Our brand is also our curse

Submitted by TK on December 4th, 2019 at 5:35 PM

As a kid growing up I had no allegiance to any school ingrained into me. It wasn’t passed on from family or anything like that. But the first time I saw Michigan playing in the Rose Bowl under Bo I was hooked. As I travel the country now wearing UM gear, I get Go Blue’s and a lot of people who have something to say about UM one way or the other. On the heels of the Greenberg comments saying our expectations are too high because we aren’t an elite program, I feel there is some truth to that but also the media drives this because of our brand. Winged helmets, the largest stadium, the fight song. Michigan is still and likely always will be one of the most storied college football programs of all time. It fuels a lot of jealousy but it also seems to set us up for failure because we can never quite live up to the expectations.  It often times puts us in bowl matchup’s where we are over matched simply because we are such a draw. I guess my thought is there are positives and negatives, but it’s good to be relevant.  I also think that because of the expectations in the media scrutiny this is a tough job to have as the head coach of Michigan football.

MGoBoard

ThePonyConquerer

December 4th, 2019 at 5:41 PM ^

How come NFL teams aren’t going after Ryan Day?

Prob because he’s just a one trick pony, a fat kid in a candy store, who’s eventually gonna dry up.

“I’m Ryan Day, and I write fanfiction.”

Joined: 02/01/2016

MGoPoints: -8128

mGrowOld

December 4th, 2019 at 6:06 PM ^

Hey-can one of you guys cover for me tonight?  I'm scheduled as of now for the 9:00pm "random thoughts i have about things" thread posting and I'm a bit under the weather so I'd like to crash early.  Just let me know when your scheduled to post your "random thoughts i have about things" thread and we'll switch.

Thanks

Joined: 10/04/2010

MGoPoints: 212947

UMxWolverines

December 4th, 2019 at 6:08 PM ^

We have a better brand than football team, that's been the case for a long time. The problem is people thought said brand + Harbaugh would be a lethal combination, and it isn't. 

I don't know how you can make national title and big ten title predictions then when they don't happen change your narrative to "well this is all that should be expected". 

Joined: 03/01/2009

MGoPoints: 65436

NateVolk

December 4th, 2019 at 6:54 PM ^

Put message board jockey expectations in one hand and you know what in the other and see which weighs more quicker.

The first is nothing. Including it's impact on big decisions like who the head coach of the football team should be.

And we're all way better off for it.

It's possible to have high expectations AND not come unglued at the head coach with the same gripes about the record against OSU or as an underdog, upteen times a week. 

And frankly many fans have the ability to adjust expectations and judge an outcome based on reality after seeing it unfold. And then dissect legitimate reasons rather than toss arrows of frustration.

Many do not. Sucks being that second group. 

 

 

Joined: 07/19/2010

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lilpenny1316

December 4th, 2019 at 6:16 PM ^

Any arguments that begin and end with talk about national titles as the requirement for eliteness in college football is dumb.  The standard for winning national titles has eased over the years.  OSU wouldn't have a national title in this decade if not for the CFP.  Alabama also would've been left out a couple years ago.  Before the CFP, you had pollsters with agendas.  How else do you explain PSU going undefeated, including a blowout win in the Rose Bowl staying stuck at #2 in the final poll behind Nebraska, then Nebraska jumping us a few years later under similar circumstances. 

Have we been performing like an elite program recently?  No.  But despite what ESPN and MSU tell you, college football didn't begin in 2007.

 

Joined: 11/19/2009

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1974

December 4th, 2019 at 7:02 PM ^

That's why so many people (me included, at times) have difficulty assessing Lloyd. He had an NFL factory going around the turn of the century presumably without much monkey business. We *were* what Clemson, Georgia, etc. currently are. I believe it's true that he largely underachieved with that talent. But, he got it in the first place. Very few other coaches did or have since.

Joined: 04/17/2011

MGoPoints: 7799

blueday

December 4th, 2019 at 6:21 PM ^

If the NCAA really did anything, we'd have a level playing field. I'm frustrated but respect the way we run the program and conduct ourselves in the current slimmy and $$$ environment. To me, those wins, championships etc would be hollow. 

Joined: 11/04/2014

MGoPoints: 6493

downtownjohn

December 4th, 2019 at 6:22 PM ^

Good lord - this fanbase can be so whiny

There is no damn curse. 
 

  • Recruit top 10, preferably top 5 classes every single year 
  • Coaches need to stay consistent year over year as much as possible 
  • coaches needs to improve their abilities 
  • coordinators need to get better
  • players need to execute every play, every game

then the wins will come. This isn’t rocket surgery OP. 
 

There is no curse. We just need to get better all over.

Joined: 12/02/2019

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Maize and Blue AF

December 4th, 2019 at 8:27 PM ^

Fairly certain OP's point was not that we are actually cursed. It was a figure of speech. Michigan is one of the most iconic brands in CFB. OP was simply stating the program's prestige has a tendency to inflate expectations and overshadow our actual progress, which I agree with. If we were a program with lower prestige, 10 win seasons in 3 of 4 seasons (possibly 4 of 5) would be a big surprise. We're not though, and more is expected.

Joined: 12/20/2014

MGoPoints: 1667

Western_

December 4th, 2019 at 6:34 PM ^

We simply have to out recruit OSU for out of state players.  That's where we are getting smoked right now.  We need 5 stars not from the Midwest.

Joined: 10/26/2019

MGoPoints: 334

GoBlueGoWings

December 4th, 2019 at 7:04 PM ^

Media likes to prop us up so they can say," See I told you this is the year." Or say, "Michigan stinks and can't win big games."

Have you every read or heard a media member who picked Michigan say that the they were wrong for picking UM? It is always UM's fault for making the person wrong.

Joined: 04/19/2012

MGoPoints: 52402

Khaleke The Freak

December 4th, 2019 at 7:57 PM ^

Michigan is top 10 late in the year almost every year since Harbaugh has been here.  They’ve beaten pretty much every BIG10 team under Harbaugh except OSU.  Even elite Alabama has 2 losses this year, it’s all media driven.  Michigan has a great football program and great coach.  BTW, you also have to cheat your ass off and or have really low moral standards to be “elite” year in and year out in modern day CFB. 

Joined: 05/20/2017

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Albatross

December 4th, 2019 at 8:28 PM ^

We aren’t an elite program because we don’t have the right coach and leaders. Any program with the obscene resources of Michigan has should be expected to win and win big. There is nothing standing in the way of Michigan being an elite program other than simply not having a coach that can get the job done. And right now it seems like we are done trying. We will take our 3rd place Big Ten East finishes and start beating the excuses drum.

Joined: 11/12/2013

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