Don't take the Sister Jean bait.

Submitted by M-Dog on
 
Don't take the Sister Jean bait.
 
The media is going to spend all week goading Michigan fans, players, and coaches into saying something inflammatory about Sister Jean so that they can run with a story about Michigan's awful fanbase picking on a sweet little old lady.
 
They've already started.  
 
The video clip below of the post-FSU game interviews from USA Today Sports is titled "Michigan reacts to Final Four berth, already throwing shade at Sister Jean".  
 
This was minutes right after the game when the players were still celebrating their hard-fought win over FSU to make the Final Four.  A reporter slips in a completely irrelevant question about Sister Jean for no other purpose than to try to goad the Michigan players to say something bad about her so he could run with that story.
 
"What do you know about Sister Jean and how do you feel about her?" (at 0:30)
 
Charles handled it beautifully: "I don't know who Sister Jean is, no disrespect".  Moe just commented on her bracket not having Loyola Chicago in the Elite Eight.
 
That's some real vile shade there.
 
Don't take the bait.
 
The media will be scouring sites like MGoBlog and Twitter all week looking for the most extreme posts they can find, and portray them as "representative" of the Michigan fan base.
 
You know they will.
 
They are all over this and are desperate to make a story where there isn't one.
 
Believe it or not, it actually matters what we say on influential sites like MGoBlog, especially this week.  I would encourage the Mods to have a short leash on the "F Sister Jean!!" type comments that we've already seen on here.  Dial it back on Twitter, ESPN comments, etc.
 
This is a part of the Final Four that we fans at home actually get to play in.  Don't let the lazy media types that are just looking for a cheap story get an easy win at our expense.
 
Repeat after me: Sister Jean is just a nice little old lady that has followed her team for 50+ years and wants them to win.  Every fanbase has somebody like that.  it's no big deal.
  
 

JBE

March 26th, 2018 at 10:16 AM ^

It’s cool to see how much Mo has grown as a person, leader, and player. He’s transformed since his freshman year, which is a testament to him and Beilein. He made the right choice for himself coming to this program.

LabattsBleu

March 26th, 2018 at 9:54 AM ^

Agreed...

She's not the story: Loyola and their incredible run ought to be the story...she gets more time than their players do.

Game will be decided on the hardwood

hope everyone ignores the noise and just focuses on the stuff that actually matters

crg

March 26th, 2018 at 11:50 AM ^

If I were someone in the UM ath dept, I would send people to have interviews with her and even have our players get photos with her before the game (if possible). Show the world that we love the presence of someone like sister jean because that is something that adds to the college ball experience

ijohnb

March 26th, 2018 at 10:07 AM ^

actually kind of does matter.  This is not a typical Final Four matchup.  Loyola-Chicago has been a cinderella darling since their first round matchup.  Their story, and particularly Sister Jean has A LOT of traction in the national media.   75% of that building is going to be rooting against us.  It is also my anticipation that the Ref Show will be absolutely have a Loyola vibe to it.  Sister Jean in the championship game is a David v. Goliath matchup that the media is drooling over right now.  Starting right now, we are BIG BAD MICHIGAN for a week.  You have already gotten a glimpse of it with the "Blue Bloods" article, every so carefully, that is the crafting of a narrative.  It is important that Michigan fans not feed into it.

Nevermind that our coach celebrates with turkey subs and lemon water, by Saturday we will be seen as the big bad bully who wants to stop the little guys from having any fun.

In reply to by ijohnb

DrMantisToboggan

March 26th, 2018 at 10:20 AM ^

I heard that 75% line yesterday too - I don't think that's right. For one, we will bring more fans than every team, save - maybe - for Kansas. Second, not all Kansas and Nova fans that have Saturday tickets will come to our game. It might be 60% of the people in the stadium rooting against us, but I doubt it will be a loud 60%. I think our fans will still be louder than the pro-Loyola crowd there. I don't think the fan makeup will be a factor on Saturday.

 

Bit of a pedantic point to make, sorry.

WorldwideTJRob

March 26th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^

Was in the regional in Dallas back in 2013...wasn’t even close, Kansas dominated the building! They will definitely have the most fans there. I guarantee you a majority of their fans bought tickets to the Final 4 when the brackets first came out. So unless we have 51% capacity in the Alamodome the majority of fans in the building will be rooting against us. If I had to break it down, it would be: 45% Kansas, 30% Michigan, 20% Nova, 5% Loyola-Chicago. So while this breaks out to 70% against us, the 75% is not that far off. But who cares, if we execute we can silence a lot of people in that building on both days.

MGoArchive

March 26th, 2018 at 11:08 AM ^

Kansas will have the most fans there, and I can gurantee you they will be cheering against us.

I hope the team is prepared for a very different environment (on Saturday) compared to the ones they've played at in LA/NYC. This will be more like Wichita (fewer fans), except you will have neutral fans cheering against us.

We 100% want Kansas to lose on Saturday. A Michigan vs. Villanova final is absolutely ideal - we would have the home crowd advantage, and it's obvious at this point the team plays exceptionally well when in front of a home crowd, away from home. They said as much in both LA and NYC.

DrMantisToboggan

March 26th, 2018 at 11:12 AM ^

No way in hellllll we would rather face Nova. The fan makeup will not offset the difficulty of matchup between Nova and KU. We would probably be a tight favorite against KU, we will be a 4 point dog to Nova.

JBE

March 26th, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^

Definitely. Nova is a machine, that goes 7,8,9 deep. They have the strongest roster by far in the tournament. Everybody can shoot, they’re efficient, and pose many problems from a matchup standpoint. And a great coach in pretty much every facet. We really, really want Kansas, no matter fan attendance.

JBE

March 26th, 2018 at 12:24 PM ^

For sure. They can beat any team, but it would take a stunning game from a couple Michigan guys - MAAR and Wagner, with Charles mixed in, hitting his mid range jumpers, like A&M, and the team putting up at least 80 - to beat Nova. Kansas has strong guard play, NBA guard play really, but Simpson could maybe hold them off a little, and Self can be consistantly outcoached. I do kind of want to see a Beilein/Wright gameplan matchup. They’re the two best conceptual and in-game coaches in the country, for my money. But Nova is more talented overall, so it might not go well.

ijohnb

March 26th, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^

agree with you that the environment will be different, but disagree that it will feel anything like Wichita.  Wichita was a moderately sized multi-purpose arena that was half full with fans.  The Alamodome will hold 40,000 people in its Final Four configuration and it will be filled to the brim.  There will probably be a more Michigan fans in the building than there has been so far, even in LA, but there will be just be a whole lot more fans, period.

 

DrMantisToboggan

March 26th, 2018 at 11:10 AM ^

70% if all of those fans come to our game, which obviously they won’t. I went to the final four in Atlanta in 2013. Not all Louisville and Wichita fans went to our game with Syracuse. That’s what I’m saying, 100% of Nova and KU fans with tickets will not attend our game, which will make the anti-Michigan crowd not much of an issue.

Squad16

March 26th, 2018 at 11:33 AM ^

If it's a Kansas-Michigan national championship, Kansas has two-thirds of the building.

We will NOT have a fan advantage in San Antonio. This is Texas, middle of Big 12 country. Michigan's advantages are in the big cities of the Midwest, Northeast and West Coast, not the South and especially not the South Central like San Antonio. 

Squad16

March 26th, 2018 at 3:36 PM ^

I'm not insinuating we can't handle it. But a previous poster seemed to suggest that Michigan would have the most fans of the four schools in SA, and that "maybe" Kansas would have as much. Kansas will almost certainly have the most by a large margin. 

In reply to by ijohnb

Mp1228

March 26th, 2018 at 12:28 PM ^

Lifelong UM fan here, but growing up in Connecticut, I of course will always have a special love for Uconn basketball. I mention this only because I vividly remember losing to George Mason in the elite 8, despite the fact Uconn had 3-4 future pros on the team. 75% might be a low number, as everyone there not rooting for Michigan will be rooting against them. I remember that game like it was yesterday, GMU making incredible shots, Uconn not getting the benefit on any calls, nothing bouncing uconns way. I think UM will win, and win running away, just be forewarned, going against a Cinderella team that’s actually good? Not very much fun. This Michigan team is special though, and Beilein is basically the best coach in basketball at this point, so go blue, and f*ck Cinderella (not sister Jean tho, I was raised catholic and I’m not messing with that lady lol)

M-Dog

March 26th, 2018 at 3:16 PM ^

I thought about UConn vs. George Mason when i was wondering what it would be like in the arena.  George Mason is from my area so I followed it closely in 2006.

I think you are right, it will be just like that.  75+% of the arena will be agianst us, and they will be passionate about it.  It won't be fun.

 

Mp1228

March 27th, 2018 at 12:03 PM ^

Yeah it wasn’t the best moment as a Uconn fan lol. The worst was when we played state in the final four at ford field, ugh I still have nightmares about that lol. But we’ve been pretty fortunate over the last couple of decades. Hope to get back to where we were soon, just don’t see it happening in the AAC.

Bando Calrissian

March 26th, 2018 at 9:57 AM ^

No, these are reporters trying to flesh out a human interest story for their pieces. Reporters just don't go out there asking random questions to mess with athletes--they're fishing for specific quotes about specific things. That's how articles get written.

And, given that the guys didn't know who Sister Jean was, I'm doubting they're going to really care this week, either. They're in a bubble. And, really, who cares? She's not getting wheeled out there to shoot threes.

M-Dog

March 26th, 2018 at 10:12 AM ^

Reporters just don't go out there asking random questions to mess with athletes

Don't be niave.

That's exactly what that reporter was doing.

The question, in a post-game interview minutes after Michigan's hard fought win to make a Final Four, was thrown in there for no other reason than to get the players with their guards down to create a headline by saying something inflammatory about Sister Jean that the reporter could then run with.

He didn't give a rats ass about any "human interest" angle.  He didn't ask any of the players how their grandmas felt about the Final Four.

 

 

In reply to by ijohnb

JBE

March 26th, 2018 at 11:49 AM ^

In the article it’s a reference to their defense, which also alludes to the Pistons. This whole debate, and people who are taking it seriously, as though the media are attempting to paint Michigan as the antichrist to Sister Jean’s piety, are truly ridiculous. Playing the victim much? It’s the same argument as posters who think Delaney or the refs or whomever are out to get us.

ijohnb

March 26th, 2018 at 12:06 PM ^

media will absolutely try to do that and to think it won't is truly ridiculous.  The media creates narratives to generate interest.  That is exactly what the media does.  At some point this week, there will be a Michigan v. Sister Jean type shenanigans.  It might not be a big story but there will be a story.  There is no question it will happen.  Yes, I got the reference to the "Bad Boy" Pistons but that was 30 years ago and very few readers associate defense with the 1989 Pistons.  Very few people even read the article, they just read the heading.

And to think that cinderella will get the benefit of the whistle is not remotely like a "Delaney conspiracy."  It is simply true.  It is common sense.

In reply to by ijohnb

JBE

March 26th, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^

Your ability to believe what you just wrote is truly staggering. It’s the opposite of common sense. Oh no, the media, the refs, the underdog getting preferential treatment because of a nun. Do you hear yourself?

ijohnb

March 26th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^

an underdog.  Media outlets love ratings and clicks.  You think that I am advancing some "grand conspiracy."  I am not.   Yes, I hear myself.  Nothing about what I said is "staggering."  It is reality.  You are acting all mystified in order to be some insightful contrarian.   It is not working. 

abt424

March 26th, 2018 at 1:52 PM ^

As a former member of the sports media, this is not typically what reporters set out to do. 

Are there some bad apples like in any profession ... yes. But,overall, the media is not out to get teams.

If you look at the media as a zero sum gain, then you're going to view the media as being against Michigan this week because Loyola and it's awesome 98-year-old nun is the better story so that's what's going to receive more attention. 

 

M-Dog

March 26th, 2018 at 3:23 PM ^

The media does not care about Michigan.  They do not care about Loyola.  They care about a good story.  

Big Bad Michigan against plucky Loyola Chicago and their sweet littile old lady inspiration is an easy story.

There is no vicim-hood here, they did it for George Mason, they did it for VCU. They'll do it for Loyola and Sister Jean, times 10.

That's fine, let them.  Just don't make their job easy by posting stupid rude stuff about a 98 year old lady.

 

El Jeffe

March 26th, 2018 at 9:58 AM ^

I agree with the OP but I mean, Sr. Jean's lived through the Depression, World War II, Vietnam, the Catholic Church scandal, and just being a human woman for nearly a century.

It's the height of sexism to suggest that she can't take a little good natured ribbing.

Badger

March 26th, 2018 at 9:58 AM ^

Ugh you should see the local news coverage here in Chicago. Every 10 minutes they show the nun. I swear Chicago area fans will find anything to bandwagon for.

Win the game.