The thing about RRod that upsets me (The Game)

"Rich Rodriguez definitely 'understands' this rivalry"

Its Ohio State week for crying out loud. Nobody around campus is getting pumped, and I don't know whether its the Wisconsin game or Thanksgiving that's doing it, but regardless, it SUCKS.

Let's STOP talking about our coaching woes, STOP talking about our defensive woes, STOP talking about the problems, and START getting stoked about beating the crap out of Ohio State and end this streak. Part of being a sports fan is throwing rationality out the window and believing in your team.

PLEASE AND THANK YOU!

Its not the game no its (THE GAME) the only game that means so much to the wolverine family! There is no fucking way any game on the schedule means so much!

Hail!

"First off, it means a lot because it's Michigan-Ohio State." Means a lot to the seniors. "This would be something for them to remember quite fondly." Ohio State may have at stake from a conference championship standpoint, but the game is important on its own merits either way. "We do a few special things different for Ohio State week."

http://mgoblog.com/content/rich-rodriguez-monday-presser-notes-11-22-10

I'm sorry Coach Rodriguez didn't explicitly state what special things they do differently for Ohio State week. 

now we just have to watch and enjoy it.

RR knows that, becuase he is THE_KNOWLEDGE

To start with. " let me start by saying i have been a big rr supporter"

Tressel talks a lot, and OSU, as MSU, has a Michigan countdown clock in their locker room.  OSU practices a little extra for Michigan, and it usually costs them a game against a lesser team somewhere during the year.   That's all good and well, but OSU did the same things during their 2-10-1 "streak" against Michigan, too.

RR doesn't yack, he doesn't beat his chest about the game in public, and he doesn't have a countdown clock, but I am pretty sure it is safe to say that he wants to beat OSU as badly as anyone does.  Remember also that the majority of the losses in the "streak" were LC's losses. 

To me, this post is yet another post by someone who has already made up his mind about RR and is looking for more "reasons" to justify his POV.  I also think this post is the setup for a "FRDKRODNOW" POST ON Saturday night if Michigan loses. 

I would be in favor of locking the board for 48 hours or at least grossly raising the posting threshold if Michigan loses Saturday, because too many people are using mgoblog as a garbage dumpster when they vent.

Let's see... He doesn't "get" The Rivalry, he thinks he's in the Big East, he doesn't care about in-state recruiting, his offense won't work in the Big10, his offense won't work in cold weather, he does swears in front of college kids, he's not a Michigan Man, he has let the family values of Michigan erode, he let Mallet, Arrington and Manningham go, he didn't tailor his offense to fit the personnel of the 2008 team, he gave the sacred #1 jersey away, he brought the NCAA down on Michigan, he practiced too much, he has no regard for the well-being of his players, he recruits thugs, he sells snake-oil, he shreds documents, he didn't get Pryor, he let Mallet go because he thought he was going to get Pryor, he makes bad real estate deals, he left his alma mater, he speaks with a twang, he's nothing without Pat White, he brusquely fired Carr's assistants, Lion King, Square Peg, Gimmick, Dick Rod, Fraudriguez, Aw shucks. 

Well he isn't "from Michigan." Would you expect anything else?

(Sarcasm implied)

This is either the funniest post of the week or something that should be enshrined in the what-not-to-post instructions for MGoBlog.  I'm not sure which ...

Sucky thread.

I don't want RR telling me how much of a rivalry OSU is. I'm just a fan, I don't play for the football team...why does he need to tell me? I want him to show me. Words are words, they mean nothing.

Besides, the basic premise of this post is stupid. Why in the hell do we want our head coach to act like the head coach of that team down south? Why? Tressel does his own damn thing, fine, it works for him and his fanbase. But right now, not a single damn (real) Michigan fan cares what RR says, they just want to see him do it.  Prove it to me.

Last year, I saw a team that played it's heart out and lost because they had a true frosh at QB with 5 careless turnovers...but not for  a lack of trying, rather for trying too hard. I saw a defense that played pretty damn well compared to the rest of the year. In short, I saw a team on the field that got it. They may not have won, but the heart I saw was a good sign. 

He just doesn't care.

Why?

Because I feel like he doesn't care.

/s

After all, it worked for these guys:

"Prior to a 38-14 upset of Texas in 1978, Baylor coach Grant Teaff ate a live earthworm in the locker room as a motivational tactic.

Before Mississippi State played the Longhorns in 1992, Bulldogs coach Jackie Sherrill had a bull castrated in front of his team. Sherrill said the castration was done more for educational purposes than motivation.

"The whole story came when I asked our players what a steer was and none of them knew what a steer was," Sherrill told reporters after his Bulldogs upset the Longhorns 28-10 on Sept. 5, 1992. "Is that a bull, or is he a steer?"

he gets big rivalries or not.

In 2001, WVU lost to Pitt in the Backyard Brawl, so he obviously didn't "get" the rivalry.

In 2002 and 2003, WVU beat Pitt, so Rodriguez suddenly "got" the rivalry those years.

In 2004, Pitt won, so RR doesn't "get" the rivalry again. How could he forget so soon?

In 2005 and 2006, WVU beat Pitt, so RR "gets" the rivalry yet again.

In 2007, WVU loses, and so of course that means that RR didn't "get" the rivalry any more.

Dude just can't make up his mind.

I'm still trying to figure out how it is that Tressel can go out in public, tell everybody how The Ohio State is going to beat their biggest rival, and get away with it. 

Practically every other coach that's done it has been sentenced to an eternity of crushing defeats at the hands of said rivals, but oh no not this guy.

I don't care if Tressel's contract with the Devil is still good, I don't want Michigan's coach talking shit in front of cameras. The odds would not be with us.

"Rich Rod has been aware of the game, but seems like it's not his main focus."

Do you know for a fact that Rodriguez is summarily dismissing the importance of the Ohio State game?  What are you talking about when you say "it seems"? Is it because Michigan was shellacked 7-42 in 2008, or fumbled away the 2009 game?  How do you know what is or isn't in the back of Rodriguez's mind?

We keep hearing this over and over again, that Rodriguez just doesn't "get it". 

Well OK. Can somebody supply some evidence to the effect that Rodriguez is ignoring Ohio State and the UM-OSU rivalry?   Because so far this claim is really weak. Citing the last two losses isn't good enough.  Michigan could have beaten OSU last year if it weren't for 4 INTs and 1 fumble.  Is that "not getting it"? One could make a similar claim about Lloyd Carr with "his failure" to beat Ohio State in every game between 2004 and 2007 and assert that Carr "doesn't get it" .  This is just dumb.  Of course Lloyd Carr "understood the rivalry" with Ohio State, as does Rich Rodriguez.

But why do people think Rodriguez doesn't "understand".

The truth is, you just don't like Rich Rodriguez and you never did. He was never on the list for you. You wanted Les Miles and Jim Harbaugh. Just say it. That's the bucket you reside in.

Just forget it. I rescind my questions above. This is a complete waste of time. You win.  Rodriguez "doesn't get it". Bring in Jim Harbaugh and a bunch of people who "get it".  That way all of the tradition-sensitive UM fans who hate helmet awards can at least get some sleep at night. 

I'm sure "understanding the UM-OSU rivalry" would help a Jim Harbaugh tremendously as his 11 defenders, mostly walk ons and 3-star true freshmen, go into the breach against the Big Ten's 2nd ranked scoring offense and one of the most talented backfields and offensive lines in the league on Saturday in the Horseshoe. 

You know, while we're at it, after Rodriguez is fired, let's all lay the ground rules and limit all future Michigan coaching prospects to the following:

1. Must be a UM alum.

2. Must have previously played for or been a member of the Michigan football team in the past.

3. Must have played in games against Ohio State.

That will definitely narrow things down in terms of future candidates.  These candidates would "get it". 

Wow, why didn't Bill Martin just do that in the first place and make everybody happy?

I lost the game.