OT: In need of an explanation of Spartan fans
I consider myself well versed in the ways of college football fans. I spend far more time than I should looking at fan boards and blogs, reading about recruiting. I have never, in my life, come acrosss more interesting fans than Spartan fans. This is quite a statement, because Auburn fans have more disillusioned ideas than the movie Inception. That being said, I wandered on over to the MSU Red Cedar Message Board, to see how they were reacting to Michigan's recruiting success today. (I also did the same thing with Bucknuts, but listing Buckeye failures is just stating the obvious.)
While there, I got the usual disgruntled fan statements of "We didn't really want any of them", "We'll still kick their ass" and my long favored "Those kids couldn't play here anyway". As I understand it, they own 4 straight victories over your boys. But lets be honest, no one really gives a damn nationally. After googling the overall series record between the schools, I got the sort of slanted results I was looking for. You would think the realization of how poor their overall record is against Michigan would temper their enthusiasm, but no, those guys are shit house rat crazy. I've never seen anything like it. They might not have the irrational behavior of the more annoying SEC fans, but dear God it's like the last 100 years of college football never happened to them. What the fuck is this, "Our Town"?
Honestly, I can't even explain the "ok, what now?" expression most Alabama fans had for our bowl game matchup with MSU last year. So someone, I don't care who, please explain the Spartan mindset to me. I'm dead serious, I can't wrap my head around it.
February 18th, 2012 at 10:34 PM ^
Your first impression was correct. He replied to one of his posts earlier this week and it confirmed that he was in fact a Michigan fan posing as a bama fan. Pretty pathetic.
February 18th, 2012 at 10:47 PM ^
I have thought so as well FWIW.
February 18th, 2012 at 8:08 PM ^
A: You put them in a bowl and whip them for 3 hours!!!!
February 18th, 2012 at 8:09 PM ^
My Dad is a HVAC contract supervisor for Flur, and he is actually in afghanistan right now. Every time he goes, he gets the workers Alabama stuff, and they all wear it.
February 18th, 2012 at 8:33 PM ^
The one in white, right?
February 18th, 2012 at 8:15 PM ^
Very nice sir! Also bringing up the fact Michigan has been to the moon is also nice lol. Makes Lil Bro and the Bucknuts go "huh?" Education glimpse right there!
February 18th, 2012 at 11:34 PM ^
Apparently your dad is in Nazi Germany...
Thats really cool though man, your dad is a stand up dude. I'd have a beer with him anyway
February 18th, 2012 at 8:11 PM ^
Imagine being beat down for years by Auburn then all of a sudden you strike it rich. Its like a trailer dwelling family hitting 100 million in the lotto. They just dont know how to handle it. Inferiority sure, but more likely the mindset. Agriculture school, so alot of chew spit swallowed, brain cells destroyed by Busch heavy etc etc. If this bares resemblence to SEC schools, apologies, but im a B1G homer. Michigan, God, Family, Big Ten in that order.
February 18th, 2012 at 8:15 PM ^
My first Alabama shirt
February 18th, 2012 at 9:27 PM ^
You were an ugly kid.
Just kidding, you were adorable, I just like giving the new guy shit.
February 18th, 2012 at 8:32 PM ^
Smoke Green Snort White
No explanation needed.
February 18th, 2012 at 8:45 PM ^
on academics with athletics when they can, but you just can't fix stupid.
February 18th, 2012 at 8:53 PM ^
What surprises me is how MSU fans have become so arrogant so quickly. They act like it is a given that they will beat us next year. I think Michigan fans are much less arrogant. At least we recognize that we should win, but it will not be easy.
February 18th, 2012 at 9:07 PM ^
RDT- As Big Brothers of our respective states, I can see why you fit in here so well and will quickly understand the dynamics of the Great Lakes State.
Sparty's feelings towards us are "hateful" which, as you know with Aubarn is very common with "little brothers" towards the "big brother" schools like:
- Texas A&M to Texas
- Oklahoma State to Oklahoma
- Oregon State to Oregon
- Iowa State to Iowa
- UCLA to USC
February 18th, 2012 at 9:16 PM ^
February 18th, 2012 at 9:28 PM ^
February 18th, 2012 at 9:32 PM ^
The funny thing about State fans is that they don't celebrate what they do well in football. I don't think any team in the B10 (yeah, I know, but I'm not changing now) bar maybe Iowa does better at developing talent. Maybe Hoke and team will do it better than Sparty in the future, but right now I am impressed with the Sparties' ability to reconstruct units with 3 stars, like the 2012 offensive line. Yet, to hear the Sparties, these were all great players that Michigan (and the ranking agencies) simply mis-rated. Turns out, they got the guys they wanted all along!
Dantonio is a dick, and I will never like the Spartans as a team or a fan base, but I wouldn't be at all unhappy to see M poach some position coaches from them, as time goes on.
In the meantime, I will just enjoy their claims that Michigan is recruiting guys to ride the bench just to keep them out of Sparty's hands (see their coments re: Bosch). It doesn't get more inferiority complex than that, as RDT should surely realize given the whining of Alabama's foes that 'Bama does just that.
February 18th, 2012 at 9:35 PM ^
February 18th, 2012 at 10:08 PM ^
It seems that the Spartans themselves have provided some insight into the very question which RDT is asking. There is, of course, the Napoleon Complex, but someone actually went delving into the trash at Spartan Stadium to get some further insight into our in-state rival to find out how much of the "Trash Tornado" could have been recycled or composted - East Lansing just doesn't care about the environment, given the results of this study. Perhaps 89% of Spartan fans could also be recycled?
February 18th, 2012 at 10:04 PM ^
On the front page of RCMB there is literally a 5 page thread of butthurt with over 120+ comments from the past 4 hours, almost all talking about how Cass Tech sucks since many of their players come to UM and how great Dantonio's recruiting is.
I actually read it for the humor factor once in a while.
February 19th, 2012 at 1:09 PM ^
did you actually read your post? your blasting them for a 5 page discussion on hatred of UM while writing on a three page discussion of how worthless MSU is. Delusional Douchbags
February 18th, 2012 at 10:11 PM ^
Sometimes, it's as if Spartan fans define themselves more by their hatred of Michigan than by their love of State. They can win their best bowl game in decades, and still whine that Michigan beat a "nobody" Virginia Tech team. They can go 1-11, and so long as that one win was against Michigan, they're exstatic. The local Subway had to give a student ticket deal to fill out their stadium on Senior day during a 11-1 season.
When Michigan beat State in basketball, our responses were along the lines of "it's a great rivalry, they're a great team, they put everything on the floor, etc. etc." When they beat us, Draymond Green said, "Winning's in our DNA." In short, think of the most annoying stereotype of a little brother
February 18th, 2012 at 11:11 PM ^
You hit the nail on the head when you said, "they own 4 straight victories over your boys. But lets be honest, no one really gives a damn nationally." Outside of East Lansing, Michigan State football is irrelevant. They have beaten Michigan 4 straight, and put together some good seasons. Yet nationally they are dismissed. Instead the perception is, "Michigan is back."
I am sure that all the success that MSU has had against Michigan, including beating Hoke in his first year, has translated to recruiting wins for MSU... oh wait, no it hasn't. If MSU is so relevant, why are most of the state's blue chippers going to Michigan, not MSU? The truth is, MSU couldn't take advantage of a down Michigan. After only one year, Michigan has reclaimed the state, and is back to national relevance.
State fans fall back on the, "well our staff can coach up our guys, and we will still beat you." Well, the thing is... combine Brady Hoke and his staff with top recruits, and you have blue chippers that will be coached to the maximum of their ability. This coaching staff squeezed all they could from team 132. What's going to happen when the talent, catches up to the level of coaching that Michigan now has?
Michigan State is a good program. However, their fan base is delusional if they think they are an elite power. I hope Spartan fans enjoyed that Legends title, they won't sniff the BCS for a long time to come.
February 19th, 2012 at 1:53 AM ^
I don't know who you're talking to, but MSU fans do not think that MSU is an elite football power. That is absurd to claim that this is the common perception.
February 19th, 2012 at 1:08 PM ^
I'm pretty sure UM thinks the 4 in a row matter as manifested by grow men posting about MSU on boards all day long claiming it means nothing...don't get me started on Alabama boy up there researching opponents rivalry records. Jesus H Christ this is hilarious and so sad all at once.
February 18th, 2012 at 11:25 PM ^
February 19th, 2012 at 1:50 AM ^
The truest form of a Walmart Wolverine is Mr. William McAllister, talk-show personality on 97.1 The Ticket. He is self stated a UM football fan and an MSU basketball fan. If there were a nickname for it, he would also qualify as the equivalent for MSU bball.
MSU fans use the term Walmart Wolverine way too much, and, having seen that it irritates some Michigan fans/grads, some of us tend to use it way more.
February 19th, 2012 at 12:59 PM ^
It isn't a bit disconcerting to any of you grown men that you've just posted 150 posts talking about MSU and calling them inferior? Man they are in your heads...
February 19th, 2012 at 9:05 PM ^
While there, I got the usual disgruntled fan statements of "We didn't really want any of them", "We'll still kick their ass" and my long favored "Those kids couldn't play here anyway".Michigan has been out-recruiting Michigan State for going on 5 decades now and with the exception of the past 4 seasons, that talent gap has meant Michigan dominating MSU. The past 4 seasons are easily explainable by the high attrition and clumsy transition to the spread offense of the Rodriguez regime. Michigan for the past 4 seasons played at a substantial experience and age gap to MSU as a result of this, but this gap has now closed. MSU fans choose to ignore this fact and believe that Dantonio is the football version of Tom Izzo. Disillusionment is imminent for them. Hoke will dominate the Spartans just like Schembechler, Moeller, and Carr before. In the end the 2008-2011 period will go down as an odd blip in an otherwise unending record of futility that MSU will experience against Michigan. My advice to you will mirror that of others, avoid the RCMB altogehter, they are just a pack of frathouse cretins, embracing the lowest common denominator of discourse.
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:57 PM ^
This blog and RCMB is not an apples to apples comparison. Go meet the Spartans at their real blogs, not the warehouse for disaffected crazy people.
Oh yes there is a big part of the Spartan fanbase that puts more effort towards spite for the in-state rival than cheering for their own team. The local paper today had a column for Spartan fans and how they can deal with the Red Wings playing in Michigan Stadium by refusing to call it the Big House, since that's too endearing. So no, as much as I would like to stick up for the countless Spartans I know and work with who are not shitty sports fans, there's plenty of evidence, even discounting RCMB where that kind of stuff is encouraged, that State fans are not very sporting sports fans.
You know what though? Who gives a damn if they're not? I'm active in the Red Wings blogosphere in addition to this one and despite there being a good 10 sites that you MUST read if you're a Red Wings blogger, the No. 1 site is still Abel to Yzerman which is all about trolling the opposition. Why they do it is understandable--the Yankee effect, i.e. the Red Wings have been a championship caliber team for so long now that everyone else's fans are gunning for them, so Blogger E Wings Fan gets scrappy. Yet many of them are the same fans who appear on the Detroit Tigers blogs, and you will never meet a kinder group of bloggers (other than Northwestern--man do those people need a hug) than Tigers bloggers, who held each other through miserable years and formulated their outlook on sports fandom through the prisms of the late '90s and early '00s hopelessness, so every celebration of Prince Fielder still has the "but I'm glad Braun was cleared" giveback-ness to other fans, because we saw our last Fielder sold to the Yankees.
The internet is weird man. I'm starting to think that everyone, no matter what team they're a fan of, has all types of fan inside them, and that it's the tone and example of the editor, in most cases, that really sets the tone for a site.
That said there is a good reason Spartan fans in particular have been led toward being the whiniest asswipes with an internet connection, and that's because you'd be hard-pressed to find a better public school that's more overshadowed by a public giant in the same living space. There's all sorts of fraternal relationships out there in the rivalry world, but the ones where you get the really snot-nosed punkiness from little brother and the really arrogant prickishness of the big brother is when they're in that sweet spot of being competitive but not close enough to where the elder doesn't have a clear advantage.
The situation makes the fans, I guess is what I'm saying. The underlying people are just people.
February 24th, 2012 at 9:15 AM ^