Don't care how much maize and blue is in your wardrobe, Appalachian State's victory over Michigan last Saturday was awesome.
Don't agree? Hey, I'm a guy with two Michigan hats, the white preppy campus one and the "Z" hat that's always on the "Buy 1, Get 1 1/2 off" wall at Lids. In my opinion, you're not a diehard fan of a school unless you have those two pieces of headwear in your collection.
No matter one's allegiance, Appalachian State's historic upset served a public service. To say it brought me joy might be going too far, but there's definitely a satisfaction seeing the pomposity of the NCAA, the Bowl Championship Series, the Big Ten Conference and the University of Michigan itself popped like an overinflated balloon.
Apart from the obvious ground-shaking implications on the notion that BCS conferences, or even Division I-A programs, are more deserving of national title consideration than non-BCS or lower-division schools, the Appalachian State win served a few more purposes.
I did not watch Michigan's loss. I was nowhere near a television Saturday. I was out on a boat in Cape May with my girlfriend, her mom and her mom's husband. I hope if anyone out there ever has the choice between spending Labor Day weekend fishing and eating Lobster and swordfish steaks vs. sitting on your couch watching the winningest program of all time scrimmage a team it should pummel, you make the right choice. Turning down life to watch a game doesn't make you a fan... it makes you a loser.
Life for a top 10 college football fan is rarely rewarding. The rewarding seasons in any sport, in any league, at any level, come when a season expected to go nowhere ends up going somewhere. That's why the Patriots' 2002 Super Bowl was the greatest thing EVER and this year's, if they win it, will only be what they are "supposed" to do. For Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida, Texas, USC, and about a dozen other schools, there are no rewarding seasons. Wins are not source for celebration; they are cause for relief. You're supposed to win 'em all. When you don't, it sucks. When you do, it sucks a little less.
It's this reasoning that has led many to label Michigan's season "over." Over why? Because the loss dooms their shot at a BCS championship? News flash: Any team that loses to a I-AA opponent on opening weekend wasn't going to be challenging for any national title this year, big fella.
This loss, for Michigan, sets up some savory possibilities. The quest for a Big Ten title is untainted. The quest for a major BCS bowl is still alive (seriously). And how deliciously satisfying will it be when those Ohio State fans, gleefully scooping up any App State gear they can get their hands on this week, have to cover their Buckeye Butts in November when the Wolverines beat them for the first time in five years?
This would be a sweet comeback to an OSU fan: Hmmm.... Michigan lost to Appalachian State, so Michigan must suck. But Ohio State lost to Michigan, which lost to Appalachian State, so Ohio State must really, really, REALLY suck!
Yes, it is fully acceptable to take glee in your rival sucking more than you do, even if you both suck.
Finally, something to shut Mike Hart up. The precocious running back has put his mouth where it has no place by challenging Jim Harbaugh because Harbaugh remarked Michigan has lax academic standards for its athletes. Harbaugh might as well have said the Earth is round. Yet Hart says Harbaugh "isn't a Michigan man," as if an undergrad with zero national championships, zero Big Ten championships and zero Bowl wins determines who is and isn't a "Michigan Man."
Being a fan doesn't entail being blind, either. As a diehard Red Sox fan, I chuckle at the hypocrisy of Red Sox fans who denounce the Yankees for being rich and arrogant with a roster full of mercenary players. Well folks, the Red Sox are just as rich as the Yankees, and if you don't think the fans are arrogant, go to an opponent's park, detach yourself from your rooting interest, and look at the way BoSox fans interact with the home fans. It's shameful.
Mercenary players? At least the Yankees have Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, all homegrown. The Red Sox have Dustin Pedroia. The year they won the World Series, Trot Nixon was the only regular who had been drafted by the Red Sox. Who are the mercenaries?
So when I saw that Michigan had gone down, I didn't see my favorite team losing to a "lesser" opponent. I saw an arrogant, overpriced institution of learning filled with spoiled, privileged rich kids and overfed boosters forced to swallow a good dose of humility with their 7&7s (as in the kind that actually include brand name 7-Up and Seagram's 7, rather than Topp Popp Lemon Lime and well whiskey).
Lloyd Carr will probably be fired at the end of this season, providing the perfect bookends for a season that summed up all that is wrong with big time college football. Front bookend: Loss to a program designated as "inferior" even though its athletes, offensive and defensive schemes and effort were all on par with a D I-A program's. Rear bookend: Termination of a coach with a national championship on his resume, a Heisman Trophy winner under his watch (the only primarily defensive player to win, by the way), and the guy who may have permanently left Notre Dame in the dust in the battle for winningest college football program ever.
In five years, when the replacement coach has done nothing more than Carr has because there is no improving on near-perfection unless you're God, the "Fire Lloyd" brigade may have to take a look in the mirror and say, "Maybe that job isn't as easy as we think." But they probably won't.
It's a shame. It ruins a season with high hopes. It may end an illustrious coaching career. It reinforces college football, like college sports in general, is a backward enterprise in which kids keep the lure alive while adults do their best to destroy it.
Awesome.
Don't agree? Hey, I'm a guy with two Michigan hats, the white preppy campus one and the "Z" hat that's always on the "Buy 1, Get 1 1/2 off" wall at Lids. In my opinion, you're not a diehard fan of a school unless you have those two pieces of headwear in your collection.
No matter one's allegiance, Appalachian State's historic upset served a public service. To say it brought me joy might be going too far, but there's definitely a satisfaction seeing the pomposity of the NCAA, the Bowl Championship Series, the Big Ten Conference and the University of Michigan itself popped like an overinflated balloon.
Apart from the obvious ground-shaking implications on the notion that BCS conferences, or even Division I-A programs, are more deserving of national title consideration than non-BCS or lower-division schools, the Appalachian State win served a few more purposes.
I did not watch Michigan's loss. I was nowhere near a television Saturday. I was out on a boat in Cape May with my girlfriend, her mom and her mom's husband. I hope if anyone out there ever has the choice between spending Labor Day weekend fishing and eating Lobster and swordfish steaks vs. sitting on your couch watching the winningest program of all time scrimmage a team it should pummel, you make the right choice. Turning down life to watch a game doesn't make you a fan... it makes you a loser.
Life for a top 10 college football fan is rarely rewarding. The rewarding seasons in any sport, in any league, at any level, come when a season expected to go nowhere ends up going somewhere. That's why the Patriots' 2002 Super Bowl was the greatest thing EVER and this year's, if they win it, will only be what they are "supposed" to do. For Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida, Texas, USC, and about a dozen other schools, there are no rewarding seasons. Wins are not source for celebration; they are cause for relief. You're supposed to win 'em all. When you don't, it sucks. When you do, it sucks a little less.
It's this reasoning that has led many to label Michigan's season "over." Over why? Because the loss dooms their shot at a BCS championship? News flash: Any team that loses to a I-AA opponent on opening weekend wasn't going to be challenging for any national title this year, big fella.
This loss, for Michigan, sets up some savory possibilities. The quest for a Big Ten title is untainted. The quest for a major BCS bowl is still alive (seriously). And how deliciously satisfying will it be when those Ohio State fans, gleefully scooping up any App State gear they can get their hands on this week, have to cover their Buckeye Butts in November when the Wolverines beat them for the first time in five years?
This would be a sweet comeback to an OSU fan: Hmmm.... Michigan lost to Appalachian State, so Michigan must suck. But Ohio State lost to Michigan, which lost to Appalachian State, so Ohio State must really, really, REALLY suck!
Yes, it is fully acceptable to take glee in your rival sucking more than you do, even if you both suck.
Finally, something to shut Mike Hart up. The precocious running back has put his mouth where it has no place by challenging Jim Harbaugh because Harbaugh remarked Michigan has lax academic standards for its athletes. Harbaugh might as well have said the Earth is round. Yet Hart says Harbaugh "isn't a Michigan man," as if an undergrad with zero national championships, zero Big Ten championships and zero Bowl wins determines who is and isn't a "Michigan Man."
Being a fan doesn't entail being blind, either. As a diehard Red Sox fan, I chuckle at the hypocrisy of Red Sox fans who denounce the Yankees for being rich and arrogant with a roster full of mercenary players. Well folks, the Red Sox are just as rich as the Yankees, and if you don't think the fans are arrogant, go to an opponent's park, detach yourself from your rooting interest, and look at the way BoSox fans interact with the home fans. It's shameful.
Mercenary players? At least the Yankees have Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, all homegrown. The Red Sox have Dustin Pedroia. The year they won the World Series, Trot Nixon was the only regular who had been drafted by the Red Sox. Who are the mercenaries?
So when I saw that Michigan had gone down, I didn't see my favorite team losing to a "lesser" opponent. I saw an arrogant, overpriced institution of learning filled with spoiled, privileged rich kids and overfed boosters forced to swallow a good dose of humility with their 7&7s (as in the kind that actually include brand name 7-Up and Seagram's 7, rather than Topp Popp Lemon Lime and well whiskey).
Lloyd Carr will probably be fired at the end of this season, providing the perfect bookends for a season that summed up all that is wrong with big time college football. Front bookend: Loss to a program designated as "inferior" even though its athletes, offensive and defensive schemes and effort were all on par with a D I-A program's. Rear bookend: Termination of a coach with a national championship on his resume, a Heisman Trophy winner under his watch (the only primarily defensive player to win, by the way), and the guy who may have permanently left Notre Dame in the dust in the battle for winningest college football program ever.
In five years, when the replacement coach has done nothing more than Carr has because there is no improving on near-perfection unless you're God, the "Fire Lloyd" brigade may have to take a look in the mirror and say, "Maybe that job isn't as easy as we think." But they probably won't.
It's a shame. It ruins a season with high hopes. It may end an illustrious coaching career. It reinforces college football, like college sports in general, is a backward enterprise in which kids keep the lure alive while adults do their best to destroy it.
Awesome.
1 comment:
I've never been able to get into college football for a myriad of reasons, but you addressed many of the main ones.
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