I have listened to Spartan fans over the last few seasons and I find it utterly ridiculous that so many of them seem to think it’s a big deal that they have beaten the Wolverines 3 years in a row. They want this “respect” that has alluded them for most of their program’s existence.
Hate to break it to you (well actually I don’t) but even if you win today’s game, you still won’t get much respect.
Let me clear a few things up. 1. Michigan is Michigan State’s biggest rival. 2. Ohio State is Michigan’s biggest rival. Michigan is Ohio State’s biggest rival.
See, State just doesn’t really fit into the mix. Michigan just doesn’t care. And not many others do either.
The thing is, State hasn’t been good enough, long enough to matter to these programs with such long and rich history.
Spartys desperately want to matter. Even if it means trying to play dominate just because you beat Michigan teams that have been way off their tradition of winning. You can’t measure your program against a team that had the worst defense in the nation!
But this is what Sparty Nation has tried to do.
Why don’t they understand it just isn’t a big deal when you beat a team everyone else who means anything beats too?
When has Sparty ever consistently dominated Michigan when Michigan was dominating other teams? When has Sparty beaten Michigan during a great season? Even a good season?
Not much.
You just are not there yet. And honestly, probably won’t be in any of Sparty fans’ lifetimes.
You just don’t have the history.
Truth is, if Sparty wins, it will only be a big deal to Sparty and those who have ignored that Michigan hasn’t played anyone and has not been good in three years.
If Michigan wins, all the world will rejoice, because most people (including those in the state of Michigan) love Michigan more. That’s just how it is.
Stop trying so hard Sparty. Be good. Be really good. Measure your team on your overall success, not on beating bad teams and then maybe…just maybe, you will earn some respect.
Not The “Same Ole Lions”
So the Lions are 5-0. For me, this is something that I have not been able to say in my lifetime. Nor have any of my friends and associates in my age range. For those of us who have rooted for the Detroit Lions for as long as we can remember, this is a feeling that we haven’t had the opportunity to experience before. Sure we remember when the Lions went 6-2, but somehow, those wins were less…convincing. Everyone keeps waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under them. Fans were expecting to wake up and find that it was all a dream.
That’s exactly what happened. 
But this time, it’s different. THIS time, they really are not the “Same ole Lions”
You can feel it. The league must be feeling it too, because at the end of last season, when Detroit went on it’s end of the season four win tear, we fans and the sports media were already discussing the possibility of a Monday Night game. When the schedule was released, we were rewarded with more than that. A preseason Patriots match as well as a Packer Thanksgiving day game was on the menu.
And the LIONS were ready to feast. And Feast they have. So far.
This time, it’s different. We were given a Monday Night game (the first in a decade) against a division rival that we won comfortably against a team that seems to have had our number. We have had two 20 point deficit comebacks in the 2 weeks prior to Monday Night Football, and we are undefeated. Calvin “Megatron” Johnson is having a career season and Matthew Stafford is still healthy. Jahvid Best just had the most productive game to date and our Defense is far better than anyone expected it to be. Because of the defensive front everyone expected (or prayed) would keep us in games, the secondary has benefited and not everyone teams deep pass play against us is a guaranteed big gain.
And we are no longer the butt of every football joke. Those few who try not to respect us end up looking downright silly. Just like Tillman of the Bears did when he tried to stop Best.
No folks. This is not the same team you are used to watching blow games they should win. Penalizing themselves into losses. Giving up huge plays downfield. Giving up when the going gets tough.
Instead, we have faced adversity, we have looked at it as an opportunity to dig deep and show just how different we are.
And we have prevailed.
The part I enjoy the most? EXPECTING to win. Even when we are losing.
How exciting is that? When can you say you have felt that way before?
These are the NEW Detroit Lions. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
The Detroit Poetry Scene has become a cliquish group with gang like tendencies. I know there will be many who wince at this comparison and yet even more still who will take offense. However, this is how I see the current scene and I feel that what I have observed over the years warrants this opinion.
Let me preface this blog with the recognition that it is not only the poetry scene that has taken on these characteristics. I also believe fraternities and sororities share in this sort of “groupism” that in it’s effort to offer a shared space for bonding and brother/sisterhood instead end up feeding actions of divisiveness and attitudes of elitism. At least though, for the sake of argument, fraternities and sororities can speak about their service to others on a regular basis through community work and scholarship awards.
“But local poets do community work too!” What I can say is…I haven’t seen it.Wait, that’s not true. I just haven’t seen a significant amount worth mentioning. When I do see local poetry artists “giving back” by working with youth, they are either getting paid, or working with youth who do…wait for it…poetry. Go figure. So other youth couldn’t benefit from volunteer work from poets? Or do you just not care about what happens to youth who don’t do poetry? Other than some canned food drives, I can honestly say I don’t see local poets giving back much outside of the realm of poetry.
Separatism is prominent in the Detroit poetry scene. It also seems to me that if you aren’t considered to be a poet, you might as well be a pile of hot shit for all some of them care. I mean, seriously, I have seen people actually get treated differently simply because they are known to be a poet when they walk into the spot. They get spoken to differently, looked at differently, etc. Sometimes they don’t have to pay to get in. All of a sudden, you become the greatest human in the world, because you are a poet! All of this simply because you can throw together some great metaphor and crack some highly intellectual jokes. You would think, as much as these spots struggle financially to stay open, they wouldn’t be letting anybody in free!
Come on people, that was a funny. Why so serious?
But wait, don’t be a poet nobody knows yet, because you will be treated just as shitty as the fans are sometimes. Just try to get on the open mic list at a prime spot. Good luck having anyone see you when your name gets called at 1:00am, if it gets called at all.
No. Instead they will move up people who do the same poems over and over again, five days a week, at five open mics.
Just saying. Maybe if the locals didn’t treat the fans like they were somehow beneath them, things would be better for all involved. Perhaps your audience wouldn’t be at least 50% fellow poets that you are already friends with.
Maybe, just maybe the dwindling of the poetry scene is actually in large part, fault of the poets themselves.
Charlie Sheen: Set Up for Failure
Recently comedic actor Charlie Sheen premiered his brand new, never before performed show/ My Violent Torpedo of Truth tour in Detroit, MI. From what the media reported, Mr. Sheen’s show reportedly “sucked”. He was booed off stage and people walked out in droves. If you watch the news, then you saw many talking about how they didn’t like Sheen’s show and how they don’t want him to ever come back, not even for a make-up show.
The problem with these reports is that they only cover half the story.
No one in the media speaks about how the first thing they began doing when Sheen announced that he would be touring was panning him. The fact that he wasn’t a comedian. The fact that no one knew what was in store because it was a show that was debuting. “He is on drugs”. “The show might bomb”. Yada. Yada. Yada. This was before the first show even took place. How many performers have had to deal with such pre-bias before opening a tour? Off hand, I personally can’t think of any.
Now, let’s look at the night of the show. There was pandemonium outside of the FOX Theater. Also, here is a BIG KEY POINT…a lot of people in the audience were drunk before the show even started. These same drunk people booed the opening act stand-up comedian before he even started his act to going good. The audience was drunk and unruly and I’m not sure anyone would have survived that crowd.
Was the show perfect? By no means. But it was not nearly as bad as the media and people made it out to be. Like my friend said “what the hell did they want him to do? Come out and say WINNING and Tiger Blood for 2 hours?”
Right. Didn’t think so.
I respect what Charlie was trying to do. It was like he was trying to just give us an evening hanging out with him. It was an experiment. He had never done this before and was trying to see what worked and what didn’t. He wore a Detroit Tiger’s jersey to get us going, which was great, but after that the fans lost appreciation for what he was attempting to do. He tried showing some footage from an old film of his. That was panned. He also tried to have some candid conversations with us. That was booed. There were some solid laughs in there but overall, the audience didn’t allow anything to play out. Any “fan” going there knew that there were no guarantees. What I don’t understand is how can you call yourself a fan and then treat him that way? Booing him? REALLY?
Detroit had the privilege of being the first stop. How often does Detroit get chosen for anything? His reward? Being treated like he was less than human.
I feel if you are a true fan, then you would have supported Charlie in his efforts. Offered constructive criticism on twitter. Understand that he might not have done great, but he tried something new. Attempted to be innovative and fresh. At least respect him for having the balls to try. When is the last time you stepped out on a limb and did anything out of YOUR comfort zone?
And gee, He seems to have done fine everywhere else OTHER then DETROIT.
Go figure.
After treatment like that, I wouldn’t come back to the D either.
Sorry Sparty, Michigan State Still Has a Long Way to Go
So, Michigan State beat Michigan for the third year in a row. This was no surprise, at least not to me. What I don’t understand is how it comes as a surprise to anyone else. Michigan had the worst defense coming into the game. Anyone who actually pays attention to college football (and not just WINS and LOSES) knows this. In my opinion, Michigan was the underdog and has been for the last three years. I don’t expect a whole lot from a team that is still in transition and has obviously had so many holes in defense coming into that game. I am not here however to discuss the game. Michigan State won. All over the place. No doubt about it. It wasn’t a close call. And although I think if a few balls were thrown differently, a few play calls made were different, it could have actually been a closer game, but it wasn’t. I don’t dispute that at all.
I am however very perturbed at the State fans and the nation somehow regarding beating a Michigan team with no defense as a “Program Changer” for the Michigan State Spartans. This entire belief has baffled me before the game and after. Michigan State beating Michigan has no significance in deciding if Michigan State’s program is now “for real”. I understand the concept behind the thought pattern. Michigan has been the dominant football force in Big Ten college football for a long time. The team to beat. Then Ohio State became the dominant football presence here with Michigan being a close second. Some might argue Michigan was still the better team when looking at bowl performances, but the Big Ten title was differently up for grabs usually between Ohio State and University of Michigan. So now Michigan State beats Michigan three years in a row. The dominant Michigan football program has not been able to beat Ohio State or Michigan State the last three years. This must mean that State is now the dominant program at least between Michigan and State correct?
NOPE.
Not even close Spartans..sorry.
Actually I’m not. But, ya know..I’m just saying.
Michigan State beating Michigan three times in a row does prove something though. It proves that…wait for it…that Michigan State beat Michigan three times in a row. THAT’S IT. NOTHING MORE.
“How can you say that?” “You must be a Wal-Mart Wolverine for saying something that absurd!”
Or my personal favorite… “You’re just a HATER!!”
I assure you, I am not a hater. I actually didn’t have anything against State or its fans until the last three years when State fans starting talking soooo much crap because their football team beat Michigan. Smak talk is fine, but name calling and the like was just a show of how desperate State has been to beat Michigan and now they can’t control themselves. Well, to that I say…grow up. But I digress. The point is that beating Michigan the last three years really doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of Big Ten College football, or nationally for that matter. And it is because of one simple reason. Michigan isn’t currently, nor have they been for the last three years, a good football team. As I said in my blog before the game last week, State beat at team that lost to Toledo and Appalachian State! If State had not beaten Michigan, it would have been a more embarrassing occurrence than Michigan losing. Michigan is a team in transition. It has taken 2 years for recruiting and experience on offense to come to fruition. And Denard is still young. This has the potential to be a major turning point for Michigan offense or a major upset. I am hoping for the former.
But Michigan still has no defense. Only the offense has been worked on. The defense has gotten progressively worse. It is the worst defense in college football! I don’t think anyone who respects the game would ever say a team with a good offense (that hasn’t been tested yet) and a horrible defense is a great team. Michigan hasn’t been GREAT these last three years and no one can expect them to be. So if a team beats another team that is less than great, how can they be considered great themselves? To be the best don’t you have to BEAT the BEST? Isn’t that how it’s always been? Or at least beat some really good teams along your journey to greatness?
If that is the case, than how does that rule change now that State has beaten bad Michigan teams? Spartan fans can’t say Michigan sucks, and then beat us and say “now the Spartans are a splendid team” because we beat Michigan. That doesn’t add up. It doesn’t make any sense! Either you are a great team now because you beat a great Michigan team and had a successful season or you beat a bad Michigan team and are no better a team this week than you were before.
Spartan fans who are so emotionally hyped up on hating Michigan and their own “little brother” status can’t seem to grasp this concept. You are either dumb or just emotionally high. But how do you justify your belief that you as a program now should get some sort of respect when you are still on the losing end of the rivalry by a tremendous 36 games?? When you are notorious for starting strong and finishing on the skids and losing in bowl games? When you don’t play Ohio State consistently and when you do play them, you lose? You haven’t beaten Ohio State since 1999.
Sure it’s been a long time since Michigan beat them, but it’s been even LONGER for State.
All you have done is beat bad Michigan teams three years in a row. (ok two years they were bad, this year they are ok.)
State did not build their team up to the level of Michigan’s program. Michigan’s program fell down to theirs.
And the season isn’t even near over yet. We still don’t know if State will finish the season strong, or falter as usual. My money is on the finishing. They have a good team. They have an easy schedule. They played a horrible Michigan D and a young first year starting QB, and they don’t play Ohio State. The football stars are aligned in favor of State running the table. They better. And they better do it with gusto if they want any respect in my opinion. This is a must.
I am not saying Michigan State isn’t a good team. From what I have seen they are well-balanced on offense and defense. They are a good team and most definitely better than Michigan is right now. But nothing State has done yet has solidified a position to even begin being compared to the legacy of The University of Michigan program.
Even if they finish the season with a perfect record you have to evaluate who they played on that schedule. It will go down in history as a perfect season, but it will be far less than magical.
Please stop this discussion. Focus on winning out the easy schedule and winning your bowl game. Think about legacy further down the line. Waaaay further down. PLEASE.
To BE the BEST you have to BEAT the BEST.
Sorry Spartys, but you have done nothing of the sort.
The OTHER Big Game: Michigan vs. Michigan State 2010
So the “big game” or what I refer to as the “Other Big Game” is upon us. Michigan State vs. The University of Michigan. This years game will be at the newly renovated Big House and will boast over 100,000 combined Wolverine and Spartan fans. The Wolverines have lost the last two matchups vs. the Spartans while under new head coach Rich Rod, and this has left Michigan fans thirsty for victory against their “little brother”.
Mike Valenti of 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit has proposed a scenario that he feels would have to force the beginning of Wolverines having to “admit” that the Spartans are at least at the start of being in a position to be looked at as on Michigan’s level.
His scenario is as follows:
Beat Michigan for a third year in a row.
Finish the season either 9-3 or 10-2
Win in a bowl game.
In his analysis, this would be State’s way of actually not just beating Michigan, but also finishing a season successfully. With the strength of schedule (and NOT having to face Ohio State) he believes that it is very possible for State to finish with a strong win record. He did stress though, that State HAS to do all three in order for it to be deemed a successful season, as well as the beginning of new respect, or what should be new respect for the Spartans.
Sorry Mr. Valenti and all the Spartan fans, but I wholeheartedly DISAGREE.
And here is why.
First, overall Michigan has had total dominance against the Spartans in football throughout the years. Like a friend of mine said, the Spartys need to win about 32 more games against Michigan before they can even begin this conversation! Ok, so maybe that’s a bit much, but you get the point. Michigan has 32 more wins in the series.
Secondly, does it really count when a team had to win when another team was in transition (and EVERYONE was beating them including Toledo and Appalachian State)? I mean, Michigan has consistently had the better squad over the years, but things were bound to be different at least for a few years right? When Rich Rod took over two seasons ago though, he implemented a completely new style of football never played before in Michigan history. This open field offense is not known as BIG TEN or even Michigan type football. Not only was he implementing an entirely new style of offense, he was dong so with players that he didn’t bring to the team. In other words, it wasn’t really his ideal recruiting class. Once Rich Rod got his guy Denard in and gave him one offseason of work, the offense took off. Denard is currently the most fascinating offensive player in college football. If he runs for 300 yards, it would be an off game. Point being , it takes TIME. I’m just not impressed with a team that can only beat Michigan when they are just plain horrible and in transition.
Thirdly (is that ok to say?) I would be more impressed if Michigan State had built up a program over time and raised their game up to Michigan’s level. Instead, Michigan fell down to State’s and now State wants to take some sort of credit. Albeit, State is better this season than they have been over the last 3 years at least I believe (we will see for certain as the season plays on) and part of being a good or great team is taking advantage of another teams weaknesses and capitalizing on them. But Michigan has been less than just weak the last couple of seasons. Teams had better beat them, because if you LOST to Michigan the last couple of years it was more of an embarrassment considering their rankings offensively and defensively. You SHOULD have beat Michigan. In my opinion, Michigan should have been an underdog for the last three years since a new coach and new system and recruiting class had to be implemented.
Even if State wins this year, I still find no valid reasons to start considering State as beginning to be considered a force on Michigan’s level. In order for that to happen Stat would have to beat Ohio State Notre Dame and Penn State. They would have to at least beat Michigan in a year when skill wise the teams are more equal. You have to give Rich Rod a year, ideally two to get his defense at least serviceable. Right now, his defense is abysmal and might as well be a big empty space on the field. Anybody can throw on Michigan. In fact, they can run too. States offense is so balanced that Michigan has no choice but to pick the pass or the run and totally dedicate to it and hope for the best with the rest because there is no way Michigan can handle both. My predication for Michigan to have a successful year is that they will have to win every game 80-75 because they can’t stop anything so far. Also, State will be the first defense that Michigan and Denard Robinson face this season. This will give us a more clear idea of whether this offensive dominance can really hold up or was it all for show against junior varsity type talent so far this season.
I know Spartans will disagree, but if you take the emotion out of your thinking, there is just no way you can feel great about beating this Michigan team other than just for individual season bragging rights. Just like Michigan can’t fake the funk on basketball, State can’t fake it in football. The Spartans are years away from even the beginning of possibly changing the game in Big Ten football and Michigan’s overall dominance. Give Michigan 2 more seasons to work on defense. (if Rich Rod works on defense. He is known not to focus on defense.) If State beats a seriously retooled and polished Michigan team consistently I will have to give credit where credit is due. Until then, I just can’t go that far.
Go BLUE!!!!
