This is so true. When I think of the Spartoons in my family, they all have an inferiority complex. Let's hope our guys can put them back in their place.
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Why Sparty Hates to be called Little Brother
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All Wolverine faithful are familiar with Mike Hart’s “little brother” jab and the indignation it generated among the MSU fans and their football coach. But why did that comment produce so much more resentment among fans of the green and white than all the other epithets (cow college, Spartoons, CMU punching bag) thrown at them over the years? In order to understand this, we need to do an objective comparison between the two institutions. Following mgoblog tradition, this comparison can best be viewed in chart form.
Michigan Michigan State
|
Founded in 1817 as the University of Michigan |
Founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan |
|
Home: Ann Arbor, the intellectual capital of Michigan |
Home: East Lansing, a suburb of Lansing, the dysfunctional political capital of Michigan |
|
Nickname: Wolverine, the state animal of the state of Michigan, known for its strength and ferocity. |
Nickname: Spartan, named after a city state 5,000 miles away that ceased to exist in 195 BC. |
|
Criminal notoriety: Hash Bash |
Criminal notoriety: Burning sofas |
|
Founding member of Big 10 conference in 1896 [Edit, from 1885 typo] |
Joined Big 10 in 1949, replacing the University of Chicago when the latter quit intercollegiate athletics. |
|
Most wins in college football history |
Some good football teams back in the 1960’s |
|
Defeated Stanford in first Rose Bowl game (1902) by a score of 49-0 |
Defeated UCLA in 1955, their first Rose Bowl, by a score of 28-20 |
|
20 Rose Bowl appearances, most recently in 2007 |
4 Rose Bowl appearances, most recently in 1988 |
|
3 Heisman trophy winners |
No Heisman trophy winners |
|
Mascot: None, thank goodness. |
Mascot: “Sparty” a roided-up hulk made of plastic and felt, wears a skirt. |
|
Fight song: The Victors, “The greatest college fight song ever written” said John Philips Sousa. |
Fight song: MSU Fight Song, the tune is based on the hymn “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus.”* |
|
The most famous helmet in all of football. |
Helmet design changes periodically, most recently in 2007 |
|
Home field: The Big House, capacity 106,201 this year, 108,000+ next year |
Home field: Spartan Stadium, capacity 75,005 |
We could go on, but you see the point. Whatever MSU does, Michigan has done it first, and better, just like an older brother. It’s not about one game, or even one season. It’s about all of the ways that Michigan is superior to MSU. And this is why the little brother epithet is so devastating. Because deep down, in the depths of the Spartan soul, they know that it’s true. They are the little brother!
And here’s what makes it even worse for Sparty. MSU is a pretty good school, with a successful basketball program, renowned academics in such areas as veterinary medicine and agriculture, and an enrollment of over 40,000 students. In fact, in many states in this country MSU could be the leading public university.
But…they are in Michigan…where they will always be second… to the Wolverines…and it DRIVES THEM CRAZY!!!
So, Michigan fans, enjoy
the game on Saturday, which I am confident will be another Michigan victory. But no matter what happens, keep your head
high and remember “It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine” and not the little
brother.
* https://www.msu.edu/~carillon/fitesong.htm
September 27th, 2009 at 10:39 AM
#2
This is so true. When I
September 27th, 2009 at 10:46 AM
#3
Agreed. Sparty fans almost as bad as ND fans.
My older brother is a huge Sparty fan. It was a way to rebel against our Dad who was a huge Meeeechigan fan. Not that any of that matters. Anyhow, he sounds like most other Sparty fans I know. That there is a media bias. That there is officials tampering. Any excuse other than Spaty can't field a consistant winner. GO BLUE! Let's shut up Sparty. By the way, all these years later, my brother still won't admit he chose poorly.
September 27th, 2009 at 10:44 AM
#4
The truth hurts
I love to have them handle the truth. I lived in the Lansing area for ten years, and understand some of the Sparty psyche.
I could silence a room of them when I would refer to them as little sister. I have rekindled this moniker for them since Mike Hart exposed their insecurity with his comment after the game.
September 27th, 2009 at 10:47 AM
#5
MSU fans would rather have UM
MSU fans would rather have UM lose than their own team win. They're pathetic.
September 27th, 2009 at 10:54 AM
#6
MSU fans would rather have UM
YES! You hit it right on the head! Wow.
September 27th, 2009 at 11:21 AM
#7
Why would we have wanted to
Why would we have wanted to go to the Rose Bowl last year? We couldn't even win the Capital One Bowl. USC would've embarrassed us, and we knew it. It's not so much that we wanted Michigan to lose more than for us to win; it would've been great for us to win. But the fact that it was such a long shot for both MSU and UM to win their last games leads one to think about Michigan "well, if they aren't going to win, I hope they at least get blown out".
Other than last year's last game of the season, there's really no evidence of this. I'd rather have both teams win than both teams lose. But I'd rather have Michigan lose and Michigan State win than anything else. This is a dumb statement on your part; that's like me pointing at the obvious glee you guys have for a 1-3 start for MSU as evidence to the fact that you'd rather have MSU lose than UM win. It's just not a strong argument.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:39 AM
#8
I like that this post got
I like that this post got negged harder than Sparty's post. Gives me hope that there are actually some rational people around here.
September 27th, 2009 at 12:10 PM
#9
I'm sorry you lost me at:
Why
I'm sorry you lost me at:
Why would we have wanted to go to the Rose Bowl last year? We couldn't even win the Capital One Bowl. USC would've embarrassed us, and we knew it.
The games that would have determined whether MSU went to the Rose Bowl occurred on November 22, 2008. At that time all signs pointed to the winner of the Big 10 playing Oregon State University in the Rose Bowl. It wasn't until November 29, 2009 when Oregon killed Oregon State in the Civil War that USC slid into the Rose Bowl slot.
Your argument that you couldn't even win the Capital One Bowl notwithstanding, what team has ever wanted to play in a lesser bowl? Especially when the possibility of playing in a BCS game and the Grandaddy of them all is still on the table. Prestige, national clout, and recruiting visibility are all part of going to Pasadena. Going to the Rose Bowl and getting blown out by SC is still preferable to a lower tier bowl no matter what.
I don't think for one second that it being a long shot is why any Spartan fans were rooting against UM. But then again I'm not a Spartan so maybe I shouldn't speak for you.
September 27th, 2009 at 12:26 PM
#10
That comment
is the exact reason that State is the "little brother" in the first place. It's a mentality you people have. Even OSU fans don't think like that.
September 27th, 2009 at 12:29 PM
#11
that's pathetic. "Why would
that's pathetic. "Why would we want to go to the Rose Bowl when we couldn't win against Georgia?"
BECAUSE IT'S THE F'ING ROSE BOWL YOU MORON
i'm sure OSU was really disappointed to go to the MNC games and lose. probably would rather have had some other team win out to go for it.
September 27th, 2009 at 12:34 PM
#12
lol
lol @ why wouldn't we want to be the Big 10 champions? we wouldn't want to play in our first BCS bowl game ever. we would rather play in a lesser bowl with a lower payout, and forget about the recruiting advantage that a bcs bowl would bring???
stupid. stupid sparty.
September 27th, 2009 at 1:58 PM
#13
big difference
sparty generally hopes and prays the um loses its games.
um fans typically just laugh at sparty losses.
September 27th, 2009 at 5:12 PM
#14
We don't laugh at a sparty loss...
We don't laugh. Sparty loses so often that we simply say, "I told you so".
September 27th, 2009 at 4:03 PM
#15
It's not glee as much as it
It's not glee as much as it is an expectation that every year MSU will somehow crumble.
Deep down, you get the gist of what we're saying, and you know that characterization of the Sparty psyche (wanting UM to lose more than their own team to win), is absolutely correct.
You don't need to kid yourself.
September 27th, 2009 at 4:48 PM
#16
Drugs
that's like me pointing at the obvious glee you guys have for a 1-3 start for MSU as evidence to the fact that you'd rather have MSU lose than UM win.
It's not like that at all. He was pointing to this one instance where YOUR HEAD COACH explicitly stated that he would rather have UM lose than MSU win. Your analogy: FAIL
September 27th, 2009 at 8:25 PM
#17
Wait, when did he say that?
Wait, when did he say that? He said he wanted MSU to lose? I don't remember that at all. He said he wouldn't cheer for UM, and he's right. I didn't cheer for UM either. The arrogance in this thread is evidence why. This is exactly the reason I didn't go to Michigan; I couldn't stand the people on campus during football season.
September 27th, 2009 at 8:28 PM
#18
You're right that
Dantonio didn't say he'd rather see UM lose than MSU win. The OP mixed it up. The problem is that Dantonio was rooting against Michigan when it could have HELPED his own team make a BCS bowl. That's where the mentality is f'ed up.
September 27th, 2009 at 8:44 PM
#19
He was trying to say that he
He was trying to say that he wants MSU to make bowls like that on their own accord, not to rely on Michigan to help them along. If we win the games, there's no need to cheer for other teams to beat teams that beat us, which is where he wants the program to be. Unfortunately that's looking like a lost cause this year.
September 27th, 2009 at 8:49 PM
#20
Yes obviously
everyone wants to make bowls on their own accord. HOWEVA...if you need help and can still make the ROSE BOWL...I think you'd still take said help.
September 27th, 2009 at 8:53 PM
#21
Just as a point of curiosity,
Just as a point of curiosity, and to see how small I can make these text boxes go, why did I get -30 points for an post that was fairly inoffensive and only -1 in a post where I actually bashed Michigan?
September 27th, 2009 at 9:04 PM
#24
Puh-leez...
Puh-leez...
September 27th, 2009 at 7:10 PM
#25
No doubt jft336...
I'll never forget tailgating at MSU in 2007 and seeing Sparty D-Bags with App. State gear from head to toe.
I got in this one dude's face and asked him to name ONE App St. player since he just spent $100+ on all their apparel. He couldn't do it.
Its just as pathetic as we're all saying. State knows they can't beat us regularly, so they have to root for whoever Michigan is playing.
Also, visit that firedantonio.com site too if you haven't already. Its hilarious and true!
September 27th, 2009 at 10:49 PM
#26
Not gonna lie...
I generally root for MSU to lose. If MSU wins, it's not a big deal, but I would prefer they lose. I do generally agree that MSU fans tend to enjoy a Michigan loss quite a bit more than an MSU win. I laughed my ass off when CMU beat MSU, but the focus for me that day was Michigan winning their first game with a legit quarterback. The main reason I enjoy a Sparty loss is because my best friend is a Sparty faithful. He tends to be kind of a dick and sends me texts during any Michigan game when we happen to be losing. Most of the time he ends up looking retarted because we win like in the last game against Indiana. If it weren't for his sometimes dick-like behavior as a Spartan fan, I wouldn't care as much about Sparty at all.
September 28th, 2009 at 9:31 AM
#27
MSU fan
I work with an "MSU fan." He went there, he wears a MSU lanyard for his ID card, etc. But he talks way more about UM losing than MSU doing anything.
Before the ND game he put up a lot of ND pictures and logos around my desk. Then, when I come in on Monday to brag about us winning and MSU losing to Central, he says "Oh, I barely even watched the game, I'm actually more of a Lions fan than an MSU fan."
Which bring up 2 points:
1. If you're going to hate on UM, you better be able to take it when MSU loses. You can't just say "oh, well I didn't really care that much"
2. This guy really doesn't root for any good teams. I feel sad for him.
September 27th, 2009 at 10:59 AM
#28
To be honest, I think MSU has
To be honest, I think MSU has a great chance at beating us. I think they can pound the ball on us and pass decent. I hope we are 5-0, but I think they'll get us.
September 27th, 2009 at 11:23 AM
#29
Should be close...
MSU can run the ball and has a pretty good offense overall, but so do we. Sparty had trouble against the spread offense against CMU and I don't think they are going to be much better at defending the spread this weekend. It's going to most likely be a high scoring afair, which will probably happen most of the year with Michigan's defense. The one question mark with me for this game is how our defense will react to the way Indiana man handled them. The big key for us was red zone defense, and I've felt like we have done an excellent job in the red zone all year. In the ND game we made some red zone stops that were important and the same with EMU. Right now, I feel like we will win, but maybe that will change after I see what Sparty brings come saturday. On the little brother analogy, it's spot on. It's almost like they are anti Michigan first, then an MSU fan second.
September 27th, 2009 at 10:59 AM
#30
Yep, I saw that "in action"
Yep, I saw that "in action" last year. I worked with some Spartinas and asked them if they would rather have UM beat OSU so they could have a shot at winning the Big 10 (by beating PSU) or having no shot and UM lose. They all chose not to have a shot at the Big 10 Championship. If that isn't a 'little brother' mentality, I don't know what is.
September 27th, 2009 at 11:01 AM
#31
I was at MSU this week
Recruiting for a company. No question their undergraduates in some programs are exceptionally well-prepared for the working world. To the citation of the agriculture and veterinary medicine programs, I would also add the Eli Broad School of Management, the James Madison College, life sciences and their physics programs. Physics is often regarded as the best in the country, better than MIT.
HOWEVAH, they have a massive inferiority complex. It's a kind of obsessive-compulsive thing. We're like the white whale to their Captain Ahab. Buckeyes seem to suffer from it, too, (although I don't think OSU has nearly the academic reputation of MSU).
September 27th, 2009 at 11:15 AM
#32
Thanks,
but I'll stick with the Ross School of Business.
September 27th, 2009 at 11:31 AM
#33
Actually, UM is rated #2 in
Actually, UM is rated #2 in graduate nuclear engineering in the nation, behind Wisconsin; my bro goes to UM for plasma physics/NERS.
September 27th, 2009 at 3:52 PM
#34
Still #2?
I'm heartened to hear that. I was concerned/saddened that the strength of the program would fade when they closed the Phoenix Lab. I mean, what other school could claim to have a working nuclear pile right on campus? (And it really did glow blue in the dark! That blew my then-8th grade mind.) Sadly, we can no longer claim that either.
September 27th, 2009 at 1:22 PM
#35
really?
no "automated/robotic protein crystallization services"? that's just scandalous.
September 27th, 2009 at 5:11 PM
#36
Damn it
I can't even tell you how disappointed I was to scroll down and see someone had already used that joke. Well played sir, you beat me to it
September 27th, 2009 at 5:00 PM
#37
My mind is a raging torrent
Hedley Lamarr: My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives.
Taggart: God darnit, Mr. Lamarr, you use your tongue prettier than a twenty dollar whore.
September 27th, 2009 at 7:00 PM
#38
+1
for wedging a blazing saddles reference.
September 27th, 2009 at 6:54 PM
#39
Are You Sure?
I didn't see any of this in the above chart.
September 27th, 2009 at 12:00 PM
#40
I thought OSU had a better
I thought OSU had a better academic reputation than MSU.
Speaking from experience, they graduate pretty smart engineers. I've worked with a number of really smart mechanical and electrical engineers who graduated from OSU. I don't think I've ever come across a Sparty in the engineering world.
September 27th, 2009 at 9:09 PM
#41
Dude-
What the hell is that a picture of? Is that a primate or a cat? It's scaring me a little...
September 27th, 2009 at 12:01 PM
#42
so we're going to beat MSU
so we're going to beat MSU 80-30? because last i saw, this defense gave up 450+ yds to indiana. excuse everyone of us for having rational thought and reasoning
September 27th, 2009 at 12:26 PM
#43
-1 for crappy sense of humor
-1 for crappy sense of humor
September 27th, 2009 at 1:11 PM
#44
guess i missed something
guess i missed something
September 27th, 2009 at 4:34 PM
#45
Color me humor-challenged
I think he was referring to some indication in your post that you were joking, exaggerating, or making some sort of allusion. I've re-read your original rant a couple times and am still missing the <hyperbole> tag that would make it non-crazy, and that's even with the help of the poster who pointed out your Animal House allusion.
September 27th, 2009 at 12:15 PM
#46
Had to +1 you
For the Animal House quote.
September 28th, 2009 at 9:40 AM
#47
It's called grammar, dumbass. Look into it.
It's entirely obvious, even to us 'MooU' fans, that you have nothing whatsoever to do with Michigan the school, and just love backing a 'winner'. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, maybe you do work at UM. There are a lot of custodians here, after all.
September 27th, 2009 at 11:25 AM
#48
WTF HTML
Following mgoblog tradition, this comparison can best be viewed in chart form.
But, evidently, can not be viewed in Safari form:
September 27th, 2009 at 1:49 PM
#49
Right??
I have Internet Explorer on a computer running Vista, and nope- nothing but gibberish for the OP. So maybe it's not just a Safari thing.
