Reason 4,592 to love Charles Woodson

Submitted by M-Dog on

So, a couple of minutes ago Charles Woodson is on an NFL pre-game show with other former NFL players.  

The topic of greatest rivalry game you ever played in came up.  The other guys rattle of games like Minn-Green Bay, Ravens-Titans, and so on.

Woodson's' turn comes up:  He says "I gotta go with Michigan - Ohio State."  

The other guys roll their eyes, but Charles don't care . . . he proceeds to wax eloquent about growing up with the rivalry and the meaning and intensity of it when he played.

When they finally pinned him down to name an NFL rivalry, he could barely come up with anything, and just threw out a couple of names.  His heart was not in it.

A Michigan Man to the core.

Who's got it better than us?

 

 

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treetown

November 6th, 2016 at 10:15 AM ^

In the pros - teams will lose for a lot of reasons - less talent, crucial miscues or just out-coached. BUT those vary and change from game to game and usually one team does not dominate another. The composition of the teams draw players from all over the country so the rivalry just isn't in their hearts. Many of the players have been team mates in the past. For fans it may be different. The Yankees and Red Sox for example are classic rivals.

Tom Brady versus the Buffalo Bills is something like 26-3 but does he "get up" for Buffalo? No, just another division game. 

It was a very honest answer!

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SAMgO

November 6th, 2016 at 10:29 AM ^

Even the Red Sox and Yankees aren't rivals on the field, they're rivals in the stands. The players don't hate each other, they don't care if it's the Yankees or the Marlins. Johnny Damon was a core part of the 2004 Sox and a couple years later he's in pinstripes, it doesn't matter.

Would Denard have ever suited up for OSU? Woodson? Peppers? Over their dead bodies. It's only "just different" in that it's "just worse". Pro "rivalries" are in a different stratosphere than college.



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bostonsix

November 6th, 2016 at 11:09 AM ^

While it's possible in college to play for your rival through a transfer ,(ie) the Borens, great players like Woodson or Eddie George would never even tease the idea of doing so. Where as, in the NFL you can have a player like Brett Favre who was inducted into the hall of fame mostly for his career while at Green bay also play for the Vikings. This takes away from the significance of rivalrs because we identify great players with certain teams. Any given year these great players can be signed by their teams rivals which in turn takes away from the rivalry.

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Fnrmerse

November 7th, 2016 at 7:24 AM ^

You're right. I didn't even know this was still even a thing until a couple of months ago I had a coworker go off about it. He said he was Colorado fan and he couldn't stand the Wings. I don't care much because Colorado haven't been contenders in years. The Wings are still making the playoffs every year...



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MichiganMan20

November 6th, 2016 at 10:21 AM ^

He's right. There's no such thing as a true rivalry in pro sports. Sure some teams might not like each other but college is a completely different animal. You can grow up hating a school and then you only get 4 opportunities to play them. Those 4 years or in some cases 3, last a lifetime. That's why anytime you beat your rival it's a great feeling, no matter the score or how it happened.



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J.

November 6th, 2016 at 10:27 AM ^

Huh?  Maybe Packers / Lions on Thanksgiving.  I don't think the Cowboys and Lions have ever played on Thanksgiving because both teams have always played a home game on Thanksgiving.

There have been a few good rivalries in the NFL, but most of them are fleeting; Steelers / Raiders in the 70s, Steelers / Ravens in the 00s, 49ers / Cowboys in the 80s and early 90s, etc.  Cowboys / Redskins, Giants / Eagles, Bears / Packers, and Steelers / Browns are somewhat more permanent, but free agency has really dulled even those.

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SWPro

November 6th, 2016 at 10:24 AM ^

Who were the other former players?

 

Its surprising to me that they wouldn't just to college as well. Most (all?) colleges have some major rival (granted not like UM-OSU) that you think they would instantly jump to ahead of any pro rivalry.

 

A pro rivalry falls short to me because there isn't that sense of forever with a pro team. CWood is forever a Wolverine but is he forever a Raider and a Packer, and a Raider again? And lots of guys move around a lot more than that.

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BlueMk1690

November 6th, 2016 at 10:26 AM ^

the NFL is about money, the college game is about passion. Of course, money is earned in college football and there's corruption but even the corrupt, rotten version of amateurism of college football has more heart and honor than the NFL game.

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MTH1993

November 6th, 2016 at 10:28 AM ^

Pros are about the pay and college, is about the passion. Charles got it right (no surprise) Michigan and that school down south, is what a real rivalry is all about.

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Reader71

November 6th, 2016 at 10:30 AM ^

NFL rivals usually play twice a year, thrice if they're both good. That's not as conducive to a rivalry as a winner take all game at the end of the season. The NFL is boring.

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AlwaysBlue

November 6th, 2016 at 10:52 AM ^

the Pistons and Bulls met the rivals standard. It's different in pro sports...if and when you have a team on the come trying to knock off a king you have the set up. In college rivalries are generations in the making with storylines and folklore. Charles had it right of course.

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aratman

November 6th, 2016 at 11:02 AM ^

NBA seems to lend it self more to rivalries, you are in physical contact more and they play seven game series in the playoffs.  Lakers-kings was like that.  Pistons bulls, lakers celtics currently look for OKC-Golden State to turn up the heat.  If they were to meet in a seven game confrence finals it would be on.

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taistreetsmyhero

November 6th, 2016 at 10:56 AM ^

The AFC North has some good ole bad blood between teams with Steelers Ravens and Bengals. Colts and Patriots was a great rivalry albeit not because of any history that could even whiff a college rivalry. NFC east has good rivalries. Other than that there's not much. Saints vs. Falcons is only other one I can think of.



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