meta: How did you find out about/become addicted to mgoblog

Submitted by Mr. Elbel on

We're officially in OT season and there's not much going on 'round these parts if you don't pay that close attention to SB or BB. So, as we all anxiously await the next region in the GIF tournament, let's remiss about how we all got hooked on mgoblog to the point that we end up clicking on/creating threads just to have something to talk about.

 

I started using mgoblog regularly in 2014 while I was studying abroad in India for a semester. We didn't have strong enough of an Internet connection for me to actually watch games or anything. In fact we only had electricity for 4 or 5 hours a day, so streaming video or even getting a gif to load was a hassle. At that time it was basketball season and mgoblog was really my only connection to what was going on back home. The newspaper there had some type of sports section but they didn't even include the Superbowl score the Monday after, much less report on B1G play. So I kept up with it religiously, especially when I got homesick for American culture and needed an outlet for that. Once I came back I was hooked and don't think I've missed a post or a thread since.

Edit: as I read some of these, I think it'd be really interesting to hear from some of the users who are fans of other teams, especially the ones who have been around for a while. Gotta be a cool story behind it, right?

a different Jason

April 25th, 2016 at 2:30 PM ^

I found this site while searching for it. I knew there had to be a forum for U of M fans. I visit several forums for my other hobbies, hunting and fishing, so I knew this one was out there. The allure of this site is that it's a complete swath of society, every age, belief, race, creed, all bleeding blue. We can disagree over anything else, which makes for stimulating conversation.

ca_prophet

April 25th, 2016 at 2:41 PM ^

I wanted to find out who the new coach would be, and some Googling led me here. I lurked for a while and was hooked from the first UFR. I created an account when just lurking was no longer enough, and now I'm a semi-functional addict.

uofi17

April 25th, 2016 at 2:44 PM ^

as an Illinois alum attending Ross B-School in 2005, my favorite Big Ten basketball blog Big Ten Wonk (aka John Gasaway, still frequently linked here in other capacities) cited Brian as the go-to Michigan blog:

quoting Wonk (and capturing the opinion of this Illinois/Ross alum perfectly):

BONUS extracurricular assignment for Wolverine fans!
I read lots of blogs for this little endeavor and Brian at mgoblog is one of this reader's faves. Indefatigable, perceptive, witty, and pugnacious as all get-out when provoked, Brian might be the college sports blogosphere's Mencken if there is one.

Only problem: Brian's currently busy with some sport called "football." (The official position of all Illinois graduates like Wonk is that there is no sport known as "football.") I understand and cheerfully give Brian another seven weeks of grace. However there's another sport that mgoblog seems primed to devote a good deal of attention to even after football is finished. And (insert Vito Corleone voice here) this I will not understand.

The sport in question is college hockey and your intrepid blogger (I'm not making this up) wasn't even entirely sure there was such a sport until landing here in Minneapolis, where sweeps week programming on local TV news (I'm not making this up either) consists of behind-the-scenes investigative reporting on the Gopher hockey team. (Did I mention I miss California sometimes?)

Michigan fans, if you see Brian at a Wolverine hockey game, tell him to stick (har!) with the sport that doesn't require a machine that Wonk's only seen at Toy Story 2: Disney on Ice.

oriental andrew

April 25th, 2016 at 2:55 PM ^

Man, it was a LONG time ago. I think I actually first stumbled upon iBlogForCookies, who was a friend of mgoblog.blogspot.com. That had to be around early 2006 or so. I wonder what Vijay is doing now.

 

 

Avon Barksdale

April 25th, 2016 at 3:00 PM ^

I started reading the blog back in 2010 during Rich Rod's last season. I had been reading mgorecruit.blogspot.com for a while and stumbled upon MGoBlog from there. Read the site for a while before finally creating an account and the rest is history.

I will say the blog is more enjoyable now than it was during Rich's last season / wheels falling off in the Gator Bowl / Brady Hoke is our guy.

ST3

April 25th, 2016 at 3:00 PM ^

It was a long time ago, so I don't remember the specifics. It was probably a link from a Bill Simmons or ESPN.com article.

Did anyone else notice on the previews (/advertisement) HBO did before GoT last night, Bill Simmons got an ~1 second long screen shot for his show? In a 2-3 minute long montage of shows, they gave Bill 1 second. Seems fitting.

Hammer of Thor

April 25th, 2016 at 3:02 PM ^

In 2006 I was in Chicago from Seattle on business, connecting with a buddy from High School. He told me about it over a beer and there have been few days since that I haven't been lurking around. Best site on the Internet.

JMK

April 25th, 2016 at 3:09 PM ^

Someone sent me a link to Space, Bitches!  Loved it.  Checked back at some point after that and read an actual mathematical analysis of how Lloyd Carr turned into a turtle when he got a small lead (and was more likely to lose with a lead going into the 4Q than when being down) and I knew this was my kind of place.

nerv

April 25th, 2016 at 3:14 PM ^

I still don't like saying it. I came here during the RoJo recruitment. I had a Rivals account and my friend kept getting recruiting updates about 24 hours before it was ever on Rivals. Finally I asked him how he was getting this information so quickly and linked me here. Go you old friend, go you.

I eventually created an account only to mostly lurk and read for the next half decade.

Perkis-Size Me

April 25th, 2016 at 3:15 PM ^

Started reading in 2011, right before the OSU game actually. Started realizing that I didn't like reading all the crap in Bleacher Report, and I loved reading Brian's previews, so I haven't looked back since.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Steve in PA

April 25th, 2016 at 5:05 PM ^

Tim Sullivan used to run Varsity Blue website.  On it was the original UFR's which were basketball related.  I was coaching basketball at the time and was intrigued by the analysis.

Eventually he closed Varsity Blue and moved here.  I followed.  It was around the time of the RR hiring but I can't remember if I was here yet or not when that happened.

TheThief

April 25th, 2016 at 3:27 PM ^

I was in Virginia in 2009 working on my Master's Degree and was starving for any info on Michigan football. I found the site then. At first I was confused by all the inside langauge and strange blog titles, but I pressed on because it was the most comprehensive site to get my Michigan football info. If I wasn't out of state I may not have been able to get past some of the more esoteric elements of the site, so luckily I found it at the right time. I have visited the site almost every single day since. 

Also, somehow even when the program was down in 2009 under RichRod, I was still able to see almost every game with just basic cable in Virginia of all places. Truly showed how national a brand Michigan is.

Maizenblueball

April 25th, 2016 at 3:32 PM ^

For me, I think I stumbled across Mgoblog while googling Michigan football or something like that.  This was probably around 2006-2008 time frame.  I lurked for a few years, then finally I joined up just to comment on a Lloyd Brady thread that had me cracking up.  

Yep, my girlfriend has Lloyd Brady to thank for my addiction to Mgoblog.   

Couzen Rick's

April 25th, 2016 at 3:37 PM ^

I joined during the most recent coaching search, specifically while reading the searchbits posts.  I had known of the site before that, but would only occasionally check it out and not particularly seriously.

SD Larry

April 25th, 2016 at 3:44 PM ^

The search to replace Coach Carr was something I tried to follow closely and led to my blissful discovery of MGoBlog.  I have been an avid reader, through highs and lows since.

The anticipation of the possiblilty of hiring Coach Harbaugh, and the excitement over the same led me to actually sign up.   Been a lot of fun reading and learing from many posters on MGoBlog.   Thank you to Brian and everyone who makes this a great  Michigan Wolverine community.

matdog05GOBLUE

April 25th, 2016 at 3:56 PM ^

I was follow TomVh, who he used to have a recruiting blog. The player that got me into MgoBlog is Terrelle Pryor between OSU and Michigan on the signing day if I remember correctly. 

 

Kevin13

April 25th, 2016 at 3:59 PM ^

Rivals for years and the last couple I started to get more and more annoyed with the mods on that site as they have become increasingly more self righteous and think they know everything.

So I just started looking at other sites and found this one. Find the information is very good and there is a place to post and talk with other fans. It's a lot better site and they don't charge you money for worthless information.

maddogcody

April 25th, 2016 at 4:04 PM ^

University of Wisconsin fan at my workplace was trying to talk me into buying some bratwursts online from WI. He knew I was a Michigan fan (obv.) and asked me if I read "that crazy MGO Michigan blog". I still am thankful for meeting that sausage lover! No I didn't partake in the online meat

Maize Craze

April 25th, 2016 at 4:22 PM ^

Kind of on topic but for some reason I cannot convince my uncle to read this site. He reads the Freep because he says they are more credible than blogs. I do send him some excerpts of Brian's work (especially hockey) and he enjoys his writing. Hopefully I can recruit him over here!



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Esterhaus

April 25th, 2016 at 4:35 PM ^

 

I had just constructed a computer system, modem and network connections from toothpaste, food trays, a comb, Brylcreem and the gold fillings from my cellmates, who for some odd reason or other just kept "disappearing." Clearly I had too much free time when I stumbled across the MGoBlogs. And I've been receiving the ban hammer ever since. Please feel free to post your contact information here.

mgoblue0970

April 25th, 2016 at 4:45 PM ^

A link from the MZone... after Cowherd plagiarized their Wonderlic test bit live on air several years ago, I clicked over here too.

c-man

April 25th, 2016 at 4:58 PM ^

Wow, that was so long ago I don't even begin to remember.

I know it was before Brian "left" his CS job...when he announced he was doing MGoBlog full time I sent him $500.

Best investment ever. It's been a daily hit ever since.

Elise

April 25th, 2016 at 5:02 PM ^

I believe my first foray was at the beginning of the "Year of Infin-- [Name redacted due to last decade]" in 2005. One of my fellow MMB members turned me on to this site that analyzed every game in excruciating detail, and I have been basically a daily reader ever since. ...amd I just realized I have been reading this site for over a decade...

GoBlueGoWings

April 25th, 2016 at 5:31 PM ^

My friend from work, who is an Ohio State fan. He goes on 11W from time to time. They talked about MGoBlog, thought I would like it.  He sent me the link (thought 11W, that jerk!)and the rest is history.

Former_DC_Buck

April 25th, 2016 at 5:48 PM ^

The local government I worked for hired two new folks to act almost like living mirrored drives. That way if one of us was sick, on vacation, etc the other would be there. I was one and my compatriot, John, grew up in Ann Arbor, went to Wisconsin and had worked for PSU. Started in the late spring of 2002. I would regularly share stuff from the OZone, way before Tony Gerdman was there with him. We were the only B1G folks, our boss was a Terps alum, wonderful guy. John wanted a little more balance and dug around and found the MZone and MGoBlog. There wasn't a lot of good free content to a couple B1G guys starving for news. I lurked at both, along with some other B1G team sites, most which are defunct or got picked up by sbnation, for a long time. The MZone was much more casual, so I posted there when Yost started the site back during conference realignment. When he semiretired and went to tweeting I finally started posting over here.

Hotel Putingrad

April 25th, 2016 at 5:45 PM ^

I turned to the Interwebs for more analysis and dissection. MGoBlog was the first site that came up. One guy's snowflake was, "Brady Hoke smells like farts," and the rest is history. Though I did not create an account until the week of the SF/Seattle game, where it seemed a bad 49ers loss might release the Harbaugh sooner. But it all worked out in the end. And I have to admit, this place and the vast majority of the commented are pretty awesome/funny/insightful.

autodrip4-1968

April 25th, 2016 at 7:19 PM ^

Beat writer for the Wolverines referenced a link that took me to this blog. Been here just about daily for my Michigan football. I love this blog, the writer's and the commentary is insightful and funny. I've been blessed.

Bigasshammm

April 25th, 2016 at 7:27 PM ^

I was a lurker at the Mzone blog. Then SpawnofMzone. Joined here but never really took part while I was on there. They went away so I migrated over here. Don't care about points or posting I just like news n content

speakeasy

April 25th, 2016 at 8:53 PM ^

Right after we hired RR, I was sitting behind most of the OL and a chronically late Obi Ezeh in a blow off class and they were all over MGoBlog trying to figure out RR's offense. They were quite literally using MGoBlog as a playbook. Class was boring, so football it was.

Lurked for a year or so, then signed up.

Go Blue Rosie

April 25th, 2016 at 8:53 PM ^

I was turned on to the site during the RR years by an ex-boyfriend and I fell in love the first time I looked at it. I finally found people who loved Michigan sports as much as I do. I lurked for a while before joining and now check it an embarrassing number of times a day. I don't comment a lot - but I read everything you all do. OT season is killer.

ruthmahner

April 25th, 2016 at 11:11 PM ^

KansasBlue sent me here to watch Muppets after The Amazing Win Over The Jayhawks.  I live in Kansas, and I kind of like the Jayhawks, so perhaps it's notable that when I started reading Bryan's inimitable prose, and when I noted that the fan base here is in general more intelligent, articulate, and funny than any other fanbase in the world, I was irrevocably hooked.  I signed up and never looked back.  Go blue!

vimmetlop

April 26th, 2016 at 6:55 AM ^

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Kreeker

April 26th, 2016 at 12:19 PM ^

I became a football fan late in life. After graduating from EMU I was commissioned in the Army and began that career. One year later I found myself in Iraq and it can be very hard to relate to my family back home when they are going about their normal lives and I am overseas experiencing things that they never will. So I became a much better sports fan in general. This helped us connect and make things a little easier. This was also happened to be during Rich Rod's second year. I followed Michigan and knew about the horrible first year old Rod took us through, but I never really got into it. That second year though while I was deployed, I played some NCAA football with my guys and became interested in the "how" and "why" of football. A few years go by and then I found myself in Afghanistan. I met another officer who played quarterback at a DIV III school and he helped me dig much deeper into my shallow understanding of football. Learning little things that I feel like everyone else knows, such as the difference between Cover 3 cloud and Cover 3 Sky....Blew My Mind and I became hooked on everything about the intricacies of football. This site, along with SmartFootball and others along those lines became my crack. I love this site and appreciate everything you guys put into this. Thank you all and I look forward to continuing to learn about this great sport. I hope one day I have half the knowledge of some of you and will be able to contribute to this game, whether as an assistant coach or the oldest ball boy you've ever seen. I love this game and everything that goes into it.

PrimeChronic

April 26th, 2016 at 2:49 PM ^

I found this site after the old hailvictors.com forums went down, which was formerly sackcarr.com which is when I found that site. This site is sooo much better obviously lol