ND v MSU - Who To Root For?
This is no Sooners v Buckeyes, that was a no brainer. A little more challenging decision here.
Reasons to root for Sparty – Watch Brian Kelly’s purple head explode, fun to see Sparty stick a dagger in ND again and again, good for reputation of BIG conference, helps ND look weaker in Midwest recruiting battles, and always fun to watch obnoxious Irish fans hang their heads in dismay.
Reasons to root for the Domers – See Mark D look grim and pissed, takes Sparty off the “we’re back” belief after 2 MAC wins, helps us look stronger in state of Michigan recruiting, and just fun to watch the Sparty fans with an inferiority, little brother complex get it stuck to them.
My Pick – Tough call. Screw Sparty, and to hell with Notre Dame. Hate them both with a passion. Would like to see a close game with glaring mistakes on both sides, and the two teams inflict pain (no severe injuries) on each other. Ultimately – I just love seeing Notre Dame lose. May as well have MSU win before we take them down in 3 weeks. Very, very slightly rooting for Sparty – but no big deal if they lose.
Interested in others perspective.
September 18th, 2017 at 12:22 PM ^
I am guessing that you are under 40 and did not have to experience Domer fans during the Lou Holtz years. They were the most obnoxious and arrogant fans ever in college sports.
Over 20 years of bad coaches and mediocre performance has dampered this a bit - thank goodness...
September 18th, 2017 at 12:38 PM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 12:45 PM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^
and in my experience MSU fans are worse by an order of magnitude.
ND fans are often snobs, but they're also pretty smart. Sound like anyone else we know?
September 18th, 2017 at 1:23 PM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 6:06 PM ^
Agree with you. There is a Notre Dame golden dome arrogance but it's a playful dorky genre. On the other hand, MSU alums are largely the most obnoxious and insufferable SOBs I've ever encountered – just zero self-awareness.
Source: married an ND alum.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:39 AM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 11:52 AM ^
My mother used to sell furniture for Art Van. If she was still doing that, then I would probably root for State. But now I really don't see anything positive in a burning couch.
September 18th, 2017 at 6:07 PM ^
East Landfill is such a great subtle diss. Stealing it!
September 18th, 2017 at 11:39 AM ^
Concerned that we are not that good. Michigan State has held serve against two mediocre teams so far. It's possible they're not as terrible as we expected. If they get through Notre Dame and Iowa they're going to roll into our Stadium pumped as hell, and we don't want that. Not again. I swear to God, they set State Street on fire outside the stadium once a few years ago. I don't even know how you set a street on fire.
Ideally State comes in reeling from back-to-back ugly losses, and Michigan gets its shit together during the bye week and crushes them.
I don't care about Notre Dame. We don't play them this year. I don't care if they get the win, they've got at least 3-4 more losses on the schedule the rest of the season.
September 18th, 2017 at 12:42 PM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 11:40 AM ^
Given we don't play Notre Dame this year, I'll be rooting for MSU. Better for our strength of schedule.
I also want a night game and if MSU is 3-0 after this week that becomes a lot more likely.
That said, I hope Iowa stomps MSU the following week.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:51 AM ^
Does MSU this year really do much for our SOS? Michigan already plays at Wisconsin and Penn State and against OSU. Three current top 10 teams likely to be in the top 15 all year. And already winning a game against Florida who gave themselves the early leg up in the SEC East this year.
September 18th, 2017 at 10:06 PM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 11:40 AM ^
Given we don't play Notre Dame this year, I'll be rooting for MSU. Better for our strength of schedule.
I also want a night game and if MSU is 3-0 after this week that becomes a lot more likely.
That said, I hope Iowa stomps MSU the following week.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:40 AM ^
I miss 1966.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:41 AM ^
Never root for either.
Just be happy one of them will lose.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:41 AM ^
I have to (really weakly) pull for Sparty. As of the start of the year Notre Dame was only 0.002 percentage points behind in Overall Winning Percentage. I would be happy to just expand that gap until we don't have to think about Notre Dame moving in front of us again.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:42 AM ^
But first, beat Purdue!
In my circle of best friends only one other is a Michigan fan, and the rest are ND and Sparty fans (idk how this happened, but it did). We are having a BBQ for the game that I'll be attending after the Purdue game. So, as long as Michigan takes care of business, I'll have no worries and probably be cheering on MSU while poking my ND buddies, drinking their beer, and eating their food!!
I think for me it comes down I can never cheer for ND or OSU. Sparty I never feel right about, but having Michigan roots I can at least, sometimes, allow it...
September 18th, 2017 at 11:42 AM ^
I'm always rooting for norte dame to disband their football team. I actually have no hatred for state at all, as long as it doesn't hurt our chances of a conference title, I'm happy for the state of michigan whenever any of our football teams win.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:42 AM ^
Like a fair number of people who cheer for a Big Ten school, I am always a strong believer in "My Team, Then Chaos" when it comes to the "who to root for?" question.
As with every other time Michigan State plays Notre Dame, the best possible outcome is that the Borg use their cutting beams to remove the stadium from the face of the planet. It is a shame that, in the end, someone must win that game.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:42 AM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 11:44 AM ^
I would love to see the Notre Dame win and the fanbase be stuck with such an unlikable coach. Plus, I want to see him still there when Michigan plays them.
For Michigan State, the fans are already getting annoying with their 2 mediocre wins.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:44 AM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 12:11 PM ^
I will be mad that one of them won.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:45 AM ^
good arguments on both sides OP.
I'm older, but will hold my nose & root for ND to keep Brian Kelly right where he deserves, and to halt any possible MSU momentum.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:45 AM ^
When confronted with a choice between two evils, choose neither.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:45 AM ^
Tough to want either.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:46 AM ^
I would like to see Sparty win. We don't play ND this year, so I really don't care about them. I'd like to see MSU undefeated heading into our game and then destroy them.
I hate them both though. And their stupid fan base.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:46 AM ^
I always root for the visiting team in this series. The televised shots of despondent home fans maximize the schadenfreude.
September 18th, 2017 at 12:12 PM ^
Thank you!
September 18th, 2017 at 11:46 AM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 11:46 AM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 11:47 AM ^
It's better for our resume to beat an MSU team that is perceived as being good.
Plus, MSU fans perceiving that they are good so they get their hopes up for our game only to see them be crushed is doubly satisfying
September 18th, 2017 at 11:47 AM ^
1.) ND is bad and should feel bad.
2.) It gives us a chance to take more area in the CFB Imperial Map: https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/70umfv/week_3_college_football_imperialism_map/?st=j7qcbayi&sh=f0ceb300
September 18th, 2017 at 11:48 AM ^
Unless you have family members/close friends from ND that you want to see lose, how could you want Sparty to win? It is way more satisfying to watch Sparty lose now what with the local chatter, junk their coach and players have said, etc....
September 18th, 2017 at 11:48 AM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 11:50 AM ^
Notre Dame. But I want ND to struggle the rest of the season.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:51 AM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 11:51 AM ^
Like the rest of you, I wish they could both lose. They are both one of our fiercest rivals. However, if I'm being honest, I think of MSU as more of a rival lately than ND. I know, I know... there is so much better history between UofM and ND, but I feel like MSU fans have gotten far more annoying, and most of us have to interact with them more the ND fans. So I'd much rather Sparty lose than the golden domers.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:52 AM ^
I have a friend who went to Notre Dame, and he's a really good guy. I'm rooting for him.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:55 AM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 11:56 AM ^
September 18th, 2017 at 11:55 AM ^
Rooting for Notre Dame for purely selfish reasons. My one game in person this year will be MSU and I need those damn ticket prices to go down. $200 just to get into the building right now.
September 18th, 2017 at 12:01 PM ^
The OP's question is poorly put (but I always like the topic). The question isn't "who to pull for" - it's "who to cheer against". My opinion is that the team to cheer against is MSU.
I hope the game itself is a clown show, with both teams looking disorganized, but find the Notre Dame fanbase much more tolerable than MSU's, writ large. So an MSU loss, in a game where both teams look like crap, and hopefully with some questionable reffing.
And I have zero shits to give about MSU's "strength of schedule" when they play us. We're also playing Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State. With our schedule it's just fine if MSU sludgefarts their way through another season.
September 18th, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^
And I have zero shits to give about MSU's "strength of schedule" when they play us. We're also playing Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State.Not to mention Purdue and Maryland have looked pretty impressive in non-conference play so far. MSU means very little in terms of helping our SOS. Win games and our ranking will take care of itself. In short, Fuck Sparty.
September 18th, 2017 at 11:59 AM ^
The correct order of hate is 1 - OSU, 2 - MSU, 3 - ND. There is your answer
September 18th, 2017 at 12:00 PM ^
This game makes me wish ties still existed in college football...but only for this one game.
September 18th, 2017 at 12:00 PM ^
I completely always root for Notre Dame when they play Sparty. Not even a question. Not even close.