So now what do you do, Spartan fans? I know what I do. Obey the one and only commandment which is "UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ROOT FOR MICHIGAN TO WIN".
I know, I know, a win by the chUMps over Indiana would give Sparty another Big Ten Co-Championship but an Indiana win would 1) prevent an undefeated home record for the chUMps and 2) prevent the chUMps from sharing the aforementioned co-championship.
So I had to ask myself which tastes sweeter. Another banner in Jennison, I mean Breslin or preventing one at Chrysler or Chrisler, whatever. (Sorry, I graduated in 1979 and saw all of Magic's home games in the barn and the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games against Pennsylvania and Notre Dame in Indy.) I looked ahead to this weekend and had to imagine watching that game in the arena where they can only get 2 of 3 students to wear that ugliest of neon puke t-shirt. Even if I had a bet on Michigan I know I would be pulling for Indiana.
If Sparty were meant to win another conference championship they would have won any of the five losses that were all within reach. We look like we have championship teams the next couple of years. Even after listening to Billy Packer and his sidekick praise the chUMp freshman class I like ours so much more.
Here's a thought going into the one and done seasons. We are the highest ranked seven loss team. And four of those are to teams who will grab #1 or #2 seed in the big dance. A fifth will likely grab a #3 seed. We have no truly bad losses. And on a neutral court who knows how far we can go this year.
GO HOOSIERS!
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Correction. Pennsylvania was our Final Four fourty point win before Larry Bird and Indiana State. I believe we beat Toledo prior to the Kelly Tripuka and Bill Lambier thumping.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I failed to mention #3. An Indiana win combined with a victory over Northwestern results in Michigan looking up at Sparty again in the conference final standings.
Check to see if the principles I posted on October 28, 2012 hold true in the scenario ( http://spartanresource.blogspot.com/2012/10/will-brady-hoke-root-for-msu-2012.html ) - What do you think?
ReplyDelete...By the way, here is the proper way to handle a scenario in which the Spartans REQUIRE a chUMp victory to win the division a gain a championship game birth:
First, know that how you root does not effect the result of a game.
Second, go rake the leaves. Do not watch the game. This way you are not rooting for the chUMps on a play-by-play basis. That is just sick.
Finally, check the outcome of the game after it is over and celebrate the championship if the Spartans won it and curse the chUMps if they didn't.
By following this process, you can stay true to these basic rules (in this order):
1. Always root for the Spartans (to win a championship or anything else).
2. Never root for the chUMps to win anything.
The "Michigan Media" try to make it so simple, but they are once again way off base. Consider this scenario, as described in Freep.com this morning:
ReplyDelete"If Indiana beats U-M … an MSU win and an OSU loss would give the Spartans the No. 2 seed. U-M could finish no higher than fourth and would fall to the No. 5 seed if Wisconsin beats Penn State on Sunday."
So an Indiana win would open the door for MSU to be the #2 seed in the conference tournament, whereas an Indiana loss could drop our Spartans to the #4 seed. This makes it a value judgment, and there IS a positive value to be gained for MSU with an Indiana victory. Remember, there is also a trophy for winning the conference tournament, and that trophy never has the prefix "co" on the label.
While it's true that MSU may get a share of the regular season championship, that won't be a fact at the time of the Indiana game. We all hope to beat Northwestern, and most of us probably believe that we will, but until that game is played, we don't actually have the victory on our record.
It's clear than an Indiana win would hurt UM. That's the only simple part about it.
So an Indiana loss could hurt MSU, but the "Michigan Media" expects us all to get in line and root for it. As for me, I view the Indiana game at Crisis Arena as just another conference game in which my team has something to gain with either outcome. The "Michigan Difference" is that the chUMps have something to lose by losing.