M-Dog

January 20th, 2014 at 5:54 PM ^

It's sad.  In some way I feel like it's our fault.  

Being in the shadow of the University of Michigan sucks all of the CFB oxygen out of the air in the area.  It's hard to have a CFB program thrive just off of the students on campus.  You need some interest from the local community.  If EMU was more isolated like Ohio U. it might get its own sunshine.

 

Brodie

January 20th, 2014 at 9:24 PM ^

No, Eastern being a commuter school with no sense of identity is what does it. I know tons of kids who went to EMU and not a single one of them owns a single article of clothing repping the school... they're not proud of having gone there, it was just a place they spent some hours. 

Brodie

January 21st, 2014 at 2:48 AM ^

There is absolutely nothing wrong with it being that, I agree. I think the amount of pride fellow Michigan alums take in the school is absolutely moronic, personally (I'm thinking of the guy a few years back who said he'd vote against his own values if a MICHIGAN MAN were running for office).

But that's the real reason that Eastern football's in the state it's in. I've never understood the whole "shadow of Michigan" line on it... it's not like EMU students get student tix to Michigan games (UM-Dearborn kids do, but it actually helps school spirit on that campus). The truth is, most Western students live on campus and go to football games because that's the thing to do at college. Ditto Central to an even greater degree. At Eastern, most of the student body is at home or at work on Saturday. And that's awesome, no question, but it leads to a culture of disinterest... students who aren't engaged don't become alumni who demand wins, and athletes are going to pass on playing in front of a mostly empty stadium at a commuter school if given any other option. 

UMgradMSUdad

January 21st, 2014 at 8:22 AM ^

The point M-Dog makes about the community is a good one, though.  It may or may not be due to UM's shadow, but there certainly doesn't seem to be a groundswell of local community support for the football team.  And while a lot of students commute, there are also plenty of students who live on campus as well.  But, EMU has had, except for a few short lived exceptions, football teams that have not been good for at least 30 years.  It's hard to build a following and pride when the team wins just a handful of games year in and out.

alum96

January 20th, 2014 at 5:02 PM ^

Word on the street is Lane Kiffin was brought in a month ago to "evaluate" the running backs at EMU.  You know how things work out from there...

Chippewa Blue

January 20th, 2014 at 5:06 PM ^

Oh c'mon and here I was hoping to not have to root against Hart's team anymore. Wish him and the running backs there much success. Hope the rest of the team just blows it for them. Fire Up Chips

Flocka

January 20th, 2014 at 5:22 PM ^

In NCAA14 Mike Hart starts as OC at CMU and is very succsesful, and goes on to be OC at MICHIGAN, he then proceeds to be HC at Kentucky where he wins the SEC 3 years in a row before coming back to be HC at Michigan and win 4 national championships in 5 years !

LSAClassOf2000

January 20th, 2014 at 5:24 PM ^

As I recall, the article which indicated that Hart was to stay in Ypsilanti was published just a shade over a week ago, so it would be interesting to know what happened between then and now. I wonder if we will get some insight into that in the coming days. I would be interested to know for one anyway. 

JHendo

January 20th, 2014 at 5:38 PM ^

I actually see Western as promotion over Eastern, rather than a lateral move.  Of all the directional Michigans, EMU is the least likely to attract decent talent.  Some pretty decent players have come through Kalamzaoo, as well as a few decent coaches.  Here's to WMU ("fight Broncos, fight!"), and also to Mike for climbing that ladder back to U of M one rung at a time!

Perkis-Size Me

January 20th, 2014 at 6:53 PM ^

EMU and WMU are not even on the same planet when it comes to how much each respective program has struggled over its lifetime. WMU has been a consistently average to good MAC team, good for a bowl game berth every year or two.



EMU's program should be demoted to D-2 status, and even then, I'm not sure that'd help. I think EMU has had one winning season in the past 20 years. They make Purdue look like Alabama. Yes, both programs struggled this year, but EMU has absolutely nothing to sell its program on. They don't have any football success right now, nor do they have a tradition of winning. Their facilities are undoubtedly subpar. Not to mention the school down the road in Ann Arbor dominates the whole area.



I honestly believe that a culture of losing has embedded itself within that program. People expect them to lose, whereas at WMU they should at least have a fighting chance. The man who is able to turn EMU around one day deserves a national holiday dedicated to him. It's got to be one of the hardest places in America to build a winning program.

SalvatoreQuattro

January 20th, 2014 at 7:26 PM ^

Save for a few winning seasons in the 00's Western has been pretty awful at football. EMU i certainly worse, but not much. CMU is the only real MAC power in state WMU won their last MAC title in 1988,a year after EMU.

 

You should probably stop trumpeting WMU's grand tradition because it, like unicorns, does not exist.

LordGrantham

January 20th, 2014 at 6:02 PM ^

I honestly don't see why EMU should even have a football team.  If your program is never even competitive, why does it still exist?

goblue16

January 20th, 2014 at 6:41 PM ^

Relax they can still have a football team just move to fcs level. They are no Michigan schools at the fcs level and it would make the competition less intense. I think they refuse to do that because they want to stay on the same level as wmu and cmu and I don't see them ever competing at a high level even in the Mac