What constitutes True Blue?
I am a lifelong UM fan, season ticket holder, etc..... My home, truck and body are all decorated to some extent with the Block M, Maize & Blue, the Winged Helmet. Basically I bleed Maize & Blue blood!
Recently a friend told me he would "have to revoke my True Blue status" because I had the audacity to give Sparty credit for a well played game in the National Basketball semi final. Telling me "You have to hate MSU and OSU to be considered True Blue"
I disputed this and he tells me he has much support on this. So I bring it to you.....Does one have to hate MSU and OSU unequivocably to be considered a "True Blue Michigan Fan"?
You're friend is retarded, no offense.
To answer it more directly, you do not need to be a prick to be an M fan. If Sparty played a good game, say so. Then you are not only an M fan but also a decent human being.
It's your friend is retarded, not you're. Maybe his friend isn't the only retarded one around here. Or maybe my sarcasm meter is off?
you held your nose when stating that about sparty?
Other feelings, such as pity, disdain, scorn, or contempt, are acceptable. On rare occasions, minor apathy is also tolerated. Giving credit for getting to a National Championship game is simply being intellectually honest.
I agree with WolvinLA. Your friend is a moron.
You just happen to be a rational human being.
I guess we can agree on something TC!
I am definitely a diehard Maize and Blue fan. I want OSU to lose every game forever. I'd be hard pressed to pay them as much as lip service (though, if truly deserving, I MIGHT be able to manage a "That was ok.").
Conversely, the only game I want MSU to LOSE is against UofM. I don't really want them to win any, but if they do, I'm not bothered by it, and in the case of any sort of national championship coming to the state, I'm probably more happy about it than not.
Just think about that for a second.
If 1969 had gone that way for Ohio State, then Bo would have beaten an 0-10 team that year. In other words, instead of being one of the signature upsets in the entire history of college football, that victory wouldn't even merit a footnote. Wouldn't mean squat.
If you call yourself a "diehard Maize and Blue fan,", why in hell would you want that?
I want Ohio State and Michigan State to win every game they play except when they play us. That makes our victories over them magnitudes more painful for them.
Don.......You are The MAN!!!!!!!!!!
I love your logic!!!!!!
are great when the teams are great. That is why UM-OSU is so great, and Nebraska-OU or Texas-OU are also up there. Other natural rivalries, like USC-UCLA, Washington-Washington State, UNC-Duke (football; in BBall, it is the best), Army-Navy, etc., just don't measure up. One team or both just don't hold up to the bargain.
What ultimately matters is the drama of the game. If the end result is not in doubt, it would be boring, like a cartoon. Additionally, if the game had no drama (i.e., if Michigan was assured of winning), there would be no heroes, and no feeling of accomplishment.
From one old fart to another, +1 Don.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
Every great rivalry has involved good teams. The Wings/Avalanche rivalry died when the Aves started sucking ass.
Okay, lets come at this another way since you totally misinterpreted my meaning.
When was the last time you were watching OSU and you said, "I hope they win"? I might have hoped for OSU to at least not get embarrassed in a couple of those NC games, for the sake of the Big 10, but that's about it.
OF COURSE rivalries are best when both teams are excellent! Just look at 2006! But that doesn't mean you root for it to happen. The fact of the matter is that I generally hate every other team LESS than OSU, so I want the other team to win when watching. However, I and anybody with two brain cells to rub together understands that when your hated enemy wins, it just builds up more drama and excitement for later.
If I thought whichever way I rooted could actually influence anything, I would have believed we could honestly have had a good season last year.
When was the last time you were watching OSU and you said, "I hope they win"?
Never. Hence the conflict. I generally want OSU to have good seasons, but can never turn on a game and actively root for them. I suspect I'm not the only one.
If they muddle through the Big Ten season with a more or less quality record, I'm OK with that. They can beat up on the Minnesotas and Indianas and Wisconsins and Iowas all they want.
As for the OP, yes, it is required that you hate Sparty to be "True Blue" or whatever cheesy descriptor means you're a "real" Michigan fan. That doesn't exclude giving them credit where credit is due, however. Thinking that "hate" means denigrating their accomplishments or that hate and respect are mutually exclusive is the hallmark of a true State fan.
I'm an alum, and live and die during every one of our games.
Guess what? I wanted OSU to beat LSU and win the NC. I cringed when USC clobbered them last year. That is because every time a B10 team looks bad in a national matchup, that is bad for the B10, which is bad for M. Part of maintaining an elite national image is by having the games you win mean something. If we beat OSU and the national reaction to future recruits and media is "no big deal", that makes that job a lot harder. If you don't believe that, look no further than the Big East.
I don't get that just because I am a diehard M fan that I also have to wish hell on MSU and OSU. I wish hell on them for one game every year, and that's it. I think the logic of having to hate them in order to be a real fan is frankly, appropriate for a 10 year old.
What makes OSU and MSU different from Iowa and Northwestern if the only time they elicit any negative emotional response out of you is when we play them?
MSU is in state and you always want to be the best school in your state. OSU is a rival by history and tradition and we compete with them for the title (usually) of best team in the B10. Those are reasons enough to want to beat both of them without hating them.
Now, having said that, I didn't say I LIKED them. I think State brahs generally have inferiority complexes and tend to set things on fire. OSU fans tend to have problems with class (lack of). But I want them to succeed so beating them means something--it really wasn't much of an accomplishment to beat MSU during the Williams era, for example. I loved when we beat them 49-0 or whatever it was, but doing that every year would be boring.
It was 49-3. I remember being worried because I got to the game a little late and we were already down 3-0. I wasn't worried for very long.
True Michigan fans don't have to hate MSU. Rather, they just shouldn't pay any attention to them. I don't care what their record is, who or when they play. The only day they really exist is the day they play UM. To care about them at all only gives them the attention they are looking for. Makes them think they are relevant...
I have on occasion anticipated rooting for MSU or OSU in a contest, intellectually hoping the Spartans or Buckeyes would win. Recent examples would be MSU vs. NC in hoops and OSU vs LSU in football. It just so happens that when MSU or OSU start getting their ass kicked, I get a big smile on my face and enjoy the game thoroughly. Never ever ever am I pleased when Michigan loses, that, I think, is a good litmus test for True Blueness.
It is something of a challenge. On the one hand, I would like to see them have a good season because it makes us look better and because it's more satisfying when we beat them. On the other hand, I don't think I need to go any further.
At the same time, if they start getting clobbered I usually give in and just start enjoying it. The 2007 BCS title game is a good example of that. However, once it got out of hand I started rooting for them to get back into the game. The lopsided loss did make us look bad, after all. Still...
Yes, I do tend to overthink these things. Why do you ask?
With an MSU spouse, I occasionally have a reason to favor them in games that have no implications to Michigan. As you say, though, it's a win-win -- if MSU takes a beating (e.g., vs. UNC in hoops), I can take some (silent) enjoyment from that. But if MSU does well and wins (e.g, in run-up to hoops championship), I can acknowledge that, and I'm pretty sure I qualify as a "real" Michigan fan.
not about rooting against our rivals. It usually makes sense to do so, but rooting for M is the criteria.
and I think might just make for a good criteria for a good sport.
Those who debate true fans and whom is and is not qualified to be a fan just strike me as insecure bullies. The "WalMart Wolverine" labeling falls into this category. If someone roots for a team, they're a fan. People place far too much of their own personal ego on the success of the team(s) they root for.
Sorry, but I still need my 10th confirmed kill for my "Grammar Nazi" stripes.
make you an ace?
No, but I got two quick ones under my belt a long time ago and it earned me my double-O-grammar status. I now have a license to be douchey.
Congratulating Sparty for playing in the NT game is kinda like giving your little brother a high five for kissing the girl you've been chasing. Only losers would do that.
So the national title game is like sex? Should teams forfeit the national title game to avoid STDs?
Look, it's just a game. When you played sports, didn't you shake the hands of the players on the other team at the end? Isn't it classless and douchey to NOT shake hands with the other team or the other coach at the end of a game?
Congratulating Sparty for a good season is more analogous to shaking hands at the end of the game. No, you don't have to like it, nor do you have to root for them.
cosign
it's when you appear directly between green and indigo when bounced through a prism.
True blue is Pantone 2758.
who gives a shit.
do what you want. if you want to cheer for UM and MSU, so be it. it has nothing to do with anything.
why does there have to be some measurement to be a fan of a team? If you sit next to me at a Michigan football game and you tell me that next week you are going to a MSU game to root them on what does that matter to me? I don't give two shits about what you do. Why do we do this? it doesn't matter. I don't care who you root for. you shouldn't care who I root for. WTF why are you asking this?
This.
The second I listen to a chuckle-head on a message-board tell me I'm not a "Michigan Man" for some insane reason of their own creation like "Michigan men don't cheer for Michigan State in the NCAA Finals!" is the second I let the idiots win.
If you have to ask...
it's #0000FF.