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By Sam, February 15, 2010 1:05 pm

There is a certain code to live by that makes being a sports fan a meaningful experience. It can be a difficult code to follow in hard times because it involves making an emotional attachment to a program, and linking your fortunes with theirs. It is because of that attachment and because there is the potential to suffer with your team that makes the enjoyment of winning so much more intense when you are lucky enough to experience it. You have to suffer with something to truly be a fan of it. You have to be tested, and you have to remain loyal when the temptation of being one of the throngs who regardless of geography or alma mater flock to the most successful blue blood program  or worse to Kobe or Lebron. If you are ever to earn the right to celebrate a teams accomplishments with pride then you must experience more than just a championship run. You have to be there on cold February days when conference road games take their toll. You might have to sit through an NIT or even CBI game, you have to watch players leave the court in March in tears knowing that they gave you 4 great seasons and you will never get to watch them again. You have to experience all of the highs and the lows to earn a meaningful affiliation.

It occurred to me yesterday when I was sitting in the Convocation Center watching my two mid major alma maters battle it out in a game that would determine 3rd place in the MAC West that this game had more meaning to me than the previous weeks Duke/North Carolina game could have had to most of the chattering, blue clad masses in the Dean Smith Center or watching on ESPN, because I am vested. I spent three years of my life in Kalamazoo and watched the Broncos 10+ times a season since the day I set foot on that campus, I’ve spent the last 4 years in Ypsilanti going to every EMU home game I can. The highlights of rooting for middle of the road to bad mid major teams are not plentiful, but they are far more memorable than any Final Four could be for the team I might have arbitrarily chosen to root for.

This might strike some as a bitter rant. I certainly don’t mean for it to. I root for Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Georgetown and Michigan State. I have degrees from Eastern and Western, and followed Michigan State since an early age. I do not mean to imply that you must attend a school to root for the basketball team. I think it should be your first loyalty and I absolutely resent the notion that you should cast aside your personal affiliation just because the athletic program isn’t as high a profile as the larger state school. I do recognize that some people make an attachment early in life and it stays with them regardless of where they went to school. I absolutely get that and for the most part can respect it. The so called fans that I can’t abide by are the guys that root for the top team, top player, or top tradition and want to revel in that success. These are the parasites that latch on to the biggest thing they can find to try and share in their success.

Classic example is this clown who sat near us at last years championship game:

This guy was the most vocal person in our section. He was more animated in his support of the North Carolina Tarheel’s than Tyler Hansborough’s parents (I know this because as the game got more and more out of hand I kept an eye on both just to have something to take my mind off things). He didn’t even care enough about the team to ever buy a t-shirt. He did care enough to put on his best Carolina Blue Rocawear jacket and matching Carolina Blue Old English D hat, and try to taunt Spartan fans in our section. He liked to declare things over and jump out of his seat for dunks. I liked to yell “Go Rocawear” every time he did, because I have zero respect for guys like this. If he had an equally unaffiliated friend who was wearing green and white Fubu and had a green and white yankee hat it would be different. But this tool was trying to banter with real fans who were watching their team play for the highest stakes out there. It was completely inappropriate, and no matter how much he tried to pretend to celebrate afterwords it was clearly unauthentic and meaningless. He was out there watching a TV show, I was watching a team/program that I had been following since I was in 3rd grade, other people were watching a team/program that represented the school where they spent years of their lives, a place where they had chosen a career path, met a spouse, etc… it just wasn’t balanced.

My philosophy is simple and fair. There is nothing wrong with liking a team. You can like a team without being a true fan. I like Georgetown. I root for Georgetown, watch them when I can, know who their players and coaches are, and read about them. I like their tradition, I like that they win at an elite level without taking dirty BCS football money, and I just plain enjoy watching them play. I am a true fan of Western Michigan. This is because I can’t walk away when the program is down, or when we have a tough loss. If Georgetown starts a long slide it won’t bother me that much, I’ll just root for Seton Hall or something. If Western Michigan starts/continues to slide I’ll get pissed, want the coach fired, call Ball State cheaters, want to build a new arena, drink more, etc… I can’t walk away from “my team”. If you don’t have a team you can’t just pick one up overnight . You have to earn the right to call a team yours through time and energy expelled watching, hoping, and sometimes being disappointed. Until such time as you become a true fan of a team you should be respectful of true fans and never try to equate your loss affiliations with their real passions. If some tool at BW3s who grew up in the same town as I did, went to community college, grew up rooting for the Fab-5 and then Michigan State when Izzo became dominate, and has never lived outside of Metro Detroit, sits next to me to watch Kentucky play WMU in the tournament this March (I can dream), he better not pump his fist and try to talk shit to me if Kentucky is beating up on Western Michigan just because he really likes Wall, and Bledsoe. He doesn’t matter, his thoughts don’t matter, and his happiness is just a meaningless front, because to him, sports don’t matter. I’d rather watch a game with some crusty old Kentucky fan from the hill country who has a picture of Adolph Rupp in his rec room if he is a true fan of his team. Because at least that guy gets it.

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By Rhett, February 14, 2010 9:38 pm

Happy Valentines Day. I offer you a picture of my broken basketball heart.

say it ain't so baby

The week that was in college basketball may have been just like any other week. There are teams fighting their way onto the bubble, teams tripping themselves off the bubble, and teams that don’t know what that is, because they don’t roll dolo’s like some other schools do.

If you’ve read any part of this weblog of our basketball trials and tribulations, it’s not hard to know that we root for a few core teams. I tend to follow the Western Michigan Broncos, Michigan State Spartans, and UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. Quite the combination. I bet nobody else west of the Mississippi has a wall of fame hanging in their man cave with Ben Reed, Anthony Kahn, and Mike Williams on it.

Last week, things seemed to be great. UNLV was coming off a win at home against rival bible thumps BYU.  The Broncos won at home against Bowling Green. Michigan State had lost earlier that week at Wisconsin, and had looked to get back on track at Illinois (without Kalin Lucas). Ever since then, it has been a brutal run.

1. Western Michigan has lost two straight road games to Ohio and Eastern Michigan. Now they have a sub-.500 conference record. Not quite the note you want to hit when you’re heading into your final hand full of games before the conference tournament. I always believe that if they can get there, David Kool will bust out some flip mode sequence and pull off a miracle. He’s gone after this year, and deserves to see the NCAA Tournament. We deserve to see him and his squad play there too. Doesn’t seem so likely at this point.

2. Michigan State lost to Illinois. They probably would have won had Kalin Lucas played. Afterwords, they lost at home to stupid boiler up Purdue and their trio of clowns that everybody thinks are sweet at basketball. They have since won at Penn State yesterday, but come on, everybody has done that this year. Penn State hasn’t won a conference game to date. Sparty had been in line to challenge for a #1 seed, and an easy road to the round of 16, and hopefully beyond. Now, they’re looking at a 3 or 4 seed. It is possible to improve to a 2, but, I’m not holding my breath, or my lungs will look like the hoop rock just above.

3. UNLV played host to New Mexico, and did their best BYU impression on Wednesday. Yesterday, I saddled up tonto and rode up to the b-dubs down the street to watch UNLV play at SDSU on Versus, only to be disapointed in my investment. It was really hot in there. I hung out until I knew it was over. The Rebels lost the game, have now lost two in a row, and can basically kiss the regular season conference title good-bye. In addition, their next game at Utah is now a must win. I’m sure you remember what happened last time these two teams met, right?

So there you go. Happy Valentines Day. My second lover (my first being my very beautiful and loving wife), has forsaken me. I am no front runner. I follow the teams I do for very specific reasons. No Duke fan here. MSU is logical, because I’m from Michigan, and the Spartans are not the Wolverines. WMU is my pseudo-alma matter, and UNLV is the only sports gig here in Las Vegas. How could I not go? It would be easy to root for Villanova or something, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.

Basketball is a brutal lover. The highs are so high, and the lows are so low. The coming week poses challenges for all the teams I mentioned here. It is my hope to see some of them in March, at neutral sites, and having a blast. If they aren’t there, it will be OK, because the Trip is perpetual, and it’s not about our teams. It’s just icing on the cake. After last year’s Final Four, perhaps we are spoiled.

So, I guess I will treat this relationship like a troubled marriage. You have to work to make it work.

I’m not turning my back on you baby.

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By Sam, February 6, 2010 9:01 am

The MAC West looks like its going to CMU. The Chips have a 3 game lead as WMU and NIU have faded during cross divisional play. Eastern Michigan will probably have a sub .500 conference record as they continue to drop winnable home games, and I am quickly becoming frustrated with the prospects of the conference to crown a champion capable of winning an NCAA tournament game.

Michigan State played a terrible game and was thoroughly out classed by Wisconsin. Kalin Lucas rolls his ankle and might be out for the seasons most pivotal stretch (@Illinois, and Purdue). If they don’t win the Big Ten regular season after starting 9-0 then they should make Paul Davis an honorary captain during the Big Ten tournament, and probably shouldn’t be expecting a deep run in March. The notion that everything will be all right in March is an over estimate in East Lansing. State really hasn’t been playing good basketball for the last month, and I don’t believe Tom Izzo can just have them flip a switch. I really hope they don’t fade down the stretch because this is a likable collection of players, but after the debacle in Madison I have my concerns.

Rhett assures me that Lon Kruger will step up today and stop the Mormons from running away with the Mountain West. Let’s see if Jimmer can carry his sprite drinking, polygamist practicing, Orrin Hatch voting, door to door bothering, 25 year olds to victory in a hostile and sin filled environment.

I need wins by UNLV, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Michigan State today to feel good about the direction of this season. I’ll take 3-1 but anything less than that and my worries will continue. I’ll be at the Convo in a few hours cheering on EMU against Ohio U. Hope its worth it.

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By Sam, December 9, 2009 3:31 pm

The season is now in full swing as we move through December and mercifully no longer have to watch the brutal disappointment that was the 2009 college football season every week. I took in a couple of games in November to try and get a feel for how my teams were going to look this season and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised in both cases.

On November 15th we headed through the ruins of Old Detroit and took in the Western Michigan/Detroit Mercy game at Callahan Hall. This game holds special significance to the Broncos because their best low post player from last season LeMarcus Lowe was sitting on UDM’s bench as a recent transfer. This is the guy who wanted to be closer to his ailing mother who lives in Flint so he left Kalamazoo for Detroit. Either that or those degenerates gave him a fancy shirt with a tiger on it, some gold chains and a previously owned Ford Taurus. At any rate the Broncos had something to prove after a 10-21 season and a major off season defection, and even in defeat showed enough to leave room for optimism. They never let the game get away from them and held their own physically on the road. A far cry from their performance last season.

Down the road in Ypsilanti Eastern Michigan is in a pivotal year for their program. Charles Ramsey is in year 5 of a very disappointing tenure that has yet to produce a winning season, and with a healthy senior lead team that includes the return of All MAC point guard Carlos Medlock from the injured list it is now or never for C-Ram. I was able to check out EMU once in person already this season when they soundly beat a pretty average Cansisus team from the MAAC in front of a very sparse crowd last week. They then followed it up by being soundly trounced by 51 at Ohio State on Saturday, but all in all I feel like EMU has had a good start to the 09-10 campaign as they sit at 5-3 with a steady diet of cupcakes on deck before heading into MAC play. If they can shake off an embarrassing performance and keep rolling forward they should be decent this year. I would like to be all in on the EMU bandwagon but I have seen this team fall apart to many times under Ramsey and to many promising players fail to develop after good early season performances. I should have a better feel for them after I see them in a tough game against somewhat even competition (I’m giving them a pass in the Ohio State game for now because I think Evan Turner breaking his back really threw them off).

Right now I don’t see either of these programs as championship contenders even in a weak MAC, but there is reason to hope that they might develop into contending programs. We shall see.

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By Rhett, December 6, 2009 2:31 pm

College sports seasons are a difficult thing to grasp sometimes. In both football and basketball, teams usually start the season playing games against teams that are not in their conference. Depending on who you are, these games serve different purposes.

• BCS / High Major Teams – If you’re North Carolina, Kentucky, or UConn, games at the start of the season are meant to do a lot of things. You’re probably paying for a few cupcakes to come to your place and watch you do dunking drills. You’re probably playing in a pre-season tournament, meant to face you against different teams that do things you are not used to (ala, the NCAA Tourney). You’re also playing a few good teams in order to (hopefully) get a few marquee wins on your resume before you begin conference play. These are not necessary wins because you still have your conference schedule, with chances to play other good teams, and your conference tournament.
• Mid Major Teams / Low Major Teams – Most of these guys are collecting a few checks to be a punching bag in a rabid home environment for one of the above teams. A few exceptions (Butler, Xavier, Davidson in recent years), will also be trying to add a few marquee wins vs the teams above, hoping for that mythical at large bid when tourney time comes around. The rest of the punching bags are just hoping to survive to conference schedules (usually starting after the new year), and a chance to position themselves for the conference tournament, and a ticket to the shindig.

Spring will be here before we know it. March will be here, and some of these wins will be important, but others will not. Most teams as we see them now will have a completely different make up. Tom Izzo and is MSU Spartans are notorious for this. You never see his March teams play the way his December teams do. Yes, Michigan State lost at UNC, losing to the Tar Heels for the 3rd straight time in the last two years. Yes, two of those victories were against last years NCAA champion shucks howdy hip gyro nation squad. MSU figured to have the superior squad this last week at UNC, now that most of the title team has moved onto the NBA. Sparty was outplayed for most of the game. I have always seen Tom Izzo’s season as a progression towards a goal. Yes, a win at North Carolina would be great. However, it’s the test that probably (I’m going off the cuff here) means more. Hostile environment, check. Blue Blood squad, check. Broken arm coach who lives his apple pie and the funnies in the sunday section, check. Even though MSU lost, they still gained something from playing the game, and it will go a long way to getting these guys where they need to be come tourney time.

The same could be said for WMU. They travel to Hawaii at the end of December to get beat up on by a few teams before their conference schedule starts. Flying all those time zones away, playing supposedly superior competition (you do have to play the games), and all just before you enter the grind it out portion of your schedule. WMU is not going to get an at large bid this year, unless they don’t lose another game by some miracle. This means they’re playing for a conference tournament seed, and keeping their fingers crossed for some hot David Kool shooting in Cleveland. That is the life on the other side.

So, things may seem sort of brutal at this point. I’m pumped for UNLV hoops, undefeated with two close road victories over Arizona and Santa Clara (appears Santa Clara should have won that game). I’m also hopeful for WMU, as they’ve shown flashes over their non-con schedule (win vs VCU, playing Temple tough). I also see that Tom Izzo and his Spartans are a work in progress, and if things happen the way they have previously, we’ll be watching a different team in a few months.

I’ve got no games this week, until Saturday for UNLV and Kansas State, which, as it turns out, will be a pretty big time game.

Have a good week everybody.

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By Sam, July 6, 2009 10:40 pm

2009-10 WMU nonleague schedule

• Nov. 15 at Detroit
• Nov. 18 VCU
• Nov. 23 at Loyola (Ill.)
• Nov. 28 HOLY CROSS
• Dec. 1 TEMPLE
• Dec. 9 at Eastern Illinois
• Dec. 13 at Illinois
• Dec. 19 KENNESAW STATE
• Dec. 22-25 Diamond Head Classic (Hawaii, C of Charleston, Saint Mary’s (CA), SMU, UNLV, USC, Northeastern)
• Jan. 3 SAM HOUSTON STATE
• Jan. 5 MICHIGAN-DEARBORN

What I like:

• Keeping the home and home series with Detroit Mercy going. It’s a nice little pseudo rivalry early in the year that has produced some close hard fought battles.
• Two 2008 NCAA Tournament teams are visiting University Arena (VCU, & Temple)
• 6 Home games! That is great for a mid major
• Besides Illinois there are no obvious mismatches. The potential to lose any game by a wide enough margin to psychologically damage a young team is not something I want to worry about.

What I don’t like:

• Michigan-Dearborn is Division II and not even competitive at that level. The fact that we have to dip down to that level to fill our schedule and stockpile easy wins is distasteful to me. Also there are more local DII teams that I would rather see given the opportunity like Ferris State (Big Rapids) or Grand Valley State (Allendale). Believe me those half wits in Bland Rapids already think that GVSU has athletics on par with the MAC, a 40 pt beat down would be just the thing to set them right and shut them up.
• The Diamond Head Classic has the potential to ruin Christmas. Hawkins has been brutal in these exempt tournaments with a 1-5 record in last season’s Charleston Shootout and 07’s Old Spice Classic. There is the distinct possibility looking at that roster of teams that Western could have an 0-3 tournament.
• The Loyola (Ill.) game is on the Monday before Thanksgiving making it hard to miss work for a Chicago road trip.

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By Sam, June 23, 2009 12:05 am

 Times are tough here in the rust belt. GM & Crysler are bankrupt, our housing market is as bad as any in the country, on top of that  we have the nations highest unemployment rate, and are trying like hell just to hold on day by day. The sweet release of college hoops is still half a year away, and believe me we could use the diversion. The trouble is the god damn economy has started to appear in our sports world, and have the same depressing effect.

Just like this current recession/depression it isn’t going to effect the wealthiest among us. The Big Ten is going to carry on with little visible difference ( I hear they are even talking big renovations to Crisler Arena). The brunt of the impact is going to go to the mid majors, college basketballs middle class families. Just trying to stay above water, living pay check to pay check, etc… The Mid American Conference has begun to feel the pinch. They are not printing media guides this year, they are not going to have a media day and they are scaling back the conference tournament by 4 teams moving the first round games to campus sites. The rent at Quicken Loans Arena is becoming burdensome to the already thin stretched budgets of the conference members. At Western Michigan renovations to the locker rooms and offices at University Arena have been postponed indefinitely because of revenue shortfalls, which caused Coach Hawkins to have a mini melt down at a golf outing with the local Kalamazoo media.

I guess it really isn’t that suprising that these small cuts are taking place at a time and place when many people are forced to make drastic life changes to weather the economic storm. After all this is a conference situated in the hardest hit areas of the economy, made up of schools that have often struggled to get large numbers of alumni to contribute financially or even show interest in their athletic programs. Still it is sad that the conference tournament is being diminished, and that our diversions are colliding with our realities.

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By Sam, March 10, 2009 4:30 pm

#7 Central Michigan vs. #10 Eastern Michigan:

This is really a tough game to figure out. Eastern is playing their best basketball all season right now winning 4 in a row (half of their win total) going in to this game. Central has been surging for the last month as well including a come from behind win over rival Western Michigan that earned them a share of the MAC West title. Having a share of the MAC West title is kind of like having a share of Citibank right now with the 3 co champions all well below .500 overall, but it still counts for something when your program has been down as long CMU’s.

Eastern won two very close games in the regular season this year against the Chips; one in double OT and the other with clutch free throw shooting in the last few seconds. It is difficult to see those two wins giving the Eagles an advantage in this one since the margin was so razor thin. If anything I feel like the emotional edge is with CMU since it is so difficult to beat a team 3 times in one season. I also like Marcus Vann CMU’s big PF a whole lot. This guy plays a very physical style in the post, one that Eagle forward Brandon Bowdry is often reluctant to play preferring to float on the perimeter and look for chances to fire up a three pointer which he rarely makes. Vann should dominate inside putting pressure on EMU’s inferior backcourt to score which should spell the end of Eastern’s season.  The only chance the Eagles have is if on again off again head case Justin Dobbins shows up and has a big game to counter Vann’s aggressiveness. I just don’t see it happening.

My Pick: Central Michigan

#6 Kent State vs. #11 Northern Illinois:

Kent State is another team that has been playing really well this last month of the season. The Golden Flashes are usually among the elite in this conference however thanks to a coaching change and slow start to the season they were passed up by most of their East division rivals early on and not quite able to recover in time falling one game out of a bye, and being forced to play an extra game this week. Kent also benefits from a sizeable home court advantage in this tournament. Most of their fans and alumni are in metropolitan Cleveland so they usually bring a nice contingent of folks to the Q.

Northern Illinois is just a plain lousy team. They do nothing particularly well, and have no sign of improvement from midnight madness through today. They are coached by Ricardo Patton a notorious hot head who provides the only drama in many of NIU’s games as anxious fans wonder if he will be ejected for lighting into an official. This game shouldn’t be close.

My Pick: Kent State

#8 Western Michigan vs. #9 Ohio

After chocking away a 14 point lead and the outright MAC West title (along with the #2 seed and bye into the quarterfinals)in the final 10 minutes of Sunday’s game against Central Michigan the Western Michigan Broncos now draw the only team from the East division that they were able to beat this season in cross divisional play and the only team in the conference playing as bad as they are. This is the only reason I would even entertain the notion of predicting a win for the worst rebounding and worst shooting team in the MAC.

David Kool has not been enough to carry this team this season despite some very impressive individual performances, and he won’t be able to carry them through this tournament.  Not with the horrific rebounding efforts they have been famous for this year. I don’t care who they are playing. I don’t care that Ohio got torched by BGSU on Sunday like a team that has quit on their season. I don’t care that WMU beat them by double digits at their place this season. I refuse to pick a team that is as poor on the glass as WMU. Rebounding is more about desire than talent. Western doesn’t have the desire, and that is why they lose.

My Pick: Ohio

#5 Akron vs. #12 Toledo

Along with Kent Akron brings the largest amount of fans into the Q every season which makes this a virtual home game for the Zips. They are going to need all the support they can get after a very emotional loss to Kent State that ended their regular season and cost them a share of the East division title and the #1 seed in this tournament.  They’ll square off against a Toledo team that has been overmatched for much of the season, competing with only a handful of scholarship players. Toledo doesn’t win much away from home either going 1–17 away from Savage Hall. Senior gurard Tyrone Kent can’t do everything although a big game from him might keep it close…for a while.

My Pick: Akron