OT: Did you have to spend the Holidays with family/friends that are rival fans?

Submitted by cGOBLUEm on
It's Christmas night and things are pretty slow on the MGoBoard. I thought I'd share my Holiday experience with a rival family member (OSU), and see if you guys have to deal with similar things during your family gatherings. It was Christmas Eve with my wifes side of the family, and as soon as I walked through the door I hear her cousin who is a Buckeye fan carrying on and on: -"No way is Harbaugh coming to Michigan. You guys are dreaming." -"Michigan will never be good again." -"We own you guys." (this is one of my favorites because he always uses the word "we" as if he has some sort of affiliation with Ohio State other than being just another random idiot fan) -"I'm going to buy tickets to the National Championship." (as if it's a done deal and Alabama is just a formality on the road to Arlington) All of this was said, of course, with extreme arrogance. This was just one Buckeye among numerous Michigan fans and a half dozen Michigan grads. He was insufferable all night. I'm sure that many of you had experiences much more intollerable than mine. I've read some people on the Board live in Columbus and are constantly surrounded by OSU fans. So, what was your Christmas like? Did you have to banter back and forth with the Buckeyes, Sparties, or Irish?
MGoBoard

DrMantisToboggan

December 25th, 2014 at 11:24 PM ^

Only one sparty uncle whom, if he gets too high and mighty, I knock down a few pegs by reminding him of the trouncing my MGoPatriots gave his Lions (his top football priority is the Lions). The one speck of green in our very maize family.

Joined: 11/26/2014

MGoPoints: 74183

BeatOSU52

December 25th, 2014 at 11:31 PM ^

How much the cluelessness of the national
Media has made non-michigan fans still think that there's a less than 50% chance that HArbaugh comes. Going to make next week all the more awesome

Joined: 11/13/2011

MGoPoints: 14554

mGrowOld

December 25th, 2014 at 11:32 PM ^

Exactly the opposite for me. Live in Ohio and have a ton of OSU friends and virtually ALL of them wished me a merry Christmas and said they thought Harbaugh was coming and would restore order. My Buckeye friends don't like seeing us being a shit football team.

Joined: 10/04/2010

MGoPoints: 212939

justingoblue

December 26th, 2014 at 12:59 AM ^

I don't see them around the holidays but my best friend is a Buckeye married to another one and it seems like they're just sitting around waiting for another Ten Year War and value the rivalry enough to want Harbaugh here.

Then again she can reasonably discuss Tressel and the Tat 5 so definitely not the norm (she was a tutor in their AD at the time) at least from what I've experienced.

Joined: 11/16/2010

MGoPoints: 29741

Yeoman

December 25th, 2014 at 11:39 PM ^

Both sides of my family are from Ohio and I spend every holiday with an unending series of OSU fans. Thankfully, this year there's been hardly a mention of football because they've been too busy arguing about Michelle Obama's gender.

Ohio is messed up.

This is probably not news.

Joined: 06/08/2011

MGoPoints: 21390

Yeoman

December 26th, 2014 at 6:05 PM ^

Some of them think she's a man named Michael and Barack is her gay lover--apparently that's the rumor going around on the gun show circuit down here. Or maybe "is" should be "was". It's not at all clear whether she's met the knife--these people aren't really capable of fine distinctions like that.

When I got home I googled it up--you can read the whole thing if you feel like visiting the REAL edge of the internet. I'd rather not link any of it because I don't want to attract that sort of traffic to the site but if you run into Pope Peter the Last, you're home.

I've been a connossieur of crackpottery since I ran into the Subgenius books in graduate school. This is the real deal here--that fake Bob Dobbs stuff can't hold a candle to it.

And use some protection--I don't want to be responsbile for any of you catching a social disease on your journeys to the Edge.

Joined: 06/08/2011

MGoPoints: 21390

superstringer

December 25th, 2014 at 11:48 PM ^

I will be spending rest of weekend in PSU country with Nittany Lion fans. They ways tease in a friendly, noncondescending manner. I expect a begrudging dismay at Harbaugh making their life more miserable, but they are all also Steeler fans and that undoubtedly will be their focus. Steeler fans are one if a kind -- they seem to hate both Tomlin and Roethlesberger. Go figure.



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Joined: 02/04/2009

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Surveillance Doe

December 25th, 2014 at 11:50 PM ^

I am on vacation with my girlfriend's family for the holidays. Her dad is a diehard Sparty, and I've been hoping to god the issue of Harbaugh wouldn't come up. I just want to enjoy the week without having to smile and swallow his condescending passive aggressive shit, which he has become very artful with over the last several years. At happy hour last night, he brought it up. I was shocked. He told me that it would be a game changer for the recent trend in the rivalry and that Michigan did a great job going all in for the obviously right guy. I was pleasantly surprised, and I just told him I'm waiting to get my hopes up.

Joined: 07/06/2008

MGoPoints: 14724

jonvalk

December 26th, 2014 at 12:19 AM ^

My father-in-law is a Buckeye (I live in Columbus), but he was pretty tame. He actually said he hopes Harbaugh comes to Michigan because it'd be good for the B1G and the Rivalry. My wife bought him some Buckeye gear, but I had to wrap it. The things we do for love...



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DealerCamel

December 26th, 2014 at 12:37 AM ^

It's okay though, she married into a Michigan family, not the other way around.  She literally got introduced to my grandfather via him blasting out The Victors from his car as he arrived to a party.

Joined: 07/25/2012

MGoPoints: 7598

Ty Butterfield

December 26th, 2014 at 12:47 AM ^

Some of my fiancée's family are Sparty fans. They asked about Harbaugh, I said he wasn't coming. Pretty much ended the conversation.

Joined: 09/07/2009

MGoPoints: -81685

WolverineHistorian

December 26th, 2014 at 1:12 AM ^

My 7 year old niece decided last year that she loves Michigan State. But it really has mostly to do with the fact that the rest of the family are Michigan fans and she's obsessed with being unique. So I have to put up with her cold stares every time I'm wearing an M shirt. She doesn't know who Jim Harbaugh is but I'm hoping she'll grow to fear him over the next few years.

Joined: 08/10/2009

MGoPoints: 55466

HAIL-YEA

December 26th, 2014 at 2:06 AM ^

2 sparty brothers who don't follow sports that much but can't pass a chance to take shots at me. "So you guys are a gymnastics school now huh"  I just replied Harbaugh! I got funny looks and a "you wish" reply.

My 16 year old nephew who is a huge 49'ers fan is honestly devastated that they are losing Harbaugh. He will get no pity from me though, i'm a 37 year old Lions fan, I know what misery is.

Joined: 07/15/2009

MGoPoints: 10810

Couzen Rick's

December 26th, 2014 at 2:31 AM ^

and a few UMich Alums as well.  But they were all Indian Grad school alums with Master's degrees and above from those schools, and not a single one gave a damn about college football.  

Joined: 12/22/2014

MGoPoints: 15994

FieldingBLUE

December 26th, 2014 at 6:25 AM ^

In laws are northwestern fans so we simply commiserate this year. One in law buckeye but she's often wearing maize & blue...my brother doing great on converting her. My wife's extended family in Chicago are all big nfl fans and don't care about college football. The discussion was all about "why would harbaugh leave the ENNN EFFF ELLL for college?"



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UMgradMSUdad

December 26th, 2014 at 7:17 AM ^

Spent the holiday with my children, including Sparty daughter.  She's always been cool about it though.  The only UM/MSU points we even discussed, and that very briefly were Narduzzi to Pitt and the possibility of Harbaugh to Michigan.  She has bought me M gear before (not this year, though), and attended the Sugar Bowl with me and even cheered for Michigan's win over VT. 

Joined: 07/02/2011

MGoPoints: 13185

sierragold

December 26th, 2014 at 8:33 AM ^

Christmas Day Family Christmas at home was Good all Michigan Fans.

Saturday the Family Christmas Gathering (brothers 5, sisters 2 + spouses) and a mix of Sparty Alum & fans & season ticket holders, Michigan Alum & fans & season ticket holders, Ohio Alum by marriage to Michigan alum. It is usually good if we leave football out of the Family Christmas gathering and this seldom happens. Tomorrow could get a little dicey if anyone brings up Michigan Football. I usually try to make sure to give a Michigan gift to any of the NON Michigan fans (not this year) why stir the pot. Tomorrow I have decided the best thing to do is discuss the Lions and remember most of all that this is about Christmas and Family, anything to avoid the topic of Michigan Football unless anyone would like to discuss coach Harbaugh that will be having his Press Conference in a few days as Michigans New Head Coach. I will be all in on this topic.

 

Joined: 10/03/2009

MGoPoints: 722

borninAnnArbor

December 26th, 2014 at 9:12 AM ^

My brother who is a MSU fan was having Christmas with his wife's side of the family so nothing there. we are getting together Sunday so I am sure I will hear a lot about it then. However, at church Christmas eve there was a discussion with several Buckeyes. What they said can be categorized into these statements: 1. Harbaugh is not coming because he will stay in the NFL. 2. IF Harbaugh does come Michigan will still not be good because they are inherently broken. 3. IF he does come it will not matter because Ohio State is so awsome and Urban is such a great coach that they will continue to win. 4. There is a small part of them that hopes Michigan gets better because it has not been as much fun beating a sucky Michigan team year after year. They would like to see Ohio beat good Michigan teams again. The Michigan fans told them to enjoy Urban now because when Michigan wins for several years in a row Urban Wil have to retire again for health reason.

Joined: 10/10/2012

MGoPoints: 3553

MGoblu8

December 26th, 2014 at 10:07 AM ^

Yes. My asshole brother put an OSU hat on my son and then took pictures of him in each step of the O-H-I-O, then posted it on Facebook. My son is 5, and didn't realize he was doing something wrong.

Joined: 08/19/2010

MGoPoints: 7373

Wolverine In Iowa

December 26th, 2014 at 11:33 AM ^

I just found out that an MSU sweatshirt, given to one of our nephews by my wife yesterday, had been in my house for I don't know how long.  I have ordered a Contamination Level One protocol to disinfect my abode.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 10767