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.
  
 
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Blue and Joe

March 26th, 2018 at 10:02 AM ^

The state of Michigan would be doing the exact same thing if a directional school or some other smaller in-state school made it to the Final Four. Imagine if Detroit Mercy or CMU made it this far and Michigan was out. We'd all be pulling for them.

Joined: 12/03/2011

MGoPoints: 7231

Blue and Joe

March 26th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^

It's not hard to find something to fit your narrative when Twitter exists. Even just one tweet from a loser fan with 5 followers is enough for a clickbaity headline. Don't worry about it.

Joined: 12/03/2011

MGoPoints: 7231

Motel Putingrad

March 26th, 2018 at 10:04 AM ^

She and Charles Barkley will be hanging out together Saturday, bonding over their mutual love for anyone playing against Michigan

Joined: 03/20/2018

MGoPoints: 1102

Toby Flenderson

March 26th, 2018 at 10:18 AM ^

Don't take the bait. The media this week is going to be like fox news or MSNBC, for which they look for Egg Accounts on Twitter to make broaden claims about an entire group.

Joined: 01/16/2012

MGoPoints: 21392

Pepto Bismol

March 26th, 2018 at 10:40 AM ^

Sister Jean is smelly. She looks like an old pair of shoes. I believe if we go back to the 70s, she had some racist tweets. Working to confirm a pattern of unpaid parking tickets across 4 counties. She didn't vote in the '16 election. She's owns an AR-15. And Loyola's success is solely due to the fact that she worships Satan behind closed doors.

Is that good enough? 

This thread is absurd. Nobody cares what any of us think. If any sports writers want to include me and my shitposts in their article, feel free. 

Joined: 02/03/2015

MGoPoints: 7857

Eng1980

March 26th, 2018 at 10:44 AM ^

I love a  Cinerella story as much as anyone and I love the nuns (had three for Aunts but they have moved on) but there are more stories to work with than anything about one fan.

Michigan is a bit of a Cinderella considering all the pre-tournament love for MSU.

There were  a lot of negative comments about the TV coverage applied to little-me man-bun's brother.  I hope we love the fan and are careful about commenting on coverage.

I think their (Loyola's) win streak (14) is longer than ours (13) so go figure.  Sister Jean is ninth on the google search when I entered Loyola Chicago.

Joined: 04/28/2016

MGoPoints: 11966

Brodie

March 26th, 2018 at 11:05 AM ^

Michigan may be an underdog in our own minds, but many takes about us going into the tourney were that we were the hottest team in the country and destined for a deep run. Nobody else in the universe thinks that Michigan is an underdog, literally everyone outside of the Michigan community is cheering for Loyola. 

Joined: 11/19/2008

MGoPoints: 10713

DualThreat

March 26th, 2018 at 11:03 AM ^

Nobody should care what we think, but I think the OP is right that they are going to make a story out of anything they can get their hands on.  That's what $ driven media does.

No matter what we do here on this blog, there will be garbage that gets out to villianize our fanbase.  There is no stopping all of it.  But I support the OP's movement to try to mitigate it.

Will it have an impact on the game?  Probably not.  Infintesimal at best.  But does it impact the perception of Michigan as a whole?  If enough people spit garbage, it might.

 

Joined: 05/04/2012

MGoPoints: 781

M-Dog

March 26th, 2018 at 11:27 AM ^

If anything, do it to keep some media slimeball from having a cheap easy story to throw out there without doing any work.

They'll try.

 

Joined: 07/06/2008

MGoPoints: 257507

stmccoy

March 26th, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^

Instead of worrying about whether comments from this site are brought up in some news commentary, why not just keep the comments civil for the sake of not needing to rag on a 98 year old nun rooting for her squad. Things get hateful and vile around here sometimes. Maybe just dial it back for the good of the blog.

Joined: 10/07/2009

MGoPoints: 2146

HChiti76

March 26th, 2018 at 11:44 AM ^

That she is alive and well and attending the game on Saturday.

I was at Long Beach Arena the last time we played a Loyola team in the NCAA.  Inspired by the loss of their best player, Hank Gathers, they posted a 149-115 shellacking on our defending NCAA champions, still the highest scoring NCAA tournament game ever.  Bo Kimble was shooting left handed free throws in memory of Gathers.  Loyola Marymount couldn't miss.  Sean Higgins, a sophomore, just stayed home in SoCal and never returned to Ann Arbor and Michigan, he went pro.

So we don't need Sister Jean to cross the pearly gates before Saturday and inspire this Loyola team.  98 year old Jean, I am praying for you.  Stay healthy and we will be happy to see you courtside on Saturday night in San Antonio.

 

Joined: 12/01/2014

MGoPoints: 2043