Fanbases

Submitted by GNM on

I heard a lot of talk in one of the Diaries this week about Penn States fans.  It seems like a mixed bag, which I suppose makes sense considering that each visiting fan has a relatively small sample size of opposing fans with whom they interact.  At any rate, I was just curious what the general consensus is about each Big Ten fanbase.  Feel free to include other common opponients (i.e. ND, EMU) for the purpouses of discussion.  I have only visited a couple:

  •  Northwestern:  Very gracious hosts with a hell of a sense of humor about the whole "we're Northwestern" thing.  Not a lot of bandwagon fans here, either.  When only 20,000 or so show up on Saturday, you can bet most of them know their team.  Players' families put on a hell of a post-game tailgate where the players actually come and eat right after the game.  Can you imagine the crowd this would draw at some programs?
  •  Illinois:  Illinois fans seemed convicned that we are their bitter rivals.  The students I've ran across have been drunk and belligerent.  There is a huge Greek community there, which participates in "football block," which pretty much consistes of getting hammered at 8 A.M. then hanging from balconies and screaming until gametime.  This happens everywhere, I think, but the numbers here are really staggering.  They really, really hate Michigan.  I dated someone their breifly, and used to get all kinds of shit just for wearing a M jacket around campus.
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MaizeAndBlueWahoo

October 21st, 2008 at 10:39 AM ^

The problem with Illinois is they have no real rivals, other than Mizzou and they get that game over with first thing so they've got nothing to look forward to.  Nobody thinks Illibuck is worth anything.

The only fanbases I've got any personal experience with in the Big Ten is Little Brother, and OSU, and we all know how LB is: intensely jealous, spiteful, would rather see an M loss than a Sparty win, and in general so consumed with an inferiority complex that it colors everything they do.

As for OSU, I'd say it's as mixed a bag as it gets.  You've got some actually pretty respectable people there, and you've got your couch-burning fucktards.  Based on the reactions after Bo died, LB is by far the worse fanbase and it's not even close.

And I can't let a thread like this go - ever - without pointing out that until you've come in contact with the Maryland fanbase, you don't know what bad fans are like.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 41586

Chrisgocomment

October 21st, 2008 at 10:39 AM ^

I went to a game in Evanston and to me the NW students are big time dorks.  Not saying all of them, just most, but hey it's a great school and takes a lot of smarts to get accepted too.  Their big rip on Michigan fans was sort of saying "public school" under their breath which just made me laugh at how lame it is.

Illinois - besides OSU fans they are by far the rudest I've run into in the Big House, and I've been to almost every game since the late '80's.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 1287

GNM

October 21st, 2008 at 10:47 AM ^

I've been to a handful of games a Ryan Field.  Michigan brought more fans than they did.  Against other teams (Duke, Indiana, etc) the place is pretty empty.  I think I have been to more games than their average undergrad.  Women's Lacrosse is, no joke, maybe the biggest sport on campus.

Joined: 09/15/2008

MGoPoints: 43

Chrisgocomment

October 21st, 2008 at 10:53 AM ^

Yeah, I was there last year, UM v. NW.  2/3 of the stadium were M fans.

Women's Lacrosse?  No F'n way.  That's horrible.  I imagine this year NW is getting way more fans.  

Also, Evanston is just gorgeous.  What a beautiful place.  Great campus and the area the stadium is in is very very nice.  I really enjoyed going there.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 1287

WolvinLA

October 21st, 2008 at 12:48 PM ^

I have a good friend (see: booty call) out here who played lacrosse for Northwestern, and I might need to mirror the comment about it being the biggest sport on campus.  Whenever we run into someone else from NW they are so excited to meet someone from their lacrosse team, which is totally weird, but they had never met her but knew her by name.  They have won like 3 or 4 national championships in a row.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 875

Yinka Double Dare

October 21st, 2008 at 1:11 PM ^

I think they also started their program from scratch less than 10 years ago and were winning titles only a few years in.  The coach bugged girls who had played basketball or other sports in HS and got them to play for the lacrosse team, figuring she could train good athletes to play lacrosse well.  Apparently she was right.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 9775

WolvinLA

October 21st, 2008 at 1:35 PM ^

They're a frickin' dynasty.  They won an NCAA champsionship in 2005 after the program existed for only 5 years, and they have won every year since then (4 in a row).  Maryland is the only team to ever three-peat, and no team has ever won 4 in a row.  They are the most western school to ever win a championship (much like Michigan is the only team East of the Mississippi with a softball title). If people cared about girls sports, this would be a really big deal.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 875

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

October 21st, 2008 at 10:49 AM ^

They came to Charlottesville once.  Those mofos travel.  Only one fanbase could even match them and that was South Carolina.  More than any other ACC team or even VT.  They seemed OK.  Very loud bunch.  There was a large and very loud group of them in the corner of the grass hill next to the student section.  They weren't rude, but very vocal.  When UVA was kneeling out the clock the whole student section turned and waved them bye-bye as they made the single file walk of shame back up the hill, so that was fun.  But I gotta respect any fanbase that traveled the way they did.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 41586

Blue Durham

November 9th, 2008 at 10:09 PM ^

PSU used to play UVa regularly before they joined the Big Ten.  PSU played Maryland, UVa, Temple, 'nova (before they nucked football) Rutgers, Pitt, Syracuse and BC back in the '60's throught the '80's.  Then through in a game or two against ND and Alabama on occasion.

But I am pretty sure that PSU travelled much more than once to C'ville (hell, back then it was a real easy win). 

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 6082

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

November 10th, 2008 at 1:13 PM ^

"Once" was really short for "once upon a time" rather than a number count. I've only been a UVA fan since 2000 when I started there. Personal recollection tells me they've only made that one trip since then. Stassen tells me they only went to Charlottesville once in the '80s, and won, but we got our revenge the next year in State College. And hey now - the 80s were mostly good times to be a UVA fan. That was the Welsh era. It was the 70s and 60s that UVA was a doormat.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 41586

dex

October 21st, 2008 at 11:38 AM ^

MSU - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

OSU - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

Minnesota - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

Iowa - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

Indiana - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

Wisconsin - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

Illinois - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

Penn State - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

Purdue - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

Northwestern - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

ND - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

EMU - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

Utah - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

Toledo - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

Oregon - A lot of fun people, a few assholes.

 

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 1934

Anonymous Coward (not verified)

October 21st, 2008 at 2:18 PM ^

I think this is true in life as in football stadiums.  People are just people everywhere you go.  A lot of areas seem to have a reputation (i.e. New Yorkers are assholes, the South is hospitable), but in reality, people are just people.

 I can't help but realize that some teams do have reputations, though.  Look at the "Michigan arrogance" that is so often talked about.  Real or imagined?

Joined: 12/12/2017

MGoPoints: 0

chitownblue (not verified)

October 21st, 2008 at 12:32 PM ^

Look, living in Chicago, I live around, and work with, kids from essentially every single Big 10 school. I assure you that all of them defy any sort of easy classification.

I mean, it's true that Illinois fans are very concious of Michigan, and treat us as a major rival. Some people give good-natured shit about it, some are assholes about it.

Northwestern is "nice" and "gracious" because so few of them show up to say anything. It's a glorified home game for Michigan. Yes, the people are generally nice, but that's because when you resign yourself to losing before the game starts (and many of them do), it's hard to get all uppity about it. This year, probably, will be a bit different.

I can't say anything about the IU, Purdue, Iowa, Penn State, or Wisconsin fans I deal with on a regular basis. Most of them, because I surround myself with people I like, are reasonable, nice people, who will give me occassional shit about the team. Whatever.

Joined: 12/12/2017

MGoPoints: 0

bsb2002

October 21st, 2008 at 12:50 PM ^

dex:  let's go to a bar tonight.

 

bsb: ok, i like the crowd at joe's pub more than vern's saloon. let's go there.

 

chitown:  i know people who go to vern's and some of them are very nice. how dare you!

 

dex: all bars are the same. some nice people, some jerks. beer. i have never been to one that is different from another.

 

bsb: uhhh, ok, where do you want to go?

 

chitown: i cannot say. i have been to many bars, each of which had its own charm.

 

dex: there is no own charm. all same. 

 

bsb: i'm going home.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 512

WolvinLA

October 21st, 2008 at 12:52 PM ^

I think people are confusing the questions a bit.  I don't think he was looking for how grads of certain school act around the workplace.  I'm sure that graduates from all the big ten schools are pretty similar in ttheir day to day activities.  However, on gameday, especially AT big ten football games, different schools act very differently than one another, based a lot on the culture of the school and program.  I think that's more the opinion he's looking for.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 875

turbo cool

October 21st, 2008 at 1:05 PM ^

nw:nerds, msu:assholes but a lot of fun, osu:assholes, wisco:assholes but a lot of fun, iu:mucho fun, purdue:?, iowa:i'm assuming much like wisco, minn:too far away, psu:assholes who maybe fun now that their lives are complete. all done.

Joined: 07/10/2008

MGoPoints: 977

bsb2002

October 21st, 2008 at 1:24 PM ^

chitown:we should go to frank's

 

bsb: but you got stabbed there last time.

 

chitown: small sample size, it will be better this time.

 

bsb: but there was another stabbing there last weekend, and there are cops all around it. see, that guy's getting handcuffed right now. it seems like a bad idea.

 

chitown: let's give it another chance!

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 512

Real Tackles Wear 77

October 21st, 2008 at 2:22 PM ^

I was at the ND game earlier this year, and I was shocked with how nice and how classy all their fans were. I dont think we heard a single person say bad things to us or any other M fans, and we got a lot of "welcome to south bend, good luck out there today" kind of talk. now only if that game wasn't played in a monsoon...

Joined: 07/05/2008

MGoPoints: 9688

WolvinLA

October 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 PM ^

ND fans were seriously humbled last year.  I don't expect that to last long.

I bet M fans won't be running their mouths as much next season as they have in season's past either.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 875

longball2077

October 22nd, 2008 at 7:40 PM ^

Where I live there are a ton of Michigan State Fans and in my experience MSU fans are the the most obnoxious and annoying people in existence.  All they do is talk about how damn good Ringer is and how shitty Michigan is.  They would rather see Michigan lose then there own team win, which puzzles me cuz I could care less how MSU does on a weekly bases except for this week.

Personaly I think they are jealous and scared. They are jealous of the Michigan football tradtion and are scared of the future were undoubtably they will be right back to 2-10 seasons ,featuring wins over Florida Atlantic and East Grand Rapids High School, while very very soon Rich Rod will be leading us to consecutive 10-2 11-1 and ,hopefully, 12-0 seasons.

Joined: 10/20/2008

MGoPoints: 15

longball2077

October 22nd, 2008 at 7:38 PM ^

Where I live there are a ton of Michigan State Fans and in my experience MSU fans are the the most obnoxious and annoying people to ever live.  All they do is talk about how damn good Ringer is and how shitty Michigan is.  I think MSU fans would rather have MSU be beaten by 50 then have Michigan win, which puzzles me cuz I could care less how MSU does on a weekly bases except for this week.

Personaly I think they are jealous and scared. They are jealous of the Michigan football tradtion and are scared of the future were undoubtably they will be right back to 2-10 seasons ,featuring wins over Florida Atlantic and East Grand Rapids High School, while very very soon Rich Rod will be leading us to consecutive 10-2 11-1 and ,hopefully, 12-0 seasons.

Joined: 10/20/2008

MGoPoints: 15

Maximinus Thrax

November 9th, 2008 at 9:14 PM ^

Agreed that Sparties suck.  They cannot look objectively at anything.  They don't realize that they have yet to beat a truly good team.  They take immense pride in beating M during what could quite possibly be their worst season ever.  They think Dantonio is on his way to establishing a longstanding supremacy in the Big Ten.  They are pathetic.

Joined: 10/26/2008

MGoPoints: 5182

formerlyanonymous

November 9th, 2008 at 7:45 PM ^

I posted a fanpost on Maizenbrew about my trip to Texas this weekend vs Baylor.  Their fans are just as bad as Michigan fans, but in new and interesting ways. Students sell their tickets in mass because there is no way they are going to an 11am start, alumni won't stay more than 30 minutes into games... and more. I would have posted a diary, but you are limited to one picture, and I wanted to show how empty the stadium was throughout the game. Hence the posting in a semi-relevant forum topic.

http://www.maizenbrew.com/2008/11/9/657410/a-trip-to-austin-puts-mich

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 38964