are the same person who complained year after year about losing games to inferior competition because the "fire and attitude" was not there. You found a way to tear down a team who was arguably our best of the last 15 years, saying they were exposed when they played a great USC team in the Rose Bowl. You're sense of reality and the past has been skewed and retarded into something that only you believe to be matter of fact....FUCK YOU!!! You were calling for LLLLLoyd Carr's head after an inexplicable loss to Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa, Oregon, UCLA, APP STATE, USC, OSU, etc...etc...etc...Now you are clammoring for his return because he won against Florida, Alabama, and OSU. He owned Penn State and the "little brother"....FUCK YOU!!! You were probably saying how classless the Sweatervest was today, by stomping on an inferior opponent...I mean a RIVAL...I mean the greatest RIVAL in all of collegiante sports....I mean MICHIGAN! How dare he and how dare Woody say he would've gone for 3 if he had the chance. How dare Michigan deny OSU a shot at the national title during the Cooper years. This is what has made this rivalry great, in my opinion the GREATEST in all of sports. NOW, and only now, can we say that Rodriguez has a glimmer of what this rivalry means, of what MICHIGAN means. To be criticized about not fully embracing this rivalry before even having a chance to participate in it, is completely naive and assinine. Did Tressel give that memorable speech? Of course but in truth, all he did was add more lure to THE GAME. Were we all clammoring to have Rich Rod make an equally memorable proclomation? Hell yeah, but thankfully he did not. The most memorable quote I will take away from this year, the one they will be playing on HBO documentaries down the road, during the TRESSEL/RODRIGUEZ WAR, was "WE WILL WIN, WHEN WE DESERVE TO WIN." That is the "Those who stay will be champions" 2K version. This team WILL win and it's because they DESERVE to win!! It's not going to be because the ball bounced the right way. It's not going to be because we have better athletes on the field. It's going to be because Michigan was better prepared. Because Michigan worked harder. Because Michigan, WANTED IT MORE!! Because Michigan, DESERVED TO WIN THE GAME...
We are fans, and as such we have the liberty to say what whatever we believe to be true at that time and to retract any such thoughts withough accountability.
Rodriguez won't be outworked and eventually this will show through on the product that is put on the field. You do not have to look any further than across to Crisler and what is happening there. People were calling Belien's head, the innovative coach who's system would never work here, who should change his philosophy and adjust to his personel. He layed his foundation last year and took some shots but his guys played hard and fought. The progress made from this year to last is apparent but there is still work to be done. The important thing is that he believed in his system, what he knows. He knows that with the resources of the University of Michigan, the wins would come and the tables would turn.
I believe in Rodriguez, and the its because of the foundation that was layed this year. This team PLAYED HARD. The quitters QUIT. The upperclassmen REMAINED POSITIVE. They gave no reason for us fans to be embarrassed of them off the field.
Take the names off the jerseys and the wings off the helmets. Ask yourself, how many teams is Nick Sheridan starting on in the Big Ten? How many teams had to start a converted DE at guard?
The truth is that those people who have bashed this team, players, and coaches all year will never have the backbone to admit it. They will say that they stuck by them from the beginning and always believed. They have taken the mantra, "Those who stay will be Champions" and created their own definition. However, deep down they will know that they do not DESERVE to associate themselves with the great transformation taking place.
Thank you to those who sacrificed to lay the foundation for the future. Thank you to the 2008 team. Your work and dedication will be apparent in the years to come.
GO BLUE...GO MICHIGAN!!!!

Unfortunately I just had to endure something painful, however, this is a new unrecogonizable pain. My pain comes from hearing fellow "followers", fellow "wolverines", fellow, and I use this lightly, "FANS". I was recently at a NYC UM bar and heard nothing but disdain for the UM program. Nothing but hatred for the hiring of RR. I've come to the conclusion that there are two types of people following UM football right now: