I'm going against the grain; I'll be rooting for Sparty

Submitted by Bosch on

Call me a traitorous bastard.  Neg me to Bolivia.  For today..... I will be pulling for Sparty.

I had no intentions to cross the line prior to the start of bowl season.  Our friends in green have no understanding of the term "winning graciously" and I don't look forward to listening to them boast about their accomplishments all off season.  Nor do I have a lot of faith that it's going to happen as I put Sparty losing as my #1 confidence in the bowl picks.

But then Iowa, Illinois, and Notre Dame took care of their business and I started to think.......  Maybe all 8 of Michigan's opponents in bowl games can emerge with victories.

It wouldn't necessarily shine a rosier light on our horrific defensive performance during the season, but maybe it would remind everyone that we did have a challenging schedule and, prior to the start of the season, how most of us would have welcomed a 7-5 record and a new Year's Day bowl game.

So, for this bowl season, Go Sparty.... and PSU, OSU, Wisconsin, and UConn (lol?)

formerlyanonymous

January 1st, 2011 at 10:49 AM ^

There's nothing wrong with most of what you said. There's only two things wrong with that last sentence:

So, for this bowl season, Go Sparty.... and PSU, OSU, Wisconsin, and UConn (lol?)

Never root for OSU. Please refrain from the dreaded "self-lol".

VictorValiant

January 1st, 2011 at 10:53 AM ^

Sometimes it helps Michigan for rivals to win. This doesn't mean you root for the team, but for an outcome. Having said that, in this bowl season, wins by ND, MSU, and OSU have minimal benefit to UM, so I will continue to root against them. I do want the B1G to represent well (because it helps UM) so I'll be rooting for Iowa and Wiscy. Go Blue...always!

SC Wolverine

January 1st, 2011 at 11:00 AM ^

Having just watched Bielema on College Gameday and being reminded of what a smug @*$$# he is, I am about ready to move Wisconsin into the ultimate hatred status as long as he is coach there.  You should have heard him boast about how "we don't have those kinds of problems here," when referring to tOSU, etc.

WolverineHistorian

January 1st, 2011 at 11:12 AM ^

Right.  That stuff never happens at Wisconsin. 

Under the "great" Barry Alvarez, 26 players were suspended for 4 games for accepting free shoes and other gifts during the 2000 season.  How would Bielema feel about that? 

Anyway, back on topic.  I have no respect for Nick Saban and the SEC.  With that said, GO BAMA!  Conference loyalty goes out the window with MSU and OSU.  Screw them both. 

readyourguard

January 1st, 2011 at 11:06 AM ^

Things I'd rather have happen than a Sparty victory today:

all-day shopping with my wife

my annual physical (including that)

an IRS audit

a DUI

my dog dying

and.......

sharing an intimate moment with my 84 year old mother in law

dearbornpeds

January 1st, 2011 at 11:07 AM ^

     The reputation of the conference is far less important than the ongoing recruiting battles.  We should be rooting against our principal rivals for the future of the program.

Jasper

January 1st, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^

The OP makes good points about the perceived strength of Michigan's football.  Still, I'm hoping that Sparty gets crushed and humiliated today.  Their treatment by the press has often seemed to be the inverse of what Michigan has experienced.  Remember that "Little Giants" play?  ESPN recently had it in the Top 5 plays of the year for ANY sport.  Crazy.

Sven_Da_M

January 1st, 2011 at 11:12 AM ^

... Saban is a massive wad, Dantonio a humorless prig.

Still, I very much want (expect) Sparty to be outed by Alabama.  I see an Iowa-type performance by the Cons on the Cedar River.

Watching Dantonio on the sidelines during this epic fail will be worth the price of admission.

Roll Tide!

WolverineHistorian

January 1st, 2011 at 11:42 AM ^

Ahh, yes.  That was several years before I was born but Don Canham wrote detailed accounts of it in his book.  MSU's decision to vote against us was not because they truly thought OSU would have a better chance of beating a very weak USC team in Pasadena.  It was because their president ordered the athletic director to vote against us because the MSU players did not want to see us play in the Rose Bowl yet again. 

We also beat them 31-0 in East Lansing a few weeks prior in a rain storm and they were still smarting from that. 

SC Wolverine

January 1st, 2011 at 12:21 PM ^

It is possible to root against both teams, you know.  It makes for a grumpy, but oddly satsifying viewing experience.  You are guaranteed the joy of one side's defeat, at least.

Good point about Saban, though.  I wasn't suggesting we actually root for him when stoking our obligatory hatred for Sparty.

NateVolk

January 1st, 2011 at 11:36 AM ^

I just have a feeling all the rooting we do isn't going to help them today.  Unless Alabama is sort of flat footed and indifferent like the Utah game a couple years.

I just don't see State moving the ball on them much or stopping them enough.

Waters Demos

January 1st, 2011 at 12:19 PM ^

I disagree with Frieze without qualification.  There is no team - professional, collegiate, club, or otherwise - about whom I'd say something like this (or other comments). 

Even your biggest rival has players who are good kids from good families. 

18-22 year olds playing a game.  Context; perspective. 

Waters Demos

January 1st, 2011 at 1:40 PM ^

F*ck Sparty.  No, really, f*ck that whole team.

My construction of this statement is that it is serious.  The "[n]o, really" is the basis for said construction.  I interpret this to mean "this could be taken as a joke (or some other unserious colloquial phrase), but I really mean it."    What other construction could be given to "really" in this instance?