OT: Listened to Mike Valenti for the first time today

Submitted by RollDamnTide on

Being in the state until May, my co workers are always trying to get me to try things that are uniquely Michigan. That being said, my co worker today had me listen to Mike Valenti, because he knew how low my opinion of MSU was. "He really knows his stuff, he's constantly crushing Wal-Mart Wolverines", he said. (By the way, after everyones thoughts, can someone please explain wal-mart wolverine to me?) So I was curious, so during our drive between offices, he turned the station on. Apparently I was lucky, because my co worker said Mike was on one of his classic rants. Today some writer I've never heard of, said that Michigan had caught up to Michigan State in B-Ball. This seemed to infuriate Mike, and he started screaming out nosensical absurdities.

I'm not going to bother getting into a breakdown of what he was spewing out, because he's clearly a shock jock out for ratings. Having grown up listening to Paul Finebaum, I've had more than my share of loud mouths with an agenda. What makes it worse, is what I deem to be a complete waste of space, his partner Terry. After 10 minutes of nonsense, I could take no more, and we turned it off.  Having spent a few hours going through the board on the 247 MSU site, a guy like Mike is hardly surprising. If I wanted to listen to radio hosts from schools with inferiority complexes, I'd move to Knoxville.

Needless to say, my opinion of MSU remains as low as it did before moving to the state. Hey Mike, America is on line 2, and it doesn't give a good God D**n about MSU. Thanks.

Cue the "Come at me Bro", and "You mad, Bro?" meme's.

Wolverine Devotee

March 6th, 2012 at 7:38 PM ^

Exhibit A why I call 95% of Detroit media vermin. You have these stupid old shysters running around shooting their mouth off, and getting people to call in as artificial Michigan fans to make us look bad. Have you seen some of his rants on YouTube? Calling college kids bums and hacks? Completely unprofessional. He reminds me of an internet tough guy, he would never say any of the things he says to a Michigan fans face, but does on the air. Terry Foster is vermin as well.

For a state fan, Sean Baligian, formerly of 1130 WDFN was listenable and for those who never have listened to him, there were times you would think he was a Michigan fan. But it seems since the late Tom Kowalski passed away that station has been spiraling downward.

This is why I only listen to WTKA and SOMETIMES Matt Shepard on WDFN but only when he's talking about Michigan. I'm starting to warm up to Rico Beard (state fan and writer for them on Rivals) who makes occasional drop ins on both WTKA and WDFN. I call him out when he takes shots at Michigan and joke around with him a lot on Twitter.  He's moved into the tolerable stage with me. First guy I wanna listen to when Michigan beats state though, it makes me light up when he's on the air sounding deflated from Michigan winning.

 

Jmilan

March 6th, 2012 at 7:43 PM ^

Sean, Terp, and Killer was a great show. It was disappointing to hear that Killer passed away and the show discontinued shortly after. Me being a die hard Wings fan the show at least during the playoffs was a 3 hour tribute to hockey. Any chance you think Sean and Terp ever make a comeback? I read that Baligian just wasn't feeling up to doing the show anymore.

briangoblue

March 6th, 2012 at 8:51 PM ^

Actually Sean is doing his show with some new guy on the ESPN affiliate in Grand Rapids. I don't think Terp is on it, but it's the same time slot as the old show on 96.1 FM. I wondered if it was broadcast state wide- judging by your post it doesn't sound like it. He's pretty reasonable as far as Spartan fans allowed near a live microphone are concerned.

Wolverine Devotee

March 6th, 2012 at 10:14 PM ^

I've listened to it a few times and Sean is showing his colors more easily now that he's on the other side of the state. With all of the state fans up there breathing down his neck, he won't be scolded for putting a state spin on things.

It does not have the WDFN-96.1 like STK used to. Now there is some hack from the 3-6 slot on WDFN that talks about nothing but Detroit sports. Does anyone give a damn about spring training or the pistons? NFL offseason? Nope nope and nope. Not from me at least.

No better place to be listening than WTKA nowadays, with Matt Shepard as a secondary choice.

FrankMurphy

March 6th, 2012 at 7:36 PM ^

The term "Wal-Mart Wolverine" is used by fans of MSU (and, to a lesser extent, Ohio) to describe people who root for Michigan but never went to the school. It's most often used against students/alumni of Eastern Michigan University, which is located a few miles from U-M. A lot of EMU students are from Washtenaw County and grew up rooting for Michigan.

To be honest, I don't really understand why it matters that some of our fans didn't actually go to U-M. So I don't get what their point is in using that as an insult. You would have to ask them.

FrankMurphy

March 6th, 2012 at 7:46 PM ^

I thought that term referred to ND fans in Chicago and New York, since neither of those cities is home to a big-time college football program. There may be an ethnic element to it as well, since people from certain ethnic enclaves in big cities (Irish, Italians, etc) root for Notre Dame because of Catholic solidarity. 

WolvinLA2

March 6th, 2012 at 7:43 PM ^

The stupidest part is that they'll call any person who's not an alum a Wal-Mart Wolverine.  I have friends who are M fans with degrees from Carnegie Mellon, UChicago and various academically respected liberal arts colleges, but are M fans because their schools didn't have a major sports team.  According to Sparty, those are Wal-Mart Wolverines as well.  The whole concept is stupid, mostly because their main premise (that we have more non-alumni fans than they do) implies that their product isn't desirable without enrollment. 

LB

March 6th, 2012 at 9:06 PM ^

If you hear it, you know you need to change the radio station. If there is no radio playing, and you hear it, you know you have just heard a listener. This gives you a good basis for any further interaction. You already know a lot about them. The same can be said of the term "Michigan Mafia".

jandern3

March 6th, 2012 at 7:58 PM ^

It's derived from an underlying philosophy that most UM fans who don't have a natural allegiance to the school (i.e. - attendance) are simply bandwagon fans that only root for UM due to them historically being a winning program. It is an attempt to associate these fans with the likes of Yankee fans across the nation that simply want to take the 'easy route' and root for the winningest organization.

In a sense, it's a backhanded compliment, stating that rooting for UM is the easiest route because they always win.

I think it was first aimed at those outside of the state who root for UM without attending, as it is to be expected that kids growing up within the state would likely choose a school to root for. However, it has since spread not only to non-attending UM fans within the state, but as a blanket reference to UM fans in general.

It is only semi-derogatory and hardly harmful. I view it as on par with referring to the MSU community as 'Sparty', and believe it much less offensive than referring to MSU/East Lansing as 'East Landfill'.

RollDamnTide

March 6th, 2012 at 7:47 PM ^

I have had coney's, and I'm a HUGE fan, I like the Detroit and Flint style ones the best. I'm going to Sam's before I leave, and getting a couple cases of the Kogle's hot dogs, because you can't get them down south.

UMgradMSUdad

March 6th, 2012 at 9:05 PM ^

I'm glad you mentioned Koegel's hot dogs; they're what I always take back with me (always the natural casing).  They also make really good pickled bologna.  If you're in the Flint area, Halo burgers are great, especially the olive burger. Up north you can get some really good Cornish pasties (yes, in Michigan, we don't just stare at pasties, we eat them, though the ones we stare at and the ones we eat are completely different things).

MichGoBlue858

March 6th, 2012 at 7:58 PM ^

The whole Wal-Mart Wolverine thing is mostly stupid. The only people who deserve to be called this is the Michigan "fans" who say how bad MSU academics are and how great Michigans are but couldn't even get into MSU. Those people are usually obnoxious and really shouldn't be considered Michigan fans. 

FrankMurphy

March 6th, 2012 at 8:18 PM ^

I love how Faygo branded its knockoff flavors to not-so-subtly hint at which product it was copying (e.g., Moon Mist = Mountain Dew, Ohana Punch = Hawaiian Punch, etc), but used a different enough name to avoid trademark infringement.

qbwaggle

March 6th, 2012 at 8:16 PM ^

I've defended (for lack of a better word) Valenti in the past, because when he's not talking about Michigan I think he's entertaining, but today he was over the top. So Pat Caputo wrote that Michigan has caught up to MSU in basketball... Most Michigan fans, especially those around here, don't think that's true. Sure we're getting closer but one season where we tie them in the B1G does not mean we are their equals. So I don't care that Valenti took exception to Caputo's blog post.

But the contrived anger that he was spouting off was absurd. I can't stand that. Sort of unrelated but it also seems like Valenti has been getting a little cocky on the air regarding his status within the station... almost like he's trying to big time his coworkers. He does it behind the veil of sarcasm but it comes off poorly (in my opinion).

jandern3

March 6th, 2012 at 8:33 PM ^

Did you hear the crosstalk? I was sure that it was contrived anger and that this was all precreated, except two things tipped me off.

One) During the rant, T-Fos seemed to genuinely ask Valenti to calm down, in almost a whisper voice that seemed like it wasn't meant to be caught on-air. By itself, I would simply say that it was an incredible acting job, except for factor number

Two) During their crosstalk, they were both yelling at each other. Caputo actually said that Valenti should "shut your d*** pie-hole". It was almost personal, with Valenti almost discrediting Caputo as a journalist, and Caputo spouting back about Valenti not "looking at the facts". If it was contrived (and it's definitely plausible that the station would try to utilize Valenti to boost the ratings of Caputo's pathetic radio presence) then it is the single most convincing performance that I've heard out of either of the two, particularly Caputo.

harryddunn

March 6th, 2012 at 8:32 PM ^

Thankfully, I don't think I've ever heard Valenti use that idiotic phrase. I actually enjoy listening to him quite a bit, because he's usually very informed in his opinions (which I often disagree with); That makes for better radio than milquetoast wishy-washiness, imo. I can see where others would differ though.

I agreed with him in what he was arguing today. MSU clearly did have the better resume this year..

evenyoubrutus

March 6th, 2012 at 8:31 PM ^

I would say you pretty much caught on to exactly what Mike Valenti is and stands for in the ten minutes you listened.  I didn't listen to that part but I can imagine exactly what he said.  What's funny is that Michigan Basketball has many direct parallels with MSU football right now, except that Michigan basketball is actually starting to recruit on an elite national level, and MSU football is recruiting on the level of any mid-major football program.

The only thing you missed out on is when they start taking calls and you realize that they filter out all the smart Michigan fans and only let the idiots on, and vice-versa with MSU fans.  FTR the majority of their on-air personalities are MSU grads, and they have not made any attempt to hide the fact that all, ALL of their behind-the-scenes engineers and producers are MSU people.

a2 fighting pugs

March 6th, 2012 at 10:14 PM ^

I am friends with 1 of the stations hosts and he even confirmed that on valentis show they only air the idiot UM callers & take the smart sparty callers (if there is such a thing). Personally i cant stand radio personalities that use the shock jock route to get attention. Valentis been telling us how to live our lives since he was 22 years old & continues to do so now thats hes barely 30.

TatuajeVI

March 6th, 2012 at 8:36 PM ^

Valenti's rant was about Pat Caputo's blog post (Caputo is also a talk show host on 97.1 and a news columnist) from today. It is titled "Hard Evidence suggests Michigan has caught Michigan State in basketball."  The blog post from Caputo is completely without merit, intelligent thought, or basis in fact. If Valenti had just said so and drove his points home, it would have been just another afternoon of radio. Valenti was right to find the blog post ridiculous. Anyone who truly believes Michigan Basketball has caught up to MSU is blind. Don't get me wrong, we are so much closer than we were even two years ago, but going from a good team to an elite team is another huge step that will take time.

But of course, Valenti didn't just state his case and move on. He went balistic and ranted and raved like a lunatic for forever, either because he is crazy or because he wanted better ratings for his show. I listened for a short while once the rant started and then changed the channel.

Also: RDT! Hope you enjoy your stay in Michigan. Come back in the summer and head to Lake Michigan! Holland, Grand Haven, Leland. Any of those have great beaches and are just amazing in the sumer.

MichFan1997

March 6th, 2012 at 8:59 PM ^

that Michigan hasn't caught MSU in basketball on the premise that we haven't become elite (i.e. Sweet Sixteen, Final Four, ect.) does this mean MSU has yet to catch Michigan in football considering they have not made a BCS bowl yet

jandern3

March 6th, 2012 at 10:00 PM ^

Valenti was posed almost this exact question during his show, and he openly stated that UM's football program is way better than MSU's, and that it would take many years of continued success for MSU to be in the same conversation. He only stated that MSU has been a better team the past 4 years, which has been accurate, just like UM had a better basketball team in 2011.

MFanWM

March 7th, 2012 at 12:27 AM ^

Michigan Favorites

Xochimilco in Detroit - Just go during the day for some great Mexican food

Al-Ameer in Dearborn if you would like to try MiddleEastern Cuisine

Pegasus Taverna in Greektown and some gambling is always good

Zehnder's in Frankenmuth if you make it that far north for great chicken dinner

Tony's near Frankenmuth if you want the instant bacon heart attack for breakfast

Schulers in Marshall, MI if you make it that far west (great cheese)

Tony Packo's in Toledo for another style of coney dog (And if you are a big Mash Fan)

LaScola Italian in Toledo for another good italian choice

Andiamo's for pretty good italian in a few places around Detroit

Zingerman's in Ann Arbor

 

It has been a few years since I have been back there, but that would be a list I would start with for food in and around the Detroit area that I miss.  I tried Slows near the holidays and it was ok, but I am now jaded with living in Omaha and visiting Kansas City 2-3 times a month, so it is hard to objectively compare when the BBQ and steak out here is just so much better.