I'm sorry Brian, but that second to last paragraph was really, really slappy.
Amen Brian, the media just pulls out the parts that will get viewers, no matter the context it was put in. Wilbon is a moron on par with Urban "talk outta both sides of my mouth" Meyer. BTW, do you think that if the OSU-UM game would have been in the first 4 games of the season, and ended the way it did, do you think Michigan would be in the NC? I think they would. The campaigning by Urban Whiner really swayed voters (who are all morons themselves).
WAY better than hockey. And an excellent post. You should consider writing "the Michigan Difference" commercials.
Mandel and his ilk have totally overplayed Lloyd's "inappropriate" comments simply to have something to write about. Truth is, while a lot of Michigan fans (including myself) have complained loudly about the BCS results, neither Lloyd nor anyone in the administration has made a peep. I couldn't be more proud of our coach, especially in light of the fact that Meyer did everything but hold his breath and stomp his feet until he got his way. He looks even worse in light of the fact that the voters were going to keep us out of the championship game to avoid a rematch regardless of the campaigning.
I like the Zuul reference...bonus points there.
That Wilbon comment was quite surprising, even for him. He has not hidden his feeling for Michigan before, but to get so fired up over something so docile was telling. Even Tony, a self proclaimed golden domer lover, called him out on his comments. I lost some respect for him right there.
leading indicator that the blogger you're dealing with is a bonafide moron is …wait for it… ”… wait for it…”.
gotta love the guy who comes to a blog for the first time all season, then calls the author a moron, yet is too pussy to actually his name. And if you wanna rag on me, anonBlue isn't a name, it's kinda douchy
Pretty much spot-on entry right there. I had to do a double take when I heard Wilbon rip into Lloyd yesterday on PTI. No idea why he (Wilbon) was picking a fight there.
I hate to admit this, but I would guess that Michigan is similar to ND in at least one respect: the amount of schadenfreude each program's failure generates.
By the way, it may be "little-watched," but M-Replay was my second-favorite tv show, until Arrested Development got shelved...
way to go brian! great post
My bet is if LLoyd had said absolutely nothing it would have been branded "elitist silence" on the part of Michigan.
Beautifully written. I think it's time people realize that the large majority of Michigan fans love Lloyd, flaws and all, because of what he stands for.
Anyone in any walk of life who adheres to a higher standard than their peers opens themselves up to a passionate response. The rest of the group claims "holier-than-thou" or starts flinging around "neanderthal" comments. Truth is you're never going to please everyone, so don't even try. Do what you believe in and that's the only course of action that makes any sense. In this instance Lloyd certainly did that, and so did Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel, and Michael Wilbon.
What did we learn?
Lloyd believes in integrity over outcome.
Urban believes in outcome over integrity.
Jim believes in spin over responsibility.
Michael Wilbon is a flipping idiot.
As someone with degrees from both Northwestern (BA) and Michigan (PhD), I completely don't know where Wilbon or Mandel get their animus toward Michigan from, Mandel will deny it, but Wilbon's completely open about it (he's said that Michigan is the one team every other team in the league hates).
I've heard other michigan fans complain about how bad Northwestern fans are when they go there, and Northwestern is certainly full of elitist dicks, but I never thought Michigan was anything of a rival when I was there (of course, it was the illustrious Francis Peay era). Maybe I was a realist. But there's something about Lloyd that just rubs both of those guys wrong. It's too bad. I think NU's team is usually pretty classy, and Randy Walker was a very classy coach, but it apparantly didn't carry over to the fan base.
And Lloyd's comments over the top? As compared to Meyers? Just bizarre. But then again, some people can listen to Herbie and Danielson and think Herbie is the biased one.
Maybe you just have to be close to the program to really sense how much Lloyd cares about both the program and his players. It's clear that neither of those guys get it.
Hi everyone. I have a hypothetical BCS/playoff scenario on my blog if anyone wants to take a look. Also, Brian, great as usual.
paging urban meyer. call from tallahassee on the line.
something about whether you will spring for "getting a bunch of rings that say, '1996: We won the national championship.'"
Lmao.................................
Please!! This is the same fan base that wanted to dump this guy in the offseason and people were commentng about who would be a great head coach to take over for lloyd that could beat OSU. Don't sit here and type like you guys have been behind this guy from the start when we all remember who the worst critics of Michigan program were after the Nebraska debacle. Yeah, he pulled one out of his ass this year and got this team to 10-0 before losing to his rival, but lets not forget he is Lloyd and you will hate him next year.
Carr has beaten OSU 6 times. World history did not begin when Jimmy No Vote became a state Senator in Ohio.
I am glad M has so far managed to, for the most part anyway, not become so corporate like most other big time programs. But I doubt if M will be able to resist those forces much longer. Money will be needed to upgrade some of the athletics facilities, to compete with the wasteful arms race that OSU has started. Hopefully M won't do the cheese dick things like sell cereal, saturate local television with 97 hours of football analysis every week and develop pipelines through Ted "bling bling" Ginn Sr type of characters the way OSU does.
And hopefully future M Heisman candidates aren't law breakers, rule benders and liars.
Carr has won 10 or more games 5 times.
Going 11-1 this far is not "pulling one out of his ass"...more likely last year with the ridiculous number of injuries to key players was closer to being an outlier.
Uhh, Brian was totally behind this guy. Read the archives.
actually SOJ, we will love him next year cause UM will be the best team in the Big Ten, and be ranked in the top 3 all year, most likely number 1 or 2, and our schedule sits just right for a run at the NC. After everything that has happened this year, Lloyd has shown us UM fans that he IS the man for the job until he wants out, which realistically is in about 5 years or less anyways. With all the other B10 teams looking down next year, Michigan is the obvious early favorite next year and one of the primary reasons is Carr.
SoJ, what the hell are you Lmao........ing about? This is the fanbase that has staunchly defended Lloyd, and in fact, HAS been behind him from the start.
http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2006...nd-
hotseat.html
Also, I know double-digit math is tough for you Buckeyes, but he got his team to 11-0 before the OSU game.
Get your head out of your ass.
I'm all for ads in the Big House. 100% for it. Maybe Michigan would've upgraded their b-ball facilities if they had a little more revenue coming in.
Why even respond bother responding to SOJ? Either he's not paying attention to what Brian and most of the people on here have been saying since all the "hot seat" stories started coming out, or he's intentionally trying to provoke people.
Brian,
Well said. I know I have M-friends who aren't big on Lloyd because Lloyd isn't "good" with the media, but really we've seen a coach who's good with the media and not so great on the decisions, it's John L, and well...
I said from last year, let's see if this is a trend, and given this year, I'm not seeing it. Coach Carr did what he needed to do to make things better and he deserves more respect than he gets.
Brian,
Another perfectly written piece that truly conveys the feelings of the vast majority of real Michigan fans. Lloyd Carr is perhaps the classiest man in college football, and is a credit to everything that Michigan stands for. To those who will point to last year's media-driven "hot seat" debate, I can only say that those of us who regularly post to this board, as well as countless other fans and alum, have NEVER called for Lloyd's head, and have consistently defended him. The fire Carr movement was solely a small, yet vocal, group of newbie M fans, who simply do not get what Michigan football is all about. I would take Lloyd over someone like Jim Tressel or Urban Cryer any day.
Go Blue!
I know it's kind of out of order, but Andrew is right - Michigan is the team that everyone else hates. I went to law school at U of Illinois. My first year, Michigan played there, so I, or course, wore only maize and blue. Some of my friends who went to Illinois for undergrad were amazed at my bravery because, apparently, they view Michigan as their biggest rival. I looked at him puzzled then said, "Illinois has a football team?" He was awe-struck that we don't view Illinois with the same animosity with which they view us.
I hear Jim Tressel's wife wears a burbqa.
SoJ is obviously a regular reader of sackcarr.com, firelloyd.com, and lloydcarrisnotjimtressel.com
(Wait, I'm actually thinking about starting the last one. I have been very proud of Lloyd since '97 when he handled the stupid split NC thing with class.)
I know LC (and by extension Michigan) will never develop the football program into a dynasty, but I'll take him before anyone else (including Pete Carroll, Jim Tressel and Bob Stoops) if I were to start a new football program.
Amen. Great post. I liked Lloyd for the most part last year, and like him even more this year. (My only problem was not making OC/DC changes sooner.)
I actually really like a Rosenberg Detroit Free Press column from a few days ago on the whole bowl question. (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20061205/SPORTS06/612050385/1054/SPORTS06) He writes:
"Michigan should face Florida on the field.
No, not in a playoff. Florida should head to the Sugar Bowl as the Southeastern Conference champion. Michigan should go there as the best available at-large team.
Ohio State? The Buckeyes should fly out to the Rose Bowl, as the Big Ten champ, to face Pac-10 champion Southern Cal.
If the Buckeyes beat USC, they would be undisputed national champions. If they lost, the door would be open for the Michigan-Florida winner."
While I love Michigan going to the Rose Bowl, the scenario Rosenberg puts out there seems like the best possible one, with the least possible controversy. And I would really love to see Michigan whip Florida's butt. I didn't think it was possible to hate Florida more than I did when Spurrier was there, but Meyer has done the impossible . . . he has proven to be more of an ass than Spurrier. I hate the BCS fiasco . . . but I really don't like the idea of expanding the season another 3 weeks (for an 8 team playoff.)
Speaking of expanding the season . . . I went down to Bloomington for the game, and it was COLD! Ok, maybe I'm a wimp, but the idea of games in early December in Big Ten country is not very appealing to me. I know, I know, the NFL does it, but being in Chicago today on a day where it barely got up to 10 degrees, I would have not enjoyed going to a game. Everyone fantasizes about another "Snow Bowl," but I seem to remember reading that they had all of 10,000 fans. Cold, snowy weather is not fun.
I wrote something about this to a friend of mine who was pissed that Carr didn't campaign harder. Brian, I totally agree with you. Here's how I said it to my buddy:
I like to believe that we are different. We are Michigan. And that MAKES us better. We are THE old-school. You can't argue with our tradition, and Lloyd might be the only coach left in America who cares about tradition. But you know what, so do I. And I'm grateful that the coach of my team values it so much. The only other coaches I can think of that would maybe take this approach are: Pete Carroll, Bobby Bowden, and that's it. Does that mean they're naive? Maybe, but you can't find fault with the resume of any of these three men.
(I realize that comes off as arrogant, but in trying to convince my friend I was using his pride against him. But in my heart of hearts, I believe all that I wrote here.)
Brian, I as well as all other opposers of slavery, wish to see a post that opposes the SEC's elitist mentality. No matter where I go I read people stating that it is the hardest conference in football, even though no one outside of the uneducated south buys into it. I'm begging you, I can't stand the south, and I can't stand the SEC.
Dear Michigan Fans,
Twenty seven years ago I came to the USA from Europe, where I was a rabid football (soccer) fan. In this country, I have enthusiastically adopted Michigan football team as my own. My message to all of you who took it very close to heart the latest snub from BCS, is: "Ignore it". There is no such a thing as "the national championship". It is the beauty contest, in which majority of jury are not present, have his or her own agenda, use skewed logic or no logic at all when determine the winner. It is a shame that such a wonderful sport as college football has such unbelievably ridiculous system of determining the champion. We should thrive to get undefeated season, quality victories, and that's all. We should ignore all media hype about "the championship"
for as long as BCS exists.
Check out my "Urban Cryer 101: Classless Politics" article on page 8in the engineering newsletter that I created and named:
http://www.umec.engin.umich.edu/...20Issue%
206.pdf
Well said, Brian. Meyer may be a good coach (although, for the life of me, I can't figure out why his Incredibly Surprising QB Draw always works) but he seems like an absolute jerk. If you were the parent of a recruit, would you want him playing for Meyer over Carr?
Brian, do you remember where the chart that compared the USC-Michigan wins over Notre Dame was? I wanted to use it in a speech tommorrow and kinda want it in my powerpoint...I've been searching for it the past hour and you are my last resort. If you can, please e-mail me the link or location before midnight...thanks a ton.
So are luxury boxes in Michigan Stadium good or bad?
hey guys-
found this on espn and found it extremely funny. This is the type of kid that Urban Meyer is recruting to play for Florida!! Like Coach..Like Player!! God I hate to say this, but, I hope tOSU kicks the sh*t outta Florida!!
1st an excerpt then the link
"(Percy)Harvin was suspended twice during his last two football seasons at Landstown High, including a two-game suspension last year for shoving an official during a game. During his senior basketball season, Harvin and a player from an opposing team sparked a bench-clearing brawl and the gym had to be cleared by police officers."
and
"In high school, I was the only star on the field," Harvin said.
http://proxy.espn.go.com/ncf/col...mark&
id=2589200
Classy coaches bring in classy players. I will take Carr and guys with the class and character of Henne, Hart...especially Hart, Manningham, Long, Woodley, etc. over anyone on Florida, especially Percy Harvin any day of the week, any recruiting year!!
Please don't stoop that low by doing that comparison. You seem to have forgotten that we also have problem kids.
guess I missed who that was!? And don't say AA, cause his crap was dropped cause it was just that to begin with, crap. Plus, if michigan did have problem kids, they certainly weren't starting bench clearing brawls and pushing refs.
I sure hope neither Lloyd or Brian never retire. You're great Brian. I'm glad you quit you're day job. You just made a sad UM fan feel really good.
I was with you up until the last paragraph. I agree with the sentiment, but isn't there some internal inconsistency? Even with luxury boxes, the stadium will only be advertising itself, but it will have become a different self. Perhaps you're not reveling in the too-narrow/too-cold bleacher bit, but you're identifying them as signifiers for what is right about the program. The exchange goes: (slight) suffering for integrity. That's something that goes away if luxury boxes are installed, doesn't it? Or, at least, aren't you admonishing Bill Martin for taking that Profit First point of view and implicating yourself for going along with it?
why are luxury boxes and integrity mutually exclusive?
funny thing about meyer's comments re: a rematch is that the exact same scenario could occur in a conference with a championship game with one team getting a rematch with a team that beat it earlier in the season. that same team could win the rematch and be crowned conference champ, even with (conceivably) a worse record. go figure.
For the record, Lloyd took the high road again during the College Football Awards tonight.
Brian: great stuff as usual.
Colin: I think you're right that there's a tension in Brian's thinking -- and mine. I agree on all these points: I'm in favor of the luxury boxes, against advertisement, and I like Lloyd and U-M's integrity. Here's the thing about that tension: the only way that our tradition survives is if it adapts. The description of OSU as in an arms race with us is apt. In order to survive, we need to making certain compromises with reality. The stadium renovation will make the Big House better for all the fans, and it's absolutely necessary for our athletic revenue. The architecture is classic U-M, and now we won't need Porta-Potties all over. Are luxury boxes a departure from tradition? Yes. But it's necessary. Would lobbying for the national championship game actually have changed the outcomes? Unlikely. Compromise of integrity: serious. (Having the lead against OSU in the fourth quarter -- that might have done it.)
Igor: Thanks for the consolation. You're right, of course.
Dan - a link re: Carr's high road tonight?
Aaron -
PLEASE DO NOT come in here with that bullshit about "the uneducated south" and imply that people south of kentucky are supporters of slavery. stereotypes like that are the worst kind of rhetoric and they do us no favors when people come around looking for evidence that we're stuck-up elitists.
A quick aside:
Gnarls, why the hate on for hockey? It's a program that has one of the richest traditions in the NCAA and has produced some of the most joyous moments (and painful heartbreaks) of any UM sport over the last 10 years. I wasn't a fan when I got to UM, but by the time I left I was, and then some.
Saw Wilbon go on that rant and it just reinforced my gut feelings that someone should throw his fat, bald ass off of a cliff....seriously...been feeling that ever since Pardon The Interruption has been on the air and I first learned who he is.
I'm not sure if anyone heard Lloyd's comments on how college football is a game for college athletes, not men in business suits, but the powers that be need to recognize this. It's overwhelmingly inappropriate for amateur (non-professional) athletes to be put in a situation where the value of the games THEY played is sacrificed for what the coaches want and Harris poll voters wanted to see. Even if the fans (excuse me for generalizing) don't want a rematch, it's not their decision. Even professional sports don't produce championship games to appease the general fanbase (nobody wanted to see the Spurs and Nets play for it all back in '03). THE GAME IS FOR THE PLAYERS and they, along with their school and fans, reap the rewards and consequences of their victories and losses.
On a lighter note...
SC has a two game losing streak at the Rose Bowl
GO BLUE/BRUINS
You haven't heard very much from Lloyd since the pick, let alone whining, "Lloyd"
Stunning that Ron Zook would vote Florida #2 in the coaches poll.......or not.
Brad,
Sorry if I offended re: my hockey dislike. I've just never been a big fan. I don't doubt the richness of Michigan's hockey tradition or the passion of our fans. I've just always been a big believer in the fat goalie theory :).
Lloyd Carr was in an untenable position. He was either going to be seen as a low key statesman or a partisan campaigner. There's no way anyone was going to see him as an impartial observer.
O&BHue
www.orangeandbluehue.com
I totally agree with Brian reaction to Urban's remarks.
It's not really Meyer's place to make an assessment of the system or of another team. It's not Carr's place either, and he knows that. These battles over the BCS shouldn't be handled by the coaches in the Media.
Michigan is never going to get the love from the media that it's fans desire. In order for that to happen you need a Head Coach and Marketing/PR department that devotes an amazing amount of time and money into stroking the media.
Michigan would never hire the following coaches: Charle Weiss, Pete Carroll, Any Bowden, and (although his name was thrown out there a couple years ago because exceptions in his contract)Urban Meyer.
There is truely a Michigan Way, for better or for worse, this shines through in the media. I don't know if any of the coaches above could adapt to it.
Over the past year or so, I have heard a lot of criticism against Coach Carr, almost exclusively from the media or those fans who simply do not get what Michigan football is about. While I found most of those responsible for the criticism to be uninformed, I have to say that the poster who called him "classless" and described his comments as "whining" simply doesn't have a clue. Urban Meyer went on every media outlet avaible to beg and plead for Florida to be chosen, whined for a full 2 weeks, and did everything short of shed tears, and all that Lloyd did was say that Meyer's comments were inappropriate. He did not advocate for Michigan over Florida, and despite repeated prompting from the anchors on Sportscenter, held tight to Mighigan's policy against such campaigning. Lloyd handled the situation with the class and dignity for which both he, and Michigan, are known.
Mike Hart had 140+ YDs and 3 TD's against "mighty OSU"...I think he has a right to talk about anything he wants...
Oh I almost forgot. Its starting to look like a east coast-west coast feud up in these parts. North Vs South, Battle of the Penninsula's, Yankee's vs Confederates, Mich vs UF. This guy wrote a bristling piece about you Brian, curious on your thoughts!
http://www.dawgsports.com/story/...12/6/01539/
7268
I think the stuff that people are saying about the media not liking Michigan is pretty much dead on for one main reason...
What does the media want from programs? Access. They want exclusive interviews with players, heart-to-heart talks off the record with coaches, the ability to watch and film practices, wacky stunts like throwing dummys off buildings, colorful press conferences with Robot Geniuses.
This year, we saw a bunch of Stewart Mandel articles that made it clear that he had pretty much open access to Troy Smith, could call him on his cell, etc. Which is fine, I personally don't have a problem with it, but it's not what Michigan does. Players are off limits outside of specific settings, practice is closed, Lloyd is tight-lipped and sarcastic with reporters, players don't get hyped for individual awards (the Athletic Department's already said they won't promote Hart for Heisman). It's the team, the team, the team, and it's a very closed circle. We give the media little and they respond in kind.
Here's the real problem - so few people do actually get it. And I will be crucified for saying it, but the ratio of those not getting it increases dramatically among those who are fans, but who are not alums.
People get so pissed off when you say it, but it's true. If you were to stop being pissed off, and go through the university experience, you'd come out the other side and say wow, I see what you mean. But until you do, you won't even understand what I'm trying to tell you. But trust me, it will go a long way toward explaining why so many love everything about LC.
AD, you're dead on. At some level it's about what Michigan itself represents, more than standings and recognition. I can't even talk about it with people who went to other schools -- the ones who thought Carr's job was in jeopardy because he went 7-5, or who think that Carr's biggest mistake wasn't playing to the media more. I'm prouder of Lloyd now than I would be if he'd lobbied on SportsCenter and somehow gotten us to Glendale. People who went to other schools would call this a loser's rationalization, but little do they know ... At some point in my alumni life the football team became a small proxy for everything else great about Michigan -- my classes and professors and my friends. One thing far worse than losing a game is losing the program's integrity, and in some small way the University's. It's the difference between feeling like a fan and feeling like a stakeholder.
You're right, AD. You will be crucified for being such an arrogant ass.
I graduated from U-M this past spring. I don't "love everything about LC." I've always supported the job he was doing, unlike some of my classmates who were irate and couldn't wait for him to retire. I'm sure they appreciate being generalized by the likes of you.
Stop the charade that you "get it." If "it" is a clue, I'm afraid you'll have to keep looking.
Michigan would never hire the following coaches: Charle Weiss, Pete Carroll, Any Bowden, and (although his name was thrown out there a couple years ago because exceptions in his contract)Urban Meyer.
There is truely a Michigan Way, for better or for worse, this shines through in the media. I don't know if any of the coaches above could adapt to it.
luke | 12.08.06 - 10:32 am | #
I respect LC and Bo as examples of what coaches should be: Demanding, Honest and Loyal. What I don't understand about Luke's comment is the inclusion of CW on this list. Yes, I'm a homer when it comes to ND. But I think he's has the same qualities as LC. Players are there to get an education, conduct themselves in a respectful manner and compete for championships in football. Same as LC. Now you can go off on his cheeseburger comments, but if you read the whole exchange, you'll see his point was no different than the one that has been argued here over the last two weeks. LC is a Michigan man, and I say that as a compliment. CW is an ND man (the exact reason why he would never be hired at UM). Both have set and live by standards that others find tough to follow, as it should be.
Please Please Please stomp USC....
If Michigan wins the Rose Bowl and Ohio State loses on 1/8, then Lloyd Carr will have A) the most number of victories (97, tied with OSU) and B) highest winning percentage (.7823) of ANY D1-A program in the last decade (1997-2006).
Pretty impressive stuff.
Hey BRCE, I said I loved everything about LC, not that every other grad did. Getting it is about appreciating the history of Michigan, and LC's role in it - not about loving everything about LC. More importantly, it's about respecting it, even if you don't agree with it. Kind of like you said you do, supporting his endeavors. I only posited that those who go to school are far more likely to feel that way than those who did not.
But thanks for calling me an arrogant ass and then misinterpreting my statement in a lame attempt to justify your attack. Nice.
I honestly don't understand this "university experience" concept. I'm guessing someone who is a long-time Michigan fan (e.g., followed Michigan since Bo) but not a grad can probably appreciate the Michigan tradition more than someone who just finished a 4-year training as a Michigan fan.
JS - Believe me when I say it, I am not trying to discount UM fans who did not attend UM. Not even close. THere are thousands of fans who would kill for UM who never went to school there. All I am trying to say is, when you DO attend school, your love for UM deepnens. And I know it sounds ass-holish, but I'm telling you, it becomes more special when you attend. It's a vested interest. You attend classes with the athletes. You drink beer with them at Rick's in the off-season. It suddenly becomes a lot harder to say "these guys suck" or "LC is an idiot" when you have that kind of personal involvement. No offense to those who don't, I'm just saying, I loved UM with all my heart before I went there, but after I was part of the university, I realized that there was something even more about being there.
Lloyd Carr is one of the worst referee baiters in football. That kind of constant lobbying in games is bush league. Is that taking the "high road"?
BBA -
I don't understand how lobbying the referees is Bush League. Most coaches do that. Please explain how yapping at the refs is unethical behavior. It often works - as it did with the penalty on OSU for hitting the long snapper..Carr noticed this on tape and let the refs know about before the play. First Down M. Unethical? Don't see how.
For what it's worth, here is the take of an interested outsider on the recent remarks of Lloyd Carr and Nancy Meyer:
http://www.dawgsports.com/story/...12/9/19284/
3356
wow, I started following this blog this year and have enjoyed it a great deal. I thought you were the voice of reason a solid 90% of the time. But I guess you're just another typical homer that overpopulates the boards.
Yup we're better than everyone, everything we do is right, everyone else not Michigan men, they just don't get it.
And how do you argue with people who just think they're operating at a higher, yet completely undefined, level.
I may be late to the party, but here's my two cents as a Michigan native (10+ generations) who went to Northwestern...
The Northwestern grads who get pissy about Michigan (e.g. Mandel, Wilbon) are not from Michigan. Everyone I knew while I was in Evanston ('81-'87, graduated '85) who grew up in Michigan had a healthy respect for UofM, academically as well as athletically.
Why? Simple enough: For many of us, UofM was our safety school, we were expected to get in there even if Harvard, Cal Tech, and Stanford said "no."
On a side note, I'm not sure why our host thinks going to Northwestern = suffering miserably. One of the reasons I picked Evanston over Ann Arbor was the difference between having Chicago as an El-accessible playground vs. being stuck in A-squared with no wheels. The Windy City not only has transportation options, but better ethnic food, better entertainment (anyone remember what downtown Detroit was like before the casinos?), and the bars are open until 5am on weekends.
Oh, and I was taking courses from live, tenured professors in my freshman year. Sometimes, you do get what you pay for.
As far as football-fan-related pain goes, well it builds character. Plus, we were the first place in the country to find out what a tool Denny Green really is. It was rough to live through, but it made that Rose Bowl all the sweeter.
So, Brian, you have a right to complain about some Northwestern grads. But a lot more of us pull for Michigan than you might think from watching a couple of a$$hats on TV.
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