It's over for me... for now

I think it’s time for me to part myself from UM football for a while. This part will be all encompassing. Message boards, recruiting, coaching news and yes even the games. I’m done.

For the first time in over 20 years I will not watch the Ohio game. Those 20 years include three military deployments and three years where I was out of the country traveling for work. You try to find a bar in Korea that is showing the game at 3:00am in the morning. I dare you. This will also break my eight consecutive bowl games streak. We sure as hell don’t deserve to go to one this year anyways.

The fact is that I’ve made a terrible mistake and I’ve allowed myself to become entirely too emotionally invested in the program and because of this, the last decade has broken me. I don’t find anything fun about it anymore, not even the wins.

This last decade has been a constant kick in the nuts to UM football fans.  For me personally it’s been a never-ending list of soul crushing events. Too many for me to list and way too many for me to even care to remember. It’s a bad record.

Michigan football, take a look in the mirror.  You are now Notre Dame football. You are living in the past, in the years of your college football royalty gone by. You're past your prime and you don’t seem to realize it. Or maybe you do and you’re just in denial. Truth is its over. The circle of life is in full effect. It has been for years and you and I have been too blind and naïve to realize it. At times you fought valiantly and I commend you but it’s time to go gentle into that good night because there is no rage left in you. Don’t feel bad because until recently I was right there with you, a blind homer to the core. I think what hurts the most for me is that it doesn’t have to be this way. You still have the tools but the intangibles are gone. As they say, you can’t teach 6’7” 310lbs or a 4.4 40 but heart, toughness, resilience, spirit. The list is a mile long.

I cannot continue to put all of my love, my hopes, my dreams, my faith or my tears into something I have no control over. I think I’ll just stick to church for that.

It’s a sad thing to come to this conclusion. Nobody should have experience a realization like this. The fact is that Michigan football is not getting better and it’s not going to anytime soon. It’s going to take some serious soul searching and changes that the blue bloods won’t/don't want to make. Never mind the fact that the program is staring national irrelevance in the face, but B1G irrelevance is on your front porch and you don’t have the stones to answer to door.

I truly feel that there has been a paradigm shift in college football. It’s been mostly money driven but it has happened. Unfortunately Michigan never made that shift and the fans are paying the price. Michigan is now a virtual “also ran”. But how could that be you ask. Its way too complicated and I’m just not that smart enough to give you the right answer but if I had to guess I’d say it’s mostly because Michigan has way too much pride and a dangerous sense of self worth and because of that, the program is now standing on the sidelines trying to convince themselves, their fans and their 18 years old prospects otherwise.

Couple the above with the obvious sense of entitlement that the current players have (plus the fact that the team attitude and play as a whole is soft) and you have the perfect recipe for the shit pie we’ve baked these last three years. Whose ready to eat?

But sandy, we won the Sugar Bowl with RR’s recruits and we beat Ohio for the first time in 8 years and we're young so give it time. Yep, keep telling yourself that.

You can bash me all you want. Call me every name in the book. Tell me I’m fair weather. Tell me I’m bandwagon. I know who I am and I know what this is. Truth is that I will always love Michigan football. It’s gotten me through some pretty rough times. It’s given me hope when there was only despair. It’s allowed me to dream while being firmly planted in a shitty reality. It’s been my religion during times of no faith. But the fact is that I’m a grown man with a family and real life problems and I don’t need this shit anymore.

I’ll be over on the Basketball board where it’s still fun for me. And not because we’re winning but because that team plays with heart. They play as a, get ready for this, TEAM. They’re scrappers and they fight to the end. They’re not afraid of anyone and even though they do some bone headed stuff and they’ve had  two heartbreaking losses this year, they never quit. They take their punches and get back up. They play smart and they progress, they play tough, they play with intensity and they let their opponents know they are in for a fight. I remember another team like that that I once fell in love with.

I guess all I can say to hat is WOW:silent: 

Hard to argue. Please email this to Dave Brandon.

MgoBlue wrote:

Hard to argue.  Please email this to Dave Brandon.

He won't read it.

You never know. Bill Martin responded to an email my brother sent.

Sandy, Can't disagree with anything you wrote! I always enjoyed reading your points of view, so I am sorry to see you go! All the best to you and your family.

As always....Go Blue!!

For the record I don't think Brandon is the problem. In fact I believe he has been a breath of fresh air and is as close to a solution as the program has had in a LONG time.

Like I said, the game is a business now and ADs are now CEOs. Brandon gets it and he's done his best to bring the Michigan programs into the new millennium. He recognizes more than anyone the value of the brand.

Again, I'm just not smart enough to know where the problem lies but I do know there is no single point of failure. There is a web of problems so firing one person isn't the answer but moving forward with the product that is in place isn't the answer either.

Having to hear about Peppers from another person at work was the last straw. Today was day the music officially died for me. It would be unfair and I would be doing myself a complete disservice if I cut all ties to Michigan sports.

So I'll watch basketball and hockey and wrestling and volleyball and swimming and diving and the rest of of the other programs because I still generally enjoy it. I love to see Michigan win but I just don't find it fair that in spite of the countless shortcomings of the football team over the last decade I've given everything that I have to that program and unfortunately that level of dedication has not been reciprocated back to me the fan. sigh.

Eggo, I agree with you. My brother has said the exact same things you just did. It's just not fun anymore. After the lost to Iowa I took my Michigan flag down off the house. Good luck to you and your's.

I think it's finally settled with me. Michigan football truly is dead, and has been for some time now.

I think if Brandon is not careful, he is going to kill the Golden Goose. He has focused on marketing and branding and for short term revenue increases he has risked the core.

He has alienated students who are future alums and possible future season ticket holders or game or two a year attendees. He has alienated long time fans with increases in both ticket prices and seat license fees.

You'd better win and win big with what he has done or sometime soon we're not going to hear that announcement from the PA in the 4th quarter: "once again you are the largest crowd to watch a football game anywhere in America today."

'shoes

wshoes wrote:

I think if Brandon is not careful, he is going to kill the Golden Goose. He has focused on marketing and branding and for short term revenue increases he has risked the core.

He has alienated students who are future alums and possible future season ticket holders or game or two a year attendees. He has alienated long time fans with increases in both ticket prices and seat license fees.

You'd better win and win big with what he has done or sometime soon we're not going to hear that announcement from the PA in the 4th quarter: "once again you are the largest crowd to watch a football game anywhere in America today."

'shoes

Shoes.  The last time I checked, winning is just about the most successful marketing tool available to any AD!! Friendship is a wonderful thing, but.......

Go Blue!!  

wshoes wrote:

You'd better win and win big with what he has done or sometime soon we're not going to hear that announcement from the PA in the 4th quarter: "once again you are the largest crowd to watch a football game anywhere in America today."

'shoes

Yep.

I guess I'm a little different than most of you, I didn't even go to Michigan.  But college football is the sport I'm interested in, and Michigan is the team I'm interested in.  I'm sorry, but Oregon vs. Oregon State, or any other team, does nothing for me no matter how good they are.So I'll be watching Saturday, I know it could get ugly.  But Michigan is the team for me, I'm just not interested in any other team.  Maybe my misfortune, we'll see.

No problem with fans jumping off the wagon, but let me ask you this question: When UM is winning, how will you feel about yourself then? Would you consider yourself a Michigan fan? No fun in being a frontrunner.