dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
dumb dumb and dumber
Yes this is an essay about the University of Michigan Football team and sign stealing but let me make it understood that this is in no way a defense or justification or an excuse for what was done and what might be done to penalize Michigan.
As far as I am concerned, there are no allegations of cheating because they did it, Michigan cheated.
As Mr. B. Bunny might say, they were caught, crimson fisted, and again as far as I am concerned, they deserve anything that might come down the road whether its a finger waving now-now-now don’t do that again or if the team has to give up (vacate is the accepted term in sport) any number of wins, championships and records for any games played while this was going on.
What this essay is about it asking the question, “How could they be so DUMB?”
Anyone one who has read this blog should know that I like Michigan football.
Anyone who says I might be a Michigan Fanatic as never been to a Michigan football game and seen what a fanatic really looks like.
As I always say, I come by this honestly.
I graduated from Michigan.
8 of my 10 brothers and sisters graduated from Michigan.
We make up, according to the Alumni Association, the largest block of siblings with Michigan degrees.
4 of my siblings married Michigan grads that they met while being in school in Ann Arbor.
A large number of my nieces and nephews hold Michigan degrees.
My Dad graduated from Michigan.
My Grandfather graduated from Michigan.
We grew up with Michigan football on the radio in the house on fall afternoons.
As a fan I embraced the Michigan Record Book.
Longest streaks of consecutive sellouts, largest home crowds, ratings in the top 25, strings of winning seasons and the all time leader in College Football wins.
So many of those records disappeared under the coaching of Rich Rodriguez, the Morgantown Miracle Worker.
Even the all time streak of games with a sellout crowd string had to be changed to all time streak of games with crowds over 100,000.
But we kept the all time win list.
I have been watching this closely.
At one time, I predicted the goal of 1st team ever to win 1,000 games would be reached in early 2023.
That was before COVID and that threw my schedule but now, starting back in 1879, Michigan is but a few games short of being the first time to win 1,000 games.
… Unless.
Unless those in authority decide that Michigan’s cheating deserves a penalty that takes away any wins where this cheating took place.
Somewhere between 30 and 40 games.
And wouldn’t that just be perfect.
That team down south is right behind us and take away 30 wins from Michigan and …
And this is what gets me the most.
Michigan DID NOT NEED to do this.
And, yes, I originally typed that sentence as WE DID NOT NEED …
I have been long teased about using ‘WE’ when talking about Michigan.
I need anyone who might feel otherwise to point out any game in the last three or four years and say that Michigan NEEDED to cheat.
Think of all the movies, Paper Lion, Longest Yard, North Dallas Forty and the like and think of the work and the effort and the pain that players put up with to play this game.
And somehow someone felt that all that work by the players and coaches wasn’t enough and all that work and effort and pain was first put at risk and then made a mockery of by cheating.
DUMB
DUMB DUMB DUMB
How could they have been so dumb.
Regardless of how this all plays out, the damage has been done.
In the movie, Margin Call, about the 2009 bank collapse, Daniel Day Lewis in the role of the CEO says there are three ways to win in business.
You can be smarter than everyone else.
You can be first.
Or, you can cheat.
Michigan always claimed to be smarter than everyone else (that just makes it harder to understand how they could be so dumb.)
Michigan always claimed to the leaders, to be best, to be first.
They didn’t have to cheat.
No Haiku For You 