Snowflakes: The Fans
I saw a lot today. I saw special teams make plays. I saw defense try to stand their ground despite 3 and outs by the offense. I saw lots of poor playcalling, in my humble opinion.
That’s not what this is about.
I saw a stadium of fans boo their team in front of 4 commits and 15 prospects. (it was probably meant for the play call, but how would they know?)
I had to listen to an idiot next to me talk about how he thinks Devin Gardner is the worst QB in the world and that he wanted him to get injured so that Morris would play.
After I got home, I saw a thread polling fans about cutting their support for the program.
For a school that prides itself in being one of the best, to me at least this seems like a low point for the fandom.
Brady Hoke is doing an excellent job of recruiting, and he has an aspect of aggressiveness (fakes, going on 4th down) that we have not seen in the past, and I think we like it.
Greg Mattison’s defense created the Heininger Certainty Principle, and who can forget the drastic improvement in guys like Jake Ryan and JT Floyd?
I’m not happy with Borges, but I do think that we will improve in a couple years, given the opportunity. Borges seems unable to adapt to an RPS situation where Rock is more like clay and is really weak but scissors is made of titanium as he doesn’t want to keep throwing out the same thing (would this make paper the bubble screen?). Once we have the talent and experience to execute reasonably on run and pass they will put up points (I hope).
If you want to fire Brady Hoke, you are asking for a decade of mediocrity. Who would want this job where 2 coaches have been fired in 6 years (one of them being the “Michigan Man” that everyone wanted after Rich Rod)? Even if you hate Borges, I'd prefer to keep it to the message boards and support the team on the field.
There is a reason why the team touches the banner at the start of the game.
None of this would be possible without the support of the fans. 250 consecutive games over 100,000 was a mark reached today. That is another record for Michigan, but in the midst of that, I guarantee that the one thing that will end this program is if the fanbase gives up on their team.
I’m not asking you to not get upset when things don’t go well; that’s what makes sports what it is. The highs would not be highs unless there were corresponding lows.
I don’t know I was feeling really bummed after the game and thought I’d start a thread for the first time. Hopefully there’s not too much hate because that would make me a bit sadder. I was gonna add some crap about work and how I've seen people get frazzled when they don't perform and get fired eventually, and others rebound with proper support, but now I am tired and I just want the day to end.
I’ll end off with the words of someone wiser than myself.
"We want the Big Ten championship and we're gonna win it as a Team. They can throw out all those great backs, and great quarterbacks, and great defensive players, throughout the country and in this conference, but there's gonna be one Team that's gonna play solely as a Team.
No man is more important than The Team. No coach is more important than The Team. The Team, The Team, The Team, and if we think that way, all of us, everything that you do, you take into consideration what effect does it have on my Team? Because you can go into professional football, you can go anywhere you want to play after you leave here.
You will never play for a Team again. You'll play for a contract. You'll play for this. You'll play for that. You'll play for everything except the team, and think what a great thing it is to be a part of something that is, The Team. We're gonna win it. We're gonna win the championship again because we're gonna play as team, better than anybody else in this conference, we're gonna play together as a team.
We're gonna believe in each other, we're not gonna criticize each other, we're not gonna talk about each other, we're gonna encourage each other. And when we play as a team, when the old season is over, you and I know, it's gonna be Michigan again, Michigan."
November 10th, 2013 at 12:08 AM ^
Who deleted the support thread? I didn't like it either but why censor free speech?
People have a right to complain because college sports extorts so much money from football fans to pay for teams that almost nobody cares about. Can you believe that one can receive a full scholarship for playing field hockey or rowing? Yes that really happens even though they generate zero dollars. Football teams have to generate a crap ton of money to pay for all these lower tier sports. Therefore the season ticket holders get gouched. They have every right to be upset. Yes - we all love Michigan football. But the prices, licenses, etc are out of control. They people paying the big bucks want to have a competent offense. At my business if you fail for multiple years you get canned, simple as that. My 2 cents...
November 10th, 2013 at 12:08 AM ^
Words like "censorship" and "free speech" are way overused. This is Brian's blog. None of us have any "rights" here with respect to what we write. If he doesn't want a thread trying to rally people to stop supporting the program, then he can do that.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:21 AM ^
Fair enough LA.
I believe very strongly that it's unfair to fans at how much they have to pay to watch football. And I understand DB has a job to do. He has to bankroll all the other sports sans basketball (hockey?) from the football team. IMO this model is unsustainable in the long run. There should be 4-5 university teams, and the rest should be club sports. If players, donors, parents etc. want to form a team then fine. But this model of dozens of sports teams that are paid for by football is ridiculous. Ideally one could buy season tickets for $300 - $400 dollars and receive a fair value for payment. But these $1k + requirements just for football tickets are absurb. I'm not even blaming DB, he didn't start the fire. In the future I see this system going down, especially with the long term economic prospects.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:40 AM ^
Asking people to stop supporting the University of Michigan football program on MGoBlog is a stupid thread and should be deleted. It's sorta sad that some people here are acting like someone in a trailer park watching Jerry Springer.
Maybe they should start their own blog and call it "Red Huron Message Board."
November 10th, 2013 at 7:33 AM ^
Each of us can start our own blog and say what we like in it.
November 10th, 2013 at 7:17 AM ^
The tenor of that thread, right down to the title, sort of fits into this discussion. It was essentially asking people to identify themselves as reducing or eliminating their financial support to Michigan, and typically threads which are geared towards causing divisiveness (because I could see the argument in this thread basically breaking out in that one) will generate very little worthwhile discussion and shouldn't be here. I know the 2014 paperwork is coming to a mailbox near you, but having people proclaim that they will not be renewing on a night after a loss is going to devolve into a sh*tshow inevitably.
November 10th, 2013 at 7:29 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 12:09 AM ^
This loss stung, but I've thankfully learned to temper my feelings in regards to this game. I'm over it already. There are plenty of problems with this team, but freaking out and getting depressed about it is ridiculous. I'm going to hope for a better show in the next three, and in a bowl game, I hope.
November 10th, 2013 at 1:03 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 12:05 AM ^
The players and the program deserve better..
November 10th, 2013 at 12:06 AM ^
I totally agree with you (at least I think, I didn't read the whole thing) but the bottom line is there are all different kinds of fans and it will always be that way. And you never fill a stadium of 100k+ repeatedly with only the "true" fans. Some are going to be idiots, some are going to be bandwagoners, some are going to think Michigan football owes them something, and so on.
There was a since-removed post by an MGoBlog member suggesting people stop supporting the team and the craziest part is that it seemed more people agreed with him than not. I think a big part of that is that it's still gameday and that split may be different tomorrow morning, but that's just how fandom is - everyone does it their own way. At least in terms of losing. When we win, everyone celebrates the same. How people handle the bad times is what varies so greatly.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:07 AM ^
I wasn't there but I was personally happy when I heard the stadium boo-ing on TV. Sorry if that makes me a dick, but I have to be honest. I don't want the kids playing to be boo'd, but I think the playcall boos are completely acceptable. I have no faith that Hoke or DB will fire Funk/Borges unless it becomes unavoidable due to loud boos and negative PR. It sucks that recruits have to hear it but honestly I care about what's happening on gameday not our recruiting -- our classes in the past have all been top-20 except for RR's last year, so don't give me the BS about no talent on this team. Stars mean jack shit when you are 7-6 or 8-5 every year.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:11 AM ^
The problem with this logic is there's no way to only "boo the coaches." The players are always going to feel like it's directed at them, because the booing only happens after something goes wrong for the team - after someone on the team didn't do his job. Also, in general, the players don't want to hear the staff that recruited and coached them get booed. This isn't like the pros where it's all a business. College players are still pretty impressionable and the coaches are mentors to them.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:20 AM ^
Then the coaches should not let the players down by their poor play calls! When an entire stadium feels compelled to boo the coaches you know the play calling is bad. If it effects the recruits, then lay it at the feet of the coaches. The best way to impress recruits is to win games and show something as coaches.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:41 AM ^
Look, even if the players recognize on some level that the target of the booing isn't them, hey know that fans are mad over the play result (which obviously was bad). If I'm a QB and I get sacked, the last thing I want to hear is booing. It'd make me feel like crap and make me feel like the fans aren't behind the team.
Just don't do it.
November 10th, 2013 at 8:56 AM ^
whenever the fuck I want to boo. It is the fans way of giving feedback to a team that is not playing well. If the players and coaches can't handle booing then they are softer than what we all thought.
November 10th, 2013 at 9:05 AM ^
keep your fucking feedback to yourself. write a letter and throw it away. at least that's a net 0 outcome
November 10th, 2013 at 9:15 AM ^
a very respectful way for people to communicate their feelings. Yelling and swearing at coaches and players is a disrespectful way to communicate feelings. Which would you prefer fans do?
November 10th, 2013 at 9:19 AM ^
neither
November 10th, 2013 at 10:35 AM ^
I have no intention of booing the team at games, but I get when it happens. These are still kids, so I am not in favor of it.
When fan frustration gets to a tipping point, these things start to happen. Based on the same playcalling as the PSU game, it is pretty clear the coaching staff is not getting the message at this point. The running backs rushed 17 times for 17 yards against one of the lesser defenses in the Big Ten and true to form Borges decides to repeat the strategy that resulted in the PSU loss.
What to do?
November 10th, 2013 at 7:04 AM ^
I saw the pain on Derrick Green's face when fans "booed the coaches" after he ran the ball for no gain. Don't give me that nonsense.
All it takes is some modicum of self control. Hell, I've never even felt the need to boo a Michigan team, no matter how bad things got.
People want to act like booing is some kind of altruistic act that will ultimately benefit the players and program.
It's not.
Booing is an entirely selfish act. It's all about you.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:29 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 12:44 AM ^
But they also know that if they'd executed their assignment (even if it was a bad "RPS" situation) there wouldn't have been any boos. No one boos after a successful play. Again, they often have a close relationship with these coaches - with all the time they spend together for 4-5 years, they're practically family to them.
And you can't say that none of the booing was directed at players. Gardner got booed after taking a couple of sacks.
If you want to vent, vent after the game, but don't do it at the stadium.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:49 AM ^
come on man, college football is as much of a business as the nfl is
November 10th, 2013 at 12:51 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 12:20 AM ^
27 kids signed in 2010. 9 are left.
Four offensive linemen taken in the 2010 & 2011 classes. Two remain and one has been injured his whole career.
No WRs taken in 2011.
You better care about recruiting. Because that is where the problems are.
Now if there was a competent offensive coordinator, Michigan would have won this game and several others last year perhaps.
November 10th, 2013 at 7:09 AM ^
Appealing to things like facts, logic, and reason only work when you're dealing with people who are open to them.
An irrational, angry mob only wants bodies to burn.
They didn't get out their pitchforks and torches for nothing.
November 10th, 2013 at 9:53 AM ^
Acting like emotion is not a part of sports is foolish. The real worry should be apathy. If the emotional state of the fan base gets to the point where they don't care any more, then all the attendance records will end.
Sporting events are all about an emotional attachment, not some clinical evaluation of the end product.
November 10th, 2013 at 10:53 AM ^
The records started in the mid-70s after Bo had built up the expectation that you'd come to a game and watch us steamroll somebody, and, if we didn't you knew a great team had competed out there.
Enough years of mediocrity and enough examples of poor performances and the emotion will dwindle. Apathy will be the only thing left. Rabid fandom that leads to attendance records and and brand equity is tied primarily to the expectation of being a part of something great. Being a part of a winner.
If this isn't fixed very soon, people will begin to stay home and find something else to do on Saturday afternoons.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:07 AM ^
250 consecutive crowds of 100,000 is amazing. I really hope the streak survives next season. I'm concerned the terrible schedule (now possibly coupled with pessimism over the team) is going to kill it.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:15 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 12:24 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 12:35 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 12:46 AM ^
My big concern is the schedule. I think most fans think that this, too, is a blip. But the home schedule next year may not be good enough to convince people to buy season tickets when they could just scalp. I'm not sure but 2014 must be the first year in a long, long time that we won't play Ohio, MSU or ND at home.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:08 AM ^
here, here!
November 10th, 2013 at 12:08 AM ^
I was a bit surprised at how little energy there was at the stadium even at the start. I know the MSU game killed us but man, we need some energy out there.
On another not I was surprised at how little noise comes from the band unless they are amplified. When they were doing the preface playing I could barely hear it half way up section 18.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:09 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 5:29 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 7:17 AM ^
could not have said it better myself
November 10th, 2013 at 8:26 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 12:10 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 12:11 AM ^
against the booing at the game today. You don't boo kids! Go boo the Lions or the Tigers or whatever, you don't boo college kids. I know it was directed at the play-calling, I get that, but no one on either sideline under the age of 23 knows that.
I also understand the frustration of the fanbase. I decided on the way back to the car that I'm not going to the OSU game, there is no point. This staff is in way over their heads. They can't coach the talent they have. The decision-making by the OC and the HC is terrible. Timeouts on a 2nd and 25 and then to run the play-action and get sacked. Borges has learned NOTHING from last week. He calls running plays with 9 in the box?!?!?
I don't want to see Hoke fired, but Borges and Funk MUST go. They can't handle it. Every pundit with a microphone says the same thing - this team has no identity. ONe play we're I-formation, the next spread, the next hybrid. Borges doesn't seem to understand that the interior of the O line is the weakest point, yet he runs right to it or drops Gardner back behind it. ROLL OUT the QB and trying something away from the pressure. Try a bubble screen.
It's frustrating as a fan to watch a team that scored 59 on CMU and beat ND go two weeks in a row with negative rush yards. I have been going to games for over 40 years and I have NEVER seen that in Michigan stadium. Again, this staff is in over their heads.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:21 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 12:55 AM ^
these "kids" have been playing football their whole life, they understand where the booing was directed, they aren't as stupid as you think they are. also, they aren't kids, they are college students, quit thinking they are 8 year olds with thin skin
November 10th, 2013 at 7:11 AM ^
I still fail to see any reason why you should boo them.
November 10th, 2013 at 9:10 AM ^
Michigan fans to be sheep blindly supporting and cheering every down. I got news for you: college football is a big bucks business now and if you are not performing well fans will let you know. Booing will not hurt anyone's precious feelings. It a ticketholder's right to express both cheer and frustration, when warranted.
November 10th, 2013 at 9:17 AM ^
Um, I've known players on past teams, and you had better believe that booing hurt their feelings.
As for the "this is the way things are and so we should all behave like poo flinging monkeys because that's what's expected of us" line. No thanks.
I thought we were supposed to be "leaders and best" or is that just something cute we like to tell ourselves at night?
November 10th, 2013 at 9:24 AM ^
I call bullshit on that. You get caught without a good response and make stuff up - that's what I call it.
"leaders and best" is just what you say it is. It's yet another way for Michigan fans and alumni to be more arrogant than other fans. You must be part of the old guard of "question nothing, follow blindly".
November 10th, 2013 at 9:40 AM ^
Yeah. It's not really being a big insider. My uncle won a national championship at Michigan. Believe it or not, there are some Michigan football players and families who frequent the blog.