ChopBlock

October 31st, 2012 at 2:31 PM ^

Here's a theory. Brian mentioned in the ND week TWIS that the Blame Borges! and Blame Denard! camps infighting wasn't too interesting to anyone outside of the Michigan universe. So maybe since most of the bitching consisted of "Borges is the second coming of DeBord", he didn't think it suitable for TWIS. Doesn't bother me none.

Yeoman

October 31st, 2012 at 10:10 PM ^

We flew into Denver at night and drove to Estes Park, so just about the first piece of Colorado I saw in daylight was the Big Red of the Rockies Sport Shop.

A thousand square feet of Nebraska gear, and it's still in business after seventeen years.

It might explain why those Coloradans that are still Colorado fans hate Nebraska so much. Can you imagine the unmentionable equivalent just outside Ann Arbor?

MikeCohodes

November 1st, 2012 at 1:47 PM ^

I suppose there must be some non-alum fans of Nebraska living in CO; there must be enough to support that store's existence.  I just know that my mom was glad to see Nebraska move to the Big Ten so she could root for Michigan to beat them every year now because Colorado hadn't been successful against them of late.  I wonder if there are any CU alums that lurk on the board that can weigh in?

And the idea of your unmentionable equivalent made me shudder.

Yeoman

November 1st, 2012 at 2:34 PM ^

Somebody from Nebraska is quoted in the article as saying that "Coloradans for Nebraska" has more active members than any other out-of-state Nebraska group and that something like 200,000 different people showed up for at least one of their watch parties that year. I have no idea how many of them are Nebraska alums or were originally Nebraska natives. Nearby big cities always draw a lot of alums there for jobs and I can imagine that Denver might be next after Chicago for Nebraska grads.

As an "Ohioan for Michigan" none of this seems so alien to me.

M-Wolverine

November 1st, 2012 at 1:16 PM ^

And I concur, they really don't like Nebraska (those that actually care about sports).  But I'd say it's more like giving up Illinois football and rooting for Michigan. Because I don't think Nebraska ever really cared THAT much about them, other than the divisional thing. Oklahoma...Texas...there was some hate there.  But one of Nebraska faithful can correct me on that if I'm wrong.

MikeCohodes

November 1st, 2012 at 1:51 PM ^

you could be right about that, about Nebraska fans not caring as much as CU fans when it comes to the rivalry.  It doesn't have the hatred of our rivalry with OSU apparently. 

However, when they were in the Big 12 together, they did usually play their game the last week of the season, in "rivalry week" when we were playing OSU, so apparently the powers that be for conference scheduling felt the rivalry was important.

I sort of disagree with your Illinois analogy though, because CU won a national title about 30 years ago and until their recent collapse this past decade could usually be counted on to contend in their conference, while IL never was that type of powerhouse.  But otherwise your analogy does work.

M-Wolverine

November 1st, 2012 at 2:19 PM ^

Trumped up division rivals, and let real rivalries like Nebraska-Oklahoma die.

Colorado has been marginally better (all time winning percentage .596 to .518), but it's not like they were a regularly good team. They had one really good coach (from Michigan, naturally) who made them pretty regularly good and won that title like 20 years ago.  (And even that was questionable, because they won a game on the infamous "5th down" play, had  worse record than the team they shared it with, and both would have been annihilated by Miami that year).  So yeah, they've put up a few more good fights, but they're not really much more consequential.  I guess they might remind one more of recent Iowa, but I just don't see the hatred in Iowa for us.  I mean it's there, but it's not as cold blooded.  Trying to think outside of who hates us...maybe the way the Washington Huskies feel about USC? Hate them, think it's a rivalry, I'm sure USC doesn't care much about them.  Washington was really good around the same time, and has fallen on hard times.  Similar winning percentage.  Not sure how secondary teams feel about other teams in other conferences that well.

ChicagoB1GRed

November 1st, 2012 at 1:58 PM ^

vandalism, urine bag tossing, etc against Nebraska fans before, during, and after games was common. Throwing snowballs at players during live action. Drunkeness to the point one of our games there required clearing the entire Colorado student section----AT FOLSOM FIELD.

This isn’t just about Buffs fans hating on Nebraska. They treat everyone else with the same level of contempt, such as when they threw lemons, batteries, water bottles, tennis balls, and marshmallows with coins in them at Texas Tech’s band, or the fan that used a laser pointer to blind an Oklahoma St quarterback.

No, we didn't much care for that. But not a rivalry.

Tom Osborne said when the Big 12 shifted Nebraska’s season-ending game from Oklahoma to Colorado it wasn’t well received.

“Colorado, it was sort of a self-proclaimed rivalry on their part,” Osborne said. “We didn’t have much say about it one way or the other. The Big 12 gave us the schedule so we went ahead and did it that way.

“The so-called rivalry with Colorado; that was one that was declared primarily by Colorado. They said we are their rival. Rivalries usually develop over a number of years and usually there’s a shared excellence.”

"We  never really have declared anybody as a rival here  because around here every game is pretty important."

 

loosekanen

October 31st, 2012 at 2:47 PM ^

I can actually read a tone in that article that tells me Brian has been listening to depressing 80s music since Saturday. I'm worried about him.

The running Colorado joke is A+ but at this point I don't think any schadenfreude is being felt for that program. I'm just really, really sorry for them. It's like picking on the kid at school who everyone picks on while he knows it's coming and he accepts it. Very little joy in that.

Brian

October 31st, 2012 at 2:56 PM ^

I just ran out of space by the time I was like "oh right, Michigan." By that point the column was 2500 words already. I think it was because I wasn't that bent out of shape since I mean, what can you do when you've got your backup in there and he's playing that badly?

SFBlue

October 31st, 2012 at 10:11 PM ^

That it was so hopeless is what made it so bad for me.  Reminded me of some of the darkest moments of 2008-10, when Michigan is playing poorly, losing badly, but you know it just can't get any better, with the talent level, coaching, and relative strength of the opponent fixed.  Against good teams, Michigan is one re-aggravated ulnar nerve from being at Sheridan-era-level hopelessness. 

What can you do?  Whinge, loudly, then drink, heavily, then vent on Internet message boards, intemperately.

reshp1

October 31st, 2012 at 3:02 PM ^

I can't believe Wisco didn't make it. I was ranting about how inept Bielema was at the end of the game to let it go into OT without even trying to drive down and kick the game winning FG, and I don't even care about their team.

FrankMurphy

October 31st, 2012 at 5:58 PM ^

Given the fact that Florida stumbled to a 7-6 record last year and had only 71 scholarship players, I would think that having gone undefeated through week eight under a second year coach would temper some of  the hand-wringing in Gainseville after a close loss to a top ten team. Auburn, on the other hand, looks to have fallen off a cliff less than two years after winning a national championship. The deepest feelings of despair are those that follow the most joyous highs. 

But that assumes that SEC fans are rational, which may not be a safe assumption. 

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

October 31st, 2012 at 3:36 PM ^

Immediately after the game, while returning to the car, I had that familiar sick feeling that I've had after the home losses I've attended: OSU in 2001, TCU in 2005, K-State this year, etc.

I think I know a certain team that doesn't lose enough and a certain fan that needs to be taught the real meaning of "familiar."

LSAClassOf2000

October 31st, 2012 at 6:03 PM ^

"DL TE TE OL OL TE TE DL OL TE 

....................EB"- diagram of a play Colorado should have used. 

You know, if the "barge" play works for Wisconsin to to the tune of about six yards per play, and they have Montee Ball, then surely Colorado could...well...no....

Also, I assume "EB" is merely "extra back", nature and role to be determined.

M2NASA

November 1st, 2012 at 3:28 PM ^

Damn, I was hoping South Florida would make it after Syracuse came from a 20-pt halftime deficit down 20-3 to win on a TD with 3 seconds left 37-36.

Then I remembered, USF has no fans.