MGoProfile: Volume 9

Hello everyone, Six Zero here with another installment of: 

SIX QUESTIONS WITH MGOSHOE

Inspired by the official site’s “Two Minute Drill” series and TomVH’s famous Q&A segments with potential recruits, this weekly feature highlights some of the more famous personalities here at MGoBlog.  Without pulling back the infamous veil of blog anonymity, we’ll get to know some of your favorite posters better and possibly shed some light on their definition of why it’s so darn Great, To Be, A Michigan Wolverine.

 PREVIOUS FEATURES:
TomVH        formerly anonymous       Misopogon       Shredder 
Mathlete      Jamiemac      Magnus       WolverineHistorian

MGoShoe!  One of the boys!  A true regular of MGoBlog, he’s a smart, intelligent poster who knows what he’s talking about and isn’t constantly trying to prove it.  While not afraid to craft his own well-written diary posts from time to time, it’s his responses—timely, intelligent and funny responses—that stand out in my mind.  We sat down with him recently for this exclusive MGoProfile interview:

1.     MGoShoe.  One of the things I've noticed about your contributions is volume.  Volume, volume, volume.  And yet you display very informed and well-read commentary.  You clearly don't just respond to respond, so to speak.  What's the key to maintaining such a high standard of response as a member of the MGoCommunity?  Tell us what you think you bring to the table.
     I’ll tell you what I am not, Six Zero.  I’m not an insider.  I’m not local (anymore).  I’m not a high school football corch and didn’t play football or basketball in high school.  I don’t have a subscription to The Wolverine or GoBlueWolverine.  I don’t blame Lloyd Carr and I don’t think RichRod is in over his head.
     Here’s what I am.  I’m a passionate Michigan fan – a middle-aged alumnus who was fortunate enough to attend Michigan during an amazing run of Michigan athletics success from 1985 to 1989. 
     Football my freshman year was amazing.  It started with an opening day win over Notre Dame in the blazing sun.  I road tripped to MSU to watch us destroy the Spartans while I sat in the MSU student section next to my brother who was a Spartan senior.  He kept telling me to sit down and shut up so he wouldn’t have to fight someone for me like he did when we were kids.  I mostly listened to him.  There was the agony of Brent Musberger calling the game winning field goal in the 12-10 loss to number one Iowa.  Then there was that glorious November Saturday when Harbaugh hit Kolesar in stride as he streaked toward the north end zone outpacing his hapless Buckeye defender.  Finally, it was the Fiesta Bowl win over favored Nebraska and a best-since-1948 final ranking of number two. 
     We had highs and lows.  In 1986 we won the Big Ten but the season was marred by Rickey Foggie’s shocking run around end to set up Chip Lohmiller’s game winning field goal for the Golden Gophers.  Still, the team went to the Rose Bowl where it was tripped up by John Cooper’s Arizona State team.  I think I still have my 1987 Rose Bowl t-shirt that I was never able to replace with a “1987 Rose Bowl Champions” version.
     In 1987, we fell to fourth in the Big Ten including losses to Notre Dame, MSU and OSU.  The Hall of Fame Bowl win over Alabama was some consolation, but not much.  But in 1988, the team was back.  Two close losses to open the season to Notre Dame and Miami (that Miami) didn’t foretell the 8-0-1 finish to the season that included a 1989 Rose Bowl defeat of a Rodney Peete-led USC team.
     We had Bo and Mo and Carr – at the same time.  We had Harbaugh, Morris, Bunch, Hoard, Jokisch, Kolesar, McMurtry, Elliott, Vitale, Cochran, Messner, the Hammerstein brothers, the Mallory brothers, Moeller and Gillette. 
     We had basketball teams that always competed for a Big Ten title and went to the Big Dance every season.  I witnessed huge wins against MSU, Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, and Syracuse among others and then got to experience the joy of our only men’s basketball NCAA championship when Rice, Robinson, Mills, Vought, Higgins, Hughes, Griffin and the rest shocked everyone with their amazing run.  I’ll never forget the sight of the cars streaming down Washtenaw to “help” us celebrate the win on South U.
     I saw Jim Abbot pitch a game.

     My last three years I was a member of the ROTC Tri-Service Color Guard, I had the humbling duty of helping to raise and lower Old Glory at football games and parade the colors before basketball games.  I experienced entering Michigan Stadium through the tunnel on game day and leading our formation across the field to the flagpole while the MMB readied itself to play the national anthem.  I loved the experience of the student section, but having the chance to be on the field while Bo Schembechler prowled the sideline is an honor that is hard to beat.  I witnessed the basketball team’s final pre-game preparations just before we stepped onto the Crisler Arena court to do our part.

     I didn’t start making posts here until February of this year.  I lurked for several years and finally signed up for an account last May or so.  But Brian was experiencing some technical difficulties at the time and it wasn’t until January or February of this year that I finally got the email that allowed me to activate my account.  During my lurker era, I watched how the board operates and learned the quirks of how to be a productive member of the MGoBlogerati (my term that I will stubbornly use regardless of whether or not it catches on with the kewl kidz). 
     I consume all things Michigan so I’m always on the lookout for a good story in the MSM or one of the many fine Michigan sports blogs.  There are a ton of guys doing a heck of a job giving us insights into Michigan sports that just weren’t available even a few years ago.  I pick the most interesting and relevant things and mine them for repackaging on mgoblog.com.  I use the tools that Brian has provided us to try to make the presentation decent and then let the thread go.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.  Sometimes threads get hijacked by someone’s inanity, but the MGoBoard polices itself pretty well. 
     The MGoPoints system isn’t perfect, but its obvious effect on minimizing trolls and jerky behavior in general is greatly appreciated.  I doubt I’d be here without it because I’m not interested in participating in forums chock full of douchery.  I already have to take hypertension meds so why exacerbate my condition?
     I also like that Brian has built a community of Michigan supporters here.  The concepts he’s employing for social interaction and content creation aren’t terribly unique, but they’re singularly effective here.  I enjoy being a part of this experiment.
     I think I’m at an age where I can still somewhat relate to current students and recent alumni.  My two college and one high school kids help me from getting too fuddy-duddy and get off my lawn-ish.  My expansive Michigan in-law family never sniffed the Ann Arbor campus except to go to football games so I get and respect the non-student/non-alumni perspective as well.   
     In short, like many here, I live, breathe and die Michigan sports.  It isn’t just my blood that’s maize and blue, it’s my sweat and tears as well.  I am one of the “Michigan Faithful” and that’s what informs my commentary.

2.      MGoShoe is not just a football guy-- you've also done a great series recently on non-revenue sports at Michigan, filling in the gaps where Brian and Tim and FA stop.  Are you really a golf, tennis, and rowing fan, or is this just an opportunity to fill a niche and make MGoBlog better?
     It’s probably some of both.  FA and Tim do a great job of covering baseball, softball, volleyball and lacrosse, but there are compelling storylines from almost every Michigan team.  I’m a huge football, basketball and hockey fan, but in my mind, there’s room to appreciate the effort and skill of Michigan tennis, soccer, water polo,  and field hockey players, rowers, golfers, gymnasts, swimmers, divers, track and field athletes, cross country runners, and wrestlers.  One of the things I regret about my time as a student was that I didn’t make much of an effort to go support my fellow Wolverines at their competitions.  If you pause to think about the amount of quality athletic competitions that occur in Ann Arbor every year it’s staggering.  I’d encourage current students and Ann Arbor residents to take full advantage of these opportunities to support Michigan athletes.
     Living in the DC area, the best chance I have of seeing a Michigan sports team perform locally is one of the non-revenue sports.  A few years ago I saw the water polo team defeat Maryland and will be looking for some opportunities next year to see the Maize and Blue in action.   If I do, I’ll write up my experience and post it for posterity’s sake.
     I intend to keep the non-revenue sports update diary series going and owe an end of year wrap up.  I’m also doing research for a diary outlining Michigan’s historic Director’s Cup performance.  I hope that the data reveals some interesting nuggets.

3.      If I recall correctly, you once commented that your avatar is a vessel you've served on.  Are you still in the service?  How does your military background affect your perception of the current coaching staff and their methods?  The conditioning, recruiting, the profanity, and (sigh) even the violations?
     I was a member of Michigan’s Navy ROTC unit and have served in the Navy (active and reserve components) since graduation.  My avatar is a photo of USS Normandy, the second of two ships I served in while on active duty. 
     My military and corporate experience and my schooling have taught me that various leadership and management styles and approaches can be effective, but that the one thing that successful organizations have over their less successful rivals is integrity.  Organizations with integrity put in the work required to make themselves better than the rest.  They do things the right way and don’t take shortcuts.  They develop leaders and all levels of the organization to encourage everyone to stay on the path to success.  They support each other in time of need and learn from their mistakes.  Ultimately, they produce a product of sufficient quality that allows them to achieve their goals.
     Has Michigan under RichRod exhibited integrity in its approach to fielding a quality football team?  For the most part, they have.  But it’s also clear that they have fallen short in the area of program management and the obvious example is practicegate.  Ultimately, the scandal was little more than failing to establish and maintain controls that would have uncovered deficiencies in the accounting of countable activities in real time.  Michigan’s reaction to practicegate is an indication that the entire Michigan Athletic Department is fully committed to creating a football product that exhibits integrity.  If there’s one thing that we should take away from this mess, it’s that under Dave Brandon’s leadership, RichRod is not on his own.  He’ll get the help he needs to have a successful program that makes the University of Michigan community proud on and off the field.  And if he doesn’t, he’ll be held accountable for it.

      I have no military experience, but if I did, I couldn't imagine having to share a foxhole with a Buckeye.  Any stories about being a Michigan Man in the military? 
     In the military, the rank structure defines the appropriate interactions among peers, subordinates and superiors.  I’ve never had the misfortune of having a superior who also happened to be a Buckeye and wanted to lord it over me.  Conversely, the military’s conventions for respecting a person’s rank force Buckeye supporters who are my junior to temper any vitriol they may have.
     Where it could get bad is if you and a peer were on opposing sides.  For the most part though, the shared experience of getting underway on a ship, or being part of an air crew, or climbing into an MRAP for a patrol tends to drive people together instead of apart.  The silly differences among us tend to fade away.  That factor is one reason why the military continues to be the shining example of how Americans of all backgrounds can work and live together in relative harmony.

      Well said.   And I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that your name has something to do with your military background?
     The nickname for US Navy Surface Warfare Officers is “Black Shoe” or “Shoe”.  These are the somewhat derisive terms used by naval aviators to refer to their less glamorous counterparts whose job it is to operate surface ships.  As a sop to the early days of flight when naval aviators wore brown boots, the Navy authorized aviators to wear brown shoes with their uniforms.  We SWOs wear the “Black Shoe” label with pride.  To us, it signifies the hard work and saltiness it takes to serve at sea on “small boys”, destroyers and frigates.  So for me, M Go Blue and Shoe go together perfectly as MGoShoe.

4.  Aha, now we know.  Let’s move on-- without divulging too much information, can you describe what you do for a living?
     In my civilian job, I’m an executive with a major defense contractor.  As I mentioned before, I also serve in the Navy Reserve.

Excellent.  Do me a favor and look into the proper military protocol for nuking the capital of a nearby four-letter state.  What do you like to do for fun on your own time?
     Besides my all-consuming Michigan sports habit, I also follow the Washington Redskins, the Tigers, the Red Wings, the Washington Wizards and DC United.  I play soccer in a recreational adult league.  Even competing at that level gives me newfound respect for the professional players who compete into their forties.  I run around with kids less than half my age and for the most part try to keep up.  In my book, guys like Brett Favre, Jamie Moyer and Chris Chelios are nothing short of amazing.

And to round out the personal info portion of our show, describe the perfect meal.
     I’m what you might call epicurious.  I’m not a foodie, but I like quality.  I’m not a vegetarian or a locavore, but I respect the concepts and get why the secondary effects of our food decisions cause impacts well beyond our own health.  With that said, the perfect meal for me is anything my wife and I make together, especially when we get all three kids at the table at once.  Oh, and when I was a kid, my mom always allowed us to choose what kind of birthday cake we wanted her to bake.  I always asked for banana cake with banana frosting with strawberries, bananas, and blueberries.  It’s still my favorite.   

     I’ll save everyone the trouble and link the locavore definition here.  Informative yet educational, that’s my motto.

5.  So Shoe, can you explain why you are a Michigan fan?
     My first experience with college football was the 1976 Orange Bowl.  I was living in Germany and AFRTS probably showed it tape delay a week after it happened for all I know.  Whatever, I was in third grade and it was the first time I’d seen Michigan’s uniforms and helmet and I was enthralled.  In retrospect, it was probably written in the stars at that moment that I’d end up going to school at Michigan. 
     Later, my dad was assigned to the Army’s Tank Automotive Command in Warren and I spent two and a half years in the Metro Detroit area including most of junior high.  I watched the end of the 1979 Michigan – Notre Dame game at the Sears in Lakeside Mall and I realized then that I loathed the Fighting Irish, even if I wasn’t yet completely in the tank for Michigan. 
     We moved back to Germany and then to northern Virginia and in the fall of my junior year my AP American History teacher gave us a listing of the best schools in America.  Michigan was ranked number three (this was pre-USNWR) so when almost everyone else said they wanted to go to UVA or William & Mary, I announced to quizzical looks that I wanted to go to Michigan. 
     About a month later, I came home from school and my mom told me the Army was sending my dad back to TACOM and we were moving to Detroit at the end of the fall semester.  There was no turning back as it was clear to me at that point that my matriculation at Michigan was preordained.
     Thinking about it some more, I earned a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, so I guess that kind of cinches it for the predictive power of the 1976 Orange Bowl.

6.    Finally, the staple last question-- who's your all-time favorite Wolverine?
     I have two – Glen Rice for basketball and Jim Harbaugh for football.  I don’t think that requires an explanation.

 Ever meet one of those army guys, the ones who just seem unable to turn it off?  They just can’t seem to relax, and handle even the most unnecessary tasks as if it were a matter of national defense.  And there’s nothing wrong with that—that’s how they were trained to react, and who the hell am I to make light of the conditioning that makes them successful as soldiers?  But, at the same time, it can be hard for the rest of us to relate to that, and it all just gets a little akward.

So I must say, I don’t think MGoShoe is one of those guys.  I could be wrong,
of course, but in his posts, in his commentary, he just has a very normal dude
quality about him, and that in no way means he’s not successful in his military and professional obligations.  Regardless of training, background, discipline, or intelligence, when MGoShoe puts on his block M cap he’s just another one of
the guys at the blog.  After getting this inside glimpse of him, I don’t judge him any differently, but have a slightly greater appreciation of the blog itself and Michigan fans as a whole.  When the winged helmets make their way on the field we can all bond, regardless of who we are or what we do.  Thanks again and I’ll
see you guys next week for another edition of MGoProfile!