Mainstream Media Disrespect

Submitted by Max on

An ongoing project I'm putting together, this is a compilation of mainstream media articles in which Michigan is baselessly and inexplicably classified as a team in ruins. I don't expect the Wolverines to be in anyone's Top 10, don't get me wrong. But if you're going to make a point of writing that Michigan is "in the 40s and falling" in your Spring Top 25, at least one line of textual support would seem appropriate.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=403529 Michigan “in the 40s and falling” in post-spring poll.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=405647 Michigan one of 5 teams “in reverse.”

http://cfn.scout.com/2/744200.html Ohio State a “likely loss,” no “almost certain wins.”

http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/10810054/3 Michigan won’t win the Big Ten, beat Ohio State, get to a January 1st bowl,or get to any bowl for that matter

Comments

south875

June 30th, 2008 at 6:04 PM ^

this doesn't bother me at all. you can tell alot of these articles are written by people who don't follow the day to day happenings of Michigan football. We will see some rough patches this year, but I refuse to believe we wont even make a bowl game

big gay heart

June 30th, 2008 at 6:11 PM ^

If Michigan does well this year, they'll be everybody's darlings. Things are either worse or better than they actually are. Hyperbole and flowery rhetoric are the status quo. FYI, that's just how the media works.

BernieMac

June 30th, 2008 at 6:13 PM ^

All the preseason negativity from the media may fire up the players and coaches to get out there and prove people wrong this year. And if any teams want to overlook Michigan as a weaker team or a "certain win", I think they will be in for quite a surprise.And if you really want to see bashing from the media, read any Drew Sharp article.

Callahan

June 30th, 2008 at 6:27 PM ^

I don't worry about what preseason magazines say. They're written in March/April and usually aren't all that informative other than the basics that we already know. I think the doom and gloom is simply these clowns are trying to be "right" by calling "this year's Notre Dame." I mean, they aren't winning the Big Ten, but do you pick any game other than tOSU as a likely loss?

Don

June 30th, 2008 at 10:09 PM ^

It's going to be hard enough for RR to implement the new offensive and defensive approaches; it would be much worse if the national media was tabbing UM as a legit NC contender, since nothing sabotages a young man's work ethic more than having smoke blown up his butt 24/7. But the discounting affects our opponents, too. It's obvious that the other coaches in the B10 don't have much respect for RR, and I think they're all attributing his success at WVU to some gimmicky, fancy-pants scheme that real men in the B10 will just crush easily. This attitude, and those of the media, will also filter down to their players. They're going to be very surprised how physical Michigan will be, and there will be no cheap victories over us. That doesn't mean we won't struggle, but we're going to give people a bloody nose regardless.

jamiemac

June 30th, 2008 at 11:12 PM ^

Max, First off, thanks for posting those articles, although its too bad you had to read all that drivel.

 I could not agree more with what Callahan wrote, its a case where everybody is trying to look smart and guess this year's notre dame. Plus, throw in the debacle that has been Nebraska with their imported coach talking about culture change, and every time RR says anything about change, the catcalls have come out with forebidding sirens of alarm, 'yeah and look at what happened in Lincoln.'

Fact is this team has a boatload of talent (more so than in either of the above schools) and a coach who knows exactly what he is doing and has proved his chops in the college game in the role of head coach much more so than the coaches at the above schools.

But, none of that matters because the media meme has been set in stone: Michigan is on their way to being this year's notre dame and it serves them right for getting rid of Lloyd Carr. Neverminding of course, the school did not get rid of Carr. I'm amazed at the number of people who imply this or even outright say it, but thats getting off topic. Only quality play on the field will change the media meme. We'll find out if the team is up to the task in about seven weeks.

Anonymous Coward (not verified)

July 1st, 2008 at 1:03 AM ^

Considering how we performed with last year's lofty #5 pre-season ranking, I don't mind being ranked in the 40's. Fine by me. As has already been posted, this is nothing but fuel for our players, who most certainly don't consider themselves to be mediocre.

BlueTimesTwo

July 2nd, 2008 at 12:54 AM ^

that natural selection no longer works. In the good old days some wild animal would have already killed off people that are this stupid. These days, we don't just allow these people to live, but we pay them to print this garbage. If I hear one more person base their analysis of Michigan's prospects for success this year on WVU's 3-8 record in RR's first year, I am going to lose it. Michigan is not WVU. The cupboard was not left bare, and the talent we have will be well-conditioned and motivated. Based on that alone, we should be bowl eligible. If the players can pick up enough of the system to run even a rough version of RR's past offenses then we will be just fine.