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Saturday, March 22, 2014

TAYLOR LEWAN: POSTER-BOY FOR UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SPORTS

Taylor Lewan will finally have his day in court. And in his case, he will be the Defendant.

Lewan has been charged with Aggravated Assault for an attack he said he didn't make on the night his team didn't beat Ohio STATE. He said he didn't do it. The Prosecutor thinks otherwise.

Justice moves slowly in Ann Arbor. The attacks by Lewan took place on December 1, and the decision to move forward with prosecution took place on March 6. Quite a local timetable.

Lewan has made a name for himself by playing dirty without being penalized, for mouthing off before and after games, for saying how great it is to be a wolverine and also apologizing for how dirty he played, and for intimidating rape victims into dropping charges against his good rapist buddy. He is the poster-boy for Michigan sports.

Lewan is coddled and privileged and protected by authority.
He is mouthy, brash, double-talking, and attention-seeking.
He looks good, but does bad.

In short, he is the epitome of
the modern chUMp.




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9 comments:

  1. So much hate on this site.

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  2. Yes, there is a lot of hate here.

    I don't think any reasonable person would condone such behavior as Taylor is accused of. Still, Taylor has not yet been proven guilty.

    But the authors at this site seem to think that, because MSU has been mistreated by the media, they have a free card to point out any and all things that are negative about UM. Of course there are many things that are negative and reprehensible, but everyone is in a glass house on these matters in collegiate sports.

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    Replies
    1. S91 - ...Except that while "we" all live in a glass house, Ann Arbor claims to live in a golden fortress, pristine and pure and clean as the driven snow. They call it the Michigan Difference. When SpartanMan82 enters these posts, he does not say, "and therefor MSU is better than UM in the trouble category". He simply points out another example proving that chUMpville is no different, no better than most other major universities. They pretty much are like everyone else. That means that the Michigan Difference is a myth and the arrogance that spews out of that place is grossly misplaced.

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    2. I do have to agree a bit with Sparty91 about the tone of the site. We are arguably in the greatest year in Spartan athletics and the front page only contains one article that isn't about U of M (And even that article in the opening line is a direct response to U of M fans).

      The mission of the site states that its supposed to provide insight into MSU athletics while providing some U of M humor and discrediting some of the rhetoric. Seems like we have tipped heavily in one direction.

      Obviously I don't control the direction the site and I also I am not disagreeing with anything that has been posted. Just not a big fan of the tone.

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  3. Let's see if "Sparty91" agrees or disagrees with our basic premise.

    Hey 91: Do you agree that the University of Michigan is much like a lot of other schools, especially research institutions and Big Ten members? And would you also agree that the people directly associated with UM - - - it's students, faculty, and staff - - - are basically about the same as people of similar status in those other similar schools?

    Please let us know what you think about the "Michigan Difference".

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    Replies
    1. The "Michigan Difference" is a marketing slogan like "I'm lovin' it" and thousands of others. It was probably developed by an agency. I used to work for a company that has a division devoted to university/college clients. It came up with slogans, website content, admissions materials, content, research, etc., for about 150 U.S. colleges and universities, including one or two UM colleges (but I am quite sure it did not come up with the Michigan Difference slogan because it did not have the entire university as a client back then).

      Your other question does not compute for me. We're all human, so I don't get your point about "basically about the same" unless extraterrestrials are in the discussion. In my experience, most colleagues and neighbors, friends and acquaintances who attended college feel that their alma maters are special in some way. That's perfectly fine. They enjoyed their college experience and remember it fondly. I enjoyed mine. Obviously, each graduate of a different school selects a particular characteristic of his/her school in which to compete. Graduates I've known of small private schools with few TAs, like Kzoo College and Carleton College, don't make football the basis for comparison. That's easy to understand. I worked with a guy from Northwestern some years ago who downplayed football as a basis of comparison -- unless NU had had some football success. We all do the same kind of thing.

      To me, discussions with most graduates of other schools, including most from UM, fall into a category I would call "friendly rivalry." Most of it takes place around a water cooler, particularly when the leaves are changing color or it's March Madness. But much of this site is dedicated to unfriendly rivalry. Are there arrogant UM graduates? Of course. Are there arrogant graduates of other schools? Sure. But you feel that you have some kind of unlimited license or mission to correct some horrible wrong, that you and/or MSU has been a victim of some mistreatment or something. That is what I cannot follow. In fact. your doing so makes me cringe as a Spartan because it seems defensive. I won't be defensive about being an MSU grad. We are what we are. I don't want to play that game. And I resent the way you seem to taunt me when you ask your questions above about my post.

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    2. S91,

      I might be able to respond to a few of those items, but first, Go Green.

      The "Michigan Difference" and "they are pretty much like everyone else" issue is pretty much born out of the condescending tone from that over-arrogant component of the UM fan base and our desire to expose the fact that their really is no difference - at least no difference that makes them "better". It's really geared toward the "because we are Michigan" crowd. While I love MSU, I have never treated fans of another school as somehow a lower form of fan. I have never treated someone as somehow not as good as me because they like a different school. I have been on the receiving end of that type of attitude from a fairly loud segment of the UM fan base and students. All Spartans have experienced from them, even from paid university employees such as members of the coaching staff and administrators. Our approach starts as the fun rivalry stuff to which you refer, but since it sparks a cord for some, it can spiral outside the original intent at times, on both sides.

      I love the rivalry and actually prefer for them to hate us and to root against us. That is how it should be. Remember when they, in mass, claimed that MSU was not even a rival?

      So in pointing out their flaws, we are not trying to say that we are better than them, MSU has flaws and kids who get in trouble too. We are just illustrating to all care to hear, that they are not who they say they. They are just like everyone else. We are not comparing them to us. We are comparing them to the image they have successfully and dishonestly created in the minds of fans and media alike. The casual fan is particularly susceptible to their scam and much of their core fan-base believes the false image is reality.

      I agree it's cool for people to love their school. What we are dealing with though, is a culturally accepted distortion of reality. There is no place that pounds away at the sham like we do. We consider it a service for those who wish to read it. I'm sorry if you want to read it. There are many other blogs out there that cover the same old ground on MSU. They are listed in the Resource Center in the left column. Some are really good resources with excellent content. There are tons of them to pick from and the headline links are right there for you to use, anytime
      (Part 1)

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    3. (Part 2)
      We are not defending MSU. We are on the offense against the school down the road. It's a rivalry. Yes, we do feel we are playing a small part in correcting something that is wrong.

      Please be sure to read the "Not All Michigan Fans are chUMps" post via the link in the upper right corner of the site. We understand there are proud Michigan fans that don't fit the chUMp label.

      In time, we will solve the issue you have with us, at least in part, by splitting this site into two sites. There will be a Spartan Resource side where the content is pro MSU oriented. The other site will be DUMP the chUMps focused. The sites will be linked, but if a reader only cares for one type of content over the other, it will be easier for them to navigate only for the content they prefer.

      Oh, and just so you know, the phrase DUMP the chUMps was born in response to what we view as "no fun" phrases on t-shirts and on the web. We didn't like MSU fans who wore "Muck Fichigan" shirts - especially the ones that did not switch the letters. We did not like the use of scUM when MSU fans commented on web articles. We did not like the condescending and "put you in your place" phrase of Little Brother (and that the media was totally OK with it to the point of adopting it and no Michigan official expressed a concern over it). So, we came up with DUMP the chUMps as a fun, more family friendly rivalry jab at our enemy. You might call a drinking buddy a chump in fun. We intended it in that light. Then again we are fans. You will never catch coaches or administrators using the phrase and if a player did, MSU officials would address it. Meanwhile UM uses uses another education institution as an insult to another team in the conference. Coaches and administrators not only condone the practice, they lead it.

      At any rate, if you prefer, you can skip reading SM82's posts and use the links in the resource center for some good content and keep an eye for my rare posts or posts from ATownAndDown or MSUSpartan76. We all have a different angle, just our readers do.

      Thanks for engaging. I think it's time to move on.

      -R2G

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  4. A-Town,

    I get where you coming from. The site was originally designed to focus on the enemy while lifting MSU just as SM82 does. I introduced the Spartan Resource concept to it. Your comment is precisely why we will be separating the site into two distinct pages, one with the Spartan Resource focus and the other zeroed in on the DUMP the chUMps content. It's coming. I ran into some technical and time difficulties.

    ReplyDelete

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