Who is your 2nd favorite College Team?
I imagine this thread has been done previously, but I can't recall it recently, and it's August 1, meaning news is silm, so why not? I always find this interesting when I discuss with M alums and fans in person: who is your second favorite college football team? What team is it besides ours that you are following, even perhaps passionately?
My answer to start: USC. I understand how some fans hate them, but for me, they were the team of my childhood. I grew up in L.A. and moved to Michigan in my last year of H.S. so it wasn't until attending M that my love of SC was supplanted. My Dad took me to several SC games as a kid, and the memories are still with me. Seeing Traveller (the white horse), the "fight on" phrase, the fight song (which I think, along with ours, is the best in college football), my Dad teaching me about "student body right," the great tradition they had starting in the 60's, all of those things were just great to me at that age. So I still catch their games when I can, and despite the Caroll violations, wish them well.
And what about yours?
I have teams from each conference/rivalry I like/will root for if it doesn't hurt Michigan.
Pac 12: USC/Washington
Big 12: Texas
SEC: LSU
ACC: VT
Big East: WVU
I've always been a U of M fan because I am from Michigan and My dad got his masters degree there, but we moved to Tennessee about 13 years ago and I will soon start graduate school there. AND of course I was pulling for Michigan when we played them, but I will always root for UT unless they play Michigan again..
August 2nd, 2011 at 11:54 AM ^
What grad school program? I'm starting my second year at UT. Let me know if you ever want to get together to watch UM games or carpool to Ann Arbor. You can email me at [email protected]
Im going to enroll in the Social Work Program, but I may do the DE program they have since I live about 45 minutes south of Nashville. It would be easier for me to drive to Nashville on Saturday's for class than driving to Knoxville.
I won't claim to be a true fan of any of these other teams, but here they are:
EMU--Wife is a graduate, and also recently I wish the best for Coach English, whatever the odds he faces
New Mexico--Have a family connection there, spent some time in Albuquerque, like the town and campus. I've been given some Lobos gear, which I wear occasionally, mostly b/c I think the logo is cool.
BONUS: 2nd favorite Big Ten team is Northwestern; probably the team I've found the most likeable anyway over the years, but especially now because a current member of their team just married my wife's cousin this summer. Really nice guy, and he thinks the world of coach Fitzgerald and all his coaches there.
I have a soft sopt for Georgia because I feel like their fanbase is similar to ours, especially in the Murphy's Law sort of way and I think Doug Gillett is one of the funniest writers blogging (well, I'm not sure if he still is, but still!) besides Brian and Orson.
August 2nd, 2011 at 10:06 AM ^
Athens is a true college town and reminds me of a smaller and warmer Ann Arbor. Plus it has the 40 Watt which is epic win.
UCLA.
Was a huge Aikman fan as a kid and because they've always been, atleast for most of their history, the anti-USC. A school that doesn't recruit delinquints, holds itself to a higher educational standard, and hasn't been on NCAA probation more times then most USC grads can count. But with their ill-advised hire of that spineless worm slick Rick that fandom has soured alittle bit.
I kinda like watching Miles make crazy calls.
LSU is my go to number two in all NCAA football games. I like the diversity of their offense.
Purdue...one of my sons picked up a couple of degrees there before going to Michigan for a PhD.
When Purdue and Michigan play, I simply observe the game and don't cheer.
I like Cal. Solely based on colors. Similar to Michigan. Results similar too the past few years.
I guess just because they had some amazing defenses back in the late '60s when I started watching CFB. I pretty much have a team in each conference that I pull for.
Rough em up f*ck em up go CU
Well 2 is Slippery Rock!
When Comcast and BTN were having their great big dick-off, my friends and I tongue in cheekly took Comcast's cue and became Pac 10 fans. Everyone got to pick a school, but I argued with another guy over who gets Cal, since they're the most like Michigan. Eventually I ended up with Stanford. When Harbaugh was there it made it worthwhile.
I've had NCAA dynasties for Cal, Stanford, ND, LaTech, Florida, and West Virginia.
I'm a B1G homer except for MSU. All B1G teams can win every game but one. ND needs to win every game except M (and the non MSU B1G team).
Here's the kicker...I want OSU undefeated till the last week in November, I guess my Bo/Mo/Lloyd era mentality has never changed, Like the cold war I was fascinated by the Red Nemesis, Big 2 little eight and let "The Game" decide it.
So:
Michigan
.
.
.
.
OSU
B1G(Except MSU)
.
.
ND
Until recently I liked JT (until the shitshow started) and this style of football (so Manball), I know the spread fans are going to blow a gasket but I misses the slow strangulation of a team until the second half when superior depth takes hold and the opposing team gets despite and the D capitalizes and the opponents back breaks. I love it when the other team knows you're going to run and there is not a damn thing they can do about it (like Wisconsin did to M last year).
Its really hard for me to cheer for another team. But my wife is a die hard Kentucky Wildcat fan and she cheers for my Wolverines every Saturday and every bball game. So by default I have to be a UK fan second. But I have a two teams I cheer for past UK. In football its the Oregon Ducks. BBall it has to be the Syracuse Orange.
has been my second favorite going back to before they joined the B1G. I now live 10 miles from where UConn plays their games but I will never be a fan. I am hoping the scheduled 2013 game Michigan vs. UConn happens.
Living in the East it makes me crazy to see Boston College has trouble filling a 44,500 seat stadium and UConn cannot sellout a 40,000 seat facility. Another peeve is when East Coasters refer to Michigan as UMich.
As an OU grad, I try to root for them even though it's hard most of the time. I was excited when Solich was hired, especially after the first season. But a DUI and many trying seasons since have me wondering if he's the answer.
Next would be the Cincinnati Bearcats. I went to school there for a year and worked at the Shoe when Huggins was coaching and several of the players lived in my dorm. I was in the arena for Midnight Madness when Cory Clouse hit the half court shot for free tuition and Dicky V threw in the books (couldn't find the video, I guess it was too long ago).
Both these schools are way down on my list compared to Michigan though. I will always bleed Maize and Blue first and foremost.
I'd have to go with Cal. It's where I really wanted to go to school, but couldn't justify the cost to go there being from Michigan. It wasn't until I moved in my freshman year that I fell in love with both UM and Ann Arbor in general.
I went there for my Freshman and Sophomore years before transferring to Michigan to finish undergrad and go to grad school.
Texas is a lot like Michigan in football with a tremendous history and key rivals - OU is their OSU, A & M is their MSU, instead of Notre Dame, they have every other team in the state (Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU, SMU, etc) wanting to knock them off.
Bevo, the real Longhorn mascot is cool as it is not some silly guy in a suit.
And then the one area where they are far ahead of Michigan => cheerleaders and coeds......
That was by far the hardest part of transferring to Michigan
Having been born and raised in Georgia (in Stone Mountain, home of everyone's favorite 30 Rock page, Kenneth), which won the national championship during my formative years, I am also a Dawgs fan. Herschel Walker was the first football player I really took an interest in as a kid. He was the MAN. The college rushing record would probably have been his had he stayed in Athens all 4 years.
Being an immigrant family, we don't really have any other American college loyalties. My older sister also went to Michigan, and my parents went to school in Korea.
Notre Dame. I grew up on the North side of Chciago and when I told my neighbors I was going to Michigan for college, they really questioned why. When you're from where I'm from, if you get in to ND, you go to ND (even over most Ivy League schools). I watched ND play every Saturday growing up and one of my good friends was an All-American there.
After graduating from UM, my love for ND has decreased a ton, but I still root for them every Saturday (except Michigan week, of course).
August 2nd, 2011 at 11:23 AM ^
I just realized my answer probably should have been Tennessee since I actually go to grad school there. Oops
School and football tradition much like Michigan in many ways.
Matt Ryan was (is) the man.
Texas A&M. Dont know why just like there colors and helmet I guess.
Grew up in Richmond VA and Va Tech was the first college team I ever liked back when Michael Vick was playing for them. Would've gone to VT if my family hadn't moved to MI when I was in high school. I'm glad we did though
My grandfather (a 1905 UM grad) was a physics prof at Mizzou for many years, and my dad grew up in Columbia. He naturally attended there, and eventually met my mom who was also attending Missouri. My older sister attended Mizzou as well. It's been great to see Gary Pinkel resurrect the program.
#2: Colorado - My family spent our summers in Colorado when I was a kid, and I started rooting for the Buffs (and Denver Broncos) way back then.
#3: Wisconsin - I sent much $$$$ to Madison for my daughter's tuition. Yep, she grew up in A2 and was accepted into UM, but chose to attend Wisconsin instead. Go figure...My uncle was also a prof there in the early '60s, and I rooted for the Badgers back then. I still wince at that great RB game between Wisconsin and Southern Cal in '62. Which leads me to...
#4: Any team that plays USC - I despise USC more than any other program in the country. Even more than OSU, MSU, or ND.
There is no other team
I'd have to go with Penn State. Joe Pa is a legend and it's my home state. Not too much to hate about that program. However, I do love when Michigan kicks the shit out of them so I can shit on all of my brutally annoying PSU fan friends.
Growing up, I was always the biggest Michigan fan. My grandpa graduated from Mich, so he was a big Mich fan and that 'fandom' was passed down to my Dad and my Uncle, and finally to myself and my brother. As a kid, I would literally cry when Michigan would lose a football game.
I kind of always figured that I would have to become a fan of some other college in my life, either when I went to another school for undergrad or grad school, at least in some capacity. However, after graduating from Mich with a Bachelors, Masters, and soon a Ph.D., and marrying a Michigan alum, I now know that I will never be anything but a Michigan fan...and I am more than OK with that!
Went to see them play back when Poppa Manning (Archie) was their QB in 1969 and then got to see them again with his son Eli there. Of course, when they played Michigan and lost 35-3 against Grbac and Company I was happy too!
August 2nd, 2011 at 10:06 AM ^
I believe they are facing off against Ohio St on August 12th. I'll be rooting for them quite hard.
August 2nd, 2011 at 10:08 AM ^
I guess I can pick a team from every BCS conference that I like watching:
PAC 12 - Oregon
Big 12 - Texas
Big East - I GUESS West Virginia...that's a stretch though. I just don't like the Big East at all.
ACC - Virginia Tech
SEC - Tennessee
August 2nd, 2011 at 10:19 AM ^
I am married to a Texas alum and we lived in Austin for 7 years -- I tried really hard to support the Longhorns mostly to appease her, but I just couldn't do it. They had a boring schedule and it just wasn't the same. So I finally gave up.
Now it is just Michigan for me.
Though I also support the service academies in a more abstract sort of way -- rarely enough to actually watch their games, though Navy has been fun to watch recently (especially when playing Notre Dame).
August 2nd, 2011 at 11:06 AM ^
We had season tickets for three years to please the wifey. After this last season it's just Michigan for me. I hate the SEC.
August 2nd, 2011 at 10:34 AM ^
Being a native Texan (born in the Big D) and following U-T for a long time, I've always liked them. Maybe it's their logo and colors that are kind of neat (although nothing compared to the Maize and Blue). Austin is a really cool, dynamic city like Ann Arbor, and they have a pretty high-brow fan base for the most part. I really wish I could have gone to the Rose Bowl where we played them back in Jan. 2005.
August 2nd, 2011 at 10:35 AM ^
Michigan. Nobody else matters
August 2nd, 2011 at 10:46 AM ^
1. Michigan
2. RR's new team
3. Slippery Rock
I think that sums up the 250-response thread
August 2nd, 2011 at 10:53 AM ^
Over the last decade or so living in Ann Arbor, Michigan has easily grown into a solid second, and there's not really a third place. After Nebraska, Michigan is the only other team that I consistently follow and take a genuine interest in. (The quality of Brian's site makes this much easier.) A cynic might say it's Stockholm Syndrome, but I think it's genuine affection.
However, NU joining the B10 may change things - it's easy to root for Michigan when the result has no real impact on my favorite team's lot in life. Playing every year as division-mates may, uh, strain my affection.
August 2nd, 2011 at 12:05 PM ^
that make rivalries better. No stupid antics, just respect, and wanting your team to win. After one more post somewhere on here, I'll upvote you, ha!
August 2nd, 2011 at 10:55 AM ^
I don't have a second favorite NCAA team, but if I had to choose I would say Indiana. I grew up in Indy and IU fans are pretty cool, great campus, good hoops.
I graduated from Illinois, but I have no allegance to them at all. They have so much disdain and unwarranted hate towards Michigan it is not even funny. The campus was ugly, the women were ok, and the sports were awful.
August 2nd, 2011 at 11:05 AM ^
Football - Florida State. They are just badass. Their uniforms are classic, their stadium is always full and is just a great atmosphere, they were in their prime just as I came to love college football, and they have like 6 noted rivalries. Awesome.
August 2nd, 2011 at 11:27 AM ^
#1 UM.
# 2 through #n! I don't care!
August 2nd, 2011 at 12:02 PM ^
but I always seem to stop on LSU games when Michigan isn't on or it's halftime. I am no fan of their off-the-field football tactics, but I just get hooked when I watch.
Air Force, because obviously.
August 2nd, 2011 at 12:06 PM ^
Did my undergrad at UM. It was my dream academic school, and I had grown up a lifelong UM athletics fan. Case closed.
I picked up grad degrees from two other D1 schools in good athletic conferences (NC St., UW-Madison), but I never could get myself to cheer for their teams. When other students were gearing up to attend football games at NC St., I was frantically searching for sports bars that were airing Michigan games (this was early-90's when it was still difficult to catch UM games). I find myself slightly warming to the cuddly Badgers, so I don't wish them ill will any longer when they are not playing UM. I begrudgingly admire their hoops and football programs. But I will never be able to cheer for their teams in the passionate, throw-shit-at-the-TV-when-something-goes-wrong, ectasy-laden-screaming-when-something-goes-right kind of way that I cheer for the Wolverines. That will never change.
And I don't check Wolfpack or Badger blogs like I'm a crack-addicted smokehound in the same way I visit this site.