My avid Michigan fan Lisa sent me something from her mother this morning, detailing cautions that the University of Michigan is passing along to those attending the big game at Ohio State in Columbus this weekend. She writes:
"Did you hear about the email that U of M sent out? They're urging people not to drive cars with Michigan license plates, urging them not to wear any maize and blue, and to ignore any provocations. In addition to that, Ohio State is organizing volunteers to escort the Michigan fans from the tailgate area to the stadium and back. U of M campus police are going to Columbus this year to protect the Michigan fans--who have been given their cell phone numbers and are being told not to wait, but to call 911 at the first sign of trouble."
This sportwriter in Ann Arbor, and in Detroit detail those scary Bucks fans even further.
And to add my own footnote, we were practically thrown into a brawl 2 years ago at an Upper East Side bar that had been Michigan-friendly the previous year. But in 2004, the OSU alumni association had decided to make that bar one of their "OSU bars," thereby letting all OSU fans know they would be in good company.
While one group sitting next to us (they were older, and therefor a bit more mature) were perfectly fine, reasonable, even nice people, we were mocked, threatened, and goaded just so the Bucks fans could be assholes (as U of M was losing most of the game) and seriously were a bit afraid of what those crazy shits would do to us, whether U of M won or lost. It's just dispicable behavior, and truly unsportsman-like. I find Yankees fans to be of the same vein when I attended a game this summer, bearating a 60-year-old man with profanity for wearing a Tigers hat (which he played off very well and made them look ignorant, as they clearly were).
A good rivalry is fun, but when you start fearing for your life by showing team spirit, there's a bigger problem. Maybe it's because their mascot is a giant HAIRLESS NUT, and they feel inadequate. I guess to be fair, it's poisonous - just like the fans behavior.
Nice necklace, by the way. I've always wanted to hang a bunch of nuts around my neck. But then again, those OSU fans are used to nuts up in their grill.
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3 comments:
Nice, Heather! Good links - I've passed them along to my Michigan-alums-brother-and-sister-in-law team. Go Blue!!!
S'up, Heatha!
I myself can remember being called a "fucking pussy" one SUMMER (i.e., nowhere even near "The Game" on the calendar) by a total stranger out on a frisbee golf course, of all places, *just* because I was wearing my "M" cap.
I have a friend from Michigan who told me of a story involving a car with Michigan plates being stoned and bottled into oblivion, just for having those license plates.
It's shameful.
Shameful indeed!
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