The State Of Our Open Threads: After Rutgers
As you are all aware, of course, this blog represents a highly engaged segment of the Michigan fanbase, but after a week of threads after Minnesota where people seemed to have checked out mentally, I really did begin to wonder just how many "fucks" we had left inside us.
As it turns out, we've got many left. Indeed, 484 of them across two threads which totalled 2,433 posts. Not only was it the most "fuck" so far this season by far, that is the largest total volume of post by 11 posts. What I need to do here is figure out a corrective factor for the lack of liveblogs now, which is inflating these numbers some. Plenty of seasons left for this, of course.
Here's how the normalized values stack up now:
Things are beginning to get interesting here - ND brought out the "suck", Miami (OH) was our "fire" game, things went to "shit" against Utah. After that, relative apathy for Minnesota, but Rutgers brought back the "fuck".
The efficiency trend took a quick reversal too. As you'll note from lask week, it was curving downard almost as if there was some acceptance of the situation setting in, and that was troubling to me. However, we make it clear that we still have the capacity to care greatly and deeply about this team because, well...
Not quite as mad as Notre Dame, but mad. Indeed, this game accounts for 28.77% of the total swearing that is being tracked this season. Notre Dame accounts for 21.45% to date, so half of our anger has been directed primarly at two of the six game now in the books, and I think for similar reasons.
The mood chart looks like this now:
What is truly interesting about this now, in my opinion, is that games are beginning to cluster around (0,0), which would perhaps represent the point where "acceptance" is starting to set in....or some version of learned helplessness. Not sure how you might describe it. If this is any indication, we will always have Appalachian State, right? Well, the second meeting anyway.
In the bye week after PSU, I will probably do a 2013-2014 comparison, so if there is anything you would like to see, let me know.
October 5th, 2014 at 11:15 AM ^
That's a term that should be coined. Well done.
/Goes-back-to-bed-and-cries
October 5th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
I have this fear that we'll be talking about such a concept a lot if Penn State doesn't go well either. We've talked at incredible length on here about the problems, most of which are out of our scope of control here, so we really don't know the timetable for change despite the speculation. Meanwhile, we wait because it is all we can really do as fans sometimes. It shows in the results of this little study sadly, especially in the aftermath of the Minnesota game.
October 5th, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^
I just hope we never get to the level beset by Northwestern fans in the 1970s and 80s: beyond "acceptance", outright celebration of suckitude. They wore that badge with pride.
October 5th, 2014 at 11:43 AM ^
at play here.
I'd say I'm in the acceptance phase of the short term cycle, as what, we're 3-9 over the last 12 games (or something like that).
This "we lose to middling teams by two scores thing" however, is quite new to the past three weeks. As it seems surreal to me, I would say that I'm in the denial phase of the long term grief cycle.
October 5th, 2014 at 12:50 PM ^
October 5th, 2014 at 1:19 PM ^
He would call it "WOW! undefined"
October 5th, 2014 at 12:10 PM ^
October 5th, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^
I think most posters here feel varying degrees of resignation and fatigue. I am guessing that both of those emotional states tend to make us turn our filters off.
Another possible cause, those of us who make it a point not to swear often in these posts swearing to make a subtle point that the situation has deteriorated far beyond the "norm."
October 5th, 2014 at 11:17 AM ^
Bring back Navarre!
October 5th, 2014 at 11:22 AM ^
'Largest volume of posts by 11' should be discounted as the first half thread was a combo drinking thread and pre kick there were more than 11 posts related to that portion of the thread and not the game open thread...unless some of the previous game threads were also combo threads...can't recall.
October 5th, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^
You're right, and I forgot about that part of it. Good catch.
I'll go back and revise it for purposes of the final results, though it might not move the efficiency number much (that's volume of posts divided by total tracked instances). There was a lot of swearing for this one after all. Apologies for the oversight.
October 5th, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^
I would guess the drinking only comments would be less likely to have any tracked words...thereby increasing the efficiency number. Fuck.
October 5th, 2014 at 11:23 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 5th, 2014 at 11:33 AM ^
1) Beg the WR coach to teach his WR's to run slants when the linebackers blitz instead of 30 yard pass routes;
2) Ban the word fuck. It has almost no meaning anymore. I think we are way past fuck.
October 5th, 2014 at 12:04 PM ^
I'm not sure we are way past fuck. We may have moved just past it. The next word in my dictionary is fucoid.
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1.a brown seaweed or fossil plant of a group to which bladderwrack belongs.
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1.of, relating to, or resembling a brown seaweed, especially a fucoid.
Bladderwrack:
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October 5th, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^
Can we get a weekly article on the B1G Fantasy Game that Brian, Ace, Heiko and Seth are playing after their preseason drafts? It would give us something to follow.
October 5th, 2014 at 11:52 AM ^
u know the worst part of all this is my family is begining to lose interest in the games. We used to sit glued to the tv every sat not making any plans just to watch the game. Even if we lost they were always exciting and came down to the wire. now we barely pay attention and even when we score there isnt much excitment anymore
October 5th, 2014 at 11:57 AM ^
. . . does not require profanity.
A well chosen word is the best rebuttal for a poorly chosen coach.
October 5th, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
October 5th, 2014 at 12:11 PM ^
It's that bad.
October 5th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^
October 5th, 2014 at 12:42 PM ^
That the worst thing that could finally happen to Michigan Football would be for the vitriol to subside. Love and Hate are close cousins, indifference is the opposite of love and that is the trajectory of this regime. And, that is when you will see the stands filled at the Big House like they were for Syracuse at home the other night.
That said, I tihought I was prepared to be indifferent last night, but found out I was woefully unprepared for what and how it all transpired. And there was a hidden reservoir of fucks in creative combinations there that shocked even myself in comparison to some of my most unhinged moments.
So Michigan, perhaps there is still time, but even a healthy supply of fucks won't last forever.
October 5th, 2014 at 12:47 PM ^
October 5th, 2014 at 1:13 PM ^
Only current and former players and wealthy donors are allowed to swear about Michigan Football.
October 5th, 2014 at 3:18 PM ^
- We should be able to cuss and say anything we want since our opinions don't matter
- I think a lot of the anger came because of the BS call at the end. There is always going to be a level of anger but I think that call even brought out some anger from the apathetic people just watching out of habit.