On the front page of WN right now on the history and tradition of the Little Brown Jug.
For some reason, Rothstein kind of gets under my skin. Does anyone else feel this way?
Is it just me or does his picture look like the mugshot of a sexual offender?
Why is he even asking Mike Hart about it anyway? Mike Hart is an EMU through and through.
Can we stop mentioning that season plz?
Also, I think I might miss hot water more than television.
It doesn't mean much...until you lose it. Then, it means a whole hell of a lot.
Yeah, that whole article kinda pissed me off. I realize we've dominated lately, but I really hate dispairaging one of the oldest trophies in college football, and an historic rivalry with a fello Big Ten team. Just seemed kind of tasteless. There's so much history to talk about, why not focus on that?
...but what a...
...can I call him a "maroon" and not get negged? Can we all agree on that as an acceptable jab?
As a Michigan fan, the Little Brown Jug means a lot to me, because it is one of the greatest Michigan traditions.
Probably doesn't mean much to casual Michigan fans. But, y'know, we all make our choices in life...
"The Artes, The Scientia, The Veritas."
I really don't enjoy his writing...but that's just me.
I am pretty sure that I would rarely browse over to WN if TomVH wasnt writing there. Everyone else seems to be a cut below. That is not a slam, it just is the way it is.
I don't know about anyone else, but I love the Little Brown Jug and hope it stays in Ann Arbor forever. I appreciate it.
When the ADept sells special jerseys and gear, you'll see my picture next to the targeted customer crowd. A sheep.....but a Blue one.....
It is part of what defines Michigan. We are not dismissive of it at all. Why do you think places are named after it in A2? We don't have any places named after wins over illinois. (Although maybe we should after last year . . . "Hey, meet me for a drink at 3OT tonight.")
M'Dog
Has there been a Michigan player who has brought us so much joy and agony, simply with his mouth?
I respect the hell out of him as a player, but ....
Denard = Little Brown Stud
/no homo
/no racism
"Better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football" -- John Heisman
The jug has clearly fallen in value. At one point it was such a focal point we had a bar named after it, it was the key trophy of the season, etc. Now Minnesota is a game we don't consider a protected rivarly, a game we expect to win, and Minnesota is a team with a losing record against the Dakotas.
At this point I don't feel any special joy from having it. We should have it, the sun should rise, etc. I do feel a lot of pain when we don't have it.
I know and I still drink there. My point was, can you imagine naming a bar after it today? Half the fanbase (your potential customers) would have no idea what it is. If you go to the Jug today they have to explain on the menu what the trophy is.
If you were opening a bar today and trying to pick a Michigan sports theme, the Minnesota rivalry would not be the first one to come to mind.
When the bar opened. How many other Michigan themes are also one's you can drink out of?
"I love him, he's a great coach, he's a great mentor, he's a great friend. He's every single thing you want a college coach to be, and he does it flawlessly." -David Molk
Umm...The Brown Jug (the restaurant/bar) has been around for 73 years. I imagine the Little Brown Jug mattered when it opened.
I will always remember The Brown Jug as the place where a drunk Jake Long and an even drunker Adam Kraus attempted to convince me they were members of the tennis team. It was an incredibly funny you-had-to-be-there-bro moment that is forever etched in my memory.
HOKEAMANIA RUNNIN' WILD
Formerly, TheLastProphet
Isn't it the oldest trophy in college football, and not just "one of the oldest"?
It's the 2nd Oldest Trophy in North America too. Only the Yates Cup has a longer history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yates_Cup
If you're doing nothing, how do you know when you're finished?
I love that jug! I'm glad I have zero fear of Michigan losing it ever again.
"True loyalty is that quality of service that grows under adversity and expands in defeat. Any street urchin can shout applause in victory, but it takes character to stand fast in defeat. One is noise - the other, loyalty." — Yost
Are... are we talking about poop here?
or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
I think it is extremely important - it's a symbol of a long-standing matchup in the conference, and think of some of the people that have had the opportunity to carry that thing around the field after a victory. It means quite a bit.
"Funny isn't it, how naughty dentists always make that one fatal mistake."
Follow the random tweets of a Michigan alum - http://twitter.com/#!/LorneEC3
Did no one else notice the part where it says the Michigan and Minnesota are not neighboring states?
I mean I agree that they should just give the UP to Minnesota or Canada but come on, that's simple map reading skills!
Uh.....I believe you are thinking of Wisconsin.
BTN broadcast guy talking about Nik Stauskas~" He is the best import since Molson"
I guess technically Michigan borders Minnesota, when you get into lake boundaries and such:

Isle Royale is the key. It's clearly close to Minnesota waters.
But anyway, what's all this "We should give the UP to Minnesota or Canada" crazy talk? It's our prize for ceding Toledo. (Kind of a win-win...)
we have a water border with minnesota.
It is tremendously important. People who say otherwise are just as bad as people who say the Michigan OSU rivalry doesn't matter as much anymore.
Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.
- Vince Lombardi
I think he's just saying that there's less excitement for winning it, and for that game in general, than other ones on our schedule. Does anyone disagree that we care more about Ohio, Sparty, and Notre Dame? Does anyone disagree that there's more excitement leading up to those games? Does anyone disagree that when we win the jug, the reaction isn't anywhere near what he described as Minnesota's reaction?
I love the jug - it's tradition and history (of us dominating the series) is everything I love about Michigan football. If you told me we'd never play for it again, I'd be pissed. But less pissed than never playing the game again. And I think that's what his point is.
I've met Rothstein and I think he's a nice guy. Generally, I enjoy his writing and there's value in a non-MICH person writing about Michigan. I don't necessarily agree with this, but I can disagree with an article without going ad hom...
Even though we've won 36 of the last 39 meetings, it's still the best (regular season) trophy game in college football. It's got history and a great story. It was part of an actual Michigan/Minnesota game over 100 years ago. How could you NOT like playing for that thing?
It led to the rest of the Big Ten playing trophy games, the majority of which are beyond stupid. Like Ohio State and Illinois playing for that turtle thing.
Go Blue! Always!
I would respect the Illibuck Trophy more if they didn't mash the schools' names together in the most unimaginative way possible to name the trophy. Maybe if they called it the Zaxxon Trophy.
The Wiki is great for the trophy: "Ohio State's 2010 victory in the series was vacated as a result of the football team's use of inelligible players."
Abort, Retry, Fail?
Hey Mike, somebody named Jon on line one.
you younglings (get off my lawn) I remember the 70s and how Bo was very focused on beating Minn and the jug. Minnesota was decent back then.
It is a must win over a historial rival, like the Red Wings must beat Toronto even though that is not much a rivalry any more either.
life is like a box of chocolates... and you got the Whizzo Quality Assortment
Yes. The title is pretty damn inaccurate; I would bet there are other players he could have talked to besides Mike Hart who would feel differently. And the coaches would undoubtedly disagree that it's unimportant. But why let that get in the way of writing an article that Mikey desperately hopes raises some controversy?
He also has the most annoyingly nasal voice I've ever heard on the radio. At least he got a goddamn haircut.