M ranked among ND's rivalries, superlatives
A local South Bend news outlet recently released a poll where Notre Dame fans and alumni across the country voted on superlatives regarding the Irish's rivalries. I know, I know, who cares what Notre Dame fans think, right? But it is interesting to see where Michigan fits into all this.
LINK (The link I have apparently doesn't work, so I'll just transcribe the results):
Most Hated - Michigan
Most Anticipated - Michigan
Most Thrilling - Michigan
Most Frustrating - Michigan/USC (tie)
Most Heartbreaking - Michigan
Most Critical to the Season - Michigan
Most Enjoyed - Purdue/Navy (tie)
Most Prestigious - Michigan/Stanford (tie)
Most Irrelevant - Boston College
Most Satisfying Win - Michigan/USC (tie)Rank the Rivalries in terms of Importance:
1. USC
2. Michigan
3. Navy
4. Michigan State
5. Stanford
6. Boston College
7. Purdue
Interesting to see that Michigan takes so many categories (hated, anticipated, thrilling) but is No. 2. Based on these results, you'd think Michigan would be No. 1 outright.
Yes, to hell with Notre Dame.
September 5th, 2014 at 8:49 AM ^
F notre dame, F south bend, F Jack Swarbrick, F those M F'ers and we're taking them down!
September 5th, 2014 at 8:49 AM ^
Purdue and Michigan State are bigger rivals...just ask them.
September 5th, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^
Illinois, I used to work with a couple of Illini fans; apparently they not only think that we're rivals they think its a big rivalry.
September 5th, 2014 at 8:51 AM ^
If DB had pulled ND off the schedule, there would have been outrage by the fans, alumni and players alike. He would have no choice but to admit the mistake and reverse the decision. Why doesn't ND fans do the same? Obviously they care about the rivarly.
September 5th, 2014 at 8:51 AM ^
Yeah well, the fans dont know jack.
- Dave Brandon
September 5th, 2014 at 8:52 AM ^
September 5th, 2014 at 9:00 AM ^
This whole "not a rivalry" thing has been the steaminest' pile of crap. If UM-ND is not a rivalry, nothing is. From here on I wish them nothing but the worst.
EDIT: Fascinating, btw, that the game with the othe Catholic school, BC, means so little to ND fans.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:02 AM ^
I'm surprised that one wasn't classified as "Most Irish"
September 5th, 2014 at 9:03 AM ^
I'm fine with nd fans saying USC is #1 for them, just as Ohio is for us.
However, for me being a. Out if state guy, I always considered nd #2 over MSU. I guess given states recent success, they should be our #2.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:13 AM ^
Yeah, you're definitely an out-of-state guy with that comment. Wow. I want to beat msu more than ANY team this year (and to be honest, that has pretty much always been the case). Losing to the fuckeyes is never, ever fun, but working and living near spartys pretty much all the gd time, it is always so much easier when those little shitheads have nothing on you. So for me ohio and sparty are 1a and 1b. ND is a distant second. Having said that, I still thoroughly despise them as well -- and would want nothing more than to get this win against them, especially since we probably won't see them again for a long time.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:26 AM ^
I would have said Ohio, ND and then State.
For whatever reason, a win against the Irish has not been a predictor of success, like it had been in the past.
Now that State has become so irritating, I say Ohio, State, ND. I might even rather beat State over Ohio: that is how irritating they have become.
September 5th, 2014 at 11:11 AM ^
Yeah I'm from out of state as well and grew up in an ND-crazed family, so I considered them a major rival just beneath Ohio.
My hierarchy of Michigan Rival-Evil goes 1) Ohio 2) ND 3) State. But that's going to change now because ND is ducking us and State is badass now.
I may actually find myself rooting for Ohio State in that future ND-Ohio game (shudder).
September 5th, 2014 at 9:28 AM ^
September 5th, 2014 at 9:49 AM ^
Fuckeyes? Really? Are you 12?
September 5th, 2014 at 10:39 AM ^
jesus. i get it. can't delete it now...just gotta take the lashings at this point. Why can't posts be deleted??
September 5th, 2014 at 10:00 AM ^
I also have ND as number 2, growing up in Indiana and now living in DC.
I totally understand MSU as number 2, especially living in Michigan amongst those people, but it's not a given to a lot of us.
September 5th, 2014 at 10:30 AM ^
I barely noticed the "Fuckeyes", I upvoted for the overall gist. I'll never consider State a bigger rival than OSU, but over ND? Yes, lately. They have to have the most irritating fanbase in the country. I don't even care about their obsession with beating Michigan anymore, what I'm tired of is the CONSTANT victimhood and insistence they're being "disrespected" and, as Brian said yesterday, aggrieved. They are truly insufferable. Whining about Michigan trying to keep them out of the Big Ten like it even matters today, and in the next breath you'll hear about how much Michigan fans live in the past. Do you think Ohio State would have allowed Cincinnati to join the Big Ten? Good Lord, just shut up, EL.
September 5th, 2014 at 10:40 AM ^
Thanks for seeing past "fuckeyes". I 100% agree with your post here, too. They are BEYOND irritating. That's why beating them is more important to me than anything (this season, at least).
September 5th, 2014 at 10:36 AM ^
Yayyyy! my most downvoted post! :(
all for saying fuckeyes? I guess I've been schooled.
September 5th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
Yeah, never use those terms on MGoBlog. Any "clever" play team names like that (also see Suckeye, Ohio $tate, and Spartina) will be met with a flurry of downvotes. And rightfully so, they are silly and petty, and don't have a place here.
September 5th, 2014 at 10:07 AM ^
September 5th, 2014 at 9:47 AM ^
Screw Golic. If I want a Charlie Wies update then I'll listen to Golic.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:59 AM ^
in general. Those bastards suck so bad they have me listening to Ryan Schuling and Ray MFin Bentley in the morning. That is rough. Most times I go with silence in the truck.
September 5th, 2014 at 10:35 AM ^
Mike Greenberg telegraphed his spinelessness so completely after it was found out that Joe Paterno was a huge pedo apologist when he said something along the lines of "the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle."
September 5th, 2014 at 10:06 AM ^
understand what Golic was saying. They are not going to give up their footprint out West, and for better or worse, they have a commitment to conference now. Somebody has to go. The Service schools are kind of like ND's cupcakes, so they are not going anywhere, Purdue is an in-state game, and they have played MSU on a more consistent basis than Michigan over the history of their program. They also want to schedule some other attractive out of conference games. We are doing the same thing with Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Florida. Add to it the fact that they play us early, and that a loss really can destroy their season for the most part, I really can see why they would want to dump us. Now, they are still complete chicken pussies, but I kind of do see where they are coming from.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:13 AM ^
September 5th, 2014 at 9:13 AM ^
September 5th, 2014 at 9:14 AM ^
I'm fine with their USC ranking. I would have thought Stanford would have been higher. ND has a high opinion of itself academically and Stanford seems like a good perceptual rivalry on that front.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:20 AM ^
When it comes to Michigan's rivalries I would rank OSU as the No. 1 rival but MSU as the most hated.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:24 AM ^
I would agree with this, but it is a very recent ocurrence for me.
My personal evolution...
70s: 1) OH 2) USC 3) ND (I actually liked MSU as a kid)
80s: 1) OH 2) ND 3) USC 4) IA (hated Chuck Long and his Lions stint didn't help) (still didn't mind MSU)
90s: 1) OH 2) ND 3) MSU (started to dislike them)
00s: 1) OH 2) ND 3) MSU
10s: 1) OH 1a) MSU 3) ND
September 5th, 2014 at 9:46 AM ^
For me OH is the most hated, but MSU is more annoying. OSU fans pretend like the overall record isn't relevant. MSU fans, in my experience, act like it didn't happen and the rivalry started once Rodriguez was hired.
September 5th, 2014 at 10:14 AM ^
I don't find this to be true. They acknowledge the history...from 1953 - 1969 and then seem to think it took nearly a 40 year hiatus.
September 5th, 2014 at 12:43 PM ^
also Woody Hayes won the 10 year war 4-0-0
September 5th, 2014 at 10:23 AM ^
September 5th, 2014 at 10:43 AM ^
The only time an overall record is relevant is when the rivalry is competitive. The fact that we have them beat in overall record means nothing when looking at the last 10 years. Ohio St. has owned us since 2003. I am sick and tired of it, but we have nothing to stand on until we punch back and start holding up our end of the Rivalry.
Sadly same goes for MSU. I really (and I can't express it enough) hope this is the year we start acting like Michigan, plant our foot in the ground, and end this mess. Going into EL and then Colombus, and coming out 2-0 in those games can certainly start to change the culture we have allowed to grow in the past decade. Once that happens, we can resume talking about how we own those schools in overall record.
September 5th, 2014 at 10:43 AM ^
YES. This is precisely how I feel -- you just articulated it better.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:20 AM ^
To hell with Notre Dame.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:20 AM ^
USC is basically Ohio State for Notre Dame.
ND and USC have played 85 games, and have played every season since 1926, except for the WWII years of 43-45.
What's surprising to me is how prominently Michigan is mentioned in the list of "Most (Whatever)" opponents.
September 5th, 2014 at 10:58 AM ^
That's why the rivalry is so good. It isn't either school's #1 rivalry, but it is consistently a good game and an interesting game, and the bragging rights are much bigger. Everyone M fan knows an ND fan and vice versa, but every ND fan doesn't know a USC fan or vice versa.
I don't think many schools have a rivalry like MICH-ND, but a lot of schools have a rivalry like MICH-OSU, ND-USC or MICH-MSU.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:20 AM ^
An ND buddy and a lot of ND posts I've seen have the same party line about Fielding Yost snubbing them and some non-sense about WWII, etc. The problem is that all of them have this elaborate history memorized, including the names of Michigan coaches going back almost a hundred years and they still are douchey enough to say it isn't a storied rivalry. Just like the ND fans, I love beating them and hate it when we lose to them almost more than any other team. I don't just want to beat them, I want to embarress them for ruining something good. North Carolina and Duke?! Come on.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:22 AM ^
September 5th, 2014 at 9:43 AM ^
It was the local South Bend TV news website, WSBT. The link has since expired. The poll was taken back in early August (I think), I had it copy/pasted on my computer
September 5th, 2014 at 9:23 AM ^
Fuck ND, Fuck MSU, and Double FUCK osu.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:24 AM ^
September 5th, 2014 at 9:36 AM ^
They are going to be dismayed at the result this season, because I truly feel our talent level is three touchdowns better than their talent level. First road game and youth will keep it to ten, but we should win nonetheless. Michigan 34 | Notre Dame 24.
September 5th, 2014 at 10:17 AM ^
The domers, much like the rest of the country, are basically looking at last season and them making a general assumption about the team this season. I think the team knows this and will use that to their advantage. They have a lot to prove as Michigan is generally looked at as a “meh” to average team at the moment and for the most part overlooked. I think ND is in for a rude awakening.
This poster quote from an ND blog kind of captures this:
“I don’t think michigan is that much bigger a hurdle than Rice. They seem like pretty similar match ups, as if this will be Rice+, but with their big target at wide out playing.”
September 5th, 2014 at 10:18 AM ^
If guided by rankings, they're actually more "talented" (by just a small amount). The experience thing is their problem (exacerbated by suspensions).
September 5th, 2014 at 9:39 AM ^
Thanks to the OP for posting this. The plain fact is that Michigan - Notre Dame is one of the great historic rivalries in college football, and one of the few that is not based in conference championship roots. Both teams have iconic stadiums, iconic helmets and uniforms (not uniformz), have some academic chops, have wildly loyal fans, have wide and connected alumni networks, and a distinctly positive Midwestern flavor. It's a great rivalry with tremendous history.
It's good to see that the Notre Dame fan base seems to get all of that, even if their AD chickened out on them. Now let's hope Michigan pounds them back into the stone ages tomorrow, so their last memory of Michigan is of our team crushing the Irish on their own turf.
To Hell with Notre Dame, but I'll miss 'em all the same.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:41 AM ^
it makes it easier for them to justify chickening out.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:53 AM ^
I completely disagree. The way that poll reads, even though we're the listed #2 rival, we're the most anticipated and tied for most satisfying win...how they could let that go for a more national exposure (and then schedule a home and home with osu...??? WTF?) is so crazy to me. They are chickening out, no question....but this poll does not explain it away by a long shot to me.