Let's Go Bowling
11/23/2013 – Michigan 21, Iowa 24 – 7-4, 3-4 Big Ten
![Ypsi-Arbor_Bowling_at_Night[1]](https://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Game-Column_26D9/Ypsi-Arbor_Bowling_at_Night1.jpg "Ypsi-Arbor_Bowling_at_Night[1]")
Ypsi-Arbor Bowl was demolished in early October.
MUSIC POST! HIT PLAY OR I KILL YOU!
I am one of those irritating people who believes the Big Lebowski is deep, man. I think this because of everything about it but mostly because of one particular scene. If you have not seen the Big Lebowski, you are about to be spoiled. Also, screw you you're a bad person and you deserve to be spoiled. What is wrong with you? You are bad and should feel bad.
Sorry. I am taking things out on people. I hip-checked an old lady into the frozen pizzas on Saturday because her earrings annoyed me*. That was wrong. I know that now. I will stop doing this posthaste.
The scene is the funeral. Because of miserable copyright bastards you have your choice of an official thing that cuts off before the crucial line or one with the volume turned way down. Here's the latter, turn up for hearings:
It is just so Dave Brandon that the Official Movieclips.com version manages to cut itself off before "Come on, dude… fuck it, man. Let's go bowling." Anyway.
At this point I simultaneously feel that I have to explain and that I have to explain that there's no point in trying. But fuck it, I'm talking to the guys who had the world's saddest tailgate before the season opener and came up to me at our event before the Notre Dame—another world—and were just so excited to be the world's saddest tailgate. They told me about their jury-rigged pancake plans for Notre Dame. They were engineers. That part is probably obvious. I loved them, and I feel badly for them. They're all 18 and probably don't know a damn thing about a movie that came out when they were three and Michigan was national champions.
I don't know anything about Buddhism but the Big Lebowski feels pretty Buddhist. The Dude comes into his apartment to a guy peeing on his rug and from that point on he's propelled through this rollercoaster over which he has zero agency. Literally everything he does in the movie is at the behest of someone else, and what little gestures towards doing something himself are quickly co-opted by the people he's doing them with. He picks up Walter to make the drop; Walter presses his underwear upon the dude and shoots up his car with an uzi. He has sex with Maude; Maude reveals that he acting as a living sperm bank. Etc.
The movie is a series of unfortunate events culminating in the death of Donny thanks to the bullheaded stupidity of Walter, who doesn't want to give up his fifteen dollars to some nihilists. That Donny dies as an indirect effect of that decision is the capper: your desires and actions are futile; you are subject to the random capricious whim of a universe that doesn't care about anything and if it was going to care about something it absolutely wouldn't be you. I don't have to spell the rest out for you. Sports! Fuck sports.
The thing about the funeral scene that kills me every time is the shoving rant from the Dude and Walter's scalded-dog reaction hug in the midst.
what THE FUCK does anything have to do with Vietnam?!?!
This is the guy with the Uzi who pulls a gun on the pacifist, and that is pious. It's a prayer for forgiveness. That kills me every time. And then the song. I mean.
----------------------------------
I've probably mentioned this before, but in the aftermath of The Horror the one thing I wanted and needed to do more than anything else in the world was watch The Big Lebowski. I don't think I knew why at the time; it was my favorite movie but if you asked me why I wouldn't have been able to come up with much in particular. As I was watching it the whole Lebowski-Sports thing dawned, the lack of agency over your emotional state, the attempt to come to terms with arbitrary bullshit wreaking havoc on your emotional state, the lumbering oaf you've chosen to have far too much influence on your emotional state. I revert to it still, because at the end the Dude reaches out and clasps Walter to him, and fuck it, let's go bowling.
I have to tell you that I am at a low ebb right now.
3-9 was awful but had an element of fun in it in the same way Naked and Afraid does: holding my frozen hands to the pretzel machine and feeling guilty when I returned to the stands to find that I'd tried to heat myself so long I'd missed Michigan's first three-and-out of the second half. This is worse, six years on. It's lost its novelty, and now staring at the Armageddon that is the last week of the season is just Promethean fate. I can't imagine accidentally missing any part of this football season and thinking anything other than "stroke of luck, that." I don't see a way in which Michigan gets on Ohio State's level in the near future, and even plotting out Michigan State's level is pretty murky.
I also don't see a FIRE THIS TURDFACE solution. This is the culmination of a dozen different things, all richly deserved by everyone except the fanbase, and my belief is that the best course of action is to persist with this low-attrition, good-dude, quality-talent recruiting and hope that the blithering recedes as things go along. I hate this, because I know that any realignment towards an offense that I actually like will be met with a reaction equivalent to George Wallace hearing that they're integrating the schools, and that the burden of Michigan's past hangs over them in a way that Ohio State was perfectly happy to throw over before Urban Meyer even showed up. I also feel that Michigan will insist that it's anyone's fault but their own, and that the best we can hope for is 1997: an outlier.
This is massively enervating. We're staring down a 20-year period in which Michigan beats Ohio State like 4 or 5 times. Memories of when Michigan could claim equality are as fresh as Jim Delany's letter about how the SEC was a bunch of stupid poopy pants, and as relevant. This feels like a new order, right now. Inescapable.
----------------------------
Fuck it, dude. I'm going bowling. At 5 PM after Michigan gets its anatomy explored on Saturday, I'm going to Colonial Lanes on Industrial, which still exists, and I'm going to throw some balls in the general direction of some pins.
I can't stand bowling. I suck at it and there is nothing more frustrating than sucking at throwing a ball straight at things that aren't defended or even moving. Any time you fail to bowl you have failed to be a vaguely functional person. I hate bowling. So it is obviously perfect for Saturday.
If you promise not to talk about this year's football team, I would love for you to join me. I will tell you it is not your fault. You will tell me it is only about 5% my fault. It will not be a great time but I'm sick of staring at a computer screen trying not to check twitter. By God if I am going to be enervated it is going to be by not being able to throw a ball straight for a moderate distance. I'm done being enervated by sports, if only for just this moment.
In the moment where I take the ball down from its perch between my hand and my clavicle there will be a moment of beautiful, stupid hope that will persist past the results. And that moment will be enough to mitigate what follows.
Therefore I will bowl.
*[For the people who run the Children of Yost account: that's a joke, and your hat is unflattering.]
Other Stuff
There is no other stuff, except the elsewhere section because by God ST3 and bronxblue persist. Goddamn if bronxblue doesn't nail it:
And yet, I still can’t find it in myself to turn off these games. I know why, of course: there are only 13-14 games a year, and when times are good or at least exciting there is nothing better to watch. And when the team isn’t that good (which, let’s be honest, started well before RR’s tenure made it official), the calcified memories of former greatness and the diminishing hope of a return keep me coming back. And despite the losses and the continuing sense that UM is still on the wrong side of history, I’ll keep watching and coming back to watch, even games like this when you could feel the loss coming after Iowa’s first drive of the 2nd half. And in all likelihood, my kids will love watching UM football as much as me, even when they realize that patch of missing hair isn’t because Dad was pranked. But this simply cannot end soon enough for me, and next week’s OSU game will likely get the background treatment as I shop online, listen to music, and otherwise tool around the apartment.
And ST3 goes with the Smiths, because yeah:
Stop me, oh, stop me...
Link: http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/091413aaa.html
Akron, yes Akron, records 8 TFLs
Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before
Link: http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/092213aaa.html
UConn, still winless as I write this, records 10 TFLs.
You are both champions, gentlemen. Thank you for your posts.
Also, if you want a graphical representation of the way Michigan's offense is going, dnak438 has your evidence. It is grim.
![ypp_div[1]](https://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Game-Column_26D9/ypp_div1.png "ypp_div[1]")
Not that I needed to tell you that.
November 25th, 2013 at 2:11 PM ^
That said, fire Borges.
November 25th, 2013 at 12:22 PM ^
and reflected on how strong we looked in our first two games. What the hell happened between ND and Akron? I wish I could go back in time and make everyone do the opposite of what they did that week.
November 25th, 2013 at 12:40 PM ^
We were strong when we were unknown. Once oppenents' DCs saw us, they learned how to defend us. Shockingly, Borges was then unable to adapt.
November 25th, 2013 at 3:44 PM ^
Everybody has film on every team in the country. Other offenses don't crater like ours has post-MSU. There have also been a ton of changes made by the coaching staff that you are glossing over.
After a game against UConn where Fitz ran for 120 yards on 24 carries (and Devin added roughly another 100 before sacks lowered his total), Jack Miller was benched, Graham Glasgow (where he's been ever since, despite a series of turnovers and drive-killing bad snaps) was moved from LG to center, and Chris Bryant replaced Glasgow at LG. We also installed a totally new formation and blocking scheme with the tackle over stuff. We beat Minnesota, then saw our RBs mauled by Penn State (though the rest of the offense functioned fairly well, with Devin picking up yards on the ground and through the air when we weren't banging our heads against 9 man fronts). That prompted another wholesale change going into the Indiana game. Kalis was benched and replaced at RG with Eric Magnuson. Bryant was benched and replaced by Joey Burzynski. Burzynski got hurt early in the game and was replaced by Kyle Bosch. That lineup lasted until this week, when Bosch was removed from the lineup and replaced by Eric Magnuson (moving from RG to LG) and Kalis reentered the lineup at RG. Who knows what we will see against OSU.
Our "best five" has somehow included 7 different guys at the three interior spots (despite only one injury, and that to a 6'1" walk-on). Two guys have been asked to change positions midseason (again at only 3 spots). And that doesn't include the various shifting and changing responsibilities the offense required from various alternate formations.
If there's a recipe for confusing young players and a pattern that indicates a coaching staff without a clue, that looks like it.
November 25th, 2013 at 12:36 PM ^
When you KNOW you have ZERO chance against Ohio..When you are DREADING the game its time to change EVERYTHING...I was a strong Hoke supporter but Im jumping off the bandwaggon...we were BAMBOOZLED by Hoke..Hes a MAC level coach ...in over his head...just stands there on sideline clapping his hands while the offense runs one STUPID play after another after another after another and expect the results to be different
November 25th, 2013 at 12:41 PM ^
I think Brian is spot on that we're behind OSU and MSU and it's not that close. There is very little to think this is going to work.
But, I think the Beilein analogy is still valid. Beilein had some success with Sims and Harris and got us fired up by making the NCAA tournament and winning a game. Then, things regressed and he had to do some soul searching.
A lot of the focus of the Beilein analogy is on the fact that he cleaned out a few coaches and replaced them with new blood. That is certainly relevant and, I think, necessary for Hoke to survive. But, the thing that is sometimes overlooked and in my mind much more important is that Beilein changed his approach on both ends of the floor. He took advantage of a 6'4" PG and implemented a ton of pick and roll and basically ditched the 1-3-1 for tough man to man to fit the strengths of his team and to match up better with the competition.
I think Hoke can do this, but he not only needs to evaluate and change some of the coaches, but needs to do some real looking in the mirror at some of his basic assumptions on how to succeed at this job. If he's unable to do that, he should be fired, because this current path seems to have very little chance of sucess.
November 25th, 2013 at 1:01 PM ^
But the question is whether a "managerial" coach like Hoke is capable of doing that. With Beilein's change from a 1-3-1, he was making a change to his own basic philosophy. It came to Michigan with him; it wasn't a "system" that another coach pressed upon him, or that he was convinced to run by someone else.
The "soul-searching" part, though ... Yeah, Hoke needs more than a little of that.
November 25th, 2013 at 1:10 PM ^
That's fair. Beilein is widely respected as one of the best tacticians in college basketball. Never heard anything remotely like that for Hoke.
November 25th, 2013 at 3:43 PM ^
I don't think Borgess is saying we have to run first. I think that's been Hokes desire from year one. Now, to give him (and Borgess) credit, for the first couple of years they didn't do that with Denard. They tried it, it didn't work, then they went back to a more hybrid offense.
This is the first year that they've tried to go more pro-set, as far as I can tell.
Will Hoke change? I don't know. I think it depends on whether his kids start to execute well, if he can develop them, and how they develop. If they end up being a team that can pass the ball like hell under Morris, I think he'll do that and let the run worry about itself. If I remember correctly thats what he did at SDSU.
I think that the development part is key. The Hoke story began with a good year, and some great recruiting. It will end if he and his staff can't develop them. That's my biggest worry.
November 25th, 2013 at 12:59 PM ^
People who are giving up: do you realize that the run of success from the '70s through 2007 was one of the most exceptional, maybe THE most exceptional run of sustained excellence in any sport in history? That Ohio State has had seasons of 6-6. 7-5, and 6-7 since 1999? That Alabama went 3-8, 4-9, 6-6, and 6-7 over that time?
It's depressing as hell to watch games like this weekend's. But giving up because the team doesn't give you everything you want all the time is pathetic.
Also, as someone who gets to go to one or fewer games a year — I hate "Build Me Up Buttercup" as much as the next guy, but the stadium experience with the band, the crowd and the team is still incredible, one of the best things in sports. Jesus Christ. Stop whining.
November 25th, 2013 at 1:02 PM ^
What does everyone expect? Texas in the 2000s? Texas fans would love that right now too. There are times things don't go right and it's not because of sinister incompetence or character flaws. It's because no one is perfect and the competition at this level is intense.
November 25th, 2013 at 1:30 PM ^
Really wish I could upvote this. I don't agree with everything Dave Brandon does, but I also don't feel like much of it impacts a lot of things about the gameday atmosphere that I've enjoyed my entire life and what I can see my nephews/niece continue to enjoy.
It is frustrating that a loss on a fall Saturday makes the following week more difficult, but I wouldn't trade my Michigan fandom for that of any other team. I understand everyone has their own way of being a fan, but in the end isn't the fun part of being a fan about supporting the team/university that we all identify with in some way?
November 25th, 2013 at 3:58 PM ^
The 70's were a period of dominance. From 1980 to 2007 Michigan averaged 2.98 losses per year (I counted the 3 tie year as 1.5 losses) In only one year, 1997, did we go undefeated. Beyond that we had a 1 loss season once in 1985 (plus a tie). Did we manage to avoid many 5 loss plus season, yes we only had two. We also had 8 four loss seasons over this period. This was a sustained run of not being bad as opposed to being excellent.
So overall we had 2 one or fewer loss seasons during a 27 year period. What about the other college football powers? Alabama had 3 – it was really a down era for them though they have had 3 more since 2007, Oklahoma had 5, Florida State had 8, Notre Dame had 4 and Ohio State had 5.
If we concern ourselves with our chief rival we see they have had 12 seasons with 2 or fewer losses since 1980 (36% of the time). Michigan had 9 seasons of 2 losses or less over the same time period (33%) If we narrow this to the Tressel/Meyer time period they have had 8 seasons with two or fewer losses over a 13 year period (61.5%). That same period saw 1 national title win, 2 more losses in the national title game all while playing in 8 BCS bowl games. Michigan is not even close to putting together this sort of sustained high level success since 1980.
I just don’t understand this obsession with playing “Michigan football” (power running with a pro-style offense) by a segment of the fan base and the athletic department leadership. This approach has not generated dominance since the 1970’s. Who cares if a coach has a Michigan connection or runs a style of offence that we like. Why would we restrict our coaching candidates with these criteria? All this does is hold us back. I am not saying we need to run the Oregon offense but we also do not need to stay trapped in the past as represented by the current staff offensive approach.
November 25th, 2013 at 4:35 PM ^
November 25th, 2013 at 5:03 PM ^
on what you are looking for. I can deal with some bad seasons here in there if it leads to some 11 - 1 or better seasons. My problem with Michigan Football for a long time (since the latter Bo years) has been that we are always good but never really come out on top. My years at U of M captured this best with 4 seasons of 8-4. We did have some great victories over OSU to ruin their perfect or nearly perfect which were a lot of fun. At the same time it was never our team playing for that perfect season.
As pointed out by Brian, 1997 was the rare exception. After awhile a team that always wins 8 to 10 games, but never 11 or 12, disappoints. It’s nice to not suck but nothing beats playing for a title. I suspect this is just as true for the players as it is for the fans. The Bo/Lloyd crowd always seemed too content with Michigan being competitive and having good seasons. Now that the Rich Rod experiment failed their belief in the old approach is only stronger and I fear we will be content with a bunch of 8-4 season with an occasional 2 loss season mixed in.
Personally I am not happy with this and if 5 years goes buy were you average 3 to 4 losses per season with maybe one 2 loss season mixed in it should be time for a change. Is this standard too high? Maybe, but how can you put together a string of dominance like OSU has put up if you don’t expect it?
Perhaps the new playoff system will change this and lead to higher expectations. I suspect anything more than 1 loss will keep you out of the playoff in most years. By that standard we would have played in two playoffs over that last 23 years. 1997 and 2006. Ohio State would have played in 7 and soon to be 8 over the same period.
If Hoke averages 3 losses per season over the next decade and does not lose more than 4 in any one year are you happy with that? What if we only make the playoff in one of those years and lose in the first game? Are you happy with that? I am not.
November 25th, 2013 at 7:04 PM ^
November 25th, 2013 at 1:08 PM ^
From a Buckeye point of view, UM over the last few years is facinating. I was born in 85 so my formative fan years were the 90's. Michigan was the big bad wolf. I hated, but respected UM because you guys were elite in my eyes. Obviously, when Tress came it was like we hit the jackpot every November. That feeling lasted (and still does to a point) for years.
Now, though, after RR and Hoke, I feel like I've lost a friend. I don't know how else to explain it. Michigan, whether we like it or not, has always been the team most like OSU in the Big Ten. No other fanbase understands the expectations and big-time stage that OSU has like Michigan fans. All other conference schools know where they stand in the pantheon of Big Ten football and it's below UM and OSU. Our Game is more important to the fabric of college football than in any game they will likely ever play. We hate Michigan yet know you are above the rest of our conference foes, even to the point that I used to sort of defend UM to other Big Ten fans (example - "What has your school done compared to UM?") Now, it's like we've lost some of our kinship, because UM isn't on our level. Beating you guys will never get old, but our Game is no longer as nationally relevant because UM has let us down. What happened to our great and worthy opponent?
November 25th, 2013 at 6:54 PM ^
November 25th, 2013 at 1:11 PM ^
Watching sports is supposed to be entertaining. There comes a point where if it's not enjoyable any more, following a team is self-defeating and irrational.
There are very few of us who are going to totally abandon Michigan football, but it's entirely reasonable that when the team is doing badly you dial down your emotional commitment. Anything else is just punishing yourself for someone else's failures.
I'll be at the game saturday, rooting as long as it's even halfway competitive and hoping for an upset. But if the game is a rout I will leave early. If the team is just lousy there's nothing I can do about it, and nothing to be gained for me or for the players from prolonging the agony.
And if seeing emply seats spurs Brandon into shaking things up, then leaving might actually be the best thing thing that any of us can do.
You don't want to give up on a team too quickly, but any rational fan is, to some degree, a "fair weather fan".
November 25th, 2013 at 2:12 PM ^
I totally agree - it's reality.
I'll never quit being a UM fan, but reality dictates that sometimes I have to temper my emotional investment. I'm not giving up on them (I have only been to one game in my life anyway - PSU 2005), I just have to maintain some kind of emotional health that allows me to function in the world.
I must admit to being a bit of fairweather Red Wings fan, meaning I really only started following them closely in 1995, the year they made it to the Finals, only to get swept by the Devils. But it's been a great ride since then. To tell the truth, there seems to be a bit of a parallel with the Wings and Wolverines, both having difficulty maintaining their lofty standards (but last year's playoff run was a gas, and I hope for more this year). Point is, everybody has different levels of fanaticism they're OK with, and I know sometimes (like now with UM) mine is gonna drop a little, but I'll always maintain some hope for next year.
Let's not even talk about the Tigers of the 90's and early aughts. I still followed them, and supported them, but with a real feeling dead feeling inside. It's reality.
November 25th, 2013 at 1:17 PM ^
Damn. This is the first time it occured to me that if Brian didn't make a living off MGoBlog, he'd probably stop blogging about Michigan football. Also the first time that I've ever not been jealous of Brian's success at his chosen line of work.
November 25th, 2013 at 2:16 PM ^
November 25th, 2013 at 1:27 PM ^
I write something like my post above and then regret going too far. But then I read back through the entire thread and feel like I didn't go far enough. Seriously, you'd read this thread and think we went 0-12 with a team of 22 graduating senior starters and a 125th-ranked recruiting class on the horizon. Reasons for optimism? How about:
- Defense is 25th or so in the country, returns nearly all of its most important players, will have its most dominant playmaker (Jake Ryan) healthy for a full year.
- Defensive coordinator is widely respected and has improved almost everyone he's coached.
- Last year's recruiting class ranked #5 in the country.
- Previous year's ranked #7.
- Almost all players from both classes have been retained by the coaching staff.
- Two of the best players in the country from future classes (Peppers and Campbell) already committed.
- Also the team plays in the biggest/best stadium in the country for one of the richest athletic departments with an athletic director who's overseen pretty consistent excellence in almost every sport.
None of this is to say that watching this offense doesn't feel like having a dog throw up on you. Or that pop songs on the PA system are distracting as hell when you're trying to get fired up in the fourth quarter. But how many national programs would you trade places with right now? If your answer is less than, say, 15 of them and you still feel entitled to more, then your expectations are the problem, not the program.
November 25th, 2013 at 1:42 PM ^
a thousand cocktails to you, sir.
November 25th, 2013 at 2:11 PM ^
I think for me I have finally accepted that were not even the best team in our state anymore and haven't been for several years now. We get to sniff a victory vs ohio once in a blue moon (I'm very thankful for 2011 bc who knows when we will consistently beat them again). I definitely believe that the recruiting will help us. However, being an offensive coach I can tell you it doesn't matter if you have the best recruits in the world, if you get out coached and it happens often then it will continue. I like hoke and want him to stay but changes are needed offensively if we want to get back to the program we once were.
November 25th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, in a most delightful way.
November 25th, 2013 at 2:26 PM ^
Dammit Brian, you nailed it.
Michigan's accomplishments during the 90's are like Ali-Foreman compared to this era's Ali-Holmes (Michigan being Ali). This program has become a shell of its former self, and there's no discernible path to redemption. It's a full-blown mapless excursion in the woods.
Even in 2010 when it became apparent that the Rodriguez experiment was a failure, there was hope for the future because we all knew Rodriguez would be canned. The same can't be said for a 'Michigan Man' coach hired by an AD who doesn't seem like the type to acknowledge his own mistakes.
November 25th, 2013 at 2:33 PM ^
You probably don't care, Brian, but I put this up there as one of your best game columns of all time. Poignant, relatable, and beautifully written. How are you an engineer.
November 25th, 2013 at 2:43 PM ^
" I also feel that Michigan will insist that it's anyone's fault but their own, and that the best we can hope for is 1997: an outlier."
2003? 2006? Didnt get it done, but were in the mix. Won some Big Tens in there. How bout Bo's tenure.
The selective memory kills me. Are we counting 1989 as the last time the basketball team was relevent?
November 25th, 2013 at 4:14 PM ^
We went 10 and 3. A good year but is that our standard for what we are happy with? 2006 was a great year but it did end with two losses. The Michigan approach for the last 20 to 30 years seems to generate many good but not great years with a limited number of poor ones, though recent performance is sliding. It has not genrated sustained success since the 1970's. We have not put together a string of succesful years like OSU, Florida State, Alabama, USC or Texas have at varous times over the last two to three decades. We want to be a college football power who is in the mix for a chmapionship every year but that has not been the case for a very long time.
November 25th, 2013 at 4:50 PM ^
November 26th, 2013 at 2:26 AM ^
November 25th, 2013 at 4:51 PM ^
November 25th, 2013 at 2:49 PM ^
40's tune - "You've got to accentuate the positive - eliminate the negative - and latch on to the affirmative - don't mess with Mister In-Between"...words to live by...and coach by.
Every team has weaknesses but regardless of one's own talent, depth and/or experience, quality coaches magnify their own team's strengths and exploit the other team's weaknesses whenever possible. Players progress and gain confidence (and improve "execution"-wise) if 'they know' their coaches are putting them in positions to succeed. I might be missing it, but i haven't seen much (if any) of that over the past 3 years.
Except for a handful of games (in 3 yrs) Hoke has enabled Borgess to continually exploit his own team's weakness (to the benefit of the opponent) and mis-use viable offensive assets in pursuit of a preconceived ill-fitting (based on personnel a/o experience) ideology that perpetually shoots itself in the foot, and then the same coaches have the audacity to repeatedly wonder why "we're not executing" with two bloody bullet-ridden feet.
November 25th, 2013 at 2:47 PM ^
Be like them little bitches on a chess board.
It's a great metaphor. We're tired, we're old, we feel the general malaise. We've been in this game for quite a long time, through coaching changes, great victories, stunning defeats. But what are we getting in return? Marlo keeps changing the game for the worse, destroying and leaving the community powerless in his wake. We have no power, we're pawns in this game. What's the way out? Do we do the godforsaken thing and stop coming to games? Do we "snitch" to police?
November 25th, 2013 at 2:50 PM ^
Sometimes it's best to relax and as Satchel Paige would advise, "Don't let the juices get too riled up." The following coaches had losing seasons and/or took a long time before they won mythical* national championships: Duffy Daugherty (3 losing), John McKay (2 losing), Bill McArtney (3 losing); Bear Bryant (4th yr.), Darrell Royal (7th yr.), Woody Hayes (4th yr.), Vince Dooley (17th yr.), Don James (17th yr.). Not saying patience works every time, but some have benefited by it.
* Until there's a real playoff system and polls don't matter, all championships are mythical.
November 25th, 2013 at 2:54 PM ^
The only way we will win this year's The Game... is a total redux of the 1950 Snow Bowl. In other words, an act of god. Bring on the weather, you!
November 25th, 2013 at 3:09 PM ^
I stare at the prospects Saturday vs Ohio. I cant see Michigan scoring more than 3 or 6. I cannot see holding Ohio to less than 40, absolutely less than 30. I stare into the abyss and see 38-6, 41-3 kind of game. Even a touchdown somehow only gets us to 10. Ohio is so much better than Iowa, Northwestern, and Nebraska. and a modest amount better than MSU esp on offense.
The thing about state of the program is. I felt back in September that we were getting better. That we would get better. Once we got past the ugly RichRod Firing, we would get better each year. Maybe not 11-1 better right away, but signs of improvement each year. Sure Toussaint worried me he looked so poor all last year. I just didnt realize how helpless we could become with freshman, redshirt freshmen and sophomores on the interior OL. Doesnt matter if your tackles are all B1G if the C and G's are a joke to a blitz.
Now DG plays like a zombie wondering around without a brain. its been beaten out of him like some sad abused foster child with no confidence or direction. Even when we give Gardner time he cannot make the throws, and when he makes a decent throw theres a great receiver dropping the ball.
I was a fan of the RichRod hiring because I knew the Lloyd Carr offense wouldnt compete for national championships anymore and we had caught a case of the dreaded B1G SLOW. I do not mind power as long as we are NOT too slow to compete with the USC, Texas, Florida, LSU and Bama of the times.
I was not amongst those wanting RichRods head as i saw it was only three years. It is now three years of Brady Hoke. and though I thought he wasnt ready when we hired him, theres no arguing his recruiting looks solid, though OSU gifted him one great year before they hired Urban, and hes certainly got the Michigan Man act down.
Borges couldnt implement his MANBALL Pro Style offense till Denard graduated to the Jaguars. I agree to being super frustrated with the group on MGoBlog live blogs with Borges i imaginative playcalling. Is it just Toussaint and the interior O Line? is Green and Smith really too young to take the mantle? Fred Jackson needs to retire. RB's dont get better from FR to SR years. I would be pleased with Borges being replaced. But at this point the ennui of a 7-5 season washes over me. If Hoke wants Borges, he gets one more year and they had better look better in 2014. I guess everyone should look much much better in 2015 when Green, Smith, Morris are Juniors and Chesson, Funchess and Darboh are experienced and dangerous.
Its hard to take that we stepped back instead of forward this year. Its sobering to hear Brian say it will be a long time to be at the level with Ohio State and even Michigan State, but I think we need to accept that.
November 25th, 2013 at 9:27 PM ^
November 25th, 2013 at 3:20 PM ^
After Penn State, I ranted, raved, swore, and drank. I knew this team wasn't good, but yet I had hope after the Notre Dame game. Barely beat two cupcakes? Sure, we're in "practice mode", no big deal. But Penn State was my edge, and I went over it. I knew we were screwed, both in the short-term and also probably in the longer-term. Brandon's not firing Hoke before 2015 - not that he should - and Hoke's not firing Borges and/or Funk - and oh, for the sake of all things Maize and Blue he fucking should - and that leaves us 7-5/8-4 at best.
So, at least figuratively, I went bowling. I have DVR'd every game since Penn State, watching nothing live. That has allowed me to reclaim my Saturdays from a pit of run-into-wall despair. I don't see much point in watching until Michigan can consistently put a better - and more fun to watch - product on the field.
For those of you who say I'm not a fan, fuck off. I've lived and died with this team since Wangler-to-Carter. The moribund Carr years, The RichRod defensive stubbornness and now the Hoke offensive stubbornness have beaten it out of me, at least as far as watching live goes. I'll always bleed Maize and Blue, but I've taken a break for my sanity, at least for the live games. That in itself is a cryin' shame.
Something. Must.Change. Aw shucks, we know it won't.
November 25th, 2013 at 3:20 PM ^
Sports. It can pick you up. After the Iowa second half debacle, on Sunday I turned to the Lions who blew a must win game at home vs the Bucs by finding six creative ways to turn the ball over. That last fumbled "interception" inside the Tampa five by Calvin Johnson no less. Then after the Lions didnt pick me up, I turned to Michigans great basketball team who had a 10 point favored status vs Charlotte not as good as Iowa State or Florida State. watching Michigan shoot 3 for 25 in the first half and 8 of 34. At one point they showed Stauskas shot 6 of 11 and the rest of the team shot 7 of 40, not even 20%. well the loss in Charlotte wasnt a pick me up. Sometimes with Sport, you have one of those weekends, where amongst the teams in your heart, theres no good win to pick up, just sad low losses. I still do not want to be a Dallas Cowboys fan, not for anything.
November 25th, 2013 at 3:57 PM ^
Admittedly, I have not dug deeply into this comparison. It is what I am using for hope. If I am wrong, please just leave me be. I am using my illusion since that is what I have left.
November 25th, 2013 at 4:27 PM ^
These guys are young!
Rich Rod's holdovers!
Manball fergodsakes.
November 25th, 2013 at 5:13 PM ^
I disagree that "This is the culmination of a dozen different things." I think it is pretty simple: Brady Hoke is not getting the job done. It is not the win-loss record it is that the football team looks terrible and is not improving. Despite all the talent and resources they look bad, and this is especially evident against teams that are clearly weak.
There is a reason there are only a handful--okay, may a dozen or even two--coaches who can manage large programs and consistently be successful. Rich Rodriguez is a good football coach but he couldn't make Michigan work. Brady Hoke was a bad hire. Objectively, his history shows him to be a position coach with modest head coaching success. Beyond just "coaching" he has absolutely not shown he can manage and lead a large program like Michigan to improvement and success. He is simply in the wrong job--the performance of his team proves it and his infuriating insistence on denying, obfuscating, and refusing to make changes confirms it. What does he do on the sideline during games? He does not have control of the situation and he does not have solutions to the problems.
There is absolutely no reason to expect better--championship better--in year four.
November 25th, 2013 at 7:35 PM ^
I think I've pointed this out once, but I wanted to re-post it because I strongly believe in the validity of the point.
Ohio State needed a coach and went out and got a guy who was 104-23 at MAC, Mountain West, and SEC schools, had 4 conference championships, 4 BCS bowl wins including 2 national championships, and another season where his team went 13-1.
Michigan needed a coach and went out and got a guy who was 47-50 at a MAC and Mountain West school with 1 MAC division title.
Since those hires, Ohio State is 23-0 and on the verge of a BIG 10 title and possibly a national title. The only reason they don't have more accolades is because, well, they were cheaters. Michigan is 26-11 without a BIG 10 division championship and 1 BCS bowl win.
This is not a coincidence.
As I get older (29 now), I find myself being unwilling and unable to muster up all the negative emotions that come with following a bad team. I'll share in the joy and elation when a team I support wins something meaningful. Hell, this weekend was basically one long stomach punch as a Chicago/Michigan fan. I loved last year's Bulls team after winning a playoff series against the Nets and beating Miami in Game 1. When they bowed out in 5, I wasn't mad or numb, because I enjoyed watching the team.
This Michigan team is just there. The fact they have not imploded, erasing all record of their existence is the highest compliment I can give.
Will Hoke turn it around? I don't know. I want him to. I want to feel something besides existential dread or nothing at all. I want Derrick Rose to be special again. I want the Bears to beat the Packers in the NFC Championship Game. I want Mitch McGary to seal a title with a dunk. I want to watch Jabrill Peppers streak up the sideline after picking off a pass in the 2016 College Football Semifinals, myself giddy with excitement like a little kid opening birthday presents. I want to see the Cubs win a World Series. Or I want to believe it's possible and to have it cruelly ripped away. I want to feel like I did in June, when the Blackhawks scored twice in 15 seconds to win a second Stanley Cup in four years.
I want to be a human watching sports instead of a robot.
November 25th, 2013 at 8:05 PM ^
Agree with most of what you say but I'm not sure if you realize Meyer was born and raised in Ohio. Began his coaching career as a high school coach in Ohio and got his first college job at Ohio State under Earl Bruce.
November 26th, 2013 at 1:21 AM ^
If only there was somebody like that...
November 26th, 2013 at 2:41 AM ^
November 26th, 2013 at 8:59 AM ^
Can we get past this he said/he said crap? Most of us, I believe, have no idea what did or didn't happen between Les Miles and various coaches' wives.
And frankly, are we all such prudes? What happens between two consenting adults is their business, not ours.
Comments