One reason this web site exists is to counter and dispel the popular mythology that the University of Michigan is "so much better than" Michigan State, in many things, not just major sports. As long as the Michigan Mainstream Media Machine insists on perpetuating pro-UM story-lines over MSU and/or the TRUTH, we will present the alternative viewpoints of reality. We will always be "fact-based" in our process.
We reported yesterday that the football series between the two school, since the beginning of the millennium, is TIED, "even-steven", at eight wins apiece. Neither team has a lead over the other during this century. We even extended the definition of "millennium" to include the year 2000, even though some would claim that year belongs to the previous century. We refuse to "fudge the facts" even if it makes our side look a little better.
We are now pleased to report that the MSU Football Team has out-scored the UM Football team in games played since the year 2000 (inclusive).
The overall football score this century is
MSU 378, UM 376
That's pretty close, right? So we don't need to have Spartan fans everywhere woofing it up on the Bluebloods, especially after they almost beat our team on the field. Let's keep it real, okay?
But we also don't need to take a lot of crap from fake-fans and bandwagon-jumpers, and especially, the sports media. We don't need to sit quietly while our team is pushed into the ditch, just because vested interests favor the rich kids in Ann Arbor. Yes, they have a lot of money, and yes, they spend it wildly to promote their interests, but NO, THEY ARE NOT SUPERIOR because of their wallets.
It shouldn't matter how much they spend to buy their coaching staff, nor how many planes they send up in the sky to write snarky messages, nor the size of their crampy stadium, nor the extent to which they will throw wheelbarrows full of cash into their "non-revenue sports". None of that makes them "better than" everybody else.
This is the essence of the primary message that Mark Dantonio has brought to the table in this public debate between public institutions. Enough with the "little brother" crap. Enough with looking down on the color green compared to the color blue. Let's keep it real, okay?
Dantonio said after the game that he and his staff are trying to coach their players to win with dignity and sportsmanship. I think that's more than just a line for the press conference. I think he really is trying to do that. It remains unclear whether that motivation is on the agenda in Wolverine Country.
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One of the more disquieting things I have observed in recent weeks is that the UM fanbase is no longer boasting the Michigan is the winningest program in college football history. Ignore those very old games of questionable relevance, the record books credit them with the most wins of all the teams.
ReplyDeleteWhat is disquieting is they are not saying that Michigan is "the greatest football team of all time." First point is that the only Michigan team in existence today is the 2015 edition and that team is 5-2, which does not qualified as the greatest by any stretch of the imagination. The second point is it is not the team of a single year that has defined the Michigan legacy, but the program.
Given the fans are making those statements, one might expect sooner rather than later that the media will embed that phraseology and that, frankly, would be wrong.
So, my brother Spartans, while we combat the media bias, we must keep constant vigilance lest another meme enter the media lexicon.
Typo: What is disquieting is they are NOW...
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