Nicknames
Is anyone else sick of people throwing nicknames around all the time when referring to other programs? I have no problem calling people positive or creative names like shoelaces for Denard, otter for Will, and stuff like that. However; I think alot of people use these as an attempt at making a rebuttal or a clearer point but it ends up coming out as a poor attempt at an insult. Also, I think it takes away from the mutual respect that should be present between programs.
Here are some of the names I have seen around different message boards:
MSU- LiL brother, Sparty (apparently this pisses off a lot of Spartan fans), Pizza Boy (Dantonio), and then usual references to farmers/hillbillies due to agricultural roots such as moo U
UM- scUM, Weasels, Dick Rod, RedNeck (RichRod), lil Sister, and Walmart Wolverines
OSU- tOSU, Tre$$el, O$u, Ohio Taint, pOSU, and Ohio Choke
ND- Notre Lame, Notre Shame, Cheeseburger Charlie, Domers, Chunky Charlie
You forgot Sweatervest McCheatypants, tUoOS et al. brah.
I've searched the deepest corners of my soul and discovered that I am, indeed, not at all sick of calling our rivals names.
I tend to do it less toward Ohio State, mostly because I think when we haven't beaten them in this long, there's a certain amount of shit we just have to take (they did it not too long ago).
But Little Brother? Listen, I have an MSU father, an MSU brother, an MSU sister, and now I'm getting an MSU father-in-law, an MSU brother-in-law, an MSU sister-in-law, and a wife who thinks rivalries are stupid.
So no, I'm not in any way tired of the name-calling. I think it's a fun, clever part of the rivalry, especially the family metaphor, since it's so damn applicable (and deep down, I love my Sparties very much).
I agree with you.
But:
I guess I didn't realize "Sparty" was so insulting though. I swear to God I've heard Spartans on their campus say "Sparty on."
Also what is wrong with tOSU? Even their student cards say "the Ohio State University."
All of the others I can see as insults and should be restrained in use as much as possible.
Isn't there a sparty fan on MGoBlog with spartyon as his name?
Little Brother is Mike Hart's. Are you REALLY going to disparage Mike Hart?
Actually MSU players were using "Little Brother" before the game to the media to describe how arrogant UofM supposedly is. Mike Hart just turned their words around on them after the UofM victory.
really?
Yes really.
I think it was Caulcrick and not Ringer who told reporters during the week before the game that Michigan players were basically arrogant and thought MSU were their 'little brothers.'
This State News article, published before the game alludes to the 'little brother' theme MSU players were spouting off before the game.
http://statenews.com/index.php/article/2007/11/making_their_move
Michigan won the game and Mike Hart made his more infamous 'little brother' comment in retaliation that broke so many Spartan hearts. Notice that when Hart makes his 'little brother' comment he finishes it off by saying, and 'I only say that, because that is what they think we think' (paraphrasing), which is clearly a reference to the Sparty pregame trash talk.
Of course, Caulcrick, was the one after the game who was literally crying talking about how UofM needed to win with class, I guess he forgot that he planted flags on Notre Dame's field.
The only thing worse than lame nicknames is lame nicknames that involve $ signs.
I disagree of Sparty (that's just a nickname, not a derogatory nickname) and tOSU (since that's what they call themselves). The rest are about as clever as "Meatchicken" and "skunkbears" and "scUM".
I see what you mean but some of my state fans have been upset when I called them Sparties..
Sparty is definitely not derogatory. I lived with 2 MSU grads about a year ago and they referred to the team as Sparty, as in "Sparty's got Penn State at home this weekend" or refer to another alum as "a fellow Sparty." I've heard similar things from my HS buddies who went to State. Fuck, their mascot is named Sparty.
Not something they get offended over.
Don't forget Wolverweenies. Super creative one that I see frequently on the Bucknuts board.
I'm fine with all the nicknames both by us and at us; however, I'm not a fan of calling RR, DickRod. For one, he didn't make the decision to call himself Rich Rodriguez whereas J.Tressel is choosing to dress with the sweatervest, thus giving him the deserving nickname. And secondly, it reeks of a 12 year old jr high schooler's mentality. It's lazy and immature.
BTW, never heard any MSU friends and family get mad at Sparty before. Hell, the East Lansing news channels even refer to the teams as Sparty once in a while.
"Ohio Choke" is just unimaginative. I prefer "The Buffalo Bucks" That's not lame at all.
I agree with de that the $$ in a nickname is extremely cheesey. Also, I hate tOSU because that is what they call themselves. When I hear their alumni say that during introductions at a football game I want to strangle the fools. There are a few other schools that do that and I have the same sentiments toward them as well. Other than that Nicknames don't bug me.
Exactly! I don't care what you call them; just not tOSU b/c they like it.
I think "tOSU" is at least equally silly as any nicknames. Walking around putting the in front of the name - as if we're going to confuse the Ohio state university in Columbus with other Ohio state universities. I can tell the difference.
Anyway, what's wrong with nicknames? It's part of the fun. A lot of them aren't even derogatory. "Domers" is just shorthand, I never saw that in the same light as, say, Little Brother. If we do nothing but use official names we sound like MSM.
Yeah, "Domers" really isn't an insult. It is just a shortened version of "Golden Domers," something the Irish call themselves now and then after the Golden Domes on their buildings.
a slang word for condom? I may be mistaken...
I've never heard that one.
Urban dictionary says yes, though. Must not be in common usage.
tOSU differentiates from OSU (oregon state) or OSU (oklaholma state).
I agree it works on message boards when people use abbreviations.
But when a person says "Ohio State University" there should not be any confusion.
p.s. who is Oklaholma State?
I think it's by Arkansaw State.
this has bothered me for awhile and they all seem very immature and lame.
Also, I've never really understood the 'Walmart Wolverine' insult. I understand the idea that it's Michigan fans with no affiliation to the school who supposedly buy their jerseys from Walmart but if they have no affiliation to us (or I'm assuming to MSU) doesn't it say something that they decide to support Michigan? When given the option, wouldn't someone always choose the option they thought was 'better'? I'm not trying to be a dick it just doesn't make sense to me.
Plus it's not even an insult to actual Michigan grads. Maybe I'm just missing something here
People like alliteration.
MSU fans were being really creative with the "lil Sister" one, considering it's based on a comment originally said about them (that went over like a lead-filled balloon, for that matter).
You can't forget tUoOS.
is demeaning. Some of my fellow alumni do though, which is ridiculous. It is our mascot, I think couch burners is much, much worse. The funny thing about the riots is that most of the participation was from high school kids from the Detroit suburbs and Lansing Community College students.
"Sparty" is the name my MSU brother uses for his World of Warcraft account. It's also the name of their mascot. It would be like calling you "Wolverine."
I too didn't realize that Sparty was considered derogatory. It's just a shortened version of Spartan. Most MSU fans I know embrace Sparty. It is their mascot's nickname too, doncha' know!
The OP left out "Jabba the Weis". I'm disappointed.
Also, Fartans was left out. I personally like the nicknames to throw around at close friends who are fans of other programs. I wouldn't go throwing these nicknames at fans of other programs that I have never met though.
Well I don’t respect ostate! However, I have refrained from calling those jackasses names though.