ESPN article on fraternizing with the enemy: UM & Ohio
There's an article over at ESPN on UofM recruits fraternizing with Ohio recruits at The Opening. (LINK: http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/8143990/michigan-ohio-state-rivalry-put-hold-opening)
Really, just a piece of fluff. But as I think about this, it just goes to who people are. If someone is cool and you get along with them, it doesn't matter what school they go to, or will go to, or went to. The flip side is true: just because someone is at Michigan doesn't automatically mean that you're going to be friends.
I remember several Michigan athletes who were jerks. And also have known some from other schools who were good guys. You never know.
Some of my best friends are Buckeyes, and we just don't talk for a week in November. The rivalry doesn't always have to be going 100%, especially in real life
Same here. Especially growing up in NW Ohio there is quite a mix of Michigan and Ohio fans. One of my best friends is an Ohio fan and truthfully I can't stand him around the time of The Game. But the rest of the year, we are really good friends.
I have one friend who's a Buckeye and a few who are Spartans. Even the week of the games against them, we're still on good terms. We have an unspoken understanding not to rub it in no matter what happens. If you act civilized to rival fans, most of the time they'll respond in kind.
All of my best friends are Buckeye fans.we just dont takk much football anymore. after the Tressel blow out and the endless laughing by me we just dont talk about football. they could not take the truth.
Did Sparty have any 2013 recruits at The Opening?
Aspiring U-M swimmer Laquon Treadwell in the hotel pool in Beaverton. That "M" probably does not indicate "Missouri":
Don't know if your question was sarcastic or not, but no they did not have any recruits or even serious possibilities in attendance at The Opening. IIRC I remember RCMB actually saying that The Opening is just a giant "circle jerk", so I guess you can take that for what it's worth. I will also say thanks for posting the article on ESPN.
I did a little bit of looking for a complete invitation list for The Opening/2012, and couldn't find one. I saw lineups for the various teams (Who picks the team names?), and some regional lists, but no single, all-inclusive list. I'm sure there must be one somewhere; I just didn't find one.
Speaking of circle jerk...pot meet kettle and all that.
Expecting UM/OSU players to be as polarized about the rivalry as most of us fans is errant projection. These kids are 5-6 years removed from being 11-12 years old, and the majority probably didn't become rabid Blue fans at age 13. They're relatively new to the rivalry, and as high schoolers, their minds are probably on girls, their future, homework, etc. To expect these kids to get all militant like gang member inductees who can't have relations with the enemy is preposterous.
Us blown out old guys though, that's another story. Eff Ohio.
I think there's some truth to this. some of these recruits don't have that sense of bitterness yet, because why would they if they're not from around here? and even some of the ones who did grow up in Ohio or Michigan may just not have really been super into the rivalry yet. but I think when they find themselves in the middle of it & see all the excitement surrounding it, it will become important to them.
I feel like this is the case with a lot of sports now. You look at the NBA, nobody really dislikes anyone like they used to, they all grew up playing with each other or camping with one another. I doubt in past years Bill Lambeer(sp?) was actually liked by many if any former players he faced. Football has intensity, but besides the rivalries like Steelers/Ravens, Jets/Pats, or Lions/Bears/Packers usually guys are all friends outside of the game. Nothing wrong with it, it just shows how things have changed from 20-30 years ago.
"There's an article over at ESPN on UofM recruits fraternizing with Ohio recruits at The Opening."
fraternizing? You a school principal or something?
The athletes of the major sports in college have much more in common with fellow athletes at rival schools than they do with the student body of their respective school.
Have some kind of gathering or party, and the athletes of rival schools will hang out with each other rather than with the average Joes from their own school.
I'm guessing you won't work at McDonald's forever.
not "graduate".
In most cases, that's worse.
and he did say "construction". /s
fans. I don't care if they vacation together, as long as they put the friendship aside for The Game.
They may end up playing with, or working with a player that went to tsiO in the future. This is good, the Michigan grad can figure out tips and other complicated things for his friend.
Yzerman and Sakic always seemed like buddies to me, even at the height of the Wings/Avs rivalry. I think fans often take these rivalries much more seriously than players do.
Yeah, but then, those two were always the ones that were considered "above the fray" so to speak. Most Wings fans have some respect for Sakic (even nongrudgingly) and the non-mouthbreathing Avs fans felt the same about Yzerman. I doubt someone like Patrick Roy was ever buddy-buddy with any of the Wings.
I disagree; I seem to remember Mike Vernon and Patrick Roy being VERY CLOSE. /snicker
"Right now, out here in Oregon, it's cool because we're competing and having a good time, but next year in November, there won't be a lot of friends on the field."In fact, I think it's easier to put the hurt on an acquaintance than a total enemy. That way they know you aren't trying to injure them.
"While the fans of their prospective programs still harbor plenty of bitterness toward each other, such venom has not spread to the next generation of college football players."
I have a few Spartans who actually directly report to me, and despite the Michigan items in my office and the MSU items in theirs, there's never anything but friendly ribbing that goes on during football season. Granted, it is an office setting, but as others have mentioned, the rivalries do not need to be going full tilt all the time. Indeed, when I was designing jobs, many of them were built by the same underground splicer, who was a Columbus native and a raging Buckeye fan, and we still have a great respect for the work of the other.
As for these recruits, they haven't played in the various rivalry games yet, and some of them didn't necessarily grow up being a fan of one team or the other in the rivalry they may play in, so I wouldn't expect them to simply instantly develop the "bitterness", as it was termed, but even then, it doesn't have to be all "bitterness" all the time, especially when the game is over.
To quote LaMarr Woodley in his Big Ten Fan Camp commercial: "Play with your heart, play as a team and leave it all on the campground". There's some odd truth to that.
I will hate Ohio police forever. They love to give out speeding tickets.
I didn't gloat during the John Cooper era, and he didn't gloat during the Jim Tressel era.