The Poor Sportsmanship Accusation

Submitted by MattisonMan on

I was just watching various highlights of the greatness for the 3rd time and came across this video of the 'celebration' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYSPoNMWnDU&feature=player_embedded#!) in the frontpage video roundup.

While watching, I began to think about the accusation on OSU boards that Michigan players didn't shake hands, which, yeah, that's much worse than throwing cups of pee at people (notice that one is classified as 'assult' and the other not so much).  Watching the video, it appears as though Michigan players lined up at midfield, presumably to shake.  The 'bomb' celebration only consisted of a small number of players and much farther back towards the sideline.  Only a handful of OSU players made it to midfield and most only meekly walked about halfway and turned around.  Some didn't even leave the sideline.  It was at this point that Michigan players ran to the endzone to celebrate with the student section.  

I was on another continent and am relying on footage, but does anyone else see a bit of bullshit in this claim?  

 

EDIT: Watching again, it definitely looks like most players did fall, but most OSU players were already walking back to the locker room in the other direction, so I think my bitching is still valid.

------Side note: I wanted to send out a sincere thanks to the other Michigan fans who joined me at the bar.  We welcomed a pair of wolverine fans to our table because their tv was switched and they were suddenly without a view of the game.  We had a nice time but they sneakily paid for the entire tab of myself and my two friends without so much as a peep.  So to those two, thanks for the 7 beers, 2 cocktails, three shots of jameson (my ritual for good luck on crucial plays), a car bomb, and nachos.  You are why our fanbase is great.  Michigan was also being supported by two Oklahoma fans and a Kentucky fan.  

 
 

Gorgeous Borges

November 28th, 2011 at 5:21 AM ^

I think Hoke has changed the tide on the rivalry. Hell players in Ohio are whining about class. Never in a million years would I have thought that. 'Bomb' celebrations are a good start.

ryebreadboy

November 28th, 2011 at 5:23 AM ^

I'll have to go with your film impression.  I was too busy jumping up and down and high-fiving everyone around me in the stands to notice.  I did catch the 'bomb' thing and thought it seemed pretty widespread, though.  But again, film doesn't lie and my attention was not all it could've been.

Section 1

November 28th, 2011 at 10:43 AM ^

Through a trade, I was in different seats than usual.

And I can attest to these things:

There was at least some time for all the players to shake hands with opponents, and lots of Michigan players did that.  Zach Boren stayed out nearly the longest of the OSU guys, talking with Michigan staff and players.  Some of the OSU guys -- lots of the underclassmen and backups mostly, wasted little time in heading into the tunnel.  But lots of the OSU guys ventured out to shake hands.

It is a close call on the various Michigan stunts -- Denard's air-eating; the [end of practice] falldown; the racing into the student section to climb the wall.

In my view, all that stuff has on balance gone too far.  None of these stunts, by themselves, was intolerable.  But all together, it is too much.  Juvenile and classless.  I don't know why Hoke tolerated Denard's air-eating.  I'd wager that Bo Schembechler (the religious prophet of the Hokeamaniacs) would have, uh, 'instructed' Denard that Michigan Men don't do that.

I -gasp- agree with Zach Boren.  (Me, the guy who has been calling attention to the True Boren Story for years!)  Michigan's postgame behavior was not befitting The Game. 

 

LSAClassOf2000

November 28th, 2011 at 5:33 AM ^

I think most  of the OSU players were already back in the locker room  before there would have been an opportunity. They seemed to make it a point to vacate the place almost immediately after the clock hit zero. 

UncleLeo

November 28th, 2011 at 5:43 AM ^

Other than the defensive players on the field for the last play, none of the Ohio players even made it past the numbers and the vast majority turned on the spot and walked down the tunnel...when exactly were the Michigan players supposed to shake their hands? Do OSU fans really expect them to chase the Ohio players down the tunnel and into the locker room to shake hands instead of celebrating with the sudent section?

Tater

November 28th, 2011 at 7:29 AM ^

THE Ohio State University cheated for an entire decade.  During that decade, they intentionally injured a lot of opposing teams' best players.  They bragged incessantly about their wins over Michigan.  So, what does that mean?  It means that Michigan players are "poor sports."  

What a bunch of bleeping morons.

willywill9

November 28th, 2011 at 7:34 AM ^

So let me get this straight. OSU fans are saying M players were poor sports? What did OSU players say? This is the first I've heard this. Why do we care what fans think?
<br>
<br>I'm proud of how M players behaved. I even like that for the first time OSU shoved or got physical, we didn't back down.

CRex

November 28th, 2011 at 7:38 AM ^

Boren, the tOSU fullblack and future snow removal engineer, was pissing and moaning on Twitter about the bomb celebration.  

So of course next time tOSU wins I expect them to show class, shake our hands, and have absolutely no form of celebration.  

mgoblue0970

November 28th, 2011 at 8:24 AM ^

Which is why Twitter is asinine for 99% of the people out there.  

Um, Boren, you're not a celebrity.  Nobody outside of your inbred, sweaty-yellow-t-shirt, pornstache wearing, PBR swilling, wife beating microcosim gives a flying fuck. 

mgoblue0970

November 28th, 2011 at 3:35 PM ^

Sorry... now that I'm a grown up and not a poor college kid living off of ramen, saltines, and ketchup-salt-and-pepper soup, there's no reason to purposely purchase and/or consume PBR anymore.

I had a PBR a couple of weeks ago at Park Burger in Denver (those in Colorado know what I'm talkin bout)... just as nasty now as it was then.

MattisonMan

November 28th, 2011 at 8:19 AM ^

Not sure if I can dig up a link, but I was attempting to respond to what I read on the OSU boards immediately following the game.  There were lots of people saying Michigan players were 'classless' and 'poor sports' because they didn't do the post-game handshake.  

I'm aware as any of the blatant hypocracy and lack of logic to their accusations, but I wanted to make the record show that even their initial point was completel and utter B.S. because it was the OSU players that didn't appear interested in a handshake.

ClearEyesFullHart

November 28th, 2011 at 7:37 AM ^

If those inbred, truck driving, dumpster diving ohio hobos want to take offense they can go right ahead.  So long as they get the message.  Not freaking welcome.  Not now, and not ever.

Huntington Wolverine

November 28th, 2011 at 8:23 AM ^

At the game, I thought our guys didn't put enough effort into coming across to shake hands (didn't fault them for the celebration or anything else after 7 years of hell in this rivalry) but watching that video its clear that Ohio vacated the field instead of shaking hands.  Thanks for posting the video link.

artds

November 28th, 2011 at 8:34 AM ^

It does look like some of the Ohio players walked out onto the field at around the 1:20 mark, but I definitely see some Ohio players heading for the tunnel.

Either way, I don't think you can chalk up what happened to poor sportsmanship. Our players were just really excited to celebrate with the students.

And even if that wasn't the case, it's a goddam rivalry. Stop whining, Boren.

 

Minus The Houma

November 28th, 2011 at 11:08 AM ^

I think it is quite easy in the video to see a handful of OSU players coming out to shake hands. Immediately after the bomb a large portion of Michigan runs to the student section. At that point the OSU players stop in their tracks.
<br>
<br>I would have rather seen bomb handshake then student section but whatever, I've seen many other college games this year without very good handshake time at the end.

SysMark

November 28th, 2011 at 8:51 AM ^

I wouldn't spend on another minute on this - it's a non-issue.  The only place you're hearing about it is on OSU boards and some moron's twitter account.  Consider the sources and don't even react.  Total BS.

And you are right - most of them walked halfway then turned back to leave.  That would lead me to conclude they were unsportsmanlike in their unwillingness to congratulate us.

Maybe they needed some hugs in addition to the missed handshakes?

burtcomma

November 28th, 2011 at 8:44 AM ^

People lecturing us on sportsmanship from Ohio are a joke anyways.  Get real, you lost, get over it, and stop your whining.  I take offense to your coach refusing to report players who sold memorabilia to a federally investigated and accussed drug dealer. 

When your star QB takes your coach and your program down, and your coach refuses to suspend players that he knows have violated NCAA rules and does not turn them in, you have broken the NCAA rules which your university agreed to abide by, you have a lot of nerve complaining about anyone else.

Hokester

November 28th, 2011 at 8:54 AM ^

Living in OSU country, the fans have been nothing short of obnoxious.  They said "Michigan isn't going to the National Title game so they shouldn't celebrate so much." Are you kidding? 10-2, a (probable) BCS invite and beating your biggest rival is cause for celebration.

Not to mention all the "well it's about time they won" talk.  Even in defeat, OSU fan's are insufferable.

CompleteLunacy

November 28th, 2011 at 8:58 AM ^

They were nothing but the most sportsmanlike of sportsmen for the past 7 years? What a crock of shit. As a rule of thumb, anytime any ohio person says something about michigan, the opposite is true.
<br>
<br>Example: "brady hoke is classless for calling them ohio" means that Hoke is indeed a classy guy. The real crux and the real reason i like calling them ohio is because they happen to think its disrespectul when the opposite is true. And i love that thats classless when they sing about not giving a damn about us as if thats a completely classy thing to do. Their fricking marching band sings it! Hypocrites.
<br>
<br>You stay classy, ohio.

mac

November 28th, 2011 at 10:53 AM ^

I find it hilarious that Hoke is classless for dropping the "state" when they do it themselves.  It's the Script What?  They are always chanting those four letters and leaving off the "state".  Tremendous.

Hank Scorpio

November 28th, 2011 at 9:03 AM ^

Eh, I'm gonna go with:



WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I'M ZACH BOREN!!!!!!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

jaysvw

November 28th, 2011 at 9:37 AM ^

.....they should have.  Just sayin'.  It was clear from the video that Ohio players were milling about waiting to shake hands.  The grenade thing was awesome, running into the student section was awesome but they should have taken a few seconds to shake hands with Ohio players still on the field.  Don't hang me, I'm as happy to have beaten those assclowns as anyone, but sportsmanship is still important.

Lionsfan

November 28th, 2011 at 10:14 AM ^

From the video it looks like some Ohio players were waiting to shake hands, and it looks like the grenade celebration was done early. That being said who really cares. Half the OSU team was going up the tunnel anyways

BlueinLansing

November 28th, 2011 at 10:17 AM ^

and looked, there have been plenty of times these two teams have not shaken hands.  When ohio fans have rushed their field, Michigan has made a beeline for the lockeroom. 

 

They feel we disrespected the rivalry.  IF they want respect

 

1)  stop cheating

 

2) stop lieing about cheating

 

stevemc_777

November 28th, 2011 at 10:42 AM ^

I think it is unfair to classify that celebration at the end of the game as disrespectful. Clearly it was Michigan players all faking injuries to avoid shaking hands.

WhoopinStick

November 28th, 2011 at 10:55 AM ^

I was at the game and thought the "bomb" stunt at the end of the game was classless.  If they were going to do it , it should have been after shaking hands with what ever Buckeyes were there and after going over to the student section. 

Can someone else confirm, but I think they threw the ball in teh air to start the "bomb" stunt before the game clock  hit 0:00

 

Section 1

November 28th, 2011 at 11:15 AM ^

I'd defer to video, but I am pretty sure the answer to that is "No, the clock was at zero."  What is certain is that it was not a play, if that is what you are thinking.  As soon as they finished the one Victory formation play, and then reset the play clock with more time than the game clock, the Michigan bench began to filter out onto the field, and as they did so, the OSU bench did the same, and the refs held for a few seconds but then it was over.

WolverineLake

November 28th, 2011 at 11:15 AM ^

... but those dudes who picked up your tab exhibited not only excellent sportsmanship, but also the true character of Michigan Men.  Pay it forward, I suppose. :)

 

Go Blue!

ATLWolverine

November 28th, 2011 at 11:22 AM ^

Shaking hands first would have been best, but can you really blame these kids for wanting to celebrate as the game ended? 7 years and accusations that they couldn't finish a season out strong. No taunts, just a celebration with the ceremony and then straight for the student section.

I see nothing wrong with it given the context, but I would hope that starting next year we hold off on celebrating until we shake hands.

Anyways is shaking hands really a commonly-done thing in CFB? I don't recall it being done in any formal way after games, just ad hoc, and I remember plenty of disrespectful ceremonies (e.g. Oregon slamming their hammer on the Block 'M' at midfield) that generated a lot less controversy.

billybrown

November 28th, 2011 at 11:26 AM ^

yeah a fanbase who continues to deify a man who is an admitted cheater should be talking about sportsmanship. what a joke. these kids and these seniors just broke a streak and left a nice final legacy for themselves on their home turf let them celebrate how they want.