It has been a busy summer in the Dr. Green and White household, but I wanted to comment on some "internet drama" that went down earlier this week when Jeremiah Beasley committed to Michigan. In response to this commitment, EJ Holland, who writes for On3 now, posted this gem of an article:
www.on3.com
When this article hit Twitter, it draw some ire from MSU fans and even some MSU friendly media members. In particular, Justin Rose, Justin Spiro, and 247's Justin Thind (all friends to Spartans Illustrated) started mixing it up. Rose called Holland "a buffoon." Holland acted like he had never heard of Rose and made a jab at Think at being "10 years old." It was all very mature. Note also, that there is a VERY large group of Michigan fans who agree with Rose...
A few days later, former UofM basketball player and media wannabe, Ant Wright, hosted a Twitter Space where Holland, Rose, and Spiro talked it out a bit. Mostly Spiro lit into Holland while Holland's main argument was "why are you all so mad?"
A good time was had by all. This is what happens when we haven't actually had football to watch in six months.
As I reflected on this whole incident, I had a couple of observations that I thought might be interesting to share with the group.
To kick things off, the timing just feels weird. It is late June and now early July. I got they we are all sort of bored from a lack of college sports, but this really came out of left field. It is like a bunch as grade school kids were just sitting in the bleachers at an assembly, and one kids just slugs another kid in the arm for no reason. Where is this coming from?
Then, there is the choice of words: "where's the threat?" There are a few layers to just that phrase.
The first layer is whether MSU actually is a threat to the Wolverines or not. Michigan is the back-to-back Big Ten champs and playoff participant. They are a preseason top 5 five. MSU is coming off a 5-7 season. On it's face, MSU should not be a threat, right. But if this true, why do Michigan fans care? If Holland and the Michigan fans that he "represents," really don't think that MSU is a threat, why is he thinking about MSU? By bring MSU into this argument, he is essentially validating MSU. Western Michigan is not a threat. Michigan fans enjoyed pretending that they see MSU and Western Michigan as more on the same tier than as their equal. But they certainly do not act that way.
Perhaps there is a good reason to validate MSU, though. Afterall, Coach Tucker has a winning record against Michigan and a NY6 Bowl win (which is something that Harbaugh has not accomplished at Michigan). MSU has defeated Michigan 10 of the last 15 times, and MSU accomplished this feat despite the fact that Michigan has "out recruited" consistently for decades. MSU has been a pretty big threat to Michigan for while. If Holland is saying, "no, but this time it's different," because of a single recruiting victory, well, those are pretty tough dots to connect.
In other words, it sounds like Holland it trying hard to convince himself of something that is not exactly supported by the last 15-20 years of history (or longer). I think that he is trying to convince himself that Michigan is (finally) an elite football school, similar to the way Ohio State is perceived or MSU is perceived in basketball. He is trying to convince himself that Micigan has (finally) passed MSU for good in football.
But the fact that he needs to make this argument is evidence that it isn't true. Can you imagine an OSU football writer or an MSU basketball writer composing a similar story? I can't. I think any of those writers would consider an article like that to be beneath them and the program that the follow. Act like you have been there before, EJ! Oh right, you haven't been.
The second layer to the "where's the threat" comment is that (and I am not sure if Holland is consciously aware of this) but this exact phrase is one that Mark Dantonio used in reference to Michigan in 2012:
www.cbssports.com
The difference, however, is that in 2012, Dantonio and MSU had beaten Michigan four straight times and was in the middle of a streak where the Spartans would claim seven wins in eight attempts. That is a bit different than a one-game win streak where Michigan couldn't even successfully run up the score in the final minutes last fall.
This is also not the first time that someone associated with Michigan has tried to turn the words of Mark Dantonio around against MSU and it is not the first time that they have tried to pound the round peg into the square hole to do it. Does anyone remeber how Mark Dantonio ran up the score and said that "it's not the players, it's the program," after Joe Bolden drove a stake into Spartan Stadium in 2014? Just a few years later, Harbaugh attempted to turn these words against MSU following the obviously preplanned and contrived Devin Bush "red rover" pregame incident in 2018. One could argue that the same talking points were used after the tunnel incident last year.
www.fox2detroit.com
In both of these examples, members of the University of Michigan community took a negative trait of their own and attempted to paint MSU with the same brush. ("We are not the ones with the toxic culture... that's YOU!") I believe that the technical description of this behavior is "narcissistic projection." In fact, I find a lot of the tactics and behaviors of the Wolverine community to bear a shocking resemblance to the personality traits associated with narcissism personality disorder. Just google that and draw your own conclusion.
Suffice it to say that despite being retired for three years, Mark Dantonio continues to live rent free in the heads of many Michigan Wolverine fans.
The final facet to this story is the way the Holland responded. It is pretty obvious that he was intending to bate MSU fans, but when pressed on the topic, his response was basically, "why are you all so mad?" (Again, it's not his fault for writing the words, it's MSU fans fault for being insulted by them.... sure.) For me, this is all part of a much broader pattern of behavior that stretches back perhaps all the way to the MSU's entrance into the Big Ten.
I believe that the root cause here is that a large part of Michigan community still cannot accept that MSU is a peer University. They are suppose to be the "Leaders and Best," but the reality of the situation is that there are two Big Ten Universities in the state and it's the one that prefers Green and White that has had more general success in the revenue sports over the last 20 years (see: Tom Izzo and the last 15 years of the football rivalry). This just drives some of them crazy. When they lash out (as Holland did), they are doing it from the point of view that they are the superior University and that it is OK for them to insult MSU because MSU is inferior (and what they are saying is "true.") They are trying to create their own alternate reality and when challenged, they double down, (which is again, a typical trait of narcissists).
The most disturbing (but perhaps enlightening at the same time) part of the discussion between Rose and Holland on the Twitter Space was that when Rose basically told Holland to simmer down because the rivalry was becoming too toxic, Holland's response was basically, "this is fun for me."
So there you have it. Holland, and the portion of the fanbase whom he represents actually WANT the rivalry to be toxic. I have a hard time finding any other explanation to this behavior. If the playing field is level and MSU and Michigan are viewed as peers with mutual respect, MSU generally comes out on top more times than not (at least recently), and the Wolverines don't like that. But when the rivalry is toxic and both schools are dragged into the mud, they can control the narrative enough to make it looks like MSU is the bad guy and that they are the good guy. This is a strategy that has severed them well over the past 10 years, so this is the path that they have taken.
At least, that is how I see things. Your mileage may vary.
Where's the threat? Michigan beats Michigan State on the recruiting trail... again
Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines are working hard on top football recruits from around the country.
When this article hit Twitter, it draw some ire from MSU fans and even some MSU friendly media members. In particular, Justin Rose, Justin Spiro, and 247's Justin Thind (all friends to Spartans Illustrated) started mixing it up. Rose called Holland "a buffoon." Holland acted like he had never heard of Rose and made a jab at Think at being "10 years old." It was all very mature. Note also, that there is a VERY large group of Michigan fans who agree with Rose...
A few days later, former UofM basketball player and media wannabe, Ant Wright, hosted a Twitter Space where Holland, Rose, and Spiro talked it out a bit. Mostly Spiro lit into Holland while Holland's main argument was "why are you all so mad?"
A good time was had by all. This is what happens when we haven't actually had football to watch in six months.
As I reflected on this whole incident, I had a couple of observations that I thought might be interesting to share with the group.
To kick things off, the timing just feels weird. It is late June and now early July. I got they we are all sort of bored from a lack of college sports, but this really came out of left field. It is like a bunch as grade school kids were just sitting in the bleachers at an assembly, and one kids just slugs another kid in the arm for no reason. Where is this coming from?
Then, there is the choice of words: "where's the threat?" There are a few layers to just that phrase.
The first layer is whether MSU actually is a threat to the Wolverines or not. Michigan is the back-to-back Big Ten champs and playoff participant. They are a preseason top 5 five. MSU is coming off a 5-7 season. On it's face, MSU should not be a threat, right. But if this true, why do Michigan fans care? If Holland and the Michigan fans that he "represents," really don't think that MSU is a threat, why is he thinking about MSU? By bring MSU into this argument, he is essentially validating MSU. Western Michigan is not a threat. Michigan fans enjoyed pretending that they see MSU and Western Michigan as more on the same tier than as their equal. But they certainly do not act that way.
Perhaps there is a good reason to validate MSU, though. Afterall, Coach Tucker has a winning record against Michigan and a NY6 Bowl win (which is something that Harbaugh has not accomplished at Michigan). MSU has defeated Michigan 10 of the last 15 times, and MSU accomplished this feat despite the fact that Michigan has "out recruited" consistently for decades. MSU has been a pretty big threat to Michigan for while. If Holland is saying, "no, but this time it's different," because of a single recruiting victory, well, those are pretty tough dots to connect.
In other words, it sounds like Holland it trying hard to convince himself of something that is not exactly supported by the last 15-20 years of history (or longer). I think that he is trying to convince himself that Michigan is (finally) an elite football school, similar to the way Ohio State is perceived or MSU is perceived in basketball. He is trying to convince himself that Micigan has (finally) passed MSU for good in football.
But the fact that he needs to make this argument is evidence that it isn't true. Can you imagine an OSU football writer or an MSU basketball writer composing a similar story? I can't. I think any of those writers would consider an article like that to be beneath them and the program that the follow. Act like you have been there before, EJ! Oh right, you haven't been.
The second layer to the "where's the threat" comment is that (and I am not sure if Holland is consciously aware of this) but this exact phrase is one that Mark Dantonio used in reference to Michigan in 2012:
Mark Dantonio on Michigan: 'Where's the threat?'
Michigan State head coach doesn't seem to be buying the Michigan hype
www.cbssports.com
The difference, however, is that in 2012, Dantonio and MSU had beaten Michigan four straight times and was in the middle of a streak where the Spartans would claim seven wins in eight attempts. That is a bit different than a one-game win streak where Michigan couldn't even successfully run up the score in the final minutes last fall.
This is also not the first time that someone associated with Michigan has tried to turn the words of Mark Dantonio around against MSU and it is not the first time that they have tried to pound the round peg into the square hole to do it. Does anyone remeber how Mark Dantonio ran up the score and said that "it's not the players, it's the program," after Joe Bolden drove a stake into Spartan Stadium in 2014? Just a few years later, Harbaugh attempted to turn these words against MSU following the obviously preplanned and contrived Devin Bush "red rover" pregame incident in 2018. One could argue that the same talking points were used after the tunnel incident last year.
WATCH: Harbaugh 'It's not a product of their team but the program' on pregame incident at MSU
The pregame spat between Michigan and Michigan State is showing no signs of going away.
In both of these examples, members of the University of Michigan community took a negative trait of their own and attempted to paint MSU with the same brush. ("We are not the ones with the toxic culture... that's YOU!") I believe that the technical description of this behavior is "narcissistic projection." In fact, I find a lot of the tactics and behaviors of the Wolverine community to bear a shocking resemblance to the personality traits associated with narcissism personality disorder. Just google that and draw your own conclusion.
Suffice it to say that despite being retired for three years, Mark Dantonio continues to live rent free in the heads of many Michigan Wolverine fans.
The final facet to this story is the way the Holland responded. It is pretty obvious that he was intending to bate MSU fans, but when pressed on the topic, his response was basically, "why are you all so mad?" (Again, it's not his fault for writing the words, it's MSU fans fault for being insulted by them.... sure.) For me, this is all part of a much broader pattern of behavior that stretches back perhaps all the way to the MSU's entrance into the Big Ten.
I believe that the root cause here is that a large part of Michigan community still cannot accept that MSU is a peer University. They are suppose to be the "Leaders and Best," but the reality of the situation is that there are two Big Ten Universities in the state and it's the one that prefers Green and White that has had more general success in the revenue sports over the last 20 years (see: Tom Izzo and the last 15 years of the football rivalry). This just drives some of them crazy. When they lash out (as Holland did), they are doing it from the point of view that they are the superior University and that it is OK for them to insult MSU because MSU is inferior (and what they are saying is "true.") They are trying to create their own alternate reality and when challenged, they double down, (which is again, a typical trait of narcissists).
The most disturbing (but perhaps enlightening at the same time) part of the discussion between Rose and Holland on the Twitter Space was that when Rose basically told Holland to simmer down because the rivalry was becoming too toxic, Holland's response was basically, "this is fun for me."
So there you have it. Holland, and the portion of the fanbase whom he represents actually WANT the rivalry to be toxic. I have a hard time finding any other explanation to this behavior. If the playing field is level and MSU and Michigan are viewed as peers with mutual respect, MSU generally comes out on top more times than not (at least recently), and the Wolverines don't like that. But when the rivalry is toxic and both schools are dragged into the mud, they can control the narrative enough to make it looks like MSU is the bad guy and that they are the good guy. This is a strategy that has severed them well over the past 10 years, so this is the path that they have taken.
At least, that is how I see things. Your mileage may vary.
