Seriously??? Sparty???

Submitted by Michigans Van Wilder on

I just read this article from Lynn Henning in the Detroit News: 
 
 
fluff
 
Anyway, what caught my attention that twice in the article Michigan State was mentioned in the same breath as Ohio State as our 'sacred rivals' and 'eternal enemies' by none other than Lynn Henning.
 
Clearly Lynn is a Spartan fan. Aside from the obviously substandard university education it's the fact that she seems to believe that the MSU rivalry is anywhere near the same level as the OSU rivalry.
 
I mean it is... but only in East Lansing. 
MGoBoard
sparty NO

bentley2121

September 11th, 2008 at 8:47 PM ^

I hear this and just laugh.  Michigan owns MSU both recently and over a wide spread of games.  Winning the last 6 straight and 18 of 25 in my lifetime does not make a rivarly.  One thing is for sure envy of big brother by little brother.

Joined: 09/03/2008

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ckersh74

September 11th, 2008 at 10:03 PM ^

But he is a pussy. This is the same guy who whines about the fences at Comerica Park more than Rob Parker complains about Detroit sports front office management not named Joe Dumars. I'm convinced he got his ass kicked on a daily basis in school and lost his lunch money every day.

Get Angelique back to Ann Arbor ASAP before Henning whines about bringing in the end zones 20 yards to make it easier for the Michigan offense to score.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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hat

September 11th, 2008 at 10:56 PM ^

Don't worry - Angelique is still employed by the News.

Yes, it's politically correct for the media to say that Sparty is up there with OSU for us, so as not to insult MSU fans.  But at the same time, let's not downplay the series too much.  It's not just another game.  Beating Sparty is more of a relief than a thrill, but there is absolutely no game that is worse to lose.  Think back to the Spartan Bob game if you disagree. 

 

Joined: 06/30/2008

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UofM Snowboarder

September 12th, 2008 at 12:56 AM ^

We are MSU's top rivals. ND and PSU come second (and PSU is a bit contrived).

While we don't really care, they do.  MSU hates us (almost) as much as we hate OSU, or at least ND.

The media will always try to make MSU-UofM as big as our actual rivals. It's been happening since the Govener G Williams wanted us to let MSU into the conference. Just smile and nod (and then laugh, after the game).

Even on the rare occation they beat us, they got into the conference on our coat tails, and no matter what people like Dantonio think, it will just be the game we got forced into playing every year (or else the state would cut our funding).

Just blow it off. MSU is just another BigTen team. 

Joined: 08/22/2008

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dex

September 12th, 2008 at 9:19 AM ^

That the lengths UM fans go to show they "don't care" about MSU tells you how much of a rivalry it really is.

If they were really "just another team", I don't think Sparty No!, Little Brother, and all the other MSU jokes would come up nearly as often.

Is it possible that since so many of us work/live/fuck Spartan fans and are just that insecure about them having a year to gloat over a victory that we downplay the whole exercise in order to pre-emptively protect ourselves? 

Personally, I don't even know many OSU fans. I know a ton of MSU fans. I know OSU is The Game, but you are kidding yourself if you live in Michigan and don't think UM-MSU is a big game. 

Joined: 06/30/2008

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Jay

September 12th, 2008 at 11:59 AM ^

Agree completely, Dex. I also find it quite humurous that many in our fanbase are hoping and praying for OSU to get rolled by USC on Saturday as if it takes away the pain and embarrassment of UM being their bitch for the last few years. Being obsessed with seeing your archrival fail miserably to another team while we can't beat them ourselves  is very "little brother" of some in our fanbase and is exactly what we bag on Sparty fans for doing.

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hat

September 12th, 2008 at 8:04 PM ^

I am rooting for OSU to lose, but not for the reason you describe.  I don't think it's in Michigan's best interests for OSU - or any other rival Big Ten program  - to be in national-title contention every year. when we're not at that level ourselves.  It's tough to recruit against OSU right now.  They're hoping to make the title game for the third year in a row and we're hoping to make a bowl. 

Joined: 06/30/2008

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Yinka Double Dare

September 15th, 2008 at 11:04 AM ^

I don't know, I root for OSU to lose regardless of how good we are.  They could go 3-9 for all I care (they're not going to lose to their 3 Ohio punching bags they play every year, though they certainly made an effort at it this year).  I might not root as hard for them to lose to a good non-conference opponent if we were actually good and in contention for the BCS title, but in the end I'd still rather see them lose.

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UofM Snowboarder

September 14th, 2008 at 1:29 PM ^

I'm not saying a loss to MSU wouldn't hurt. I'd be killer, just like a loss to PSU. It would/will hurt because we'd drop our streak against each of them (and at this point, a loss would drop our streak in the bowls, too).

 'Little Brother' jokes are funny because of Dantonio's (completely classless) reaction. Just like 'I'm a Man!' jokes are funny because of Mike Gundy's reaction. You're judging the size of a game based on the prevalence of jokes about the other team? What about Penn State, then. I hear 'JoPa Eats Brains' jokes more than anything, except maybe 'lolweisisfat jokes'...

I also think that MSU-UofM is a big game in Michigan, but I think it's because MSU fans care so much, not because we both do. In terms of 'our rivals' who would you rather beat in a season: Notre Dame, OSU, MSU, UofMinn?

Who would you hate the most to lose to?

My answers are OSU, and UofMinn.

To me, MSU ranks just above NW and Purdue, and about the same as Penn State and Illinois in terms of how much the game matters. It's important, because it's a BigTen game. Winning BigTen games is the most important thing.

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