Just a game or bigger than that?
Here's what I don't get:
We hear all the time how football=religion down south. It's more than just a game or sport for them. It's a way of life. Hell, it's bigger than life or death We, us damn Yankees, don't understand.
But now we are being told -- including by some of our own -- that we are a rabid fanbase that, in expecting our football team to live up to its historical standards, expects too much and has made the HC gig on U of M an undesirable job.
Well... which is it?
January 10th, 2011 at 11:42 AM ^
The two are not necessarily the same... I think when people talk about football being their religion they are saying that it consumes their whole life, all week, all year. This doesnt necessarily mean that it is winning at all costs or there is an expectation of competing for a national championship every year.
January 10th, 2011 at 11:43 AM ^
to make themselves feel "special".
Give them a break, they're from the South.
January 10th, 2011 at 11:43 AM ^
the love for your team is religion. we are not being told that we've made the HC gig undesirable, that was supposedly done by failure on the main stage. griping and bitching is commonplace in the South. LSU fans are even conceding that Miles may leave simply bc his absurdly positive record still hasn't won over half the fanbase while going 9-3 would cause cartwheels in Ann Arbor.
January 10th, 2011 at 12:09 PM ^
Well, depends who the 3 are. Lose to ND, MSU, and OSU and you'd have a gazillion crazies at your door screaming GTFO.
January 10th, 2011 at 11:47 AM ^
I've done significant time in the south, btw, and the passion of the fans is sold as a positive.
January 10th, 2011 at 11:48 AM ^
...the passion AND the expectations...
January 10th, 2011 at 11:49 AM ^
I live and Alabama and the difference in fans has to do with the fringe fans. Diehards are the same in AA or tuscaloosa, but in Tuscaloosa everyone at least cares a bit. In AA it doesn't matter. My in laws live in AA and don't care about Michigan football at all, and they don't get crap about it. Here in Tuscaloosa, they would be badgered for not caring.
January 10th, 2011 at 11:51 AM ^
They eat, breathe, and sleep Cornhusker Red.
All of them...
January 10th, 2011 at 11:51 AM ^
They eat, breathe, and sleep Cornhusker Red.
All of them...
January 10th, 2011 at 3:20 PM ^
There's literally no other game in town. Much of the South has no pro sports teams to take attention away from the college teams.
January 10th, 2011 at 12:28 PM ^
Not only was I born in SEC country, I spent several of my formative years in Oklahoma. Since my daughter graduated and moved to DC, I have begun sending her snippets titled "It's only a game". The Mealer story is one example of those notes to her. I'm not changing, the media will just have to get over it.
Edit; just an fyi to WalmartWolverine. It is damnyankee.
January 10th, 2011 at 12:07 PM ^
It IS just a game, and I'll never let it interfere with my other relationships in a significant way, but a lot of people around here and possibly even more in the southern states (I've never talked football with someone from Alabama.) seem to consider it to be the equivalent of a relationship.
I'll get worked up, I'll yell at a friend while discussing our coaching situation, and I'll fight tooth and nail if someone tries to tell me Woodson didn't deserve the Heisman, but I always do my best to keep it in context.
We run into problems when people take things way too seriously.
I don't know if that even addresses the OP, but whatever.
January 10th, 2011 at 12:10 PM ^
that has gotten us where we are.
It's conflating the idea of support and expectations of success, and therefore if one supports the team with their heart and soul, then one is entitled to expect the team to compete for conference titles every year.
And if the team is less than that, then this hypothetical "fan" (which is unfortunately not so hypothetical) is entitled to demand better because their support for the team is not being matched with success on the field.
Obviously, sometimes changes need to be made, because there ARE certain expectations for this school's football team. But those expectations exist within the entire universe of college football as it stands in 2011, not in the minds of some "fans" who have inflated their own perception of what is acceptable.
January 10th, 2011 at 12:13 PM ^
if you are a big fan. I'll take a couple examples from the NFL, such as the lift the city of New Orleans felt when the Saints won the super bowl, or the way you could imagine how much Detroit would be lifted if the Lions won the super bowl. i believe college isn't much different to those who are invested into the university.
January 10th, 2011 at 3:30 PM ^
Are you sure Detroit would be lifted instead of burnt down? I know one thing - they would have to close the state down for a couple of days for the celebration.
January 10th, 2011 at 12:28 PM ^
Sports is NEVER about "perspective" never has been and never will be. yes, the personal stuff comes in, such as the mealer story, and that reminds us these are real people here, but I believe and always will believe that sports allows us to take a break from all the crap and just go bonkers. And I for one love it.
January 10th, 2011 at 3:14 PM ^
"If you spend you adult life around Fielding Yost, Fritz Crisler, Bump Elliot, and Bo Schembechler, you learn that football is a religion and Saturday is the holy day of obligation"
It's on one of the two Bob Ufer cassette tape highlights, can't remember which one.