Brian Kelly backtracks: "This is a great and historic rivalry that we'll be playing this Saturday"

Submitted by a2_electricboogaloo on

Okay Brian,

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- As Brian Kelly moved ahead Tuesday, he backtracked just for one moment on the appraisal of the Notre Dame-Michigan football series.

"This is a great and historic rivalry that we'll be playing this Saturday," Kelly said during his weekly news conference. "So let's get that out of the way right away, so we don't have to answer any more questions about this rivalry. We're excited about the game, we're excited about playing it.

Then went on to explain further
 
 
 
 
[*addition my own]
 
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Retreat retreat!

Butterfield

September 3rd, 2013 at 3:05 PM ^

In your (stupid) example, Penn State is Germany and the Nazi Party is the Paterno regime.  As the poster you are responding to said, not a lick of continuity between the attrocities and the current staff/team/university leadership remains. 
 

And yes, much of the free world would be considered German allies today. 

Joined: 01/15/2011

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Butterfield

September 4th, 2013 at 12:39 AM ^

While I don't condone that type of behavior, every fanbase has fringe lunatics.  If you don't like a program based on the lunatic fringe, there isn't a single team you could like, Michigan included.  There isn't a school in the country where, if their coach of 50 years was fired (even under the circumstances JoePa was fired), (some) fans wouldn't erupt in anger. 

Had Bo, circa 1989, been guilty of the same crimes that Paterno was charged with in 2011, I guarantee some Michigan fans would have responded in an equally unbecoming manner.  So I can't hate Penn State, they've done everything they can over the last year plus to move on.....

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jsquigg

September 3rd, 2013 at 1:25 PM ^

I happened to hear Colin Blowhard today and he was defending Kelly's down playing of the rivalry.  His point was that Kelly wants to play in the west and south more and that the two teams didn't play for forty years so it isn't a big rivalry.

What an idiot.  First of all, they are retaining MSU and Purdue games which are in the midwest.  Secondly, he is just out of touch with what the fans and players think if he's going to argue that it isn't a big rivalry.  I wish I could get a radio show and spout garbage all day.  He also brought out a Coke-Pepsi analogy that I won't bore anyone with. 

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exmtroj

September 3rd, 2013 at 2:55 PM ^

Cowherd's pretty spot-on with a lot of things, but yeah, he was dead wrong today with his 'not a big rivalry' stance. These two teams are usually relevant in some way when they meet, and their large fan bases make the game at least relevant to Wolverine or Irish followers regardless of record or ranking. The first UTL game would not have been what it was if it was Michigan playing Purdue or Duke.

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Perkis-Size Me

September 3rd, 2013 at 1:33 PM ^

Kelly's opinions are his own so I wasn't offended by what he said. But still, I have a hard time imagining why ND thought it necessary to cancel Michigan when they're keeping Purdue and MSU. Yeah yeah blah blah blah they're more permanent rivalries and all that other crap, but you mean to tell me that Notre Dame and its fans get more hyped to watch their team go to friggin West Lafayette to play a game? If Notre Dame cares more about that game, it has to be by default since they've played for longer.

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SirJack II

September 3rd, 2013 at 1:40 PM ^

I thought Section 1 put it pretty well in another thread:

"It just doesn't mean that much to me, if that parochial school in northern Indiana doesn't want to keep playing us.

The hatred that I have for Notre Dame is nothing like the respectful rivalry we have with our fellow Conference teams.  They are nothing to me but a hate object.  All of their early successes were acheived by copying the successes of Yost and modeling themselves on Michigan.

So here's to you, Brian Kelly.  Our non-rival.  Buh-bye."

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Wolvie3758

September 3rd, 2013 at 1:51 PM ^

you mean like the COMMITTMENT you had with Michigan? 

 

ND is backing out of the series because with new new playoff format they cannot

afford the loss to Michigan which occurs more often than not....

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TruBluMich

September 3rd, 2013 at 1:52 PM ^

I used to agree with him, I have always thought Notre Dame was a rivalry pushed on us by the media.  BUT, after last season when they sent us that Dear John letter and I found out they dumped us for the ugly chick.  Well that  moved them up a peg on my list, just above MSU and directly under Ohio State.

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charblue.

September 3rd, 2013 at 1:58 PM ^

those rivalries all grew out of Notre Dame, MSU and Ohio's desire to match Michigan, with Michigan as the early standard. Michigan brought the game to those campuses. 

So, there is a historical record that attaches to these matchups. Now here's the truth, the ACC football schedule now includes both East Coast, Atlantic and Southeastern schools which Notre Dame has played in years past. 

We all know that Bo didn't care whether Michigan played ND like he did Ohio, which has barely ever scheduled the Irish. Consider their limited history over time and why that is. 

Purdue is an instate Big Ten team, so keeping that game makes sense for statewide Indiana interest. Keeping the MSU matchup seems curious, but the Spartans and Irish have a unique history of their own, topped by their MNC contest in the mid-60's. 

Michigan has a history of playing ND sporadically, of topping ND in certain polls, and has actually beaten Notre Dame every time they have come to Ann Arbor since 1993. 

The reason this game matters and is different from playing either MSU or Ohio, is because it is a test of traditional Midwest football powers. People still view it like that. And both teams play it like that. Well, at least Michigan owns up to that historical context. ND always pretends its real history and the myths that have grown up around the program, supplant reality. 

But here's the thing, ND hasn't beaten Michigan in 20 years at the Big House. That is, as they say, the bottom line. 

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