OTish - How to deal with coworkers/friends after a rivalry game.

Simply smile, that is all.

i live in ohio. i'm out number 6 million to one. you never rub it in,you never gloat, you sit back after a win and say nice game. it seem to bug them even more.

Act like you've been there before.  Under no circumstances burn a couch in the employee lounge.

to be magnanimous. Let them say dumb and resentful stuff and smile at them significantly, letting them know with a benevolent glance how utterly see-through they are.

There will be plenty of souldong punches for all of us to come. 

Walk into their office and just straight up slap the floor.

just change your email signature to this!

Slap dat' floor.

/s

I don't brag. I'm better than they are. They do the talking while I just smile and move on to the next game. Big game with purdue coming up. Gotta end the road skid. 

Act like you've been there before...especially with Spartan fans.

I like to get under their skin a little bit, especially if its someone who likes to boast after they beat us. Something I found makes them go crazy is to shower them with unmerited praise. Something like this... "Hey, don't be too frustrated about that loss I think they played one of their best games of the season." "I really think Appling had one of his better games of the season, he's really improved his dribble." "At least you know that your team can take care of the ball in clutch situations." etc. etc. 

The trick is doing it with a straight face and an ever so slight sarcastic tone. Enjoy!

I have a number of in-laws who are Staee fans as well as two sisters who are grads. It is annoying, but lately been better. I really try to use the technique mentioned above about taking the high road, saying good game, and I will engage in conversation about it if they want to talk about it. But my mistake is trying to use logic and straight forward language about the game and what I'd think about it if I were someone without a dog in that fight. Most the time, they drag the convo into the quagmire that really exposes their emotions about it and their sparty mentality. Despite the fact that I love them as family, I can't stand them when we talk sports, so I just leave it be.

On a side note, one of the aforementioned in-laws couldn't seem to let it go without mentionting the announcers on CBS were extremely pro-Michigan. I have a feeling that if sparty had pulled it out, they wouldn't have mentioned it. Or I theorize that because the game was in AA, the announcers may have assimilated to the crowd and if the game were in EL it would have been the other way around.

We've got a 5 person team I'm on at work, 3 Michigan grads, 2 MSU grads.  We're all very respectful and we enjoy healthy debate.  In fact, our weekly meetings (coming up in about half an hour) generally become a "let's recap the week in college basketball" meeting because we're all so fanatic about our teams, yet we have realistic expectations (except that loss to Penn State, because fuck that ain't nobody saw that coming).  We're nice to each other, they didn't even gloat after Sparty beat us by 23 or whatever ungodly number it was.

Basically, I talk to my Michigan co-workers about it, and wait to see if any of the MSU grads open the door to talk about it.  Then I will proceed to recount Burke's final two steals.

As an aside, did anyone notice that McGary was not out of bounds?  I don't think he was, I saw it 3 times.  Anyways, the point is moot because we won.

Ignore idiots and be an adult. Pretty simple.

As a Browns fan there is nothing that hurts more than when we play the Steelers at home.  It used to be a huge rivalry that up until recently the Browns had a winning record.

Now the half the stadium is Steelers fans with their fucking towels, and they don't even talk shit except for a minority.  It always pisses me off so much more that the Browns are so pathetic that we don't even register on their radar.

It really depends on your normal relationship with each respective person.  If you normally talk a little smack about anything, then let 'em have it.  You may need to dumb it down a little, though.  

If it's more of a professional relationship (where they may even talk smack after a sparty victory), then take the high road.  If you say very little, you can rest assured that they're thinking about what you might say.  

Not saying anything irks them even more.  

It's odd for me because most of the Spartan / Buckeye fans in this office are people whom I either manage directly or who are not in the supervisory ranks here, it rarely extends much beyond "Good game" and some high-level analysis, although people that I have known for years will exchange friendly jabs with me as well. The Michigan fans and I will tend to dig into the game a little deeper, but we've had many cross-fanbase discussions here as well that have been very respectful and even productive. It is intriguing to try and fit rivalries into a professional context like that, to say the least. It's really the same with people I know outside of work too, or at least I try to keep it so - a little ribbing, some analysis, and respect.

Unless it's a close friend that you have an ongoing smack talk thing going on with, just keep your mouth shut. If they bring it up, feel free to discuss like you would talking to anyone else.

Just follow the golden rule and you should be fine.

I say one of two things after every Michigan game

Today I came into work and said, "Michigan State got their ass kicked!"

Last Wednesday I came into work and said, "Michigan got their ass kicked!"

It works rather well, people know it's coming, and it helps lighten the mood.

It depends on the fan and on your relationship with them.

I generally go with being generous, happy, smile, nice game, been here before, etc.

There are a couple of closer friends who I might rib a bit more.

Considering we got bombed by 20+ in East Lansing not all that long ago, I'd recommend keeping your mouth shut and just being happy we got the win. 

I find it is easier to 'act like we've won before in person'.  It is tough to resist talking a little smack to the whiners on FB or Twitter.