Completely Inapproriate Excitement

Would tell us "without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing." We just have to hang tough. Support the program. And give RichRod a bit more time.

Look, I am relatively new to the site but I really agree with this. I am not against people expressing the fact that they are disappointed in RR. I get it. For the most part I think the people that take the time to comment on this board are real fans and just want the team to succeed. Yes, there may be some trolls and people that just want to start shit, but for the most part I think everyone on here is a true fan. Many people have spent time highlighting what has gone with the program as far as recruiting, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Especially Mispogon, who should get great credit just for the graphs alone. The thing that everyone needs to remember is to step back and have some patience. We now have a society that expects instant gratification. Nobody wants to wait for anything. Rebuilding the Michigan program is going to take time. That is all there is to it. This is a classic case of the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. People see Brian Kelly having success and think he is the solution. I don't know if he is or not. Howeva, I think RR deserves a fair chance to see if he can succeed here. Two years is not a fair chance. I want to see victories as much as the next person, but there is no quick fix here. Putting a band-aid on the program is not the answer unless we want to become MSU. RR wants to strip down the program, rebuild it, and make it better than it was before. This going to take time, and it is going to be hard to wait to see the results. That is just the way it is and we are going to have to deal with. I am excited for next season and can't wait to see the progress that Tate and Denard will make this off season.

As I sit here in a somewhat more subdued mood (it's Wednesday...silly excitement for the game this weekend creeping in), the way I see it is there are two things we're learning here. /Hyperbole Alert The first is that we all beleived that once Lloyd Carr was gone, things would instantly get better. Rich Rodriguez (or any coach with a pulse) + Michigan Talent would equal many days of gluttonous gloating. Raping and pillaging not just the Big Ten, but the whole college football world. Babes who would drop trow at the mere mention that I, you, we were Michigan fans--oh, the humanity! I pictured this scene at the bar (with a hot chick for once): "How yoo doin'?" "Great. Beat it. Try shaving once in awhile. I don't speak English." "Did you know I'm a Michigan fan?" "How many blow jobs do you want?" Well, a funny thing happened on the way to being Bob Guccione, eh? Second: There is, and will be, a learning curve here for Rodriguez. Cronyism (which we all feel had a part in Lloyd's Labours Lost) may not be the ticket. Defense IS important at this level. Politics? Oh yeah, it comes with the territory. Media vultures? Hey, Detroit may be no Philadelphia or Boston, but it wants to be when it grows up. And, most importantly---about those diamonds in the rough--um, maybe not so much here. And for us fans: 40 years, man. Forty fucking years. Nebraska, USC, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Notre Dame--there's about a collective 700 national championships there--and ALL of them suffered seasons where suicide seemed a better option to watching their favorite teams. But Michigan stood alone. Frustratingly close, one or two really bizarro upsets, and bowl game pants-shitting? Yup. But hey--no losing seasons, and no revolving door head coaching, and a real solid product most of the time. All of this, and being able to go to a game and piss all over a guy in the double troughs and laugh about it! I really do think it's only natural to keep believing hard that Rich Rodriguez will "get it done"--and I'm not going to ever say he WON'T--it's just that there seems to be something fundamentally sick with Michigan football right now. It could be---could be that Rich Rodriguez won't work out here. It could be an institutional sickness. It could be the whole "northern school and Michigan doesn't put out a ton of talent" thingies. Whatever it is, it will take time, and more time than I think many are willing to admit they thought it would (including me). The Big Q is, of course, does Rodriguez get that time? Believe it or not, when I have some really lucid moments--I wonder about RR's time allotment. I wonder because of all the BS beyond football, and because I DO think the BS takes a toll. It's external forces beyond his control here, and they are powerful. He had them by the BALLZ at 4-0. I think he had 'em scared with Tate's badassery at MSU and the close call against Iowa as well. But the last three weeks, which is probably more attributable to emotional overload as much as anything, and things seem back in the hands of those forces. I gripe and gripe, but that's my job, and I have as much impact as the goose turds on my favorite golf course. But I do feel bad about Rodriguez's plight, because we SHOULD be squalking about the on-field product, and not at all concerned about any silly political machinations that cloud everything else. And that's where I think all the problems lie: fans don't just debate whether he'll succeed, but the debate is underscored by modern-day behind-the-scenes comings and goings that William Shakespeare himself might take notes from.