I have always been a Big Ten guy. I like seeing the conference win all of their non conference games and beat the media overhyped big boys out West. I'd like to see Penn State win a national championship this year in football, I'd like to see Michigan State finish 9-3 with a New Years Day bowl and win a national championship in basketball as well this year. And yes, I'd even like to see OSU win their bowl game. Every year I hope the University of Michigan goes 12-0 in football and MSU go 11-1. Most Michigan fans want OSU to lose every game they play, but I don't. The rivalry would be worthless if OSU was 0-11 going into the UofM game every year. When OSU plays good football along with Michigan, the Big Ten gets a little more recognition that it truly deserves.
Now we all know that the Michigan football team will not finish 12-0. There are many reasons that Michigan is having a down year but that is not what this post is dedicated to. My problems are with MSU fans who DO want Michigan to lose every game even though it is another Michigan school. My problem is MSU fans spouting off that Michigan fans are arrogant, and then tout that MSU is now overtaking UofM as the top program of the state after one win in seven years. My problem is that MSU fans think that they are begininng to win the recruiting battle in Michigan after they have gotten some better recruits from our great state. And my problem with MSU fans is that they think their basketball and football programs have begun to rise based on their own merits.
At least for me, it's pretty clear that the health of the MSU recruiting classes in basketball and football are in direct correlation to whether or not the Michigan basketball team has any scholarships to award, and whether or not the University of Michigan is even targeting the same players it used to in football. People often forget that UofM used to have one of the best basketball teams in the country and went tromping through March Madness on a regular occasion. However, after the Chris Webber fiasco, Michigan basketball was sentenced to death for a decade and could not offer athletes what they needed to come play for UofM anymore. Interestingly enough, at that point, MSU's basketball program began to rise from the ashes of the UofM funeral pyre and has now become a national contender every year going into the tournament. MSU fans like to point to Tom Izzo, their facilities, and themselves as good reasons that their basketball team is always a contender. But they don't like to remember that this all stems from the fact that UofM was not a viable option for basketball players. MSU began winning the recruiting battle because there really was no competition anymore. A competition they usually lost in years past.
Now to MSU football. This year they are having a great season, and I applaud them for that. I really do want them to play well and win a bowl game this year. However, my MSU fan friends are saying that now they are winning the recruiting battle in Michigan for the best football players because they are having a better football season and Michigan is circling the drain. They really believe in their little Sparty World that their football team is going to follow the same path as their basketball team. What MSU fans fail to realize is that Rich Rodriguez has been recruiting all over the country and is looking for a different type of player than they have in the past. While they still recruit some Michigan players, they have set up shop in other places like Florida to get the fast playmakers that Dick Rod craves. Really in effect, MSU is still only getting the players in Michigan that UofM doesn't want, there just happens to be more of them now, and of a higher quality.
Put in Stone my friends, UofM will continue to be the cream of the crop in the Michigan football scene. It may take 2 or 3 years, but look for MSU to be crying into their cheap beer after most football games between these two rivals for years to come. And as UofM continues to regain scholarships and respect in basketball, look for them to pour money into their facilities and begin once again to attract Michigan's best and brightest ballplayers, leaving Tom Izzo to wonder what he has done wrong. You haven't done anything wrong good sir, you will just have to realize that a better option than your program is beginning to become viable again. I love State, and I like to see them do well. But let's be honest. . . They still really are the "little brother."
Michigan State Delusions
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Hilarious..
MSU is now getting all the kids that Michigan used to get and Michigan doesn't want anymore.
Of course.. those kids were the ones that made Michigan the 10-wins-a-season team year-in and year-out they were for the last 3 decades.
But now that they are going to MSU, you say those same kids suck and the kids in FL, TX and CA that John L-Rod is chasing after now are better.
And that those same kids going to MSU aren't going to turn MSU into the 10 win team Michigan was.. because.. well.. I suppose just because they aren't Michigan.
Which is the arrogance that results in most MSU fans hoping Michigan loses every game confusing you so much, even though the reason why is staring right at you as the reflection in your monitor.
It must be presumptuous to assume that the whole post is read before someone responds. MSU is getting higher quality players, as written, and I hope they go 11-1. Which is better than the "10-wins-a-season" I believe. They do not "suck" and the kids in other parts of the country are not "better," they just fit a different system. Please read the whole post entirely, and if necessary twice, so that you can save yourself the hassle of looking foolish.
"Really in effect, MSU is still only getting the players in Michigan that UofM doesn't want, there just happens to be more of them now, and of a higher quality."
Michigan State has 9 commitments from within the state of Michigan for the 2009 class. 5 of them held UM offers at the time they picked MSU and 2 others were being heavily recruited. You saying that "UofM doesnt want" these recruits is the most delusional statement in that entire article.
I think your problem, along with the vast majority of UM fans, is that you care too much about a school you never attended.
David - You say out of one side of your mouth "I hope they go 11-1" and out of the other side "They really believe in their little Sparty World that their football team is going to follow the same path as their basketball team." which means you don't think they will become an elite (which equates to ten wins in football) team.
You wonder why we think UM fans are arrogant? The thesis of this argument is that the only reason MSU succeeds at any sport is lack of competition, for any number of reasons, from Michigan.
How can that not be construed as arrogant?
Hilarious post. I couldn't stop laughing at how delusional you sound.
Why is it hard to accept that we are going to suck for a while until RRod bails out and jumps to another program.
I am ashamed of fans like you who are too arrogant to accept that we got beat badly, our basketball is and was bad and not one will ever win more NIT championships than us in the history of NITs!
Go Blue!
LOL....this is why nobody likes scUM.
Tom Izzo is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the country. Yet in your world,it's because scUM hoops is down....HAHA. He's been beating you guys up for the better part of 10 years. What are you saying, that you guys aren't even trying? I guess all those Big Ten championships, Final Fours, etc were only won because Michigan chose not to really go after them.
As far as football goes, Dantonio is building a winner in East Lansing. You guys should be shaking in your boots. If you're not, then all the better. By the time you realize you need to do something about it, it will be too late.....which is fine by me. You can talk poorly about the high school athletes in Michigan, Ohio, etc if you want, but there are a lot of damn good athletes there....and really, when they ask themselves if they'd rather play for DickRod or Dantonio, it's pretty clear who the better choice is. You're going to be 2-10 this year and you're in denial the whole way. I love it.
So you're basically calling US ignorant because we think our programs are in better shape by their own merit, but you are rational and unbiased because you think it's UM's destiny to be winners. No irony there.
You're right, 'O mighty scUMbag Chosen One. How dare we have the pride to say the Breslin/Berkowitz/Skandalaris centers are great for recruiting? How dare we say our coaches are better for teaching fundamentals, character, and strong will instead of selling snake oil? Our recent success is only possible because we are so lucky to pick up the scraps UM left behind.
35-21, and no sign of change on the horizon.
Face it, UM fan: your run is over. Your coach is a 3rd or 4th choice panic move by your inept Athletic Director. Stop acting like he was the frontrunner to save the program. He embarrassed your proud school before and after he took the field for the first time. He has NO concept of your school's traditions or even tactful behavior. He has a team loaded with talent (yes, they are 3 and 4 star players, albeit very young) and has shown the complete inability to adapt to what he has. He's flushed a 30+year bowl streak down the toilet in a single year. Not even John L. Smith could have done that. Do you really think a running QB is the difference between a national championship team and a "2-6 and counting" team? Your defense blows because the guy coached in a garbage league with a smoke and mirrors offense with no concept of fundamentals.
You are so proud of finally getting national recruits when Michigan recruits got you upteen Rose Bowls. Rod damn well better get some out of state recruits, because everyone here knows what he's all about.
You're right we are proud of our coaches and our school. They don't have winged helmets, 30 year bowl streaks, or century long traditions to lure recruits. Just good coaches, great fans, and a University that finally committed to winning. We're in the bermuda triangle of recruiting between 3 such schools and we are finally beginning to emerge; if you think that is some kind of cosmic accident, then we'll see what you are saying in 3 years.
And do you REALLY want to start talking about basketball?
GO GREEN.
As a fellow writer on this blog I read this and thought to myself, well I guess its time to find out just how many readers Put it in Stone has.
I am a long time UM fan as is obvious in pretty much any post I have written. I personally did not attend UM but many people in my family did and I probably have been to more UM games than any other sporting venue around. Really the arguement about having attended said school is meaningless and elementry. Every school has fans of their teams who didn't attend said school. Spartan fans should look no further than their own school with their basketball program. Winners generate fans, bandwagon fans, but fans none the less.
Izzo is a hell of a coach and I am eternally jealous of State for having his services. M basketball has struggled for some time now and I really believe that Beilin will help turn it around, similarly to what Dantonio has done with the Spartan football team.
First of all, Dantonio has done a hell of a good job as well but lets not lose focus about what talent he had left at state and how experienced it was. Devin Thomas, Javon Ringer, Caulcrick, Hoyer, and a very experienced senior riddled offensive line. Sounds like a pretty damn good foundation to me. Also Dantonio ran the same kind of offense state runs now during his entire tenure at OSU and beyond. Furthermore lets not forget that the Big Ten hasn't been collectively this bad in football in my entire lifetime.
State is 8-2 right now and truthfully controls their own destiny to the Rose Bowl, but really who have they beat? 5 teams that are under .500, Notre Dame who is only above .500 because they have played crappy big ten teams and the equivilent to high school teams, northwestern who isn't near as good as their record states, and Iowa which was a pretty good win. Other than that their 2 loses came to argueably their best 2 opponents.
State has beaten the teams they SHOULD beat this year which in and of itself is an accomplishment for spartan football. But please state fans, if you are serious that you think your school is going to be better than Michigan from now on and forever more amen I strongly urge you to stop huffin' excesive amounts of glue and come back to reality.
This Michigan team is riddled with yount talent and the offense is getting far better. A mobile QB that could effectively run a zone read would add a HUGE demention that we simply are strongly lacking.
Yep...you got me...our D is terrible this year and I truthfully don't know how it sunk this low, it kinda scares me. But please, learn something about football and realize what Rich Rod is doing. You can't effectively take a team with 4 and 5 star rugby players, add RR to the mix and expect 9 wins like normal.
Congrats little brother, you're back to Big Ten relevence for another year. Maybe it will stay around for a bit and this "rivalry" can start to mean something again.
Out.
it sounds like the UM fans are embarassed and won't admit it. a lot of kids are gonna sign up to go to OSU to play with pryor, not to underachieve with rod and crew. and to think MSU is having a single good year......just look at boise st. great coached team, and blue collar athletes. javon ringer is the truth!
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