Muggles (from a players perspective)

and there seems to be large agreement... I have no problem with the use of  "muggles" or "civilians".  The problem occurs when an athlete or former athlete questions a "muggle's" right to have an opinion on the athletic department.  I know the gameday experience has diminished under Dave Brandon.  I don't need to be a college athlete to have an opinion on that.

That said, I'm also offended when fans pull the "but we pay the bills" card on college athletes (I've seen this several times here on teh board").  That flies for the pros, but not unpaid college athletes.

Man, nothing you post is OT.  Thanks for the perspective and all the hard work you gave to the fans and our beloved university.

I think one thing that did upset people with some former players' comments is that sport is important for this University, but it's not everything. There are students and alumni who work just as hard as the SAs to further the sciences, arts, Michigan community, etc. and it's hard to argue that their contributions are any less than yours. I admire your commitment to the University and thank you for that. I think it's important however to keep in mind that we are in this together and 99.99% of us will not be professional athletes or big donors, but can still have a positive impact on the university, muggle or not.

Thanks Mr. Smith. I appreciate you stopping by and dropping a word about this. I know it's gotten a lot of fans riled up. 

But does that mean football players play Quidditch on their free time?

For clearing some of this up Mr. Smith.

but here is the reason I (and lot of other fans) are still upset. In one word "context". 

 

If Mealer comes out and says "We love them crazy muggles in the stands. They rock." nobody would take that in a wrong way. Instead he used in the context of calling a whole bunch of people ignorant. Do you see why things went south rather quickly? 

 

Now contrast this to what the Seattle Seahawks do...they call their fans the "12th man". That is how you embrace the fans and make everyone feel ONE. 

If the football players played Quidditch, Denard would obviously be the Seeker, but Vincent Smith would absolutely be one of the Beaters because you'd 100% want him watching your back.

Here's a double finger guns to you Mr. Smith. We always appreciated your blocking wizardry. 

But one question: What kingdom is Hogwarts in? Is it say, closer to Winterfell or to King's Landing?

. . . Worse

Thank you MrSmith

And hey, it looks like you've been coaching up Justice Hayes on the finer points of sticking one's helmet into the chest of the opposing player in pass pro.  He's getting better!  Now teach the rest of the RBs!

Thanks for posting Vincent! It is really great to hear from a player's perspective and I understand most people don't mean for it to be as insulting as it has come across. I think it is great for you to post for issues like this as it can help to calm the masses.

I also love that you made that picture your avatar, awesome. 

to have Vincent come out and mix it up with us.  You were such a joy to watch on the field and its awesome to get your perspective and your inputs on the board.  I hope we get to discuss things a lot more moving forward.  Thanks so much!!

This is really V Smith? Dude, that is amazing. Was a great pleasure watching you play. Guys like yourself are what make us all proud to be Wolverine football fans.

Another problem with the term "muggles" is that it comes across as if the students are simply average, when in fact, many of the students are very talented at what they do. A lot of people on campus are 5* recruits in medicine, law, engineering, etc... Athletes aren't the only talented people at Michigan. I've never read Harry Potter but I take offense at what basically comes across as a similar term to "average" or "civilian".