Re: 1umgb's opine on the M-ND series ending

Interesting take, and interesting points from all those who weighed in. Predictably, some want it to end, some want ND to "join-or-else", others want it to continue. There's merit in all your views, IMHO.

For me, it's kind of a red herring. Were we in the midst of a three-game losing streak to them, I'd want it to continue...can't let them go into "eternity" winning 5 of 6 from us. As it is, we're on the long end of those sticks, so right now, I'd probably not miss playing them anymore. Even though fellow Fightin' Irish hater and close friend WH-aka-AGB will chastise me for it; he no doubt wants to see them annually beaten by us through the year 2062!! (Ahem, friend, I'm using the avg. life expectancy for an American male, 81.6 years...and don't even ask me to apologize for giving away your age: wanna trade????)

But I have to defer to those of you who point up, rightly, that there are quite a few other quality opponents out there, with plenty of tradition. Yes, I know sports results, particularly with respect to rivalries, go in cycles...proof has always been in the pudding. And that ND will be back in national prominence, in all
likelihood...only question is when.

But aren't diversity and variation good things??? I'd like to see us take a lengthy break (e.g.,10 years) from playing ND, in the interest of playing a couple of home-and-home-and-home-and-home (yep, 4 years) series
with two or three other "name" programs.

Initial morning ramble, you might say.

My take: I love the ND rivalry and game. To me it's all that's good about college football. Don't get me wrong, I love UM-O$U also, but there's too much animosity and hate involved there for me to see it as pure as the UM-ND game.

As far as what Brandon should do? Tell them to switch the home & away schedules or the 30 year contract (that has never been signed) will never happen.

Valid points. Frankly, 'Dog, IMO, the M-OSU rivalry (or more precisely, the manner in which OSU fans view and approach it) represents all that's wrong with college football.

Heaven knows if we took it every bit as "seriously" as they, the year would come when it would be more suggestive of a South American rivalry soccer match.

michmike wrote:

As it is, we're on the long end of those sticks, so right now, I'd probably not miss playing them anymore. Even though fellow Fightin' Irish hater and close friend WH-aka-AGB will chastise me for it; he no doubt wants to see them annually beaten by us through the year 2062!!

If it meant winning all those games through 2062, sure. But obviously that would be too good to be true. There will be no chastising from me to you on this. Like I mentioned before, I wouldn't mind breaks from the ND series but I don't want that to mean we won't play them again for decades. I actually enjoyed not playing them in 2000 and 2001 because I didn't have to worry about the stress from ND week or think about the hundreds of things that could go wrong. (ESPN Classic will always haunt me). It also didn't hurt that we won in 1999 so we got to hold on to that for a couple years.

That's my stance. Breaks are fine but nothing too long.

All in all, I guess I have to relent and confess I would not want the series terminated permanently...or even for very long at a stretch.

After all, no Michigan victory in my time as a fan (all four decades' worth) meant more than the 1978 M-ND game (umm, haven't you heard that before???) And I doubt revenge/vindication ever felt sweeter, after any painful U-M loss (or losses) than the 2006 creaming we laid on them, also in South Bend. Heck, if it was enough to induce someone to "Go running, screaming down the street"...

Frankly, the only U-M victory that (for me) came close to those two, in terms of joy, satisfaction and relief factors was last fall's over OSU, if only because it snapped our longest-ever skid vs. them. And because their fans make me hate their team and school, term used loosely, and---as Fish also maintains---never, ever root for them in any sport, save for rare circumstances where an OSU victory helps Michigan as much as it does
them (which right there precludes M-OSU games).

So, given the "high" that most always comes with victory over the Irish, and that down the years there are more of those than the "lows" that accompany defeats at their hands, let's keep the series (plural...since it seems there will be "breaks").