On the bright side...

Submitted by The Other Brian on

THAT is what the spread offense is all about. THAT is what Michigan should and will one day look like.

...

The only problem is the guys executing it to a tee were wearing white today.

Maybe I'm a bad fan (although I'd debate that, since I nearly got into a fight with a booing moron in the stands today), but as I watched our defense die out there, I couldn't help but think, "Jesus, that's going to be OUR offense in a couple years."

I'm not going to ramble on here, I'll save that for my blog (shameless plug), but it always gets darkest before dawn. I'd love to have had the Michigan football machine keep churning along like it has for 40 years too...but this change IS going to work. Patience.

Oh, and Illinois fans are obnoxious tools. When Michigan is slicing and dicing, I hope they bust out some really sharp knives for the Illini. I've never seen a team that has done less historically have such arrogant fans. Jesus Christmas.

MGoBoard

lhglrkwg

October 5th, 2008 at 1:31 AM ^

i actually thought illinois fans were 100x less annoying than wisconsin fans. i didnt have a single run in with an illini fan or even hear any of them rubbing it in

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 87887

The Other Brian

October 5th, 2008 at 1:39 AM ^

Where were your seats? I was in Section 8, where the majority of the orange shirts were (many of which were those absolute GENIUS "Muck Fichigan" shirts), and they were pretty yappy. One tool especially didn't stop running his mouth for the whole game, and was inexplicably yelling out "BIG BLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUE" all throughout the 4th quarter.

I hope they were all Cub fans.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 1420

PattyMax64

October 5th, 2008 at 2:57 AM ^

What you may be surprised to learn is that Illinois fans hate us with a MUCH bigger passion than we hate them.  From what I have gathered from fans from other Big Ten schools is that they truly dislike us.  They hate how arrogant we are and they don't like that we always beat them (at least we used to).  If I had to compare their dislike to another school it would be like Notre Dame.  We call them arrogant and LOVE to see them lose.  It is much the same way for the rest of the Big Ten and us, including Illinois (Not Including Northwestern, they don't really care about football).

Joined: 07/21/2008

MGoPoints: 293

GeoTracker

October 5th, 2008 at 4:12 AM ^

My roommate is an Illini and he and his whole family make the game a huge deal. I never understood it. I don't even consider them a rival. They are on the level of Purdue, Indiana, Iowa  for me.

Joined: 09/14/2008

MGoPoints: 945

TorontoBlue

October 5th, 2008 at 8:00 AM ^

1)  M traditionally recruits hard in Chicagoland and plucks a blue-chip or two every year away, which drives them nuts over there.  2)  Champaign is a destination of last-resort for most kids in the state.  They all try to get into Ivy League or Top 50 list schools and those that don't make it end up in Champaign (think Sparty) with a chip on thier shoulder.  So they detest Michigan's elite perception and status.  I lived on the North Shore for 4 years and watched this phenomenon with bemusement.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 956

Joe

October 5th, 2008 at 8:51 AM ^

Being from the north shore of Chicago, I have to partially agree with Toronto.  It makes an Illini fan's day when Michigan loses in football... that's the way it is (and should be) for many smaller-time football programs.  For a long period of time, it was always a 2 headed race in the big ten (mich/osu).  Beating Michigan or OSU could make their season bearable.

On the other side, Illinois is a really good (academically) state school.  If I wasn't lucky enough to be able to afford Michigan, I definately would have ended up there.  There is a chip on their shoulders, but it isn't because they didn't get into a "top 50" school (because U of I is a top 50 and has many programs ranked in the top 5), but it is because they are often overlooked...

We got our asses kicked yesterday.  Hat's off to Illinois.  They were the better team this year.  I'm sick of the texts from my obnoxious Illini friends, but just ignore the fans because sometimes we are just as obnoxious.

Go Blue.  Patience is a virtue.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 221

Biff

October 5th, 2008 at 10:42 AM ^

I had been getting pretty excited watching Threet gallop down the field from time to time, but during the game it was like "Ohhhhh, that is what an athletic QB is supposed to look like."

Joined: 07/06/2008

MGoPoints: 40

blue edmore

October 5th, 2008 at 11:09 AM ^

Believe me, the rest of the Big Ten is digging this big time.  Illini fans are no different than most of the others.  To them, us losing is just as important as their team winning.  I keep telling all of them, to get their shots in this year while they can; it will change shortly, back to where it oughta be!

Joined: 07/01/2008

MGoPoints: 4

hat

October 5th, 2008 at 12:34 PM ^

I don't know, I think they are a little different.  Illinois fans have got this idea that they have a big rivalry with Michigan (based on what, I'm not sure).  Lou Tepper fed into it in the '90s by claiming that they spent part of every practice preparing for Michigan. 

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 15

chitownblue (not verified)

October 5th, 2008 at 12:38 PM ^

Living in Chicago, I'm friends with a bunch of Illini grads.

First, I don't buy the "inferiority complex" thing - U of Illinois is a very good school, it is top 50 nationally.

The single thing that constantly gets brought up when I ask them "Why do Illinois fans hate Michigan?", is the horrendous fumble call against Rocky Harvey in 2000. They felt like the game was taken from them because they were an unsung football program, and we were "MICHIGAN".

Joined: 12/12/2017

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Blue Durham

October 7th, 2008 at 1:54 PM ^

I don't know how long, probably could be traced back to Yost's time.

But, I do know that when Gary Moeller was fired as HC at Illinois after 3 years, IIRC, Bo Schembechler was really, really pissed at Illinois for not giving Moeller a chance.  But to top it off, Illinois hired Mike White coach from 1980-1987), whom Bo was really convinced was a cheat.  T

So during this time, Bo really focused on preparation against Illinois like no other team and took great relish in beating the hell out of them.  In 1981 Michigan put up 70 against them, and in '86, put up 69.  Bo did not call off the dogs against the Illini.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 6082

hat

October 5th, 2008 at 12:45 PM ^

I know that really riled them up, but their Michigan complex predates that.  Maybe it comes from us beating their "Flying Illini" team in the 1989 Final Four in basketball. 

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 15

GNM

October 5th, 2008 at 1:47 PM ^

I spent a lot of time on Campus in Champaign-Urbana, and I really believe the Illini think that Michigan is their rival.  They don't really have a rivalry with anyone else.  Their official Week 12 rival is Northwestern, and it is hard to get too fired up about the Wildcats.  Moreso than other Big Ten teams, the Illini want to beat Michigan.  Same story in basketball.

 As for academics, it is a good engineering school.  As for everything else, I would (and, as a matter of fact, did) pass.  Maybe it is a state school thing, but I couldn't believe how little time my acquaintences there spent on coursework.

Joined: 09/15/2008

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Anonymous Coward (not verified)

October 10th, 2008 at 4:30 PM ^

Sounds like someone who knows little about UI. Illinois is in the top 5 for engineering, NUMBER 1 in accounting, Top 25 in business, Top 10 in Journalism, highly respected education, architecture, agriculture, and veterinary studies programs. Its is NOTHING like michigan state.

 And Illinois no longer really cares about michigan basketball -- they beat them just about every year. 

 I think we all just have to get used to the fact that Illinois, while always as academically regarded as Michigan, is turning into an elite program.

Joined: 12/12/2017

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Sommy

October 5th, 2008 at 4:33 PM ^

There are three things that stick out in my mind as to why Illinois fans seem to really hate Michigan in particular:

1) Last time the Illini beat Michigan in Champaign was in 1983, believe it or not.

2) I realize Bo rarely ran up the score, but from what I understand, he really disliked Mike White and Michigan blew out the Illini 70-21 in 1981 in Ann Arbor, and also blew them out again in 1986 69-13.  I think out of those two seasons, those where the only two games in which Michigan scored more than 38 points.

3) As I understand it, Mike White had mutual hatred for Bo.

So, that's my guess.

Joined: 07/29/2008

MGoPoints: 1806

jamiemac

October 5th, 2008 at 6:50 PM ^

was the HC at Illinois in the late 1970s and Bo thought they wronged MO when they fired him, so he took pleasure in whiiping the Illini when he could.

 

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 8446

hat

October 5th, 2008 at 7:58 PM ^

I think it was rumored that Bo turned White's program to the NCAA, too.  I don't know if that's true, but I know Bo always thought they ran a dirty program.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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