Column on the fanbase's year 4 psyche

I’m gonna go with.....fragile

Debbie Downer up in here. I won't have it 3 days before we're playing Notre Dame

I feel cautiously optimistic.

2016 was supposed to be the year, and it very nearly was. But I'd say we look even better on paper this year, albeit with a tougher schedule.

Don't look at me; I'm still mad at Burt Smith (far worse than any other Smiths mentioned around here lately).

Let's talk about reality and truth in performance. Lloyd Carr is the perfect example for this test. Why? Well, because he and Moeller were hired off the staff at Illinois to coach at Michigan under Bo.

Lloyd would wind up working at Michigan for more than 30 years. He wound up with a winning percentage almost as good as Bo's. He won a national championship, regardless of the circumstances. He coached two of the most influential football players in our lifetime, Woodson and Brady. And he didn't really take part in their recruitment.

Lloyd won his first and last game, both in remarkable fashion.

But during his tenure, he recruited some of the greatest names in the game. And you never knew he did. Because that's just the way it was back in the day. Lloyd acted weirdly after his coaching tenure and I won't vouch for him during the RR period.

But I think he was a fabulous coach nonetheless. He was strong and he demonstrated Michigan values and he is my favorite Michigan head coach. He's never been given the actual credit he deserves. He produced and coached our touchstone championship teams in 1997 and 2006 teams. He recruited great players on every level, period.

Go watch the games of the 2006 season. Henne was his qb out of necessity after Matt Gutierrez was injured game week of our opening game in 2004, the year after Navarre graduated. He was constantly challenged by qb problems throughout his coaching tenure. Lloyd only had a starter he could rely on because injury forced his hand, not his recruitment planning and development.

My 4 year psyche is fine.  It's my 20 year psyche that's fucked up.

I would say tired and apathetic.  I no longer devote my free time to fantaticly following Michigan Football.  If Michigan loses, oh well. It does not ruin my week anymore...which I suppose is healthier.

Part of this change is that my life has become more complicated as a single parent with 2 children.  The other part of this is that I have been let down for the past 10 years with mediocrity or continued disappointment that I am apathetic.  

Don’t get me wrong, I am not in the “Harbaugh is overrated camp”...I think he is doing a great job of running our program...and I Ma proud of him and our school when you look at the disasterous programs at Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State.  

However, until we start beating Ohio State and Michigan State on a regular basis (a pre-Harbaugh problem), and are contending for a BIG title or a playoff spot on a consistent basis...I don’t know if my fandom will ever return to what it was between 1992-2008. :(

Oh man, the psyche - do you want to go there?

I'm staring at another 8-4 season. A horrific schedule (makes ya wonder why Michigan is a doormat in the conference), a un-proven road team, a D that tends to brain-fart in big situations, and a better but still questionable O leads me to think that we will lose most, if not all, of our big games.

In previous seasons, I'd be very sad about this, but now I'm just kind of accepting/apathetic. We're fourth-best in the B1G East, behind teams that are slimy and dirty in many ways -- but of course no one cares. We're the ones that got punished, called out by our hometown media. But I digress.

Why the apathy? The aforementioned slimy, dirty programs are allowed to succeed despite it all. Our QB whisperer coach hasn't molded a good QB here, our manball coach seemingly can't recruit enough quality OL, our receiver with the most promise breaks the other foot. Our D is coached by the same folks responsible for the brainfarts. The refs clearly hate our coach and our program - are we the Lions of CFB?

I just can't do it. I can't get up for the games like I used to, because I know horrible things are going to happen. I'm apathetic. I've been a fan since I was little, when Dad showed me the wonder of Michigan Stadium and the men in Maize and Blue. But it's just not there. Of course, the tipping point has been coming for a while. OSU skates and lucks into Meyer, PSU skates, MSU skates, and now OSU skates again. And we stretched too much.

Fuck it.

“Year 4 Psyche” - Surely, They Can’t Be Serious? (Apologies for the length of this post.)

Try having been a Boston Red Sox fan from the 1950s through 2003.  Sometimes their team finished first or tied for first or in the playoffs, only to be disappointed at the end. But true FANS kept coming back. And then they got to experience sweet victories in 2004, 2007 and 2013.

There are other examples.  Think of San Francisco Giants fans from the mid 1950s through 2009.  Sometimes their team finished first or tied for first or in the playoffs, only to be disappointed at the end. But they kept coming back. And then they got to experience sweet victories in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

Think of Houston Astros fans from their first days in 1962 as the Colt 45s through 2016, always being disappointed until they proved to be “Houston Strong” and won the World Series in 2017.  Think of New York Rangers fans who were serenaded with chants of “1940!” until Mark Messier came along and guaranteed a victory in 1994 and the Rangers got to drink from the Stanley Cup.

From an outsider’s perspective, it seems that there still are some questions about this Michigan team that make it unfair to expect a championship season for the Wolverines, even though (a) the quarterbacks (Shea Patterson, Brandon Peters, Dylan McCaffrey and Joe Milton) appear to be the most talented group of QBs that Michigan has had in a very long time, and (b) the linebacking group (Devin Bush, Jr., Khaleke Hudson, Devin Gil, Josh Uche, Josh Ross), the starting cornerbacks (Lavert Hill and David Long), and the starting defensive ends (Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich) are considered to be among the best in the nation.  

• The schedule is brutal – five of the pre-season top 12 teams (all ranked ahead of Michigan) are on the schedule, including three on the road where Michigan has been struggling against ranked opponents for over a decade.

• A key receiver (Tarik Black) has been injured and will be out for a long time, maybe for the whole season, but there still appears to be a lot of talent among the receiving corps, especially among the tight ends (Zach Gentry, Sean McKeon and Nick Eubanks).

• The offensive tackles (Jon Runyan, Jr. and Juwann Bushell-Beatty and whoever their backups might be) don’t seem to inspire much confidence, but the interior linemen (Ben Bredeson, Cesar Ruiz, Mike Onwenu and Stephen Spanellis) and the sophomore fullback (Ben Mason) might just have what it takes to make the offense do well.

• There’s some uncertainty about who the kicker and punter will be and how they’ll perform.

If this is viewed as a make-or-break season in the eyes of some Michigan Wolverines fans, then I hope for their sake that Jim Harbaugh and his coaching staff can fly this Michigan team and land it with a championship. Go Blue!

I like the article, when's the last time we quoted the Daily.... which by the way was still one of the oldest INDEPENDENT college newspapers in the nation when I was in school.... I think 103 years!

Regardless of the season... my fandom has been tested and I shall not relinquish!  I am proud of Michigan and Harbaugh. 

Lets just go 3-0 against our Rivals this year!!!  

I will be content with going 2-1 (against rivals) and 9-3 overall. 

I will be happy going 2-1 (against rivals) and 10-2 overall OR 2-1 (against rivals with a win vs. OSU among them) and 9-3 overall. 

I would be very happy with 2-1 against Rivals and 10-2 overall OR 3-0 (against Rivals) and 9-3 overall. 

I would be elated with 2-1 (against Rivals, including beating OSU) and 11-1 overall OR 3-0 against Rivals and 10-2.   

Anything better.... one for the ages!

Disappointment with 8-4 OR not beating 2-3 of our Rivals.

I weep for your weak hapless souls.

Open thine eyes and allow oneself to see.

2016...lost 3 of last 4 games

2017...lost last 3 games.

2018...?

2019...Profit!

Dabo won 10 games and his conference championship in his 3rd year, not his fourth. The author of this article is trying to count the year Dabo took over mid-way through the season when the previous HC stepped down as his “first year” which is ridiculous. 

Just wanted to clear that point up. 

Edit: Also, Fisher went 10-4, 9-4, 12-2 in his first three seasons winning his conference championship also by his third season. It’s not like his teams were bad until the magical fourth year. 

I'm more optimistic about the long run under Harbaugh, lets say 2020 and beyond. I don't think we will have a NC shot until the OL improves. But I'm excited to see what this young team can do. May be 2021 Harbaugh will have depth and great recruits to continuously be in reload mode like OSU and we will win the B1G every other year.