Your unpopular Michigan opinions?
This can be any sport.
-I think we should keep the all-Maize as a permanent alternate in Football and wear them for big non-rivalry games (PSU, UW etc.)
-The endzones being green is stupid. Make it Blue and step into the 21st century. Almost everyone has colored endzones and they look great.
-The renovations have made The Big House feel smaller and boxed in. Not a fan. They look great don't get me wrong, but I miss the stadium I first walked into as a 9 year old kid.
-The holier-than-thou degree waver fans are obnoxious, thinking because they went to the school they're higher than non-grad fans on the totem pole.
That's two opinions and only the second one is unpopular (or should be).
The lack of marshmallows in the end zone is stupid. If someone actually got hurt from them that's one thing, but...
The lack of marshmallows in the end zone is stupid. If someone actually got hurt from them that's one thing, but...
"The holier-than-thou degree waver fans... thinking because they went to the school they're higher than non-grad fans on the totem pole"
There's nothing wrong with being a "Walmart Wolverine". But being an alum adds something uniquely special to your fandom. I don't really believe in a fandom totem pole, but if forced to make one it would be athletes and coaches > band geeks, cheerleaders, etc > general alums > immediate family of alums > non-alum season ticket holders (family history of fandom) > unaffiliated fans. And I would lose zero sleep over that totem pole. Besides, the totem pole is on top of a mountain with all the fans of lesser schools down in the sunless valley, so nothing to be ashamed of wherever you are on it.
My unpopular addendum: Not all "Walmart Wolverines" are obnoxious, but the most obnoxious fans are usually "Walmart Wolverines". Alums, in my experience, are less likely to be the sort to scream obscenities, start fights, be jerks in a not-fun way to opposing fans, just generally go full "fanatic" rather than fan. Maybe it's a love for / perspective on the school that depends less on wins and losses, maybe it's the sense that you as an alum are an ambassador for the university, I don't know. This seems to be true of all fandoms though - the worst people at the 'Shoe are the 70k truck drivers, not the 10k alums.
Part of this is that adults getting obsessed over amateur 18 year olds just feels a little ickier if you don't otherwise have a connection to the school. Being a general fan of college football, and your favorite team just happens to be a school you didn't attend, is one thing, but obsession with the athletic program of a school you didn't attend or have some other connection to is a bit puzzling - I just honestly don't get it.
Go Blue
To be clear, there's nothing wrong with being a Michigan fan if you didn't go there. Walmart Wolverine is a stupid insult (I don't actually call people that, just use it because it's the simplest way to convey what I mean here).
It's just that I sort of feel the same way I would if you, with the same biography, were a die-hard Steelers fan that "bled black and gold". It's a head scratcher to me, to be perfectly honest.
Also, unless your avatar is you or your significant other - it's not really helping the perception. Nor is being proud of wanting to tell people to fuck off.
Keep in mind this is the unpopular opinions thread. Normally I would just say Go Blue right back at ya.
Can I get a Go Blue? lol
GO BLUE
Agreed. I hate that insult as well. I never attended U of M but my great grandfather played here back in the late 20's/early 30's. My father grew up listening to his stories and watching old game film reels, and love for the Wolverines was passed down to me. I've got zero reason to root for any other team.
I really hope you're one of those Google chatbots trying to pass a Turing test and failing in an amusing way. But probably not.
Brian and Ace gotta stop complaining about their twitter feeds. It's just a stupid twitter feed. Just block people, ignore your feed, whatever. We get it's annoying, and we'd be saying the same thing, but not this often! You don't have to tell us about it every podcast after a loss. Move on.
We get it, you're popular.
Wisconsin is Michigan's goal...if Michigan could only recruit 3* players. Wisconsin is great, but their ceiling is lower than Michigan's just because they can't pull in top tier talent that makes you a true national title contender
Neither Wisconsin nor Stanford should be our goal state.
Our goal state should be what Ohio State has been able to do. Period.
Wisconsin would never crack 4th place in the B1G East. They got a gift.
This is a painful realization, but it's one that's difficult to dispute. The idea that our program occupies rarefied air alongside the likes of Alabama, USC, or (dare I say) Ohio State is more a product of great marketing and impressive financials than actual performance. We're pretty much Notre Dame, i.e., a football power in name only.
We're like Notre Dame in that we did most of our damage before everyone else got good and then we settled into that 2nd tier for decades where you're very good, but not often a national title threat. Both of us puff up our 9-3 seasons by bragging about things that happened before any of us were born
Michigan fans feel to entitled like we are owed something. Most young alumni are the worse when it comes to “I went to Michigan”
Fab Five choked twice IMO
Harbaugh w leave sooner then people think.
Michigan’s recruiting is not on par w the big boys.
Maize Pants w white jerseys need a comeback.
Peppers was a huge disappointment in terms of wins, OSU, no bowl appearances, I feel robbed.
I do believe there is a bias against Michigan in terms of recruiting, refs, scheduling etc:
OSU chests more then we know, but I’m sure Michigan knows but can’t reveal things.
Michigan Stadium should build up high and not around anymore. It would be louder.
An unpopular rebuttal to your unpopular opinion Fans that are alumni experienced this university/program in a deeper, more involved way than non-alumni fans. A "holier than thou" attitude is unjustified, but you need to realize their experience is different than yours and goes beyond most non-alumni. And in some situations, I feel like that opinion should be taken with more weight. That's not to make sweeping generalizations about different groups of fans, or to say one group are "better" fans than the other.
about different groups of fans, or to say one group are better fans than the other".
You start off making sweeping generalizations & end by saying you didn't. How much deeper? In what ways more involved? How much further beyond?
Unless you are officially employed with the athletic program, or are a known major donor, your opinion carries the same weight (none) as mine.
Keep telling yourself how important you are, seems to be working well for you.
brian has more hottakes than steven a smith - well, at least the same amount - and the times i listen to WTKA or his podcast can be painful.
i wish ace would stand up for himself more often. i think his takes are more reasonable than brians, but he often backs down when challenged.
***********ducks********************
**********prepares for trip to bolivia*******************
***** also ducking *****
Brian's hot takes are way more tolerable because Ace always seems to come off as smarmy / smug. Something about his tone grates when he's trying to be funny
Sorry, but I just cannot listen to criticism of Don Brown. The ONLY loss I can think of in the last two years that's even remotely attributable to Don Brown's defense was the 2017 Penn State game. In every other loss, poor offensive play either spotted the other team 10 or more points in the form of bad turnovers (i.e., the 2016 Ohio State game) or put so much pressure on the defense that they eventually buckled. If they "folded late", it's because the offense couldn't hold onto the ball or sustain a drive and thereby kept the defense on the field much longer than they should have been.
Don Brown is the reason why we finished 8-5 last season instead of 5-8.
has better uniforms than us. All whites with white helmets were so clean.
Plus I'm not a fan of our helmets with the new darker color and compression holes.
MSU has better uniforms than us? Haven't they changed their helmets several times this century?
Hasn't he been injured like, every season?
Come on dude. What do you have to base any of this off of besides recruiting hype? He'll play at Western this year. Let's see if he does anything.
The fact that no one has any serious delusions about Michigan Basketball being among the bluebloods (i.e, Duke, UNC, Kentucky, Kansas, et al) makes the program easier to root for and more fun to watch than the football program.
Good point.
Harbaugh has lost his touch with Qbs, OL, and isn't committed to the run game in his playcalling like he was at Stanford. Or was it David Shaw who designed hte Stanford offense and power run game?
Michigan basketball is too clean to win a national championship.