I had a conversation with a fellow Michigan fan the other day. Inevitably, we were talking about how RR wasn't a "Michigan Man." He went on to say that an institution like Michigan, one that's tradition laden and full of history and high expectations, should keep things in the family as much as possible, and that a "Michigan Man" should have gotten the job at Michigan, and that by hiring an outsider, we lowered ourselves to the other "lesser" schools.
To me, this idea of a "Michigan Man" is complete bs. And it's something that annoys the hell out of me with respect to the fan base. Why were so many people annoyed with the RR hire from day 1? We're an institution that prides ourselves on innovation and being the "leaders and best", but when push comes to shove, and close Michigan-family issues (like hiring a new head coach) decisions need to be made, we invoke ideas of tradition, keeping it in the family, sticking with the way things have traditionally been done. And at the first sign of trouble, we bounce and attack for not following the traditional path instead of being patient and waiting for change. I don't really see how this is much different that "good ole boys club" idea that we see in other areas of life. I grew up down south, and the word "tradition" is thrown around as code for a lot of things, many of which are not so good. "Tradition" sometimes means, "this new thing (or these new people) scare me, and I don't like that, so let's keep things the way they were. They may not be perfect, by gosh darnit, it's familiar!"
So my question: what are you thoughts about this "Michigan Man" idea, do you think it caused a lot of fans to dislike RR on day 1, and do you think that Michigan should be so bound to tradition? I think that tradition should be followed (#1 jersey, running out the tunnel, etc), but following tradition just for tradition's sake is pretty dumb and doesn't leave room for adding new traditions. Under RR, we now have the Victor's walk, the Spring Game, the singing of The Victors in front of the student section after every win, and pretty soon, multiple national championships.