By now it must be clear that either team could have won that game last Saturday. It was so close that the "winner" of the last play would be the "winner" of the game.
So we've been polite and sportsmanlike all week. We've refrained from tongue-wagging and finger-pointing and woofing of all kinds. We were blown away by the ending, along with those on the other side of the aisle, so the shock sort of carried forward for a few days as we took it all in.
But all we seem to be hearing from Michigan Fans is how MSU "got lucky" by receiving "a gift" that was only going to serve as a one-year reprieve before the next long run of annual beat-downs commences. Not exactly the poster-children for sportsmanship and dignity, eh?
The game has been cut into pieces by now, dissected from every possible angle, and the last play itself has been reviewed ad infinitum. The bottom line is the lead changed on the last play of the game, and if not for several key circumstances, the lead would not have changed. So the game could have gone either way, right down to the end.
This raises a question for Michigan Fans to ponder:
If your team had won, would you have agreed
it was an extremely close one-play game?
Would you have been gracious in victory,
firm in the knowledge that
your team could have easily lost?
Or would you have "gone Michigan" again?
Or would you have "gone Michigan" again?
Wolverines might refer to their Lord & Master, James Harbaugh, by asking the question, "What Would Jimmy Do"? Would Coach Harbaugh have been sportsmanlike after such a close win, or would he throw gasoline on the smoldering embers of chUMp-ism with a series of bold claims and opponent put-downs?
We will never know how Harbaugh
would have behaved if the tables hadn't turned.
We can only wonder.
What do you think? Would Wolverines as winners be more dignified than many of them have been this week as losers? In any case, as for our own behavior, Mark Dantonio in this situation would certainly refer all of us to The Golden Rule.
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Having been on the receiving end of ridicule, disrespect, and insults by 20 tables of Skunk Bears during the 2012 comeback win, I doubt they are capable of any kind of sportsmanship - the fans. The players and coaches, certainly can and have.
ReplyDeleteWhat got me the most at the end of the 2012 game was those chUMps had only one response, and outcry of the Hart Insult. Funny thing is, I would have bought them a round in celebration of the 900th win, but they seem to have forgotten that in their unbridled enthusiasm for casting insults on the team just vanquished.