OT - Some good in a rivalry
Last night after my daughter’s practice, we decided to go out to dinner at one of the many chain restaurants in the area. I was wearing a Michigan hat and my wife wearing a Michigan hoodie. At the booth in front of us, an older couple was settling their bill with a gift card and the man was wearing an Ohio St pullover.
After they settled the bill they walked past our table and the guy said “you guys are getting railroaded. Anyway there’s $15 left on this (hands me the gift card) so you all enjoy your dinner”. I told him that it was generous and for them to enjoy the weekend. There was the amount on the card he said there was, so it wasn’t some odd prank.
October 21st, 2023 at 7:41 AM ^
October 21st, 2023 at 7:43 AM ^
Seriously though, good of him to do that for you. I’m not concerned about the railroad part because there’s nothing to it in the first place.
October 21st, 2023 at 9:27 AM ^
That card may have had the $15 the elderly OSU couple promised, but who knows that they did with it before giving it to you? Chopped cocaine into lines? Licked it in order to give you shingles (that's common in older folks)? Run it through the butt crack of an exotic dancer???
October 21st, 2023 at 9:35 AM ^
Outside of the shingles, those all sound like bonuses.
October 21st, 2023 at 9:50 AM ^
I'll give you the cocaine thing, but the buttcracks of exotic dancers exhibit a HUGE variance in quality, cleanliness, depth, etc....
October 21st, 2023 at 10:45 AM ^
Everyone--you, me, even Sparty-- carries the shingles virus. Our immune systems keep it in check. An outbreak occurs when the immune system is compromised due to disease or age.
October 21st, 2023 at 11:06 AM ^
How else would one pay said exotic dancer for her services.
October 21st, 2023 at 11:47 AM ^
Butt crack card readers? Wow, the "cashless society" idea just got taken to a whole new level.
October 21st, 2023 at 7:44 AM ^
There's more good in the rivalry than we like to think. Sometimes it is the first thing you realize you have in common with someone.
On the Saturday after the fourth Thursday in November on the other hand ...
October 21st, 2023 at 7:52 AM ^
This^
Message boards are not reality. 95%+ of my interactions with Ohio State fans are positive and enjoyable. For the most part, Eleven Warriors posters do not represent that fanbase, especially when you remove keyboard warrior anonymity and alcohol from the equation. To varying degrees, the same applies here.
October 21st, 2023 at 8:28 AM ^
I would also say that 82.3% of MSU fans are fine. RCMB doesn’t represent the majority.
October 21st, 2023 at 9:30 AM ^
I live here and grew up here and thats bullshit. RCMB exactly represents the majority of Spartan fans to a 'T'.
October 21st, 2023 at 12:01 PM ^
True. For whatever reason, that particular fan base is just ghastly, and have been as long as I can remember. There are exceptions for sure, but I think they have a much larger percentage of awful people as fans than most schools.
October 21st, 2023 at 1:54 PM ^
Agreed
October 21st, 2023 at 8:49 AM ^
The problem with society is that you can quietly spend a lifetime growing a garden for others' benefit, only to see some drunken jackass burn it down in an hour for a TikTok upload that then gets 5 million hits. It's always much easier to destroy than build, and for a lot of people, the former is a cheap thrill that society actively rewards.
Which is why it's so important to both appreciate the good moments and also use the weapons we have to defend ourselves. When someone says something nice or insightful, don't just take it for granted, reward it. Upvote the good. Actually take the time to reply with a word of gratitude every now and then. Ignore attention-seekers (FFS people, please do this more!). Ban trolls early and often. Call out and ostracize those who actively seek to pollute discourse.
This isn't a "few bad apples" problem (not to mention, that's completely missing the point of that phrase). You are the company you keep. A lot of the Internet is what you get when people addicted to cheap dopamine hits keep rewarding bad takes by sharing them, and not reacting to good takes at all because it's "common sense". If you keep throwing candy to assholes and giving anyone you might like the cold shoulder, eventually your world is gonna look broken.
October 21st, 2023 at 9:53 AM ^
My extreme dislike for both of those miserable teams and 99% of their fans is only exceeded by TruStage...has anyone figured out how to make these odious ads stop?
Go Blue! Kick sparty ass...
October 21st, 2023 at 2:03 PM ^
An ad blocker
October 21st, 2023 at 7:52 AM ^
Nice. Nice people, nice story.
October 21st, 2023 at 7:53 AM ^
"You guys are getting railroaded."
"Funny, I shouldn't think we would need to get on a train for that game, especially since it is only minutes away for us this time around."
October 21st, 2023 at 7:58 AM ^
That's awesome.
October 21st, 2023 at 8:06 AM ^
It's a wonderful thing when people on either side of a rivalry can be courteous and gracious to one another. It's as it should be, though too often it's not. Here it was, so that's terrific.
I recall the 1991 game against Notre Dame ... I watched that game from a bar in Ann Arbor, and at the table next to me was a group of ND fans. When Michigan first scored, I bought a pitcher for their table. When ND scored, they returned the gesture. By the end of the game we had a friendly back-and-forth going, and even thought ND lost that game, they were gracious in defeat and I was humble in victory. It was a very good time.
October 21st, 2023 at 9:05 AM ^
I had a long layover for a connecting flight in 2006 on the day of The Game. I ended up watching it at an airport bar sitting next to an Ohio State fan who also had a long layover. We took turns buying beers and giving each other shit during the game. The outcome sucked, but it was a good time.
October 21st, 2023 at 8:12 AM ^
You know, my wife having gone to school in Ohio and lots of buckeye friends, outside of the stadium and on the internet you find that they’re not all complete jackasses.
They’ll shit in a cooler in their front yard, but not all complete jackasses.
October 21st, 2023 at 8:17 AM ^
That's why my disdain has shifted from OSU to MSU over the years. To me at least, OSU fans still respect the rivalry, even after the last 2 years. MSU's tribalism has devolved it into a year-round detest. I interact with 99% more Spartan fans than I do Buckeyes, so YMMV.
Plus TTUN>>>scUM.
And if Sparty wasn't so scared of getting their taints kicked-in, they'd see that this sign stealing thing is utterly ridiculous. They'd have their usual bravado and say "Have our signs. Bring that shit on, Walverines." Or whatever their latest nomenclature is. But they know they have no chance. And this helps them ignore Tucker's coming and Meyer's not coming.
October 21st, 2023 at 9:44 AM ^
During 2-10-1 stretch it had gotten pretty nasty. My uncle and his family were down in Gahanna, OH visiting my other uncle and his family and my two cousins were playing catch in the bottom of the yard, a guy driving by drove up on the curb and pretended to aim for my cousin who was wearing a Michigan sweatshirt. This was either 1996 or 1997.
October 21st, 2023 at 8:36 AM ^
That is a good gesture. There is a mutual respect between OSU and UM. You know, with all the news coming out about Ryan Day being the possible whiner about the signals being allegedly stolen, I am not sure if he understands the rivalry. This rivalry is played on the field in trenches and not in some backroom computer.
Many of the people I know are MSU fans including my wife. My wife's family is wonderful although they won't say the same about me on GameDay. LOL.
October 21st, 2023 at 8:37 AM ^
The OSU fans I’ve interacted with have been generally respectful and even complimentary, except for the newish (after 2006) fans who kinda have the Day born on third mentality.
Haven’t really had any opportunity to interact with MSU fans, but I have been around a bunch of Illinois fans. The funniest thing is when they actually act like there is a rivalry there, and I think it mostly stems from the 88-89 men’s BB tourney. 🤷♂️
October 21st, 2023 at 9:32 AM ^
Illinois fans and their delusions of a big rivalry with Michigan is actually the funniest thing about the Big Ten.
October 21st, 2023 at 8:42 AM ^
I keep thinking it ironic that Woody Hayes, a military history buff, probably would have been enamored with the military approach to sign decoding.
October 21st, 2023 at 8:49 AM ^
I've almost exclusively had good interactions with OSU fans out in the real world.
Sparty fans... not so much.
October 21st, 2023 at 8:49 AM ^
That's honestly pretty cool!
October 21st, 2023 at 8:56 AM ^
Michigan 45
OSU $15
October 21st, 2023 at 9:45 AM ^
Some of my favorite people are Buckeyes.
What can I say? Humans are flawed.
October 21st, 2023 at 9:49 AM ^
I've never had any issues with MSU or OSU fans. Worst events i can think of are like being hooted at and flipped off in DC by some OSU fans on vacation. Big deal.
If you just don't be obnoxious people generally aren't obnoxious to you.
October 21st, 2023 at 10:05 AM ^
If Harbaugh didn't go against the establishment by asking for the NCAA to share revenue with players he wouldn't have a target on his back.
October 21st, 2023 at 1:00 PM ^
The NCAA doesn't get football revenue except from the conferences. Harbaugh's call for revenue sharing might worry the conferences, but not the NCAA. The NCAA beef with Harbaugh isn't about money, it is about his poking holes in the written and unwritten NCAA football regulations and rules.
October 21st, 2023 at 10:09 AM ^
Why didn't the old guy just leave the extra $15 as a tip? I know that's not the relevant part of the story, but it bugged me ha.
October 21st, 2023 at 11:07 AM ^
Maybe he already left a large tip and wanted to spread the love around more.
October 21st, 2023 at 10:23 AM ^
Hell yeah. That's cool as shit.
October 21st, 2023 at 10:28 AM ^
At the end of the day it’s just sports. Tribal fervor can distort our behavior, but we have more in common than not with fans of rivals. Particularly in regards to the sport. We both enjoy it.
However, if you go after my Wolverines I am going to respond in kind. I am as ferocious as a Wolverine in defense of my Michigan.
October 21st, 2023 at 11:48 AM ^
Getting railroaded in monopoly is kind of lame for the railroad owner. I hope he wasn't talking about that.
October 21st, 2023 at 12:18 PM ^
Years ago, both Ohio and MSU fans seemed to be fun to have a beer with before/during/after a game. I've actually had quite a few interesting conversations with Ohio fans before I retired and was traveling thru airports. Sparty fans prior to 2007 were also quite nice to talk with. During the Mork era, especially the 2008-15 days (1-7 run), it seems like every MSU fan who got a rejection letter from UM came out of the woodwork and got into some serious in-your-face trash talking. It was really bad at bars. That A-hole singlehandedly took an off the cuff comment from a diminutive 21-year old RB to turn the rivalry into a hatefest. An entire generation of MSU fans grew up hating UM, instead of envying us. I don't think that chances unless they get a young offensive-minded coach w/o any connection to MSU to BEGIN to shift back to dislike and respect. JH was right last year after the game saying "hate" should never enter into any rivalry.
Let's kick some A on the field tonight!
October 21st, 2023 at 12:26 PM ^
Pretty great that OSU fan could math that well. Good for him. Or his wife or both of them. However they got it calculated.
October 21st, 2023 at 12:53 PM ^
In Ft Lauderdale visiting a friend and this morning we board the Water Taxi and a guy in Ike Buckeyes shirt boos me as I board wearing my Michigan B1G Champions shirt.
I simply smile and end up sitting right across from him as the last to board a crowded boat.
Engaged him in nice conversation and we shared some stories.
We may be rivals as fans but first we are people!
October 21st, 2023 at 4:15 PM ^
Maybe sure those exotic dancer use Lume on their butt cracks before swiping.
The Lume TV ads say it "even works on the butt crack" - LOL. I always wonder why they said that.