(Not OT) Remember the Tigers-Blue Jays rivalry?

This is one of the most original thoughts on The Game issue I've read in quite awhile.  Very interesting.

I hadn't thought of this.  But the divisions will really water down mini rivalries we have with teams like Minnesota and Penn State also (if they are in the other division).  20 years from now OSU might not even be a rival.   I don't think any Tigs fans would consider the Jays rivals.

Your point about the diminished importance of standings is the single best criticism anyone has yet come up with for my divisional proposal.

I am now seriously considering trashing it and starting over, but then that would be YET ANOTHER diary before HERO III and I can't even find the time to pen HERO III

man, i used to hate the bluejays.  this was pre-strike when any team could be good at any time, not who was richest.  kelly gruber, tony fernandez, dave steib, john olerud.  previous to them getting all the big guns like clemens and dave stewart and joe carter and alomar was when the tigers were good too.

jmblue knocks it out of the park.

I guess a good way to get perspective on this would be to talk to an ACC fan or B12* fan about the before and after of conference expansion, divisions, and rivalries.

*you'd have to find someone who used to root for an SWC or Big 8 team that moved to the B12.

Remember the Wings-Leafs rivalry?

I couldnt disagree with you more. I guess I could mention, lets see, the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles even the Indians and Brewers carry much more merit. Toronto was an expansion team, and a terrible one at that in the late 70s and early eighties. Yes they ran into some money hired men like Bobby Cox and Pat Gillick (GM) to and were on there way, so Im not taking anything away from their short lived run. To reference this to the Big Ten and the rivalries....The best anaolgy I can come up with is if the University of Phoenix joined the Big Ten and got a great recruiting base.because of their ability to SPAM recruits from all 50 states

The Tigers and Jays were a fling in comparison to a rivalry. So what i think you are trying to stay is. I love fall because of College Football rivalries are cool AND remember Tanana's gem in 1987.

Respectfully Yours,

Doyle Alexander

Nebraska will become Michigan's rival after fans start hating them for destroying The Game by joining the Big 10.

Great point. I honestly didn't even know the Tigers and Jays were ever rivals. Granted, in 1998 my Tiger's fandom was pretty much limited to any time my family traveled back to D-Town to visit family; otherwise, I was pretty oblivious to anything except backyard baseball/football/soccer and Age of Empires 1.

... I do NOT regret the addition of Nebraska. Personally, I can't wait for the first UM - Nebraska, Nebraska - OSU, Nebraska - Penn State, Nebraska - Iowa, Nebraska - Wisconsin while still hating OSU and anticipating the game, whenever it is. 

Roy Lee Jackson hides his head in shame.

Alan Tranmmell had agreat year and carried the Tigers offensively in September of '87 while the Tigers caught and passed the Blue Jays, but finished second to Toronto's George Bell. 

Wholly agree with this simple statement:

"Overall records do matter in the standings, but when you play a team you aren't competing against in those standings, it's not as important as the ones against those you do compete against."

I think the U-M / OSU debate has made us all look a little closer on what exactly expansion, divisions, and a championship game is going to do to our conference. Obliquely, we can also see into the future regarding a college football playoff.

The argument against a playoff is that it diminishes the importance of regular-season games, which right now are very important. They are dire, in fact. We are seeing how Big Ten divisions lessen the importance of not only the U-M - OSU game, but maybe half the conference slate!

Remember how this sounds or feels next time we are arguing about a playoff. I am in favor of "Cool, we play our way to the championship," but very much against, "Okay, losing to Indiana would not hurt us here - our seeding is locked up. I've got time to reorganize my Erasure LPs instead of watch the game."

Of course, the counter-argument is that the SEC has been this way forever, and they are nutso about everything. Also, duffing a game against Indiana kills your BCS at-large hopes. Mostly. Mostly.

Didn't Rick Leach play for the Blue Jays in the 80's?

We'll all still consider it "The Game" and "The Rivalry", but it will hard to explain the hatred and history to the next generation of kids if it isn't being marketed as much on TV.

Wow. You took it back. I'm ten years old all over again. Every morning, I would read the sports section of the LSJ to see if the Tigs gained any ground on Blue Jays following a victory. I remember being bummed out going on a family vacation to Massachusetts because I wouldn't be able to watch any games and keep tabs on the standings. The day we left, they were 10 1/2 games back, but when we got back home two weeks later, I damn near peed my pants when I found out that they not only gained ground on Toronto, they were atop of the AL Central by 1 game. I remember when the Jays won the Series my dad thought it was big deal because Cito Gaston became the first African American to lead a team to a title.  I thought it was cool, but I still hated them. Those were the days.

Perhaps the newest team to our conference would provide an example everyone could agree with? Isn't one of the reasons Nebraska left the Big 12 that their traditional rivalries with Oklahoma and Texas had become less important, while the rivalry between those two schools had become the top matchup in the Big 12?

I remember it vividly from my childhood. Now that they went to the unbalanced schedule so New York can play Boston 30 times a year (The TV People liked it!), they only meet once or twice a year and the rivalry is pretty much dead...