Thoughts on the South Africa trip?
Was curious what the boards reaction is to the South Africa trip. Personally I find it very moving to see them on Robben Island, touring Mandela’s jail cell, and interacting with a different culture and teaching kids about football as ambassadors of Michigan. I felt the same way about the trip to Normandy last year and just find the whole concept exceptional and a big point of pride and differentiation. But maybe I am just a sentimental sap....
I think it's super cool and neat
I think its a great experience for many reasons...I'm glad they did the trip after spring practice this time around rather than try to do some practices and meetings abroad like they did on a previous trip.
It's awesome and any Michigan fan that complains about these trips being "a distraction" or "why we can't beat OSU" is an ass (and yes, those people exist).
Steve Lorenz did a poll about what the fanbase thought of the South Africa and summer trips in general and he said about 10000 or so people responded with 85% of them saying they liked it. However, all of the comments to the poll were people bashing Harbaugh and saying stupid shit like this won't help the team beat OSU. It's a minority of the fanbase that doesn't like these trips, but it's also a vocal minority.
Because some fans don't see the players as human beings. Their whole reason for being is to bring entertainment and masturbatory fodder to the fan.
I lol'd at the phrase "masturbatory fodder." I love mgoblog.
In the internet age you can't really know who those people were...just as likely to have been OSU/MSU trolls as disgruntled UM fans.
The depth and breadth of loserdom out there is staggering. The other day I noticed an instagram pic by a Michigan player smiling from SA and there was some clown trolling him from OSU with a 39-62 blast. How pathetic of a life must you have that you are following second-stringers on Michigan for the chance to troll them? And yes, Michigan has idiots too but these loser fucks have won like 15 in a row and they still have the taste of blood...beyond pathetic.
Why are they taking trips to broaden their horizons when they could be forced into taking selfies with manchildren instead
Well the team hasn't beat OSU since they started taking trips. So there is at least a statistic that backs up the argument.. If taking a team trip in spring has anything to do with losing a game in November. All the team has to do to shut these people up is not take a trip, and lose.
/s
On the other hand, if we do beat OSU this year, South Africa will become the only acceptable spring trip destination for subsequent teams.
It's science
Exactly, just like wearing my lucky shirt on game day always helps the team win. You can’t mess with that stuff.
Absolutely love to see two of my favorite teams together - Springboks and Wolverines. Plus the combo of Robben Island, a safari, and Apartheid Museum. All incredible once-in-a-lifetime experiences, that have to be very moving for the team.
Also can't wait for my own trip back to South Africa later this summer! ?
These are the kind of "benefits" that players should get. I am pumped they get to go on such an amazing trip. Players cannot get paid, but a full ride to one of the best schools in America, putting on the Maize and Blue, and experiencing the world is one pretty good gig.
Something awesome. I'm glad the NCAA hasn't banned it and I'm surprised other schools haven't started doing them. Education is an experience and much of what I learned at Michigan wasn't in a classroom. If you think about a junior on this team they've already been to Rome, Paris, and now SA - that's more travel than many people do in a lifetime.
South Africa is a very interesting country with a rich, complex history and amazing natural geography. My brother-in-law is South African and when my sister lived there with him I was able to visit in 2011. David Turnley's interview on the Harbaugh Podcast was excellent, and I'm sure we'll hear lots of amazing things from the trip.
How many other schools would have a donor willing to pay for the trip????
Most SEC schools but it would be in $10 and $20 denominations in brown paper bags....
A close friend of mine and his wife did a two-week tour vacation there last fall. It's a spectacular place in all kinds of ways. They had a great time.
My daughter is a veterinarian who did a month long clinical rotation on an animal preserve there. Listening to her talk about it, I told her she couldn't go back unless she took me.
If you haven't already, do yourself a favor and listen to last week's episode of Attack Each Day - The Harbaughs' podcast. David Turnley is the guest and previews the trip. The man is an absolute treasure and we're incredibly lucky to have him involved with the team. Not only does the program have a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer but one that actively enriches the student experience by lending his own incredible experiences in creating these trips.
I'll admit I was a little nervous about South Africa considering how high the HIV rates are there but it seems like the guys are behaving and having an awesome experience.
Huh? Do you not understand how hiv is transmitted?
I believe he might be referring to...<Looks around and whispers: Unprotected Sex>.
It’s not airborne? Asking for a friend.
Aw, come on man, everyone knows it's caught from toilet seats.
....and door knobs.
and sitting on a tractor in your bathing suit....
whoa, what?! i sure wish someone had told me i was at risk all these years....
I remember way back when "you can catch it from door knobs" was actually believed by a fair number of people. I always had the same thought:
Exactly how the hell are you opening that door?
Reminds me of graffiti I'd see while studying in those little cubicles up in the stacks at the Grad Library: "Michigan crabs can jump!"
You cannot be serious with this garbage.
Give him a break. He’s from Wichita, where people still think HIV is a punishment from God or some shit. Can’t have the football players going to Africa, getting HIV, and then unleashing that plague on poor Americans when they come home. On second thought, don’t give him a break.
Following up one ignorant comment with another I see.
This is satire right?
Well, now I know why they won't visit Russia!
Harbaugh enjoys history and has a sincere interest in justice (see his work re equitable legal representation in criminal trials). He's putting his players in a position where they have to think about those things at least a little. That can only lead to their better men down the road. Famously, Stagg was asked if a team was his best ever, and he replied, "Ask me again in 20 years when I can see what kind of men they've become." Like everybody else, Harbaugh has his flaws, but I'll bet you a thousand bucks he sincerely wants to help his players be better men.
Great learning experience. Good team bonding, one would think. Not great in making them play better on Saturday.
Wrong. Harbaugh took a team that went from 11 wins to 5 wins in four years and built a program that is a consistent 10 win a season program. True there's room for more improvement; we have no titles to show or a win against the hated Bucks, but to say he's not great at making them play better on Saturday is inaccurate.
I have nothing in the way of an original thought to add to this, but this will genuinely change lives and perspectives. I'm really glad the program does this
It's awesome, it's the sort of opportunity a school like Michigan should be offering and anyone mad about it, is really mad about something else entirely.
All the clips I’ve seen have given me chills, proud of the program for investing more into the student athlete
Concern. Not Army level, though.
Dammit Fishbulb, you gave me chills. Please stop.
It is what it is.
Boffo. I support team building and learning experiences.
Looks like the trip is going well.
Outstanding trip for M.
I'm concerned.
I think this is an amazing opportunity for the young men of Michigan Football. I am all for these trips, and love that they are able to do this every year. Truly, all learning is not done in the classroom.