Cheer up guys, we're still Michigan
Times are rough, and none of us are happy with the current state of the football ream right now, but it's time to get our chins off the ground and remember all the things we have to be happy about. Here's three:
- Without the bitter, the sweet ain't so sweet. As Michigan fans, we've tasted success more often than most college football fans. The last 2 and a half years have been trying, but think about how much you're going to enjoy that next bowl game now. Think about how sweet that next win over OSU is going to be. We've taken a lot for granted as Michigan fans, but not anymore.
- We've got the best coverage (media, not secondary). Sometimes I wonder why I've enjoyed watching the last three years of Michigan football even more than I enjoyed watching the very good 2002-2004 teams. Mgoblog is the reason. Would you rather watch a 9-3 team and have nothing but the freep to read, or watch a 7-5 team and have this depth of analysis and community of intelligent fans? Obviously we want both, but Mgoblog is a big part of what makes UM football fun. No matter how bad it gets, nothing is taking that away from us.
- We root for the greatest university in the world. No matter what the rival fans say, nothing is going to keep us down for long. We have Dave Brandon, and he is committed to getting this thing working, regardless of whether the coach is RR or Harbaugh or whoever.
Even if it's ugly on Saturday, just remember that these kids are going to play their heart out, and they're going to suit up next Saturday and the one after that. Win or lose, I'm going to enjoy every time they run out of that tunnel, every snap, every touchdown, every turnover. Tears of joy or tears of sadness, every moment is special. Because this is more than football--it's MICHIGAN. Hail.
November 4th, 2010 at 3:14 PM ^
Can we stop with this stuff . It's thursday already we need to get hyped for the next game and stop talking about penn state . Let the past be the past right now and pray these Freshman come together as a team and get 4 or 5 stops this weekend so we can win .
November 4th, 2010 at 3:16 PM ^
I know you're trying to be an optimist, but I'd rather have the sweet. I'd rather go back to being crushed by USC in the Rose Bowl every other year.
The rest of the post is on - and I will second that MGoBlog makes Michigan football a more satisfying experience.
November 4th, 2010 at 3:17 PM ^
And might I add, we have beautiful rainbows and sunshine to enjoy! And skittles at the end of those rainbows!
...
We have a game on Saturday...let's focus on kicking some ass and getting a win.
November 4th, 2010 at 3:18 PM ^
True Blue fan here. I think a collective breathe is needed because we mostly were predicting 7-5. A new DC and some praying to the Angry Hating Michigan God for penence of whatever we did and we got a high caliber team. No need to jump off the deep end. Many programs like USC and Alabama had a slew (sp?) of bad seasons and they came back. NCAA ruled in our favor, could this be a turn of events? Pizza Bowl here we come!
For those who missed it earlier...Breakfast stands for our season:
November 4th, 2010 at 3:20 PM ^
Hell yea, and don't forget about the cheaper ticket prices!
But really, you're right on. The guys are playing hard week-in and week-out and it's only a matter of time until things get rollling. Everyone loves to kick a team when theyre down, but nothing good comes easy. And to be honest, things can't POSSIBLY get worse.
November 4th, 2010 at 3:22 PM ^
MGoBlog = MGoCrack!! I just can't get enough!!! We'll be back on top soon and life will be sweet again. I cannot wait!
Go Blue!
November 4th, 2010 at 3:27 PM ^
The rest of the Big 10 schools could beat us every game from here to eternity and I still wouldn't trade my UM degree for one of theirs.
November 4th, 2010 at 4:06 PM ^
Signed. We all love our athletics, but academics is and will always be #1.
November 4th, 2010 at 9:04 PM ^
well said!
November 4th, 2010 at 3:28 PM ^
Michigan had a long streak of success. So did Nebraska, Alabama, Ohio State.
But even stellar football programs like Texas, Oklahoma, OSU, Alabama, Miami (FL), Florida State and Nebraska reach their zenith and come back down to earth. Some are have made a roaring comeback (OSU, Alabama). Some are just starting to do so (Nebraska).
I don't know about Michigan. The next 4 games will tell us plenty. This is an incredibly young Michigan team, probably the youngest ever in terms of those on the staring lineup. Michigan will have 21 to 22 starters back next year (probably more). The Wolverines offense, despite this youth at multiple positions, including offensive line, is ranked 4th in the land.
That is freaking astonishing. The recruiting isn't fantastic this fall, but there are 4 more months of work to go. Plenty of time.
Michigan should be very well positioned next year, even better than they were the last 3.
November 4th, 2010 at 3:29 PM ^
I want to players to play hard and actually win games. It hurts watching our players go out there and give 110% and lose games like Purdue, Toledo, and PSU. I'm tired of having great players like Brandon Graham not make a bowl his senior year.
This losing builds character. But if our boys played for a good coach and was on a winning team, there's no denying they'd still build character.
Those who stay will be champions, regardless of what happens on the field. But these boys deserve more than practicing hard, playing hard, and getting beat by an inferior PSU team.
November 4th, 2010 at 3:53 PM ^
Would you rather watch a 9-3 team and have nothing but the freep to read, or watch a 7-5 team and have this depth of analysis and community of intelligent fans?
While this site is great, I was plenty happy as a Michigan fan even before the interwebs. Frankly, I think my interest in recruiting and other assorted tidbits may have a lot to do with the on-the-field product not being up to snuff. Just a guess, but I wasn't really digging for extra info when we were putting up W's and feeding the NFL with Wolverines.
November 4th, 2010 at 3:58 PM ^
I remember watching the 2003 team dismantling opponents and I would read everything I could find on Saturday afternoon, and then that was it until the next Saturday, aside from the occasional newpaper article or Michigan Replay. I didn't know that team, as much as I enjoyed watching them. I know this team, and that's a big part of why I love them, flaws and all.
But I can understand your view as well. To each his own.
November 4th, 2010 at 6:48 PM ^
When I was an undergrad 10 years ago, magazines were the only source for recruiting information and I would always laugh at the thought of reading them when I spotted them at Ulrich's or Michigan Book and Supply. Those magazines are for obsessive old men, I'd think. Ten years later, I'm pushing 30 and while I've never cracked a recruiting magazine, I check mgoblog and other blogs and news sites obsessively; they are a huge drain on my time. If I could turn the clock back to a time when my main source of Michigan football news was the Michigan Daily and a Jim Cnockaert column in the Ann Arbor News I would. I'm sure I'd be much more productive!
November 4th, 2010 at 4:02 PM ^
Stop telling me to cheer up, this is the 3rd time in a weak a thread told me to cheer up. I want to be pissed, just like our team should be pissed off.
November 4th, 2010 at 4:14 PM ^
I don't want to be happy and cheery. If the Wolverines lose it pisses me off. I want to feel like the boys who are playing on Saturdays. I live in OHIO and really don't like all the negative comments directed at the Wolverines for losing right now. I wish we could turn back time and make them remeber the Cooper Years. This losing gets to me and I want to be pissed off.
November 4th, 2010 at 4:15 PM ^
1. I'd rather skip the bitter.
2. 9-3 (sorry Brian)
3. I don't care if the AD is Foghorn Leghorn if the coach is winning at a Mack Brown pace.
Sorry, I hate these posts as much as the ranting posts about firing everyone--which happen to sound more and more reasonable now...
November 4th, 2010 at 4:08 PM ^
Don't forget that Notre Dame is still Notre Dame too...
November 4th, 2010 at 4:14 PM ^
And I think people are blind if they think ND will stay irrelevant. BK is the first coach they've hired since Holtz with a serious track record as a head coach. I think they'll be really good under him. Coaches don't just suddenly become stupid when they move to major programs (which is why I still think RR will be very successful here, given time).
November 4th, 2010 at 7:35 PM ^
ND has had six head coaches since 1981 (not counting George O'Leary or that interim guy in 2004). Five have been failures. Maybe the school is the problem. (We might note as well that the one successful coach benefitted from steroid use and NCAA recruiting violations).
As for Kelly, if I'm not mistaken, isn't his old DC no longer with him? Maybe, like RR, his shortcomings on the defensive side of the ball were masked by having a very good DC who could run the show himself.
November 4th, 2010 at 4:19 PM ^
at least we've got a great university attached to our football factory. Unlike, say Alabama or MSU."
Or, "Our D committed hara kari for the 17th time in 17 games tonight--even though the Multiple Lives Global Resurgence Tour was actually cancelled in 09--but we're the 15th best university in the world!*"
But I worry that the unwashed masses will have none of it.
*See Fall 2010 London Times Ed. Supplement, pg 9, etc.
November 4th, 2010 at 4:23 PM ^
I love Michigan, and always will. But I'm kind of tired of the "losing will make us appreciate winning more!" line. In 1997, we'd never suffered a losing season in my lifetime, but I still enjoyed the heck out of that season.
Losing sucks. There's nothing good about it. I hope the losing ends ASAP.
November 4th, 2010 at 4:30 PM ^
Hmm I feel I've seen a similar title somewhere before...
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/keep-your-heads-youre-michigan
But all joking aside, I completely agree with a lot of your points and feel they can't be said enough . I feel like I'm a much better fan now than I was in 2008 and I feel much more personally invested in the team than previously.
GO BLUE!!!
Beat the Illini!
November 4th, 2010 at 4:43 PM ^
Must have missed that thread. Wasn't my intention to replicate, though the content, title aside, differs between the two. Definitely agree about being a better fan though. That's why I never turn off the TV for a loss early. I want to feel every painful second, and remember it, for the days when we're on top again.
November 4th, 2010 at 4:45 PM ^
Maybe it's BECAUSE we are Michigan, but I can't help but feel pissed off these days. I am very grateful for the decades of great teams and will always stay loyal, regardless of record or coach.
November 4th, 2010 at 7:14 PM ^
We're all smarter too!
(Who hasn't at least thought of this argument whenever we lose a game?)
November 5th, 2010 at 1:57 AM ^
Haha. This thought at least lets me sleep at night.
November 4th, 2010 at 8:51 PM ^
Its still the best fan base on the face of the earth. This is nothing that hasnt happened to other great football universities, we just happen to be in the middle of it. When its over...WATCH OUT!
I tell everyone, "go ahead, kick Michigan while theyre down. Just remember, they'll get back up. When they do, I'm coming after you. I'll remember ever thing you said."
Whats the old saying...heavy lies the crown on the head of the king...